Three Malian soldiers killed in land mine explosion

Three soldiers were killed after their patrol vehicle hit a landmine on Monday in a forest in central Mali, Defence Minister, Tieman Hubert Coulibaly, has said. Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group al- Mourabitoun on Monday claimed responsibility for a hotel siege in central Mali at the weekend in which 17 people died. “Today again, you lost three brothers in arms to a land mine explosion,” Coulibaly told Malian soldiers in Sevare, where he was visiting following the weekend attack. The blast took place in a forest near the town of Diafarabe about 600 kilometers northeast of the capital in the Mopti region, killing three soldiers and wounding three others. “The soldiers were informed by villagers of the presence of armed men near a village and the soldiers went over to investigate,” Souleymane Dembele, a Malian Defence spokesman said. Mali’s northern region has seen resurgence in number of attacks by armed groups as well as Islamist militants who briefly held the area up until they were scattered by a French military intervention in 2013. Malian authorities also blame a new armed group called the Massina Liberation Front for the growing number of attacks in the central Mopti region.

Australia arrests 91 year-old man for smuggling cocaine

A 91-year-old Sydney man was used by drug smugglers to fly 4.5 kilograms of cocaine disguised as soap from India to Australia, police said Tuesday. The man was stopped at Sydney airport on his arrival from New Delhi on July 8th when customs officers became suspicious of the contents of his luggage, officials said. They found 27 packages of soap which tested positive for cocaine. The man was charged with importing illegal drugs. “Claiming ignorance of drugs hidden inside your luggage does not automatically mean you will not face criminal charges,” acting Assistant Police Commissioner, Wayne Buchhorn, said.

EFCC foils plot to steal seized $2.1m NHIS cash

Two persons have made separate attempts to claim the $2.1m (about N418million) cash seized by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The NDLEA had on July 3 intercepted the cash which was being conveyed by a bureau de change operator, Mr. Ibiteye John Bamidele. The anti-narcotics agency had suspected the bureau de change operator of laundering the money. Following his confession that he was on money laundering errand allegedly for a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Dr. Olufemi Thomas, the NDLEA had on July 8 handed over the suspect and the cash to the EFCC. Investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday reveal that two different persons have showed up at the Lagos office of the EFCC to claim the cash. Our correspondent learnt that one of the impostors, a man, who showed up to claim ownership of the money, later confessed to EFCC operatives that he was hired by some persons he didn’t name to retrieve the money from the commission. His claim was said to have been punctured by the EFCC team and he was subsequently arrested. Similarly, a lady was also said to have appeared at the Lagos office of the EFCC, claiming that she was the one that gave Bamidele the money. The lady was said to have made repeated calls to the supposed owner of the money who failed to fulfil his promise that he would meet her at the EFCC office. When she realised that her partner had failed her with the refusal to appear at the commission. She was also said to have pleaded for mercy especially when the operatives confronted her with facts from Bamidele. A top officer of the EFCC, who spoke on condition of anonymity to SUNDAY PUNCH, said, “Another thing you must know about this drama is that the commission has foiled some attempts to retrieve the money. “From the time the case was handed over to the commission on July 8, 2015 to date, two people have come forward to claim the money. “A few days after the money was handed over to the EFCC, a man came to the office to claim the money but when he was grilled, he contradicted himself. In fact, he said he was hired by some persons to claim and retrieve the money from the commission. “Apart from the man, another woman showed up the following day to claim that she was the one who gave Bamidele the money. “According to her claim, the money was proceeds of an investment which was liquidated with a bank and was intended to be used to purchase a property for the construction of a cardiac centre. “However, her claim fell through when operatives confronted her. The bureau de change operator who was caught with the money did not mention her name. Then she realised that she wasn’t going anywhere with her lies, she started pleading for mercy.” Meanwhile, indications emerged on Saturday that Thomas had been granted administrative bail on Friday by the EFCC after undergoing interrogation in relation to the seized $2.1m. The EFCC had invited the former NHIS boss, the prime suspect, for interrogation on Friday and released him after hours of interrogation. SUNDAY PUNCH gathered on Saturday that the EFCC operatives, who grilled the ex-NHIS boss in relation to the ownership of the controversial money, asked him to report to the Lagos office of the commission for further investigation whenever he is needed. No date was fixed for the next session with the commission. Another senior officer of the EFCC, who also spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said, “The case involving the seized $2.1 million is still pending. The man was interrogated on Friday but released to go on what we call administrative bail. “Since the case is a Lagos case, he is expected to be reporting to the commission’s office in Lagos whenever he is needed.” Prior to Thomas’ interrogation, the EFCC had given the indication that it could declare him wanted after weeks of searching for him. SOURCE: PUNCH

