05/18/18

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
Emergency personnel work at the site of the accident after a Cubana de Aviacion aircraft crashed after taking off from Havana’s Jose Marti airport on May 18, 2018. Yamil LAGE / AFP


A Cuban state airways plane with 104 passengers on board crashed shortly after taking off from Havana Friday, leaving a wreck of smouldering fuselage, as the country’s president warned many people were feared dead.

The Boeing 737 operated by Cubana de Aviacion crashed into a field close to a wooded area near Havana’s Jose Marti airport, sending a thick column of acrid smoke into the air, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

The plane was almost completely destroyed in the crash and subsequent fire. Firefighters, some still hosing down the burnt fuselage, and rescue workers combed through the wreckage, but there seemed little chance of finding survivors.

What appeared to be one of the wings of the plane was wedged among scorched tree trunks, but the main fuselage appeared to have been entirely destroyed.

Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who went to visit the scene, said there was a “high number” of casualties.

“There has been an unfortunate aviation accident. The news is not very promising, it seems that there is a high number of victims,” Diaz-Canel was quoted as saying after his visit.

Diaz-Canel said nine crew members were believed to have been on board, in addition to the passengers.

The 58-year-old president, who succeeded Raul Castro as the island’s leader only last month, appeared aghast as he surveyed the recovery efforts, wearing a short-sleeved green shirt and surrounded by officials.

Airport sources said the jetliner was heading from the capital to the eastern city of Holguin.

State television said the airliner was operated by a foreign crew, but gave no details.

Reports said European airline Blue Panorama had been leasing a 737-400 plane to Cubana de Aviacion for several months.

The last major airline crash in Cuba was in July 1997, when an Antonov-24 passenger plane fell into the sea off Santiago de Cuba. All 44 aboard were killed, including two Brazilians and two Spaniards.

In March 2002, a small Antonov-2 plane travelling from Cienfuegos to Cayo Coco crashed in the central province of Santa Clara. All 16 people aboard, among them six Canadian tourists, four Britons and two Germans.

AFP/LR News
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.


A South African Pentecostal pastor was handed a 30-day suspended jail term on Friday for repeatedly making homophobic comments, including a suggestion that gays be locked in cages like animals.

Oscar Bougardt was found guilty by a Cape Town court of making statements that discriminate and incite hatred against homosexuals.

He was also ruled in breach of an earlier court order that barred him in 2014 from verbally attacking homosexuals.

Judge Lee Bozalek sentenced Bougardt to a 30-day jail term, suspended for five years provided he makes no further anti-gay comments.

Bougardt is a pastor at Calvary H.O.P.E Ministries in Cape Town.

In 2016 he described homosexuals as “criminal” and said, “99 percent of paedophiles have (a) homosexual background”.

In 2015, he said, “To hell with homosexuals, …their lifestyle is an abomination to God, but Christians in South Africa are too scared to speak out against (it)”.

“If I was the president of my country I would lock them in cages where they belong. They don’t even deserve a prison cell,” according to a transcript of his remarks, read out in court.

The judge said the pastor’s statement “advocates the criminalisation of gay sex, including by implication punishment by death through stoning”.

“Not only do such statements dehumanise gays and lesbian people, they advocate hatred towards them,” Bozalek said.

South Africa is one of the few countries in Africa that recognises gay rights and the only one that allows same-sex marriages.

In September 2016, South Africa banned an anti-gay American pastor Steven Anderson from entering the country, after an outcry from rights groups over his characterisation of gays as “sodomites” and “paedophiles”.
AFP/LR News

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Inspector Charles Omotosho


The police have arrested one Inspector Charles Omotosho, an operative of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) over alleged extortion.

Omotosho was apprehended for allegedly arresting a lady in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State, after which he was said to have forcefully collecting N5,000 from the victim.

The Police Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) revealed this on Friday in its news bulletin through an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr Abayomi Shogunle.

