Friday 21 March 2014

Live: Student Mary Konye jailed for 12 years for acid attack on friend Naomi Oni

The 21-year-old left her former friend scarred for life after carrying out the horrific attack dressed in a Muslim veil




Mary Konye has been sentenced to 12 years in jail at Snarebrook Crown Court.
Her victim Naomi Oni was not in court for the hearing today.
2:18 pm
During the trial, Konye, of Canning Town, east London, denied throwing or casting a corrosive fluid with intent to burn, maim, disfigure, disable or do grievous bodily harm.
Her lawyer Sally O'Neill QC told the court Konye has since admitted throwing the acid following her conviction but maintained she did not intend to cause injury to Ms Oni's face.
"The reason for this incident will always be shrouded in some doubt and mystery," Ms O'Neill said.
She added that Konye was an "immature 22-year-old" with a possible personality disorder and had been threatened by other inmates while in prison awaiting sentencing.
2:16 pm
Ms Oni said she had suffered permanent scars to her leg, chest, stomach and arms and was almost blinded in one eye.
She faces further reconstructive surgery and must wear a silicon face mask which makes it difficult to breathe, the court heard.
Ms Oni said: "I'm reminded what I look like every day I look in the mirror or see the reaction on people's faces.
"The whole traumatic experience has changed my life.
"I initially felt angry and hurt.
"All sorts of things kept going through my mind.
"I sometimes cry when I'm alone.
"At times I felt suicidal and thought about ending it all."
Ms Oni said her mother, who was in court for the hearing, had kept her going but their relationship was sometimes "strained" after they had been forced to move into a hostel.
She added: "I feel paranoid and scared going out alone.
"People often stare at me. Some ask what happened to my face.
"I'm still scared of being attacked again."
Ms Oni said she regretted ever being friends with Konye.
She added: "It was bad enough believing it was a random attack. Knowing Mary planned this is beyond belief.
"I don't trust people in the same way anymore."
Ms Oni said she had been affected financially and had not worked for a year.
She said found it "embarrassing" telling people about the "unusual and strange" incident.
"I'm going to have these scars as a reminder forever," she said.
"Maybe I feel violated. The person who did this has left their mark on me."
Ms Oni said the attack was carried out by "an evil, wicked person".
She added: "The fact she never admitted what she did to me adds insult to injury.
"I feel I have been part of a game to her."
2:13 pm
Naomi Oni was so scarred for life after Mary Konye threw acid on her face, she considered killing herself after being "violated" by her "evil" attacker.
In a statement read to the court by prosecutor Gareth Patterson, Ms Oni said was now "paranoid and scared" about being outdoors alone.
The victim, who did not attend the hearing, told the court that, before the attack, she was a "confident" young woman with a job she enjoyed.
"All this changed that day I was struck with acid and my life was turned upside down," she said.
It was now a "battle to get by each day" after being permanently disfigured, she added.
1:49 pm
The sentencing of Mary Konye was originally scheduled for 11.15am today but there has been some delay.
We are now expecting the hearing to begin at around 2.15pm.
We will bring you all the latest from Snaresbrook Crown Court as it happens.
1:17 pm
Naomi Oni said that earlier in the trial Konye had appeared almost disappointed that she had not been injured more severely.
Throughout their school life, Ms Oni and Konye became friends despite the early signs of Konye's obsession starting to grow.


PAMary Konye court case
Mary Konye who has been found guilty at London's Snaresbrook Crown Court

At one point she projected a large image of Ms Oni onto a whiteboard and copied the clothes that she wore.
She also said that Konye tried to take her boyfriend, Stephen, after an argument between them
She sent anonymous text messages including one that accused her of "sleeping about".
The couple knew it was likely that Konye was behind the message and they confronted her.
Ms Oni said: "She later said she was so angry she considered throwing acid in my face. She told other people this. Obviously now I realise she was planning what happened."
12:39 pm


