GOLDEN SCEPTRE

Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Ishaq Modibbo Kawu, Ahead of the forthcoming elections, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said it will impose heavy sanctions on broadcast stations which promote hate speeches. The Director General of the commission, Mr Is’haq Kawu, said this thursday in Enugu at the inauguration of Family Love FM 99.9 at the European Quarters in Ngwo. Kawu was represented at the event by a director in the commission, Mr Armstrong Idachaba. He said the commission had taken note of hate speeches from some parts of the country, adding that it would guard against its infiltration in the broadcast industry. “We are already seeing signs of hate speeches among Nigerians and would not tolerate it in the broadcast industry as we prepare for the 2019 elections. “Our broadcast stations should rather be used to engender tolerance, mutual respect as well as promote unity among Nigerians,” he said. Kawu said the broadc...

Many effects of a lack of sleep, such as feeling grumpy and not working at your best, are well known. But did you know that sleep deprivation can also have profound consequences on your physical health? One in three of us suffers from poor sleep, with stress, computers and taking work home often blamed. However, the cost of all those sleepless nights is more than just bad moods and a lack of focus. Regular poor sleep puts you at risk of serious medical conditions, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes – and it shortens your life expectancy. It’s now clear that a solid night’s sleep is essential for a long and healthy life. How much sleep do we need? Most of us need around eight hours of good-quality sleep a night to function properly – but some need more and some less. What matters is that you find out how much sleep you need and then try to achieve it. As a general rule, if you wake up tired and spend the day longing for a chance to have a nap, it’s likely that you...

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a Suya seller simply identified as Abdullahi for allegedly attempting to slaughter a four-year-old girl for Suya. Abdullahi, who abducted the four-year-old in an open field at White sand, Ebute Meta area of the state, took her to a secluded area where he had attempted to slaughter her with a knife. However, a passerby who saw Abdullahi raised alarm which attracted people and the suspect was apprehended. In an attempt to resist being caught, the suspect was said to have stabbed one person. Confirming the incident, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, told journalists that Good Samaritans succeeded in rescuing the victim from the grip of the suspect. Speaking while parading Abdullahi yesterday at the Command’s headquarters, Owoseni said one of the Good Samaritans in an attempt to disarm the suspect sustained minor injury on his hand. He said: “The suspect was subsequently handed over to the Police at Denton Po...

By Matthew Jones @M_tthewJones Whether we like it or not, the demands of modern society generate stress and anxiety. The jobs we work and the material wealth we value make significant demands on our time and energy--both of which have an impact on our emotional state. And since most people experience stress and anxiety in some form or another, learning how to better manage these feelings is important to survival and success in the modern world. As a future psychologist, I get exposed to a wide range of theories and tools that aim to help people live better and more enriching lives. Working with diverse clients and implementing these techniques has taught me how to collaborate with someone to make rapid changes in a short amount of time. One theoretical model that can help facilitate the reduction of stress and anxiety is called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT. Read the list below to discover six components of ACT that help immediately reduce stress and anxiety--empow...

Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has replied President Muhammed Buhari over the call for his re-arrest. In a statement reacting to the President. Kanu said he is not afraid of arrest and will continue to protect the Biafran people from the dictatorial tendencies of the Buhari administration. His words: “The directive to service chiefs to clamp down on IPOB is a continuation of the Buhari’s dictatorial and un- democratic approach to gover- nance. I find it unacceptable, abhorrent, and insulting that somebody elected by the peo- ple can turn around to dictate to them. “Buhari was elected to gov- ern Nigeria, he should get on with the business of gover- nance and not try to instigate another war.” Kanu also insisted on the boycott of November 18 Anambra governorship election, stressing that “only the beneficiaries of the crumbs from Aso Rock will support those calling on me to rescind the boycott order. “The call for boycott of the election is our legitima...

Traders and youths of Ekeukwu market in Owerri, the Imo State capital have clashed with security operatives over directives given by the state government on the relocation of the market.  Courtesy: Channels TV 

Muhammadu Buhari. PHOTO: Qed.ng President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday taunted critics and protesters of his over 100 days medical sojourn in London, United Kingdom (UK) even as he thanked Nigerians who prayed for his speedy recovery devoid of political and religious affiliations. In a veiled reference to the #ResumeOrResign campaign group who had laid siege at his Nigeria House ‎temporary abode while in the UK, President Buhari who played host to the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) in the presidential villa, yesterday, asked the protesters to also return back to the country. He prayed that they are not stuck there so that they do not experience the effect of Brexit and consequences of tax evasion.His words: “I am very happy with the prayers, it was very covered and reported across religions and ethnics. People ‎were praying. “Some groups in London came and sang the national anthem and asked that I should go back home.“Indeed I have come back home. I hope those who went there are not ...

