NEW SECTOR COMMANDER FOR RIVERS STATE FRSC

The Federal Road Safety Corps has appointed Dr Kayode Olagunju, a Corps Commander as the Sector Commander for Rivers State Command of the Corps.
He replaces Commander Mary Wakawa who has been redeployed to Ondo State as Sector Commander.
Kayode Olagunju, until his redeployment to Rivers State was the Corps Transport Standardization Officer at the National Headquarters and also a member of the FRSC Management.
He holds a Doctor of Philosophy Degree ( PhD) in Transportation Geography from the University of Lagos, Master of Science degree in Transport Studies from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye and Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife.
He also attended several other professional courses and conferences both within and outside Nigeria.
Olagunju, a pioneer staff of the organization had previously served as Sector Commander in Oyo State between 1992 and 1996 . He was also a two time Lagos Sector Commander (1999-2003 and 2008-2009), Sector Commander Adamawa State (2005-2007) and Kogi State (2008-2009).
Kayode Olagunju had also served as Deputy Director, Manpower Development, Head, Media and Publishing Section and Corps Public Education Officer, all at the Road Safety Headquarters, among other past appointments.
The new Sector Commander also served as a member of the Federal Government Task Force on Trade Facilitation and United States Agency International Development USAID/Markets, Trade and Transportation on LAKAJI Corridor.
Also, a member of the Nigeria National Road Transport and Transit Committee of the Economic Commission on West African States (ECOWAS) and the Federal Government Enlarged National Focal Point on Trade Matters and was a Nigerian delegate to the World Trade Organization Trade Policy Review on Nigeria in Geneva, in June 2011.
Dr Olagunju is a well decorated officer with several awards and commendations. He won the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Award for Outstanding Performance and Dedication to Service in 1993 and 1999 . He hopes to work with all stakeholders to evolve better road culture in the State.

Local content drive: Samsung(SHI) begins overseas training programme for Nigerian youths

