How Dambazau got news of retirement in US

Ex-Army Chief Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau PHOTO: Reuters
FORMER Army Chief Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau was in high spirits on Wednesday in New York, United States – thousands of kilometers away from home where a major decision that was to change his mood was being taken.
He was in a two-piece suit, looking strange (he is usually seen in public in the all-green army uniform, with the red-neck insignia and epaulette of a General).
Gen. Dambazau was shaking hands with dignitaries as Nigeria’s Representative to the United Nations, Prof Joy Ogwu, and Defence Minister Kayode Adetokunbo introduced him to guests.
Gen. Dambazau was on a working visit to the UN when President Goodluck Jonathan announced the retirement of all service chiefs.
Gen. Dambazau, and other senior military officers were on the entourage of the Minister on a five-day working tour.
The visit, which began on Tuesday, was scheduled to end tomorrow.
The team, including Lt.-Gen. Chikadbia Obiakor, outgoing UN military adviser on peacekeeping operations, was on a courtesy call on Ms Susana Malcoraa, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, when calls hit Dambazau’s mobile phone.
"The calls reportedly came from family members who informed him of the change of baton," a close aide told NAN.
After the meeting on the eighth floor of the DC One building of UN, the former army chief and Director of Finance Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere, hurriedly left.
The team did not attend other assignments scheduled for the day, including a briefing on UN peacekeeping missions at the UN office on Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York.
Gen. Dambazau was also absent at a cocktail party organised at the Nigerian Mission later on Wednesday.
Other visiting Nigerian defence officials continued their meetings but at intervals they made frantic calls to Nigeria.
Army officers on the minister’s entourage were Maj.-Gen. Emeka Onwuamaegbu, Commandant, Nigerian Army Peacekeeping Centre, Jaji, and Maj-Gen. E.D. Atiegoba, former head of the Nigerian Army College of Logistics.
why were the service chiefs retired? The question was still popular yesterday, with many speculations flying on why the president suddenly disbanded the nation’s security machine on Wednesday.
"The timing is perfect. We have elections coming up next year and we have other issues coming up and the country is fairly stable and safe," Minister of Defence, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, said yesterday.
The minister, in company with the ousted Chief of Army Staff, was on a week-long duty tour to the United Nations (UN) when the announcement was made in Abuja.
Kayode told reporters that the service chiefs were already aware that their respective tenures had expired last month, and it was subject to renewal based on the wishes of President Jonathan.
"They know that this is a normal, regular, statutory and constitutional exercise of power by Mr President," he said.
The Defence Minister, however, maintained that the service chiefs were not removed, saying: "under the rules and terms of condition of service they are entitled to two years and their tenure has expired.
"Mr President, exercising his prerogatives under the Armed Forces Act and under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has every right to make new appointments," he said.
Jonathan’s replacement of security leaders came a day after at least 700 prisoners escaped during an attack on a jail in Bauchi by members of a religious sect known as Boko Haram.
Kayode, however, said the change of guard had "absolutely nothing" to do with the attack on the prison.
"The Armed Forces continue to be committed to the internal security in Nigeria and, on the issue of Boko Haram, we have been on top of it and have been monitoring it over time.
"We are already prepared, but we know that it is inevitable that this will happen because there is religion in it and we have to be very careful the way we tackle it," he said CALLED FROM thenationonline, pix Reuters

