Jerry Douglas' Blog

The convoy of the Governor of Imo State; Mr Rochas Okorocha has been involved in a head-on collision in Orlu local government area of the state and the governor sustained minor head injuries. The Governor was on a scheduled inspection tour to some state projects in the area when the accident occurred. A statement signed by the media aide to the Governor; Ebere Ozoukwa, stated that the Governor’s convoy was involved in the accident in Orlu town in Orlu Local government area of the state. According to Mr Ozoukwa, “the governor sustained a minor injury which is a minor cut on his head but he is presently in a good and stable condition and has been attended to by medical personnel.” The Governor can be seen in the picture with a bandage rolled all over his head with some blood stains. The statement advised the general public especially Imo citizens not to “panic and should go about with their normal duties since the Governor is in a good and stable condition and responding to necessary t

An Egyptian woman has been ordered to pay her former husband £5240 in compensation after he discovered she had lied to him about her virginity. The man accused his wife of deceiving him into believing she had never been married before - and therefore a virgin - and of having surgery to fake her virginity, during a bitter divorce battle which went to the court of appeal in Abu Dhabi. The court upheld a previous ruling that found she had deceived her husband and increased the compensation she must now pay for the emotional damage she caused him. Accused: An Egyptian bride has been ordered to pay more than $8 000 compensation to her husband after he accused her of lying about being a virgin before they married The money is also meant to help him overcome the stigma of what is considered in some parts of Arab society to be an embarrassing ordeal for him and his family. The case centred around the original marriage contract made by the couple where the Egyptian bride, the

Lionel Messi has dealt with the problem of having annoying neighbours by simply buying their house, like a boss. It’s not often we hear of Lionel Messi doing something extravagant with all his money, but it seems like he might have done just that by purchasing his neighbour’s house. According to a report in Spanish paper El Mundo Deportivo, Messi is currently living in the Pedralbes area of Barcelona with his wife and son, where they bought an apartment a little over a year ago. However, they are only there as a temporary measure while their house in the Castelfedells neighbourhood is being renovated. His neighbours, who were having problems meeting the demands of their mortgage, offered to sell their house to Messi, but the Argentine wasn’t interested. As a result, the neighbour's poor behaviour increased, including a lot of noise and loud music at all hours, but that wasn’t the worst of it. To make a bit of extra cash, they started renting out the house to intereste

The Professional Footballers’ Association has announced its six-man shortlist for the Player of the Year award, with Gareth Bale the odds-on bookmakers’ favourite to win it for a second time. Bale and Hazard are also nominated for the Young Player award, along with Jack Wilshere of Arsenal, West Brom’s on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, Aston Villa hotshot Christian Benteke and Manchester United’s Danny Welbeck. Andy Gray of Aston Villa (1976-77) and Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo (2006-07) are the only players to have won both the senior and junior awards in the same year. Bale, the Player of the Year winner in 2010-11, has had an outstanding season for Spurs, driving their challenge for a top-four finish as well as their Europa League campaign. The Wales international’s performances have drawn admiration from across the globe, and he has scored 17 Premier League goals and has 22 in all competitions. Former Arsenal striker Van Persie – the current Player of

A sinkhole unexpectedly opened up on a residential street in Chicago’s southeast side on Thursday morning, swallowing three cars. Officials blamed the sinkhole on a broken water main, according to the Chicago Tribune. Heavy rains and flooding have also been drenching the area. One man on his way to work could not avoid driving his car into the crevasse. He was taken to a local hospital for minor injuries, according to report from Reuters. Witnesses told the Tribune that the hole appeared to open up around 5 a.m., quickly spreading from 20 to 40 feet wide. Neighborhood resident Ola Oni told the paper she was getting ready for work around 5 a.m. but had not yet gotten into her car when it fell into the gaping hole. "It could have happened to me, I am lucky, I'm happy," Oni told the Tribune. She added,"In this kind of neighborhood, I don't think this should happen." Sinkholes have plagued other areas like Florida, which has seen the underg

As the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Thursday held its last National Convention in Lagos to pave way for merger with other parties as All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to play the role of an unbiased umpire to ensure that the merger is delivered. The All Progressive Congress is formed by the merger of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) led by former Head of State, General Muhammad Buhari (rtd), All Nigeria Peoples’ Party (ANPP, led by first Civilian Governor of Abia State, Ogbonnaya Onu, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu and a faction of All Progressive Peoples’ Alliance (APGA), led by the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha. In his remarks at the Convention at the Onikan Stadium in Central Lagos, Governor Fashola said playing the role of a true and unbiased umpire in the merger plan would not only be in the interest of the Commiss