ITVNaomi Oni on This Morning
Naomi Oni on This Morning

During the trial, brave Naomi recalled the moment the acid was thrown in her face.
“As I felt the splash I ­immediately had the feeling somebody was trying to kill me," she said.
"My instinct was to run and scream as loud as I could.”
Naomi said she was “hysterical” as her parents dialled 999 while she tried to wash herself in the bath.
She went on: “It was a dissolving type of sensation. I was saying nobody is ever going to marry me now.”
She suffered serious burns to her face and chest, lost her hair and eyelashes, and required skin graft surgery to cover the burns.
12:03 pm
During Konye's trial, the court was shown CCTV footage of Naomi as she left work at the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford at around 11.30pm, shadowed by a stalker wearing a niqab.
Prosecutors alleged Konye wanted revenge against Naomi after rows and knew of her admiration for model Katie Piper – another acid attack victim.
Jurors also heard a claim that Konye changed her online profile photo to scarred horror villain Freddie Krueger after Naomi was attacked.
11:32 am
Mr Whellams said the true reason behind the attack had not been established.
"They can't tell me really what the argument is - it's fashion, it's boyfriends, it's everyday things," he said.
Judge David Radford warned that Konye faces jail when he sentences her at the same court today.
"I should make clear that, in my judgment, this is a case that will, in all likelihood, need a substantial custodial sentence," he said.
CCTV footage obtained by police after the attack showed Konye in a niqab following Ms Oni as she left work at the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford at around 11.30pm.
The victim lost her hair and eyelashes, and required skin graft surgery to cover her burns.
The jury heard that, the day after the attack, Konye sent a mobile phone message to Ms Oni, who was in hospital receiving treatment, saying: "OMG, I can't believe it."
It is thought to have been a copycat attack mimicking the one suffered by model and TV presenter Katie Piper, who was badly scarred and left blind in one eye in an assault arranged by her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, in 2008.
Ms Oni told the court that Konye was aware of how much of an impact Ms Piper's ordeal had had on her after watching a television documentary about it.
The pair, who had been friends since secondary school, fell out in April 2011 when Ms Oni allegedly accused Konye of texting her boyfriend and called her an "ugly monster".
Konye, of Canning Town, east London, denied throwing or casting a corrosive fluid with intent to burn, maim, disfigure, disable or do grievous bodily harm.
11:20 am
Following the attack, Konye pretended to give Ms Oni a shoulder to cry on.
She then used the "implausible" excuse that it had been Ms Oni who planned the incident because she wanted "fame and fortune and to sell her story to the paper", police said.
Speaking outside London's Snaresbrook Crown Court after she was convicted in January, Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams said it had been a "serious, horrible offence which required a degree of planning and calculation".
He told reporters that witnesses had testified in court that Konye planned the attack over the course of two years.
"She has prepared for this over a number of months, even years, all resulting from a trivial, insignificant argument that everybody has in their everyday lives," he said.
"But Mary Konye has taken this so far that she has planned this, disguised herself and followed Naomi on that night.
"The result today will give Naomi only some comfort but she is never going to be away from the fact that she is scarred.
"Every time she looks in the mirror she is going to be reminded of the fact but it will enable her to start to get some closure."
10:53 am
Welcome to our live blog as we cover the sentencing of Mary Konye - the student who carried out a vicious acid attack on her friend.
She faces jail today after leaving her friend scarred for life over a "trivial, insignificant" argument.
Business student Mary Konye, 21, disguised herself in a Muslim veil and attacked Naomi Oni after following her home from work.
Ms Oni, also 21, a Victoria's Secret shop assistant, was left with serious burns on her face and chest after the incident in Dagenham, east London, on December 30 2012.

