NHRC Sets Up Investigative Panel On Oil Spillage

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has set up a special investigative panel to look into petitions and complaints of oil spillage and environmental degradation by international oil companies in Nigeria to bring indicted companies to book.

The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Professor Bem Angwe said that along with the findings of the panel, previous reports and recommendations made over environmental degradation in the country would be implemented forthwith.

He said clean and healthy environments are rights of Nigerians and any company violating them must be made to pay and will not only be made to answer domestically but also internationally.

The UNEP report on Ogoni land is one of the popular reports on the enormous degradation in that region of which the recommendations are yet to be implemented over six years on.

The Human Rights boss says this time the IOC will be compelled to strike a balance between business and human rights.

Prof. Angwe said that the panel has commenced hearing of one of the many petitions on oil spill and environmental degradation pending before them.

They have 30 days to investigate these complaints, uncover the oil companies responsible and make recommendations on sanctions.

Polluted water bodies and streams with dying sea food, contaminated farmlands and destroyed sources of livelihood are the consequences of oil spillage and environmental degradation which have become the regular complaint from communities in the south-south geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

International oil companies chiefly responsible for these pollutions have often not been held accountable for remediation or compensation to the affected communities over the years while the degradation continues.

Federal Government To Reconnect Railway With Sea Ports – Amaechi

Rotimi Amaechi , Minister of Transportation

The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi has said that the Federal Government will re-connect the country’s railway with the sea ports in a bid to boost economic activities.

Amaechi stated this during a meeting he had with port professionals on Monday in Lagos.

The minister said President Muhamadu Buhari’s resolve to diversify the economy had brought to the front burner the need to implement the inter-modal means of transportation in the country.

He said the ministry is expected to start the process or construction of the Lagos-Kano, and possibly the Lagos-Calabar railway before June or July.

Amaechi also said that if the two contracts commence, he is hopeful that they would generate employment and also improve economic activity.

He added that all of these must terminate at the sea ports, so that importation can be done from any particular place in time.

“You can import from Warri Sea Port; you can import from Port Harcourt sea port; you can import or export from Calabar sea port or any of the sea ports” he said.

“In terminating the railway, we are going to terminate one at Apapa and another one at Tin Can to encourage inter-modal means of transportation.’’ He added.

The minister gave the assurance that appropriate measures would be taken to ensure that the country received the right amount of revenue from the system.

Amaechi, finally, called on Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government as its working diligently to revive the economy, beginning with the implementation of the 2016 budget.

Confusion as INEC Declares PDP Winner Of Kogi Central Senatorial Re-run Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reverse its earlier decision which declared the Kogi State Central senatorial re-run election held on Feb. 20 inconclusive.

INEC declared Hon. Ahmed Ogembe of PDP as the winner of the re-run election.

This is contained in a statement signed by Alhaji Halilu Pai, the Resident Electoral Commissioner and made available to newsmen on Monday in Lokoja.

Pai said that Ogembe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 45, 468 votes to beat four other contestants in the election that was earlier declared inconclusive.He attributed the reason for the decision to declare the election inconclusive to `minor error’ during collation.

Other candidates who contested the poll were: Sen. Nurudeen Abatemi of the PPA, Mr Moses Wokili of the SDP, Mr Bashir Sani Omolori of MPPP

However the commission still maintains its decision to declare the election in Kogi East Senatorial district as inconclusive.

The commission is yet to fix a date for the conduct of fresh elections in constituencies where elections were declared inconclusive.

Adolf Hitler had a micropenis and one descended testicle

The ruthless Nazi dictator suffered from a condition called hypospadias, which left him with a micropenis — and forced him to urinate from a hole at the base of the shaft, instead of the tip, according to an upcoming book.

In addition to an abnormally small manhood, Hitler only had one descended testicle, medical records show.

Newly-uncovered medical records about the Führer were researched for the book "Hitler's Last Day: Minute by Minute," which was written by historians Jonathan Mayo and Emma Craigie.

"Hitler himself is believed to have had two forms of genital abnormality: an undescended testicle and a rare condition called penile hypospadias in which the urethra opens on the underside of the penis," the historians wrote, according to a Telegraph report.

Hypospadias is found in 1 in every 200 boys, and can lead to sexual performance difficulties later in life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

In addition to hypospadias, medical records uncovered in December showed that Hitler likely suffered from an undescended testicle — a diagnosis that was made by a prison doctor following a 1923 arrest.

Records by Dr. Josef Steiner Brin, Landsberg prison's medical officer, identified "Adolf Hitler, artist, recently writer" as "healthy and strong" but suffering from "right-side cryptorchidism."

Cryptorchidism is when the testicle fails to descend properly.

The diagnoses lend credence to the song "Hitler has only got one ball," a bawdy British propaganda song.

EFCC Quizzes Former Minister Of Interior Abba Moro

Abba Moro is in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) custody and he is being grilled over the 2014 immigration 

A source from the anti-graft agency on Monday evening said that Mr Moro will soon be arraigned in court of competent jurisdiction as soon as it finalises its investigation, told Channels Television.

In 2014, the immigration service under his watch organised a recruitment exercise nationwide on the same day and due to the massive crowd, officials of the immigration were unable to effectively control the crowd.

This error led to the death of the young graduates and the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, ordered an investigation into the situation, a report which is yet to be made public.