Host Dan Austin talks with experts on Health Care in a Cignet Health Ltd sponsored episode, as they discuss the new National Health Scheme (NHIS) in Nigeria. Cignet Health Ltd is one of the newly certified HMO, Health Management Organization, responsible for running the new government regulated but private health care operated system in the country. Visit them at www.cignethealth.com Scheduled Broadcast: NTA2,Lagos - Thursday, 11:00PM, NTA 10 Abuja - Friday 10:30PM, NTA Owerri Mondays 10:30pm, CRST TV 10:30pm Mondays, Delta TV Warri Tuesdays 10:30pm, EBS Benin 9:45pm, AIT Int. Thursdays 9:30pm Dont miss the latest World class in depth news magazine on the air, now in Nigeria and available in South Africa, UK and US TV magazine like no other, available only on Transatlantic Times.

This Week on Transatlantic Times talks with a member of the interim committee of the ruling party PDP President Elect team, Abdulateef Kareem on the issue of Corruption, how would the new government take off with a sound approach to security and continue the war on corruption in Nigeria.

Has this become Nigeria's Middle East or it remains Nigeria's South South region. Watch host Dan Austin speak with the leaders of the militant groups and get to the issues at the heart of the crisis of the Niger Delta.

Nigerian image home and abroad is a big issue and Nigerians are learning fast that impressions matters a lot. THIS WEEK talks with the Honorable federal Minister of Information on what is been done to improve Nigeria's image among Nigerians and in the international communities. Watch this in depth review of the project coined the "Heart of Africa" project, with exciting clips of the best in entertainment, reviews and much more. From Tinapa in Calabar to Houston, Texas and on to Paris France, this two part episode will entertain and inform you curiosity on the new image of Nigeria.

New Body

New Body

LEADER of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujaheed Asari Dokubo, has reaffirmed his stand that  convocation of a sovereign national conference is the solution to problems of the Niger Delta region. Asari, who spoke,  yesterday,  at the Airforce Base in Port Harcourt shortly after he landed from Abuja where he was left off the hook after being granted bail by a Federal High Court, said he was elated and overwhelmed by the thousands of Niger Deltans who turned out to welcome him back to the region. He said he was not aware of any condition attached to his release just as he assured that he was going to network to see an end to criminal hostage taking in the region. Excerpts of the chat: PLEASE tell us how you feel?  I am so elated and humbled by the people I am seeing here. And I thank the people of the Niger Delta and all the oppressed masses who have suffered for a very long time, who have taken their time to be here to welcome me. I am so humbled and elated by this singular act of support.  What is your reaction to the conditional release?  I am not aware of any condition. I was not in court when it was decided that I should be granted bail. I was surprised to hear that I had been released.  What form will the struggle take now that you are around?  The Niger Delta struggle is focused. You can find that in the Kaiama Declaration, in the Ogoni Bill of Rights and the Akalaka declaration  There is this strong feeling that your release will douse tension in the region and put an end to hostage taking.  We will try and work to stop this act of criminality and banditry. We are not going to be something  that we are not. We are fighting for justice. We should not do injustice to other people. We are fighting for justice, so we can’t be seen to be doing injustice to other people.  What is your advice to President Yar'Adua on the  way out of the Niger Delta crises?  Sovereign national conference is requisite for the resolution of the Niger Delta struggle.  He later drove in a Hummer jeep with thousands of cars and bikes behind to the residence of Alabo Graham Douglas, a former minister of aviation, where he called on Yar’Adua to reserve the portfolio of power and energy for the region.  The mammoth crowd of youths and the elderly that came out to welcome him yesterday confirmed again that indeed Asari as he is called by many is a key personality in any process to resolve the Niger Delta question. A long stretch of the Port Harcourt /Aba express road was closed to traffic for several hours while he sped through to his ancestral home, Buguma.  Some militants and admirers who spoke on the implication of the release before his arrival said it would open windows for dialogue between the region and the Federal Government on how to end the sad situation in the region. Excerpts:   Commander Akiki  The release will ensure peace in the Niger Delta. Asari is a peace loving man. He is fighting for the survival of the region. But he is being misinterpreted by some. He is fighting for us. Now that he is free he will speak to the youths to end the problem  Dike Henry  This release will bring peace in the Niger Delta and stability. Government should look into the demands of Asari. It is only then that the release will be meaningful  Madam Comfort Tariah (a relative who calls him son)  I am very happy with the release. God will bless Yar’Adua for releasing my son. It was a year and nine months that my son was kept behind bars. Now that he is back, the region will be peaceful. When a chief is not in his compound, the place may be disorganised. Now there will be peace. But government should be sincere.  Commander Cele Harry  We are happy that our leader is out. We are not bothered by any condition he was given. This release will bring about peace and end hostage taking. The new government knows the problems, they should address them.  General Gabriel Asabuta  The release will bring peace and end kidnappings. We are against crime. Government should empower the youths and address the problem of infrastructure in the area.  Dr. Youpele Banigo, a lecturer in the University of Port Harcourt, said the release, among other recent developments in the region, are signs that all stakeholders should work towards the realization of peace in the area.  “The combination of certain important variables like the emergence of Vice-President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan from the Niger Delta region, the release of a master plan by the development agency, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and the freeing  of the Niger Delta freedom fighter Asari Dokubo are serious invitation to the Federal Government, and all stakeholders to critically and comprehensively work towards peace and development in the region, and the country,” Banigo stated.  Meanwhile, ten expatriates working for Indorama, including the managing director, two children and two women abducted about three weeks ago were released in the early hours of yesterday. The released hostages totalled 14.

Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Sunday Ehindero, and the Commissioner of Police in charge of Budget, Mr. John Obaniyi, are to face trial following their indictment in the N21million scam. THISDAY learnt yesterday that Obaniyi, whose driver and Personal Assistant, Chief Superintendent of Police in the Budget Office, were caught with the money on Thursday June 7, 2007, has already been suspended. It was gathered that Ehindero and Obaniyi would be prosecuted once President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua approves the report of the Presidential committee set up to investigate the scam. Ehindero will be the second former IGP to be prosecuted in the history of Nigeria Police Force. His predecessor, Alhaji Tafa Balogun, was removed and also prosecuted for corruption charges. A source close to Louis Edet House, the police headquarters, disclosed that the report indicted the former IGP based on Obaniyi’s confessions. Ehindero denied that he had anything to do with the fraud. But it was gathered that the CP Budget claimed during interrogation that he had remitted a lot of money to Ehindero in the past, which was equally illegal and hence the former IG could not claim ignorance of the latest development. THISDAY gathered that Obaniyi’s driver was to be released last week on the ground that he was only obeying the instruction from his boss but his contradictory statements about who sent him on the errand to cart away the cash was still keeping him in detention. When he was being interrogated, Obaniyi’s driver initially said it was Ehindero who sent him before he later changed it to Obaniyi. Meanwhile, a very senior police officer has insisted that the Police image must be protected and restored by flushing out the bad eggs from the force including top officers. The officer said other allegations against Ehindero like the alleged buying of the IG’s official residence at 39 Katsina Ala Street, Maitama in Abuja, the IG’s lodge in Lagos and other buildings must be investigated and if found culpable must be made to forfeit the houses. He said with the prosecution of former IG, Mr. Tafa Balogun, any public officer found wanting must be dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others that may occupy the position in the future. A Police source alleged last week that Ehindero deposited  N2.4 billion police fund into four Nigerian banks and the interests that accrued therefrom he used in buying the houses and in carrying out renovations. The source had however called on the Federal Government to revoke the houses. “The Inspector General of Police residence is what you call an operation headquarters because of the sophisticated security equipment installed there. The equipment installed there is worth over $20 million. “The gadgets installed there are what the IG uses to communicate with all the Commissioners and units all over the country. So for the former IG to continue to live there is even a security risk. It is not done anywhere in the world that the residence of a chief security officer of a country will be sold to a civilian because whether you like it or not Ehindero is now a civilian and cannot occupy the official residence of an IG,” he said. The source went further:  “This AIG might not want to say it but he is not finding it easy discharging his duties as the new man on the job. He relies on land phones, walkie-talkie and GSM phone, which is highly risky security wish. “This is why we are calling on the Federal Government to do something about this. This is one sale that must be revoked.” Meanwhile, the embattled Ehindero yesterday denied reports in some newspapers that he was arrested and his travelling documents seized. Ehindero, who spoke at Oyin Akoko, in Akoko North West Local Government area of Ondo State, during a reception held for him by his kinsmen, also described all the allegations of fraudulent activities levelled against him as false and baseless. He said he had been confronted with a lot of challenges right from the day he became the number one cop, noting that the allegations levelled against him when he left office were just like one of those that confronted him before, which he overcame. For that reason, he said, he would overcome the present controversy. “I was never arrested. There had been various rumours that I was arrested and that my passport was seized. There was nothing like that. My passport is with me. Police is a delicate job. In the police, you are bound to step on toes. I am a free man. The whole thing is the handwork of detractors,” he said. He said the truth would surely prevail “because those behind the allegations are out to blackmail me and discredit me in the eyes of the public.” The former IG said that among 25 cadets that joined the force in 1976, he was the only one that got to the position of IG. He expressed the hope that his detractors would be put to shame. The Oloyin of Oyinland, Oba Bamisile, who conferred the chieftaincy title of Otunba Jagunmolu and Yeye Otunba Jagunmolu of Oyin on Ehindero and his wife respectively, also spoke in defence of the former IGP who he described as an illustrious son of the town. 