In its supportive efforts at ensuring that the local content input drive in the oil and gas sector is realised to meet Federal Government's transformation agenda, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), has sent the first group of  20 young Nigerian trainees, to Samsung’s shipyard in Geoje, South Korea on an extensive training programme.
Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI), is a foremost world class shipbuilding and offshore fabrication company.
The company’s  commitment to training Nigerians was first announced on February 6, with the ground breaking of its new world class training facility in LADOL Free Zone, called (“Samsung Nigeria Technology Academy”).
The training facility will cost about USD 10 million and will benefit from having Samsung’s world class training programs and equipment.
Samsung has however, gone a step further by launching Samsung’s Intensive Technical Training Programme, providing full scholarships for young Nigerians to also be trained at itsworld class facility in Korea.
The scholarship programme run by Samsung exclusively for young Nigerians, would cost the South Korea based company a sum of $300,000 to train each group of twenty trainees.
Speaking at the pre-departure ceremonies for the youths at Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos last week, the General Manager SAMSUNG Heavy Industries in Nigeria, Mr. Frank Ejuzi told journalists that the company decided to key in to the training of Nigerian youths to meet the local content initiative of President Goodluck Jonathan by sending the youths for training in South Korea to acquire technology which they are expected acquire and transfer  to the oil and gas sector of the economy.
“ In order to recover the Nigerian local content initiative of Mr President, we felt it is important to support that initiative and my company is sending the first batch of youths in the oil and gas sector for training in Korea in other for them to transfer the technology to our other youths back home,” said Ejuzi
Samsung’s commitment to training Nigerians ahead of any contract award demonstrates the Company’s true intention to share technology with and promote local content in Nigeria. Samsung believes in promoting mutual prosperity with Nigeria by enabling Nigerians to fully participate in and contribute to the world class offshore fabrication projects.
For Samsung this is the start of a long-term relationship with Nigeria and they have already shown themselves to be unique amongst their peers, being the first and only international contractor to proactively begin training Nigerians, before winning any contracts in Nigeria.
Samsung believes Nigeria will be the hub for oil and gas in West Africa and their long-history of success in this industry has taught them that the key to harnessing success and achieving local content is investment in people. By making huge investments in Nigeria’s human capital Samsung is helping to finally unleash Nigeria’s potential.
Samsung has been working with the first group of trainees, (17 men and three women) for over a month already, preparing them for the program, including one week of social training. So the group was very well prepared when they left on Saturday.
In South Korea, the group will be trained for a full month at Samsung’s state-of-art Shipbuilding and Fabrication Yard in Geoje.
The group will be trained by teachers that are world -skills- champions, in range of fabrication related subjects. At the end of the month the group will be eligible to acquire up to four internationally accredited certificates.
Also speaking at the  pre-departure ceremony, two of the beneficiaries agreed that the overseas intensive training would give them the appropriate knowledge needed in the oil and gas field.
According to Mr  Henry Ototo an environmental Engineer,  the successful completion of the programme certify him internationally in welding and fabrication in oil and gas industry.
“I just want to thank Samsung heavy industry for keying –in into President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda because, youths of today, they said, are the leaders of tomorrow and we are going for an intensive  training at Koje and we want to let Samsung management know that we will not let them down and even our country Nigeria .We will come back and harness what would have been impacted into us from Koje into our own society”
Also Miss Duze Cornelius Anthony another beneficiary of the training programme and who is an engineering graduate from the Niger Delta  said, ‘the programme is going to better my life because before I had no job as an engineer but I was teaching. Instead of practicing my profession as an engineer, I was teaching , but today I am happy that Samsung is giving me the opportunity to showcase my professional ability as an engineer and that is going to better my lots and those around me.
She continues, “we are talking about oil and gas, we are talking about welding and fabrication and I think that I would be privileged to work in the oil and gas industry and they are saying that when we come back we will have the privilege of training others, it is also going to better my community as those who have not been to Korea would benefit from the experience I would be acquiring from there.”

Italian Company's ''Greek'' Gift to President Jonathan: SERAP petition EFCC

The Socio-Economic and Accountability Project (SERAP) today asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissions (EFCC) to investigate the allegations that an Abuja-based Italian construction company gave a church building to the Nigeria Pressident, Goodluck Jonathan as a gift.
President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife Patience and the Bayelsa state governor, Seriki Dickson during the dedication of the 2,500-seat church building in his home town, Otuoke; the building was donated to him by Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited (GCG).
In a press statement signed by SERAP’s Executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation said it “petitioned Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) urging him to “urgently begin a thorough, transparent and effective investigation into allegations that the Abuja-based Italian construction company, Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited (GCG) gave to President Goodluck Jonathan as ‘gift’ a 2,500-seat church building in Otuoke, his village in Bayelsa State.”
In a petition SERAP sent to the EFCC Chairman, Mr Mumuni said “We are seriously concerned that given the huge sum of money involved and the timing of the church building ‘gift’, the acts may amount to a bribe to the government by a construction company that has sought and obtained huge contracts from the federal government.”
“Procurement and investment agreements corrupted by this kind of ‘gift’ invariably lead to increased costs not only in higher prices but also in needlessly expanded and ultimately inefficient projects,” he added.
He said “Both the acts of giving and accepting the disguised bribe undermine the institutions and values of democracy, ethical values and justice, and jeopardises sustainable development and the rule of law. The acts also hurt the government and ordinary Nigerians who may suffer as a result of bad execution of projects by GCG.”
According to SERAP, “the allegations violate Section 6 of the Code of Conduct for Public officers embodied in the First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution and the Code of Conduct and Tribunal Act (CAP C15) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which provides that, “A public officer shall not ask for or accept any property or benefits of any kind for himself or any other person on account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties. The allegations also constitute a breach of national anti-corruption legislation and the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a party.”
The organization also asked the EFCC to “exert its mandate, power, and resources to ensure that the allegations are fully and effectively investigated the findings of the investigation published and the company and other suspected perpetrators held liable.”
“Foreign bribery is a crime even if the briber would have been awarded a contract or business advantage. It is therefore very important that the Commission sends a strong message that it is willing and able to step up its efforts to detect, investigate and prosecute cases of bribery in international business deals,” the organization added.

