HERBALIST ARRESTED FOR SELLING NEWBORN BABY...

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons said it arrested a 38-year-old herbalist, Chigozie John Emmanuel, A.K.A ‘Akuchi’, for allegedly selling a  newborn baby.

The Head, Press and Public Relations of NAPTIP, Mr Josiah Emerole, in Abuja a statement on Sunday, said that the suspected trafficker sold the newborn baby to a woman whom he promised to make pregnant through spiritual means.

He said that Emmanuel, who hailed from Enugu State, owned Akuchi Herbal Concept at New Nyanya, Abuja.

He was arrested after weeks of surveillance by officers of the agency and those of the Department of State Services.

According to him, Emanuel has been previously arrested by the Nigeria Police when a woman was caught with a baby in Abuja en route Minna.

The spokesperson said that the herbalist told his victim he had made her pregnant and cautioned her not to go to the hospital for any medical treatment or antenatal care.

He said that based on the victim’s narration, when it was time for her ‘delivery’, Emmanuel directed her to Port-Harcourt where a baby was handed over to her.

Emerole disclosed that the woman confessed to having paid the suspected trafficker N650,000 for the baby.

He noted that the suspect, who was arrested at the weekend, was currently under investigation for alleged child trafficking and would be arraigned as soon as the investigation was concluded.

The spokesperson reported the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dame Julie Okah-Donli, as commending the officers for their painstaking surveillance which culminated in the arrest.

“She further warned the public, especially women, to stop patronising such ‘herbalists’, as the sale of babies is a crime punishable by law. Am urging couples who wish to adopt a child to go through normal procedure acceptable by law.

“I am reiterating the commitment of the agency to tackle child trafficking in Nigeria.

“I am appealing for more information from the general public about any such act or ‘illegal maternity homes’ in their neighbourhood where these unwholesome activities take place,” she said.

MAN DEFILED HIS 12-YEAR-OLD NIECE FIVE TIMES...

A 36-year-old man, Chigozie Osuocha, has confessed to the defilement of his niece, Benita, in the Olodi Apapa area of Lagos State. Chigozie, who brought the 12-year-old from Imo State in July 2017, allegedly said he had slept with her five times.

The suspect was reported to have made the statement to operatives of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command during interrogation. It was learnt that the victim had been sighted around 10pm on Thursday at Mile 2, after alighting from a commercial bus from Olodi Apapa.

She was reportedly with two of the suspect’s children, aged four and six. Benita was about to board another vehicle to Maza Maza when she was intercepted by a policeman, who took her for questioning on how she came about the two children. She was said to have opened up to the cop, saying she was returning to her hometown in Imo State over alleged sexual assault by her uncle.

Benita noted that she was taking the uncle’s two children along because they insisted on following her. The victim, in her statement to the police, explained that since she was brought from the village, she had not been attending school, despite Chigozie’s assurances to her parents that he would enrol her upon her arrival in Lagos.

She stated that any time Chigozie wanted to defile her, he would return home early from work, lock his three children out of the house and have sex with her. Benita said the eldest of the three children, aged six, later queried her on what the father did with her anytime he locked them out of the house.

She said she told him the details and the boy leaked the secret to the mother.

“His wife confronted me and I confirmed the story. I told her what her husband did to me. She threatened to pack out of the house. But they resolved the matter after he promised it wouldn’t happen again.

“I have been staying with his three children at home, while they go about their business. He has refused to enrol me in a school since July 2017 when I came. I also reported everything uncle did to me to his brother in Lagos, who informed the father in the village.

“They (the children) saw me packing my things out of the house and asked me where I was going. When I told them I was returning to the village, they started crying and said they would follow me. I took them along after stealing the N60,000 he (Chigozie) said I should give to his wife. I took his two sons with me and left the last child at home.

“I didn’t know police officers were monitoring me. One of them crossed the expressway and asked me some questions about the children and I told him I was running back to the village because my uncle was sleeping with me,” she added.

The RRS were said to have got the suspect’s telephone number from the six-year-old son, who was with Benita. Chigozie was reportedly lured to the RRS’ headquarters in Alausa, Ikeja, where he was confronted with the allegations, which he allegedly confessed to.

The suspect was alleged to have said he slept with her only five times, while blaming the act on the devil. Chigozie reportedly said he sought the girl’s parents’ permission to bring her to Lagos to continue her education while assisting his wife with domestic chores.