A fire that broke out this week at Zimbabwe's only newsprint producer has crippled production, the official Herald daily said on Thursday. Newsprint for the handful of newspapers still operating in Zimbabwe comes from the eastern border city of Mutare, which lies close to a number of timber plantations.

Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Sunday Ehindero, and the Commissioner of Police in charge of Budget, Mr. John Obaniyi, are to face trial following their indictment in the N21million scam. THISDAY learnt yesterday that Obaniyi, whose driver and Personal Assistant, Chief Superintendent of Police in the Budget Office, were caught with the money on Thursday June 7, 2007, has already been suspended. It was gathered that Ehindero and Obaniyi would be prosecuted once President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua approves the report of the Presidential committee set up to investigate the scam. Ehindero will be the second former IGP to be prosecuted in the history of Nigeria Police Force. His predecessor, Alhaji Tafa Balogun, was removed and also prosecuted for corruption charges. A source close to Louis Edet House, the police headquarters, disclosed that the report indicted the former IGP based on Obaniyi’s confessions. Ehindero denied that he had anything to do with the fraud. But it was gathered that the CP Budget claimed during interrogation that he had remitted a lot of money to Ehindero in the past, which was equally illegal and hence the former IG could not claim ignorance of the latest development. THISDAY gathered that Obaniyi’s driver was to be released last week on the ground that he was only obeying the instruction from his boss but his contradictory statements about who sent him on the errand to cart away the cash was still keeping him in detention. When he was being interrogated, Obaniyi’s driver initially said it was Ehindero who sent him before he later changed it to Obaniyi. Meanwhile, a very senior police officer has insisted that the Police image must be protected and restored by flushing out the bad eggs from the force including top officers. The officer said other allegations against Ehindero like the alleged buying of the IG’s official residence at 39 Katsina Ala Street, Maitama in Abuja, the IG’s lodge in Lagos and other buildings must be investigated and if found culpable must be made to forfeit the houses. He said with the prosecution of former IG, Mr. Tafa Balogun, any public officer found wanting must be dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others that may occupy the position in the future. A Police source alleged last week that Ehindero deposited  N2.4 billion police fund into four Nigerian banks and the interests that accrued therefrom he used in buying the houses and in carrying out renovations. The source had however called on the Federal Government to revoke the houses. “The Inspector General of Police residence is what you call an operation headquarters because of the sophisticated security equipment installed there. The equipment installed there is worth over $20 million. “The gadgets installed there are what the IG uses to communicate with all the Commissioners and units all over the country. So for the former IG to continue to live there is even a security risk. It is not done anywhere in the world that the residence of a chief security officer of a country will be sold to a civilian because whether you like it or not Ehindero is now a civilian and cannot occupy the official residence of an IG,” he said. The source went further:  “This AIG might not want to say it but he is not finding it easy discharging his duties as the new man on the job. He relies on land phones, walkie-talkie and GSM phone, which is highly risky security wish. “This is why we are calling on the Federal Government to do something about this. This is one sale that must be revoked.” Meanwhile, the embattled Ehindero yesterday denied reports in some newspapers that he was arrested and his travelling documents seized. Ehindero, who spoke at Oyin Akoko, in Akoko North West Local Government area of Ondo State, during a reception held for him by his kinsmen, also described all the allegations of fraudulent activities levelled against him as false and baseless. He said he had been confronted with a lot of challenges right from the day he became the number one cop, noting that the allegations levelled against him when he left office were just like one of those that confronted him before, which he overcame. For that reason, he said, he would overcome the present controversy. “I was never arrested. There had been various rumours that I was arrested and that my passport was seized. There was nothing like that. My passport is with me. Police is a delicate job. In the police, you are bound to step on toes. I am a free man. The whole thing is the handwork of detractors,” he said. He said the truth would surely prevail “because those behind the allegations are out to blackmail me and discredit me in the eyes of the public.” The former IG said that among 25 cadets that joined the force in 1976, he was the only one that got to the position of IG. He expressed the hope that his detractors would be put to shame. The Oloyin of Oyinland, Oba Bamisile, who conferred the chieftaincy title of Otunba Jagunmolu and Yeye Otunba Jagunmolu of Oyin on Ehindero and his wife respectively, also spoke in defence of the former IGP who he described as an illustrious son of the town. 

