Earlyface

The Ministry of Public Security on Friday said
that Chinese police rescued 382 infants and
detained over 1,000 suspects in a
nationwide crackdown on four major online
baby-trafficking rings.
The ministry reported that the police seized
the 1,094 suspects in coordinated late-night
raids in 27 places on Feb. 19.
It also accused them of trafficking infants
and setting up illegal online marketing
platforms disguised as adoption or
fostering programmes.
It quoted Liu Ancheng, head of the
ministry’s criminal investigation bureau, as
saying that illegal online activities had
changed child trafficking, which remains a
problem in China in spite of a series of
crackdowns.
“A traditional preference for male heirs and
a state-enforced family planning policy have
fuelled the trade in boys in particular.
“Last month, a court in north-western
China’s Shaanxi province gave a suspended
death sentence to a former hospital doctor
convicted of selling seven babies to
traffickers.
“Zhang Shuxia, an obstetrician at a
maternity hospital, persuaded parents to
hand over six babies by falsely telling them
that the newborn children suffered from
congenital health problems.
“She sold a boy for 21,600 yuan (3,600
dollars) in July to traffickers who resold him
for 59,800 yuan,’’ Liu said. (dpa/NAN)

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday fixed
March 21 to hear a motion filed by the
suspended Governor of Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,
seeking enforcement of his fundamental
right.
Lamido had filed the suit through his
counsel, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo (SAN), seeking
an order restraining the police and officers
of the State Security Service (SSS) from
arresting, detaining or otherwise harassing
him.
Joined as first to third respondents in the
suit are: The Attorney General of the
Federation (AGF), Inspector General of Police
(I-G) and the SSS.
When the case was mentioned on Friday,
Justice Ibrahim Buba adjourned it to March
21 for hearing, following an application for
adjournment moved by counsel to all the
respondents.
Counsel to the AGF, Dr Oscar Nliam, holding
the brief of Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN),
informed the court that his office had just
been briefed on the matter.
He told the court that they were yet to
receive all the processes filed by the
applicant, and therefore prayed the court for
a short adjournment to enable him collate all
processes.
Counsel representing the I-G, Mr Chukwu
Agwu, on his part, informed the court that
he was only notified last night by his boss
from the Force Headquarters that the suit
will be coming up in court.
He said that the second respondent was yet
to receive the processes and also prayed the
court for an adjournment to enable him look
at the processes when they arrive.
In the same vein, counsel representing the
SSS, Mr Ahmed Musa, also aligned himself
with the submissions of his colleagues,
adding that an adjournment will be to their
favour especially as parties were still within
time of filing.
Counsel representing the applicant, Mr Kola
Awodehin (SAN),, did not object to the
prayers for adjournment, but noted that the
suit bordered on fundamental rights
enforcement and ought to be dealt with
expeditiously.
Justice Buba, however, in a short ruling,
adjourned the case to March 21 for hearing.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls
that the court had on Feb. 21, granted an
interim order of injunction, restraining the
respondents from arresting, detaining or
harassing the applicant, pending the
determination of the motion on notice.
The interim order was sequel to an affidavit
of urgency filed by the applicant on the
same date.
The court had also granted the applicant
leave to serve the originating summons and
other accompanying court processes on the
respondents. (NAN)

