John Odigie-Oyegun's daughter weds in Lagos (photos)

The Chairman of APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, gave his daughter, Eniyemamwen's hand in marriage to Umaso Eketu, a Flying officer, at a church wedding which took place at the Arch bishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral yesterday January 30th. The reception took place  at the Haven‎ Event Centre. Some of the guests at the wedding were Senate President Bukola Saraki, Ogun state governor Ibikunle Amosun, Minister of Science and Technology Ogbonnaya Onu, APC Chieftain Bisi Akande, Senator Dino Melaye and others.

Reverend father Mbaka leaves for his new parish

Reverend Father Ejike Camillus Mbaka yesterday relocated to his new duty post at Our Lady Parish, Umuchigbo, Njinike accompanied by hundreds of his parishioners admirers and well wishers.

He was recently transferred from Christ the King parish, GRA, Enugu where he had, over the years, built a cult like fellowship on the strength of precision of most of his prophecies and miracles recorded during prayer sessions at his Adoration Centre .

Mbaka prophesised the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of last election and also warned him last month of a plot to kill him.

His followers believe his transfer is a punishment.

Mbaka himself said yesterday that his posting is a witch hunt.

As early as 7am yesterday, a crowd had started forming at the Christ the King (CKP) GRA, Enugu preparatory for the movement.

Several lorry loads, buses and cars filled with people lined the streets as he made his way to Emene.

Band groups dished out music to which people were dancing.

Some were overcome by emotion that they broke down in tears.

Social and economic activities along the major streets came to a temporary halt.

The journey lasted about four hours.

It was a triumphal exit sort of.Mbaka addressed the crowd and said: “I know we are going to suffer between now and a few months to come. I am going to suffer and suffer. I know that.

“I’m going to suffer because I have no place to put my head. I am going to suffer because I have no place to keep the Adoration Ministry’s assets.

“I know I’m going to suffer. Fortunately, it is going to happen in the month of lent. So, I am going to use my exit here as a Lenten observance but Jesus said it all in John 16:20 to his apostles that you will be sorrowful and the world will be rejoicing but very soon I will turn your sorrow to joy.

“But for now I know you are going to suffer. The Adoration Ministry is passing through suffering right now even though I’ve accepted that is the will of God. Is the will of God through suffering? It is a mega suffering

“The quantum of the assets of the Adoration Ministry is the only thing I am bothered about for now.

“Where am I going to keep them? I am going to stay in one small room that has only one small bed, one small table, little toilet and bathroom. So where am I going to keep all the adoration assets?

“My clothing and books I can keep in the car or somebody’s house but where will I keep these assets that I have given to the Catholic church of Enugu?

“But I say may God take the glory and whoever that has offended me, I have forgiven.

“I won’t fight anybody or even dream of battling anybody. If anybody allows the devil to use him, the same that advised you to make a mistake will laugh at you when you cry over the error. The baby is born, there is no going back.

“We are moving out. We have been doing it and we will do it again. Moses was going out with a rod in his hand, Mbaka is moving out with his Bible and this nobody can take away from me.”

Decrying what he described as “attempt by some persons to politicise the church”, by feeding the Bishop falsely, he declared: “I am giving God the glory and I welcome the church’s choice and action with absolute acceptance and obedience.

“So there is no negation to what God has approved and what the church suggested. Nobody should see me as a recalcitrant priest. I am not.

“I have taken an oath of obedience and I stand on it. I pray God to bless all of you who in one way or the other have supported the work of God here and those who have sincerely allowed God to use him or her for the work we did here all these years.

“God will bless the people of God here and reward you according

to your labour. The parish is not going to collapse; the church will continue to grow.”

He likened his posting to Njinike to the journey of the Israelites out of Egypt.

His words: “God has planned a future and hope out of disaster and where I am going. He will go before me to level mountains.

“The Bible says that He will deliver me from all evil; He will keep my going out and coming in both now and forever… I am praying that God will keep his church and my fellow adorers so that our journey to Umuchigbo will be a journeyof Israelites out of Egypt.

