Sudanese Ambassador to Nigeria dies In Abuja

The Sudanese ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Tagelsir Ali, has died. The Media Advisor to the Sudanese embassy in Nigeria, Mr Mohammed Abdulrahman, who confirmed his death told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that Dr Ali died in the early hours of today October 24th at the National Hospital, Abuja where he was being treated from malaria.

“He had malaria. There were some complications and he passed away around 1 a.m. early this morning. There is a Presidential jet coming by 5 p.m. to take the remains to Sudan for burial. He was 66 years old. He loved working in Nigeria and had zeal to develop the bilateral relationship between Sudan and Nigeria and was able to stretch himself very well,” Abdulrahman said. May his soul rest in peace Amen

Mali becomes sixth West African nation hit by Ebola

Mali confirmed its first case of Ebola on Thursday, becoming the sixth West African country to be touched by the worst outbreak on record of the haemorrhagic fever, which has killed nearly 4,900 people.

Mali's Health Minister Ousmane Kone told state television that the patient in the western town of Kayes was a two-year-old girl who had recently arrived from neighbouring Guinea, where the outbreak began.

"The condition of the girl, according to our services, is improving thanks to her rapid treatment," the minister told state television.

A health ministry official, who asked not to be identified, said the girl's mother died in Guinea a few weeks ago and the baby was brought by relatives to the Malian capital Bamako, where she stayed for 10 days in the Bagadadji neighbourhood before heading to Kayes.

A ministry statement said the girl, who came from the Guinean town of Kissidougou, was admitted at the Fousseyni Daou hospital in Kayes on Wednesday night, where she was promptly tested for Ebola.

People who came into contact with the patient in Kayes have been identified and placed under watch, the minister said, but he appealed to any person who believed they may have had contact with the girl to step forward.

The vast majority of the deaths and nearly 10,000 cases of the disease have been in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Small outbreaks also spread to Senegal and Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, but they have since been declared Ebola-free by the WHO.

The official numbers are known to be under-reported and the true death toll may be three times as much, the WHO said this week.

A completely separate outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa also appears to have been contained.

New York doctor tests positive for Ebola -NY Times

A physician with Doctors Without Borders who returned to New York City from West Africa has tested positive for Ebola, the New York Times said on Thursday.

The doctor was identified as Craig Spencer, who was working for the humanitarian organisation in Guinea, one of three West African nations hardest hit by Ebola.

Spencer, 33, developed a fever and gastrointestinal symptoms and notified Doctors Without Borders on Thursday morning, the organisation said in a statement.Spencer was transported to Bellevue Hospital from his Manhattan apartment by a specially trained team wearing protective gear, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said in a statement.

He tested positive for Ebola, the Times said, making him the city's first diagnosed case.

Spencer's Facebook page, which included a photo of him clad in protective gear, said he went to Guinea around Sept. 18 and then flew to Brussels on Oct. 16.

He has specialised in international emergency medicine at Columbia University-New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City since 2011, according to his profile on the LinkedIn career website.

Columbia in a statement said he has not been to work nor seen any patients since his return.

Immigration arrests illegal immigrant in Lagos

The Nigeria Immigration Service, Lagos State Command, on Thursday arrested 27 women and a 15-year-old boy in the Lagos Mainland area of the state.

The suspects were nationals of Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana,they were said to be without a valid entry passport or visa, and would be repatriated as soon as the agency concluded all necessary investigation.

A few of the women were nursing mothers who had their babies strapped to their backs,while the elderly ones showed remorse, the young ladies in the group chatted away as they avoided press interview and snapshots.A woman in her 50s, who identified herself as Mrs Oluwaseun Joseph, from Cotonou, Benin Republic, was in tears as she pleaded for time to get her documents.

Joseph, who spoke in Yoruba with PUNCH Metro, said although she had stayed long in Nigeria, she did not know the importance of a valid passport until she was arrested on Thursday.She said, “I have been in this country for a long time. I gave birth to my three children here. My husband who is also from Benin Republic, died some years ago.

“The work I do is to carry people’s load at Ebute Meta. I started the work when I was sick and needed money,that was what I was doing when they came to arrest me. If I had known about the document, I would have got it long ago. What will I do now? My kids are still in school.”