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World news report on Transatlantic Times Internet TV. Get American, African and European news updates daily on TTimes Internet TV. Brought to you by Cignet Health Care with World-Wide Health Care Coverage in USA, UK and Africa. Get your monthly copy of the latest Internet TV World-Wide program updates from Transatlantic Times, your World-Wide Internet TV Magazine at: Numetro Stores, This Day Stores and others in Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria, at Borders and Barnes & Noble Bookstores in USA and at various other outlets in Europe.

Watch the interview with the Chairman of the Association of Movie producers of Nollywood Mr. Madu by Dan Austin currently showing on This week on Transatlantic Times. Dont miss the episodes on part one and two of Nollywood on This week on Transatlantic Times with Dan Austin. Hear Mr. Madu talk about the history of Nollywood, the progress and the challanges facing the third largest movie producers group in the world. Second only to Hollywood and India in yearly production size. Watch this week on Transatlantic Times. Email: sales@transatlantictimes.com

Cignet Health Provider Book TTimes Health Report Get your copy today of the first ever comprehensive medical providers, doctors, hospital listing in Nigeria, of accredited medical providers by Cignet Health a certified National Health Insurance Scheme (HMO) in Nigeria for public use. A complete listing of Health Providers in Nigeria, with hospitals, doctors offices, and facilities you can use while visiting Nigeria or on a business trip. One of the most dreadful problems you can have in a developing society is health problem, it is even worse when you can not locate the facilities nearest to you in time of emergency. Get a copy of your Cignet Health Provider book, designed for use by Cignet Health members in Nigeria but excellent for anyone in Nigeria or intending to visit Nigeria. Get your copy today. In the US call 1-800-730-5914 or call 301-4234551 (US$18, plus postage and handling fees). In Nigeria call 01-270-6697, or get a copy at This day Store, The palms, Lekki-Epe Express Way, Lekki, Victoria Island, Lagos (Suggested Price N750) Email: cignethealth@cignethealth.com This provider book is free to all Cignet Health Plan members in good standing. (1 year participation).

Cignet Health Provider Book TTimes Health Report Get your copy today of the first ever comprehensive medical providers, doctors, hospital listing in Nigeria, of accredited medical providers by Cignet Health a certified National Health Insurance Scheme (HMO) in Nigeria for public use. A complete listing of Health Providers in Nigeria, with hospitals, doctors offices, and facilities you can use while visiting Nigeria or on a business trip. One of the most dreadful problems you can have in a developing society is health problem, it is even worse when you can not locate the facilities nearest to you in time of emergency. Get a copy of your Cignet Health Provider book, designed for use by Cignet Health members in Nigeria but excellent for anyone in Nigeria or intending to visit Nigeria. Get your copy today. In the US call 1-800-730-5914 or call 301-4234551 (US$18, plus postage and handling fees). In Nigeria call 01-270-6697, or get a copy at This day Store, The palms, Lekki-Epe Express Way, Lekki, Victoria Island, Lagos (Suggested Price N750) Email: cignethealth@cignethealth.com This provider book is free to all Cignet Health Plan members in good standing. (1 year participation).

Minister of Science and Technology, Mrs. Grace Ekpiwhre, said the aim was to make science education less abstract and meaningful to the average Nigerian student. In a statement by the ministry’s Chief Press Secretary, Abdulganiyu Aminu, the minister stressed the need for the partnership while receiving the executives of the Nigerian chapter of Third World Organisation for Women in Science in her office. In a statement by the ministry’s Chief Press Secretary, Abdulganiyu Aminu, the minister stressed the need for the partnership while receiving the executives of the Nigerian chapter of Third World Organisation for Women in Science in her office. Assurances She said the ministry was ready to arrest the low interest of students in science courses through the assistance of the Science Equipment Development Institute which, she noted, had developed and mass-produced science equipment kits for tertiary institutions. According to her, the scientific equipment kits would make the learning of science more interesting, adding that her ministry was also collaborating with the Ministry of Education in a scheme on science paradigm shift to make science graduates more employable.

he foreign contractor was first awarded the job of repairing the Chanomi Creek Channel pipeline that supplies crude oil to the Warri and Kaduna refineries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The Cost The foreign company initially contracted for repair of the Chanomi Creek had secured the job based on a quotation of $187 million (about N22 billion), however, the local contractor eventually carried out the repair work at half the cost. The Alternative NNPC’s boss, Alhaji Lawal Yar'Adua had to resort to use of the local contractor when he learnt that militants were demanding $1 million for each of the 23 leaking spots on the pipeline.