SERAP’s petition to EFCC:
Last months, local media reported that Mr Jonathan confirmed during the dedication of the 2,500-seat church building in his home town, Otuoke in Bayelsa state that the building was donated to him by Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited (GCG).
According to him, the Managing Director of Gitto made him a promise to build and donate the church to Otuoke community after he had complained of the aging structure of his church, which apparently no longer befits the status of the president’s village.
Gitto construction is a company stained with controversies in the areas it operates, it is facing allegations of destroying properties in Eket (Akwa Ibom) without compensating the property owners, as well as abandoning the Bodo-Bonny road in Bayelsa.
Also, only recently a group of lawmakers in the National Assembly have called on Mr Jonathan to review the N 58.6 billion contract awarded Gitto for the Second Niger bridge.
All these developments are fueling speculations that the church was built in order to give Gitto construction a smooth landing as the President reviews their contracts.

source:channels

Rebels in Mali Say They Control Major Military Base

Tuareg rebels say they have taken control of an important military base in north Mali after having surrounded the location for weeks.

Bayes Ag Dicknane, an officer with the rebel forces on the ground near Tessalit, said Sunday that there are no Malian soldiers left in the town's base.

A spokesman for the Malian army Colonel Idrissa Traore said he was verifying the claim.

The military base in Tessalit is one of the largest in northern Mali. Whoever controls the installation has a major strategic advantage as the town has an airport.

Tuareg rebels began attacking locations across north Mali in mid January. Dozens have been killed on both sides and more than 100,000 civilians have be forced to flee the fighting.

The rebels want independence for the north of Mali.

source:AP

Preacher: World's End Prediction 'wrong'

A California preacher who foresaw the world's end last year is acknowledging for the first time that his apocalyptic prophecy was wrong.

In a missive posted on his independent ministry's site on Thursday, 90-year-old Harold Camping says he has no evidence the end of the world will come anytime soon. The preacher also says he isn't interested in considering future dates.

Camping's Family Radio International spent millions of dollars in the last few years putting up thousands of billboards plastered with the Judgment Day message.

After global cataclysm didn't occur on May 21 as he had forecast, Camping revised his prophecy, saying he had been off by five months.

He was later hospitalized after suffering a mild stroke.

