Photos from Rukky Sanda's Lovelorn movie premiere

The premiere held last Saturday November 24th at Aura. 

Uche Jombo R and Rukky

Ebube Nwagbo, guest and Oge Okoye

Ikay Ogbonna, Tonto and Rukky

Vivian Ejike, Rukky and Yemi Blaq

Yemi Blaq and Susan Peters

Monalisa Chinda and Rukky

Rukky and Omotola

Paul, Jude and Peter Okoye with Rukky Sanda

Hot or not: Kim K's white dress

The reality star wore this white dress complete with a see-through mesh panels at a store opening in Kuwait City yesterday. You like the dress?

Fausat Balogun buried in Brazil

Wondering who Fausat Balogun is or was in this case? Well, she's the 72 year old woman who was arrested in Brazil for carrying drugs 

Unfortunately she passed away on the 30th of October, 2012 due to a mild stroke caused by the high blood pressure which she'd been suffering from before arriving at the penitentiary. She died at the hospital for women inside the penitentiary in Brazil.

No family member came for her body so she was buried at the Vila Formosa Municipal Graveyard in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The trip to Brazil was actually her first time out of Nigeria, and some heartless people decided to use her as a drug courier without her knowledge. She died in that country and was buried there. Truly sad!

Akon is sending his money to Africa.

Pregnant Nollywood Actress Silifa Ladeji Beaten to Death by Lover

News reaching us from the Yoruba movie industry, otherwise known as ANTP, indicates that one of the fast rising actresses, Silifa Ladeji famously known as Silifonia, was on Wednesday beaten to death by her lover during a misunderstanding.

A close friend of the late Silifonia, who is also an actress, said that Silifonia who was heavily pregnant before her sudden demise had been a victim of battery and assault in the hands of her lover.

We gathered that the suspect is currently at large, while the corpse of Silifonia has been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary. Keep in touch for full details shortly

Mercy Johnson Magazine

Man Jailed For 7 Years For Having Séx With Daughter

An Oredo Magistrate Court in Benin yesterday sentenced a 47-year-old man, Godwin Allu, to seven years imprisonment with hard labour for having séx with his daughter.

The accused who pleaded guilty to the one-count charge of having unlawful carnal knowledge of his 12-year-old daughter, Blessing, was said to have committed an offense punishable under Section 218 of the Criminal Code Cap. 48 Vol. II of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria, 1976 as applicable in Edo State.

Prosecuting counsel, Miss. Loretta Asaka, told the court that on November 20, 2012, one Mrs. Verlaine Enemaku reported the case at the charge room of the Central Juvenile Welfare Centre of the Nigeria Police in Benin, after being told by the Headmistress of Obaseki Primary School, Benin, that blood stains were discovered on the victim’s uniform.

The complainant said upon interrogation, the victim told the head mistress that her father had séx with her three times on different occasions. It was gathered that the victim, who was admitted and treated at the Benin Central Hospital was later discharged and taken to an orphanage.

Delivering judgment in the case, Chief Magistrate Peter Asemota, who expressed gladness that the accused voluntarily pleaded guilty to the crime, pronounced him guilty as charged.

Asemota, who observed that cases of séxual offenses were on the increase in her jurisdiction, said it was necessary for the court to join other stakeholders in taking a serious stand against the vice.

“For this reason, the convict must be put out of circulation for sometime so that he would not be able to continue with his bestial activities,” the magistrate said.

The court thereafter sentenced the accused to seven years imprisonment with hard labour and no option of fine

Mercy Johnson Is Not My Friend - Tonto Dikeh

Highly controversial Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh who recently had a messy fight with star actress Mercy Johnson has confirmed the rift.

Tonto Dike who claims Mercy Johnson is not just her type said she had let go of everything that transpired between them.

In a recent interview, when puzzled on why she chose not to attend Mercy Johnson’s wedding, here is what the actress said: “That’s not the reason I didn’t attend her wedding, it’s surprising,why people think you just have to be everybody’s friend.

In the industry, I don’t know half of the producers and I work for them, I don’t even know half of my colleagues but I work with them.

I kiss and hug them on set. We flow, we enjoy the friendship on set based on the energy and connection that exists between myself and the next person on set but that does not mean we are friends in the real sense of it.