“On 16th May, 2018, the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) received a complaint from a citizen via Twitter [@ife_luv12] that a Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Operative forced her to make a bank transfer of Five Thousand Naira (N5,000) to the said SARS operative’s bank account following an arrest for no just cause.

“PCRRU immediately registered the case (Tracking Number PCRRU316356) and initiated an investigation. The officer was promptly identified to be Inspector Charles Omotosho attached to Federal SARS, Ikorodu, Lagos State,” the statement read.
Inspector Charles Omotosho holding a copy of his statement of bank account which confirms the alleged extortion of N5,000.

The police unit revealed that Omotosho was immediately removed from front-line police duties and taken into custody after he was identified to have purportedly committed the crime.

It added that a copy of the officer’s statement of bank account was obtained and the entry of the said transfer was discovered therein in the course of a preliminary investigation.

PCRRU noted that it established that there was a contact between the officer’s patrol team and the complainant and others at Ikorodu as contained in the complaint.
A screenshot of the complaint as received by the Police PCRRU via Twitter

Consequently, Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, directed the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Command, Lagos to carry out a detailed investigation.

The IGP also ordered the AIG to commence the immediate necessary disciplinary action against Omotosho, as provided for in the Police Act and Regulations Cap. P19. Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

PCRRU said it has handed the erring officer to the AIG Zone 2 Command, Lagos together with a print out of his statement of bank account for necessary action while the outcome would be made public soon.


It, however, urged members of the public who are not happy with any encounter with the police not to resort to self-help but lodge a complaint at PCRRU via any of its readily available means.

The PCRRU channels are, “Calls Only: 0805 700 0001, 0805 700 0002 | SMS and WhatsApp Only: 0805 700 0003 |  BBM: 58A2B5DE  | Twitter: @PoliceNG_PCRRU |Facebook: www.facebook.com/PolicePCRRU | Email: complaint@npf.gov.ng OR PolicePCRRU@gmail.com | Website: www.npf.gov.ng/complaint.”

The police unit also vowed that any act of impunity by any of the force personnel would be resisted, maintaining that bail is free.
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President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed the commitment of his administration to establishing peace and security in Nigeria.

The President said this after he received a briefing from the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai on the security of the nation.

Buhari took to his official Twitter handle, @Mbuhari, to disclose this after a closed-door meeting with the COAS at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja, on Thursday.

“I received a briefing from the Chief of Army Staff this afternoon. The Army recently established a new battalion in Birnin-Gwari, Kaduna State, in addition to other deployments in troubled parts of the country. Our commitment to the peace and security of Nigeria is total,” President Buhari’s tweet read.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai during his meeting with President Buhari vowed to track down the perpetrators of Birnin Gwari attacks that left at least seven dead and five others injured.

He said the army would collaborate with other security agencies in dislodging miscreant believed to be hiding.

“We will continue to operate with other security agencies that have been charged with the responsibility of securing our country,” he said.

The COAS further expressed the optimism of the gradual return of the Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) to their respective communities.
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After pleading guilty to stealing phones valued at N110,000, a 21-year-old bus conductor, Seun Ayinde, was on Friday remanded in Kirikiri Prisons.
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, which gave the ruling, said the man should remain behind bars pending sentence on June 4.
Ayinde, a resident of Ketu, Lagos, had pleaded guilty to a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing before Magistrate Mrs A.K Dosunmu.
The accused committed the offences on May 12 at Ojodu-Berger, Lagos, the Police prosecutor, Sgt. Dada Wasiu, told the court.
He said that the accused conspired with two other persons still at large to steal two phones belonging to Mr Onyekachi Ukabi.
“The accused stole a Techno Phantom 6 valued at N75,000 and a Lenovo phone worth N35,000, totalling N110,000,” Wasiu said.
The prosecutor said that the complainant was inside his car when the accused approached him and started asking him irrelevant questions.
“The accused distracted the complainant by asking him for direction; before he knew what was happening, one of the accused took his phones which he put on the handbrakes.
“The accused took to their heels, but the complainant abandoned his car and ran after them.
“He was able to apprehend the accused, and others escaped with the phones.
“The complainant handed over the accused to the police,” the prosecutor said.
The offences contravene Sections 287 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015(Revised).
The section 287 prescribes three years jail term for stealing, while conspiracy, according to section 411, attracts two years imprisonment.
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Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.


