crunch27: April 2015

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Ex Edo Governor’s Younger Brother Michael Igbinedion Convicted for Alleged N25 Billion Scam

A Federal High Court in Benin on Wednesday convicted former Edo GovernorLucky Igbinedion’s younger brother, Michael Igbinedion, and his accomplice,Charles Eboigbodin, have been convicted for an alleged N25 billion scam.

Nigerian troops in a TATA truck enter Damboa with a M56-2 howitzer trailing. Nigerian soldiers clustered around a M56-2 105mm artllery piece at Damboa - source - beegeagle.com

The Nigerian Army seems to have a sudden spring in their steps lately. Earlier this week, it was reported that they rescued 293 females (Read here). And now,Yahoo News is reporting that 160 additional individuals have been rescued from Sambisa Forest. Army spokesman Sani Usman, announced the news: “We are still trying to compute the actual number of those rescued. But tentatively there are about 60 women of various ages and around 100 children,” he said. Read the full report from Yahoo news here.

HIV Victims In South Africa Now To Get Status Tattoos On Their Private Parts.

Isn't this violation of their fundamental human rights? They really didn't ask to have HIV, and this would probably further the stigmatization against them. Just saying!

South Africa's President, Jacob Zuma has signed a bill that seems to be the greatest step in history of trying to combat HIV/AIDS.

I'm not sure why Nigeria wants to have the bullet riddled bodies of these men. I mean no one tried to stand up for them, not in the over 15 years that they were in jail before they were executed by firing squad in Indonesia. This would only hurt their families who haven't seen them for 15 years some more.

On Wednesday April 29,2015 at 12:01 Indonesian time eight men including four Nigerians were executed for drug related offences despite world wide appeal that their lives be spared.

These men had been in jail for over 15 years on death row and awaiting trial. The Federal government of Nigeria has reacted and wants the corpses of the four men returned home.

Click to read the press release.

Arik Air is known for constantly delaying their flights with little or no information to their passengers. What ever happened to passenger rights?

A group of Arik air passengers departing from the Murtala Muhammed airport protest after getting stranded for three days without any supervision or proper updates on the status of their flights from the Arik air management staff. The passengers went crazy and decided to shut down the departure gate.

This video below was recorded yesterday and put online.

The Strategy Behind Ariana Grande’s Success

Ariana Grande keeps collecting hits from her sophomore album, My Everything, as “One Last Time” pushes to a new peak, No. 13, on the Billboard Hot 100 dated May 2. The song is the fifth single – and fifth smash – from the set, following “Problem” (featuring Iggy Azalea), which hit No. 2 last June; “Break Free” (featuring Zedd) (No. 4, August); “Bang Bang,” with Jessie J and Nicki Minaj (No. 3, October); and “Love Me Harder,” with The Weeknd (No. 7, November).

Robert Downey Jr.- 'I should have walked out on TV interview sooner'

Robert Downey, Jr. has addressed his controversial interview walk-out, insisting he wishes he'd left sooner.The Avengers star stormed out of a TV chat with British newsman Krishnan Guru-Murthy last week (ends24Apr15) when the Channel 4 presenter started asking him about his drug abuse past.
Downey, Jr. left the room, stating, "It's just getting a bit Diane Sawyer...", referring to the veteran U.S. newswoman's reputation for probing interviews.
Now, in a new interview with shock jock Howard Stern, the movie star admits he should have known he wasn't going to have a fun time with Guru-Murthy.

DJ Cuppy Featured in Forbes Woman Africa, Says ‘I always wondered why the DJ was always a man’

Nothing like someone who's willing to do things very differently, someone who's ready to go in the opposite direct of the crowd and not join the band wagon.

DJ Cuppy is featured in the April/May 2015 issue of Forbes Woman Africa and in the magazine she talks about what it is like for her to be operating in a career that has been mostly male-dominated for the past years.

Queen Latifah, the 45 year old singer, actress and former talk show host covers Uptown magazine's latest issue, (Read full feature on the magazine site here) and on the inside talks about her first nude scene, homosexuality in the black community and what she would have asked Bill Cosby.

Read excerpts from her interview below.

