[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nigerian police said they have smashed two gun running and arms dealing ring and a gang of robbers and kidnappers in the Benue-Taraba axis, making 11 arrests. Among the suspects arrested was one Miracle Emmanuel, a 27 year-old gun dealer from Anambra, based in Takum, Taraba state. With his three-man gang, the police found five Ak-47 rifles, along with other ammunitions.

Police said they recovered in total 10 AK 47 rifles and two Beretta pistols from the 11 suspects paraded today at the Benue police headquarters in Makurdi and claimed the arrests were a major breakthrough in stopping the incessant killing of innocent people in the Middle Belt states of Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa.

In Benue state, Morris Ashwe,  36 years old from  Mbajima Village Katsina Ala LGA, was the sole armourer arrested. He was accused of supplying arms to the wanted criminal kingpin, Terwase Akwaza a.k.a Ghana.

According to Jimoh Moshood,  Ashwe  was found in possession of five AK 47 rifles, 238 AK47 bullets, 40 Smoke Grenade Canisters and  79 LAR Rifle bullets. The busted  gun dealing gang in Taraba state comprised Takum-based  Kabiru Idris, 43, Miracle Emmanuel from Anambra state, said to be a  principal suspect and gang leader.  Also arrested was Husseini Safiyanu, also from Taraba.

Police said they found five AK47 Rifles with the Taraba gang, along with 13 AK 47 magazines and 83 bullets.

The Police spokesman also said a seven-man robbery and kidnapping gang was arrested in Benue, along with two Beretta pistols. The gang was on its way to kidnap a prominent person in Makurdi, the state capital.

Members of the gang were identified as  Emmanuel Ushehemba Kwembe, 28, Achir Gabriel, 30, all from Ushongo LGA, Sekad Uver, 28, from Koshisha LGA Benue State and  Ordure Fada, 22, from Kwande LGA.

Others arrested were Stephen Jirgba 18, from Vande kya LGA, Peter Lorham, 24, from Kinshisha LGA and  Lorhemen Akwambe 35, who hails from Guma LGA. “The renewed strategies adopted by the Nigeria Police Force to stop the incessant killings of innocent Nigerians and curtail the proliferation of firearms across the country, most especially in the North-Central States have been yielding positive results”, the police spokesman said.

“The IGP Intelligence Response Team and the Police Special Forces mandated by the IGP to work with Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba State Commands, in the last two weeks arrested the 11 suspects mentioned above within Benue and Taraba States and recovered from them were Ten (10) AK47 Rifles and other assorted firearms and ammunition.

” In the first two cases, the suspects confessed to have been responsible for supply of AK47 rifles and other firearms and ammunition to armed bandits, militias, and criminal herdsmen/farmers in Benue and Taraba States.

” The first suspect, Morris Ashwe confessed and admitted to have been supplying firearms and ammunition to the notorious and most wanted vicious and notorious gang leader of militia, murderers and kidnappers Terwase Akwaza aka Ghana.

Akwaza was declared wanted by the Nigeria Police Force last year  March over  the  killings of many innocent persons at Zaki Biam and the wanton destruction of properties worth Millions of Naira.

He is also wanted for other violent crimes such as  the killing of Mr. Deneen Igbana,  the Special Adviser on Security to the Governor of Benue State. The police said the Kabiru Idris gang confessed to have been supplying AK47 rifles and other firearms and ammunition to militia groups, armed bandits and other criminals in Taraba and Benue States,  who they admitted have been attacking and killing innocent people in villages in Taraba and Benue States.

As for the kidnappers, whose mission was aborted, the police said their arrest was made possible from intelligence gathered by the IGP Intelligence Response Team. The police said the gangsters have admitted to have been responsible for several kidnappings in Benue, Taraba and Some part of Nasarawa State in the recent past.

“Investigation is being strengthened to arrest other suspects at large. All suspects will be arraigned in court on completion of investigation.

” The deployment of additional 15 Police mobile Force units to augment the strength of the Benue State Police Command has beefed-up security in the State and help in sustaining the peace that have been restored to the state”, Moshood said.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t least 17 people have died in an area of northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where health officials confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. Congo’s ministry of health said in a statement on Tuesday that two cases of the virus have been confirmed by laboratory tests following 21 patients displaying signs of hemorrhagic fever in Ikoko Impenge, near the town of Bikoro, in the central African nation.

