By Kazeem Ugbodaga Twenty-seven-year-old Uzoma Okere has narrated her ordeal in the hands of some Naval officers to governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos state, saying she was manhandled by them. Okere said the naval men, attached to Rear Admiral Olufemi Arogundade, Monday night, on Victoria Island, assaulted her and tore her clothes. She said the officers had asked her to stop since their boss was on the same road. ”I tried to move my car to the left side of the road but before I knew what was happening, one of them came out of a car in the convoy of the naval officer and whipped me while I was still seated in my car. Join discussion...

Emmanuel Emeka Asiwe, editor of the Arlington, Mass.-based HuhuOnline, was being “questioned over matters of national security,” according to State Security Service (SSS) spokesman Kenechukwu Onyeogu. The SSS took the blogger into custody today after he arrived from the U.S., he said. But defense lawyer Babalola Akinwumi told CPJ Asiwe was arrested on Tuesday at Lagos’ airport. Asiwe has been held incommunicado and without charge in Abuja ever since, the lawyer said. Nigerian law allows authorities to hold people for up to 48 hours without charge. Join discussion...

Oyaje Idoko at 10:09am November 14 If USA was Nigeria, our newspaper headlines would read something like: . Don't celebrate yet, McCain tells Obama (TELL magazine) . Concede defeat, Obama urges McCain (Punch Newspaper) . 20 opposition cadres riot (The Sun Newspaper) . McCain Demands Vote Recount (Vanguard Newspaper) . Elections rigged - Palin (Guardian Newspaper) . No evidence of manipulation (NTA News) . The Church declares elections free and fair (News Line) . There will be violence if we lose; McCain declares (LTV 8 news) . Election results for Arizona,Florida,New York awaited (Channels News) . Trucks with suspected ballot papers crosses into USA from Mexico (Tribune Newspaper) . "McCain is an opportunist - Go back to your farm" says Biden(AIT News) . I will not accept results, McCain tells Obama (MITV News) . Democratic Party will rule the USA for the next 100 years - Clinton Declares (ThisDay Newspaper . Area Boys 20 killed, 30 injured at New Jersey Polling Booth )(Daily Mirror) . Obama: 'I will soon roll out timetable for Royal Blessings' (PM News) . Several Ballot Boxes Missing at Phoenix, handwork of 'Obama Boys' - Republican Party(Ogtv News) . Heavy Security at INEC H/quarter, Commissioners flee. (Newswatch Magazine) . $900million for Feeding and Wardrobe Allowances for Obama's Daughters Justified (Presidential Spokeperson) Join discussion...

MEND opts for U.S. Catholic group as mediator with govt From Kelvin Ebiri, Port Harcourt TO fast-track the restoration of peace in the Niger Delta, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has opted for the selection of Coventry Cathedral, a Catholic organisation in the United States (U.S. ), as a preferred mediator for any intended negotiation with the Federal Government. MEND, which is still holding on to two United Kingdom nationals in an undisclosed location, has reiterated that it will not release the hostages as long as government continues to hold on to one of its leaders, Henry Okah. But a group, Social Action and the Centre for Global Non-Violence, has condemned all kidnappings, hostage-taking and violent strategies for seeking change in the Niger Delta which has now led to the militarisation of the region by the government. MEND spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, who gave the hint that the group was ready to disarm last week but not within the six months recommended by the Ledum Mitee-led Presidential Niger Delta Technical Committee, said Coventry Cathedral would be a preferred mediator in the event of any negotiation. He said: "Because anything worth doing is worth doing well, or else we will be treading on the same subject again, let us remember that disarmament is trust-related. There must be guarantees in place as well as other internationally recognised protocol for this exercise. Take Bakassi for example. If the international community had not been involved, Nigeria would have backed out of the agreements reached as the date for the hand-over drew near." Gbomo continued: "There is a time for war and a time for peace. The war has not even begun and may not. It is in the hands of this government to handle the situation properly because as we speak, we are preparing for war." He urged the Federal Government to accept the recommendations of the Mitee-led committee by ensuring that Okah, who is said to be suffering from a kidney ailment is tried in an open court and granted bail. According to Gbomo, if holding on to him is a strategy to arm-twist the group, the government should assume that it has failed. Gbomo said: "The movement is designed to move on with or without an individual. Henry is a key to peace, which he initiated before his arrest. As you may know, MEND is still holding on to two UK nationals for as long as Henry is held." The Social Action and the Centre for Global Non-violence said that the use of force on the part of government and aggrieved people of the Niger Delta to resolve the crisis could only breed more violence. The group's spokesperson, Ken Henshaw in a statement made available to The Guardian at the end of a two-day workshop in Port Harcourt, with the theme "Non-violence and Social Change in Nigeria" demanded that the Federal Government should undertake a process of demilitarisation of the Niger Delta. He urged the militants to adopt non-violent strategies in engaging the government and oil companies rather than violence. Henshaw said at the workshop, which explored theories and teachings of proponents of non-violence and their usefulness for social change in Nigeria, that the Niger Delta struggle required a programme of action that should include creation of a central coordinating organisation that would provide capacity for non-violence He said: "The state security operatives should be more civil in their work and relationship with citizens. We condemn the arrest and killing of innocent persons in the Niger Delta by the Nigerian Police Force and the Joint Military Taskforce in the name of fighting militants in the region." Join discussion...