I Thought You Knew (Does it really matter?.....)

I THOUGHT YOU KNEW BUT,IF YOU DON'T NOW YOU DO: In this weeks edition of 'I Thought You Knew' we will be discussing some stories in the Bible that were usually misread or retold to make it perfect. Have it in mind that these stories does not really change any thing. At the end of it all, ask yourself this question... Does it really matter?.......  -*Adam and Eve*- Contrary to popular belief, Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden not because they ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but in order to prevent them from eating from the tree of life (both forbidden trees are in Genesis 2:9) which would have made them eternal. God doesn't like competition! Here is the verse (Genesis 3:22-23): “And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now, therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. [23] And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he was taken.” -Does it really matter?....... -*Brothers Keeper*- Another quote we all know from the Bible is “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Now ask yourself – do you know what God’s answer was to this question? You don’t – no one does because the Bible doesn't tell us what He replied. If God were to have answered, we can presume it would have been in the affirmative if all of the other commands to look after our brothers in the New Testament are taken into consideration. -Does it really matter?....... -*Samson and Delilah*-  Samson and Delilah is a famous story from the Old Testament which ends rather badly, as Samson’s long hair is cut short to destroy his strength. The common misconception is that Delilah was the one to give him the chop – a kind of ancient bobbit if you will. But in fact, it was Delilah’s servant who did it. (Judges 16 vs 19) -Does it really matter?....... -*Rapture*- The “Rapture” is not in the Bible! Despite being believed by a large number of protestants (many of whom also believe that only that which is in the Bible can be true) it was actually invented in the 1600s by one Cotton Mather – otherwise famous for murdering women by strangling them to death (by hanging) in the Salem witch trials. The term in the Bible commonly mistranslated to the word “rapture” actually comes from the Greek ἁρπάζω (harpazo) which actually means “caught up” or “taken away” and it refers to one person only (Philip). -Does it really matter?....... -*The Three Wise Men There weren't three and they didn't visit Jesus in a manger. The Bible gives neither the number of men (but does the number of gifts as three, which is probably where this misconception stems from). Additionally, Herod demanded the death of all boys under two, making it probable that Christ had been born up to two years prior. Also, the wise men visited Jesus when he lived in a house according to the Biblical account in Matthew 2 vs 11 and not in the manger. Does it really matter?....... To be continued next week.

Suicide bombers spread fear of Boko Haram in Cameroon

Empty streets, body searches and tips to police embody the fear that Boko Haram has instilled in northern Cameroon, where they killed more than 40 people in suicide bombings in July. Raiders from the Nigerian sect later kidnapped 135 villagers and killed eight others in a pre-dawn strike across the border last Tuesday, police and local sources said. Boko Haram has attacked villages in Cameroon’s Extreme North region for about two years, but the horrific bombings mark a change of tactics, while Cameroonian troops have joined a regional force to tackle the Islamists. The suicide bombers can be young women and even teenage girls, who behave like locals and blend in at crowded places to cause maximum casualties. Residents of Maroua, the main town in the Extreme North, were spared until successive blasts tore though the bustling central market and a bar on July 22 and 25. Those bombs killed 33 people and wounded dozens more. “We’re very worried and no longer know where to turn,” says Albert, a worried father. “Should we send the children to school when the next school year starts?” he ponders. “Boko Haram is against Western education and may very well carry out attacks on schools.” The sect’s name loosely translates as “Western education is forbidden”, and Boko Haram notoriously abducted 276 Nigerian schoolgirls in April last year. Some managed to escape but more than 200 are believed to be held in the large Sambisa forest, where the Nigerian army this week said it had freed 178 captives.