Former Ogun State governor, Mr. Gbenga Daniel, has accused his former political associate and Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, of sending gunmen to kill him. The allegation was contained in a petition addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim K. Idris.                               According to the former governor, at about 9.13pm on Thursday, five hefty men visited his residence located at Abuja's Maitama District. Mr. Daniel said he was told that two of the men wore military fatigues, while the other three were dressed in black.                       On arrival, narrated Mr. Daniel, they hooted until the gate man went to peep through the pedestrian gate to ask for their identities and mission. However, Mr. Daniel said he was told that they refused to wind down the windows of the Toyota Camry...

   The secessionist group, Indigenous Peoples Of Biafra (IPOB), has dared the Federal Government of Nigeria to attempt to re-arrest its leader, Nnamdi Kanu. IPOB’s challenge came as a response to an appeal by Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, asking for the revocation of a court order that granted bail to Mr. Kanu. The minister also advocated the re-arrest and detention of the IPOB leader pending the determination of the charges against him. The Attorney General cited Mr. Kanu’s violation of his bail conditions as one of the major reasons the secessionist agitator should be arrested. Reacting to the minister’s position, IPOB accused the Federal Government of playing politics, adding that Mr. Kanu could never be rearrested. The group also vowed that many tragic events would happen if Nigerian authorities ever rearrested the IPOB leader. “IPOB is not doing anything about the order of [the Federal Government] through the Attorney...

                     Paul Unongo “In the absence of a cat, the house becomes a playfield for rats”, so goes a Yoruba saying. Another like it notes that “The return of a cat from a long sojourn always restores sanity and ends the free run of rodents and their destructive activities in a house”. President Muhammadu Buhari may not be a cat, but he has proved that his being symbolically likened to the wild specie and king of the jungle, the lion, by his wife, Aisha, is no fluke at all. While away on his prolonged medical vacation in London, Nigeria’s corporate existence floundered and tottered on the brink, as all manner of groups took the opportunity to intensify hate rhetoric, agitations and agenda believed to be inimical to the corporate existence of the nation. Although his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, who acted for Buhari in his absence, tried to douse the tension, his pacifist methods and dialogue with leaders of ethnic nationali...

Prof. Ben Nwabueze The Group of Southern Leaders of Thought, an association of elder statesmen, have said a negotiated restructuring, implemented through a new Constitution, is the best assurance for the realisation of one Nigeria.    At a press conference in Lagos, Thursday, the group, led by Professor of Law, Ben Nwabueze, said although a majority of Nigerians are committed to the indivisibility of the country, they need to be given an opportunity to negotiate the conditions.    “In our circumstances as a country, with a vast expanse of territory, comprising a great diversity of ethnic nationalities, with divergent interests and outlooks, it seems generally agreed that a federal system, truly so-called, is the system appropriate to our situation,” the group said in a joint statement at the end of their meeting.    “We therefore conceive restructuring as requiring, modified as necessary, the restoration or re-establishment of the kind of federalism ...

 Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho expects Zlatan Ibrahimovic to challenge Romelu Lukaku for a starting berth when the Swedish striker returns to action. Ibrahimovic, 35, signed a one-year contract with United this week, having been sidelined since sustaining a serious knee ligament injury four months ago. Manchester United’s Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho reacts after the UEFA Europa League final football match Ajax Amsterdam v Manchester United on May 24, 2017 at the Friends Arena in Solna outside Stockholm. / AFP PHOTO Lukaku has made an impressive start to his Old Trafford career, but Mourinho says that when Ibrahimovic returns to fitness, he will be given a chance to take the Belgian’s place. “Zlatan knows me,” Mourinho told reporters on Friday. “And he knows that I play the players that I think are the best for the team. I always did it. “I always did that in my life, so if he comes here and he proves that he is the best, he plays. If...

Nigerian police force The officer under whose watch a suspected rapist and murderer escaped from the police custody in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has been dismissed and subsequently arraigned in court by the Nigerian police. Johnbosco Okoroeze, a sergeant, was in handcuffs when he was brought before a Chief Magistrate in Port Harcourt, Sokari Andrew-Jaja, on Thursday. Mr. Okoroeze was accused of obstruction of justice and conspiracy. He was noticed crying profusely in the courtroom. The chief magistrate ordered that he should be remanded in the prison custody, while the case was adjourned to September 14. Mr. Okoroeze was the officer investigating Ifeanyi Dike for the alleged rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl, Chikamso Victory, in Port Harcourt. The suspect escaped from the police custody on Saturday night at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, few hours after he was arrested. The girl’s body had its vagina, fingers, breasts, and tongue cut off, apparentl...