Donald Trump sure doesn't hold back, does he? He resumes his controversial social commentary, and he is criticizing US President Barack Obama yet again as this isn't exactly the first time that Trump has slammed Obama.

The outspoken real estate tycoon hopped on Twitter earlier today to blame President Barack Obama for the current unrest in Baltimore and even went so far as to call him an "incompetent leader." Read his tweet rants on the rest of this entry.

The Duchess of Cambridge’s due date for the fourth in line to the throne was on 25 April, and she is expected to be admitted to the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London in the coming days. As the due date of the second baby of the royal couple, Prince William and Duchess Kate is past and the royal baby is overdue to be born, ardent fans have started to congregate outside the Lindo Wing. Lindo Wing is the same place where the Duchess delivered her first baby, Prince George, in 2013. If she doesn't go into labour soon the birth could be hurried along with medical help as she is already four days overdue .

Here's a look at the 'superfans' awaiting the royal arrival. (Photos)

National Guardsmen took up positions across the city and hundreds of volunteers began sweeping the streets of broken glass and other debris Tuesday, the morning after riots erupted following the funeral of a black man who died in police custody.

The streets were calm in the morning, but authorities remained on edge against the possibility of another outbreak of looting and arson.

The city was under a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew, all public schools were closed, and the Baltimore Orioles canceled their Tuesday night game at Camden Yards. National Guardsmen in helmets with face shields surrounded City Hall, standing behind bicycle-rack barriers.

Click for more photos.

The Nigerian army says that it has rescued 200 girls and 93 women in the Sambisa Forest, but it could not confirm if any of those freed are the schoolgirls kidnapped a year ago.

The army announced the rescue on Twitter on Tuesday and said it is now screening and profiling the girls and women.

According to Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, Nigeria's military spokesperson who spoke to CNN a few minutes ago, the individuals rescued are being screened and it's only after this screening that there would be confirmation if the Chibok girls are amongst the ones rescued.

Listen to his statement on CNN here.

More than 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped from Chibok in northeastern Nigeria by the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram in April 2014. The militants took the schoolgirls in trucks into the Sambisa Forest and the girls have been missing since. The plight of the schoolgirls has garnered international attention and the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

The Nigerian army announced two weeks ago that it is going into Sambisa Forest, which is a center for the Boko Haram fighters.

The tweets from Nigeria Defence Headquarters after the cut.

Maryland Governor Declares State of Emergency Over Baltimore Violence (Photos)

To all my Marylanders in Baltimore please keep safe.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard to address the violence in Baltimore, his office said on Monday.

The governor's office said the actions came at the request of the city of Baltimore. It added that Hogan would hold a news conference at 8:30 p.m. to discuss the violence following the funeral of a 25-year-old black man who died after he was injured in police custody.

Protesters hurled bricks, looted businesses and set fires in Baltimore on Monday in violence that injured at least seven police officers.

The riots broke out just a few blocks from the funeral of Freddie Gray and then spread through parts of Baltimore in the most violent U.S. demonstrations since looting in Ferguson, Missouri, last year.

Continue to see more photos.

This will definitely send chills down a lot of corrupt spines, Lol!!

President-Elect Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday said his administration would probe the claim by former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and now the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit $20billion oil money to the federation account.

The Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was at the Texas Southern University (TSU) in Houston, Texas on April 25, 2015 to give a special lecture on the political and economic situation in Nigeria, and Africa as a whole.

During the QA session, OBJ was asked about his views on the recent Xenophobia crisis in South Africa, which has widely impacted Nigerians and other Africans in South Africa and his response was spot on. In his closing remarks, the former president ‘Olusegun Obasanjo‘ said:
“South Africa is one of the most developed countries in Africa, and South Africa will continue to be one of the leading or leaders of Africa as a country.

If any country which is a leader or one of the leaders of Africa cannot accommodate other Africans on their soil, then they don’t deserve to be a leader.”

Click to watch the video and more photos.

Mariah's new song "Infinity" just dropped and she absolutely rips Nick Cannon apart.
It wasn't long ago that Nick was leaving the door open for reconciliation but this song is the equivalent of her slamming that door in his face. And dead bolting it. And putting on the chain. A few of the lyrics below.

Click to take a listen to the song.