You can’t just be a friend to everybody, it’s a normal thing. Mercy Johnson is not just my friend”.

When asked about a serious fight she allegedly had with Mercy Johnson, here is what the actress said, “Even if I had, I had let go everything. It doesn’t really matter to me anymore.

Everybody is doing well, It’s just because we are not close, we only did about two or three movies together. We have never been close friends.”

Tragedy: Ex-Nigerian Footballer Dies Shortly After Wedding

Tragedy recently struck the household of former fringe defender of Nigeria's Super Eagles, Obinna Nnodim, who passed on in Owerri.

Jerry Uche, an ex-teammate to the former Julius Berger football club of Lagos stopper disclosed to newsmen that Nnodim gave up the ghost in a mysterious circumstance shortly after his wedding ceremony with his fiancée.

After an injury he sustained on the field, he suffered a broken knee which necessitated his travel to Thailand where he underwent knee surgery. However, that didn’t stop him from playing actively.

“Obinna was looking hale and hearty when I saw him few days before his death. He just returned from Thailand for his wedding.

We all wined and dined together only to receive the sad news few days ago that he was dead. This is a big shock to me and the rest of us.

I just want to believe that there is more to it than meets the eyes. His mother has been ill for so many years and to make matter worse he is the bread winner of the family’’,Uche lamented.

Until his death, Nnodim , 31, featured for Arugo FC of Owerri, Julius Berger, Dolphins and Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt.

The high point of his career was when he helped Julius Berger to reach the final of the African Winners Cup now known as the Confederation Cup in 2003.

Meanwhile, Nnodim’s burial which had been initially slated for Thursday has been suspended indefinitely by the family until the cause of death is ascertained.

'How MASSOB Leader, Uwazuruike Beat SSS, Escape Arrest'

Leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Raph Uwazuruike, last weekend beat the men of the state security services, SSS, attached to late Dim Emeka Ojukwu’s residence and escaped arrest over alleged lawless activities during the traditional removal of mourning cloth by Ojukwu family at Umudim, Nnewi.

The first son of the late Ezeigbogburugburu, Chief Emeka Ojukwu jnr, who spoke to reporters, yesterday, on the incident, said the attempt by the SSS to arrest Uwazuruike was because of the unruly behaviour he and his personal security, in their hundreds, exhibited at the family home early morning of the day before the church service.

He said Uwazuruike, who was invited to the occasion by Ojukwu’s wife, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, had neglected the advice of the security men at the gate that he should go into the compound with a few of his men but defied the advice.

Vanguard Nigeria

Dr. Dre is #1 on Forbes’ highest-paid musicians list for 2012

Veteran hip-hop artist Dr. Dre, 47,  topped Forbes’ list of the 25 highest-paid musicians in 2012, released on Thursday.

It might be a shock to see Dre as number one but apart his extensive back catalogue, Dre’s lucrative headphones business, Beats by Dre, helped him gross $100 million (62.3 million pounds) in pre-tax earnings according to Forbes.

A few months ago, Forbes named ranked him number one on the Hip-Hop top earner’s list and now he retains the position as highest paid musician.

In the top ten lists, there were some regulars like Elton John at number three; Britney Spears was number seven with earnings of $58 million, from her multi-million dollar “X Factor” deal, music sales and endorsements.

Justin Bieber, 18 and Taylor Swift, 22, were the only two artists under 30 to break the top 10 spot with Swift at number eight with earnings of $57 million, and Beiber at number 10 with earnings of $55 million.

R&B star Rihanna at No. 12 with $53 million, coming ahead of Lady Gaga at No. 13 with $52 million. Grammy-winning British singer Adele notched No. 22 on the list, tied with Kanye West, with earnings of $35 million following an impressive year for her album “21.”

Singer Beyonce and rapper Jay-Z, came in at number 18 and 20, respectively, with earnings of $40 million and $38 million.

Earlier this year, Dutch DJ Tiesto was named the highest-paid DJ in the fast-growing electronic dance music industry.