source:officialwire/AP

Late Alex Ibru’s Heritage tiers family apart,as Maiden heads to court

*Survival of Federal Palace Hotel And Casino under threat

The wife of the late Publisher of The Guardian, Mr. Alex Uruemu Ibru, Maiden on yesterday asked the Federal High Court, Lagos to commence the winding-up of Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc jointly owned by her late husband and his brothers over indebtedness close to N4 billion.
 Justice Okechukwu Okeke was on the cusp of making his pronouncement on the submissions of both lawyers at the petition filed by Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, Maiden’s lawyer, against Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc, jointly owned by her late husband and his brothers.
But Mrs. Ibru suddenly stuck her hand up, asking for “two minutes” to speak on her reasons for filing the suit.
 “Six months before my husband died, the doctors told me that he was going to die,” she began. “And for five months, he was out of circulation and nobody saw him. Even his family members did not bother about him.”
 As she explained, the late Alex Ibru was so dissatisfied with his kinsmen that he embarked on a hunger strike two weeks before his eventual death. When the family members learnt of it, some of them, including Goodie, visited him.
 “Then my husband said he was going to fight him to the finish, dead or alive. That even when he dies, he would continue the fight unless Goodie resigned as chairman of the company — Tourist Company Nigeria Plc,” she continued. “He said that of all his brothers, the last person that he thought would betray him was Goodie. They had altered some of the company’s documents, diverted money and committed all sort of atrocities without the knowledge of my husband. I am a widow and I have children to take care of.”
 In a revelation that shocked those present at the court, Maiden said that as she was about to enter the court, she saw her husband, who encouraged her to proceed with her actions, because he was himself unhappy with Goodie.
 Suing on behalf of Omamo Investments Corporation, owned by her late husband, Maiden is seeking to close down Tourist Company, which owns the Federal Palace Hotel and Casino located in Victoria Island, Lagos, on allegations of indebtedness.
 “Omamo Investments, between 2003 and 2009, lent to the Tourist Company $7.1m, N610m,N381m and N19m, which the company has been unable to repay,” she wrote in her petition. She prayed the court to wind up the company for insolvency, adding that she had made several futile demands on the respondent.
 “The respondent has failed beyond resuscitation, has insufficient assets to meet its liabilities, does not have the capacity to meet the conditions for which it was incorporated, and has suffered a total erosion of its capital base,” she argued.
“The respondent is both cash-flow and balance-sheet insolvent, and has not been carrying on effectively, the business of hotelling and catering.”
 She then urged the court to wind up the Company under the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAP C20 LFN 2004, and appoint the President of the Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) or any nominee of his as provisional liquidator.
 But denying Maiden’s claims, the respondent asked the court to dismiss the suit for its incompetence, as it states no reasonable cause of action and represents gross abuse of court process.
 The company’s lawyer, Onyebuchi Aniakor, argued that no grounds, as provided for by law, had been disclosed by the petitioner to justify the commencement of a winding-up proceeding.
 “The petitioner has not shown that the alleged indebtedness, the subject matter of the petition, was due for payment or payable by the respondent,” he observed.
He also reasoned no demand for payment on the alleged indebtedness had been made, contrary to the petitioner’s claim.
 There is however a slender chance of an out-of-court settlement, following the presentation of a letter to the court, written by Chief Edwin Clark and J.P Clark — two Delta statesmen who sought indefinite adjournment of the case for the exploration of the option of peaceful settlement.
 “As members of the family, the two parties are our relations,” a portion of the letter read. We will like the court to give us the opportunity to intervene and settle the matter amicably.”
But Braithwaite urged the court to overlook the letter because the writers were insignificant  the case and were not party to the petition.
 Aniakor seemed slightly disposed to amicable resolution, though, saying that the writers had good intentions. But he left the final decision to the court, saying it was its duty to decide the best way to resolve the case before it.

In his decision, Justice Okeke adjourned the case for one week with the hope that the parties would have amicably resolved the dispute out of court, in view of the provision of Section 17 of the court rules.
 He also announced his intention to withdraw from handling the case forthwith and return its file to the Chief Judge for reassignment to another judge, citing the petitioner’s letter to the Chief Judge demanding the transfer.
 Before Maiden’s bombshell lawsuit, the Ibru family had over the years managed to keep the cracks in the large family under wraps and away from the mainstream media until Michael’s wife, Cecilia, a former Group Managing Director of Oceanic Bank Plc embarrassed the family about two years ago when the pleaded guilty to several criminal indictments relating to bank fraud and extensive money laundering. She served her sentence at the Ikoyi Prisons.
 It is however unclear how the Ibru family led by Olorogun Michael Ibru will resolve this  dispute as Michael, who helped educate his brothers and assisted them create their own businesses, is presently not in the best state of health himself.
Whether his other surviving brother, Felix, a former Governor of Delta State and ex senator can save the family from further embarrassments remains doubtful.



source:The Will

Oil Minister Double Standards: Photos Of Son’s Private Jet Lifestyle

While Nigerians are groaning under the yoke of oil subsidy, the family of the Oil Minister are swimming in the ocean of affluence.Nigerian Government officials are like the proverbial Leopard incapable of changing its spots. Daily Post Nigeria has obtained photos of Nigeria Oil Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke’s sons, living like Kings in America, complete with private jet travel, luxury ship vacations, frolicking with local and international superstars such as Dbanj, Neyo and Cecil Hammond.Pictures, they say don't tell lies, just look through these set of photos :

Ugonna Madueke

Vatican Confidential: Why Are So Many Rumors Coming out of the Holy See?