SPORT-EPL: Man’U start on winning note, beat Tottenham 1-0

Manchester United beat Tottenham 1-0 at Old Trafford in the first match of the Barclays Premier League season. In the unexciting match that lacked quality, an own goal from Kylie Walker was enough to earn United three points.

Bobbi Kristina's family accuse Nick Gordon of drugging and putting her 'face down' in the bathtub

Late Bobbi Kristina's family is now accusing Nick Gordon of murder. An amendment to the $40m lawsuit filed against him by Bobbi Kristina's family gives a chilling timeline of what they claim happened in the hours before she was found unresponsive in her bathtub on January 31st… From TMZ- The lawyer says at 6 AM on January 31st -- hours before Bobbi Kristina was found face down in the tub -- Nick Gordon came home from an all-night cocaine and alcohol bender. The suit claims he reviewed camera footage and became irate. The suit says Gordon began screaming at Bobbi Kristina, accusing her of cheating and calling her a "whore and bitch.". Their argument then went from room to room, and at some point the suit claims Gordon gave Bobbi Kristina a "toxic cocktail" that rendered her unconscious. The lawyer then says Gordon dragged Bobbi Kristina to the bathroom where he placed her face down in a tub filled with cold water. According to the docs, Gordon got in bed, put his head on a female guest's ankle and said, "Now I want a pretty little white girl like you." Fifteen minutes later the suit says another person (presumably Max Lomas) discovered Bobbi Kristina in the tub. The suit also says when Bobbi Kristina was pulled from the tub, one of her teeth was hanging loosely from her mouth, indicating she had been injured. And this is odd ... the suit says authorities found a dust pan at the bottom of the tub.

US yet to give Buhari oil thieves’ list

The United States has yet to give the list of oil thieves to President Muhammadu Buhari, findings by our correspondents have shown. Saturday PUNCH learnt on Friday that during Buhari’s visit to Washington in July, 2015, the United States did not give any list. Sources at the US embassy said they were not aware of any exchange of documents between American officials and the President during the visit. If there was such a list, a source said, it was not given to Buhari during the visit. The source said, “Though President Buhari engaged in discussions on various issues with the US President Barack Obama, there was no exchange of documents between them.” When contacted, the US embassy in Abuja declined comment on the issue. The Press Attaché, Sean McIntosh, said he had no comment on the issue. There had been media report that the US government had given Buhari two separate lists containing the names of corrupt Nigerians and crude oil thieves, adding that the President was taken aback when he saw the list. The list was said to contain the names of top government officials who have been stealing the country’s oil, using their high offices to perpetrate the stealing and the other containing the names of illegal oil bunkerers. The report further stated that the list given to the President by the US might compel him to probe the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, denied knowledge of any list of corrupt Nigerians reportedly handed over to Buhari during his visit to the US. He said he would not be able to make further comment on the matter since he was not aware of the list. “I have no knowledge of the list you are talking about so I can neither confirm its authenticity nor those listed therein,” he said.