                Governor Fayose The Ekiti State governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose has given reasons why he ignored the meeting of state governors with the President, Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa earlier today. President Buhari had met with state governors after meeting with the leadership of both the All Progressive Congress, APC, and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP. At the meeting with governors, Governor Fayose was visibly absent. Ayodele Fayose However, giving reasons for his absence at the meeting, Fayose said he could not abandon his planned event just to attend a impromptu meeting with Buhari. Governor Fayose who took to his tweeter handle to state his reasons for being absent at the meeting said although he received the invitation for the meeting, he had however already scheduled meetings with some respected citizens in preparations for his chieftaincy title installation as the Apesin of Ado Ekiti. He also said th...

The British Government has awarded 40 Nigerians the prestigious Chevening Scholarship to study a wide range of master’s programmes in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2018. The recipients were selected from a pool of over 6,000 applications in Nigeria and more than 63,000 applications across the globe. Speaking at a pre-departure reception held in Abuja yesterday, the British High Commissioner, Paul Arkwright, said the applicants who won the scholarships did incredibly well to have been among the less than 1 percent awardees. While announcing the opening of the 2018/2019 application cycle, Arkwright said the British Government had been consistent in its award of the annual scholarship programme for the past 34 years; adding that the aim of the programme is to help young people of Nigerian origin make the difference that would transform the potentials of the country into economic and political gains for all citizens. He maintained that as a requirement for selection, all applica...

Sabastine and Helen Wakdok Last night was indeed a charming one for a couple who won the highly competitive Chevening Scholarships to study in the United Kingdom. Sabastine and Helen Wakdok, both qualified physicians in Abuja, were the focus of attention at a ceremony that was held in honour of this year’s recipients of the scholarships. “We knew people would be fascinated by our luck,” Mr. Wakdok told PREMIUM TIMES at the event which held at the residence of the UK Ambassador to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright. The couple said although they had become professionals in the public health sector for years, obtaining further education had always been at the top of their priorities. “We’ve always wished we could go for our masters, but financial constraint had made it impossible until this opportunity came,” Mrs. Wakdok said. They said their four years of living together as a couple contributed immensely towards crafting their essays for application. “We aimed to flow with each other while ...

An unremorseful serial killer who defiled and stabbed his final victim 98 times, clapped in court as he was sent to prison for 71 years, as he taunted families of his victims with ‘At least I’m still alive’ remark. 20-year-old Cameron Wilson was found guilty of 13 charges including five murders, one r*pe and three attempted murder charges in a South African Court as he appeared unfazed by the crowded gallery as Western Cape High Court Judge Chantel Fortuin read her ruling. Wilson received four life terms for the murders of Toyher Stober, Stacey Lee Mohale, Lekita Moore and for the r*pe of Dawney Davids. He was handed 15 years for the murder of Alfonso van Rooyen, five years for possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, 15 years for the murder of Ernest Erasmus, 10 years for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit a crime, six years for assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm and 10 years for the murder of Roslyn Lakay. When the...

The Federal Government has asked the court to revoke the bail granted to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. The government cited disobedience of the bail conditions granted to Kanu as part of the reasons for its request. Details later… Courtesy: Channels tv

Stephen A. Smith dances with Jabbawockeez in Las Vegas  Watch the human animated dance video below:

A 72-year-old retired cab driver, Angela Nwachukwu, has lamented the denial of visa to her Owerri, Imo State-based husband, CJ Nwachukwu. Angela said she was frustrated because since her marriage to CJ in April 2015, she had only been able to see him two times. The pensioner, who is based in Dorchester, Dorset, has three children aged 50, 47 and 43, with many grandchildren. She has also been married twice and recently disengaged from a 16-year relationship. In an interview with a United Kingdom-based tabloid,  The SUN , she said she met CJ on  Facebook after the computer engineer sent her a message, complimenting her profile photo. She noted that after chatting for three months, the 27-year-old asked for her hand in marriage and she agreed to marry him, adding that her trip to Nigeria for their wedding in 2015 was their first time of meeting face to face. The grandma, however, lamented that since the marriage was consummated, CJ had been denied vi...

        ( High-dose, long-term use of vitamins B12 and B6 dramatically increase a man's risk of lung cancer, especially among those who smoke, according to a new... What tobacco does to your health Study finds higher lung cancer risk among male smokers taking high levels of certain B vitamin supplements The study did not find the same association for women or nonsmokers (CNN)Men who took high doses of vitamin B6 and B12 supplements had a higher risk of lung cancer, and the association was highest among current smokers, according to a study published Tuesday. The study found a 30% to 40% increased risk of lung cancer among men taking these vitamins from individual supplements -- not from multivitamins or diet alone. But the effect seemed to be driven by current smokers who far exceeded the recommended daily amounts of the vitamins, according to study author Theodore Brasky, an epidemiologist in the division of cancer prevention and control at the Ohio...

