VIDEO: How Church Security Molested, Arrested And Detained SaharaReporters Crew In Nigeria

A trip by a Saharareporters/SaharaTV crew in Lagos aimed at covering the “cross over” night of one of Nigeria's mega churches on New Year's eve ended in molestation, threats, arrest and detention by the church. The SaharaReporters' media crew drove into the church premises of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles ministry (MFM) on the Lagos Ibadan expressway in response to news that its cross over night event was the biggest in the Lagos area.

The crew was led by Saharareporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore, who was traveling underground in Nigeria as part of a series of reports for the renowned website. Upon reaching the church's massive auditorium Mr. Sowore was ushered into the church service by church ushers situated at a small entrance, he bore a canon 5D camera mounted on his shoulder with proper photo and video recording gadgets. The period of the SaharaReporters crew arrival coincided with the sermon of the General Overseer, Dr. Daniel K Olukoya, however, the large church auditorium with several huge TV broadcast screens meant that the crew had to seek direction to the podium. As a result, twice during the sojourn, the crew tendered their local credentials to the church ushers and security to gain access near the pastor's podium.

At no time during the visit did any member of the church security team ask members of the team for "accreditation" or press passes to cover the event. Shortly after arriving near the podium, however, Mr. Sowore was accosted by a church security official who demanded to see his identity card. Promptly given one, the official nervously began scrutinizing the card while Mr. Sowore and the crew continued filming Dr. Olukoya's sermon, which was on the subject of fear. Within seconds of the first encounter, a mob made up of security officials descended on Mr. Sowore and a second member of the crew, demanding that they cease any form of filming in the church auditorium. Attempts by the crew to explain that they were granted access to the auditorium following presentation of their press credentials were met with a ferocious and more aggressive pack of church thugs who attempted to break the crew's camera. The argument escalated within the purview of the pastor, who continued his preaching. But it became intense, the church security growing nastier and more physical, pushing and shoving Mr. Sowore and another crew member to the back of the church altar. In an effort to avoid disruption of the service, the chaotic scene was pushed to the back of the church where the SaharaReporters crew was confronted by an army of security personnel comprising the State Security Service (SSS), mobile policemen carrying AK 47 guns, barrel-chested private security officials of the church, as well as the church production crew and a photographer who were taking photos of SR reporters.

Thirteen Feared Dead As Petrol Tanker Rams Into An 18-Seater Commuter Bus

 

No fewer than 13 people were feared dead today, Sunday when a fuel tanker rammed into a commercial bus at Odo Oba in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

Although details of the crash are still hazy, the tanker and bus reportedly caught fire immediately.

It was not clear where they were heading to when the crash occurred.

The National Emergency Management Agency confirmed the crash, saying three persons escaped.

It did not, however, state whether they were in the tanker or the bus.

Road accidents involving tankers have become rampant in recent months, raising concern about the safety of road users.

saharareporters

Father Nabbed For Killing 4 Months Old Son For Ritual In Egbe, Kogi State

 

MR HOSEA FOLORUNSHO DIGGING UP HIS SON’S CORPSE FROM WHERE HE SECRETLY BURIED IT IN A SHALLOW GRAVE

Mr Hosea Folorunsho, a native of Egbe town in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi state, has been arrested by the state police command for the alleged gruesome murder of his son for ritual purpose. Briefing journalists on the arrest in Lokoja, the Kogi state capital, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Katsina, says the suspect, who is also a herbalist, buried the child in a shallow grave in his own compound.

While parading the suspect, Hosea Folorunsho, at the state command headquarters, Lokoja-the state capital, Mr. Katsina disclosed that on the 31st of December 2012, the herbalist killed his son for alleged ritual.

Narrating the ungodly act based on police investigation, the police boss, Mr Katsina disclosed that on the New Year’s Eve, at about 11:55PM, the suspect quietly took the baby named Sunday Folorunsho who was asleep in the middle of the night and murdered him in gruesome circumstances.

He added that having accomplished his mission, the suspect dug a shallow grave in his compound and hurriedly buried the corpse of the baby.

Mr Folorunsho, 48, and married with three kids, was escorted by the police to his compound where the baby’s corpse was buried and was then asked to exhume it.

After digging out the corpse of the baby, the body was handed over to a pathologist who conducted an autopsy on the dead baby.

The autopsy result read that the child died of multiple fractures through the application of blunt object and trauma.
channelstv

Generator Smoke Kills 80-Year-Old Woman And 4 Grandchildren In Ogun State, Nigeria

Sorrow and sadness on Thursday enveloped Robiyan, near Ijoko in Ifo Local Government, Ogun State as residents discovered the lifeless bodies of an 80 year-old woman, identified as Madam Kuburat, and her four grandchildren, including a toddler in a newly completed house.

Five other people who slept in the house were in critical conditions at two general hospitals as doctors battle to save their lives.

Although there were different accounts of what could have caused their death, the Divisional Police Officer of Agbado Police Station, Mr. Okere Daniel, suspected it could be fumes from a generator.

The DPO said, “From the physical examination of the victims, it is obvious that they must have died of carbon monoxide, all foaming from the mouth; this means that they must be gasping (for breath).

“A similar thing happened at Obadofin in 2010, when I was a DPO at Alafia. A whole family was wiped off. It was during a festive period like this; they put on the generator and locked it up inside the house for use overnight.”

It was learnt that the generator which was placed in the veranda of the house must have worked overnight while the doors and windows were locked.

Apart from the 10 people, a man and his wife also in the house were said to have rushed their child to a nearby community hospital at midnight when they found her gasping for breath.