Why I ‘raped’ my friend’s teenage daughter – UNILAG lecturer

For nine days, Shola (not real name) was in pain. The abdominal pain she endured felt as if a knife got stuck in her, she told Saturday PUNCH. She was scared but she had no choice but to endure the pain since she couldn’t imagine telling her parents the unimaginable trauma she had been subjected to that led to the pains she was going through. “How could I face them? How could I tell them that the man they handed me over to, to help process my admission, had raped me?” Shola said. But then, much as she tried, she couldn’t continue hiding her ordeal, especially when the pains had become unbearable. Shola’s parents eventually got to know what their daughter had passed through in the quest of trying to become an undergraduate. Eighteen-year-old Shola is one of the numerous hopeful candidates, wishing to secure admission into the University of Lagos. But her score of 211 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination fell short of the requirement for Mass Communication, which was her choice. Her father, who resided in Abesan Estate in Ipaja area of Lagos, had done all he could to ensure that her daughter would become a university student this year but all his efforts seemed to be futile. “Someone told me to send her UTME registration number. He checked on the university website and said she was not eligible. Not convinced, I went to the school myself to check and it was the same problem. “I had to start making calls to other universities where she could secure admission and someone told me she they could be helped to gain admission into the Olabisi Onabanjo University with that score. “As soon as the UTME result was released around May, I informed a friend of mine who lives within the estate, who is a lecturer at UNILAG. I took my daughter to him and he promised that when it was time for the post-UTME examination, he would help her out with the process.” The friend Shola’s father mentioned is Dr. Akin Baruwa, a lecturer in the Department of Accounting, UNILAG, who is also a chairman of one of the community development committees of Abesan Estate. Shola’s father explained that when she realised that her result was not being accepted as eligible for Mass Communication, he went back to Baruwa on July 22, 2015 and the lecturer told him to bring his daughter the following morning so he could take her to campus and see how he could help. “He said they had to take off very early the following morning. I did not suspect anything unusual about that timing because I trusted him. By 4am, I roused my daughter. We prepared and I took her to Baruwa’s house. I did not opt to follow them because I trusted him. I did not imagine that anything untoward could happen,” he said. Baruwa and Shola took off from Abesan about 5am. She would later return home by 11am. His daughter was noticeably moody as she came home. Two hours earlier, Baruwa had called the father and told him that he had done all he could but that it did not seem her admission would be possible. “When he told me that, I believed he had done all he could and told my daughter to come back home,” he said. But it was not the same Shola that home that came back. She was moody and noticeably quiet. She went straight to her room and locked the door. In company with child rights activist, Mrs. Esther Ogwu, whom the case was reported to by the family, our correspondent spoke with Shola in private to give details of what actually happened in Baruwa’s office that day. It was obvious the girl was trying hard to stay composed. While she spoke, her right hand would go to her lower abdomen occasionally. When asked about it, she explained that she was still feeling some pain, which had reduced a lot since she got treatment. Shola said on Thursday, July 23, 2015, as her father handed her over to the lecturer, she still did not suspect anything until they got to around Maryland. “While I was inside the car, he started to touch my hair and rub my head. I was very surprised and I brushed off his hand. He never tried it again till we got to UNILAG,” Shola alleged. According to her, while they were on the way, Baruwa was showing her different parts of town, telling her about places she did not know. She alleged, “While we were on the way, he asked if I go out at all and I told him I don’t usually go out. And he would show me a place and say ‘This is Maryland o. You may not know since you don’t go out.’ Then he took me to the Yaba College of Technology. He drove inside and showed me the place. We later proceeded to UNILAG. “When we got to his office, it was about 6.30am. The offices in the building were deserted. He said he liked to be early to avoid traffic. He told me to sit on the couch in his office. “I noticed he was restless. He would stand and go outside sometimes. He asked if I wanted anything, I told him I was fine. He put on the television; I told him I was okay. He put on the air conditioner and I told him I did not want that. “He had already heated water and made Coffee, which he offered to me. I told him I was okay and really did not need that. He then put the hot Coffee on the table. Later, out of respect, I took the cup and sipped a little. I started to feel drowsy not long after that. I did not know why.” According to Shola’s narration, Baruwa later took her to see a female official in another building who examined her documents and explained further that there was little that could be done on her admission. Baruwa reportedly said she might have to opt for diploma. Shola claimed that when they went back to his office, the lecturer kept her document on his table. She said, “He kept standing and moving around the office. Later, he went outside and when he came back inside, he locked the door and kept the key on