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Nigerian Man, Obi 33-Year-Old Dies After Ex-Lover Set Him Ablaze Along With Girlfriend In Australia

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A Nigerian man, Stanley Obi, and his girlfriend have been set ablaze by his former partner and mother of his kids at his home in New Beith, Brisbane’s southern suburbs of Australia.

Nigerian Man, Obi 33-Year-Old Dies After Ex-Lover Set Him Ablaze Along With Girlfriend In Australia

 

Mr Obi had lived at the house for several months.(ABC News: Curtis Rodda)

Police are unravelling the troubled history of a former couple involved in a Logan house fire that has left both of them dead.

Stanley Obi, 33, a Nigerian died in hospital after sustaining critical burns to 90 per cent of his body when his former partner, Sarah Mudge, allegedly doused him and his new girlfriend with petrol and set them on fire.

Queensland police said Mr Obi died at 10pm

The incident occurred after a court matter involving the pair had been finalised.

His girlfriend, 30, escaped the house with minor burns to her throat and was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for observation.

Neighbours said the blaze had left them traumatised.

Ms Mudge, 31, is believed to have perished in the fire as it engulfed the home on Bidyan Boulevard in Logan, south of Brisbane.

An autopsy will be conducted on a woman’s body found in the burnt-out house to confirm the identity.

Police said Ms Mudge somehow gained entry to the home and petrol was thought to have been “thrown around”.

Police have since been investigating the pair’s complicated relationship, which spilled over into the court system.

In the past year the pair took out domestic violence orders against each other, legal sources have told ABC News.

Mr Obi was a care manager for the Aveo Group’s Newstead retirement community in Brisbane.

He bought the Logan property in 2019 and built the house where he has lived for the past several months.

Neighbours describe horrific scene
A number of neighbours of Mr Obi, who did not want to be named, spoke about what they witnessed to raise awareness of domestic violence.

One recounted how they were alerted to the horrific events occurring next door.

“I got woken up to someone banging on the glass door and I could hear words to the effect ‘call the police’.

“I switched on the lights … I could see a man who was completely naked.

“He was banging on the glass door, yelling: ‘Call the police, call the police.’

“With the lights, I could figure out it was Stan, my neighbour.”

The neighbour said he quickly realised the severity of the situation, with Mr Obi also asking him to call an ambulance.

“When I looked at him, I thought he was burnt.

“So when my wife went to call the police, I took a walk down towards my garage and through the window, I saw Stan’s house, which was ablaze, smoke coming out from the windows.”

Another neighbour who was with Mr Obi when emergency services were on their way said it was a traumatic experience.

“He was just obviously in an incredible amount of pain. Apparently he’s a nurse and he just kept saying to us, ‘I’m critical one, I need help straightaway. Tell them I’m critical one, I need assistance straightaway, I’m going to die.’

One neighbour said what happened would be with them for life.

“Considering what’s happened, we all feel unsafe in our homes,” they said.

“None of us could sleep last night because of the flashbacks, as soon as we close our eyes, we get all these flashbacks of what happened, the graphic scenes that we saw.”

‘He will be greatly missed’
In a statement, an Aveo Group spokesperson said Mr Obi had been a valuable and respected team member for some time.

“He will be greatly missed,” the spokesperson said.

“We know that this news will impact a number of the staff and residents at Aveo, with whom he worked with closely.

“We will be providing counselling services to support all staff and residents.

“We will also do all we can to support Stanley’s family through this devastating time.

“Our thoughts are with Stanley’s children and his family.”

Fire crews were called to the property shortly before 3am on Thursday where they discovered a body believed to be that of Ms Mudge.

Police are yet to formally identify the woman’s body because the home’s collapsed roof has hampered forensic team’s efforts.

Ms Mudge, a mother of six, had been living in a rented house in the Ipswich suburb of Leichhardt where she ran a portrait photography company.

Police are urging anyone who knows Ms Mudge, Mr Obi or any relations close to the pair to contact CrimeStoppers or the Logan District CIB.

Investigators will prepare a report for the state coroner.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the incident was an “absolutely tragedy”.

“To wake up and read that news and hear that news is devastating. Domestic and family violence has to stop. There are far too many tragedies,” she said.

“We need a society that values equality, that is respectful. In terms of the police response, I am sure that there will be a thorough coronial inquest into this.”

See Yourselves As Partners, Protect Our Facilities, CEO Geometric Power Urges Aba Business Community (Photos)

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Businessmen and women in Aba, the commercial centre of Abia State have been urged to render their support in ensuring efficient power delivery.

This call was made by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Geometric Power Limited, Prof. Barth Nnaji during an interactive session with key stakeholders in the business community.

Prof. Nnaji, a former Minister of Power called on them to see themselves as partners of Geometric and not just customers.