Don't Expect Steady Electricity Supply In 2014, Minister of Power Says

photo - Don't Expect Steady Electricity Supply In 2014, Minister of Power Says
Minister Chinedu Nebo
Nigeria's Power Minister Professor Chinedu Nebo acknowledged it is highly
 improbable that Nigerians will experience steady power supply this year.
He spoke in Lagos at the annual Power Investors Summit hosted by EnergyNet in 
conjunction with Nextier Capital Limited.
Minister Nebo noted that Nigeria is struggling to come out of the state of dilapidation, 
a state of total disrepair of infrastructures and decay.
"Most of the plans are not going to be ready by the end of the year.
 What we think from all study and framework right now is that by the end 
of the year, we will be able not only generate but have the transmission 
capacity to wheel out 6000 megawatts. That's what we are projecting 
from a very technical and realistic point of view."
The Minister added that much of the funds have been put aside for various
projects that will continue to grow transmission capacity by 2015 to 2017.
He also noted that the distribution companies need a proper monitoring by 
the BPE and National Council on Privatization, as they tend to conceal 
the real state of affairs and hide the financial gaps that they have.

Brother, Who Led Gang To Rob Sister's Home And Kidnap Her, Escapes Arrest, While Others Were Not So Lucky (PHOTO)


Brother, Who Led Gang To Rob Sister's Home And Kidnap Her, Escapes Arrest, While Others Were Not So Lucky
Bayelsa State Police Command has paraded 6 kidnappers (in the picture),
who robbed the residence of a woman and also abducted her after the robbery.
The police disclosed that a brother of the victim, Mrs Ebitimi Salvation, 
has masterminded her kidnap and also robbed her husband of N500,000 
during the raid.
The brother, simply identified as Bright, and his gang suffered a misfortune, 
when the boat they were using to convey their victim to an unknown destination 
suddenly developed a fault and stopped working.
The marine police, who sighted them, swooped and arrested them along the
 Southern Ijaw waterways as they made to escape.
However, Bright, who was wearing a mask all through the operation, has escaped
the arrest. The police declared a man hunt for him.

Missing N24bn Police Pension: "Okonjo-Iweala Forged And Faked Documents"


 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Accused Of Brandishing Fake, Forged Documents
Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala 
On Thursday, Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was accused of brandishing 
fake and forged documents in her defence in the case of the N24bn missing from 
Police pension fund.
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts argued that the Minister had
 falsely claimed the money was not missing but paid into bank accounts.
Members of the Committee included Director General of Pension Transitional Arrangement 
Department, Mrs. Nellie Mayshak, and representatives of the Office of the Accountant
General of the Federation.
Chairman of the committee Mr. Solomon Olamilekan maintained there are no verifiable 
documents  before the committee to track the N24bn to any bank accounts.
Moreover, Olamilekan noted, instead of honouring the Committee's invitation to discuss the 
issue,  the Minister opted to make a press statement on the ongoing investigation.
The Committee, therefore, challenged Dr. Okonjo-Iweala to a public debate which would be 
broadcast live, with all media representatives present, and inform Nigerians on the fate
of N24bn.
READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/62420.html

READ MORE: http://news.naij.com/62420.html

NASU Wants Interior Minister, Immigration Boss Sacked

The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack the interior minister, Abba Moro and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), over the death of some applicants in the botched Immigration recruitment exercise that took place across the nation last Saturday.
NASU expressed concern that the death toll might increase in the days ahead, “in view of the high number of those who are said to have sustained various degrees of injuries”.
“The Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, rather than taking responsibility for the lack of foresight and maladministration and resign his appointment, blamed the job-seekers for being responsible for their deaths and the injuries they sustained because of impatience,” the union said.
The union added in a statement signed by its general secretary, Comrade Peters Adeyemi noted that “the criminal free use of tear gas against these young unemployed graduates as if they were common criminals at some of the centres contributed to some of the stampedes that led to the deaths.
“It is scandalous for these young Nigerians to have purchased their deaths with one thousand naira each.
“It was clear to any discerning mind that the whole exercise was going to be a fiasco that will end up in a tragedy. The Ministry and the NIS were aware of the high incidence of unemployment in the country, which is put at 38 per cent and even higher, if the World Bank figures are to be relied on”.
Not only that, the union stated that both the minister and the immigration department “were aware of failures of previous mass recruitment exercises”.
The union therefore noted that they should have learnt from previous mistakes and “taken adequate measures to ensure theirs will be hitch free. It has turned out not to be the case”.
The union condemned the use of stadia as examination centres and emphasized that “the so called aptitude test or examination was only a scam, aimed at fulfilling all righteousness and a cover up because the vacancies had already been filled by applicants who have very influential connections at the Presidency, National Assembly, the Judiciary; among Ministers, other top government functionaries and captains of industries”.