An open letter to Senator John Kerry, Foreign Relations committee of the U.S. Senate, 7 December 2008 Dear Senator Kerry, I write as a scholar with more that 30 years experience in southern Nigerian studies to oppose the nomination of Dr. Susan Rice as U.N. ambassador. As Bill Clinton's undersecretary of state for African affairs, Rice played a disgraceful role in ending the democratic hopes of Nigeria. As everyone knows, the only credible election in Nigerian history was held on 12 June 1993 and won by Moshood Abio.la, a charismatic businessman with genuine populist tendencies -- and for this reason feared by elites in Nigeria, Britain and the U.S. Under mortal pressure from the Nigerian army and probably also from British MI6 (as reported to me anecdotally by Prof. Abimbo.la, who was senate majority leader at the time), cowardly General Babangida cancelled the presidential election which he had organized with backing from some credible elements of civil society, and appointed Chief Ernest S.onekan (the chairman of U.A.C./Lever Brothers, Nigeria, the former Royal Niger Company) as caretaker until General Ab acha felt comfortable enough to seize overt control five months later. When Abio.la tried to reclaim his stolen presidency in June 1994, Abacha jailed him, bought off the Yoruba elite and stomped on civil society despite heroic resistance from elements of the Lagos press, many of whom had been nurtured in Abio.la's Concord publishing group (see the wonderful account by Kunle Ajibade, "Jailed for Life; a Reporter's Prison No tes", Heinemann, Ibadan, 2003, ISBN 9781295597). Abacha died in mysterious circumstances in June 1998, and a month later Abio.la (in perilously fragile health after 4 years of torture) was visited in custody by Tom Pickering, number three in Clinton's state department, accompanied by Dr. Susan Rice as political head of the Africa desk. By all reports, Pickering amplified the threats previously uttered to the prisoner by Kofi Annan, Emeka Anyao.ku. and British minister Tony Lloyd, telling Abio.la that he would never be released unless he renounced his presidency. This fact alone proves how the "international community" was unanimously complicit with the military dictatorship they postured to dislike. We knew this already when Bill Clinton himself, during his trip to South Africa in 1997, was reported by the NY Times as welcoming Abacha's plan to convert himself into a Mu seveni-like civilian dictator. Thanks a lot, Bubba! advertisement While resisting Pickering's threats, Abio.la collapsed and died literally at Pickering's feet -- shortly after Rice had served tea. Poisoning was not proved, but that was a red herring to the plain fact that our government was muscling the president elect in the interest of the gang of thugs called the Nigerian military. Abio.la's daughter Hafsat has said that she found most disgusting the kabuki theater of Pickering trying to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to her dying da d -- talk about the "kiss of death"! advertisement Abio.la's elimination conveniently cleared the way for the U.S. favored candidate, General O.basanjo. (a friend of Jimmy Carter) to be installed in a fake election in 1999, and ever since then, Nigeria has continued down the path of corruption, authoritarianism and mass misery, during the highest oil price in history. General O.basanjo. himself retired int o disgrace last year after handpicking his successor, another corrupt failure. Nigeria's agony has no end in sight. I interpret Rice's presence at Abio.la's snuff scene as her mafia-style induction into the U.S. power elite, under the watchful eye of Pickering, a notorious heavy who had previously served as our ambassador to Nigeria, the Soviet Union an d coincidentally enough the U.N. From her silence, Susan Rice saw nothing wrong with threatening the elected president of Nigeria in jail, and she has never expressed the slightest remorse at the tragic consequences -- in other words, she is now a made member and a blooded soldier in the mob. The people of Somalia, Sudan, Congo and Zimbabwe are in for a rough ride, and so is the ho pe for improved U.S. reputation in Africa. Please contact me to obtain documentary support for any of the statements in this letter. In fairness please also feel free to share this letter with Dr. Rice -- my googling skills are insufficient to locate her email address -- in case she wishes to present a specific defense. Sincerely, Victor Manfredi Research fellow African Studies Center Boston University manfredi@bu.edu Join discussion...