Last year’s highest-paid musicians U2 landed at No. 4 this year with combined earnings of $78 million from their three-year 360 tour. 1990s British boy band Take That, who reformed in 2005, rounded out the top five with $69 million, earned from an eight-date tour at London’s Wembley Stadium, which became the highest-grossing single stadium tour to date.

Forbes compiles its annual highest-paid musicians list by estimating artists’ earnings from music sales, live shows, endorsements, and merchandising.

Blasphemous Photo Of Obama As Jesus Christ

The painting is called “Truth” – and shows the president with his arms outstretched. A crown of thorns rests on his head.

It was originally supposed to debut nearly four years ago at New York City’s Union Square. But that event was cancelled due to public outrage.

In the piece, by Michael D’Antuono, the President is shown wearing a suit and red tie with his arms outstretched.

 

But instead of actually being nailed to a cross like Jesus, Mr Obama’s arms are extended drawing back a blue curtain. He has a crown of thorns resting on his head.

 

According to Michael D’Antuono……

 

‘I always regretted cancelling my exhibit in New York because I feel my First Amendment rights should override someone’s hurt feelings,’ Mr D’Antuono told Fox News.

Black Hole Found, 17 Billion Times as Massive as Sun, Frightens Scientists

You would probably not enjoy the galaxy NGC 1277. Never mind that it’s far — 220 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus. The problem is that at its center is a giant, giant black hole, 17 billion times as massive as our sun, so big that scientists calculate it makes up 59 percent of the mass of the galaxy’s disc.

Astrophysicists have long believed that there’s a black hole at the center of our Milky Way, but it probably accounts for something like 0.1 percent of the galaxy’s center. The one in NGC 1277, scientists report in today’s edition of the journal Nature, is the second largest they’ve ever observed, and it upends what they thought about how galaxies form.

Black holes, as you’ll recall, are objects in space so massive that their gravity consumes everything around them — stars, planets, matter, energy, even light. Earthly scientists can only observe their effect on the space around them, not see them directly. Be grateful we’re not close to one. They’re actually useful to astrophysicists in explaining the nice spiral shape of many galaxies — you need something massive in the middle for the stars to circle — but NGC 1277 is an extreme.

“This is a really oddball galaxy,” said Karl Gebhardt of the University of Texas at Austin, a member of the team that made the find. “It’s almost all black hole. This could be the first object in a new class of galaxy-black hole systems.”

Gebhardt and colleagues at the McDonald Observatory have been calculating the mass of different black holes — no small task considering their powerful gravity. The researchers put together an animation of how stars in that distant galaxy would behave, whipping around the center to avoid falling in.

What would you see if you lived on a habitable planet in that far-away galaxy and could look toward the center? Probably nothing that makes sense to human eyes. Black holes have such powerful gravity that they distort the space around them.

Here’s hoping your planet is in a nice, stable orbit around a star far from the action. If not, you might be drawn right into the black hole, destroyed so quickly.

ABC News

A Girl Made Me Bad- Iyanya Mbuk

Iyanya Mbuk, the sensational artiste no doubt, is smiling to the bank with his Kukere’s hit track.

His song which has become a national anthem has made him a big boy but when it comes to relationship, the handsome dude is found wanting the reason being that he once got his heart broken when his best friend married off his girlfriend.

In his words "I have been heartbroken by a Calabar girl before, it’s one of the most painful things that ever happened to me.

She made me bad actually. She gave me the idea that you don’t need to be so nice.

The most painful part is that she married my friend. So I live with that stuff everyday.

I still love Calabar girls, I respect them; they are sweet kind and very cool. I am not particular about tribe but that act is still fresh in my memory.’’

Ex-Nigerian Basketballer, Chinedu Onyeku Shot Dead In Alleged US Burglary

Reports say that a former basketballer with the Nigerian national basketball team, D'Tigers, Chinedu Onyeku, was shot dead in a failed burglary in that happened in Texas, USA on November 21, 2012.

The 29 years old former player was alleged to have broken into a residence on Rio Grande street, Plano with another person, who is now being tracked by the police. Chinedu was said to have been shot death by their alleged house burglary victim. 

The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBF) has released a statement on the death of Chinedu, who played a role in Nigeria's qualification in the 2012 London Olympics but didn't make the team. 

