Titled Xscape, the track listing was chosen by Epic Records chairman LA Reid, who trawled through four decades of Jackson's demos and off-cuts.
The tracks were then re-worked by producers such as Timbaland (Justin Timberlake) and Stargate (Rihanna).
Reid, who called the process "contemporizing", said he was "proud" to "present this music to the world".
A deluxe edition of the album will also feature the eight tracks in their original form alongside the remixed versions.
Xscape is the only track on the album to be updated by its original producer - Rodney Jerkins, who worked on the sessions for Jackson's final studio album, Invincible, in 2001.
John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of Jackson's estate said: "Michael was always on the cutting edge and was constantly reaching out to new producers, looking for new sounds.
"He was always relevant and current. These tracks, in many ways, capture that spirit. We thank LA Reid for his vision."
Other producers involved in the project include McClain and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon.
Jackson died on 25 June, 2009, at the age of 50 from an overdose of the powerful anaesthetic propofol.
He had been out of the public eye for several years but was preparing for a series of comeback performances at the O2 arena in London.
Jackson, who was nicknamed The King of Pop, had dozens of hits during a career that began in childhood with the Jackson 5.
His biggest solo hits included Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, Bad and Man in the Mirror.
One previous album of unreleased material, titled Michael, was issued in 2010.
Among its better tracks were Hold My Hand, a duet with R&B singer Akon which was almost complete at the time of his death, and a cover of Yellow Magic Orchestra's Behind the Mask, which dated from the 1980s.
But critics were not keen - with The Guardian calling the album "lumpy" and "schlocky". Rolling Stone magazine noted: "He would not have released anything like this compilation".
However, the album sold relatively well (although well below the 51m he achieved with Thriller) paving the way for future compilations.
Source: BBC News
She spoke to Zara on Tuesday. Zara's interview with Yemisi's Battabox after the cut.
Yemisi continues:
Zara said she was being given 'Agbo' to drink by her family and that it was killing her. Those were her exact words. I told her to NOT drink it.
With an already compromised immune system – Agbo is bullshit. It is poison. MS is not malaria.
I gave Zara clear details of exactly what she needed to do to try to get well. It isn't easy AT ALL – I should know but unfortunately for her, she was surrounded by very ignorant people at the end who felt that they knew best.
I first heard of Zara when I read about her on Linda Ikeji's blog a year ago. I got in touch with her immediately and started a Skype friendship.
I was in London and she was in the States (US). We spoke regularly. When I went back to Lagos, we would WhatsApp and I would call her.
When she came to Nigeria in October last year, I went to see her and she was surprised that she could move better than me!
I organized the Battabox interview (which we did at my parents house). She said she didn't want to live with her mum in the States – yet she had no one to look after her there apart from her mum. She needed someone. She even wanted to come and stay with me, but I am married with small children and my own MS issues were already enough for one house.
I am so pissed off, so angry, so fucking sad, teary and frustrated. If I had been in Nigeria, I would have gone to pick her up on Tuesday when I spoke to her. She was so desperate to leave Ogba. She said she had a return ticket to America and would try to leave ASAP. I gave her my neurologist's number so she could get some steroids to help her get over the horrible relapse she was having. Also to get her to explain the condition to Zara's family so they would realize that this was not an 'Agbo' matter.
I have had MS for nearly 10 years. My walking has deteriorated and I am currently alternating between a walker and a wheelchair. Zara was worried that she wouldn't get married and have kids – I told her that I had 4 kids and was happily married and continued to work and that there was hope.
I have always been vocal about MS and even appeared on a 'Moments with Mo' episode talking about it. There are many Nigerians with MS – I know a few but they want to keep quiet.
Their families are embarrassed. Why? I don't know? It can happen to anyone at any time.
Granted, I am extremely fortunate to have the strength of character and a loving and supportive and enlightened family to deal with this HORRIBLE condition that has led to this opportunity for me to undergo Hemapioetic Stem Cell Transplant (HSCT) – Google it. It has taken donations from over 100 people to do this.
It costs over $150k (N24,727,501). I told Zara that since she was a US citizen, she could get on a trial at the University of Chicago under Dr. Burt for free.
I just want people to know that MS didn't kill Zara – ignorance did. As well as our fatalistic attitude in Nigeria where everyone prays and no one takes action. Thanks Bless Yemisi.