The fair is, among others, aimed at enhancing the penetration of Nigerian goods into the international market, attracting foreign investments in the development of the nation’s non-oil export sector as well as exposing the Nigeria business community to current trends in international trade. The Fair would attract over four million visitors from over 39 countries and will afford the Nigerian businessmen and women opportunity to interact with their counterparts from other participating countries with a view to seeking for market opportunities for Nigerian non-oil export products. Exhibitors Some of the companies participating at the fair include PZ Nigeria Plc (Cussons), Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Oluchi Beads and Accessories, Spectra Nigeria Limited, Joraai Mining Company Nigeria Limited, Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Development (CSAD), Mujuams Fashions and Revelations and Resources Industrial Tailors, amongst others. The Fair begins from December 2007 and ends in March 1, 2008.

This follows the rejection of bail for both former governors at a separate court hearing in Lagos and Kaduna. The Bail application for Ayodele Fayose was rejected on technical ground, while Ibori’s bail suffered setback due to his antecedent on jumping bail in the United Kingdom Charges According to the charges, Fayose converted various sums to personal use from the money entrusted to Biological Concepts Nigeria Ltd., a consultant to the Ekiti State Integrated Poultry Project Scheme. James Ibori was slammed with 103 charges of money laundering and corrupt practices.Both pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Hundreds of Fun –Seekers and Students besieged the National Theater Complex to unveil the tree measuring about 32 feet. It was constructed by Coca Cola as part of its contributions to the commemoration of the forthcoming Muslim and Christian festivities. The tree, built with iron and decorated with artificial red leaves and colourful Christmas lights, is erected in front of the complex. Officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, the Theatre and the Police were on hand to ensure order and security as children, students and parents participate in the various side attractions offered by the company.

The Nigerian Senate has finally decided to review the 1999 Constitution. Senate President David Mark gave this assurance while speaking with journalists at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos Southwest of the country. He said that the decision of the National Assembly to review the constitution was due to clamour for it by Nigerians. In his words “such clamour for constitutional review was justified. After eight years of operation, we now know where the problems are. I think it is a proper thing and there are lots of things for us to review in the constitution’’.

The Build Up An Austrian firm, M. Schneider GMBH & Co., had petitioned the commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), over alleged underhand dealings by Iyabo and her business associate, Prince Albert Awofisayo, in the handling of the said contract, in which the firm was their partner. According to a source in the EFCC the investigators were looking into the petition to establish the seriousness and genuineness of the issues raised in it, before making further moves on it.

Ateke Tom is not more than God Almighty.I believe that since he does not want peace and progress for this nation,praying to God will fish him out into the hands of security agents. Ateke Tom is a criminal who has recruited armed robbers and cultists in order to disorganise the efforts of Governments at development.He and his gang are not struggling for the people of Niger Delta.It is time all Nigerians spoke with one voice before this issue of militancy is hijacked by foreign fighters such as Al-Queda.

he House of Reps has ordered the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), to discontinue the airing of any clip or debate on Big Brother Africa. The Director General of NBC told the committee that NBC had drawn the attention of the management of MultiChoice to nudity being shown in the programme. He said the commission invited MultiChoice on two occasions when it observed that the company was contravening the laws guiding broadcasting in the country. Chairman of the committee said, We will not tolerate a foreign company to abuse and insult the sensibility of our people. What was showed on the BBA was an insult on the image of Africa . This is why we ordered NBC, who regulate what goes on air to stop hence with any serialization, analysis or clips of the BBA. “We condemned in totality, what happened on October 27th when a Nigerian was abused in the glare of the public. It is against the code of NBC and we have told the commission to discontinue any broadcast that has to do with BBA, “ he said. The programme showed housemates having sex and this has been condemned by viewers, while the emergence of a married man as the winner of the show also attracted negative comments

An police armourer with the Bauchi State Police Command has been arrested for allegedly supplying arms to robbers in the state. A leader of a vigilante group had recently informed the Governor about the involvement of some government officials and policemen in robbery activities. He threatened to expose the individuals if nothing was done to address the problem. The State police Commissioner confirmed the arrest saying that the suspect has since been moved to Abuja for proper investigation.