Fifteen-year-old Ishay Befaye said he had been in Lagos for only one month,he said, “I am 15 years old. I came to Lagos on my own. My father is dead while my mother is in Benin Republic. I finished learning bricklaying in Benin and I came to Nigeria to find work. I planned to raise enough money and then regularise my papers. I make a lot of money from the work.

“I have a bank account in Lagos where I keep the money. I am just begging them to give me some time to get home and tell my friends that I want to go to the village to get my papers.”

But the state’s Comptroller, Justina Ahamdu, said that the command would not give the illegal immigrants a second chance. Ahmadu said the agency had had a meeting with heads of ECOWAS members in the state, to warn against the danger of living in the country without valid documents.

She said, “I had a meeting with the heads of ECOWAS in the state in August when I resumed office, and I told them to warn their people staying in the country illegally, that if we picked them, we would not listen to them. And it was during the meeting I learnt that they also usually had periodic meetings with their fellow countrymen.

“Normally, when we go for raids like this, we profile and screen them before repatriating them. While repatriating them, we tell them that to be legal residents, they need to get valid documents and pass through authorised routes, before they can be allowed to stay. This is a continuous process.”

She warned that Nigerians, who keep illegal immigrants for cheap labour or obstruct officials of the agency from making arrests, may also be made to face the wrath of the law.

Court remands pastor for snatching cars at gunpoint

A district pastor of a church in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, has been remanded by a Lagos Magistrate’s Court sitting in Ikeja,the 37-year-old pastor, Adebambo Adetunji, was alleged to be one of the gang members, who robbed motorists at the Ojota Bus stop, between April and July, 2014.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Adetunji and other suspects, who were still on the run, were notorious for snatching cars and robbing victims of their valuables at gun point.

PUNCH correspondent gathered that a Toyota Camry and a Mercedes Benz ML320 with number plates MUS 413 BH and LND 623 BF respectively, were diverted by the suspected robbers, who were said to have also used cutlasses in their operations.

While the Mercedes Benz car was said to be the property of one Boniface Joseph, who was robbed around 10.30pm on April 30, at the bus stop, one Oluwatoyin Badmus, was reportedly robbed of her   Toyota Camry around 6pm on July 6 at the same spot.The police said Joseph also lost two phones and an IPad to the robbers, adding that valuables lost by the duo were worth N4.5m.

It was learnt that Adetunji was arrested by men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad led by SP Abba Kyari after Badmus had reported the attack to the police.

The prosecutor, Inspector Nurudeen Thomas, on Thursday, brought the suspect, who hails from Osun State, before the Magistrate, Mrs. M.O. Oshodi, on three counts bordering on armed robbery.Oshodi, who was holding brief for Mrs. Dan Oni, refused to listen to the defendant’s plea and ordered that he be remanded pending the time the Directorate of Public Prosecutions would issue legal advice on the matter.

The charges read in part, “That you, Adebambo Adetunji and others now at large, on April 30, 2014 at about 10.30pm at Ojota Bus stop in the Lagos Magisterial District while armed with guns and cutlasses did rob one Mercedes Benz Jeep ML320 with registration number LND 623 BF valued N1, 850,000, IPad valued N80,000, Blackberry Bold 5 valued N30,000, Nokia E5 valued N26,000 and cash sum of N250,000 total value N2,236,000 property of one Boniface Joseph.

“That you, and others now at large on July 6, 2014 at about 5.30pm at Ojota Bus stop in the aforementioned magisterial district did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit; armed robbery.

“That you and others now at large on the same date, time and place in the aforesaid magisterial district while armed with guns and cutlasses did rob one Toyota Camry 2008 model with registration number MUS 413 BH valued N2.3m property of one Oluwatoyin Badmus.”

It was said that the offences contravened Section 5 (b) and were punishable under Section 1 (2) (a) (b) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, Cap. 398, Vol. XXII, Law of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 and 2003 as amended.

Adetunji, who was clad in Ankara, burst into tears on hearing the charges.

Checkout Throwback Picture Of President Jonathan And Patience

This was their university days...she was a student, he was a lecturer.

3 Days Vacation

Lmao Peter Okoye captioned it "Emeka just arrived from London " Can this be real or photoshop?