“Some of them were grumbling leaving Egyptian soil because they were having the phobia for the unknown but

I am telling you people as a courageous leader, do not be afraid.

“We are moving and in not distant time, you people are going to smile.”

Dad arrested for taking daughters phone as punishment

When Ronald Jackson found a text he thought was rude and inappropriate on his then-12-year-old daughter’s phone in September 2013, he took the cell away. But the child’s mother, Michelle Steppe, got mad at his action and she called the police.

WFAA reported that the 36-year-old, who hails from Grande Prairie, Texas, had been charged with theft of property of at least $50 but under $500 after confiscating his daughter’s iPhone 4 when he found an inappropriate text in September 2013.

 

Shortly thereafter, Jackson recieved a citation for the “theft,” a Class C misdemeanor. Jackson was then offered a plea deal in January 2014 if he returned the phone, attained legal representation, and requested a jury trial.

That’s when the city attorney’s office refiled the case with a harsher offense, a Class B misdemeanor, punishable to up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.

 

After a warrant was placed on him, Jackson was arrested and taken into custody in April 2015, but managed to post the $1,500 bail to avoid incarceration during his trial.

Eventually, the judge ordered for Jackson to be found not guilty, citing insufficient evidence to continue the case.

Jackson described the ordeal to CBSDFW:

“I was being a parent. You know, a child does something wrong, you teach them what’s right. You tell them what they did wrong and you give them a punishment to show that they shouldn’t be doing that.”

The teen’s mother, Michelle Steppe, told the court on Monday that she called police the day that Jackson took the phone, and that they went to Jackson’s home and asked for the iPhone back, but Jackson refused.

Jackson defended his actions to WFFA:

“At that point, I decided the police don’t interfere with my ability to parent my daughter.”

But Steppe felt she was justified, as she told WFAA:

“You can’t take someone’s property, regardless if you’re a parent or not.”

Jackson reportedly was not a part of his daughter’s life until she was seven years old, but following the incident, he told CBSDFW that he “can’t ever have a relationship with them again.”

 

He was offered a plea deal in January 2014 if he would return the phone. Instead, Jackson hired an attorney and requested a jury trial.

The case moved to Dallas County and, unbeknownst to Jackson, a warrant was issued for his arrest. The police showed up at his door around 2 a.m. in April 2015, and Jackson was handcuffed and taken to jail.

“It made no sense to me for them to show up and make a big deal out of something that was a small thing,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t believe they would go to this extent for a cellphone. It didn’t seem right.” He posted $1,500 bail and was released after a night in jail.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” John Cook, one of Jackson’s defense attorneys, told KHOU Wednesday. “You would think we were on the Jerry Springer Show.”

After just a two-day trial in which Jackson’s daughter, now 15, testified Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Lisa Green ordered the jury to find Jackson not guilty, citing insufficient evidence to prove a theft charge.

 

Steppe disagrees with the verdict. “Even if you purchase something with your own money and have a receipt, it’s not yours,” she said. “Someone can take it from you.”

 

He is now filing a Federal complaint of civil rights violation due to the way he was treated by police and the city attorney’s office. WFAA reports that Michelle Steppe’s fiance is an officer with the Grande Prairie police force.

Lady dies of Lassa fever in Lagos

A 27 year old lady died from Lassa fever in Lagos on Tuesday January 26th. ‎Confirming her death, the Lagos state Commissioner for Health, Jide Idris, said the lady died of the disease at the Ijede General Hospital. She is said to have traveled to Lagos from Edo state on January 2nd and had been down with a fever.