Arik Air and Virgin Nigeria, will start flying directly to the United States of America in 2008 as the US Federal Aviation Administr-ation (FAA) has granted waiver to the domestic airlines. The Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority said Arik, Virgin Nigeria and Bellview airlines had almost completed all the requirements to lease aircraft from an American-recognised Category One country and with the acquired aircraft they would be able to start operations to the United States. "They must get an aircraft from a country that is already Category One. So that’s what they are doing right now and I believe that Arik has already given a name of the airline it will use, I believe Bellview has done the same and also Virgin Nigeria,” "You know they have already missed the busy Christmas rush. I will expect that they will be waiting for the summer peak period to start. So I believe we are right on course, making progress. At the same time, NCAA will get Category One for Nigeria, so 2008 will be very interesting, with a lot of activities,” he said He said one of the greatest achievements recorded this year in the aviation sector is the influx of new generation aircraft into the country and promised to get the much talked-about Category One status for the country from the FAA next year. North American Airlines currently flies direct to New York and Delta Airlines, which recently began operations in Nigeria, flies direct to Atlanta, Georgia but plans to fly directly to New York from June 2008.

The attention of the EFCC has been drawn to several media reports on allegations of a contract misadventure said to involve Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello. “The dispute was first reported to the EFCC in July 2006 via a petition from Rickey Tarfa & Co., acting on behalf of M. Scheneider (Nig.) Ltd., among whose directors was Prince Albert Awofisayo. “In the course of investigation, the parties to the dispute were invited and they made statements to the Commission. At the time, there was not a single mention of Senator Obasanjo-Bello by anyone.” The EFCC said it then concluded that the case was a case of contractual disagreement between businessmen and no crime was disclosed or unearthed.

"OLPC illegally reverse-engineered the company's patented keyboard which with its four-shift keys, allows computers to better handle multiple languages," said Lancor's CEO. Lancor wants the court to award damages and issue a permanent injunction to prevent OLPC from manufacturing and selling its XO laptop.

A Hindu holy man claimed to have healing powers in his leg and two men him, cut off his right leg and then ran away with it. People believed they could be healed of spiritual and physical problems if they touched his leg. They also believed in his predictions of the future. The holy man was approached aby two strangers who came to seek his advice over a medical problem. They returned to the old man to thank him for his help. Police said "As the old man had the weakness of drinking, he accepted their invitation to have drinks with them," They took him to a deserted spot in the outskirts of the village. "After the old man had passed out under the influence of liquor, they cut off his right leg from the knee," They used a sharp hunting knife, and left the old man alone and bleeding slowly to death. After regaining consciousness the holy man said that he had no idea why he was targeted in such a manner, and did not understand why they took away his leg. "I have always been good to others and helped who ever came to me. Then why has this been done to me?" he said.

The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has confirmed two international friendlies with Angola and Sudan as part of their preparations for next month's African Nations Cup finals. Super Eagles are expected to begin training in Malaga, Spain on 4 January ahead of the Nations Cup finals. The team is expected to travel from Spain to Portugal to play Angola while the match against Sudan will take place in Spain. "The NFA have met with the players twice and we have all agreed on how best to proceed with our Nations Cup preparations." "We are organising a carnival for them at the airport - it might only be one or two hours but there will be opportunity to interact with the players," the NFA chairman said.

The Spanish government has renewed its pledge to continue to assist and support the Nigerian motion picture industry, especially institutions such as the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) and the National Film Institute (NFI). "In order to enforce the plan, we decided that it is pertinent to meet with the Nigerian Film Corporation so as to see her facilities and be familiar with its services." He further stated that although the Nigerian motion picture industry otherwise known as Nollywood has really projected the Nigerian image around the globe.The corporation is also involved in sensitising film production activities and, ensure improvement more on local contents that promote Nigeria's cultural heritage and values.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has signed into law a new bill that allows for the creation of a special council to investigate corruption charges against any Nigerian, the president included, news organisations reported. Obasanjo said he hoped the anti-corruption law, which he first presented to parliament in June 1999, would substantially reduce the "menace and evil of corruption" in Nigeria, BBC reported.

Niger’s government announced on Tuesday that 10 military officers had been arrested on suspicion of organizing the kidnapping on Saturday of Major Djibrilla Hamidou Hima, a member of the former military government of Major Daouda Mallam Wanke, AFP reported. In Paris, visiting Niger Prime Minister Hama Amadou dismissed reports on Tuesday that a split in the army had led to the kidnapping. He told reporters the army was "calm and there has been no disturbance in Niamey and in military bases elsewhere in the country".