The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has debunked the allegation that he orchestrated the recent arrest of some youths in Kwara State by the Police.

In a statement signed on Thursday by his Special Assistant, Segun Adeyemi, the Minister said that he “vehemently rejects this accusation”. He noted that he had nothing to do with the arrest of the youths.

“The attention of the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has been drawn to the accusation by the Kwara South Youths Stakeholders that he orchestrated the recent arrest by the police of some youths in the Kwara South.

“The Honorable Minister vehemently rejects this accusation. He has nothing to do with the arrest of the youths in Kwara South and believes – contrary to the allegation by the stakeholders – that the arrest has nothing to do with the Ward Congress in his hometown of Oro. Afterall, suspected cultists were also recently arrested and paraded by the police in Ilorin.”

The statement added further that the police, in the exercise of its constitutional responsibility, does not need to be goaded by anyone to carry out arrests where necessary.

Concerning the outcome of the election in his Oro Ward 2, Mohammed said he has made his observations on the conduct of the election known to the appropriate party authorities, in line with his belief in the rule of law.

“The only credible Ward election was the one held by the genuine party members in Oro Ward 2. That explains why, after the election, there was a rally around Oro Town that eventually terminated in the country home of the Hon. Minister. He does not believe there is any linkage between the election and the arrests,” he added.

The Minister stressed that he did not believe there was any linkage between the election and the arrests.

Kwara South Youths stakeholders had earlier accused the Minister of conniving with the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) of arresting seven youths due to the alleged frustration of the Minister losing the last ward congress. LR News
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), in collaboration with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) and with the active support of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Ministry of Transport has been returned to the seaports and borders.

According to the agency, this is to effectively control importation of unregulated products, falsified and substandard drugs, unwholesome foods, narcotic drugs and hazardous chemical substances and foods into the country.

NAFDAC said it received the notice on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 in a letter dated 29th March, 2018 from the office of the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo as part of the PEBEC reforms.

In a statement signed on Thursday, the Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Christianah Mojisola Adeyeye, said thousands of Nigerians have died because of falsified and substandard medicines.

He also noted that the development became even more necessary following a recently released documentary on codeine abuse.

He said: “Many are currently ill, most likely due to unwholesome foods, drugs and abuse of narcotics and controlled substances, such as codeine, tramadol,
pentazocine, etc. These are partly due to exclusion of NAFDAC from our ports since 2011. The recent documentary on codeine abuse brought more attention to the issue”.

He further stated that apart from the dangers posed to public health, drug abuse weakens and slows down economic and national development, as well as “increases the threats to national security”.

“The need for return of NAFDAC officials to the Ports and borders has been emphasized in different fora by the new NAFDAC’s DG but received a boost in the Communique issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser at the end of the National Chemical Security Training Conference in Abuja on 16th March, 2018.

The theme of the conference was “Towards a Secured Importation, Distribution, Storage and Use of Chemicals in Nigeria,” the statement noted.


The agency expressed gratitude to the Office of the NSA, the Chemical Society of Nigeria, The Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMGMAN), among other key stakeholders for recognizing it as a key player in the national security architecture,

It therefore, promised that with the help of Nigerian Customs Service, the Shippers Council and other sister agencies, it will “ensure that products that pose danger to the population are controlled at the point of entry.

“In addition, the presence of NAFDAC at the ports and borders will reduce significantly the evasion of payments of statutory fees for importation of regulated products, thus increasing the Agency’s internally generated revenue and that of the Federal Government,” the agency stated.

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