According to Prof. Nnaji, the Aba residence and businessmen and women as partners ought to play the roles of protectors to the assets of the company scattered all over the city to serve them and recover Aba as the industrial hub of Nigeria.

Prof. Nnaji said that the residents also need to play surveillance role on some of the company’s staff and report their filed behavior to the management especially those who could try lure them into energy theft.

He stressed that such practices that are destructive to businesses and the growth of the company need to be reported to enable them to curtail it and serve the people better.

Assuring them of transparency he encouraged them to pay off their outstanding debts even as payment slips are still in EEDC’S name.

Nothing Can Stop March 26 Convention, APC Dares INEC

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The ruling All Progressives Congress APC has dismissed a letter written to it by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the need to give the Commission a 21-day notice for its national convention slated for March 26.

Spokesman of the party’s Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee CECPC, Barr. Ismaila Ahmed disclosed this at a news conference Friday in Abuja.

He said the party had earlier intimated the commission of its intent to conduct its national convention on February 26 and that what is now required for its new date of March 26 is simply a notice of an adjustment and not a fresh 21-day notice.

Chief Amobi Felicitates With Abia Information Commissioner, Barr. Chikamnayo On Birthday

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Barr. Eze Chikamnayo

A community leader and aspirant for Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency Abia State in the 2019 election, Chief Amobi Ogah has congratulated the State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Barr. Eze Chikamnayo on his birthday, describing him as a seasoned professional and administrator.

Barr. Eze Chikamnayo

Chief Amobi said Barr. Chikamnayo as an outstanding image-maker, serving several governments in the state has over the years discharged his duties with utmost candour and professionalism in a way that gave the people confidence in the administrations.

In a felicitation message on Friday, Chief Amobi, the CEO, Pauli Mama Group, a petroleum marketing company said Barr. Chikamnayo has remained a gentleman of great integrity and a personification of humility who has made enormous contributions in serving his state and the country at large.

“I congratulate my brother, Barr. Eze Chikamnayo as he marks his birthday today.

“I join other patriots to salute a proud son of our great state who has devoted his talent to serve our people diligently for several years.

“A quintessential professional and a respected image-maker, he personifies true humility and dedication. He is a seasoned administrator who stands tall in excellent public service.

“It is my earnest prayer that God Almighty will continue to strengthen him and give him good health and more wisdom in selflessly serving our people,” he said.

APC Crisis: Group Cautions El-Rufai Against Blackmailing Buni

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The All Progressives Congress Integrity Group has accused Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State of allegedly misleading party faithful and laying false claims against the chairman, Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee Governor Mai Mala Buni.

While advising him to stop his blackmail and leave Buni alone, the group said on Thursday night that the governor was orchestrating a well-thought plot to sabotage Governor Buni’s efforts for his vice-presidential ambition.

The Secretary-General of APCIG, Adams Abel, described El-Rufai as a dictator who was all about his selfish interest and can go to any length to accomplish his mission.

Abel rubbished El-Rufai’s claims that “President Buhari and 19 out of 23 APC Governors are in support of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello to boot out Buni and the CEPCC scribe”.

The group also countered El-Rufai’s statement that Buni had been removed from his office.

Abel said “El-Rufai should be sufficiently schooled to accept that the APC is not Kaduna state that he governs by fiat. APC has organs that have layers of responsibility and at no time was the power to hire and fire a caretaker chairman outsourced to El-Rufai”.

The APC group said the governor’s assertion that his Yobe State counterpart declined to swear in state executives was also not valid.

“El-Rufai claimed that Governors and President (Buhari) directed Governor Buni to swear in state Excos elected months ago and that he never followed the order; that the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) asked him to brief them, but he did not,” Abel added.

“He further claimed that PGF did not know anything about the party. As usual, El-Rufai lied. He should have explained how Buni is supposed to swear in state excos when as many as 14 state chapters were bogged down by court cases that resulted from the kind of autocratic tendencies of the PGF. It also showed an absolute disregard for the other arms of government since the Kaduna State Governor was practically expecting his Yobe state counterpart to disregard extant court orders that forbade the swearing-in of some of the state excos he was referring to.

“He also forgot that PGF is not known to law. It is at best a cartel, a criminal one for that matter, and is in no way superior to APC stakeholders, whose wishes Buni rather implemented over that of the vicious minority that the governors are”.

The group, however, expressed surprise that “El-Rufai is denying knowledge of a lawsuit he instigated and financed against Buni when the CECPC chairman was insisting on due process in the scheduling of the convention.

Abel added that “Buni could not have hidden a bomb manufactured by El-Rufai”.

The APC Integrity Group, therefore, warned El-Rufai to stop his blackmail and leave Buni alone to run the CECPC in the fashion he ran it to reduce the crisis in the state chapters of the party.