The National Emergency Management
Agency (NEMA) said on Friday that it had
introduced a nationwide air ambulance
service with the hub in Abuja.
The Director-General of the agency, Alhaji
Sani Sidi, said this in Sokoto.
Sidi spoke through NEMA’s Director of
Administration and Supplies, Dr Zanna
Mohammed, during a courtesy call on the
Secretary to the Sokoto State Government,
Alhaji Sahabi Gada.
Sidi said that the service currently had a
pioneer CESSNA-model air ambulance which
had been fully equipped.
The aircraft has been fully equipped with all
the required state-of-the-art, medical
facilities and well-trained medical doctors
and other para-medics.
“For now, the service would be coordinated
from the air ambulance service’s hub in
Abuja and it would cover the whole
country,” he said.
According to him, the ambulance could
effectively and efficiently reach any part of
the country within the earliest time possible.
Sidi further said that the agency had
adequately provided all the needed
communication, search and rescue facilities
nationwide.
Similarly, the agency has stockpiled huge
reserves of equipment and relief materials
required for urgent assistance to disaster
victims in distress.
“These include helicopters, vehicles,
ambulances, tents, assorted food items,
blankets and mattresses,” he added.
Sidi stated that NEMA was implementing the
Federal Government’s agenda by being
proactive and diligent in all its activities.
He also said that the agency was
meaningfully engaged with all the
emergency management agencies in the
country and other stakeholders.
This, he said, was necessary as disaster risk
management and mitigation was a collective
responsibility.
Sidi said that the agency had set up a new
zonal office in Sokoto to take charge of
Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states.
“The new zonal office was carved out from
the hitherto Kaduna Zone to allow for more
efficient, fast and less-cumbersome
response and mitigation of disasters.
“The Sokoto State Government, just like
others in Nigeria, has been an active partner
with NEMA and we will continue to
appreciate this,” the director-general said.
Gada commended NEMA for establishing the
new zonal office, promising to sustain the
existing cordial relationship between it and
the government.
“We will continue to tirelessly work together
with the agency to ensure the success of its
commendable activities,” Gada pledged.