The APC said although the Buhari administration would not needlessly probe the Jonathan administration, it would look into all actions taken by Jonathan’s administration after the March 28 presidential election. The All Progressives Congress (APC) is accusing President Goodluck Jonathan of conducting “last minute dubious activities” as he prepares to hand over power to president-elect Muhammadu Buhari.

As a result, APC is threatening to probe the outgoing administration, Punch reports.

A statement released on Sunday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, reads in part:

You probably thought these two were done with the drama that involved Tonto Dikeh and a personal shopper and the money troubles before Toyin Lawani got involved (Read here), well things are heating up again for Tonto Dikeh on Instagram as her used-to-be bff and stylist Toyin Lawani posted a message that many believe was aimed at Tonto Dikeh.

The former friends had quite a bit of their own drama last year and over the weekend Toyin Lawani posted a photo of herself attending a friend’s wedding and while she looked gorgeous in her outfit, it was her caption that caught the attention of a lot of people.

Burna Boy was meant to perform at the Di Don Gorgon Concert that held on Friday night, April 24, 2015 at the Accra International Trade Fair Centre, Ghana alongside South African rapper but he failed to show up at the concert, leaving fans angrily taking to Twitter to demand for a refund.
Burna Boy and AKA had previously held an autograph signing session in the afternoon preceding the concert yet, the duo failed to show up at the concert.

This could be due to the low turn out as only about 40 people were reportedly in attendance at the show.

The Nigerian Dance-hall singer via his Twitter handle has blamed the concert flop on the organisers, urging his fans to get a refund saying he was ‘violated’ by the organisers.

His tweet and tweets from fans after the cut.

The Mavin records crew must be over the moon excited. Jay Z tweeted that his cousin is in Nigeria to discover new talent and it looks like they may have discovered one very talented Nigerian female artist, Di'Ja. Mavin Records official instagram handle posted this photo and wrote "#tidalfacts Jay Z's cousin and rocnation exec Briant Biggs discovering @aphrodija at Mavin HQ in Lagos, Nigeria".

The death toll from Nepal's earthquake rose to 3,218 on Monday, two days after the massive quake ripped across this Himalayan nation, leaving tens of thousands shell-shocked and sleeping in streets.

Aid groups received the first word from remote mountain villages — reports that suggested many communities perched on mountainsides were devastated or struggling to cope.

Landslides hindered rescue teams that tried to use mountain trails to reach those in need, said Prakash Subedi, chief district official in the Gorkha region, where the quake was centered.

Kim Kardashian Calls Bruce Jenner’s Transition ‘a Hard Adjustment’ in ‘Today Show’ Interview

Bruce Jenner's stepdaughter Kim Kardashian has broken her silence about his transition to womanhood in a preview of a "Today Show" interview airing Monday, during which the reality star calls it "a hard adjustment."

"I see reports that say, 'This one doesn't support him' and, 'This one's over here, and Kris Jenner feels this way,' and it's all really so made up," Kardashian tells Matt Lauer in the clip. "We all really support him. Is it a hard adjustment? Yes."

Although it was long suspected that Kardashian's stepfather, a former Olympian, was transgender, he officially declared on Friday during a widely-watched interview with Diane Sawyer that he identifies as a woman (Read here).
Click to watch the video.

The Daytime Emmys kicked off on Sunday, with the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences finding a new broadcasting home in the cabler Pop, as opposed to last year’s webcast-only show.

ABC’s “General Hospital” leads the nominations, bringing in a whopping 28 nods. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” has 10 nominations, with “The Wendy Williams Show” landing its first noms for best entertainment talkshow and for entertainment talkshow host.

See below a full list of winners, updated live as they’re announced.

Nigerian Woman Stabs Her Husband To Death For Cheating

New Castle County Police have arrested a 35-year-old Nigerian woman, Temitope Adebamiro for stabbing her husband to death inside a New Castle County, Delaware home early Thursday morning.

She was charged with murder in the first degree and other related charges following the death of her 37-year-old husband, Adeyinka Adebamiro, who she claimed abused and cheated on her with several women including her sister and their nanny's daughter, according to court records.