“I brought her to Lagos in July 2017 and started sleeping with her in December 2017. I slept with her three times in December and twice in January.

“My wife got to know about it and she threatened to move out of the house with my three children. I begged her and we resolved the issue.

“I came home yesterday and gave her N60,000 for my wife. It was the money she took as she wanted to travel to the village with my two boys,” he said.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, confirmed the incident, adding that the victim had been transferred to the Family Support Unit of the command.

NIGERIAN MAN GOES ON DRAGONS DEN, WANTS MONEY TO START A CHURCH...

London - A Nigerian entrepreneur has appeared on Dragon's Den, a reality television programme in which budding entrepreneurs get three minutes to pitch their business ideas to five multi-millionaires willing to invest their own cash. 

The eloquent young man who introduced himself as Pastor Jonah, wanted two hundred and fifty thousand pounds to start a new Pentecostal church, and promised returns of 500% within the first three years.

Producers of the series described the recently filmed episode as featuring the most incredible idea ever brought to the show. 

They said of the Nigerian entrepreneur, “He was very confident and very smartly dressed in an Armani suit. He was charismatic and extremely knowledgeable of the Bible, and he appeared to have really done his research.”

His opening line was, "Brothers and sister, the Lord has brought me here today to tell you that there is no business like church business."

In the episode which will air next season, the entrepreneur defends his business case by presenting data gathered from churches in Nigeria where he plans to setup his own church.

In a tense moment when he is being grilled by Theo Paphitis, he asks the Dragons a rhetorical question, “How many of you own private jets?”

"You don't want to miss this one," a member of the production crew told us. She however declined to comment on the outcome of the pitch, saying instead, "Let's just say, the Dragons know a good investment when they see one.”

MKO ABIOLA'S SONS FIGHTS OVER PROPERTIES LEFT BY THEIR LATE FATHER...

Aliu, one of the children of the late Chief Moshood Abiola, has backed his sibling, AbdulMumuni’s criticism of the handling of their father’s assets.

AbdulMumuni who happens to be the youngest child of the late Kudirat Abiola, had in a statement on Friday accused Kola, Deji and Agboola of “playing god” with their late father’s properties.

He had said, “My brothers, sisters and I, totalling 40 children of Abiola, are not fighting with them. But we need to step out of our father’s shadow. Kola, Deji and Agboola have been peddling lies in the media about my efforts to bring about changes to the dwindling fortunes of the Abiola family.”

Aliu, in a telephone interview, expressed support for AbdulMumuni, saying their father’s assets should be used to the benefit of all his children, rather than a small group of people with no desire to carry anyone along.

He noted that no attempt had been made to carry the siblings along in the handling of their father’s properties.

He stated, “The truth of the matter is, when things of this nature happen — 20 years go by, and a certain group of people sit on the commonwealth of others — then definitely those who have been disenfranchised, like my brother, Abdul, and many of us as he mentioned, have to seek redress by any means available.

“So, the assets in question are assets that everyone knows were owned by our late father. Such assets should be used for the benefit of all his children, rather than a small group of people.

“There is a warehousing complex in Isolo, for instance, which is currently being leased out. Monies are being paid on annual basis for the property in question and no member of the family is taking any money from the money that is being paid.

“He (MKO Abiola) has the hangers at the airport that are being leased out — two of them are being leased out. Monies are being paid; nobody is taking a dime from that.”

NIGERIAN WOMAN ARRESTED FOR STEALING BABY IN ACCRA...

A 29-year-old Nigerian has been arrested by the police for allegedly stealing a one-and-half-year-old baby girl at Osu in Accra.

Fatima Jibril bolted with the child from a drinking spot operated by Joyce Owusua, 40, mother of the child.

Briefing the media, the Osu District Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Richard Daplah said on January 9, 2017, at about 2p.m., Fatima went to a drinking spot along the Osu beach.

He said after Fatima had been served, she told Owusua she wanted to hang around and relax, adding that Fatima then decided to engage the girl in a jovial mood.

ASP Daplah said, “Fatima later took the girl and pretended to walk around, later she was nowhere to be found.”

According to him, some customers who were also at the spot told Owusua that they saw Fatima with the girl, adding that with the help of the customers, Fatima was apprehended in possession of the girl.

ASP Daplah said during interrogation, Fatima told the police she did not know why she committed the act.

He said Fatima would soon be put before court.