Health officials took samples from five suspected Ebola cases in Bikoro, in Equateur Province, to be tested at the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale in the capital, Kinshasa, it added.At least 17 deaths in the region over the past five weeks are suspected to be linked to the outbreak but have not been confirmed as Ebola cases.

“Our country is facing another epidemic of the Ebola virus, which constitutes an international public health emergency,” Congo’s health ministry said. The deployment of “well-trained human resources” was made to “rapidly control” the outbreak, it said.

Ebola, which has no proven cure, killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa from 2013-16 as it swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

International response

The average fatality rate among those infected with the Ebola virus is about 50 percent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO said in a tweet on Tuesday it received confirmation of the outbreak from Congo officials after two out of the five samples analysed in Kinshasa tested positive for Ebola.

A team of WHO experts – alongside regional health officials and staff from international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – are travelling to Bikoro as part of a coordinated medical response.

WHO released $1m from its contingency fund for emergencies to help Congo contain the virus.

“WHO is closely working with other partners, including MSF, to ensure a strong response to support the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to prevent and control the spreading of the disease from the epicentre,” said Dr Allarangar Yokouide, WHO’s representative in Congo.

How Ebola is contracted

The latest cases come less than a year after the Congo’s last confirmed Ebola outbreak in May 2017, during which eight people were infected, four of whom died.

Ebola, discovered in 1976, is contracted by humans through contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals, typically fruit bats, chimpanzees, gorillas and monkeys.

The virus, which can cause multiple organ failures, is passed human-to-human by contact through the mouth, nose, or broken skin with blood or other bodily fluids of those infected.

Early symptoms of Ebola include fever, muscle pain, and fatigue followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes and bleeding – both internal and external – apparent in the gums, eyes, nasal passages and faeces.

Ebola takes its name from Congo’s Ebola River, a tributary of the River Congo. (Al Jazeera and News Agencies)

…Gives Customers Freedom to Shop Across Devices, Channels

 

Developed by MasterCard International in partnership with Facebook, Master Pass ‘Quick Response’ (QR), allows payment collection by SMEs through Facebook Messenger and delivers unified and instant self-service across a range of interconnected payment solutions.

Like LEO, the acclaimed artificial intelligence payment solution introduced by the Africa’s global bank, UBA,  Master Pass ‘Quick Response’ (QR)is a a chat Bot, currently available via Facebook Messenger as Masterpass QR for Merchants

With this development, customers are given the freedom to shop across devices and channels. With Masterpass QR for Merchants, small and informal micro merchants, large corporates and governments now have access to fast, simple and secure digital payments options, a  global digital system that allows people pay for services using mobile phones.

In addition, Individuals can now make purchases via merchant apps, in-store or online by simply clicking the Masterpass button and authenticating to complete a transaction. All a user simply needs to do is Scan the QR Code generated by the merchants to pay. Making transactions for both the merchant and customer fast and seamless.

Speaking on the development, Group Executive, Digital & Consumer Banking, Anant Rao, said: “Our customers are at the heart of our business, that’s why we keep going the extra mile to satisfy them. As we very well know Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) contribute significantly to the economy but remain heavily dependent on cash to run their business; however, consumers are demanding safer and more convenient ways to pay.  The innovative new platform enables micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria receive digital payments from millions of customers by simply scanning”

He noted that, access to mobile technology presents an opportunity to meet this demand, and the new UBA Masterpass QR Merchant App is set to change the payment landscape to the benefit of micro merchants across the country.

Rao further explained that, Banking is going conversational and UBA in partnership with Facebook is at the forefront of driving this innovation globally. “It is 100% self-service and generation of the QR is immediate. Acceptance of payments can begin immediately the QR is generated, it is making banking simple”

The announcement follows the Pan African commitment made by UBA to introduce safer and more convenient ways to pay for goods and services in Nigeria and across the continent.  “As a group, we are committed to driving financial inclusion and empowering businesses across Africa. Our partnership with Mastercard enables us to deploy safe digital solutions for customers, and the UBA Masterpass QR Merchant App is just such a solution,” said Rao.

Rao, confirmed that UBA will be working with other Mastercard partners that are experts in their respective fields thereby further supporting the local industry. “By using Masterpass, our customers can know with confidence that they are paying with trusted technology, whether they are a small business buying equipment at an office supply store or a family of four dining at their favourite neighbourhood restaurant.

Earlier this year, UBA launched a chat banking personality named LEO that enables its customers to make use of their Facebook chat function to carry out key banking transactions.