his table. I did not know what was happening. “A moment later, he told me to pick up a paper for him beside the couch. As I bent down to pick up the paper, he pushed me into a corner of the couch and held me down as he forcibly removed my trousers and underwear.” Our correspondent asked at this point if Shola made any attempt to shout to alert anybody nearby. She claimed that she actually screamed but that the way he held her down did not allow her voice to be as audible as she had wanted it to be. Shola claimed, “If people were around the office, they would have heard me shout. He held me down, and pulled down my trousers and underwear. I screamed and begged him to leave me alone but he did not. “After he had his way, he released me. As soon as I pulled up my trousers, I grabbed the keys to the door and rushed out while he was dressing up. He was walking behind me as I walked downstairs from his office. He said nothing as I walked away crying. He later went back.” Shola’s father told our correspondent that he had been able to secure a place for her to write her post-UTME examination for an admission into OOU but the young girl has refused to go. When our correspondent asked Shola why she refused to go, she said “How can I be sure that this same thing would not happen there? I don’t know anybody there. If it happens again, where would I run to?” Our correspondent tracked down Dr. Baruwa a day after speaking with Shola and he gave his version of the encounter. According to him, he indeed had a sexual encounter with Shola but it was “consensual.” The lecturer, who seemed to be in his early 40s, told our correspondent that he made the mistake of not doing enough to resist the temptation of ‘sleeping’ with Shola. Speaking with our correspondent in the front of his house out of earshot of his wife and two children, Dr. Baruwa said, “I swear to God that the girl agreed to everything that happened. She was a chatty girl, who did not show any shyness. “It is true that I took her to YABATECH and showed her places. What is not true is that I deliberately took off from home because of any plan to do anything bad to her. I took off from home that early to avoid traffic. “When she was in my office, she was the one telling me to be free with her. I realised that I needed to lie down a little and did not want my shirt to be rumpled. When I pulled it off, she even told me not to mind her presence that since it was my office, I could do whatever I wanted. “When we first got to the office, she lay on my chest and was even playing with my manhood. That was why I could not resist it. After we came back from seeing the woman who was supposed to help with her admission, she was about to go when I told her to give me a hug. It was that which now led to the actual sexual encounter. “When I realised that I could not resist her, I had to tell her to let me put on a condom. The truth is that, while I was putting on a condom, she stood by and waited. I did not actually penetrate. When she was saying ‘it’s enough, it’s enough’ and complaining that her tummy had started hurting her, I stopped.” Baruwa explained that Shola’s father had sent a cryptic text message to him (days later when he learnt of what happened to his daughter), saying that he had learnt of what he did to his daughter. “I know I betrayed his trust but nobody would understand it was consensual. I would have reached out to him to beg him if I think it would solve the problem,” he said. When told that Shola went through more than a week of excruciating abdominal pain, Baruwa explained that if Shola left him the day of the encounter with any sign of hurt, he would have reached out to her to find out how she was doing. Two days after our correspondent spoke with Baruwa, he was arrested by the police and the case is being investigated at the Isokoko Police Division, Agege, Lagos. The case has also been reported at the Office of the Public Defender under the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. The Director of the OPD, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, said the case would be followed to its logical conclusion. Director of the Esther Child Rights Foundation, Esther Ogwu, a social worker handling the case, said when the case was first reported to her, the health of the girl was her immediate concern. She said, “I had to refer them to the Mirabel Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Lagos so that she could get comprehensive treatment. This case is just another reason for girls and young women to be cautious of the issue of sexual assault. “I believe this lecturer had been doing this in the past. It is necessary for girls to be aware and know what to do when in a potentially dangerous situation where they may be assaulted. “I don’t expect him (the lecturer) to admit that he raped her. I knew he would say it was consensual, but I suspect that this is not the first time he would do such thing. Let the law take its course because we don’t know how many other girls are being saved because this case is coming out to the public.” Baruwa was arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court, Lagos on Thursday. He has been remanded at the Kirikiri Prison.

Chinese teacher sentenced to life for raping pupils

A court in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region said on Saturday it has sentenced a kindergarten teacher to life in prison for sexually assaulting 12 girls. The Intermediate People’s Court in Yinchuan found the defendant, Huang Zhenxin, guilty of raping or molesting 12 of his students. Huang was a teacher at a rural kindergarten in the city of Lingwu. Lingwu police said Huang sexually assaulted the girls after he told them he would tutor them on their homework. The kindergarten offered compensation to the victims.