DEADLY RECRUITMENT: Interior Minister Moro Bribes Journalists With N500,000 To Restore Battered Image?!


photo - Interior Minister Moro Bribes Journalists With N500,000 To Restore Battered Image
Minister of Interior Abba Moro
According to Sahara Reporters, Minister of Interior Abba Moro has on Thursday offered 
a N500,000 reward to those journalists who would work to whitewash his image.
Minister Moro is blamed by many Nigerians for a tragic outcome of a recruitment exercise
conducted by the Nigeria Immigrations Service across the country, when dozens of people
died in the ensuing stampede and others were injured.
The multiple accidents prompted calls for the sack of the Minister, while he blamed the deaths 
and injuries on the impatience of the applicants.
 Among those who demanded his sack are Nigeria
Labour Congress (NLC) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
A highly-positioned reliable source disclosed that Minister Moro had a meeting with a select group
of jornalists to persuade them to ease the tension currently surrounding his name. According to
the source, the Minister offered a N500,000 reward to each of them.

Reps Probe Petroleum Minister For Allegedly Spending N10bn On Private Jet


House of Representatives Thursday directed its Committee on Public Accounts to investigate the alleged squandering of N10bn government funds on the charter and maintenance of a Challenger 850 aircraft for unofficial use by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Dizeani Allison-Madueke.
The lawmaker who moved the motion for approval, Samuel Adejare, representing Lagos State, said the allegation was based on “reliable evidence” indicating that Mrs. Alison-Madueke has committed about 500,000 Euros (N130 million naira) monthly to maintaining the aircraft, solely for her personal needs and those of her immediate family.
According to him, preliminary investigations prove that the financing for the aircraft was drawn from government funds, adding that the expenditure would be only “a tip of the iceberg” as several other billions of naira may have been frittered on flying the jet all over the world “obviously for the leisure” of the minister and her immediate family.
“This colossal waste is currently estimated at N10 billion which include the payment of allowances to the crew for the trips, hanger parking and rent based on the lease agreement,” Mr. Adejare said.
“If government could be bankrolling this waste in the face of ever dwindling public resources, it amounts to a misplacement of priority, impudence and breach of public trust, an action that offends the Fiscal Responsibility Act and all other Laws on fiscal discipline in Nigeria.”
The motion in the House of Representatives Thursday, was approved with an overwhelming voice vote.
The committee on public finance is to investigate the allegation and present its findings to the house within two weeks.
The House also sought to check the non-remittance of funds accruing from the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG), Bonny to the Federation Account from 2004 till date.

Thursday 20 March 2014

Nigeria is sick, we need a revolution – Al Mustapha


Al-Mustapha

Major Hamzat Al-Mustapha yesterday described Nigeria as a sick nation that needs institutional revolution to succeed.
Mustapha stated this while speaking in Abuja during the second Muslim/Christian Constructive Interactive Engagement Forum, tagged: ‘Think Nigeria’, convened by the President of the Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.
Speaking during the well-attended programme, Mustapha said, “Nigeria is indeed sick and it did not start today. Our faith speaks and that is the anchor point. Our problem is that of mutual suspicion, lack of understanding and, in a way, greed, naira speaks.
“Today, Nigeria, whether we like it or not, deserves institutional revolution for it to be.
Revolution in what sense? Tolerance, knowledge, understanding, statesmanship, commitment and honesty, irrespective of who and where. We must learn to speak the truth, it does not matter who and when.
“Today, I’m a Muslim but an Imam has been told to eulogise and now spreading form of propaganda in a letter written by a statesman to the government of the day, alleging that I am training snipers that are to shoot 1,000 Nigerians. It’s in black and white. On the scale of the law, very weighty; on the scale of religion, from the point of view of the contents of the Bible or Koran, is very weighty.
“If I am to be shot this afternoon, nothing takes me off this cause of doing the right thing; individuals may say what they like out of greed but the truth speaks,” he stated.