"[His] passion for playing with D’Tigers was deep-seated and he will be greatly missed. The federation joins his family and team mates to mourn a departed son, father, husband and great patriot," part of the reads.

It is still unclear if his remains will be flown to Nigeria for burial.

RMD In Fraud Mess; Allegedly Embezzles N50m In Delta State

Popular Nollywood actor turned politician, Richard Mofe Damijo (popularly called RMD), who's the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State has allegedly embezzled N50 million belonging to the ministry, together with the acting General Manager of the state’s Tourism Board, Philo Nkem Ajufo.

Sources in Delta State, including two employees of the Culture Ministry, told our reporter that a former commissioner in the Ministry had requested N50 million to organize the “Delta State Expo 2007.” However, the state government was unable to release the funds that particular year to sponsor the yearly event.

By some bizarre twist, the funds were finally released to the ministry’s tourism account in May, 2012.


“As soon as the money arrived, the commissioner said that the ministry could no longer hold the event since six years had elapsed,” said a source within the ministry. “The Honorable Commissioners also argued that Deltans would have forgotten about the event – and therefore the money should not be used for the purpose it was released.”

However, our reporter obtained documents from the Delta State Ministry of Finance stipulating that the N50 million must be spent on the event for which the Culture Ministry applied for it. The warrant was signed by one P.O. Evuojapha on behalf of the state's Commissioner of Finance. The warrant indicated that N35 million of the funds was to go to the Tourism Board.

Our sources disclosed that RMD connived to issue a check of N35 million in the name of Ms. Ajufo who reportedly deposited the sum into her First Bank private account number 3006131619. “Mrs. Ajufo and RMD then shared the money,” one of our sources asserted.

Another government source said, “It is very obvious that the manner the check was issued in the name of the board GM instead of in the name of the board was fraudulent. It portrays an element of fraud.”

Several of our sources depicted Ms. Ajufo as somebody versed in the art of warming up to top politicians in the state and getting her way.

Two sources said Ms. Ajufo used her share of the looted funds to start off a twin duplex building located at No.6 Dunkwu Crescent in Asaba, the state capital. The building is behind Junior Staff quarters and near a Redeemed Christian Church. One source said Ms. Ajufo started the project in June, 2012.

Surprisingly, a source close to Ms. Ajufo told SaharaReporters that the head of the tourism board had denied receiving any of the embezzled funds. “She accused Mr. Mofe Damijo of carting away the whole sum of N50 million even when her account was used to commit the fraud,” said the source.

Meanwhile, Ms. Ajufo’s staff have reportedly lost all patience with her manner of running the board. “The acting GM is very, very corrupt,” said a staffer. “As we talk, apart from her official car, the Tourism Board cannot boast of a single functional car. All the board’s cars are grounded. And in this era of technology, there is no single working computer apart from one in her office – which she doesn’t use. Her office is entitled to N1 million subventions every month, but as soon as the money comes the commissioner and the GM share most of it. The left over is never properly used by the GM.”

When a reporter sent a text to Ms. Ajufo, the embattled GM wrote back, “Please, speak with the Honorable Commissioner for Culture and Tourism. Thank you.”

Contacted by phone, Mr. Damijo denied all the allegations, insisting that no such money was released to his ministry at any time. “That matter is a dead matter,” he said. “There was no N50 million released to my ministry.” I run the Ministry with people, the Permanent Secretary and other directors.”


Source: SaharaReporters

Free Download: Rugged Records Presents: “Remote” + “Oga Na Master” Off The Money Making Music Album

Listen to 2 songs off the recently released Money Making Music album by Rugged Records acts, Ruggedman and M.Bryo. “Remote” was produced by Popitob while “Oga Na Master” was produced by Oga Ojo.

MBryo – Remote                 [DOWNLOAD]
Ruggedman – Oga Na Master     [DOWNLOAD]

VIDEO: Sheyman – Fed Up

“Three months after his impressive performances during Trybe Records’ UK Olympic Tour, Sheyman returns to London with his eye on leaving bachelor-hood and finding the right woman for his life. The self-proclaimed “King of Melody” skips his usual laulating as he rounds the historic city in search of shedding the single-life for a relationship with substance.

