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Nigerian Tribune    "There’s a looming diplomatic row  between the maritime regulatory authorities of Ghana and Nigeria as a marine tanker vessel, MT Kemepade, declared missing in Nigeria has been found in Ghana, slated for urgent scrapping." Related articles Missing Nigerian vessel found in Ghanaian shipyard (vanguardngr.com)

Image via Wikipedia  Daily Trust  "Former president Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said he never wrote a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan asking him to fire heads of certain Federal agencies as reported, even as copies of the purported letter were being circulated around newsrooms in Abuja. A letter dated September 16, allegedly written by Obasanjo to Jonathan, listed five Federal agencies as performing poorly and suggested that their heads be replaced with people selected by the PDP leadership and recommended to the former president in his capacity as board of trustees chairman." 'via Blog this' Related articles Wikileaks' week of leaking Nigerian leaders (vanguardngr.com) IBB rekindles war with Obasanjo (vanguardngr.com)

Nigerian Tribune "Jessica Tata, who has dual nationality of Nigeria and the United States, ran a day care centre out of her home in Houston, Texas, until February 24. The day care centre was licensed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Tata, aged 22, began running the day care centre in March 2010 after obtaining a licence but things went dreadfully wrong on February 24, 2011. Tata had seven children in her care and had no help. She left the children in the house, the oldest only three years old, and went shopping. Leaping flames welcomed her back to the house. Tata was momentarily transfixed with the horror of seven helpless children in a burning house, but then sprang into self-sacrificing action in an attempt to rescue the children, according to her defence counsel. Related articles Jessica Tata charged with 4 counts of murder for a fire in her home that killed 4 children (mylifeofcrime.wordpress.com) Judge sets $1.1 million bail for Tata (chron.co...

A fight broke out in Nigeria's parliament after a group of members were suspended for accusing the speaker of corruption. Related articles by Zemanta Nigerian MPs hurt in parliament (news.bbc.co.uk)

At least 160 people have died in Northern Nigeria, and this number is likely to increase as villagers continue to expose themselves to lead poisoning from illegal gold mining. The discovery of a gold deposit triggered a "gold rush" among impoverished farmers who dug up rocks by hand, unaware that the ore contained dangerously high concentrations of lead. Nigerian authorities have asked for assistance from various international agencies, including the World Health Organisation, to help contain the outbreak. Related articles by Zemanta Illegal gold mining leads to scores of deaths in northern Nigeria (cnn.com) Poison wipes out 163 in Zamfara (vanguardngr.com) Lead poisoning from mining kills 163 in Nigeria (reuters.com) Nigeria: 160 die from lead as villages seek gold (seattletimes.nwsource.com) Nigeria Lead-Poisoning Tests Widened (online.wsj.com)

The Tide Online The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ishaya Ibrahim, has said that the Navy was ready for the security challenges in the Niger Delta region. “The Navy has all it takes to stop all acts of illegality in the region,” Ibrahim declared at an interactive session with officers and ratings of the Navy in Lagos on Wednesday.

Leaders of the Action Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party traded word on Saturday as the Lagos State held the local government poll. The Punch

For more than 70 million Muslims living in Nigeria, the end of the holy month of Ramadan is an opportunity to celebrate their culture and traditions. The result is a spectacular and colourful festival, as Yvonne Ndege found out in the northern state of Kano.

A eighty-four year old man in Northern Nigeria has prompted anger from Muslims, even receiving death threats, for having 86 wives. Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege, reports from Bida, where Mohammed Bello polygamy has caused huge controversy.

This Day The non-payment of 775,760 depositors of failed banks by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) about six years after the banks went under will soon be a subject of investigation by the Senate following a litany of petitions forwarded to it by depositors. So far, only 225,000 depositors, (representing 15 per cent of the 1,000,760 depositors of the failed banks prior to the recapitalisation of banks), have been settled since the affected banks went under. The total amount due for payment to depositors was put at N22 billion by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, in an interview with Senate correspondents in Abuja at the weekend. According to her, “The pre-consolidated failed banks and the number of customers were 1,000,760 and total amount, in terms of money, is N22 billion; and, out of that N22 billion, only 225,000 customers have been paid.

Polio is a disease that could be extinguished entirely through vaccinations but yet it still kills thousands each year. The situation in Nigeria is by far the worst. It has the highest number of polio cases in the world. And as Yvonne Ndege reports from Kanu State fear and superstitution form part of the problem.

champion-newspapers.com Supreme yesterday warned all the parties in the petition brought by former Head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision that upheld the election of President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, not to bring any motion that would stop definite hearing of the appeal on October 23. The seven-man panel of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria [CJN], Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, fixed the date after disposing all pending motions before the court which included motion for extension of time as earlier prayed by Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC].

As court fixes October 23 for hearing, judgement M ay the Almighty God gives you the wisdom to see justice and the courage to apply it when you see it." This was the prayer Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) made yesterday for justices of the Supreme Court ahead of October 23, 208, a date fixed for definite hearing and possibly judgement on the two appeals brought by him and his Action Congress counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, against the election of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. The prayer is came at a time the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, yesterday warned seriously that he would no longer tolerate any further delay in the hearing and determination of the twin appeals brought by Buhari and Atiku against the judgement of the presidential election petitions tribunal which affirmed the election of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in the April 21, 2007 presidential poll... more

The Punch A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Superintendent of Minna Prison to produce in court on October 27, this year, Alhaji Bello Masaba, the man with 86 wives who is challenging the power of the Bida Emirate Council to pass a sentence on him.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Nigeria's main opposition group, has started their first day of a unilateral ceasfire they say could break if the military targets its camp bases. Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege reports from Lagos where she holds an exclusive interview with one of their spokesmen.

The Punch: "THE seeming confusion over the health of President Umaru Yar’Adua, raged on Saturday as top Federal Government functionaries snubbed enquiries on the matter. All entreaties made to some key ministers, including that of Information, Mr. John Odey, did not yield any positive result. A similar effort to get the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, to give clarifications on the condition of the President proved abortive."

International Herald Tribune : "ABUJA: Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has received medical treatment in Saudi Arabia, a source in the presidency said on Sunday, but the government said he was in good health and fit to lead Africa's most populous nation. Yar'Adua, known to have a chronic kidney problem, travelled to Saudi Arabia two weeks ago for the Islamic obligation of Umrah, the lesser Hajj. He has cancelled a state visit to Brazil which he had planned to make after the Muslim pilgrimage"

THISDAY ONLINE "About four months after he paid himself N200 million pension, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has asked Governor Muhammad Goje of Gombe State to refund the money. The Deputy Governor, Dr. John Lazarus Yoriyo, who also benefited from the largesse has also been asked to refund N100 million. The Commission, in a letter to Goje, dated August 18, 2008 and signed by its Chairman, Mr. Hamman Tukur, said the payment of pension allowance to both of them while still in office did not have the backing of the law."

THISDAY ONLINE "For the second time in one month, the Peoples Democratic Party openly accused the opposition parties of plotting to overthrow the Umaru Yar’Adua-led administration at the centre. Omololu Ogunmade chronicles the position of the PDP and the response of the opposition stressing that politicians on both divides need to learn from history"