Maybe the Vatican is not so good at keeping secrets after all. In the past few weeks, the Holy See has sprung a series of leaks.
Their contents range from allegations of corruption and cronyism in Rome, to internal criticism of a Vatican effort to tackle money laundering, to a bizarre letter speculating about an assassination attempt on Pope Benedict XVI.
Each leak would be embarrassing enough on its own. Together, they add up to a picture of disarray at the top tiers of the Catholic Church, even as the Vatican admitted 22 more bishops to the College of Cardinals on Saturday, expanding the ranks of those who could one day become pope.
"The real news isn't the content of these documents," says Andrea Tornielli, a long-time Vatican watcher. "It's the fact that all these documents are coming out at the same time."
Just who the leaks have in their sights is less than clear. In a statement posted Monday on the Vatican Radio's website, the spokesman for the Holy See, Federico Lombardi, compared the rapid-fire disclosures to the Wikileaks revelations in the United States and seemed to imply that the documents were being released in order to discredit the church.
"We must resist and not allow ourselves to be swallowed by the whirlpool of confusion, which is what those with bad intentions want," Lombardi wrote.
A likely target is Pope Benedict XVI's second-in-command, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Appointed in 2006 to run the day-to-day affairs of the Vatican while the pope focused on affairs of the spirit, Bertone has faced fierce opposition from the Vatican's diplomatic staff, which has made little secret that it regards him as an outsider.
Bertone's predecessor Cardinal Angelo Sodano refused to vacate his office for months after his appointment. Bertone has also been accused of maneuvering to increase the likelihood that the next pope is an Italian. Cardinals must be younger than 80 to be able to vote for ta new pope. Of the 18 new cardinals who meet that criteria, seven are Italian.
The most damaging revelations are leaked letters from the Holy See's ambassador to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who until last October was in charge of the Vatican's efforts at financial reforms. Naming names close to Bertone, they make allegations of crooked contracting and of a campaign of defamation against the Secretary of State. Slightly less scandalous are a series of memos criticizing a high-profile effort to reform the Vatican bank, calling the proposals flawed and full of loopholes. The most off-the-wall leak is an anonymous document reporting a conversation in which an Italian cardinal on a trip to China speculated that the pope would be dead within a year and replaced by Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan. Scola has decline to comment.
The letter is bizarre, recounting in German a conversation an Italian cardinal conducted with Chinese catholics. According to the text, the statements of Cardinal were madeapparently made with such certainty and firmness that his interlocutors in China thought with horror that an attack was being planned against the Holy Father.
According to Sandro Magister, editor of the Rome-based website Chiesa (Italian for church), the flurry of revelations is in part the consequence of a long-running degradation in the quality of the Vatican staff, dating back to the reign of John Paul II, who put global evangelism over the day-to-day running of the bureaucracy.
"His horizon was the world," says Magister. "He lived for travelling. Of the roman curia he didn't care much about." Meanwhile, local bishops facing plummeting numbers in the ranks of priests began withholding their best men for themselves.
"Bertone has found himself to be the number one of a Vatican curia that's very disorganized and of very low quality," says Magister. "And he hasn't been able to put it in order."
In this view, the leaks are in part attacks on Bertone's administration, but also the manifestation of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, driven by internal rivalries and the beginnings of the inevitable battle for succession.
"You've got lots of groups, clans, small and medium, that in the confusion are fighting with each other," says Magister.
Of course, for the moment, Benedict shows few signs of leaving. Though he turns 85 in April and has begun to show signs of his age, he wouldn't be the first pope to defy expectations. "I've seen lots of candidates for pope die before the last pope did," says Tornielli.