Speaking earlier, CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor who said the forum was founded on the pillars of truthfulness, honesty and respect for one another as individuals, added that it is equally set on the trivet of justice, unity and peace in Nigeria for Nigerians.

CHRIS BROWN DUMPED BY GIRLFREND, KARRUECHE TRAN!!!


Karrueche Tran and Chris Brown
Karrueche Tran didn't dump Chris Brown because of the girl he allegedly banged in rehab. Sources close to the model says, she dropped the hammer on their relationship because he refused to stop texting his army of jump offs.

There's been speculation that Karrueche pulled the plug when she found out he had hooked up with another girl in his facility at the beginning of March but the break-up preceded that Karrueche ended things after she visited Chris in rehab the month before.

Sources says, Karrueche saw Chris' phone during her visit and it was filled with inappropriate texts from other girls. It was the last straw. Karrueche was especially pissed because she'd been nothing but supportive to Chris throughout his ordeal, even going to court with him.

Karrueche wasn't even aware Chris had allegedly been getting down with girls in rehab until long after the break-up.

---TMZ

I’ll donate confab money to charity –Bakare


Tunde-BakareR
adical pastor and one of the delegates representing Ogun State in the ongoing National Conference, Tunde Bakare, has revealed that he will donate his own share of the allowances and stipends from the conference to charity.
Bakare, who spoke to Daily Sun in an exclusive interview, said he does not need the money, insisting that he is not in Abuja to for the money, but to render his services look to the country.
“I do not need the money they are paying. I am here to render my service to the country. If it becomes very important, I will give the money to charity,” Bakare revealed.
The pastor expressed optimism that Nigerians will align and accept the outcome of the resolutions that will emerge from the conference.
“What we expect is in line with the opening comment of Mr. President. We will all work together to build a Nigeria everyone will be proud of,” he said.
Bakare also vowed that he would not forsake the country, come rain or shine. He said he would stay and fix the problems of the country, stating: “No retreat, no surrender.”
According to him, “I am not going to walk out, no matter what. I am going to stay here and fix the problems. In war, no retreat, no surrender.
“I am certain that the outcome of the conference will be accepted by every Nigerian. I do not want to reveal what I have in my arsenal right now, so that we do not start unnecessary debates in the minds of people. We should wait and see.”
Similarly, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ayo Oritsejafor has said yesterday that the outcome of the National Conference will usher in peace and stability.
Oritsejafor, who spoke in Abuja during the National Consultation organised by the Think-Nigeria Christian-Muslim Movement, which had in attendance Muslims and Christian faithful, said: “I wish, at this juncture, to express my happiness on the ongoing National Conference, which Mr. President inaugurated on Monday. We are all pursuing justice, equity, love and understanding, which will ultimately usher in lasting peace in Nigeria.
“As we have kept faith with this conference, it shows that we have resolved to stay united and patient, for it is patience and steady focus that make the final difference between those who succeed or fail in what they set out to do. We love Nigeria and so shall continue to think Nigeria.”
Keynote speaker at the interactive forum, Professor Mohammed Al-Amin, said Nigeria is a sick country and needs the help of everyone to put the country back on the path of growth.
Al-Amin said: “The infrastructure in this country is collapsing. We need men of God and integrity to push the country back to its days of glory. If we do not do that, the crisis and annihilation facing this country are enormous. There is something wrong with the psyche of Nigerians. Religion has become an agent of wickedness and division instead of unity and love.
“Most of the people in the National Assembly did not get there based on merit. Many of them did not get there through the right means. It is a country that has a brain damage that can afford to do this.
“The resources of this country are enormous. They reside in the hands of a few people. Let us use whatever mechanism we have to ensure that the resources of this country are shared equitably.