Peter Okoye and his beautiful wife Lola Omotayo, Paul Okoye and his beautiful wife Anita Okoye, Fade Ogunro, Maria Okanrende, Toolz and others attended Jude Okoye and Wandoskie's joint birthday party last night at Escape Nightclub, V.I, Lagos.

Click to see more photos..

Boko Haram Renames Itself “Islamic State in West Africa”

As posted on the Facebook page of BBC, Boko Haram has re-named itself Islamic State in West Africa.
Sick bunch of people!

UK Home Office Ordered To Bring Back Deported 5-Year-Old Rafeeq Atanda And His Mum Back

The UK Home Office has been ordered to bring five-year-old Rafeeq Atanda and his mum back to the UK after they were deported to Nigeria earlier this year.

In January, the government decided to deport them despite a high-profile case. The boy was born in the UK, but spent his last week in the country held in a London immigration center with his mother before they were deported.

My favourite talk show host Wendy Williams looks outstanding in white as she is cover girl of the May 2015 issue of Ebony Magazine.

Photographed standing next to a clear window that overlooks the city, the 50-year-old host & author talks to the magazine about how far she has come with building her empire and how much further she is still going.

The host of the successful ‘The Wendy Williams Show‘ dished on her career, her marriage and relationship with her husband who doubles as her manager and executive producer and more.

Alison-Madueke Says She Has Stepped On Toes, Now Refunding $1.48billion

The fear of Buhari's government is real!! Lol!

Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has disclosed that she has stepped on toes but denied planning to flee the country to escape alleged corruption charges under the incoming Buhari government.

Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja yesterday (Wednesday), Here's what she had to say:

The All Progressive Congress on Wednesday formally shut its doors against members of the Peoples Democratic Party wishing to join their party.

The party also enjoined members and leaders of the ruling party to stay where they were and rebuild their party to play its new found role as the main opposition party.

It advised the PDP to come to terms with the hard reality that its fortunes had plummeted and that it was now in the opposition.

Kanye West Covers April Issue Of Paper Magazine

After Kim breaks the internet with going totally nude on the cover of Paper magazine, her husband Kanye West lands a cover page deal for the same magazine. On the cover for April 2015 issue of Paper Magazine, he spoke about his career, fashion, music, racism and the American dream.

On the American dream, he said "I know people want to talk about the

American Dream, but my dream is a world dream. It's a world in which everyone's main goal would be to help each other."

Click to see more photos.

America has declared a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Godsday Orubebe, Rivers State Governor-elect, Nyesom Wike, former militant commanders, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) and several other persons who either encouraged violence through inciteful comments or interfered with the electoral process during the last general elections as persona non-grata, meaning that they are barred from entering the United States and subjected to visa sanctions.

Following protests by Nigerians held outside the consulate and at the South African High Commission in Abuja against the Xenophobic attacks on foreigners in South Africa (Read here), the country on Wednesday announced the closure of its consulate in Lagos.

South African Consul-General in Nigeria, Sam Monaisa, said this in a statement to the South African Business Forum that the closure would remain until Thursday.

Nigerians Stage Anti-Xenophobia Protests at South African Embassy and MTN offices in Abuja

A civil rights organization, One Africa Initiative, has threatened to embark on reprisal against South Africa investments in Nigeria and its Embassy in Abuja if the xenophobia attacks on migrants and migrant workers continue unchecked.

The group tabled their demands during a protest march on Monday in Abuja to some offices owned by South African citizens, including MTN Nigeria, DSTv and South African Embassy.

“Ironically, no Nigerian has attacked MTN, DSTV, Shoprite and many more, which are all South African-owned companies since they commenced business in Nigeria.”

Big Brother Africa winner of 2013, Dillish Mathews, is the cover girl for May 2015 issue of Essays Of Africa Magazine.

Styled in a brown leather top and ripped jean, Mathews dazzle on the cover of the lifestyle magazine which chronicles a woman’s journey from being a girl to embracing womanhood.

Click to see another picture of the Namibian beauty.

Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini on Monday denied whipping up xenophobic hatred in South Africa after he was accused of triggering violence that has left at several people dead and forced thousands from their homes.

“This violence directed at our brothers and sister is shameful,” he told a tribal gathering of Zulus in Durban. “I’m certain that the people who were listening to my speech (last month), understand Zulu well and did not need interpretation.”