An agreement between the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the government on the reduction of a 50-per cent fuel price hike imposed on 1 June led to the lifting on Tuesday of a week-long strike called by the NLC. Under the agreement, the price of gasolene was reduced from 30 to 22 naira per litre and diesel from 29 to 21 naira. Kerosene was reduced from 27 naira to its pre-hike price of 17 naira per litre. Labour called the strike on 6 June, saying the hike hurt most Nigerians. President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday described the agreement as a victory for democracy in Nigeria. However, he could have a harder time mending relations with the legislature, which had also opposed the price hike along with other measures he has taken in the past months.

US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers promised on Monday, at the start of an African tour, to support international debt relief for Nigeria, which owes some US $30 billion, if Abuja makes "significant progress" in economic and financial reform, the BBC reported. The proposed reforms include the increased privatisation of state-owned firms and the removal of government subsidies, which led Nigeria to raise oil prices last week, sparking a crippling nationwide strike.

Critics say donors at a recent high-level meeting failed to make firm funding commitments for improving education, particularly in impoverished, fragile and war-torn countries, making it highly unlikely the world will meet ambitious education goals by the 2015 deadline. "I cannot be very optimistic," Koichiro Matsuura, director-general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said at a press conference on 13 December in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, at the close of the three-day meeting of the High-Level Group on Education for All, which brought together education ministers, donors and development partners. While developing countries agreed to allocate 10 percent of budgets to education, donor countries could not agree to include a specific percentage of budgets for education aid, instead pledging "to work to maintain and increase levels of funding to education" and to prioritise low-income, fragile and emergency and conflict-affected states. "Obviously it's a major disappointment that we don't have a commitment to achieve a particular amount," said Nicholas Burnett, director of the 2008 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, which identified an annual US$11 billion funding gap in external aid for education in order to reach the goals in time.

With levels of malnutrition in West Africa slightly lower in 2007 than the previous year, the overall amount of money aid organisations are requesting from donors for the 2008 Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for the sub-region is also lower, UN officials say. "There is less of a malnutrition crisis this year but [structural] problems of food security are still a serious concern," Herve Ludovic de Lys the regional head of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told IRIN at the launch of the 2008 CAP which called on donors to provide funds for projects costing a total of $312 million. "The good news is that improving food security is cheaper than treating malnutrition," he said. The largest part of the 2008 CAP, which is almost $40 million less than in 2007, concerns projects related to food security as well as nutrition.

Nigerien army and rebels in the country have yet to formally respond to charges by rights groups that both sides are committing abuses against civilians. "To my knowledge, there have been no crimes," said Oumarou Boubacar, an army commander in Agadez in northern Niger where the crimes are alleged to have taken place. "We are an evolved army. We respect humanitarian law," he told IRIN by phone on 20 December. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International released statements on 19 December accusing the Nigerien army of extrajudicial killings, mostly in reaction to rebel raids. HRW said the rebels have used landmines and robbed civilians. The rebel Nigerien Movement for Justice (MNJ) has attacked government outposts in the isolated north, purportedly to seek a greater portion of Niger's uranium revenues and more equitable treatment for the ethnic Touareg living in the area.

At least six people have been killed and 30 critically injured since clashes between Muslim and Christian communities in the north-central Nigerian city of Bauchi broke out on 11 December, Red Cross workers and residents said. Some 3,000 people have fled their homes in the area of the fighting, witnesses said. The government has ordered a 9pm to 6am curfew and closed the local university, which has often been the site of violent clashes. Fighting started 11 December and continued to the next day, following a dispute over the planned construction of a mosque at a secondary school in Yelwa - a mixed Muslim and Christian neighbourhood of the city. "We have recovered six dead bodies," Adamu Abubakar, Red Cross director in Bauchi, told IRIN by telephone. "The situation is still tense and hundreds of people have fled their homes and are now seeking refuge in police barracks," Abubakar said.

"Conservatively the death toll in this outbreak may exceed 200 across the city [of Zaria in Kaduna state] because one needs to go round to hospitals to grasp how bad the situation is," Murjanatu Saminu, a nurse at Tudun Wada maternity hospital in Zaria, told IRIN. "The situation is alarming because the number of measles cases being brought to this hospital is just unbelievable," she said. "We receive at least 17 cases a day."

