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Bandits Are Into Business, IPOB Is Calling For War — APC Chief, Igbokwe Defends Government’s Clampdown On Secessionists

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Igbokwe stated that bandits were simply into “kidnapping business” and might not even be Nigerians while calls for secession are a passage to war.

An All Progressives Congress Chief and Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage and Water Resources, Joe Igbokwe, has explained why the federal government has not extended the coordinated efforts towards the arrest of secessionist leader, Nnamdi Kanu to bandits and kidnappers.

In an interview with BBC Pidgin, Igbokwe stated that bandits were simply into “kidnapping business” and might not even be Nigerians while calls for secession are a passage to war.

He revealed that the Supreme Court does not allow discussions regarding secession stressing that calls for a separate region are not even ideal for Igbos who have businesses all over the country.

He said, “That is the argument of the weak human beings, you want to compare Sambisa Forest to the South-East that is smaller than Kogi State. Bandits come to kidnap for money, you pay them and they release you, that is their business, those people may not even be Nigerians. It is not war, it is not secession. In fact, in the Supreme Court of Nigeria when the issue of secession came up, the Supreme Court will not entertain it; we don’t discuss it.

“You don’t talk about it, tribes must die for you to build a nation? It is unheard of, we have made mistakes in the past, we don’t want to make them again. It is a delicate, complicated matter. Almost 400 young men lost their lives in two months.”

Igbokwe also spoke on why he rejoiced at the arrest of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Kanu.

In his words, “He (Kanu) said, on Radio Biafra, that if they see me, his boys, they should behead me and kill all my children, destroy my home and I played it down but I put my life in the hands of God and that of my family because I was asking myself, I was like has it gotten to this, that you cannot hear voices that are not saying no, we can’t go this way.

”I’m older than him, I saw the civil war, he didn’t see the civil war. I know what we went through, I couldn’t go to school during the civil war, I was in Primary 5 when the war started in 1967 and after the war, I started again from Primary 5 and I understand what played out, the casualties, the pain, the tears, the losses, my father lost his business and we said, do we have to go through this way again?

“Having seen it all because I know what he doesn’t know and I have seen what he has not seen, I have the experience, I have seen it all and I have the history behind me. Has it gotten to this that if you have dissent voices then the person has to be killed?

“It could have been worse, many people died. I am not celebrating death; I’m just thanking God that at least I may be a little bit free… Again, I’m looking at the big picture too; do we have to go this way again?”

Speaking on the marginalisation of the Igbos as a reason for the call for secession, Igbokwe noted that Igbos are not the least of the three major tribes in the country.

He said, “It’s not the option, you negotiate, you go to the conference table to negotiate because you may say we have been marginalized, yes because, after all, we have the least number of states if you compare us to other zones, it is denying us a lot of things but if you place the three major ethnic groups on the table, Igbo is not the last in terms of anything, education, wealth, cash, we are not the last. I won’t tell you we are the first but I won’t tell you we are the last.

“Enterprising spirit is our culture, our tradition but they are not doing the business in the southeast, across everywhere, Lagos, Kaduna, Sokoto. Igbos are widely travelled people, we need the space, we can go anywhere, why are you asking for a small space? There’s no ethnic group in Nigeria widely travelled as our people. An Igbo man will go to a place and start a small business and start booming.

“What I want is that the Federal Government should give Igbos additional states, I’ve been advocating for that for years now, just one state because we work hard in this country, we built Abuja, a sizeable part of Abuja, if all the governors gather here in Abuja, we will be the least — five others have six.

“Kanu’s arrest was serious international diplomacy, a delicate and seamless operation that must have taken years to plan. So, take the leader away and the followers will scatter.”

Culled from the Sahara Reporters

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Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.

In the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Emilio Garcia said that after a night out in 2022 in Ibiza, Spain, he was in an SUV with the hip-hop star when she began having sex with another woman right next to him. He was unable to get out of the moving car, and would have been in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country even if he was able. Garcia was “embarrassed, mortified and offended throughout the whole ordeal,” according to the lawsuit.

Alex Spiro, Megan’s lawyer, said she would fight the lawsuit in court.