The city of Port Harcourt is still witnessing a brewing ‘war’ between two popular men of God, Apostle Chinyere Chibuzor of Omega Power Ministries OPM and Senior Pastor David Ibiyeomie founder of Salvation Ministries. First was the silent move by Pastor David Ibiyeomie in destroying brothels, Night Clubs and joints that house prostitutes and adjoining businesses associated with weird life style. Apostle Chinyere Chibuzor then took it upon himself to preach to the s*x workers, baptize them and even join them in marriage. Pastor David Ibiyeomie, during a recent program at his church in Port Harcourt, has declared that anyone that is 35 of age and is still unmarried is irresponsible. According to him, “ If you are still single at 35, you are an irresponsible person .” Adding that it is not the will God. Well, Apostle Chibuzor chinyere didn’t agree with him, hence the shade below….

The heir to the Samsung business empire, which includes the world’s biggest smartphone maker, was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for bribery and other offences in connection with the scandal that brought down South Korean president Park Geun-Hye. Lee Jae-Yong’s penalty could leave the giant firm rudderless for years and hamper its ability to make key investment decisions. The vice-chairman of Samsung Electronics, 49, arrived at Seoul Central District Court on a justice ministry bus handcuffed, bound with white rope around his dark jacket, and carrying an envelope of documents. Lee was found guilty of bribery, embezzlement, perjury and other charges centred on payments and promises by Samsung totalling 43.3 billion won (around $40 million) to Park’s secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil.  The court found the money was in return for policy favours including government support for Lee’s hereditary succession at the group, after his father was left bedr...

               Pastor E. Adebayo A Legal Practitioner, Moses Oddiri, has dragged the principal of Redeemers International Secondary School, Feyisara Osinupebi; Pastor Ben Akabueze; former General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Enoch Adeboye; the British Council; and Cambridge IGCSE; before a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja. He is challenging the refusal of the defendants to release the certificates of his son, Andre Oddiri. In an originating summons, Oddiri said the decision to withhold his son’s 2016 Cambridge I.G.C.S.E result, the updated transcript from Junior Secondary School 1 to Senior Secondary School 3, his testimonial/statement, and the 2017 WAEC result over alleged non-payment of third term school fees, was dubious. On July 12, 2017, Justice Oke-Lawal, ordered that the documents in the custody of the 1st and 2nd respondents be deposited with the Chief Registrar of the court for preservation, pending the ou...

A woman identified as Rezia Begum has leg swollen to enormous proportions in a potentially-deadly condition, the victim’s right leg weighs around 60kg. The mother-of-two, from Bangladesh, has suffered with the condition ever since the birth of her second daughter 18 years ago. Although it is unclear how Ms Begum’s condition affects her, she says she is now dependent on the support of her relatives. Ms Begum said: ‘I was like any other normal woman but now I’m a burden on my poor family.’ Although she is being cared for at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Bangladesh, she is yet to begin treatment. Surgery and additional tests are required before therapy can start. The cause of Ms Begum’s condition is unclear, however, previous reports of other cases revealed the disorder can be caused by roundworms entering the body via mosquitoes. If the swelling spreads from the legs to the abdomen, the condition can be fatal. Elephantiasis affects around 120 million people globally. It is c...

( hookah; narghile; nargileh; sheesha; shisha; chicha; calean; kalian; water pipe; hubble-bubble; hubbly-bubbly: an oriental tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water (ex.: a bipolar world with the hookah and Turkish coffee versus hamburgers and Coca Cola) Smoking shisha has become a trend among the youth today. Many young adults gather in shisha cafes and share the pipe between friends. They see smoking shisha as a pleasant and relaxing experience. Approximately 44% of them believe shisha is not as harmful as cigarettes.  However research has shown that smoking shisha is worse than smoking regular cigarettes. Why do young people think smoking shisha is safer? Many people wrongly believe that bubbling tobacco smoke through water makes it safe. This misconception originated in the 15 th century when a physician called Hakim Abu Faith wanted to make smoking shisha safer. He believed that if the toba...

A beautiful young mother has been found brutally stabbed to death inside her own flat, sparking lots of tension in her community. According to a Metro UK report, a young mother found brutally stabbed to death in her flat in Bristol has been named as Asiyah Harris. Asiyah, a 27-year-old with two young children, had suffered multiple stab wounds when officers found her body at her flat. Friends have been left ‘broken’ after paramedics tragically failed to resuscitate her in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Officers cordoned off the block of flats in the St Paul’s area of the city, and were seen searching nearby grassy areas following the killing at around 12.30am. Avon and Somerset Police said that a 27-year-old woman was arrested, but has been released under investigation. A 37-year-old man remains in custody for further questioning. Shocked friends of Asiyah’s have left heartfelt tributes to the ‘beautiful’ and ‘loyal’ woman on her Facebook page. ‘It feels like a dream,’ ...