Hoodlums attack community in Ajah, injure 3 over land

Not the actual photo3 people sustained injuries after some hoodlums attacked Alabeko community in the Ajah area of Lagos State. During the attack, some buildings in the community were reportedly damaged. Residents said the group, suspected to be members of the Oodua People’s Congress, wielded weapons such as cutlasses, knives and sticks. They were said to have been aided by policemen from Mopol 20, Ikeja, Lagos. A resident said trouble started on Saturday shortly after a meeting between some indigenes and residents.Around 12.30pm on Saturday, the land owners who were indigenes held a meeting with residents over the illegal encroachment into their property by a land prospector, Rotimi Orimisan. The land owners said they did not sell their land to Orimisan. “After the meeting with the land owners, we were within the estate when some OPC thugs attacked us with cutlasses, broken bottles and other weapons. “During the attack, a former General Secretary of the community, Rotimi Ojo, was stabbed in his right hand with a bottle. We rushed him to Doren Specialist Hospital, Ajiwe, Ajah. He is still there.” A resident, Olaseni Obafemi, was hit on the head with a shovel. Another member of the community was said to have been attacked in his home and his wife, who was visually-impaired, beaten up. The Chairman of Alabeko Estate Residents Association, Mr. Uba Offorbuike, said he was shocked that the policemen joined in the attack. He said residents were flogged with horsewhips, while the policemen used tear gas to send people out of their homes. He said, “I was shocked when the policemen, who are supposed to play a neutral role, joined them to attack us. Ojo was stabbed with a bottle in his right hand. As we speak, we have spent over N400, 000 on medical bills because of the emergency operation. “As law-abiding citizens of this country, we are disappointed in the police because they failed to defend the people.” When contacted on Monday, Orimisan denied the allegation, saying he bought 48 acres of land from the state government and got an acquisition letter from the Govt. He denied using thugs to foment trouble in the community. He said, “The land in question belongs to the New Town Development Authority. We had initially turned to theomo onile(land owners) to buy the land, but we were told it was an acquisition land and was under the control of the state government. “Though we had paid some money to theomo onile, we still decided to meet with the government and we paid huge sum of money for the land and were given our acquisition letter. We also paid more than N18m for the survey. “If those indigenes are insisting that the land belongs to them, they should approach the government for compensation or go to the court. We are law–abiding citizens and it was when their trouble became too much that we petitioned the Inspector General of Police who sent some policemen to watch over the place.” The Police Public Relations Officer, Kenneth Nwosu, said, “Investigations are ongoing to find out what really happened.

FG, states, others owe construction firms over N600bn

Construction companies in Nigeria, under the aegis of the Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI), have expressed concern over the high amount of debt the Federal, state and local governments owe the construction industry which they claim is over N600 billion. According to the body, which is the umbrella group for building and civil engineering contractors, sub-contractors, and plant and equipment suppliers, the Federal Government alone owes its members over N600 billion. President of FOCI, Mr. Solomon Ogunbusola, who made this known at the 59th Annual General Meeting of the body, in Abuja said ex-President Goodluck Jonathan gave the construction industry so much work to do without money to execute them. He said: “We are not finding it funny; the bigger ones and smaller ones are finding it extremely difficult. In the construction industry, we are working below 30 percent capacity. “If you are living in Abuja, for example, at the early hours of 4,5 and 6 a.m, you would see trucks of construction companies coming into Abuja because the workers will have to resume but now you don’t see the trucks including Julius Berger, Stabilini etc coming in.” “Some of us have closed; we closed the company. We are only resuming in the office for the purpose of continuity and I want my message to be brought out clear as I am saying, we can’t hide it. It is unfortunate that the construction company can’t go and carry placards and start going around saying ‘we are in recession.’ If it is something we can do, we would have done it long ago. “The Federal Government owes the construction industry over N600 biilion. I can mention three companies that the government alone owes over N200 billion: Julius Berger, N70bn; MCC, over N70bn; Setraco, over N80bn. Those are the ones I am sure of the exact figures even S&M which is a growing company is being owed over N800m. “We have never had it so bad like in the last two years because the payments were not coming forth and because we don’t know what to do, we have to just cry aloud.”Ogunbusola, said FOCI’s 126 registered member companies are using less than 30 % of their staff strength due to mass retrenchment. He further said that FOCI had contributed a great measure to the construction of modern Nigeria since its incorporation in 1954, hence doesn't think it's fair they aren't getting paid He said: “It is distressing to observe that many construction firms are just going to work for the sake of continuity as many of them are on the verge of collapse due to huge debts owned by the federal, states and local governments. “We wish to bring to the notice of President Muhammadu Buhari; Senate President Senator Olusola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker, Yusuf Dogara that the construction companies generally are working at 30 per cent capacity following the mass retrenchment of our workers due to the delay/non-payment of certified jobs by various arms of government.”