Everyone knows that smoking kills, but very
few of those who start it, ever stop. Most
start smoking at the age of 15-18, which is
when the temptation to explore the world
of the forbidden is the strongest. Turning
around after the process starts proves to be
difficult for most. The psychological
pleasures smoking can provide trumps
everything else and before you know it,
once a day becomes 20 a day. Cigarette
smoke contains carbon monoxide, tar, free
radicals, hydrogen cyanide, metals (like
cadmium, lead, arsenic) and radioactive
compounds. Does it sound like something
anyone would like to consume? People
should really consider quitting as early on as
possible because more can go wrong with
continued smoking.
10. Environmental Damages
environmental damages
environmental damages
According to a 2007 study by the European
Health Commission there are about 1.2
billion smokers around the globe. The
cigarette smoke along with the cigarette
ends that is thrown away after the 3
minutes of smoking joy ride is over, causes
land, air and water pollution(apart from
giving cockroaches cancer; just kidding, no
scientists have verified it yet). Some times to
cure some kinds of tobacco leaves heat has
to be generated by wood, coal or gas.
Tobacco farmers often burn away forests to
clear land for tobacco plantations. So what
happens is there are fewer numbers of
trees to soak up the carbon dioxide released
during smoking. The cigarette butts are
mistakenly eaten by fishes and other water
animals in lakes and rivers causing death
and the ones left on the ground may take up
to 25 years to decompose fully. The land
used for tobacco plantation is unsuitable for
growing any other kind of food and cash
crops. And then there is the paper needed
to make the cigarettes, which means about
500 million more trees are chopped off
every year thanks to smoking.
9. Creature of Habit
creature of habit
creature of habit
Smoking is a habit for many. People mostly
smoke while out with friends, when they
drink, when they feel jittery waiting for
some news, when it rains or when they
have nothing else to. What happens is that
just like Pavlov’s Dog Experiment, the very
thought of all these activities triggers a
person to pick up and light a smoke. It no
longer remains in your control, it no longer
remains something you do to pass the time;
you get controlled by your smoking. Quitting
anything someone enjoys is hard and
anyone who has not done it will not
understand what someone who is trying to
quit is going through, or what someone
who has quit has gone through. This is very
much like a person with a sweet tooth
trying to quit sweets when they are diabetic,
only it is worse.
8. Withdrawal
withdrawal
withdrawal
Nicotine is an addictive drug that refuses to
let go of the grip it has on you. The longer
the use, the harder it is to quit smoking and
withdrawal symptoms can become a real
pain in the whole body. It makes one
nauseous, gives terrible headaches and
makes one more anxious as that thing to
give the illusion of control is no longer there.
The hands shake, there is a lot of sweating
and there are abdominal cramps to go with
it all. People generally start eating sugary
things to help with the craving and to keep
the mouth occupied. It becomes really
difficult to concentrate on daily activities. As
the lungs start clearing out there may be
cold sores and other respiratory problems.
Quitting becomes so difficult by the time
one realises the ill effects that they fall off
the wagon to recovery; this is the reason
why many prefer choosing e-cigarettes as
an alternative which does not really take
away someone’s psychological dependency
on smoking; it just reduces the health
damages.
7. Stress Buster
stress buster
stress buster
It is a misconception that smoking helps
relax. Smoking is rhythmic and hence gives
the illusion of relaxation. Taking a break
from a busy work schedule to take a few
puffs makes one think they are taking time
out to relax. What smoking really does is
make your heart beat faster due to a lack of
proper flow of oxygen in the blood, the
opposite of relaxing. Nicotine is absorbed by
the blood and increases blood pressure.
Smoking is what some call self-medication.
When you feel stressed out, it gives you a
sense of doing something when you can do
nothing else. But the initial feeling of
relaxation soon leaves. The stress and
anxiety does not go away in reality.
Prolonged stress can cause depression in
people.
6. General Health Complications
general health complications
general health complications
Smoking is one of those rare birds that can
cause damage to nearly every organ in the
body, including the heart, blood vessels,
lungs, eyes, mouth, reproductive organs,
bones, bladder and digestive organs. It
decreases blood flow to the sex organs and
that affects arousal which leads to poor sex
life. Parents who smoke can cause long term
damage to their child. A pregnant mother
who smokes increases her child’s chances
of being mentally retarded; these children
have the tendency to have arrested brain
development and long term learning
impairments. Nicotine in the breast milk
causes shorter sleeping cycles in the babies.
More so, smoking lowers the levels of
protective antioxidants like Vitamin C in the
blood and affects the immune system.
5. Damaged Looks
damaged looks
damaged looks
Heavy smokers look older than their actual
ages. It is common knowledge that nicotine
stains the teeth. The collagen of the skin is
damaged in people who have smoked for
ten years or more and results in what is
known as the “smoker’s face”. Smoking
gives one wrinkles around the mouth and
this damage is irreversible, no amount of
lifestyle changes will help once this sets in.
Chain smokers have a tendency to light on
one cigarette after another, 10 minutes of
smoking decreases the body’s oxygen
supply for a whole hour! Studies have
shown that on an average 42% of the blood
flow to the fingers decrease after one
cigarette. Have you ever looked at a regular
chain smoker’s hands? Give it a look next
time. It is wrinkly and the nails have a
yellowish tinge. Smoking also increases the
chances of gum diseases, causes premature
greying of hair, whatever is left of it as it
also causes premature balding in men.
4. Metabolism
metabolism
metabolism
Many people smoke in order to lose weight.
It is a genuine concern for many to look
thinner, whatever the cost may be. People
tend to forget that a healthier body is the
pathway to a healthier mind and looking
thin would never change the fact that one is
not really healthy inside. Nicotine decreases
the appetite. While smoking reduces the
appetite by increasing the metabolic rate, it
ends up decreasing the metabolic efficiency.
It does not take away the hunger, but only
the ability to eat more than a certain amount
decreases. This can lead to anorexia in
certain cases which is another mental illness
people struggling with illusions of control
usually develop.
3. Respiratory Difficulties
respiratory difficulties
respiratory difficulties
Smoking can lead to asthma, with coughing
and wheezing tendencies as smoking
causes tightening of the airways. The lungs
are like sponges which many of us now
know thanks to those visually jarring public
health organisation advertisements. A long
time smoker often has a hoarse voice, a
reason why many singers would never
smoke (unless they are into rock music
where many singers have been known to be
smokers specially to get that hoarse voice,
which does not excuse smoking). It
increases mucus in the lung passages, it
causes irritation of the trachea and the
larynx (the sound box). It causes permanent
damage to the air sacs in the lungs which
are responsible for the very act of breathing.
2. Heart Risks
heart risks
heart risks
Remember Phoebe Buffay’s massive heart
attack which caused her to lose her high
profile job and how she had to have a
smoke every time someone called her in
“The One That Could Have Been” episode?
Smoking does make one feel cooler
sometimes. I digress. She was told by her
doctors she would have to quit smoking if
she wants to avoid another heart attack.
Smoking causes atherosclerosis which
causes a build up of plaque in the blood
vessels which ends up restricting flow of
oxygenated blood to the heart and other
organs. Plaque build up in the coronary
arteries lead to severe chest pains, heart
attack or even heart failure. Diabetics and
women on birth control pills run higher
risks of heart disease if they smoke. This
affects both light and heavy smokers.
1. Memory Loss
memory loss
memory loss
Smoking causes high blood pressure which
affects the brain which in turn leads to
cognitive decline. Prospective memory is
what helps one remember the things they
need to do in the future. Unless you want to
click people’s photos to remember to kill
them in the future, which I suggest you do
not do as it will only be used as evidence by
the cops later on, you better quit smoking
now. According to researchers from
Northumbria University both first hand and
second hand smokers did poorer than those
who do not smoke at all in the Cambridge
Prospective Memory Test, which is devised
to test their prospective memory. The
second hand smokers did do better than the
smokers but they were not as sharp as the
ones who were not exposed to second
hand smoke. So, remember the next time
you smoke that you are not only messing up
your own heart, brain and everything else,
you are doing that to the people around
you.