The viral video for “Fed Up” is just a taste of whats to come from Sheyman’s soon to be released Zero To Hero album. The Trybe Records signee is wrapping up the finishing touches on the album with a scheduled release of early next year.”

‘How my daughter’s fiancé bathed her with acid’

The motive behind the acid bath of 22-year-old Chika Egbo by her estranged lover, David Sulaimon, remains elusive, but one thing is sure, the victim may not remain the same again.

Chika is a student of the Enugu State College of Education.

Last Tuesday, when our correspondent visited her at the Burns Unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Egbo has become a shadow of the beautiful girl she was.

The substance Sulaimon allegedly poured on her had destroyed every visible skin from her chest upwards.

She mumbled to her father, a Taraba State-based businessman, as she could neither see nor speak properly at the time.

When her father, Matthew Egbo, narrated the incident that led to Chika’s state, the story brought tears to his eyes as he lamented that his daughter would never be normal again.

Matthew said, “In March 2011, someone who identified himself as Lekan Sulaimon called me, asking for my daughter’s hand in marriage. We talked a lot and I promised to speak with Chika on the issue.

“My daughter later told me he was the boy she was in love with and said she had resolved to marry him.”

After much discussion, Matthew told Sulaimon to bring his parents for proper introduction, but the suitor said his father was ill and needed to be taken abroad for treatment. He also said his mother was abroad.

Matthew said, “On the June 25 date that we agreed on, Sulaimon brought seven men and four women dressed in Yoruba attire to my hometown, Enugu, where we held the introduction.

“But around November last year, my wife travelled from Taraba to Enugu and Chika told her she was pregnant.”

According to Matthew, Chika told her parents they should not be alarmed since she and Sulaiman had agreed to get married.

Chika was instructed to go to Lagos and tell Sulaiman’s relations about the pregnancy.

But when she got back from Lagos, Chika told her father that she discovered that most of what Sulaiman had told her about his parents were lies.

Matthew explained, “For instance, Chika discovered that Sulaimon’s father was hale and hearty. The father told her he was not aware of any plans by his son to get married.

“She also learnt that the mother was not abroad too. She visited her and she told us the woman received her well and even expressed joy that his son had found someone to marry.

“But after the visit, we heard nothing from neither Sulaimon nor his parents until after my daughter gave birth to a baby girl on May 4.

Our correspondent learnt that Chika had broached the idea of abortion to her parents, as she told them it was apparent that the man she was in love with had lied to her all along.

Matthew forbade her to consider abortion. After the baby was born, Chika was said to have informed Sulaimon, but he gave series of excuses why he could not visit her.

He reportedly told her he was facing some challenges and did not have the wherewithal to take care of the baby at the moment.

After a few months, Chika’s baby girl was weaned and taken to Taraba to live with Matthew and his wife.

The Egbos said they took the decision to take the baby off their daughter’s hands so that she could continue her study.

PUNCH Metro learnt that in November, Sulaimon began to request that he needed to see his baby, but Matthew told him to bring his parents to come and iron things out.

Chika was said to have insisted she did not want to have anything to do with the young man anymore.

But on November 5, Chika travelled to Lagos after Sulaimon had informed her that his mother wanted to see her. The unsuspecting girl left Enugu without informing her parents.

“My phone just rang that day and I was told to come to Lagos because a young man had poured acid on my daughter,” Chika’s father said.

Matthew said the message came as  a rude shock since he was not aware his daughter went to Lagos. He explained that the police were the ones who got his number from her phone.

He said,“What I learnt was that when she arrived Igando, Lagos, Sulaimon met her and she demanded that he should take her to his mother who wanted to see her.

“What we gathered from the little she could mumble to us was that Sulaimon went behind a house and as they were about to pick an okada to his mother’s house, he brought out a polythene.

“But when they stopped at a point and Chika thought they were going to proceed to his mother’s house, he just opened a container in the polythene he was carrying and emptied its content on her head.

“She told us when she realised that what Sulaimon poured on her had began eating into her skin, she raised the alarm and called for help.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that passersby and sympathisers, who had been alerted to the young woman’s plight, pursued the fleeing Sulaimon. He was caught and taken to Ikotun Police Station.

 “Till now, I still don’t know why he did what he did,” Matthew said.