He said two cases of child missing have been reported at the beginning of the year, and advised parents to be vigilant in taking care of their kids.

See photos: PARASITIC CONJOINED TWIN SUCCESSFULLY SEPARATED BY SURGEONS...

A baby boy has been successfully separated from his ‘parasitic conjoined twin’ following a 15-hour operation.

Haneen was cut away from his parasitic twin sister Farah after she was born with no lungs or heart of her own and very little brain tissue.

The announcement of the successful completion of the difficult operation was made by Dr Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabiah at the King Abdullah Specialised Children’s Hospital in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The final sixth phase of the operation was to separate the hips of the infants as they were joined at the torso.

Dr Al-Rabiah said while the surgery was ongoing: ‘The surgery is going on as planned successfully, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will record it as the 45th successful twin separation surgery.’

The operation began at 8am and lasted until 11pm, according to pediatrician Dr Mohammed Al-Namshan, who was one of the surgeons working to free Haneen.

The complicated procedure began with small cameras being inserted into the two urethras and then catheters being inserted. First the intestines and liver were separated, then the urinary system and pelvic wall followed by orthopaedic (joint) surgery to complete the process.

Farah died as a result of the operation and it is not clear what Haneen’s condition currently is. The family were not named in reports.

WOMAN FARTS DURING SURGERY, CAUSING LASER TO CATCH FIRE...

A patient, who was undergoing surgery which involved a laser being applied to her cervix, passed gas during the operation and ended up being badly burned.

It is a fact not as universally known as it should that farts are flammable. Although, those who have seen the 1994 comedy Dumb and Dumber will definitely remember Jim Carrey’s fart scene. But as hilarious as that sequence was, things didn’t turn out as pretty for this woman at the Tokyo Medical University Hospital.

The patient, who was undergoing surgery which involved a laser being applied to her cervix, passed gas during the operation and ended up being badly burned. According to a hospital report, the unfortunately timed fart ignited the laser being used for the surgery. The woman, in her 30s, was left screaming in pain after the fire apparently burnt massive chunks of her body, including the waist and legs. The surgery was apparently being held in the Shinjuku Ward of the hospital, according to a report by Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun.

The bizarre incident came to light in a report by external experts that was released on October 28, say agency reports. The incident itself apparently happened on April 15, 2016. The committee report clarifies that no flammable materials were used in the operation during the surgery and that every other equipment was functioning properly, thus eliminating any possibility of a gas leak from elsewhere that could have cause the fire.

“When the patient’s intestinal gas leaked into the space of the operation (room), it ignited with the irradiation of the laser, and the burning spread, eventually reaching the surgical drape and causing the fire,” said the report, which only recently came to light. According to an Australian news report, the Tokyo Medical University Hospital holds the distinction of being the only facility in Japan to do surgery using robots.

A DRUNKEN REVELLER TAKES CAB AROUND 3 COUNTRIES ON NEW YEAR'S EVE...

A drunken New Year's Eve partygoer took a £1,643 taxi across three countries - then ran off without paying. The cheeky man tried to avoid paying his fare after taking the cab 370 miles from Denmark to Norway, via Sweden.

But as he had been dropped off near his home, police were easily able to track him down - and found him not long after passed out on his bed. The man, who was in his forties, hailed the cab in Copenhagen and saw in the new year on his way to Oslo where he arrived after midnight.

He travelled up the coast of Western Norway past the city of Gothenburg. But when he arrived at his destination in the Abildsø neighbourhood, in the Norwegian capital, he tried to avoid paying the now enormous fare.

After the man disappeared inside his home the fuming taxi driver rang police at 1am on January 1. When they arrived they found the man passed out on his bed and quickly shook him awake.

He then coughed up a whopping 18,000 Norwegian kroner (£1,643) for his extended taxi ride. Oslo Police operation leader Vidar Pedersentold Norway's NRK : "The driver saw the man had disappeared into the apartment. We were subsequently able to contact the man. He was sleeping in his own bed."

Adding insult to injury, Oslo Police revealed on Twitter that the Danish taxi driver then had to wait for a recovery vehicle as his car battery had run flat while it idled outside the unruly passenger's flat.

WOMAN GIVES BIRTH IN NIGER BRIDGE GRIDLOCK..

A woman, whose name could not be ascertained who was travelling to Lagos, was delivered of a baby in the gridlock at Onitsha caused by the blockage of the Niger Bridge for local government elections in Delta State on Saturday.