PUNCH Metro learnt that it was the woman that reportedly cried out and alerted the whole community to the tragedy when she returned in the morning and found everybody “sleeping.”

The traditional ruler of the area, Chief Olu Kujore, said he ordered his men to break into the house and forced the windows open.

Kujore said, “We hurriedly rushed those who were still breathing to the hospital. Some of them were taken to Ota General Hospital while others were taken to Ifako General Hospital.

“But two of the kids died before they could be attended to at the hospital and their corpses had to be returned to the house.”

One of our correspondents saw the five dead victims before they were taken to the Ota General Hospital for autopsy.

Another resident of the area, who identified himself as Baba Michael, said no fewer than five bricklayers with different sets of workers handled the construction of the house.

“During the construction, three times, a section of the house had collapsed and had to be re-erected,” he said.

A young lady, Amina Disu, who said she was Kuburat’s grandchild, said they had come to the village for the Christmas and New Year festivities.

She recalled that they prepared rice for the family and their neighbours on Wednesday before she left for business at Mushin in Lagos.

Disu said, “My mother had a protracted battle with two other people over the ownership of the land before she eventually built it. And we went through hell to get the job done.

“My mother was a fish seller at Mushin. We only came to celebrate the Christmas and New Year with granny. My brother, his wife and their children were around too. It was a full house. I was here yesterday (Wednesday). We had fun and had to serve food to our neighbours.”

She said she was surprised when her granny’s neighbours called her to inform her about the incident.

Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Muyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the incident, said the matter would be investigated.

“The fumes were discovered to have got into the house through the veranda where it was placed. Three of the victims had died before they got to the hospital, while two others also died later in the hospital. Five others, who were affected, are currently recuperating,” he said.

Punch

Inside Nigeria's secret gay club

About 50 people, mostly men, crowd around the front porch of a social club in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, cheering on a shy-looking young man, who proceeds to sing a ballad.

Backstage, another man puts on his wig and takes a quick glance at his pocket mirror, before adjusting his tight-fitting red dress.

Five other men also dressed in drag outfits appear, checking on each other's make-up as they wait for their turn to perform for the crowd.

"A friend invited me here a few months ago," one chatty spectator says excitedly. "I love this place because it makes me feel at home".

This gathering of members of the gay and lesbian community in Lagos is held regularly, albeit discreetly, but it could soon be illegal.

The vast majority of gay Nigerians may not be interested in this kind of event but they still have to hide their sexuality in this conservative society.

Whilst already illegal, homosexuality is widely frowned upon across Nigeria and has been the subject of several bills in the National Assembly.

The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill specifically outlaws same-sex unions.

It also bans gatherings of homosexuals or any other support for gay clubs, organisations, unions or amorous expressions, whether in secret or in public.

'Repulsive'
The bill has been passed by Nigeria's Senate - the highest chamber - and is now being reviewed by the lower chamber, the House of Representatives.

Rashidi Williams is one of Nigeria's few openly gay human rights activists

If approved, it will be sent to the president to sign it into law, after which same-sex couples could face up to 14 years in prison.

But Nigerian homosexuals complain that the stigma they face is already enough punishment for their way of life.

Kunle (not his real name), a gay man living in Lagos, is outraged by the proposed law: "How does a government think that sending someone to prison would change his or her sexual orientation?
"How logical is that?"

One of Nigeria's few openly gay human rights activists, Rashidi Williams, notes that the bill seeks to ban something which is already illegal and which no-one is publicly advocating.

"All we are asking for is to repeal the repressive laws in this country," he says.

The bill has been condemned abroad - most recently by Australian lawmakers - making its proponents see this piece of legislation as a way of protecting Nigerian society from foreign influences.

"Ours is to weigh the aggregate of opinion - what the majority of Nigerians want," says Abike Dabiri, a member of the House of Representatives.

"If majority of Nigerians want same-sex marriage, then why not?"

She adds: "You have a right to your sexual preference but by trying to turn it into marriage do you realise you could be infringing on the human rights of the other person who finds it repulsive?"

In hiding
This view is echoed on the streets of this country, where religious influences, particularly from Christianity and Islam, are heavy.

"How do you even become gay, not to mention wanting to get married to another man?" asks Okechukwu Ikenna, a 33-year-old software engineer, visibly irritated by the topic.

Friends and family members of gay people could get implicated if they do not report cases of same-sex unions because they could be seen as being in support of them.

Critics of the bill also worry that health workers who provide HIV counselling and treatment to homosexuals could be committing an offence as well.

However, some of these doctors say they hardly ever know the sexual orientation of those they attend to because it is not a requirement for treatment and counselling, and even if the patients were to reveal that they were homosexuals, it would not affect the quality of healthcare offered.

Some lawmakers have condemned violence against homosexuals but this has done little to prevent the growing anxiety among those the bill would target as its likely adoption, in whatever form, approaches.

If the bill is passed, same-sex couples could face 14 years in prison

Mr Williams says some gay Nigerians may seek asylum in countries where homosexual people are accepted, while others will have to go underground.

At the gay club, despite the jovial atmosphere, there is heightened caution, and no-one is allowed to take any photos.

The thought of being identified as being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender in a country where the public still turns to mob justice haunts some here.

And that is a huge concern for Richard (not his real name): "If you don't become discreet and try to hide yourself, even the man on the street will want to also act on the bill because it has been passed.

"If you're walking on the street and he stones you, he knows the law would stand for him because the law is against you."

BBC