Are they not the same? During Atiku's time
as VP, was it different from now?

A cab driver operating on Falomo Road,
Ikoyi, Lagos State, has said a Deputy
Superintendent of Police, identified simply
as Okon, assaulted and chained him to a
rail for allegedly disrespecting him.
The cab driver, who identified himself as
Obinna, claimed he was tied to a rail that
was used to guard a pumping machine in
the Falomo Police Hospital for over one
hour and pummelled by another policeman
on Okon’s instruction.
He added that the torture left him
hospitalised.
Obinna, who has been discharged from the
hospital, told our correspondent on
Thursday that it took the intervention of an
unidentified superior police officer for him
to be released.
Read the driver's account after the
cut................ ................
“On Tuesday, I had just got diesel from a
fuel station. I was about reversing my car
to join the main road when DSP Okon, who
was standing with another officer in mufti,
asked me to stop.
“Hesaid I should give him my key, but I
refused. He then asked the man to enter my
car and ordered that I follow him.
“I told him I wanted to know what I did
wrong and would not release my car key to
him. He asked why I parked in a place not
designated for us, but I told him I didn’t
park in the wrong place, but trying to
reverse.
“Hedragged me into the police hospital. I
was seriously beaten up. I was chained to
the machine rail, while the man in mufti
kicked me. I was told that I disrespected
the rank of the man by not giving him my
key.”
He said the cop vowed to dump him in the
Ikoyi Prison, adding that as he was
preparing the necessary papers for his
detention, the superior police officer saw
him where he was chained, and queried
Okon.
He was said to have been released by the
officer after it was discovered that he had
not committed any offence.
The Anambra State indigene said after he
was released from the hospital on the
second day, Okon still came after him and
deflated his car tyres.
Luke Gum, a graduate of Mass
Communication from the Lagos State
University, who also operates a cab
business in the Falomo area, said cab
drivers were usually harassed and extorted
by policemen.
Gum alleged that officials of the Lagos State
Traffic Management Authority were also
fond of impounding their vehicles on flimsy
excuses.
“I can only compare myself to a criminal
when it comes to the kind of treatment we
get as cab drivers on this route. Most of us
here are graduates, but we became drivers
to survive because there is no job. I
managed to save money and buy this cab
pending when I will get a better job and
yet, see what they are doing to us.
“We are arrested at least two times in a
day, and made to cough out between N7,
000 and N9, 000 on each occasion.”
Nicodemus Nicolas, who has been driving
for about a year in the area, said he was
once arrested three times in a day by
LASTMA officials for driving slowly in a
traffic jam. It was learnt that the cab drivers
embarked on a strike action for two days
last year to protest their continuous
harassment.
The Chairman of the cab drivers, Alhaji
Danlami Gana, said his men were usually
the target of policemen and agencies of the
state government because they did not
have a permanent motor park.
He said, “For now, we do not have a
permanent park. We are just hustling to
survive. We have appealed to the
government to give us a space, but we
have not got any good response.”