Divisional Police Officer of Ikotun, Mr. Augustin Akika, confirmed the incident, but said the suspect had been transferred to the state Criminal Investigations Department, Yaba.

Oyinlola’s suit against Salami a revenge – NJC

The National Judicial Council has told an Abuja Federal High Court that a suit in which a former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, is seeking to stop the reinstatement of the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, is meant to avenge the nullification of the ex-governor’s election in 2010.

The court on Wednesday fixed January 24, 2013 to deliver ruling on the preliminary objections in the suit.

The presiding judge, Justice Abdul Kafarati, fixed the date after hearing the preliminary objections raised by the NJC.

In its counter-affidavit dated June 19, 2012, and deposed to by its Deputy Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, the NJC told the court that the suit was just a means of retaliation.

“The suit and the pervious suits filed on the same subject by the plaintiff herein and his associates, are the extension of the grudge and grievances arising from the nullification of his election by the Governorship Election Appeal Tribunal in November 2010.

Hence, the suits are mischievous and a witch-hunt against a judicial officer carrying about his judicial function,” the NJC said.

The NJC asked the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that the plaintiff lacks the locus-standi to institute the action.

Also, the other defendants in the suit, President Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Bello Adoke (SAN), in their joint counter-affidavit against the suit, accused Oyinlola of abusing judicial process, even as they equally urged the court to dismiss the suit as lacking in merit.

Meanwhile, Oyinlola had, in an originating summons he filed against the NJC, set out a number of questions for determination by the court.

He asked the court to determine “whether the recommendation of the NJC to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to reinstate Hon. Justice Isa Ayo Salami as the President of the Court of Appeal, is not void considering the pendency of the suit filed by Justice Salami and others on the subject matter of Salami’s removal and suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/209/2012 between Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Osun State Chapter and 2 Others Vs Hon. Justice Isa Ayo Salami & 2 Others.”

Punch Nigeria

Banks recorded N28bn fraud cases in 2011 –Report

The banking sector recorded N28.4bn cases of fraud and forgeries last year, a report by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation has revealed.

The amount contained in the 2011 annual report and statements of accounts of the NDIC, represents an increase of 33.4 per cent over the N21.29bn recorded in 2010.

The report was obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Wednesday. It was signed by the Chairman of the board of the NDIC, Dr. Hassan Adamu, and the Managing Director, Mr. Umaru Ibrahim.

It says a total of 2,352 cases accounted for the N28.4bn fraud, adding that the frequency of occurrence represented an increase of 53.5 per cent over that of 2010.

Of the N28.4bn involved, the corporation said about N4.07bn was lost by the Deposit Money Banks.

The report says, “A total of 2,352 fraud cases involving the sum of N28.4bn with expected/contingent loss of about N4.071bn were reported by DMBs in 2011.

“That was an increase of 53.5 per cent in 2011 over the number of reported fraud cases of 1,532 in 2010.

“The increase of 53.5 per cent in the number of attempted or successful fraud and forgeries cases as reported in 2011 over the preceding year could be attributed to rising fraud cases through Internet banking and suppression of customer deposits.”

The report adds that though frauds and forgeries increased by 33.4 per cent from N21.29bn to N28.4bn, the expected loss decreased by 65 per cent from N11.68bn in 2010 to N4.07bn in 2011.

A quarterly breakdown of the loss showed that a N2.3bn loss or 8.1 per cent was recorded in the first quarter; N3.81bn or 13.41 per cent in the second quarter; N2.21bn or 7.78 per cent in the third quarter; and N20.09bn or 70.74 per cent in the fourth quarter.

On the incidence of fraud, the NDIC said 10 out of the 20 banks that were in operation in 2011 accounted for 87.1 per cent of the banking industry fraud cases compared to 51.08 per cent in 2010.

The report, however, did not disclose the identities of the banks with the highest number of fraud cases.

An analysis of the types of fraud and forgeries committed last year revealed that Automated Teller Machine frauds and fraudulent transfers/withdrawals accounted for the largest number of perpetrations. This was also the case in the preceding year.

“There were also rising fraud cases through internet banking and suppression of customer deposits,” the report adds.