For three days, her friends, colleagues and family members searched for her to no avail. On the third day, Thursday, they received urgent calls to come and see her. But it was shock that awaited them.
They were not alone that Thursday morning.
The residents and business owners at Odo Olowu Street, Ijeshatedo, on the Apapa – Oshodi Expressway, Lagos, woke up to a horrendous sight. The body of a lady, later identified to be that of Onwuli, was lying near a popular church in the area. People, terrified by the sight of the body, gathered in clusters, wondering what was responsible for her death.
A team of policemen, which had responded to the call by members of the Neighbourhood Watch, had a hectic time dispersing passers-by from taking snap shots of the body. The people claimed not to have any clue on what happened.
The policemen from the Ijeshatedo Police Station also declined comment on the incident.
But a member of the Neighbourhood Watch, Mr Badmus Azeez Adeniyi, said a lady informed him about the incident.
He said: "I was alerted by one of my younger sisters who was going out very early this morning (Thursday) to buy goods from Seme.
"She rushed to call me, panting heavily, trying to inform me that there is somebody that is lying on the road near Odo Olowu bus stop on Apapa – Oshodi Expressway. "We rushed down to the scene and found out this lifeless body lying over there. Immediately we alerted the police and they came.
"There is no clue yet on what could have happened to the lady. But it is like a case of murder that took place somewhere. Apparently, the perpetrators had waited for the cover of the dark to drop her corpse here. "Nobody can say exactly when they did this but it surely cannot be anything around 10pm and 11pm last night because we still passed through this area when we were on surveillance watch last night."
However, it was learnt that the lady's bag which was found by her side had some personal effects and the GSM phone which was used to reach out to some people who disclosed her identity, and promised to come to the scene immediately.
Soon, some of those earlier contacted through her phone started arriving at the venue. The first of them to arrive is a young man who identified himself as Ogugbua Godwin Anabor.
By the time Anabor moved closer to where the body was lying, he lost his composure and broke down in tears. The man, who claimed they are from Illah, Delta State, identified the body as that of Rita Onwuli, a 300 level Economics student of LASU. He said: "It was quite a while when we saw her. I visited her the last time we saw at her residence at No 44, Adigun Street, in Idi-Araba, Mushin." When contacted, the LASU Public Relations Officer, Mr Sutton Kayode, said he was going to check if Onwuli was a student of the institution. But at press time, he was yet to confirm.
Another relative, who identified himself as Ogbuefi Paul Onyelum, was too distraught to respond to enquiries. Yet another relative, who was weeping inconsolably and refused to identify himself, disclosed that they had been looking for the lady for three days. He said: "We have been looking for her since three days ago.
We were surprised to receive the call this morning that Rita has been found but was involved in an accident. They said we should come to Ijesha Police Station. On getting here, what we are seeing is just unbelievable." When the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, was contacted to confirm the story, she said she would call back. But she did not call at press time.
The CD which contains Obesere's interview and that of his witness, Alhaja Bolatito Omo Owo revealed how the incident that almost dragged the name of the sensational musician to the mud happened. And it has been in circulation since its release on Monday, March 17, 2014.
An insider disclosed to ENCOMIUM Weekly that Obesere's quest to satisfy the yearnings of his teeming fans, home and abroad, informed his coming out with the video CD.
"Obesere has released the video CD which explains better what actually transpired between him and his accuser, Nike Olaiya. I learnt the CD has sold thousands of copies. Everybody wants to see the face of the girl. I also learnt that some music promoters and marketers have been lobbying Obesere for the musical video of the incident, which I learnt may be released before the end of the second quarter of the year. But I think Papa is just waiting for the outcome of the police investigation before going to the studio for the album."
Obesere himself too insists he didn't do the video for monetary reasons. He told Encomium:
"I want people, especially my fans, to get a clearer picture of what really happened between myself and Nike Olaiya. Also, the inclusion of Alhaja Bola Omo Owo's interview in the video is to let the public know that I have nothing to hide.
I am sure everybody can recognize me, but I want people to also see the face of Alhaja Omo Owo so that they will all know she's not a fake person. Rape Scandal was produced to explain everything in detail. It wasn't for monetary reason, but all of a sudden, everybody keeps requesting for a copy.