LEO, allows customers to open new accounts, receive instant transaction notifications, check their balances on the go, transfer funds and airtime top up. You can also confirm cheques, pay bills, apply for loans, freeze accounts, ask for mini statements, among other things and even check the weather.

UBA, Africa’s global bank, is one of the largest commercial banks in Nigeria incorporated which operates in 19 African countries whilst providing a wide range of products and services. UBA is a leading bank in infrastructure financing particularly in the Power, Telecoms and Transport sectors. UBA leads in social infrastructure such as hospital and education facilities to various countries in Africa. In Nigeria, the bank operates in each of the country’s 36 states, helping to deepen financial inclusion through its brick and mortar network as well as through its cutting edge digital platforms. Globally, UBA has over 1,000 branches and customer touch points, serving over 14 million customers.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] strange sight was witnessed in Akwa Ibom State where a woman allegedly turned into a snake during sex with her lover in a hotel. The story of how a woman turned into a snake while having sex with a man inside a hotel room in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, may sound strange and rather out of this world, but a journalist based in the state, swore that it happened in real life and he was a witness to it.

According to what he reported, the middle-aged man had taken the lady he met along a road in the town, to a hotel to have sex with her in the hotel but he met the shock of his life when the woman allegedly turned into a mammoth reptile.
“The incident took place on Friday when the man took the lady to a three Star hotel in Eket metropolis (name of hotel withheld). The man checked in with the light complexion woman apparently in her mid-thirties to have a nice time but it turned out to be his worse nightmare.

Upon arriving the hotel, the pair sat at the bush bar and ordered for fresh fish pepper soup. According to the man, the lady opted for just drinks as she told him that she doesn’t eat sea foods. Instead, she opted for a bottle of red wine.
After having few bottles of drinks, the couple retired to their room. While in there, the man said he observed that she took so much time in the rest room which warranted him to knock on the door frequently, but she kept answering that she will soon be through.

According to the man, when she finally came out, she told him not to touch her head while they made love, telling him that she had a severe headache and suggested that the red wine may have caused it.
The man said that when they started having sex, the lady started wriggling her body on the bed like a snake but he admitted that he didn’t give serious thought to it ‘as he was enjoying the action.’

The man who is in his mid-forties, said as soon as he had his orgasm and got up from her body, he noticed that her entire body was fast changing to a snake. He said he was overwhelmed by fear and jumped out of the room naked and raised an alarm which attracted both the hotel managers and others patrons to rush to his room.When the management of the hotel made their way into the room, the lady was still half snake and half human, wriggling on the bed, but the hotel manager quickly rushed out to inform the police.”

“They fastened the lock on the door of the room and instructed every one to keep off. Upon return, the lady had disappeared. The management handed over the man who brought the lady to their facility to the police from the Ukwa Police Division.” Strange things do happen, you will agree.

Source : Grassroots Publishers

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ormer Secretary to Delta State Government, Comrade Ovuozourie Macaulay, has called on government and well meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of the conjoined twins in order to save their lives. Macaulay who was in the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, DELSUTH, Oghara to visit an Isoko North Local Government Area, People Democratic Party’s (PDP) Chieftain, Chief Edward Onoworua, visited the twins and described their birth as a miracle.

He commended the hospital management for their medical feat with a call on them to intensify efforts on the costing.Medically referred to as ‘Siamese twins’, a rare medical occurrence and first of its kind in Delta State, the conjoined twins were delivered at 10.30am on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 through a Caesearean section in DELSUTH, Oghara.

A visit to the hospital on Friday May 4, 2018 revealed that the twins, both boys, were delivered to a Youth Corps member father and a full time house wife mother.A medical expert in DELSUTH who begged anonymity due lack of authorization, confirmed the report, stating that the management were yet to cost the separation surgery.She disclosed that antenatal scans so far, revealed that the babies have two kidneys, two hearts but one liver, adding post natal scan is yet to be conducted to ascertain the true position.

According to her, the babies both weigh 4.6 kg at birth with one umbilical vein, adding that they are both on oxygen and stable except for a slight recorded case of hypoglycemia, low blood sugar. She said twin two has cleft lip.She also disclosed that American expatriates would be flown in for the surgery, but hinted, however, that the parents apparently lacked the wherewithal to finance the cost effective surgery.

Records show that Siamese twins occur in 1 out of 189,000 births, most commonly found in Africa and Asia. The condition comes with the babies sharing same organs in some situations as they join at different portions of the body.At the time of filing this report, all efforts to reach the Chief Medical Director of the hospital proved abortive.