Category Archives: Nigeria News
NIGERIA: Reps at war over Okonjo-Iweala
Sacked 670 Mainstreet bank workers: Reps threaten to order MD’s arrest
ASUU strike: NASS to initiate new policies on education
Owerri: Okada man, housewife caught making love in bush
OWERRI—A mild drama played out in Orlu, ImoState, when a commercial motorcyclist, a father of two (names withheld), was caught pants down making love to a married woman in a lonely bush.
While the 45-year-old housewife was making a case of rape against the randy motorcyclist, the 30-year-old man insisted that the woman was his concubine.
Giving account of what transpired to the police, the woman said she engaged the motorcyclist at Orlu to take her to her matrimonial home at Obibi-Ochasi.
She said when they got to a solitary area along the route, the man stopped ostensibly to ease himself.
She further told the police that while she was waiting for him to finish easing himself, the man emerged and started asking that they sleep together, adding that when she refused the amorous advance, the man grabbed her and forcefully lifted her into the bush.
The woman equally claimed that the rapist tore her inner wears to shreds, over-powered and raped her.
In his defence, the man claimed that the woman had been his concubine for years, adding that he had previously had fun with her at different times and places, including the spot where they were caught in the act.
He also claimed that he called the woman on her mobile line and asked her to meet him at the agreed spot in Orlu.
The man also claimed that when they got to the bush, the woman stripped herself naked, spread her wrapper on the ground and laid down before he started the act.
The randy motorcyclist, however, agreed that along the line there was a minor misunderstanding on the amount he should pay after they had satisfied themselves.
While the man claimed that the woman was asking for N500 for the service, he offered N200, which he said was the only money on him at the time.
Vanguard equally gathered that plan was in top gear to arraign the alleged rapist in court to face trial.
Digital broadcasting: ECOWAS ICT ministers meet to forge common plan
DUBAI, UAE — COUNTRIES of the ECOWAS sub-region are working to adopt a common implementation plan for digital transition as the June 2015 deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) approaches.
This disclosure was made by Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, Manager, Engineering at Ghana’s regulator, the National Communications Authority of Ghana.
Fianko said this in the course of a presentation he made at the Digital Dialogue Conference holding here in Dubai, UAE.
The conference is sponsored by global pay-TV leader, Multichoice, and is the third in the series, the first two having held in South Africa and Nigeria respectively last year.
He also said that that ICT ministers in the sub-region will meet this week in Banjul, The Gambia to approve protocols and specifications on digital transmitters and set-top boxes that will henceforth be imported by countries in the region to fulfill needs generated by the digital migration.
One of such protocols, he said, includes character set specifications so that set-top boxes can appropriately decode programme and station names in local languages. He said that if these specifications were not made, names of stations and broadcast programmes in several languages will not decode properly.
For instance, the name of a radio station like FAAJI FM, or a television programme like Kaakaki will not decode well if the manufacturers of set-top boxes do not have the appropriate character set specifications.
These, among others, are what ICT ministers of the sub-region will deliberate on at the Banjul meeting.
For Nigeria, the yet-to-be tackled issues revolve around network roll-out (for broadcast organizations), and the all-important issue of set top boxes (decoders) that members of the public will need if they are to continue receiving signals from television stations. This need arises as free-on-air TV signals will no longer be available from June 17, 2015, the ITU deadline.
Regarding set-top-boxes, there are issues regarding specifications, manufacturing, distribution, retail and installation of the set-top boxes. As things stand, majority of the Nigerian viewing public are in the dark regarding the source of the set-top boxes, who makes them, where they can be purchased, and at what prices.
A sector of the population that subscribes to pay-TV services however remain smug as their service providers are offering digital decoders.
Former director-general of the National Broadcast Commission, Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa had disclosed at the second Digital Dialogue held last year in Nigeria that since 2008, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had approved that Nigeria should key into the digital migration process with T-2, the latest technology in digital broadcasting.
In a presentation, Gerhard Petrick of the South African Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA), said that countries beginning the transition should leapfrog the technology gap by opting for set-top boxes driven by the T-2 technology. However, this issue is problematic in Nigeria as some service providers are still aggressively selling T-1 decoders to unsuspecting members of the public.
For the rest of the public who are largely unaware that they will need set-top boxes to receive broadcast signals, the industry regulator, NBC, will have to gear up to ensure that one of their fundamental rights, the right to freedom of information is not infringed on when the analog signals are switched off.
This is because, as Petrick added in his presentation, there will “be no protection for ATVs (analog TVs) after 2015,” and those who are still locked in the analog format of broadcast signal reception “will have to contend with signals from digitally compatible” neighbours. Countries like Togo and Benin Republic fall into this category as they are yet to launch digital terrestrial operations.
However, the advantages of T-2, both for broadcast organizations and the viewing public are over-arching. For broadcast organizations, DVB-T2, according to Petrick “yields 67% more payload at equivalent coverage and network cost” than T-1.
However, Kenya seems to be ahead of other countries on the continent, as Daniel Obam of Kenya’s National Communications Secretariat told the conference that his country will begin the digital migration this year as it switches of analog signals in Nairobi and environs this December, followed by other cities like Mombasa, Kisii, Nyeru, and others in phases next year.
Ana Aguilar of Deloite’s Economic Consulting Group in her presentation highlighted the economic benefits of digital migration, saying the proliferation of channels, content, platforms and devices will generate employment opportunities in both the broadcast and entertainment sectors, while the multiplicity of channels will create new revenue channels for the advertising industry.
Nigeria Woman rescued from drowning over N500
ONITSHA—There was pandemonium, yesterday, in Awka when a middle-aged woman escaped death at Ezu River, where over 23 mystery corpses were found few months ago.
The woman, Ms. Peace Nnabuife, from Ezeoye, Nibo in Awka South Local Government of the state, had entered the river on a “spiritual journey” when she suddenly slipped and almost drowned.
Some young men, using canoe, were said to have gone to the river bank to perform some sacrifices when they saw the drowning woman and helped her.
They were leaving when her N500 fell into the river. She went for the money and got swept off by the river. Roots of trees were said to have stopped her from being taken away by the river.
She said: “I came here so that Ezu River will carry me to Nibo. We travel through rivers to our meeting place in the depth of the river, where our queen’s kingdom is.
“I came with cellophane bag and I had N500 in it. The N500 fell into the river as the water carried me.”
Asked where she was going for the meeting, she said, “we hold our meetings at Ezu Agulu and I am still in the junior category.”