By now, Nike should just come out and defend herself. Her picture is also on the jacket of the CD. Everybody knows that Papa can never rape and that will never happen. I believe that won't be the first time Nike will be swindling men. It's God that exposed her. That's why she is running up and down. Everybody has seen the face of a scammer. Very soon, she would show up or be fished out."
Reacting to the video development on Sunday, March 23, 2014, Olaiya said:
"Let them go ahead with their video CDs. If they like, they should come out with 10 of such, it doesn't bother me. Very soon, the whole world will know the truth. All I know is that sinners won't go unpunished. But I thank God I am okay now."
For the family of Mrs Cecilia Obaikhena, it was joy turned sour as their matriarch, who was one of the inmates of the kidnappers' den released last Saturday, has gone missing again.
When they got the news of the discovery of a kidnappers' den in Ibadan and saw the picture of their long-lost mother and grandmother adorning the cover of the Sunday Tribune, they were elated. Pronto Victor and Vivian, son and granddaughter respectively, of Cecilia Obaikhena, who was one of the inmates freed from the den, rushed down to Ibadan from their Lagos base to take their matriarch back home.
They got to Ibadan on Tuesday and headed for Soka area where the den was discovered. They searched everywhere for their matriarch but she was no where to be found.
They were advised to go to the State Hospital at Yemetu, where some of the inmates were taken.
So, they headed for the place but it was futile because Mrs Cecilia Obaikhena was not among the patients in the hospital.
Determined to see their mother/grandmother, they toured all the police stations in the vicinity clutching the pictures of their matriarch as well as a copy of the Sunday Tribune but tried as much as they did, they could not locate Mrs Obaikhena.
So, they headed for the Tribune House at Imalefalafia to see if they could find help.
Explaining how the woman disappeared, Vivian said the old woman in 2008, went to the market where she was residing in Iruekpen, Edo State, but she never returned home. She said they went searching for her at police stations, and made announcements on media houses, including NTA Iruekpen, but their efforts brought no success.
"Since 2008, we have been looking for her," Vivian said.
Narrating how they got to know about the kidnappers' den, Vivian said,
"On Monday, I was browsing with my phone when I came across the Ibadan House of Horror story on a blog. Immediately, I saw the picture of one of the victims and I recognized her as our long lost granny, then I left for Ibadan and came in company with my uncle who is her son."
Voicing their frustration at the futility of their effort to find the woman, Vivian said, she noted through the by-line that the photograph of the old woman was exclusive to the Nigerian Tribune, hence their visit to the Tribune House to make enquiries as to the exact time and location of the woman, when the photograph was taken.
"How could a woman who was found on Saturday have disappeared almost without a trace on Tuesday?" Vivian lamented.
Our photographer, who was at the site to cover the discovery on Saturday, said around 8.00pm he happened on the scene where the old woman in question, was being trailed by a small crowd as she was slowly walking away from the den while regaling the crowd with the story of how she was abducted in Edo State in 2008.
"It was her story that made me to pause to take her picture. As I left the woman and the crowd, I heard some people express their concern about how the woman would cope knowing no one in Ibadan as she continued her slow walk into the dark night."
So, for the relations of Cecilia Obhaghene, the search for their matriarch continues.
It is believed that the attackers were on a mission to free their captured leaders being detained at the SSS office.
Yellow House as usually called, is located within the vicinity of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, which also houses the Supreme Court and the National Assembly.
But the attack was promptly repelled as other security forces, including the military were immediately mobilised.
Presently, all roads leading to the Three Arms Zone have be cordoned off and vehicles are turned back.
Reports however say Presidential Villa is calm. The Sunday service at the Chapel went on as scheduled.
Meanwhile, various points in Abuja city as well as some roads leading to the nation's capital are under lock down.
Armed Nigerian Air Force personnel are noticeable at roads leading to the airport, while military helicopters have been deployed around the city, especially around Aso Rock.
No word yet from the federal government but spokesperson of the SSS, Marilyn Ogar, confirmed an attempted jailbreak at the Service's headquarters by the Boko Haram sect.
"What happened was that the suspects handlers went to feed the detainees here but suddenly they attacked him with their handcuffs, disarmed him and started shooting, she said.