It was gathered that the mother was quickly attended to by women around who rushed her into a stationed car.

The car was quickly cordoned and turned into an emergency labour room, it was learnt, and shortly after, the woman was delivered of a baby amidst jubilation from stranded passengers.

Hundreds of travellers from the South-East and South-South returning home from the Christmas and New Year holidays were stranded, following the closure of the Onitsha end of the bridge.

MANCHESTER CITY CAPTAIN DAVID SILVA'S PREMATURE SON FIGHTS FOR LIFE...

It has been confirmed by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola that David Silva will fly back to Spain this evening as the midfielder's premature son fights for his life.

Silva starred as City came from a goal down to beat Burnley 4-1 in the FA Cup third round at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.

The Spanish international released a statement earlier this week to confirm the reasons behind spending time back in his home country.

He wrote: "I want to thank all of you for the love and good wishes received in the last few weeks, special thanks to my teammates, the manager and all at the club for understanding my situation.

"Also I want to share with you the birth of my son Mato, who was born extremely preterm and is fighting day by day with the help of the medical team."

City fell behind in their FA Cup tie against Burnley as Ashley Barnes struck to give the visitors a 1-0 half-time lead.

But a second half brace from Sergio Aguero and strikes from Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva ensured City's progression and retained their hopes of an unprecedented quadruple.

Guardiola said: "David is a legend for the club for what he has done.

"I am happy for him to have made his statement and it is not easy for him to travel to Spain and England back and forth."

Read: WHY PRINCE HARRY'S FIANCÉE MEGHAN MARKLE CAN'T WEAR CROWN JEWELS, BUT KATE MIDDLETON CAN...

As the Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is now just months away, it seems Meghan's fairy tale dream of becoming a princess might be coming true, but she isn't allowed to wear any crown jewels just yet.

And just as the countdown continues, details of the privileges American actress Meghan, 36, will be allowed to enjoy are beginning to be better known.

While Harry’s sister-in-law Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is allowed to slip on some crown jewels as part of her regal allowances, it would seem that Meghan is not granted the same opportunity yet.

Strict etiquette rules prohibit unmarried women from wearing tiaras - like the ones Kate is frequently spotted sporting.

And thus Meghan won’t be allowed to pop on a mini crown of her own until after she says “I do” with Prince Harry, 33, this spring.

“Flashy diamonds and tiaras are not worn during the day, and only married ladies wear tiaras,” Etiquette expert Grant Harold told The BBC.

“For married ladies it was a sign of status and would show you were taken and not looking for a husband,” the manners expert continued.

“For the gentleman it was a clear sign not to make advances toward the lady in question,” he added.

Harry and Meghan's nuptials are scheduled to take the world by storm in May.

GREAT-GRANDMOTHER RAPED IN HER OWN HOME...

A great-grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s was pushed onto her bed raped in her own home. The 89-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, phoned her daughter on the morning of 31 December and told her about the attack at her home in Poole, Dorset.

Despite being in a state of confusion she said she needed to go and get medical help. She said that one young man had pushed her on her chest, causing her to fall onto her bed before he sexually assaulted her. 

Sickeningly, another man watched and laughed as the attack took place, she said. The victim was taken to the police rape suite and underwent physical examinations. 

Members of her family said their worst fear has been realised, and it is ‘impossible’ to describe how angry and upset they are. 

‘I used to worry that she would let people in without thinking about it and that she would be burgled or mugged” her daughter told the Daily Echo. 

‘It never occurred to any of us that something like this would happen.’ 

The family said their mother’s home was not broken into and nothing was stolen. 

‘In a way that makes it even more shocking’, the family said. ‘They have gone there deliberately to rape her which is absolutely sickening. 

‘If they’ve done it once they could do it again and we want to warn people to be careful.’ 

Detective Constable Jon Sainsbury, of Bournemouth CID, said: ‘We have now been able to obtain a full account from the victim but she is vulnerable and due to her health her recollection of events is limited.

‘We appreciate this must have been a very distressing incident for the victim and specially-trained officers are continuing to support her.’ 

‘The victim did not recognise the two men and is unable to provide a detailed description of them. It is also not known at this time how the men got into the property.’ 

The victim’s family said they are concentrating on finding her somewhere safe to live and helping her to get over the ordeal. 

A spokesman for Dorset police confirmed that despite an ongoing investigation no arrests have been made.