Fugitive President Says He’s Still Ukraine’s Leader

Ukraine's fugitive president has declared he is still leader, just as dozens of heavily armed gunmen seized control of government buildings in the nation's Crimea region and raised the Russian flag. President Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine after riot police attacked protesters in Kiev's central square, killing more than 80 people, and European and Russian officials intervened. The moves pose an immediate challenge to Ukraine's new authorities as they sought to set up an interim government for the country, whose population is divided in loyalties between Russia and the West. Some 150,000 Russian soldiers carried out military exercises and fighter jets patrolled the border. "I have to ask Russia to ensure my personal safety from extremists," Mr Yanukovych said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies on Thursday. "I still consider myself to be the legal head of the Ukraine state, chosen through free elections by Ukrainian citizens," he said. Shortly after, the same three Russian news agencies quoted an unnamed Russian official saying that Mr Yanukovych's request for protection "was satisfied on the territory of Russia." Oleksandr Turchynov, who stepped in as acting president after Mr Yanukovych's flight, condemned the takeover of government buildings in Crimea as a "crime against the government of Ukraine." He warned that any move by Russian troops off of their base in Crimea "will be considered a military aggression." "Unidentified people with automatic weapons, explosives and grenades have taken over the governmental buildings and the Parliament building in the autonomous region of Crimea," he said. "I have given orders to the military to use all methods necessary to protect the citizens, punish the criminals, and to free the buildings."

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Nyako: Enough is Enough with Boko Haram, Raises Posers

APC prescribes low-key centenary celebrations Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Daji Sani Pained by the degree and frequency of the Boko Haram sect deadly attacks, Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State has declared that it is high time something drastic was done to contain the sect scourge ravaging the North east region. The governor who seemed exasperated by the attack in Michika on Wednesday, declared that: ''Enough is Enough,'' stressing that the Boko Haram crisis is getting out of hand and needs new strategies to tackle it. Nyako,who was commenting on the Boko Haram attacks on Madagali and Michika in Adamawa State had maintained that the state of emergency slammed on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States have proven to be ineffective. He lambasted the federal government for failing to foil Yobe School's attack that seemed predictable since school children had previously been murdered that way in the same state. The governor said: "there is no ...

Centenary: Nigerians Urge Leaders to Brace up for Prosperous Nation

President Goodluck Jonathan Igbo group threatens to sue British govt. As the country marks 100 years of its existence, Nigerians have urged the federal government to brace up for future challenges and to work harder to ensure a prosperous nation. They urged government at all levels and stakeholders to work together in addressing the myriad of problems facing the country. Some Nigerians, who spoke in separate interviews to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday, called on the government to address the issues critical in the drive to move the nation forward rather than dwell in the past. "We must sincerely as a people forge stronger bonds as we strive to build a united and prosperous country," Dr Shola Adeyanju, a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) said. Adeyanju, who is of the Department of Mass Communication, said there was need for change in behavior among the citizenry. According to him, rather than waste energy and resources on the centenary, the govern...

Court Dissolves Pastor’s 5-year-old Marriage Over Infidelity

An Abeokuta Customary Court on Thursday dissolved a five- year-old marriage between Pastor Samuel Oniyide, 42, and his wife, Kabirat, saying it was obvious they no longer loved each other. The pastor had asked the court to dissolve the marriage, accusing his wife of disrespectfulness and infidelity; claims which the respondent denied. Despite the denial, however, the respondent consented to the dissolution of the marriage, saying she was tired of the union. Dissolving the marriage, the President of the Court, Olalekan Akande said it was obvious that love no longer existed between the couple. He, however, said that the welfare of the two female children of the couple was of importance to the court. Akande granted custody of the children to Kabirat and ordered the pastor to pay N5,000 monthly for the children's upkeep. Earlier, the pastor had told the court that the marriage produced two female children aged five and two. He said that his wife was a trouble maker and was always jealo...

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