Wednesday 19 March 2014

FCTA To Take Delivery Of 100 New Mega Buses In April


FCT Buses









The Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, on Tuesday said it had purchased 100 new high capacity buses to complement the existing Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company buses plying the territory.
This was contained in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Sule.
The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, in the statement, said the buses would arrive in the country next month.
The statement noted that the additional buses would help to expand the fleet of AUMTCO in the city and also improve service delivery in the FCT.
“These buses were ordered from China and production is expected to be completed by March”, it said.
It explained that AUMTCO currently transports about 60,000 passengers per day to their various destinations within the FCT and 1.5 million per month at the maximum load point.
It further noted that the cashless paper ticketing system which was introduced on January 18 seemed to be accepted by the public, considering the level of compliance.
“We planned to migrate to e-ticketing in the next few months, as installation of the equipment on the buses has already commenced”, it said.

FCT Commences ‘Operation Kick Out’ Hawkers, Homeless

street hawker

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, has declared his resolve to rid off the streets of Abuja of beggars, hawkers, prostitutes and operators of tricycles, popularly known as Keke NAPEP.
Mohammed made this declaration yesterday when he led the high-powered Special Enforcement Task Force Team on Abuja City Cleaning and Management on its first demonstration ride and inspection within the Abuja metropolis.
He vowed to spend more time outside, and less in his office on physical inspection and monitoring.
The minister warned “hawkers, beggars, prostitutes, commercial motorcycle riders and keke operators to keep off the capital city as the clean up exercise would be routine and permanent.
“It is not going to be business as usual. I will personally be here on the field supervising together with the task force…We have got a very vibrant chairman of the task force team and members. They too are under my supervision. It is a multi-dimensional task force that is out to make sure our basic rules and regulations are obeyed.
“There will be no hiding place for commercial motorcyclists and tricycle operators in the city, and these two modes of transportation have been used to wreak havoc in other places.
The random springing up of mechanic workshops and car marts in the city will no longer be condoned.”
Mohammed however, assured the people that the task force would work assiduously with human face to make FCT a better place for everybody.
He said the FCT Administration (FCTA) has created about one million jobs and business opportunities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) within the last four years since he became minister.
He stated that through the new transport policy of the FCTA, drivers have been turned to vehicle owners via the SURE-P hire purchase scheme reputed to be the most affordable in the country.
The minister added that soon taxis plying FCT roads estimated to hit 10,000 would all be captured biometrically and fitted with tracking devices for enhanced security.
He also said the FCTA would be employing about 7,000 youths in environmental and traffic related jobs in the city.
Also, the task force Chairman and FCT Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, equally vowed to keep his foot on the ground to ensure that Abuja is fully sanitised.
Mbu described the FCT minister as a very hardworking and result-oriented man “who doesn’t sleep,” pledging that “together, we are going to do better than what I did in Rivers State.” [Thisday]

Tuesday 18 March 2014

New Anambra Governor Appoints SSG, Two Others



ObianoNewly sworn-in Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano on Tuesday, in Awka, the state capital, performed what could be termed his first official duty as he inaugurated Mr Oseloka Obaze as Secretary to the State Government following his retention in that position from the previous administration.
He also inaugurated Professor Joseph Asike as his Chief of Staff, and Mr Willy Nwaokoye as the Principal Secretary to the governor.
Speaking at the ceremony, Gov. Obiano expressed confidence in the appointees, who he described as capable hands that have made their marks in their individual private careers, and would carry out their tasks dutifully.
“The task ahead is huge, we need the best of hands and I believe they will deliver”, the governor said.
Responding on behalf of his colleagues, Obaze thanked the governor for the honour done them, saying they would work to meet his expectations to surmount the challenges of governance in the state.
The oaths of allegiance and office were administered on the appointees by the Solicitor-General of the