"The military was quickly called in before they could do any harm and that is responsible for the shootings you heard.
"It was an attempted jailbreak but it has been brought under control."
Tweets from former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode and that of FCT, Mallam Nasir El Rufai confirms that there was exchange of gunfire.
I live 50 metres away from the SSS headquaters and the Villa and what I witnssed with my eyes and heard this morning was a full scale battle
— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) March 30, 2014
IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD: Exchange of gunfire still going on with helicopter gunship hovering over the Aso Drive… http://t.co/DBqOEx7Qwx
— Nasir El-Rufai (@elrufai) March 30, 2014
Mr. Sheriff exploded midway into the meeting, raining abuses on Mr. Tinubu and threatening to slap the former Lagos State governor.
But for the intervention of the some party leaders attending the meeting, including a former Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari and a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, the former Borno Governor, almost made real his threat, sources at the meeting told PREMIUM TIMES.
The APC NEC meeting, which was held at the party's headquarters in the Wuse 2 District of Abuja, was convened last Monday to discuss some pressing issues in the party, including the impending inaugural ward, local government and state congresses as well as a national convention.
The membership of the party's NEC includes all members of the National Working Committees, NWC, Board of Trustees, BoT, former presidents, vice presidents, governors and their deputies who are members of the party, and leaders of the party in the National Assembly.
Mr. Sheriff is a member of the organ in his capacity as a former governor and a leader of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, which last year merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Congress for Progressives Change, CPC, and a section of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, to form the APC.
He was the Chairman of the ANPP Board of Trustees until the merger. On his part, apart from being a former governor, Mr. Tinubu is a respected leading light of the country's main opposition party.
At the end of the meeting, the APC NEC fixed May 24 for its first national convention. It also fixed April 5 for the ward congresses while the local government and state congresses will hold April 12 and 23 respectively.
Our sources said Messrs. Sheriff and Tinubu clashed when the meeting began discussions on the congresses and convention.
It was gathered that the during the discussion, the APC National Chairman, Bisi Akande, who was presiding over the meeting nominated himself and the National Secretary, Tijjani Tumsah to serve as chairman and secretary respectively of the National Convention Committee, NCC, which would also oversee the conduct of the congresses.
Angered by the suggestion, this newspaper was informed that the former Borno State Governor, who is popularly called SAS (Senator Ali Sheriff) or GAS (Governor Ali Sheriff) while in power between 2003 and 2007, grabbed the microphone and expressed his opposition to the choices.
Mr. Sheriff was also said to have made some remarks which suggested that he believed that APC was not yet mature as a party.
He was reportedly cautioned by Mr. Tinubu, who asked him not to speak about the party in a negative manner. The former Lagos State Governor also asked Mr. Sheriff to quit the APC and go elsewhere, if he was not comfortable with the party.
At this point, Mr. Sheriff, who was now holding firmly to the microphone, allegedly began to insult Mr. Tinubu, asking him if he owned the party.
"Who are you? Who do you think you are? Are you the owner of the party?" the former Borno governor reportedly inquired from Mr. Tinubu in a fit of anger.
All the leaders of the party present at the meeting reportedly watched with amazement as the 58-year old former Borno State governor reportedly rained abuses on Mr. Tinubu, 62, who on his part, kept his cool all through.
Out sources said Mr. Buhari saved the day when, sensing danger in allowing Mr. Sheriff to continue insulting Mr. Tinubu, intervened. The former head of state was said to have tongue-lashed Mr. Sheriff for losing his composure.
Attempts by PREMIUM TIMES to speak with Mr. Tinubu were not successful. His media aide, Sunday Dare could not also be reached as he did not respond to calls to his mobile telephone on Friday and Saturday.
Also, Mr. Sheriff could not be reached as he was said to have travelled out of the country on Friday morning.
A commissioner in his administration, who pleaded anonymity (saying he was not competent to speak for the former governor) said although he was not at the meeting where the two former governors exchanged verbal punches, he heard about it.
"I was not at the meeting, but I heard about it. I think it was just one of those disagreements among party members. Bola Tinubu was said to have made a remark, which didn't go down well with Sheriff. But the matter has been resolved," the former commissioner told PREMIUM TIMES.