The State Security Service (SSS) on Friday arraigned an alleged Boko Haram suspect, Kabiru Umar aka Kabiru Sokoto, at the Federal High Court, Abuja. Mr. Umar was arraigned in connection with the Christmas Day bombing of the St. Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State in 2011. Several people were killed in the bombing. After his initial arrest, the suspect fled from police custody but was later re-arrested. ‘Kabiru Sokoto’ was alleged to have had information about the bombing but failed to inform law enforcement agents. The accused was charged for allegedly being a member of a terrorist group known as Boko Haram between 2007 and 2012 at Mabira Sokoto in Sokoto State. He was also allegedly found to have facilitated the execution of a terrorist act within the period. The charge read that the suspect committed an offence contrary to Section 4(1) (a) of the Terrorism and Prevention Act 2011 and punishable under Section 33(1) (b) of the same Act. He also committed an offe

The Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit has charged 42 motorists arrested for driving on the Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, lane to court. The motorists were arrested on the BRT corridor between Ojota to CMS during peak hours as the state government stepped up enforcement on violation of the law prohibiting motorists from plying the prohibited dedicated lane. The Special Court in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, had already convicted 34 of the motorists who took the BRT lane and slammed fines of between N10,000 and N30,000 on them after they pleaded guilty to the offence. Taskforce Chairman, Bayo Sulaiman, Chief Superintendent of Police, said the government was very serious about enforcing compliance on BRT corridor, lamenting that motorists plied the lane with impunity. He warned motorists to stop using the BRT lane, especially during traffic period as government would punish severely those arrested violating the law. Accor

Chinedu Okoli popularly known as Flavour and South African house sensation Zakes Bantwini will join the “all star” line-up at MTV Africa All Stars. Bantwini and Flavour will join US entertainment icon and multi-platinum hip hop star turned reggae artist Snoop Lion aka Snoop Dogg, at the 5-hour open air concert at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, People’s Park Durban on 18 May. After his hit “Nwa Baby Remix” and his collaborations with Tiwa Savage and Fally Ipupa, high-life artist Flavour N’abania continues to be Africa’s most requested artist. Speaking on behalf of MTV Base, Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Africa, commented, “We are delighted to welcome these two popular artistes as Zakes Bantwini and Flavour to Durban’s shores for MTV Africa All Stars , Snoop Lion already confirmed, all eyes are going to be focused on KwaZulu-Natal as we put our hearts and souls into making this the music event of the year

Luqman Mukthar Shagari, second son of the Deputy Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Mukthar Shagari died yesterday afternoon April 18th in a horrific car accident. The 28 year old business man (in white) was on his way to Sokoto from his base in Abuja when he lost control of his car. Luqman and his friend Ghaddaffi (pictured below in the passenger sit), died instantly. The one at the back miraculously survived the accident. Luqman's car was burnt beyond recognition. Luqman is survived by a wife and a son. See photo below

Wizkid has already started building his own StarBoy Entertainment dynasty with the signing of fast-rising producer, Maleek Berry, who’s responsible for a couple of Wiz’s recent hits “Lagos 2 Soweto” and “The Matter” . Maleek also produced “Carolina” by Sauce Kid & Davido, “My Way” by Wande Coal and a couple of tracks on Davido’s O.B.O album. In very related news, Wizkid will be releasing his 2nd and LAST album under his parent record label EME on the 12 of June, 2013. The album is still currently untitled but I’m sure that will change in the coming weeks. One of unreleased the tracks titled “Jaiye Jaiye” features Legendary Afrobeat musician, Femi Kuti. The mixtape follows afterwards.

A new image has emerged of the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings calmly walking away from the scene of carnage. The image taken by Florida businessman David Green emerged just hours after the FBI lodged an appeal to identify two suspects behind the attacks that killed three and injured over 180. His picture shows runners and spectators fleeing in panic around the suspect, closely resembling the man identified by officials as Suspect Number Two, who is wearing a white basketball cap and a dark hooded sweatshirt. Mr Green has spoken to the FBI and told the New York Times and CNN’s Piers Morgan that agents believe the man is Suspect Number Two. According to CNN Breaking News, Police sealed off densely populated portions the Boston metro area early Friday after a violent night chasing the Boston Marathon terror suspects left one of the men and a police officer dead. Police ordered businesses in the suburb of Watertown and nearby communities to sta