Meet Miley Cyrus' older brother, Trace Cyrus

For those who don't know him, this is Miley Cyrus' older brother, 27 year old Trace Cyrus with his on and off girlfriend, 26-year-old musician, Brenda Song. Trace is with the band Metro Station and is known for having lots and lots of tattoos that cover most of his upper body.Brenda on the other hand is best known for her work on Disney's The Suite Life Of Zack & CodyThe two began dating in 2010 and were engaged in 2011but broke it off. More photos after the cut...

Demi Moore shows off her 52 year old bikini bod (photos)

Bruce Willis' and Ashton Kutcher's former wife, 52 year old actress Demi Moore's body looks amazing. She's pictured above frolicking in the beach and in a photo with her daughters Scout, 23 and Tallulah, 21. More beautiful photos after the cut...

Buhari says the US and others will assist Nigeria recover stolen funds

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said his administration had received firm assurance from the United States and other countries recover and return funds stolen from Nigeria. According to a statement by the President's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President said it was now up to Nigeria to provide the international community with the facts and figures needed to drive the recovery effort. He said: “In the next three months, our administration will be busy getting those facts and the figures to help us recover our stolen funds in foreign countries,” Adesina quoted the President as saying.The president made this statement to members of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Citing the report submitted by the Ahmed Joda-led transition committee, President Buhari said that several revenue-generating institutions in the country had been compromised. In regards to insecurity, the President said traditional rulers would play a key role in stemming terrorism and insurgency in the country. This, he said, they would do by assisting the government with cost-effective intelligence gathering. Buhari also assured the traditional rulers that his administration was working hard to end insecurity and terrorism in the country in the shortest possible time with the cooperation of neighbouring countries and the international community. Acknowledging that Nigerians expected a lot from his administration, the President appealed for patience and understanding while his government works diligently to speedily overcome the huge national challenges it inherited. The Sultan had earlier presented the Northern Traditional Rulers’ recommendations to the President on issues related to national development.

CEO of Jay Z's Tidal quits after just 2 months

More hard times for Tidal, as its latest CEO, Peter Tonstad, has left the company just after 2 months on the job. The high-definition music streaming site was purchased for $56 million back in March by hip-hop business mogul Jay Z and it became a private company. It has had its ups and downs but it's still going on strong, well except for the CEO leaving the company. Peter Tonstad, was a former CEO of Tidal's parent company Aspiro Group, as interim chief executive before he became the CEO of Tidal on April 17th 2015. He didn't tell the public why he resigned, he just did. Tidal released this statement: “We can confirm interim CEO Peter Tonstad is no longer with the company. We are thankful to Peter for stepping in as interim CEO and wish him the best for the future. Tidal will be transitioning to a permanent CEO as part of our strategic plan to create a leading platform, and current executives in New York and Oslo will continue to lead our rapidly developing innovation and content initiatives until our new CEO is in place.”It remains to be seen whether a replacement is waiting in the wings with an even better understanding of the industry, but the news caps a tumultuous period for Tidal, after its starry relaunch press conference was widely seen as a misfire.

Mother killed, baby injured, when tree limb falls on playground

A 16-year-old Polk County mother was killed Friday when a tree limb fell on her and her young son. LaRena Drayton was killed in Peek Park when the limb fell while she and 1-year-old Jeremiah Drayton were sitting on a park bench. According to LaRena’s sister, the young mom had just moved her son from the baby swings to a park bench when they heard “something crack.” She says, LaRena tried to run with Jeremiah in her arms but they weren’t fast enough. LaRena was knocked unconscious and later died while Jeremiah was flown to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in Sandy Springs with a skull fracture. Cedartown Parks and Recreation said in a statement, “Our hearts have been heavy since learning of the tragic accident at Peek Park. The passing of Miss Drayton has left our city saddened and we grieve alongside the family for a life that was undoubtedly cut short. We continue to pray for the recovery of Miss Drayton’s young son who was seriously injured in the accident. We ask that everyone keep the entire family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.” A spokesperson for the department says it is investigating why the tree limb fell but that right now it looks like a healthy tree and a freak accident.