Nigerians tricked into selling kidneys in Indian hospitals share horrible tales

Nigerians who claim to have been tricked into selling their kidneys in Indian hospitals have shared horrific tales of their ordeal. In this exclusive sit down with Punch, Martin said he was tricked into selling one of his kidneys for just $7,500 (N1.2m) in 2008

Martins said he had only one reason why he was willing to sell one of his kidneys for that amount: financial independence.

He'd tried to make a meaning out of his life. While growing up, he had dreamt of becoming an engineer but his parents did not have the wherewithal to support his dream.

So when he was approached by his childhood friend, he did not think times over before accepting the offer. He would sell his kidney, his friend, who was also the agent, would make about $1,800 (N300,000), while he would pocket the balance — $5,600 (N900,000). He felt it was balanced Mathematics, but the complexity of the deal was none he could have imagined.

Touching photos from Liberia as country battles spreading Ebola disease

Getty Images photographer John Moore traveled to Monrovia, Liberia, risking his own life to chronicle harrowing scenes in the country which is in the grip of the deadly Ebola disease. The death toll from Ebola has now reached 1,069 and Liberia is the second most affected country after Guinea where this recent outbreak started from. See more photos after the cut...

Pics: Two stolen babies reunited with parents in Imo state

The Imo state police command have successfully rescued and returned two babies abducted from their mothers a few hours after they were born.

While presenting the rescued babies to their mothers at the Imo state Police command headquarters, the head of the anti-human trafficking unit of the Imo police command, Mrs Elizabeth Okosun, said the police was able to rescue one of the babies after a tip-off by a commercial tricycle rider who suspected the shady behavior of the suspects when they boarded his tricycle about to travel with the baby to another state.

EFCC Arrest Former Ecobank Manager for N81million fraud

Find the EFCC press release below...

A former branch manager of one of the new generation banks, (Ecobank Plc), Victor Amushie has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for a credit fraud in the sum of N81, 024, 749.28( Eighty One Million, Twenty-Four Thousand, Seven Hundred and Forty Nine Naira, Twenty Eight kobo only).

The suspect allegedly packaged loan facilities for himself, using several names and accounts of some customers of his bank, with whom he shared the proceeds.

Nigeria Medical Association rejects sack of 16 thousand medical doctors

The Nigerian Medical Association has rejected the sack of resident doctors by the Federal Govt which happened on Wednesday August 13th.

At a press briefing today in Abuja, the president of the NMA, Dr Kayode Obembe asked the federal government to withdraw its circular on the sack of the resident doctors and also reverse the directive

"NMA demands immediate withdrawal of the suspension circular and unconditional reinstatement of the so-called sacked resident doctors. Government should show commitment on her part in resolving the current impasse with the NMA rather than resorting to punitive measures that will only further aggravate the already deplorable situation. NMA condemns in totality the alleged presidential directive via the Federal Ministry of Health suspending Residency Training Programme in Nigeria,” the NMA President added.

The NMA president also stated that even if FG reinstates the resident doctors, they will still not call off their strike, which is over a month now, adding that the govt must meet its “24-point demand”.

Babatunde Fashola calls out GEJ & VP Sambo, says Nigeria is worse off under their leadership

In a speech he delivered yesterday August 14th to mark the 50th birthday of former Bayelsa state Governor, Timipre Sylva in Abuja, Governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Fashola said even with the academic qualifications of both President Jonathan and VP Namadi Sambo, their leadership skills have in no way benefited the living standard of the common Nigerian, insisting that the lives of Nigerians is worse off now than what it was four years ago.

"Even recently, we all used to think that our National development was inhibited by the fact that we never had a university graduate as leader of any national government in an executive capacity. This perhaps alludes only faintly to some of what I have discussed about the elite consensus  but it is not quite the same. Thankfully, the myth for graduate leadership, desirable as it is has now been exploded. We now have two graduates, a Zoologist and an Architect at the helm of our National affairs and I think that the majority of Nigerians would tell you today that their lives are worse off today than they were 4 years ago. Clearly in my view there must be more to leadership than a University degree and educational qualification.

Lagos Ebola patients neglected, seriously ill - Relatives, colleagues

Some relatives and concerned colleagues of Ebola patients being treated at the Lagos Isolation center have cried out on what they termed the poor living condition of the victims.

At a press conference held yesterday in Ikoyi, Lagos, some medical practitioners and colleagues of the female medical doctor confirmed to have contracted the virus while attending to late Patrick Sawyer, said the living condition of the victims are poor, stating that they have been left to battle the disease on their own as some physicians who are charged with the responsibility of attending to them have abandoned them for fear of also contracting the deadly virus.

