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A PROSECUTION witness  and a legal officer with the First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB). Mr. Elonna Ezelo Tuesday told a Federal High Court Lagos, that several forms of deposits running into millions of naira were made by Femi Fani-Kayode, while he was the Minister of Aviation. The witness, however, said there was no formal report  made to any authority concerning the financial transactions by the former minister.    Fani-Kayode, is standing trial on an amended 40-count charge bordering on money laundering.   At the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, the witness who was led in evidence by the  prosecutor, Mr. Festus Keyamo, told  the court that the accused first had an account with First Atlantic Bank Plc, which later transformed from First Inland Bank Plc, to Finbank Plc, and now FCMB.  He said as a legal officer of the bank, he collated all statement of account of the accused which revealed several transactions involving cash, c...

THE Senate will tomorrow (Thursday) begin the formal screening of President Goodluck Jonathan’s nominee, Godwin Emefiele to replace Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).    The information to this effect was contained in yesterday’s Senate Notice Paper against Thursday where the Senate leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba was scheduled to formally move the motion for the screening and confirmation of the nominee.    Also, the CBN Act is being amended to among others remove a sitting CBN governor from being chairman of the CBN governing board.    The amendment bill has also made the CBN governor answerable to the CBN’s board chairman.    The amendment, which was formally introduced in the Senate yesterday, empowers the President to appoint any person of high integrity as chairman of the board subject to the confirmation of the Senate.    Ndoma-Egba’s motion would also pave way for the screening and confirmatio...

According to CNN,   Funerals in Ghana are not only an occasion to mourn. They are also an opportunity to celebrate the life of the dearly departed. Hardly ever a s omber, low-key affair, Ghanaian funerals are a social event attended by a large number of mourners, which could reach hundreds -- the more, the better. "That means the person was very friendly, very charitable, was good to socialize, was having a good communication with the people within the society," says Jamima, a family friend who attends the funeral of the 70-year-old Joanna Boafo in the town of Kumasi. Ghanaians may spend as much money on funerals as on weddings, sometimes even more. "An average funeral should cost between $15,000-$20,000," says Kwaku, a funeral planner who is in charge of 30 funeral parties on this one day alone. That includes the obligatory giant, colorful billboards that announce funeral arrangements. The billboards, which may cost from nearly $600 to $3,000, are plac...

It's only fitting that Prince William would do the honors himself. The Duke of Cambridge bestowed a number of orders of chivalry on deserving compatriots today at Buckingham Palace, including a knighthood on Dr. Marcus Setchell, who led the team that delivered William and Kate Middleton's son, Prince George, last summer. Setchell was  Queen Elizabeth II 's longtime surgeon-gynaecologist, and he put off retirement to be around for the royal baby's birth, as well as looked after Kate when she was hospitalized during the earlier stages of her pregnancy. She attended his retirement lunch at the Hyde Park Hilton earlier this month. For a career well done, he is now Sir Marcus, knight commander of the Royal Victorian Order, having taken the requisite oath of loyalty to the crown and deemed so by a sword-wielding William. "Well of course it's a great honor and it's very nice that I was able to serve [the queen] for 24 years and that the culmination of it...

This will be Chris Brown 's home away from home for the next month. E! News learned yesterday that the singer was ordered back to jail until a previously scheduled probation violation hearing on April 23, and now we have an inside look at what Breezy's life in solitary confinement at the Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles will be like. But before we get to the living quarters, let's talk about something many of us may have wondered about—food! What will Brown be eating while in jail? E! News spoke to a spokesperson at the jail who told us that the inmates were served spaghetti and meatballs, peas, carrots and a salad for lunch and dinner today (but the menu changes each day). However, it looks like troublemakers won't be given any dessert, at least not today. As for Brown's living conditions, it's far from the celeb's usual lavish lifestyle (as you may have already imagined). The 24-year-old's room in solitary confinement—which is to pr...

The Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday said it had registered 2,000 persons displaced by the attack on three villages in the Kaura Local Government Area, the  News Agency of Nigeria reports. The Executive Secretary of SEMA, Mr. Dogo Makama, told newsmen in Kaduna that the agency had assessed the needs of those affected and would soon offer assistance to them. He said the agency discovered during the assessment that 240 houses were burnt, 119 people killed, and 22 persons injured and hospitalised. Makama said the 2,000 displaced persons had been camped at the Bandon Community Secondary School, adding that the agency would this week distribute relief materials to them. He listed some of the items to be distributed to include maize, rice, garri, sugar, palm oil, groundnut oil, bathing soap, washing soap, mattress, blankets, salt, rubber plates and buckets. Makama assured the residents of the affected communities that SEMA would do its best to facilitate the...

Justin Bieber  has a solid explanation for APPEARING to be under the influence when he was told to walk the line ... he messed up his foot while skateboarding -- and you won't believe how Bieber threw his wealth in the cop's face during the arrest. Justin has been charged with DUI in Miami Beach.  Cops say Bieber tested positive for Xanax and weed ... his alcohol level was inconsequential ... .014.   Cops are hanging their hat on Bieber appearing unsteady as he tried walking the line in jail.  But according to newly released documents, Bieber told cops he had a hairline fracture on his right foot ... caused by a skateboarding accident 3 months earlier. And then there are some snotty comments from the Biebs.  According to the new docs, Bieber told the arresting officer, "I'm 19 years old.  I'm just out having a good time."  The cop responded he wasn't driving around in a Lambo at that age.  Bieber fired back, " Yeah, well, I bet you di...

Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji A prosecution witness in the trial of the Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji,  on Tuesday narrated how the Speaker spent million of naira belonging to the house on his trips. Adebayo Adeniyi, who is a witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,  also told the court how the defendants collected N13.5m for honorarium, N4.5m for  renovation of his  residence, and another N1.5m for the Speaker’s Guest House every month for six months. According  to the witness, Kuforiji in 2010  collected N1.2m on May 12 for an emergency meeting in Abuja; N5.2m on May 1 for a trip to Spain ; and N3m on June 21 for Umrah. The Speaker, Adeniyi said, also colected N2.8m  for a trip to Italy; N5.5 m for another trip to Chicago. He equallly spent N3.9m for election monitoring in California. Other spendings of the Speaker, as narrated by the EFCC witness include the...

Former Chief Justice of Nigeria and chairman of the conference, retired Justice Idris Kutigi The Federal Government has rebuffed request by some of the delegates to the ongoing national conference that their personal aides be paid by the government. Each of the delegates are to receive N12m for the three months exercise. The allowance include money for accommodation, transportation, part of feeding (the delegates are to have free lunch at the venue of the conference. However, the delegates are expected to have aides such as drivers and personal assistants in order to ease their works and movements. However, investigations by  one of our correspondents showed that some of the delegates met in Abuja on Monday shortly after the inauguration of the conference by President Goodluck Jonathan where the welfare of their aides was discussed. The delegates, it was gathered, wanted the Federal Government to take over the allowances of their aides. While some of them at the inf...

According to TMZ, John Mayer  spent $5 MILLION on what he believed were authentic, antique Rolex watches ... but claims he was defrauded by  Charlie Sheen 's best buddy. Mayer is a big-time watch collector.  He claims in a new lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- he met watch dealer Robert Maron in 2007 and told him he was on the hunt for rare Rolexes to add to his stash of timepieces. Mayer says he bought a number of watches, and all seemed well.   But in 2010, Mayer sent one of the Rolexes to the manufacturer for repair and got word back, "The watch was not authentic in all respects." Mayer claims Maron admitted to him Rolex was right but called it an "isolated event."  Mayer says Maron took the watch back and gave him a credit, which Mayer used to buy another Rolex. Mayer claims in 2011 Rolex informed him at least 7 of the watches Maron sold him were counterfeit. Apparently Mayer is still satisfied with some of the watches, but he wants a refund for the 7, whi...