“This is an employment claim for money — with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her,” Spiro said.

The next day Megan told Garcia never to discuss what he saw and berated and fat-shamed him, the lawsuit said. The complaint also said Garcia, who had already considered quitting because he was overworked and underpaid in a hostile work environment aggravated by Megan’s possessiveness and abusiveness, was misclassified as an independent contractor but treated as an exclusive employee.

Garcia raised those issues in the conversation with Megan, and was fired the following day after four years of working for her, the suit said. He has since filed a job discrimination complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.

The lawsuit, first reported by NBC News, names as defendants Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete; her companies Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment and Hot Girl Touring; and her label, Roc Nation. A defense response has yet to be filed. There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment from a representative of Roc Nation.

Garcia is seeking financial damages to be determined at trial, alleging he has suffered severely both emotionally and physically because of his treatment on the job, the firing and having to witness the scene in the SUV.

Megan, 29, was previously involved in major legal drama — and underwent a torrent of online abuse — as the victim of a shooting by rapper Tory Lanez, who a jury found fired at her feet on a street in the Hollywood Hills in 2020. She testified at the trial where jurors convicted Lanez of three felonies and a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Already a major rising artist at the time of the shooting, Megan has since become one of hip-hop’s biggest stars. She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021, and she had No. 1 singles with “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”

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Body of O.J. Simpson to be cremated this week; brain will not be studied for CTE

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April 15 (UPI) — The body of O.J. Simpson, who died last week at the age of 76, is to be cremated, a lawyer representing the ex-football superstar’s estate said, adding his brain will not be donated for research.

Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime attorney and executor, told the New York Post that his client’s body is to be cremated Tuesday in Las Vegas.

He said Simpson’s family also gave a “hard no” to scientists seeking to examine the former running back’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.

CTE is a rare and little understood brain disorder that is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to definitively diagnose it is with an autopsy of the organ after death.

Memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes and erratic behavior, including aggression, depression and suicidal ideation, are among CTE’s symptoms, the Alzheimer’s Association said.

The disease has been found in those who play contact sports, including football and hockey.

LaVergne confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that at least one person has called seeking Simpson’s brain.

“His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated,” he said.

Simpson died Wednesday following a battle with cancer.

Known by the nickname “The Juice,” Simpson was a NFL superstar during the 1970s, which made him a household name that propelled him into film and television during the next decade.

But his stardom would come crashing down in the mid-1990s when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

His high-profile trial lasted months, but ended with his acquittal.

In 2008, he was found guilty on a dozen charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and was paroled in 2017 after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence.

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Houston’s Urban South Brewery Celebrates Fourth Anniversary

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Urban South Brewery Houston will host its upcoming Anniversary Party from Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7, in the HTX Taproom, starting at 11 AM, celebrating four years of crafting exceptional brews and fostering community culture. This milestone event will be an exciting day featuring live music, food, activities, and a vendor market.

Beer enthusiasts are also in for a treat with the release of four exclusive anniversary specialty beers. Highlights include “Press Start,” a crafted Czech Pale Lager brewed in collaboration with Parleaux Beer Lab. Additionally, beer fans can indulge in “Level Up,” an Old-Fashioned Cocktail Sour Ale infused with orange peel, Luxardo cherry syrup, and subtle bourbon barrel notes. The offerings continue with “High Score,” a robust Double IPA bursting with flavors of Mosaic, Citra, and Chinook hops, and “Game Over,” a decadent Neapolitan Ice Cream Stout layered with strawberry fruit, Tahitian vanilla bean, and milk chocolate.

To make the celebration even more memorable, fans can pre-order an Exclusive 8-Bit Beer Box featuring the four-anniversary specialty beers (Press Start, Level Up, High Score, Game Over), a 16oz can-shaped Silipint with discounted refills, and 2 tokens redeemable for draft beer.

The Anniversary Party is open to the public, welcoming families and furry friends. Urban South Brewery invites everyone to join in the festivities and toast to four years of brewing excellence.

For more information on Urban South’s Anniversary Celebration, follow the Houston taproom on Instagram and Facebook.

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