No party official contacted was willing to speak on the matter. A senior member of the party, who said he was not competent to speak on behalf of the party, but who also confirmed the altercation between the two former governors to this newspaper, insisted he would not speak officially despite prodding by this reporter.
"I can't speak on this matter. It will be against my principle and I may not be objective. Personally, I am not one to speak in a way that will portray my party in bad light," the member said.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr. Sheriff's action was a product of bottled-up anger over the refusal of the party to accord him a prominent place in the fold since the conclusion of the merger talks and eventual registration of the party.
The former Borno governor was said to have repeatedly position himself to play greater role given the positions he had occupied as a senator, governor and ANPP BoT chair.
Our source alleged that the former governor has always fingered Mr. Tinubu, for the "ill-treatment" and the former Lagos Governor's remark presented a veritable opportunity to strike against him (Tinubu).
Mr. Sheriff, it was further learnt has always believed that Mr. Tinubu has not achieved politically than him as they were not only former senators, but also fellow two-time governors.
"All this is about ego. Ali Modu Sheriff believes that he was a governor just like Tinubu and both are former senators and so should not be treated in such manner," the source told this newspaper.
Another source within the APC who is conversant with the workings of the opposition party, told this paper that Messrs. Tinubu and Buhari as well as some other key leaders are afraid that given him (Sheriff) a prominent role to play could backfire on the young party.
The source said Mr. Buhari had always been uncomfortable with Mr. Sheriff since their days in the defunct ANPP, where the former was presidential candidate twice (2003 and 2007.)
It was further gathered that some APC leaders suspect Mr. Sheriff to be a mole planted in the opposition party by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, perhaps due to his closeness to some senior members of the ruling party.
Besides, the role he is suspected to have played in the emergence and evolution of the extremist Boko Haram sect is also a source of concern to some APC leaders.
The not-so-robust relationship between Mr. Sheriff and his successor, Kashim Shettima has reportedly not helped the ex-Borno Governor's desire to play greater role in the APC.
However, in spite of all this, PREMIUM TIMES was told, some of the party's leaders are not willing to let Mr. Sheriff turn his back on the APC as he still has some political value to bring to the merger. This, it was gathered, is majorly because of his popularity in the north eastern state of Borno.
One of our sources however argued that Mr. Tinubu has overreached himself by his disposition to some issues in the party, which, in his estimation, could affect the fortunes of the party.
"Tinubu forgets that the prefects he groomed are now principals in their own right," the source volunteered. "Nobody will allow him to trade off this golden opportunity for the change Nigerians earnestly yearn for in 2015. He can be pardoned for what he did to Ribadu in 2011 presidential election, but not now."
According to Nigerian Tribune...
The suspect, Isah Salaudeen, 37, is currently being held at the Iyaganku Division of Oyo State Police Command for attempted murder of one Chiwendu Nkwocha (also known as Divine).
Salaudeen had started using knife to slit the throat of the girl after which he then used a cutlass to hack her. This made the lady to scream, jumped up from where she was lying and ran out for help.
The incident was said to have been reported by one Aafa Taiye Agulofi and Ademola Agoro, residents of Ori Eru, along Agbaje road, Agbeni area of Ibadan, where the suspect also resided.
Saturday Tribune gathered that Nkwocha, who resides at 11, Ogundimu Street, Iju-Ishaga, Lagos State, was brought to Salaudeen by her boyfriend, Bola, in January this year so that he would help in using prayers and other means to exorcise some spirits troubling her.
Since then, Nkwocha had been undergoing 'spiritual cleansing' by being given herbs, concoctions and 'holy water' to cure her.
On the fateful day, Salaudeen reportedly asked Nkwocha to lie down while he covered her face with a cloth. Suddenly, the lady felt a sharp pain on her throat. Before she could fathom what was happening, the cleric reportedly attempted to hack her with a cutlass to make his work faster when it seemed the knife was not achieving the aim intended.
Residents of the area who were shocked at the occurrence were said to have suspected that he might have wanted to use the lady for ritual purposes.
Nkwocha is said to be receiving treatment at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.
But Salaudeen denied trying to deliberately kill the lady, saying he did not know what came over him. He said he believed he was manipulated by the spirits troubling Nkwocha to commit the criminal act.