It was an ordinary soccer pitch: sparse tufts of grass and reddish soil surrounded by cinder-block homes. The two candidates stood on opposite sides of the field as the people of Yelwa, a town of 30,000 in central Nigeria , lined up behind them one May morning in 2002 to vote. Whoever had more supporters would lead the town’s council. And whoever led the council would control the certificates of indigeneship: the papers certifying that Yelwa was their home, and that they had a right there to land, jobs, and scholarships. Between the iron goalposts milled ethnic Jarawa, principally Muslim merchants and herders; next to them were the Tarok and Goemai, predominantly farmers and Christians. For several years, their hereditary tribal chief, a Christian, had refused certificates of indigeneship to Muslims no matter how long they’d lived in Yelwa. Without the certificates, the Muslims were second-class citizens. As the two groups waited in the heat to be counted, the meeting’s tone soured. “You could feel the tension in the air,” Abdullahi Abdullahi, a 55-year-old Muslim lawyer and community leader, said later. A tall, thin man with a space between his two front teeth and shoulders hunched around his ears in perpetual apology, he was helping to direct the crowd that day. No one knows what happened first. Someone shouted arna—infidel”—at the Christians. Someone spat the word jihadi at the Muslims. Someone picked up a stone. “That was the day ethnicity disappeared entirely, and the conflict became just about religion,” Abdullahi said. Chaos broke out, as young people on each side began to throw rocks. The candidates ran for their lives, and mobs set fire to Join discussion...

Hi all, "Now the conversation seems right "(reply to a debate about chatting out of sync by Homer Simpsons alter ego from the life of Brian recut) The Revolution has begun. The United States of Nigeria Join us http://www.9jabook.com Why Nigerians need another President . The need for a Nigerian Internet President. The options available to a population where existence has become more of an evolutionary procedure totally disparate from the creationist views will allow us to envisage an utopia of human beings in a world of their own .(goto secondlife.com) Technology in itself has created a barreness within societies where mobile phones might necessarily still be an anomaly within its hinterlands whilst the proposal by a scion from this supposed dark continent has initiated the next consciousness (The downloading of the Human Brain on the Internet see Prof Emeagwali's paper ) In a Society bereft of any morals attuned towards justice and the right of every man, woman and child to raise their head up high The need for this utopia must necessarily arise . Hence the request for a leader to coagulate us. Like milk within a womans bosom and hence feed the hungry mouths drooling for sustenance . This is the reason for the Internet President of Nigeria .The need for A Nigeria on the internet hence the United States of Nigeria. "i never kid myself about life the only thing i kid myself with is living not even death" excerpt from Franks article God is not a Woman i dont think he is a man either . Sounds a bit darkish but heck b4 light there was darkness or maybe there was always light (get it ! Lol) want more email us ! 9jabook@gmail.com The United States of Nigeria ProjeKt The Revolution has begun. Join us http://www.9jabook.com Join discussion...

SSS "propose" Firewall "proxy" for specific webites in Nigeria. With the continous clampdown on bloggers in the 9jablogosphere . An erstwhile proposal by some think Tanks within the SSS and top intelligence arms of the nigerian Government are proposing a bill to restrict access to certain websites that have been deemed virtual insurgents to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. One of our sources deep within the gossip corridors of the Nigerian Ministry of defense claims the clamping down of Bloggers like jonathan Elendu and Emmanuel emeka Asiwe will be the First phase .incidentally both journalist are still under State surveilance and not allowed to leave the country. Both journalists have been put on scrutiny and a list of such websites have been drawn up. top on their list is saharareprters.com speaking to our news reporter and wishing to remain anonymous a junior clerk within the SSS obtained Semi Classified documents that have the hitlist of such websites .These documents were previously uploaded on youtube and have been taken down after threats by the state government. It is worthy to note the increased insurgency of Chinese immmigrants to Nigeria . Most notable is the practice by the Chinese govenrment of Censoring Internet access in China.You can view the chinese internet experience by downloading the firefox extension called the china channel at http://chinachannel.hk the results will amaze you ! more to come ! Join discussion...

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition. Watch Barack Obama's inauguration live Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans. That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do. Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system c Join discussion...

Emeka Asiwe Finally Returns home ! Online Publisher Pursues N500Million Damages Against SSS. As SSS releases seized items, moves to settle out-of-court Join discussion...