Unbeknownst to her supporters, a blind beggar who was a fixture on the streets of Saudi Arabia was actually a millionaire, and reportedly left everything to the poor. According to the Saudi Gazette, Eisha -- a  100-year-old woman who spent her days panhandling  in the town of Jeddah -- amassed a sizeable fortune throughout her life. Before she died, she gave her friend, Ahmad Al-Saeedi, her will which states that  her money and possessions should go to the needy , Arab News reported. Altogether she had  Saudi Riyal 3 million in cash (about US $800,000), Saudi Riyal 1 million worth of jewelry  (about US $266,000) and owned four buildings in the Al-Balad district of Jeddah, according to Arab News. She let a number of  families stay in her buildings for free,  but now that she has died, they may be forced to vacate their homes. When Al-Saeedi learned that his friend was wealthy, he said he advised her to give up panhandling. "I asked her to g...

Google announced Tuesday it was bringing Android, the dominant platform for smartphones, to wearable devices. The move allows developers to create apps for smartwatches, the first phase of the Android Wear platform. “We’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s possible with mobile technology,” said Google Android chief Sundar Pichai in a blog post. “That’s why we’re so excited about wearables — they understand the context of the world around you, and you can interact with them simply and efficiently, with just a glance or a spoken word.”                                             A smart wristwatch: android ready The news comes amid a surge of interest in wearable electronics which can connect with smartphones, and after the launch of several smart watches by large and small manufacturers. The new Android Wear system will make it easier to develop apps sp...

The Nigerian navy said on Tuesday that it had arrested 22 Chinese nationals for fishing in its territorial waters without permits and travel passports. Four foreign vessels and their crew were held in the operation, Commodore Godwin Ochai told reporters in Onne, outside the southern oil city of Port Harcourt. “When our troops went on board… they discovered that the four vessels had no immigration documents, neither did its 22 crew members have international passports,” he added. “We discovered that the suspects did not have any form of permit to engage in fishing activities in the nation’s territorial waters.” The suspects, who were arrested last Friday, were later handed over to Nigeria’s immigration service for further investigation, Ochai said. The impounded vessels were carrying several tons of fish. Television footage showed images of the Chinese nationals being paraded before reporters. Ochai alleged that the Chinese had breached international maritime laws a...

This is one snake who is likely to be more than a little snappy if provoked. The mutant black and gold python regius - royal python or ball python - was born in Villingen-Schwenningen, southern Germany, with two heads. Snake breeder Stefan Broghammer said the slippery customer is around one years old and has grown to around 20 inches. He said the creature is only the second python known to be born with two heads. The snake is non-venomous, found in Africa and are a popular pet. Adults generally grow up to around 4ft and when threatened their instinctively curl into a ball to defend themselves. Read more:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2009430/The-snake-sssplit-personality-Meet-python-born-heads.html#ixzz2wLpcpddr  

Two people were killed and another injured this morning when a helicopter crashed in Seattle just yards away from the iconic Space Needle. The helicopter was a news chopper owned by ABC News affiliate KOMO. The chopper crashed moments after lift-off and quickly became engulfed in flames, killing two and sending a third victim to the hospital in critical condition, according to the Seattle Fire Department. The two people that were killed were pilot Gary Pfitzner and photographer Bill Strothman, a recently-retired staffer who now works part-time, the station said. The crash site is just 50 feet away from the Space Needle, authorities said. The helicopter did not hit the landmark. The news station said the helicopter was lifting off from its roof when it hit the side of the building and crashed into several cars. Two cars were also on fire when firefighters arrived to douse the flames. Plumes of smoke quickly filled the skies near Space Needle shortly after the crash. The...

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge won't be welcoming a sibling for Prince George any time soon. Well that's put that rumour to bed then.  Prince William has cheerfully quashed any notion that  Kate Middleton   is expecting baby number two as he joked they had their hands full with just Prince George. . During their annual St. Patrick's Day trip to visit the Irish Guard yesterday, the royal couple were asked if they were planning to add to their family soon, to which William replied: 'Maybe one day. One's enough at the moment'. Kate and William, minus Prince George, were all smiles at the parade in Aldershot, Hampshire yesterday. The Duchess of Cambridge even invested in a new green coat for the occasion. For the last two years, Kate has worn the same green Emilia Wickstead coat to this event. This year she decided to change things up, opting for an emerald green Hobbs wool coat for the Irish festival, that is admittedly rather similar to la...