Global Leader in consumer electronics and
home appliances, LG Electronics (LG) is
unrelenting in its quest to making life
comfortable and convenient for its
numerous consumers with the introduction
of the new LG Chest Freezer.
The event which held at the LG showroom in
Lekki was aimed at making safe and healthy
foods readily available to households and
businesses as the Chest freezer has various
capacities to meet both household and
commercial needs.
The LG Chest Freezer is fitted with a
powerful compressor that boasts a 10-year
warranty. It also comes with the super-fast
Blast Freezing feature and the Low Voltage
Stabilizer (LVS). The LVS is a truly practical
piece of technology that allows the chest
freezer to function properly, even when local
electricity supply is unstable. Specifically
made for Africa, LG’s latest chest freezer
offers efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED)
lighting, an easy-to-open handle-less door
and quiet operation.
Speaking at the product launch, General
Manager, Home Appliances Division, LG
Electronics, West Africa operations Mr.
Hyunwoo Jung said: “At LG, we understand
that durability is just as important as strong
performance. The compressor of our new
chest freezer, which comes backed by a 10-
year warranty, ensures worry-free operation
year after year. LG’s model is the first in this
product category to offer a compressor with
a decade-long guarantee of reliability. “
Thanks to LG’s Blast Freezing feature, the
new chest-type model freezes food items 30
percent faster than a
conventional freezer. From meats to fruit
and frozen foods, it offers consumers ample
space to store more of the foods they love.
Located on the inside of the door, the Blast
Freezing system employs two-way air ducts
and a powerful turbo fan to quickly and
efficiently distribute cold air.
The newly introduced LG Chest Freezer
which is made in Korea is ideal for
consumers that have to contend with an
inconsistent power supply, this clever
technology enables continuous operation
despite fluctuations in voltage (from 135V to
290V). Ensuring that food stays frozen and
removing the need for a separate voltage
stabilizer, the LVS can help consumers to
save money.
Also speaking at the occasion, Managing
Director, Fouani Nigeria Limited, Mr.
Mohammed Fouani said:“The LG Chest
freezer is the perfect addition to any kitchen
and is ideal for everyday living.This uniquely
designed Home appliance preserves food
and in the process preventing food
wastage. The Low Voltage Stabilizer feature
ensures that food stay frozen without an
additional cost of purchasing a stabilizer.
For optimized cooling there is the blast
freezing feature as well as the 3D cooling
with 2-way air duct.”
Providing the utmost in reliability and
convenience, LG’s new chest freezers have
an internally mounted and energy efficient,
ultra-bright LED light which enables users to
easily find the food items they’re looking for
at night. LG’s LED light is 27 times more
longer-lasting than a conventional bulb and
less power hungry as well, which translates
to fewer bulb replacements and lower
electricity costs. Furthermore, the chest

The Oral B Smartseries electric toothbrush
connects to a smartphone to chart your
brushing, personalise your routine and let
your dentist see how well you've been
brushing.
Samuel Gibbs in Barcelona
Oral B’s new app controlled Bluetooth 4.0
toothbrush makes sure you brush your
teeth properly, lets your dentist peek at your
brushing habits and personalises your
brushing.
The toothbrush connects to the free Oral B
app for the iPhone and Android, and will
track your every brush stroke, collect data
and chart your progress while giving you
real-time guidance on how to get the job
done faster and better.
“It provides the highest degree of user
interaction to track your oral care habits to
help improve your oral health, and we
believe it will have significant impact on the
future of personal oral care, providing data-
based solutions for oral health, and making
the relationship between dental
professionals and patients a more
collaborative one,” said Wayne Randall,
global vice president of Oral Care at Procter
and Gamble.
The smart bathroom
Oral B sees the connected toothbrush,
launched as part of Mobile World Congress’s
Connected City exhibition, as the next
evolution of the smart bathroom. This plugs
into a trend kickstarted by fitness trackers,
and provides a useful resource for dentists.
The new brush will be available in Spring in
Germany and the rest of the world in June
priced at about £199, and promises to allow
users to personalise their electric
toothbrush, changing brush head speed, as
well as brushing patterns to focus on
specific problem areas in the mouth.
Dentists can also programme special
brushing routines.
The Oral B app connects to the brush over
low-power Bluetooth 4.0, a standard which
is used by a whole series of connected
gadgets, including smartwatches and fitness
bands. The Bush will store up to 20
brushing sessions, should the user not have
their smartphone to hand, ready to sync at a
later date.
Oral B Smartseries connected toothbrush.
The connected technology will be integrated
into a whole line of smart Oral B
toothbrushes at a later date.