During the period, the NDIC said 738 cases of ATM frauds were recorded; fraudulent transfer had 331 cases; presentation of forged cheques, 280 cases; and outright theft, 240 cases.

Others are suppression of customer deposit 219 cases, non-dispensing of money 112 cases, and Internet fraud 108 cases.

The report says, “Of the 2352 cases reported during the year under review, 498 were attributed to staff participation which showed an increase of 141 from 357 cases reported in 2010.

“Despite the increase; the losses resulting there from declined by 62.3 per cent from N6.43bn in 2010 to N2.42bn in 2011.

“The reduction was as a result of better and improved security and internal control measures put in place by the banks for transactions involving large sums of money.

“The highest number of staff involved in cases of fraud and forgeries was from the clerks and cashier status as had been the case in the preceding years with the lowest being the typists, technician and stenographers.”

The NDIC said the cases of fraud could be categorised into institutional/ endogenous factors and the environmental/exogenous factors.

Institutional causes, it said were “those that are attributed to the internal domain of the organisation such as poor accounting and weak internal control systems, poor management, inexperienced staff and ineffective supervision of subordinates, uncompetitive remuneration, perceived sense of inequity in reward and overstretching of staff.”

The report also says that environmental causes are those that can be directly traced to the bank’s operating environment and they include undue societal demands, low moral values, slow and tortuous legal process, lack of effective deterrent and the reluctance of banks to report fraud cases due to the negative publicity it could attract for their image.

In view of the extent of frauds and forgeries, the NDIC said it was imperative for all banks to employ measures to strengthen their operational risk management frameworks in the areas of internal control and security systems to combat the fraud and forgeries.

“Banks should also endeavour to fully comply with guidelines, rules and regulations on good corporate governance in order to take control of the situation,” it added.

The NDIC report also called on banks to thoroughly screen prospective employees by obtaining status report from previous employers and relevant agencies adding that employees should be made to understand the risks involved in defrauding banks.

Punch Nigeria

Wizkid Gives Fans Weekend To Remember In Dubai

Wizkid, over the weekend, stormed the UAE, Dubai precisely where he gave a superlative account of himself at the capital’s Crown Plaza hotel night club.

The pop sensation who has been busy most of the year extending his fan base outside the shores of the country, held fans at the capacity filled venue in awe, as he dished out one hit song after the other from his repertoire of music collections.

It would be recalled that the EME/Konvict music superstar came off the Channel O Music Video Awards in South Africa empty-handed but that hasn’t dampened his morale as he continues to develop on his art and make good music.

Saudi King Clinically dead

Saudi Arabia King, Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, has reportedly been in a state of “clinical death” for the past two days, Arabic newspaper, Asharq Alawsat, said on Monday.

The paper’s report claimed that medical staff in Saudi Arabia had confirmed that the king’s basic organs were no longer working. According to their source, “the fate of the king will be determined within three to four days.”

However, this news contradicts reports from the Saudi Royal Court, which publicly announced that an 11-hour operation on the king had been a success. According to state news agency, SPA, the 89-year-old monarch was in hospital for surgery to tighten a ligament in his back.

Meanwhile, Saudi crown prince, Salman has reassured the people during a cabinet meeting on Monday about King Abdullah’s health, more than a week after the surgery, state news agency SPA reported. The king was admitted for surgery on November 16 and an announcement from the Royal Court said he had undergone a successful back operation that took 11 hours.

Abdullah, who took over power in 2005, named his brother, Prince Salman, heir apparent in June, after the death of Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz.

Source: Tribune

Photo: Unilag Final Year Student Dies of Stray Bullet

Olaleye Sunday Olanrewaju known as Honorable LAS is a final year Accounting student of DLI in Unilag. He was hit by a stray bullet on Saturday, 24th of Nov. on his way to church at Sango Ota during a robbery incident. His family members have described him as a gentle, easy going man.  Miss. Titilayo, one of his course mates said he was a fine, small but very intelligent and vibrant man. He will be greatly missed by all, she said. He was laid to rest today in his hometown. May his soul rest in peace.

Photo: Car Made Out Of Basket In Ibadan

Just when one thinks creativity has ended, something comes up. Check out this mind blowing creativity of a man as he made this basket car. Big question really is "Is this car going to work like this?"