In an interview with Saturday Tribune, Salaudeen, an indigene of Ibadan and a divorcee with two children, said he knew Nkwocha through one Bola who was her boyfriend.
"I knew Bola and the lady in January. It was one Nike from Lagos State who brought Bola to me and I knew Nike through one Baba Ibeji, a taxi driver who was my client. Bola was Nike's boyfriend but Bola later came to me and said he was no longer going out with Nike.
"I know Bola and Nkwocha use laptop to get money from people and I used to pray for them so that their venture would yield fruits. About one month after, the lady came back to me for help, saying that Bola called her a prostitute and said that he could not marry her because she was not a 'wife material'.
"She said I should help her with prayers so that she would meet rich men who would give her money. She used to come and go as she liked. She would stay with me and go out at will to go out with men. Because she used to play with me, I became aroused and had slept with her about two times.
"On Thursday morning, after my children left for school, I laid on a couch while she was on the floor. Suddenly, I looked at a cutlass in my room behind a cupboard. I didn't know what happened; I just knew I took the cutlass and used it to cut her throat. She ran outside and I was wondering what happened when people came in to apprehend me."
When asked if he intended to use Nkwocha for ritual or someone asked her for human body parts, Salaudeen replied in the negative, saying that he had never had a client demanding for such and had never thought of such a thing.
"I am a Muslim cleric and will never do rituals.
Even I have self-discipline so much that I don't have girlfriend or go to prostitutes since my wife and I divorced. If I feel like having sex, I just masturbate until I (ejaculate). Divine (Nkwocha) used to play hard and was also staying with me; that was why I had sex with her. "I only used cutlass on her throat. I don't know how blood got to the knife. I also don't know how the injury on her hand and cheek came about. I pray that she survives so that she could defend me.
It must have been her members in the spiritual world who lifted my hands to (slit) her throat.
She told me that they had been troubling her, saying she had dreadlocks which were cut. She further told me that it was the cutting of the dreadlocks that had been giving her spiritual problems," Salaudeen further disclosed.
The spokesperson for the Oyo State police command, Olabisi Okuwobi-Ilobanafor, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed the incident, saying that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Iyaganku, Ibadan, for further investigations.
The suspect who simply gave his name as Chidi, disclosed that what people used to know as yahoo yahoo, a term used to defraud unsuspecting and gullible persons, especially foreigners, through the internet, has gone beyond mere conversation and emotional chat.
He disclosed that yahoo plus is the trend in cybercrime world today, as operators have resorted to using fetish means to hypnotize their victims in order to get what they want from them.
In this interview with Crime Guard, Chidi said he ventured into cyber crime eight years ago, after several attempts to gain admission into the university failed.
Rather than venting his frustration on the appropriate channel, he chosed rather, to unleash it on undeserving individuals, by defrauding them of their hard earned money.
Unfortunately, five years down the line, he said he could only get himself a Nigerian used vehicle.
As you read this piece, Chidi said he had turned a new leaf ,begging those he had defrauded to forgive him.
His sudden change of mind according to him, followed a startling discovery that human parts were being used to prepare concoction that would hypnotise victims.
Hear him: " You may not believe me but it is true. Those who are into yahoo plus use charm to hypnotize their victims. This is because the ordinary yahoo no longer yield the desired result. Our targets are getting wiser and no longer fall prey .
"When I noticed that I was not making any headway in yahoo business, I decided to inquire from some of my friends who were in same business but were living better off.
To my surprise, I was made to understand that the in-thing was yahoo plus. I decided to embark on a journey to Benin Republic in the company of Chuks, Odinakachukwu and Chionye. There, we met a herbalist who told us to buy three live cocks and other items which he used to prepare some concoction for us. After that, we were asked to stand in front of the shrine,while the herbalist chanted incantations that would enhance our success in yahoo plus.
"As we left for Nigeria, we were given some concoction which the herbalist said were prepared with human parts. We were asked to put the concoction in our mouths whenever we wanted to type or discuss with our victims.
But when I got home, I became restive. I remembered my mum's admonition never to go into anything fetish but to serve the almighty God. I kept the concoction away and watched as events unfolded.