A 14 year-old boy, Terkura Unongo, has launched a website, www.theimongo.com, for social networking. Though the website might not be as sophisticated as the likes of Facebook, seems as a good invention coming from a young Nigerian. The early exposure that Terkura, an eighth Grade Student of Hillcrest Middle School, Jos, Plateau State, had to the Internet seems to have paid off.  His parents gave him the support to explore his talents in the digital world, and provided him with gadgets. As a result of this he opened his first e-mail address at eight, joined Facebook two years after and other popular social networks in quick succession. Apart from the fact that his parents gave him the support to explore his talents in the digital world, his computer science teacher also inspired him. Terkura, who hails from Benue State, says, “Well, I think I became IT-savvy right from the day I started using a computer, as my parents provided the atmosphere for me to acquire various com

The spokesman of the Task force, Eli Lazarus, in a statement released in Damaturu revealed that “at about 23 hours on Wednesday, the men of the JTF raided the suspected terrorists camp in Majari Village close to Buni-Yadi the headquarters of Gujba Local government area” The statement said that four suspects were arrested in the camp while one Isuzu pick-up Van, 10 motorcycles, bomb making materials as well as 200 rounds of ammunition were also recovered from the hideout. A police anti-riot Gun, one pistol, one Dane gun, 43 tear gas canisters, two Police uniforms, one laptop and desk top computers were also recovered from the suspects. The JTF spokesman also said 13 military kit pads, four police barrettes, helmets and boots as well as medical box with assorted clothing, cooking pots and food items were also found at the camp. He explained that the pick-up Van was specially covered with mud to avoid spotting it from a far while the exhaust was specially compressed to avoid

A French family of seven including four children kidnapped in north Cameroon and taken to Nigeria by suspected Boko Haram militants have been released, a senior Cameroon official said on Friday. "They are all alive and well," Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, secretary general of Cameroon's presidency, said in a statement carried by state radio. He said the family had been handed to Cameroon authorities late on Thursday. The family, which was on holiday, was abducted in February by men on motorcycles, armed with Kalashnikovs in Dabanga about 10 km (six miles) from the Nigerian border near the Waza national park, reports Reuters. Gunmen claiming to be from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram later released videos of the family, threatening to kill them if authorities in Nigeria and Cameroon did not release Muslim militants held there. The parents of the family, which included two boys and two girls as well as another relative, worked for French utility firm GDF Suez. Sou

“This Year” crooner, Jaywon was involved in a horrible auto crash on Wednesday night of April 17, 2013. Fortunately, the Kennis Music ensign, who was on his way from a music video shoot for his single “Catch Me If You Can” featuring Ice Prince & Phenom, survived the car crash and not in a critical condition either. Reports claim that an undisclosed friend of Jaywon was directly involved in the crash as he drove Jaywon‘s Lincoln Navigator from the video shoot. Jaywon is in healthy condition. See photos below

President Goodluck Jonathan has said that most Nigerian roads will be in good conditions in the next two years. Speaking during the inauguration of the WEMPCO cold steel plant in Magboro, Ogun State on Thursday, the President acknowledged that most Nigerian roads had been abandoned for a long time. He, however, gave an assurance that most of the roads would be in good shape by 2015. He said, “We assure Nigerians that we are intervening in our road reconstruction. It is not easy because this country is very big and the road networks appear to have collapsed due to long time neglect. “There is no magic wand that the government will use to repair all the roads at the same time, but we are intervening massively, and if we progress at the rate we are progressing, God willing, most of Nigerian roads will be motorable in the next two years.” The President was prompted by the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who complained that the federal/state road dichotomy was

Unknown persons on Thursday morning broke into a female hostel at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, carting away students belongings. The incident occurred at Zik’s Flat Hostel, located opposite the university’s second gate When our correspondent visited the campus, students were seen counting their losses, which they put at millions of naira. Students affected in the raid are mostly final year female students. They stated that the theft occurred while they were away in the lecture hall. “When we came back from class, we discovered signs of burglary in our door. The unknown thieves broke into more than ten rooms in our hostel,” one of the affected students said. Refusing to give her name, she said in tears, “I lost my laptop, one of my mobile phones, cash and other personal belongings. Other students suffered similar fate. “As I speak with you now, I am completely shattered because my project work is in that laptop.” Another student who lost some items to the bur