"The lady had received care in one private hospital and three churches before she was referred to Ijede General Hospital with fever. She died few hours of admission. We confirmed that she died of Lassa fever on Tuesday. The remains of the patient have been kept in the morgue in leak proof body bag. She is to be buried after due consultation with her family. So far, Lagos State has recorded 20 suspected cases of Lassa fever since the outbreak of the disease. As of now, 14 suspected cases tested negative, while four cases were confirmed positive of Lassa fever. The results of two suspected cases are pending. The ministry has listed 537 contacts of the confirmed cases and 534 of the contacts are currently being monitored.”‎he said

This will be the second Lassa fever death in Lagos. A 51 year old man who also traveled to Lagos from Edo state died of the disease last week.

Lagos places residents on red alert over the Lassa fever outbreak

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday said it was doing everything possible to defeat the deadly Lassa fever like it did during the outbreak of Ebola virus, just as it urged residents of the state to be on red alert by embracing personal and environmental hygiene.
The government also advised residents to block all holes in their homes through which rats could gain entrance, and also refrain from eating rat meat as well as any food already contaminated with urine, saliva and faeces of infected rat.

While briefing journalists on the update of the Lassa fever cases in the State, Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, confirmed that so far, the state has recorded 20 suspected cases, out of which 14 tested negative, while 4 cases were confirmed positive.

Idris, who addressed the media alongside the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga, said three results were still being awaited, while 537 contacts have so far been listed, out of which 534 were currently being monitored.

He disclosed that the last confirmed case was a 27-year-old lady who travelled to Edo state on December 24, 2015 and returned to Lagos on January 2, 2016.

The Commissioner said the lady, who reportedly travelled for burial of her relative, became ill on January 14, 2016 and received care in one private hospital and three churches before she was referred on January 23, 2016 to Ijede General Hospital with fever, vomiting, diarrhea and body weakness.

He added that the patient eventually died within few hours of admission, while the case was confirmed as Lassa fever on January 26, 2016.

The remains of the diseased, according to Idris, has been kept in the morgue in leak proof body bag, while she would be buried after due consultation with her family.Out of that case alone, the Commissioner said 90 persons have so far been listed as contacts as at January 26, 2016, while contact tracing is currently on-going.

Giving information on the disease, Idris said: “Members of the public are being sensitized to note that Lassa fever can be contacted through: ingestion of foods and drinks contaminated by the saliva, urine and faeces of infected rats; catching and preparing infected rats as food; inhaling tiny particles in the air contaminated with infected rat urine or droppings, and direct contact with a sick person’s blood or body fluids, through mucous membranes like eyes, nose or mouth.”

While assuring that Lagos State under the leadership of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode would continue to provide quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to the people towards achieving universal healthcare to all, the Commissioner assured that the government would overcome Lassa fever just as it defeated Ebola virus disease.

Besides, the Commissioner urged residents to maintain basic environmental sanitation, including proper disposal of refuse and avoiding open defecation. He further asked the residents to embrace regular hand washing with soap and water, and maintain high level of personal hygiene as well as adequate nutrition.

While advocating early report of suspected cases, the Commissioner also urged health workers adhere strictly to infection control measures, while mortuary personnel must wear elbow-length gloves, face mask, gowns and other personal protective equipment while attending to remains of dead patients.SIGNED
HABIB ARUNA
CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY
JANUARY 27, 2016

Sweden intends to expel up to 80,000 migrants

Sweden intends to expel up to 80,000 migrants who arrived in 2015 and whose application for asylum has been rejected, Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said Wednesday.

"We are talking about 60,000 people but the number could climb to 80,000," the minister was quoted as saying by Swedish media, adding that the government had asked the police and authorities in charge of migrants to organise their expulsion.

The proposed measure was announced as Europe struggles to deal with a crisis that has seen tens of thousands of migrants arrive on Greek beaches, with the passengers -- mostly fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan -- undeterred by cold wintry conditions.
 

The UN says more than 46,000 people have arrived in Greece so far this year, with more than 170 people killed making the dangerous crossing.
 

Ygeman said the expulsions, normally carried out using commercial flights, would have to be done using specially chartered aircraft, given the large numbers, staggered over several years.