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2107167,00.html#ixzz1moWquteJ

TERROR: An Al-Qaida link man arrested planning to blow up Capitol Hill

A 29-year-old Moroccan man who believed he was working with al-Qaida was arrested Friday near the U.S. Capitol as he was planning to detonate what he thought was a suicide vest that undercover operatives gave him, officials said.
Amine El Khalifi of Alexandria, Va., was taken into custody with a gun that didn't work and inert explosives, according to a counterterrorism official.
He arrived near the Capitol in a van with the two undercover operatives, and walked toward the building, according to court papers. He was arrested before he left the parking garage.
El Khalifi made a brief appearance on Friday afternoon in federal court in Alexandria, where a judge set a bail hearing for Wednesday. After his arrest, FBI agents raided a red brick rambler home in Arlington, Va. A police car blocked the entrance.
A criminal complaint charges him with knowingly and unlawfully attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property that is owned and used by the United States. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
El Khalifi, who was under constant surveillance, expressed interest in killing at least 30 people and considered targeting a building in Alexandria and a restaurant, synagogue and a place where military personnel gather in Washington before he settled on the Capitol after canvassing that area a couple of times, the counterterrorism official said.
During the investigation, El Khalifi went with undercover operatives in January to a quarry in West Virginia to practice detonating explosives, according to court documents. He believed he was working with an al-Qaida operative on the plot, according to an affidavit.
El Khalifi came to the U.S. when he was 16 years old and is unemployed and not believed to be associated with al-Qaida. He had been under investigation for about a year and had overstayed his visitor visa, which expired in 1999, making him in the country illegally, according to court documents. He told acquaintances in January 2011 that he agreed the "war on terrorism" was a "war on Muslims" and that they needed to be ready for war, the affidavit said.
Before settling on a plot to conduct a suicide bombing in the Capitol, El Khalifi considered blowing up an office building in Alexandria, where military officials worked and a restaurant in Washington to target military officials who gathered there. He even purchased supplies that included nails for the operation, according to the affidavit.
Later, when he settled on bombing the Capitol, El Khalifi asked his associates for more explosives that could be detonated by dialing a cellphone number. In January, he unknowingly told authorities he wanted to know if an explosion would be large enough to destroy an entire building.
El Khalifi met with an undercover law enforcement officer, who gave him an automatic weapon that didn't work. El Khalifi carried the firearm around the room, practiced pulling the trigger and looking at himself in the mirror.
A former landlord in Arlington said he believed El Khalifi was suspicious and called police a year and a half ago. Frank Dynda said when he told El Khalifi to leave, the suspect said he had a right to stay and threatened to beat up Dynda. The former landlord said he thought El Khalifi was making bombs, but police told him to leave the man alone. Dynda had El Khalifi evicted in 2010.
El Khalifi had at least one man staying with him and claimed he was running a luggage business from the apartment, Dynda said, doubting that was true because he never saw any bags. "I reported to police I think he's making bombs," Dynda said. "I was ready to get my shotgun and run him out of the building, but that would have been a lot of trouble."
Two people briefed on the matter told The Associated Press the FBI has had him under surveillance around the clock for several weeks. They spoke on a condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center imam Johari Abdul-Malik, who along with other Muslim leaders meets regularly with the FBI, said he was contacted by an agency official and told that Khalifi was not someone he needed to worry about. He said the official told him that Khalifi was "not a regular at your mosque or any mosque in the area."
He said he offered to supply the FBI with surveillance video of the mosque in Arlington in case it helped with their investigation but was told that was it not necessary.
Police are close to arresting one of El Khalifi's associates on charges unrelated to the terror conspiracy, the counterterrorism official said. The associate was said to also be a Moroccan, living here illegally.
Police are investigating others El Khalifi associated with, but not because they believe the associates were part of a terror conspiracy, the official said.

source:TIME.com
Tucker reported from Arlington, Va. Associated Press writers Eileen Sullivan, Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Laurie Kellman, Jessica Gresko, Eric Tucker, Sarah Brumfield and Brett Zongker contributed to this report.

