According to him, out of the 168,000 corps members that were trained by the Independent National Electoral Commission to participate in the coming elections, 34,000 have passed out and can no longer participate as corps members but as ad-hoc staff. He said, “We have 168,000 (corps members) that registered for participation in the election. The 2014 Batch A that registered passed out on February 19. Our plan was to use them for the elections; but because of the postponement of the elections, we realised that we can’t use them again as that would amount to breaching NYSC rules. “They were about 34,000. We wrote to INEC to explain that they would be passing out and that we could not hold on to them. Because they were passing out, it wouldn’t be right for them to participate as corps members. But because they have been trained, we told INEC that if they wish, they could employ them as adhoc staff but they won’t wear NYSC uniform”.

A Colombian woman recently changed her name to include all 26 letters in alphabetical order. Her first name is Abcdefg Hijklmn while her last name is Opqrst Uvwxyz. Before the latest change in nomenclature, the 36-year-old was called ‘Ladyzunga Cyborg’, a name she came up with along the line. She is notorious for the act but her latest stunt is believed to be extremely bizarre. The Colombian in a recent television interview said: “I started looking for a name that nobody had in Colombia, or the world, so I thought about ABCDEFG HIJKLMN OPQRST UVWXYZ. “I’ve changed my name so people wouldn’t know it’s me. It’s not because I was disturbed by it, but because I always wanted to bring an element of surprise.” Well, she sure did surprise Colombian National Registry officials with her highly unusual request. While they’ve accepted her previous name changes with raised eyebrows, they seemed to be particularly bothered by this latest one. According to telegraph.co.uk , the ...

The Economics and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday February 19, 2015 arraigned one Chief Felix Ogbebor before Justice B. O. Quadri of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, on 8-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining money by false pretence to the tune of Seventy Seven Million Naira (N77, 000, 0000.00). The accused allegedly obtained the sum of Seventy Seven Million Naira from the Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel), Stadium Road branch, Port Harcourt for twelve and half plots of land situated at Uyo Street, Rumumasi and Port Harcourt He allegedly presented several forged documents to support the claim of ownership of the said land. But the unsuspecting church which wanted the land to build its new worship center paid the sum of Seventy Seven Million Naira (N77, 000,000.000) to the accused. However, when they attempted to take possession of the land, they were stopped. One Professor Ebi Awotua Efebo came with documents, showing that the la...

A man, whom the Chadian military say they have taken prisoner for belonging to insurgent group Boko Haram, is seen in Gambaru February 26, 2015. The Chadian military nicknamed the man "the Butcher". Niger, Cameroon and Chad have launched a regional military campaign to help Nigeria defeat the Boko Haram insurgency, which aims to carve an Islamic emirate out of northeastern Nigeria. *2 A boy, who the Chadian military say is the son of a Boko Haram fighter the Chadian military killed during battle, stands next to soldiers in Gambaru, February 26, 2015. 3 A man suspected of being a member of insurgent group Boko Haram sits tied up in the field base of Chadian soldiers in Gambaru, February 26, 2015. Source : http://mobile.reuters.com/slideshow?articleId=USRTR4RFZ0&irpc=932

Contending with poverty, Adegboye Oluwadare Adebare, 24, an indigene of Modakeke, Ife-East Local Government Area of Osun State, rides an Okada (commercial motorbike) to make a living. He also hopes to pay his way through the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State. He is supposed to be in part three in the Department of Theatre and Media Arts, but he is currently battling for reinstatement, having fallen a year behind be­cause he could not pay his fees on time at the 200 level. He told Daily Sun that he asked for withdrawal for a semester, because he could not pay the school fees. Unfortunately, he has not only lost a whole session, but has now been asked by the school authority to withdraw for failing to pay school fees for that session. In the letter by the school’s Faculty Officer, Humanities and Social Sciences, the school said his inability to complete the 200 level and his failure to pay up the school fees, violated the school’s regula­tions and therefo...

Canadian Special Forces participating in military training in southeast Niger, near the border with Nigeria, were ordered to withdraw recently to avoid battling with Boko Haram Islamists, the military said on Thursday. The troops had been posted to the town of Diffa, where the government of Niger declared a state of emergency on February 11 following attacks in the region that borders Boko Haram’s stronghold in the north of Nigeria. The Canadians are participating in US-sponsored counter-terrorism training that started on February 16 and is due to wrap up on March 9. The annual programme has 1,300 troops from 19 countries training militaries in five African countries in shooting, movement, communications and mission planning. Dominique Tessier from Canada’s defence department did not say how many Canadians were at risk of confrontation with Boko Haram, but noted in an email to AFP that “several members” were relocated from Diffa to other areas such as Agadez and Niamey...

Gunmen on Thursday again kidnapped an educationist in Kogi State, Paulina Audu. The victim, who is a retired headmistress, was abducted by gunmen at her residence at Nagazi , in Adavi Local Government Area of the state at about 5am. Our correspondent  gathered that the victim was kidnapped as she was on her way for morning devotion in an unnamed church. A source told journalists in Lokoja that Audu attended morning devotion in her church. The source, who craved anonymity for fear of threat to her life, said the retired headmistress was coming out of her house to attend the devotion when the bandits,  who had led siege to her residence, suddenly emerged, pointed gun at her and bundled her into her vehicle in which the driver was waiting to covey the headmistress to church. The gunmen were said to have dragged her driver out of the vehicle and driven the woman away to an unknown destination. Police Publ...

Pandemonium broke out in the Mosafejo, Oshodi-Isale area of Lagos State, after rival groups said to be members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, clashed on Tuesday evening and early Wednesday. Four people were reportedly killed, while several others were injured in the fracas which was stopped after the intervention of security agencies. PUNCH M etro gathered that no fewer than 15 commercial buses were set on fire, while 12 others were vandalised. Makeshift stalls in the Mosafejo Motor Park were also torched, leaving traders in the park mourning their losses. When PUNCH Metro visited the scene of the incident on Wednesday, the atmosphere was still tense as men of the Nigeria Police Force and some soldiers were observed patrolling the area. The motor park, usually filled with vehicles, was deserted as the police armoured tanks and patrol vans took over the space. Broken bottles, shards of glass from shattered windscreens and pebbles, said to have b...