Three months later, one of us Chuks, made 3000 dollars. But Odinakachuckwu lost his younger brother who went to use his laptop. The instruction of the herbalist was that no one except him, should use his laptop. Just as we were smarting from that, Chionye lost his girlfriend.
"I decided to quit at that point because I did not want anyone to die on my account. I am therefore appealing to those I have defrauded through yahoo yahoo to forgive me", he stated.
When operatives of the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police were contacted, they described Chidi's claim as untrue , saying the law does not believe in vodoo.
An operative who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Unit had arrested several internet fraudsters,with their loot refunded to victims.
*I'm surprised by the SFU's assertion that the law does not believe in voodoo. It then means if someone scams others using voodoo, then there is no case, since the 'law does not believe in voodoo'.*
The 25-year-old house help simply identified as David allegedly scaled the fence of the late Timeyin's bungalow, deactivated the security system inside the building and laid siege within the premises before hacking the retired magistrates to death.
David, an Igede, Benue state-born was reportedly employed two months ago and sent packing two weeks ago for allegedly stealing his boss valuables including phones and jewelries which led to his arrest and subsequently release on the boss order.
Vanguard gathered that David, after killing his former boss, he scaled the fence back into the bush behind the house where he hid himself to avoid being caught.
It was further gathered that one of the sons of the late Chief Magistrate, Olumide ,who had earlier knocked on the gates and heard the desperate cries of his mum raised alarm and residents in-turn alerted the men of the Ogun State Vigilance Service.
One of the VSO men who raced to the scene, Oluseye Fasina attached to Operation Two, Laderin Unit told our correspondent that he immediately ran to the back of the house where he met David who had pulled off his clothes inside the bush and arrested him.
The Policemen waited endlessly to get an ambulance to take the corpse of the retired magistrate to the mortuary but, could not get any from the state.
The corpse was later taken away to the mortuary by a private Mazda Space bus with registration number Ogun AV 106 AAB at about 7:14pm.
The Chief of Ogun State, Justice Olatokunbo Olopade and the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Basorun Muyiwa Oladipo were amongst the sympathisers who visited the late retired Chief Magistrate's residence.
Policemen from Kemta Idi-aba and Ibara cordoned off the area while detectives searched for evidence of the crime inside the house. Journalists were barred from the house.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi said he had yet to be briefed on the incident.
Fireman was absolved in a legal advice by the DPP to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigations Department, M.A.K. Smith Street, Yaba. The advice was daed 27 February and was signed by Ms Olayide Eboda on behalf of the Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye.
The 12 year old girl, Ogoja was allegedly strangled to death by one Ikechukwu Egbo in Badagry, Lagos State on Dec. 31, 2013.
Egbo had in a confessional statement claimed that it was Fireman, who asked him to murder the girl and obtain her excreta for a N100, 000 reward.
However, the DPP cleared Fireman of the crime after the conclusion of Police investigations into the incident, while Egbo was found culpable.
The DPP said the facts in the file revealed that the suspect tricked the deceased to an uncompleted building and strangled her.
"The suspect claimed he was asked to strangle a young girl and bring her excreta.
"He intended to kill the girl and he carried out his intention, but was out of luck as he was apprehended by the security guards in the building where the incident occurred.
"After a careful consideration of the facts contained in the duplicate file, this office is of the opinion that a prima facie case of murder is established against the primary suspect (Egbo) only.
"In view of the foregoing, this office shall prosecute Egbo at the state high court for the offence of murder.
"On the other hand, the second suspect (Fireman) is to be released forthwith if he is still in custody as no case is established against him," the DPP stated.
Fireman's counsel, Mr Peter Oboyi, told newsmen on Friday that the exoneration of his client had shown clearly that Egbo had lied against him.
Oboyi said in the course of investigations by the police it was discovered that Egbo was not close to Fireman as he claimed.
He said the young boy could not identify the street, number and colour of the house of the cleric whom he had claimed to be working for or familiar with.
In his reaction, Fireman said the DPP's advice was not unexpected because he knew nothing about the murder.
The cleric told newsmen that he would not file any suit against the police over his arrest, adding that they were only doing their job as law enforcement agents.
He said:"This incident is the handiwork of some people who are not happy with the successes being made by our ministry.
"We started this ministry in 2009 with only four persons, but today we have over 100 branches with about 60 in Lagos."