The group, therefore, challenged El-Rufai to, in concrete terms, prove that the APC governors are opposed to Buni as chairman of CECPC.

Only PDP Can Rescue Nigeria, Says Obaseki

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Obaseki Hands Over Power To Okpebholo, Pardons 10 Inmates
Obaseki

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, yesterday, led leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State to receive the National Chairman of the PDP, Sen. Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, noting that only the PDP can rescue Nigeria from its current socio-economic woes.

Obaseki, who spoke at a grand rally in honour of the national chairman in Benin City, expressed confidence that the party would produce the country’s next president.

Obaseki said: “I want to thank you for coming with members of the National Board of Trustees (BOT) of the party. PDP is the party of Edo; PDP is in the DNA of Edo, and we do not want that to change. The deputy governor said something and I want to restate it: wherever Edo goes, Nigeria will go.

“Our chairman has what it takes to produce the next president because Nigerians are suffering too much. How can diesel be sold for over N700; you have all it takes to help us. Only PDP can rescue Nigeria from these sufferings.

“The only issue is the small quarrel in Edo PDP; once you can solve the quarrel in Edo and other states, we will take over power in 2023.”

Ayu said the party would set up a team to resolve the crisis in Edo PDP, noting that the party would ensure the governor would not leave. He said:, “Let no one deceive you that he (Obaseki) is leaving PDP. Nigerians will see how we will receive all those from other parties. In 2023, we shall be back in power; we have started working towards that.”

Earlier, Shaibu, who protested the exclusion of new members from the party, urged the national chairman to help resolve the crisis in the state chapter of the PDP. He said: “Sir, people are saying that the governor will not leave the PDP, but he will only remain if his soldiers remain in the party.

“We want you to resolve this problem in our party. We have what it takes to take over the national position in the next election. Wherever Edo goes, is where Nigeria will go. If you solve the problem in Edo, you have solved the problem in Nigeria.”

MEANWHILE, Obaseki and Ayu, yesterday, commissioned the Benin Central Park Terminal, an ultra-modern 700-bus capacity terminal to bring a new lease of life to the city’s transport scene and ensure an efficient commute service in the metropolis.

The governor and his visitor also commissioned the Edo State College of Nursing Sciences, in Benin City, and a pedestrian jetty with a waiting lounge, an ultra-modern marine police base, as well as armoured guns and speed boats, in Ologbo, Ikpoba-Okha local council.

Ayu, who performed the inauguration of the park at Obakhavbaye axis of Ring Road, Benin City, hailed Governor Obaseki for delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of Edo State.

On his part, Obaseki noted: “We have undertaken a transportation study and decided to have several bus terminals, starting with this central bus terminal which will be able to deal with 700 buses.

“This is the first phase and within the next 12 months, we hope to complete phase two, which will deal with about 1,400 vehicles at the same time.”

Guardian

2023 Presidency: Emefiele’s Promoters Vow To Resist Intimidation

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The Nigerian Patriotic Quest (NPQ) has said its members are committed to calling on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to contest the 2023 presidential election and that no amount of intimidation will deter them.

Ahmed Ja’Usman Tijjani, Co-ordinator of the patriots, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, said the naysayers and their groups can never deny them the constitutional privilege to freely support and highlight the qualities of their choice candidate.

Tijjani said the supporters of Godwin Emefiele will continue to campaign and encourage him to step into the ring and use his wealth of experience and knowledge to chart a new course of peace and prosperity for Nigeria.

The statement further said the supporters of Emefiele are equal stakeholders in the Nigerian enterprise.

“This statement is in response to the upsurge of negative articles in the media with the intention of discouraging our candidate and demonising his supporters.

“Most of these contributions are an amalgam of baseless insinuations and innuendos against Godwin Emefiele,” the group stated.

The group, therefore, said its support for Emefiele was borne out of his solid achievements in his previous professional engagements and also as the CBN governor.

Security Vote For Governors Justified, We Spend More On Police Than FG — Fayemi

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The Chairman of Nigeria Governor’s Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Thursday, declared that the states give more funding to the Police than the Federal Government.

Fayemi said this while commenting on security vote at a panel discussion organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) in partnership with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).

Security vote which is a monthly allocation given to state governments for improved security, has been subject of controversy over the years.

Recently Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before the Federal High Court, Ibadan, court for questioning how the state spent its security votes.

Fayemi, while justifying the security vote, said the police and other security agencies get funding support from governors.

He said “Some states have something called security vote. It is not all states. Security vote has a history and I will urge you to look for a book by chief Jerome Udoji — ‘[Under] Three Masters’, that’s what the book is called. You will find in that book the origins of security vote in Nigeria,” he said.

“I also get feedback from other states in my capacity as chairman of the governors’ forum. There is hardly any of these institutions that you are talking about that we don’t fund. We fund the police — we fund the police more than the federal government. Quote me.