Amnesty says US police killed 500 by stun guns since 2001

A student protester is tazered by a police officer during a protest against an increase in student fees at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on November 19, 2009.

Thu Feb 16, 2012 5:43AM GMT

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Amnesty International has urged US police and law enforcement agencies to limit the use of Tasers which have killed at least 500 people in the United States since 2001.

The appeal came just days after a man in Alabama became the 500th individual in the US to be killed in the past decade after being subdued by a police stun gun.

“At least 500 people in the US have died since 2001 after being shocked with Tasers either during their arrest or while in jail,” said Amnesty International.

It says the high count of casualty “underscores the need for tighter rules limiting the use of such weapons in law enforcement.”

The rights group says scores of such fatalities within the US could be traced to the unnecessary use of force by American police officers.

“Of the hundreds who have died following police use of Tasers in the US, dozens and possibly scores of deaths can be traced to unnecessary force being used,” said Susan Lee, Americas Program Director at Amnesty International.

“This is unacceptable, and stricter guidelines for their use are now imperative,” she said.

US police, however, defend the use of Tasers, insisting that the weapon saves lives and can be used to subdue dangerous or uncooperative suspects.

Amnesty says security forces should only use the weapon “as an alternative in situations where police would otherwise consider using firearms.”

Researchers, citing documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, have pointed to dozens of cases of police use of Tasers that suggest deviations from government guidelines.

On February 13, 43-year-old Johnnie Kamahi Warren became the latest victim of police deployment of stun guns when a police officer in Dothan, Alabama targeted him with a Taser at least twice.

Warren reportedly stopped breathing shortly after being shocked and died in hospital less than two hours later.

DB/MB/MA

VIGILANTE GROUP OF NIGERIA(VGN) ENDORSES ALI SOKOTO AS COMMANDER GENERAL AT UNIFICATION PARLY

The fomerly existing two factions of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria(VGN) have fused into one united entity.This followed the meeting of all the arms of the executives of the two groups from all the 36 States of the Federation including the Federral Capital Territory, Abuja, at the general meeting held at the Kaduna headquarters of VGN on February,11,2012.
The mmeting was among others convened to chart anew cause for the group with the aim of  facilitating rapid growth and development in the organisation.
At the end of the meeting which lasted several hours, a communique endorsed by the acting national Public Relations Officer of VGN, Dr A.A.Sule and the Commander General/National Chairman,Alhaji Ali Sokoto said the executives of the two groups resolved as follows:
*That the process of election that brought Usman Mohammed Jahun was faulty, unconstitutional, null and void.
*Based on the above, his election is hereby declared null and void.
*That henceforth, Usman Mohammed Jahun should cease to parade himself as the Commander General of of the organisation.
*That we have unanimously agreed that Alhaji Ali Sokoto be returned as the Commander General/member board of Trustees of VGN immediately.
*That the lingering litigation in court be withdrawn as the issue at stake bothering on the organisational documents solve itself as the said documents are in Alhaji Ali Sokoto's custody.
*That with all the above-all members should embrace this unification and reconciliation drive in order to move the organisation forward.
*That an audit panel be contituted to look into the organisation's finances in the last four years to date.
That all the VGN documents in respect of number 7 above be returned to the Commander General,Ali Sokoto with immediate effect.
*That  the general public is hereby advised to desist from relating to the said Usman Jahun as Commander General of VGN.
*That our accounts with First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Zoo Road,Kano be frozen until further directives from the organisation".