In a welcome centre in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, a small finger traces the words of an English text book; a young voice struggles to pronounce the words. Ruth is 13 years old and only in grade 3. But for her, this is a major achievement. "Each time I brought the money and asked to go to school as he promised, he would tie a rope around my leg and beat me, beat me again and then lift me up and let me fall on the floor," Ruth recounted, her small frame shivering from time to time. Finally, in 2003, a family friend discreetly showed her the way to the Nigerian embassy. After investigation, she was returned to Nigeria but now lives at a welcome centre in Abuja. Both she and her mother, widowed and poor, thought that arrangement was in her best interests - to avoid being trafficked again.

With levels of malnutrition in West Africa slightly lower in 2007 than the previous year, the overall amount of money aid organisations are requesting from donors for the 2008 Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) for the sub-region is also lower, UN officials say. "There is less of a malnutrition crisis this year but [structural] problems of food security are still a serious concern," Herve Ludovic de Lys the regional head of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told IRIN at the launch of the 2008 CAP which called on donors to provide funds for projects costing a total of $312 million. "The good news is that improving food security is cheaper than treating malnutrition," he said. The largest part of the 2008 CAP, which is almost $40 million less than in 2007, concerns projects related to food security as well as nutrition.

Niger is one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth. Thirty women lolling on mats outside a non-governmental organisation (NGO) recovery clinic in Niamey might well wish they had not been so lucky to survive. They are alive, but, having endured an agonising labour lasting two or three days and finally having had their dead children cut out of them, they have been left with fistula, a tearing of the tissue that develops when blood supply to the tissues of the vagina and bladder and/or rectum is cut off during prolonged obstructed labour.When the tissue dies a hole forms through which urine and faeces pass uncontrollably.Fistula is the ultimate symbol of childbirth gone wrong because of poor health care access and the high prevalence of men marrying under-age girls in Niger. Ostracised Many of the women here have been ostracised by their families and communities, and even been banned from using public transport because of their smell.

"We understand that there are security concerns, but we hope that the right of those seeking asylum will be respected," said Amanda Di Lorenzo, spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA-Somalia).

When Mamanuel Rampai heard she would receive a free pig for Christmas a few years ago, purchased by an anonymous donor in the US through an aid group's online gift catalogue, she all but dismissed the present. But the gift, a seven-month-old sow named Pinki, has since made her a role model for other pig farmers in her rural community. "I've learned so much about how to care for them, because they've become a livelihood," Rampai, 43, told IRIN.

On a farm in the district of B=E1rue, in the central province of Manica, 16-year-old Helena Ivan hurries home with a small bundle on her head. After hours packaging potatoes, she's allowed to take a few for herself and the two brothers she has been supporting since her parents died of AIDS-related diseases in 2005. Of the possessions Ivan's mother and father left - a kiosk, a house, a minibus and some goats - only the house was handed over to the children, and only because it had been registered in the name of the youngest child, Janu=E1rio, who is now 12.

"All evidence suggests that the disease is still spreading," said Kariuki Njenga, a virologist and laboratory director for the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Kenya. The worst affected districts in the Northeastern Province are Garissa, where 100 cases, including 40 deaths, have been reported; and Ijara, where 20 out of 42 people infected with RVF have died, Njenga said.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Com-mission (EFCC) , Nigeria’s anti graft agency, is now set to arrest four more ex– state governors who vacated office in May 29,2007. The ex-governors are to subsequently face trial on allegations of corrupt practices. Sources at the EFCC Office indicated that “some of these former governors will not spend the new year in their respective homes. This is the time to just put their cases before the courts and let the court determine whether they are culpable or not on the charges of corruption that we will level against them.”

Nigeria’s External reserve has increased to $52.40 billion dollars as the year runs to an end, due to the high crude oil prices on the international market. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Economic Indicators Report, External reserve grew by 2.73 billion dollars or 5.5 percent, from the 49.67 billion dollars.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), has directed directors of the 145 Community Banks that failed to meet the recapitalisation directive to forward the list of their depositors within 21 working days. According to the apex bank, “the move was part continued efforts of promoting the financial system soundness and to confirm the cessation of operations by some Community Banks (CBs) that had consistently failed to render statutory returns to the CBN before and after the launch of the Microfinance Policy for Nigeria in December 2005.”

Nigerian President Umar Yar Adua has sent his condolences to the Bhutto’s family, people and government of Pakistan, over the assignation of Benazir Bhutto on Thursday. He described the death of as a wanton act of mindless political violence "which has taken the life of a very brave woman, true democrat and great leader of her people."