National Emergency Management Agency Public Relations Officer, Yushau Shuaibu, has been removed from office for reportedly publishing an article that was critical of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Shuaibu’s removal, it was gathered, took place last Thursday. Besides, there are fears that he might face further sanction from the authorities for daring to raise issues on Okonjo-Iweala’s alleged involvement in the appointment of her relatives to top positions. Shuaibu in a newspaper article had said, “Dr. Okonjo-Iweala should also note that blatant disregard for the sensitivities and sensibilities of others while arrogantly promoting only people from her tribe may expose them to hatred with potentially explosive consequences such as those experienced in the 1960s when most federal positions were occupied by a particular tribal group. “For those of us who still respect the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, we strongly believe she should dissoci

Strong indications emerged, yesterday, of the possibility of the abducted Chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, LCDA, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan re-gaining his freedom, as the kidnappers promised to let go their captive this morning at an unnamed location.   According to a source, who preferred anonymity, the kidnappers got in touch with the family negotiator and assured them to be prepared to receive Bamigbetan at an undisclosed location this morning. “As we talk, the kidnappers are getting in touch with the family which has kept hope alive for the family and well wishers of Bamigbetan but we pray and sincerely hope that the abductors will keep their promise. “It is obvious they are not assassins, they are only after money. We thank God for that and every effort is on to meet their demand. This is all I can say for now,” the source said. This came even as prominent Lagosians were still visiting the wife and family of the abducted chairman. On the roll cal

In a recent interview, Davido finally addressed the issue of his generosity. He has been accused of using all this as a publicity stunt to win people over but he denied such allegation. According to him: I always try to give anytime I see a chance to help or encourage people; I can walk into any restaurant even though I am a star, order a plate of food that is worth N500 and give the seller N50,000. That’s my way of giving back to the society, that’s my way of encouraging the hustle of fellow Nigerians.” “I don’t do it for publicity, unlike the time I gave one million Naira to a cancer patient , the media made it well known that it was a publicity stunt, but it is was not my intention to make it a media affair but due to the fact that I am a celebrity, it goes out there.”  “I wanted to help give another person a second chance at life, my late mum didn't have that. The woman’s death will affect so many people so helping save her is also helping make so many others

The F.B.I. released still and video images of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings - including a man who was seen setting down a backpack at the site of the second blast - and appealed for the public’s help identifying the men. One was seen placing a dark-colored backpack outside the Forum restaurant, the site of the second bombing, just minutes before the explosion, said Richard DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.'s Boston field office. “Today we are enlisting the public’s help to identify the two suspects,” Mr. DesLauriers said at a news conference on Thursday evening in Boston. In the video, both men are carrying backpacks, and wearing baseball caps, one a dark cap and one a white cap turned backward. They are walking along Boylston Street. The images were located as investigators spent hours since Monday afternoon’s attack poring over surveillance videos from stores near the scenes of the two deadly blasts, as well as footage take on smartph

Amber Rose took to her Twitter this week to show off the latest addition in her tattoo collection: a large portrait of her fiance and baby daddy, Wiz Khalifa. "True Love #Cam&Amb :-),"  the 29-year-old wrote alongside the photo of the finished product. Tattooist Bobby Serna confirmed that this indeed was not a joke on his Instagram, writing,  "Khalifa Man @mistercap , Tattoed on my Homegirl @muvarosebud , thanks y'all for the opportunity and congrats to the both of you!#CamAndAmb#youngwildNFree#TGOD." However, the "Black and Yellow" rapper isn't the only person whose face occupies a part of Rose's body. The model - who's been engaged to Khalifa since March 2012 and welcomed son Sebastian Taylor Thomaz just almost two months ago - also had a portrait of her mother done by the same artist.

Until early this year when she posed semi-nude for a New York based magazine, Adokiye Kyrian Yvonne a.k.a Adokiye is relatively unknown in the nation’s music scene. But immediately after that controversial posture, the sexy singer has become one of the hottest rising  female singers in the country. In this recent interview, she speaks on the raunchy photo spread among other issues. Early this year, you posed semi-nude in a New York based magazine. What was the attraction?   It actually got leaked. I did some modelling jobs while I was in New York and at that point in time,  some  pictures leaked while the process was still going on. Yes, I posed for some shots, but I never really posed nude. I didn’t expose my private part as a woman.  That I exposed my skin doesn’t mean I posed  nude. I am an architect by training  and creativity is part of my daily routine. So, I didn’t pose  nude because I didn’t expose my private part. We learnt, you were paid handsomely for the job?