£20k cash withdrawn from accounts of four passengers on missing Malaysian plane

According to new reports, approximately £20,916 has been withdrawn from the accounts of four passengers aboard the missing Malaysian plane which disappeared on March 8th while on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A bank in Kuala Lumpur, claim that they noticed the discrepancies in their accounts on July 18 and lodged a complaint to the police. The management of the bank said money from the accounts of three passengers was transferred to the account of a fourth passenger before the money was removed.

Assistant Commissioner to the crime investigation department, Izany Abdul Ghany, confirmed getting a report from the bank.

"We are investigating the case as unauthorised access with intent to commit an offence. We are getting CCTV footage from the bank to identify the suspects involved,' Izany said, according to the Mirror.

'We believe the suspect withdrew the money through the fourth victim's account via several automated teller machines (ATMs) in the Klang Valley.'

Flight 370 disappeared mysteriously five months ago with 239 people on board after diverging from its planned route.

Juliet Ibrahim and Omowunmi Akinnifesi cover Fashion & Lifestyle mag

Juliet Ibrahim and Omowunmi Akinnifesi cover the February edition of City People Fashion and Lifestyle magazine. See more photos of Juliet after the cut...

Tonto Dikeh flaunts short blonde new look and diamond bracelet

The actress shared the pics on her instagram page. She's dating a guy who deals in diamonds and it looks like he's spoiling her silly ... good for her!

Actress Uche Jombo shares her Surulere photo

Nice!

Governor Fashola Signs No Smoking Bill Into Law

Governor Fashola has signed the No Smoking in Public Places Bill into law. It means it is now illegal to lit your cigarettes in public places e.g public toilets, museums, nurseries, any facility used for the care of children etc. According to the law, people who smoke in public places will risk a 3-year jail term. Owners of establishments must also put a 'No Smoking' sign around their property or face 6 months imprisonment or N100,000 fine.

Corporate organizations that don't place the ‘No Smoking’ sign within its premises, would be liable to N250, 000 fine.

The best part is, anyone who smokes in the presence of a child shall be liable on conviction to a fine of N15, 000 or 1 month imprisonment.

Pics: AGN members visit President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House

Actors' Guild of Nigeria members including Ibinabo Fiberesima, Monalisa Chinda, Stephanie Linus, Fred Amata, Joseph Benjamin, Desmond Elliot, Victor Osuagwu, Chidi Mokeme, Mercy Aigbe and others paid a courtesy visit to President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House yesterday Feb. 18th to install him as Grand Patron of the Guild.

They also asked president Jonathan to sack heads of movie regulatory agencies, the Nigerian Film Corporation, NFC, and The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), because they have shown lack of capacity to put the industry on the path of growth. See more photos after the cut...

Mbong Amata speaks on crashed marriage, says life happened

Actress Mbong Amata, estranged wife of prolific film maker & movie director Jeta Amata recently opened up on the life and times of her five year marriage, which sadly packed up a while back.

She spoke for the first time about her ended marriage in an interview with Encomium mag this week. She described the father of her 5 year old daughter as a friend for life.

"I have a lot of great and fond memories. I had more fun than bad memories with my former husband. I was first married to my friend before a husband. That was why we were civil enough to know that even if the marriage didn't work, we were still friends and that is the bedrock of whatever it is that we have. We are connected for life. We have a child together. Yeah, we are cool, He is my guy. Jeta is a great man, fantastic dad but life has to move on".

The actress said she is currently not in any relationship and getting married again wasn't in the cards for her at the moment as her main focus now is to raise her daughter and her career. When asked what really happened to their marriage, she said 'life happened'

UNILAG to name 15-storey female hostel building after Patience Jonathan

The University of Lagos management has revealed that its proposed 15 storey female hostel building which they would start to build soon will be named after the wife of the president, Patience Jonathan.

The first lady is expected to be in Lagos on Friday, Feb 22, for the foundation laying of the project which is expected to gulp N3billion.

Speaking at a media parley, the deputy vice chancellor Prof Duro Oni said they are naming the hostel after Patience Jonathan because of her immense contributions to the development of womanhood in Nigeria.‎

"It is a female hostel and the person due to be named after it is the President’s wife who has touched the lives of many women. Over time, we have been having issues with shortage of accommodation, especially for our female students; but as it stands, we are about to witness a huge relief in that regard. I must thank the first lady for agreeing to be part of the history-making event and also thank our parents for coming to partner with us,” he said." he said. The project, tagged: “Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan’s Female Hostel Complex’’, is expected to be completed in two years and would be financed by the parents forum of UNILAG." Prof Duro Oni said

UNILAG has a population of 28,000 students with accomodation provided for just 8,000 of the undergraduates.

Tonto Dikeh's relative blasts her for claiming she grew up poor

In a touching and emotional message the actress shared with fans on Monday, Tonto Dikeh, writing about her struggles before the fame, claimed she used to beg for food and clean rooms for N200. Today some lady who is related to her, (maybe her sister?) is claiming she lied.