“State governors fund police more than the federal government. We buy them vehicles; we pay them allowances. In some cases, we even buy ammunition; of course, under the authority.

“In 36 states in this country today, the military is involved in internal security operations, which really is a problem, because for me it’s a role inflation.

“Now, when you inflate the role of the security institution beyond its primary responsibility, you also have consequences that will come with that. That may not be palatable, but that’s where we are, because most Nigerians don’t trust the police.

“But if you engage the military in a civil authority, your state is only responsible to pay for the rations of the men that are engaged in that activity. It is not expected to have the military also share that burden because that’s not their primary responsibility. You’ve taken them out of their primary responsibility; you have to pay for it.

“So, we pay for that. We pay for civil defence. There is no security institution that you have that states are not responsible for more than the federal government that has primary responsibility for them.”

Sanctions Against Russia Will Create Energy, Food Crisis, Says Putin

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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Thursday that Western penalties against Moscow for its military incursion in Ukraine would destabilise the global energy and food markets and vowed the country would emerge stronger from the crisis.

Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine that began on February 24 has triggered unprecedented Western sanctions and sparked an exodus of international corporations from Russia.

Putin on Thursday however downplayed the massive sanctions, saying Moscow will find a way to “adapt”.

Speaking at a televised government meeting on the 15th day of Moscow’s advance into Ukraine, Putin said that Western sanctions on Moscow had begun to hurt the United States and Europe.

“Their prices are rising, but that’s not our fault. It’s the result of their own miscalculations. There’s no need to blame us,” Putin said.

While the 69-year-old Kremlin chief said Moscow was continuing to export oil and gas, including through conflict-torn Ukraine, he blamed the West for sky-rocketing energy prices.

“They are telling their citizens to tighten their belts, to dress warmer,” Putin said.

He stressed that Russia was “respecting all of our obligations in terms of energy supplies.”

Putin scoffed at Washington for what he said were their efforts to sign energy contracts with Western adversaries Iran and Venezuela.

He also warned that the Western penalties could send global food prices soaring, as Russia was one of the world’s main producers of fertiliser.

“If they continue to create problems for the financing and logistics of the delivery of our (fertiliser) goods, then prices will rise and this will affect the final product, food products,” he said.

European wholesale gas and crude oil have rocketed to record, or near-record prices this week due to supply fears linked to Putin’s decision to pour tens ot thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24.

The United States and Britain announced this week they were cutting off Russian energy imports in response to what the Kremlin has termed Moscow’s “special military operation,” triggering another surge in prices.

‘We’ll adapt’
The Russian leader also sought to calm Russians amid fears of shortages of food and medicines.

He acknowledged that Russians may be worried about an interruption of supplies but claimed there was nothing the Kremlin could not solve.

“It is clear that in such moments people’s demands for certain categories of goods always increase, but we have no doubt that we will solve these problems in due course in a calm way and gradually people will find their way,” Putin said.

He said he believed Russians would “understand that there are no events that we cannot solve, they simply do not exist.”

He argued that the current crisis would make the country stronger.

“At the end of the day, all of this will lead to the increase of our independence, autonomy and sovereignty,” Putin said.

Putin, a former KGB officer, said that Moscow’s Soviet experience will help Russians adapt, claiming that Russia has “always” lived under sanctions.

“We will get through this period,” he said, calling for the country to “adapt to the new situation.”

Putin also said that the remaining foreign investors in the country should be “protected”.

“The rights of those foreign investors and colleagues that are staying in Russia and working in Russia, should be reliably protected,” he told his ministers.

Putin launched the Ukraine incursion despite weeks of Western leaders warning him of unprecedented sanctions that would ruin the Russian economy if he did so.

AFP

2023: Lagos APC Members Back Osinbajo

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A broad coalition including influential members of the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has declared support for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as their preferred successor to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

Declaring their intention under the umbrella body ‘Osinbajo Global Movement Coalition’ at a Wednesday meeting in Lagos, the group said that the Vice President has demonstrated his capacity to address the country’s lingering problems, especially in the areas of security and the economy.

In a statement, the Coordinator of the Democratic Reformers in Lagos, Alhaji Dada Adetigba urged the party, APC, to deliver the Osinbajo candidacy.

The group also expressed readiness to invest personal resources in the goal of persuading the Vice President to formally join the race and the prosecution of his campaign in all the 36 states of the country.

The Osinbajo Global Movement Coalition joins other independent and youth-led coalitions that have sprung up organically across the country indicating their preference for Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and charging him to join the 2023 race.

One of such groups is the Democratic Reformers led and coordinated in Lagos by Alhaji Dada Adetigba.

They are also calling on Prof. Osinbajo to vie for the Presidential ticket on the basis of continuity and the edge his experience as Vice President gives him over all the other aspirants that have expressed interest in the position.

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