Sweden, which is home to 9.8 million people, is one of the European Union countries that has taken in the largest number of refugees in relation to its population. Sweden accepted more than 160,000 asylum seekers last year.
 

But the number of migrant arrivals has dropped dramatically since Sweden enacted systematic photo ID checks on travellers on January 4.

Swedish officials on Tuesday called for greater security at overcrowded asylum centres a day after the fatal stabbing of an employee at a refugee centre for unaccompanied youths.

The alleged attacker was a young male residing at a centre for youngsters aged 14 to 17 in Molndal near Gothenburg on Sweden's west coast.

The employee was 22-year-old Alexandra Mezher, according to Swedish media reports, whose family was originally from Lebanon. A motive for the attack was not immediately clear.

Her death has led to questions about overcrowded conditions inside some centres, with too few adults and employees to take care of children, many traumatised by war.
 

In neighbouring Denmark, meanwhile, the government this week approved legislation to seize the valuables of refugees in the hope of limiting the flow of migrants.

AFP

Nurse who faked cancer and pocketed $25k in donations arrested

Police arrested a Georgia medical professional who they say for years duped kind-hearted loved ones and strangers into thinking she had Stage IV ovarian cancer to walk away with at least $25,000 in donations, free trips and gifts.

Mary Bennett, 29, spoke of her battle with cancer on social media for years, writing about the things she still wanted to cross off her “bucket list” and thanking friends for their generosity as they donated to her cause, the Forsyth County Sheriff's office told INSIDE EDITION.

 

The licensed practical nurse's ambitions to live life to the fullest inspired those around Bennett, who officials said was treated to a wide range of experiences financed through fundraisers and gifts.

Trips and experiences included skydiving, a trip to New Orleans, a hot air balloon ride and a trip to Houston, Texas for a supposed medical treatment made possible by a local fundraiser that brought in $4,000, officials said.

“I just wanted to tell you all, thank you! I am so very appreciative for the donations and the orders that people have placed… It's certainly hard going thru cancer at any age. But for this to be the 2nd time in my short 27 years has certainly made me wiser and humbled,” Bennett wrote on a Facebook page created to raise funds for her cause.

Bennett, whose Twitter bio noted she was “a nurse... I’m also an Ovarian Cancer Survivor!” claimed to have been diagnosed with Stage III ovarian cancer in 2013. She wrote on Facebook that she was laid off from her job in August of that year and was struggling to pay her bills.

“I can promise that once I'm better I will pay forward your kind acts through my career as a nurse and through donations,” she wrote. “Again thank you all so much! It truly means the world to me!”

But Bennett had never been diagnosed with cancer, according to officials and that there was no record of her receiving treatment anywhere.

“Her family was completely in the dark. She would go to these doctors and her family would take her, but no one ever actually went in with her. She was not actually having procedures,” Deputy Epifanio Rodriguez with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said. 

At one point, Bennett allegedly claimed the cancer had spread to her brain and to her brainstem, he said. She allegedly said that she needed to undergo a special Gamma Knife procedure at the cancer hospital  MD Anderson to battle the four tumors found. 

"She went to the extreme and shaved her head, put bandages on her head," Rodriguez said. 

She explained away the lack of scars from such procedures by saying "It was a miracle,".

Bennett was charged with misdemeanor theft by taking and felony first-degree forgery, according to reports.

She was hit with the latter charge after she allegedly provided investigators with forged letters from Emory Winship Cancer Institute to prove that she was a patient receiving treatment. 

"We found out it was a fraudulent signature," Rodriguez said. "Not only were told 'we never treated her,' but also 'we have no idea who Mary Bennett' is."

Rodriguez said the misdemeanor theft charge could be upgraded to a felony if investigators find more people with proof that they were allegedly victimized by Bennett. 

"We've had about a dozen (additional) people call us saying that they were victims," he said. "There's evidence that she was doing this since 2010," he continued. "In the State of Georgia, that is a crime. You cannot deceive people into getting funds from them. It is a crime."