CRISIS IN PDP ANAMBRA STATE AS STATE LAWMAKER PLAN MASS EXODUS TO APGA

There is tension in the Anambra State House of Assemby as many members plan to decamp to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Before two members of the House, Hon Chinwe Nwebili (Ogbaru I) and Hon Benson Nwawulu (Ogbaru II) defected to APGA last week, all the 30 members of the Assembly belonged to PDP. At a meeting held last week in Abuja, the PDP National Chairman, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo had appealed to the Anambra PDP stakeholders, including the legislators to show commitment to the party. That was when the party leadership got wind of the planned massed defection of the party supporters to APGA. Lawmakers told repoters that they intended to defect to APGA because of the crisis rocking the PDP in the state. Some of them also said that they could not abandon the governor who had just defected to the party because of the agreement they had with him to cooperate with his administration. ‘’Can you tell me now, even as a journalist, that you are happy with what is happening in PDP? So, I am interested in contesting and that is why I’m making every plan to see that I secure my seat," said a legislator at the weekend. The former governorship candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Hon Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, has also defected from the party to APGA. Her Media Adviser, Clems Aguiy, confirmed the defection, explaining the party is close to the heart of the people of Anambra State . Aguiyi further said that Ekwunife saw PDP as a sinking party, adding that politics in Anambra State had gone beyond individual interest. He said that on July30, Ekwunife would officially declare for the party at her country home, Agukwu Nri, Njikoka Local Government Area. Many Anambra lawmakers who spoke at the weekend, said that they would join APGA since the platform on which they rode to the House of Assembly had collapsed. Meanwhile, our reporter equally gathered that no fewer than four PDP members of the House of Representatives would soon follow the footsteps of Ekwunife.

DNA test clears American musician after 28 years in jail for rape

For a man wrongly convicted of rape almost 30 years ago, Raymond Towler did not look anxious. Perhaps it was because a few more minutes in custody made little difference after so long. Perhaps it was because he had a reasonable idea of what Judge Eileen Gallagher was about to say.In an extraordinary scene, barely noticed in America this week amid coverage of the enormous oil spill and the New York bomb plot, Mr Towler, a 52-year-old musician, walked free from a Cleveland court after spending more than half his life in prison for a crime of which he always maintained his innocence and which DNA analysis proved he did not commit.His case is not unique, but the way it ended was uniquely moving. It may serve to galvanise a national movement of lawyers and activists who have used DNA evidence to free more than 250 inmates since 1992, almost all of them black men, but who have so far lacked the resources to tackle thousands of other cases in which experts’ fear of "junk science" and racial bias have produced unsafe convictions.The moment of truth came just after 9am on Wednesday. After a brief recap of his arrest, trial and conviction for the rape of an 11-year-old girl in 1981, Judge Gallagher turned to the results of DNA analysis of skin and semen samples that she ordered two years ago from a lab in Texas. Both samples came from the victim’s underwear. They did not match the girl’s DNA, but they did match each other. "They are consistent with deriving from the same individual, the assailant of the victim," Judge Gallagher said. "And that individual was clearly not Raymond Towler."Mr Towler, in a white shirt and black V-neck sweater, blinked and briefly lowered his head. "It’s been a long time coming," Judge Gallagher noted. Her voice breaking, she then read to the court an Irish blessing more commonly heard at weddings: "May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm on your face, may the rain fall softly upon your fields. May God hold you in the palm of his hand, now and forever."Wiping tears from her face, the judge stepped forward to shake the hand of a man known to the state of Ohio for more than quarter of a century as Inmate A16468. "Good luck to you, Mr Towler," she said. "You’re free."Mr Towler shook hands with his lawyers, a team of three from the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati, then hugged his brother and sister. Asked how he had been able to get up each morning knowing he had been wrongly convicted, he said: "You’ve got to get up, you know what I mean? Get up with God in your spirit and God will lead the way forward."Under state law, Mr Towler is entitled to $40,330 (£27,350) for every year of his wrongful imprisonment, not including lost wages and any damages he may win by suing the Ohio Department of Corrections. A previous inmate wrongfully jailed for a shorter period was awarded $1.4 million.Mr Towler appeared to bear no grudge. "Evidently a crime was committed and I’ve got to respect that they tried the best that they could," he said. "They had the wrong person. It took them a while to straighten it out but all I care about right now is that they did straighten it out."The authorities still have no idea who the culprit is, but the prosecutor, Bill Mason, said that the case was open and there would be a new examination of crime scene evidence.Outside the court Mr Towler began taking in his new surroundings en route to a pizza restaurant. "Even though I was raised here I’ve still got to do a lot of sightseeing," he said.Despite pleading not guilty and offering a solid alibi, Mr Towler was sentenced to life without parole on the basis of a Cleveland police officer’s suspicion during a routine traffic stop that he resembled the man sought in a rape that had occurred two weeks earlier. He was later picked out by the victim from an identity parade."One of the leading causes of these wrongful convictions is witness misidentification, especially with crossracial identification," Carrie Wood, one of Mr Towler’s lawyers, said. "There is still racial prejudice in our society. Anyone who tells you different just doesn’t have those interactions."