In an exclusive chat with TheCable, Ubi Franklin, president of Made Men Music Group, finally opened up on his rumoured relationship with one of his artistes, Emma Nyra.

Read the rest of this entry for the interview.

Phaedra Parks‘ disgraced husband Apollo Nida‘s angry prison phone call provided most of the drama on the Real Housewives of Atlanta Sunday.

On the season seven finale, Nida, who is serving an eight-year sentence in Kentucky for bank fraud and identity theft, put in a call to his pal Peter Thomas, and he and his wife Cynthia Bailey listened to his complaints on speaker phone.

After six weeks in prison, Nida told Thomas he’s “holding up,” but groused about his young sons with Parks, Ayden and Dylan.

“I haven’t seen my children,” he said.

Nida sighed that his brother had visited him four times “and [Phaedra] won’t let him get the kids to bring them,” adding, “I need to see my children.”

Thomas told him to be strong because they would need their daddy.

Nida said he was going to take prison classes to try to get himself closer to Atlanta. Then Thomas asked him point blank, “Do you know [Phaedra] filed for divorce?”

Nida replied, “She definitely told me through e-mail and I’ve gotten word from everybody else, so f*ck it! What can I do?”

“Maybe you’ll talk to her,” Nida pleaded to Thomas and then his call was abruptly cut off.

Continue to watch the video.

Patoranking Becomes Latest Brand Ambassador for Skyy Vodka!

The dancehall artiste shared being the latest brand ambassador for Skyy Vodka on his Instagram page. Congrats to him!

David Cameron Visits Sikh Temple A Day After Pastor Adeboye Prayed For Him

The hustle for power is real, LOL! Just one day after running to Pastor Adeboye for prayers at the just concluded RCCG UK Festival of Life, UK's Prime Minister, David Cameron visits a Sikh Temple donning their trademark orange "patka" headscarf all for a re-election bid.

Click for more photos.

Following the defeat suffered by President Goodluck Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, during the March 28 and April 11 elections, the President has asked the party and government officials, who handled campaign funds, to refund unspent monies, or those not judiciously expended, Sunday Punch can authoritatively report.

Jonathan, credible sources said, has also set up a committee of five to get those with the funds to return them.

A few things were learnt from Keke Palmer’s interview with Wendy Williams this week.

According to Wendy Williams, an article on Media Takeout insinuated that Keke Palmer was crushing on Hardrict. After the article was posted, Tia Mowry posted a tweet allegedly aimed at Keke Palmer that said: “Saying you like married men in interviews [is] not cute. Just saying.” The tweet was deleted shortly after.

Keke Palmer cleared the air in her conversation with Wendy, stating that she has known Cory Hardrict since she was about 10 years of age. She grew up with him and with most of the Brotherly Love cast. Palmer insisted that by stating her intention to marry Hardrict, she was quoting her thoughts as they were when she was a child.

Keke Palmer apparently has no hard feelings toward Tia Mowry. She told Wendy that she loves Cory, and Tia too. Catch the full conversation below!

This man was killed in South Africa just because he was Mozambican. Isn't this totally barbaric and highly unacceptable. What is even more annoying is these are fellow Africans doing this to their fellow black people. Please read this sad story.

Kenya Moore Rocks Same Lace Gown as Beyonce's From the 2014 Grammys

It's a classic diva showdown! I love both ladies but I still kind of prefer Kenya's version of the outfit. Who do you think wore it better?

Kenya Moore once said she often gets mistaken for Beyonce, and it seems the outspoken Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member is doing all she can to keep up the tale.

For the show's three-part reunion episode, beginning on Sunday, April 26, at 8 p.m. on BravoTV, the former pageant queen wore a look straight from her supposed doppelganger's closet.

Andy Cohen shared a picture with Moore, Claudia Jordan, Kandi Burruss, Cynthia Bailey, NeNe Leakes, Phaedra Parks, and Porsha Williams, all dressed in all white via Instagram with the caption "You ready for this? Starts in 10 days… #RHOA,"

Moore, 44, wore a plunging version of the Michael Costello gown the "7/11" singer wore to the Grammys last year. Back in January 2014, Queen Bey caused jaws to drop in the curve-hugging number; however her version featured a higher neckline.