See more tweets and what Tonto Dikeh wrote after the cut...

Princess Stella Oduah hands over, list achievements as Aviation Minister

Stella Oduah has formally handed over to the Minister of State for Trade and Commerce, Dr Samuel Ortom following her sack by the President last Wednesday, February 12th. (Pictured above)

In her speech, she thanked President Jonathan for finding her worthy out of the 160million Nigerians and also listed her achievements while she was Minister. Excerpts from her speech below...

"It was a great privilege to be chosen from amongst the 160million Nigerians to serve in the Federal cabinet. My profound gratitude goes to Mr President who gave me this rare privilege. I also want to thank for him all the support he accorded me to pursue his transformation agenda in the Aviation sector. I equally wish to thank my aides, aviation sector workers and stake holders who partnered with me to realize our vision & mission in the sector. During my tenure, we gave our best to institute reforms in line with Mr President's Transformation Agenda. We produced the Aviation sector Master-plan and implementation Road map. Using the Masterplan and Roadmap, we were ably to...

Pics: Lady Gaga wears fishnet bodysuit in frigid New York weather

The singer stepped out in the frigid weather in just a fishnet bodysuit on Monday Feb. 17th in New York after an appearance on a late night talk show. See more photos after the cut...

Pastor Adeboye's message to skin bleachers

A word is enough...

Noble Igwe berates actress Rukky Sanda for poor movie production

Noble Igwe is not impressed with Rukky Sanda's new movie, Gold Digging, and took to twitter to air his distaste at the 'low level of production'. See more Tweets after the cut...

Nigerian celebs celebrate Valentine's Day with loving messages

Toke Makinwa shared a new photo with hubby as she wished everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. Continue to see loving messages from Terry G and Yemi Sax to their partners...

Goldie's last video 'Give It To Me ft J Martins' finally released

Here is Goldie's last effort; the final video she shot in Johannesburg before she passed on (right after 'Skibobo' and 'Miliki'). Directed by GodFather Productions and creatively styled by Denrele Edun.

2face and Annie share cute photo of their daughter + Send each other Val messages

We finally get to see the beautiful face of Olivia Idibia. Annie shared the photo on her instagram page this morning. She also sent a special message to 2face and 2face reciprocated, calling her his world. See that after the cut...

The Jonathans wish Nigerians a happy Valentine's Day with new photo

Presidential aide Reuben Abati shared the message and new photo on twitter this morning. Lol, see the love in our president's eyes!

Happy Valentine's Day People!!!

Wishing you all a great Valentine's Day.

Bruce Jenner steps out days after Adams apple surgery with fine hair

His family has denied reports that he's trying to change his identity but every time he steps out, the former Olympian looks more and more like the female version of his old self. He recently removed his Adam's apple, is growing his nails, boobs, and dyed his hair Ombre like his famous stepdaughters

He's not changing his identity, he's just going through a mid-life crisis and is addicted to plastic surgery. He is struggling to re-gain his youth" Sources close to the 64 year reality star told TMZ

See more photos when you continue...

Michelle Williams says she had better things to do than attend Kelly Rowland's birthday

There have been rumours for a while now that Michelle Williams and Beyonce were not on the best of terms after Michelle slammed Beyonce's new album and Bey cropped Michelle out of a picture on Instagram. Then Michelle was mysteriously missing from the birthday party Beyonce threw for Kelly Rowland on February 11th.

After fans tried to clown Michelle for being left off the guest list, she fired back by saying she had better things to do. Her tweet below...

Later she explained she had to attend her niece's 1 year birthday party. See more tweets after the cut...

One year later we remember you Goldie...

We lost Goldie Harvey shortly after she returned from the US on Valentine's Day 14th February 2013. She was only 31. What a loss!!! May her soul continue to rest in peace...Amen.

Singer Kelly Rowland lands in Lagos for Dare Art Alade's concert

 Kelly Rowland landed Lagos yesterday for Dare Art Alade's Love Like a Movie Concert which will hold on Saturday February 15th at Oceanview grounds, Eko Hotel, Lagos.

Drake slams Macklemore for sending text to Kendrick Lamar after Grammy win

After Macklemore won Best Rap Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards, he texted Kendrick Lamar to offer his apologies telling the rapper that he should have won instead of him. (If you missed it, see it here). Well, Drake isn't impressed. In the new issue of Rolling Stone, Drake makes it very clear he thought the message was unnecessary.

He tells Rolling Stone

"I was like, 'You won. Why are you posting your text message? Just chill. Take your W, and if you feel you didn't deserve it, go get better — make better music. It felt cheap. It didn't feel genuine. Why do that? Why feel guilt? You think those guys would pay homage to you if they won?"

 "To name just Kendrick? That shit made me feel funny. No, in that case, you robbed everybody. We all need text messages!"