DR SEYE KEHINDE 45TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

SOJI ADEGBESAN GOES HOME

Ace Photojournalist's Soji Adegbesan body was committed to mothers heart, soji worked with Punch news paper he was known for his social diary page with PUNCH newspapers, Mr. Adesoji Adegbesan, is dead.He died in a ghastly motor accident on Sunday at Eyenkorin, near Ilorin, Kwara State, on his way back to Lagos from where he had earlier attended a social event.Born on June 22, 1964, Adegbesan attended Egbado College, Ilaro, Ogun State, between 1976 and 1982 and was at Egbado Teacher‘s College, Ilaro, between 1982 and 1984.He was a 1997 graduate of Guidance and Counselling/Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan.He also studied English/History at the then Ogun State College of Education, Ijagun, Ijebu Ode (now Tai Solarin College of Education) and held a National Diploma in Journalism from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos.He had at different times worked as reporter/photo journalist with Fame Weekly Magazine, Marvel Weekly Magazine and Global Excellence Magazine.Admired for his enthusiastic mien and sharp wit, Adegbesan was fondly addressed as S.O.J.He was a regular face at many social events in Lagos and all over the country as a professional.His commitment to his job and exceptional drive endeared him to many important personalties in the country.He was a photojournalist with PUNCH.The 45-year-old deceased is survived by an aged mother, a wife, Funke, and four children. A wake was held in his honour on Monday, January 25, 2010 at the Saviours African Church Cathedral, 104 Old Abeokuta Road, Agege, the service conducted by Venerable Gabriel Adebanjo, relatives, friends and associates extolled the virtues of the deceased, with all describing him as having led a humble, but eventful life. Meanwhile, Adegbesan‘s lying-in-state was before the commendation service was also held at the same church on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 by 9am.Funeral service was held at Bethlehem African Church, Odopotu, after Erunwo Ijebu, Ogun State, his remains was interred at the cemetery In his tribute, a brother of the departed photojournalist, Bimbo, said that the late Adegbesan fondly called S.O.J by friends while alive lived an exemplary life.“He was like a father to all of us. He was a brother in need and a brother in deed. He did all he could to make life comfortable for all of us,” he said.A friend and a member of Adegbesan’s church, Mr. Olamilekan Opatola described the late photojournalist as God-fearing.Another church member, Mr. Onitayo Kehinde said, ”He never procrastinated whenever there was any job to be done.” GOOD NIGHT my Mentor, My Destiny Helper see you at the feet of Christ.

OBA ADEDAPO TEJUOSHO GIVES OUT DAUGHTERS HAND IN MARRIAGE

Friday 28th & Saturday 29th of August, 2009. His Royal majesty Oba Adedapo Tejuosho the Osile Oke-Ona Egba gives out one of his Princes Adebosoye Arinade the Daughter of Olori Yetunde out in marriage to Idowu Oyeyinka Ogunkanmi, the Traditional Marriage was held at Abeokuta sport club, while the Solemnization of the holy matrimony was conducted at Cathedral of St James African Church, Idi-Ape Ago-oko Abeokuta Ogun state after which the Wedding train moved to Abeokuta sport club for the reception where guest were treated with their choice of food and Drinks. the Formost Nigeria Music Band Shuga Band lead by Akinloye Tofowomo was on the band stand...

BY Olusegun Rapheal 08033572821

OSHIFESO BURRIED MOTHER IN IJEBU-ODE