Brymo is in court with Audu Maikori’s
Chocolate City following alleged contract
infringement.
The ongoing legal battle between Chocolate
City and Brymo is set to continue as the
case has been adjourned to a later date.
At a sitting yesterday at the Federal High
Court in Lagos, the presiding judge, Justice
Buba I.N was forced to adjourn the hearing
after counsels from both parties clashed in
the courtroom. The session started by 11:14
a.m and ended by 1:00 p.m.
 READ MORE AFTER THE
CUT................ ................... ................... ....
Brymo’s legal representative, Nike Olagbede
and Chocolate City’s counsel, T.O Lawal
clashed after a disagreement which led to
the use of derogatory words between the
two learned counsels during a court
session. Justice Buba then announced that
the case will be adjourned to a later date. ‘I
will adjourn this case because the counsels
have failed to portray themselves according
to the stipulations of the court acts and
acted in complete disregard to the court
regulations,’ Justice Buba said.
The case has now been adjourned to
Tuesday, March 4, 2014 as agreed by both
counsels.
Brymo is in court with Audu
Maikori's Chocolate City following
alleged contract infringements.

No one has ever intentionally taken a nose
dive off the roof of the world before.
In the 61 years since Edmund Hillary and
sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the top of
Mount Everest, most of the 5,000-plus
people have descended from the summit the
same way they came up: on foot. A few have
paraglided down.
Joby Ogwyn has other plans.
Everest men: On top of the world in 1963
The ultra-daredevil plans to plunge off the
world's tallest mountain in May while
wearing a custom wing-suit equipped with
cameras to share the jump with a TV
audience.
"I'm very scared. I think it's the fear of death
or destruction that kind of keeps you above
that," he told CNN on Wednesday at
skydiving practice. "But I'm not afraid to die.
I'm not afraid to live my life on my own
terms. And this is my dream and I am willing
to risk everything to make it happen."
It's not like the 39-year-old Ogwyn is
unfamiliar with the 29,035-foot tall
mountain. He was 24 the first time he
reached the summit, which at the time made
him the youngest American to do so. He's
scaled the mountain from a base-camp in
just 9½ hours. And three years ago, he did a
test jump from an airplane.
Mount Everest: By the numbers
The star of the National Geographic
television show "Adventure Wanted" learned
the effect the thin air at that height would
have on his summit jump.
"I thought I would fall out of the sky a little
bit," he said. "In fact what I did was fly faster
and further than I could have in that thicker
air (at lower altitudes)."

It is not an easy thing to do, but to
escape an abusive partner you first have
to first gain control over your own
emotions. You loved him once and have
had some good years together, but over
the years he has insulted you and
abused you and you no longer feel the
same about him. Your feelings are
bruised. He is jealous and insecure and
monitors your every movement, tells you
what to wear, when to eat, and who you
can go out with. If you don’t do as he
says, he stays out the whole night or
withholds the food allowance. No matter
what you say, he always manages to
convince you that you are wrong.
Preparing to Escape
Have a plan. Put a bag of clothes
in the boot of the car. Call your
mother and tell her that you
might need a place to stay that
night. Make a list of everything
to be discussed, and in the
right order. Don’t deviate from
what has to be said, no matter
how painful.
Feel confident and worthy, and
never stop valuing yourself. You
must be strong and reflect
independence, otherwise he
will take advantage of you. The
battle is a psychological one
and must be won in the head
first. Remember to always
validate yourself, and stick to
the plan
Steps to Get Out of the Relationship
Tell your husband that you have
become unhappy over the years
and would like to know if he is
interested in repairing what
you had once had. Discuss the
prospect of counseling. He may
laugh at you, or dare you to
leave, or tells you that
counseling is a waste of time.
In such a case, be prepared to
tell him that if there is nothing
more between you. He needs to
realize that it is pointless to
remain together, and that you
are going to leave.
If he tries to persuade you by
getting fresh, don’t be fooled.
Some men use s*x to
manipulate a woman to gain
control in a relationship. Be
sure to stick to your guns about
your wishes – that if he is not
prepared to go for counseling,
you are going to leave.
If he refuses to take you
seriously, or strikes you, take
care of yourself by leaving the
house immediately. Don’t tell
him where you are going. It will
be hard to do but this is the
step you need to take to get
you on the road to a health
recovery from this abusive
relationship.

Do you know that Nigerians are now living
as refugees in Niger Republic? That is the
reality of the matter, sad as it is. As you read
this, tens of thousands of Nigerians have
gone to Niger to escape from the latest
wave of attacks and bombings by the deadly
sect, Boko Haram, that continue to operate
with impunity.
One of the students who was shot by the
terrorists but managed to survived, said:
“I was shot on my left leg, while I was
sleeping. When I woke up, I could not walk
and was later taken to the girls hostel where
the insurgents gathered us with the female
students. They selected some of the female
students and went away with them, while
they left some of us groaning in pain from
gun shot”.
The words of 14ysr old Ibrahim Musa
Lampo, a JSS 2 student of Federal
Government College, Bunu Yadi in Yobe State
who was one of the lucky survivors of the
Boko Haram massacre on Tuesday, which
claimed the lives of over 40 students. The
insurgents also burnt the hostels,
classrooms and more during the attack.
Ibrahim who recounted his experience
while groaning in pains was receiving
treatment for gunshot injuries at the
General Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital,
Damaturu.
His mother, Hajiya Lampo, who was sitting
beside him on the hospital bed lamented
government's inability to protect the lives of
the innocent students. She appealed to the
Federal Government to “provide security for
all unity schools in Nigeria, particularly in the
north eastern region of the country by
constructing a fence that will shield the
students from intruders.”
Meanwhile, condemnations continue to trail
the massacre of the innocent students.

Founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church, Pastor
Yonggi Cho, one of the largest Pentecostal
churches in South Korea has been
sentenced to three years in prison for
embezzling $12 million in church funds.
Allegations arose in November of last year
when 30 church elders held a press
conference accusing Cho and his family of
stealing millions in church donations dating
back to the 1990s.
The elders enumerated multiple instances of
Cho’s dishonesty that involved him
borrowing and never returning funds,
acquiring enormous church donations
without disclosing what they were being
used toward and even taking an $18 million
severance pay when he stepped down as
head pastor in 2008.
One former church elder, Ha Sang-ok, was
present at the press conference and urged
Cho to come forward.
“A sect leader might violate the
commandments and do as he wishes, but a
pastor cannot do that. Over the past 14
years, I have met with Rev. Cho many times
to try to persuade him to repent and return
to being a great pastor, but the corruption
has continued. That’s why I had no choice
but to disclose it to the outside world.”
On February 21, Seoul Central Court found
Cho guilty of embezzlement from
encouraging church officials in 2002 to buy
stock owned by his son at four times the
market value, according to Yohap News
Agency. In addition to spending three years
in prison, Cho will pay $4.6 million in fines as
part of his sentence, though if the church
elders were right this is still just a fraction of
the total funds he stole.
This is not the first time Cho has been
involved in scandal. In 2011, church elders
accused the pastor of embezzling $20
milliom and privatizing church assets.
Yoido Full Gospel Church is an Assemblies of
God-affiliated congregation and has grown
exponentially since 1958 when Cho founded
it. The church draws hundreds of thousands
of worshipers to every service, according to
PBS, making it the largest megachurch in the
world.
Despite the recent scandals, Cho, 78, was
once a highly respected pastor in Korea and
around the world. From PBS:
Pastor Cho is one of the most revered
evangelists in Korea. He was a Buddhist until
he rejected his religion when he was near
death from tuberculosis. He says that’s when
Jesus Christ appeared to him in the middle
of the night and told him to preach the
gospel. So he did. When the country was
suffering in poverty and desperation after
the Korean War, he preached the gospel of
hope through prayer.