In Ekiti community, mum’s refusal to have her 5-year-old daughter circumcised tears families apart

■ I don’t want my daughter to suffer the consequences of circumcision like I did –Mum
■ Her circumcision is a must as tradition demands –Dad’s family
Against the back­ground of a child Rights Law that guides against harmful cultural practices on children in Ekiti State, two families: the royal family of Olaoye in Ushi-Ekiti and the Oyenekan family are at loggerheads over the circum­cision of a 5-year-old girl. The once rosy relationship between both families has now turned sour following a disagreement over the circumcision of their 5-year-old daughter, (name of baby withheld).
Miss Olufunke Oyenekan, mother of the 5-year old girl and fiancee to Mr. Emmanuel Olaoye, son of the Olaoyes, a royal family in Ushi-Ekiti, Ekiti State, had disagreed with the Olaoyes over their decision to perform the traditional circumcision rites on her daughter. The woman, sensing that her husband’s family wanted to perform the rites by all means, fled with her child from the Olaoye’s family house in Ushi Ekiti in 2012 and her whereabouts has since remain unknown.
Recently, the Olaoye family again raised the alarm through a representative, identified as Chief Olu Olaoye over the sudden disappear­ance of Olufunke and her daughter. The family said that their son’s fiancee did not mean well for the family by preventing them from per­forming the circumcision rites on the child. Their explana­tion is that it is a mandatory cultural practice to have all their children circumcised, moreso that theirs is a royal family whose duty it is to preserve the cultural heritage of the people of Ushi Ekiti in order to set an example for the people.

Tension brews as plot to impeach Ekiti Speaker thickens

Tension is brewing in Ekiti State House of Assembly over a plot by the state law­makers to impeach the Speaker, Hon Adewale Omirin.
Sunday Sun gathered that other officers of the State House of Assembly battling to save their positions are the Deputy Speaker, Hon Taiwo Orisalade, Majority Leader, Hon Churchill Adedipe, Chief Whip, Hon Ade Ajayi and other principal officers of the House.
Twenty five out of the 26 members of the House are members of the All Progres­sives Congress, with only one, Hon Oyedele Ajibola belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party sequel to the defection of Hon. Bunmi Oriniowo to APC prior to the June 21 governorship elec­tion in the state.

Buhari, Tinubu, Oyegun storm Imo for Okorocha’s wedding

Owerri, the Imo State capital yesterday, stood still with major roads, streets and avenues closed to traffic for the holy matrimony between Dr. Uzoma Anwuka and Uju Okorocha- son of the Secretary to the Imo State Government – Professor Anthony Anwuka and daughter of Governor Rochas Okorocha.
The young couple was joined in the holy matrimony by the Catholic Bishop of Okigwe Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Solomon Amatu at St Joseph’s Catholic chaplain of Imo State University,Owerri during which the Bishop charged the couple to preserve the sanctity and holiness of the marriage institution by loving one another and living Christ-like life.

Kirikiri Prison riot: 1 inmate dead, 6 injured

An inmate of Kirikiri Medium Prison in Lagos died yes­terday following the riot which broke out at the facility last Friday.
A statement issued by the Prisons Public Re­lations Officer (PRO), Ope Fatinikun said the deceased inmate was among the four rushed to various hospitals after the riot on Friday.

2015: No third term for Bayelsa lawmakers

As elsewhere in the country, in Bayelsa politics is very much in the air and noth­ing is concentrating the minds of every­one right now like the 2015 elections. Political upstarts and the rest of the ambitious are ani­mating the political scene by seeking their own place in the sun. And so incumbents especially the do-nothing breed who populate their ranks are very much under threat, This is one reason some lawmakers representing Bayelsa State in the National Assembly are now fighting a battle for their political lives. Their hopes of

Cameroon Paid Boko Haram $400K Ransom, Plus Arms And Ammunition, To Secure Release Of Deputy Prime Minister’s Wife, Other Hostages

SaharaReporters has learned that the Cameroonian authorities paid Boko Haram insurgents at least $400,000 in ransom in order to secure the release of Francoise Agnes Moukouri, wife of Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali. 

SaharaReporters has learned that the Cameroonian authorities paid Boko Haram insurgents at least $400,000 in ransom in order to secure the release of Francoise Agnes Moukouri, wife of Vice Prime  

Boko Haram insurgents had abducted Mrs. Ali in July from the town of Kolofata. The insurgents also seized the town’s district head. The deal to secure their release was struck three days ago, as SaharaReporters exclusively reported. 
Our source, who was part of the negotiation that led to the release of Mrs. Ali and several other hostages, disclosed that the terms of the settlement included the payment of an undisclosed sum of money from the Chinese government. Boko Haram subsequently released 10 Chinese construction workers who had been held hostage since their abduction in May.

Child who fell into jaguar exhibit at Arkansas Zoo is in stable condition

A child who fell into a jaguar exhibit at the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas on Friday is now listed in stable condition, according to a hospital spokesman.

The 3-year-old boy's condition has been updated from critical to stable, according to a press release from Arkansas Children's Hospital obtained by CNN affiliate KARK.

The child, who is not being named, is expected to improve.

"We respect the wishes of the child's guardian, who asked that the child's name and any additional information not be shared at this time," said Dan McFadden, director of communications for the hospital.

Witnesses say screams for help rang out loudly after the 3-year-old boy slipped through the exhibit rail feet first, plummeting into the cat pit, according to a Little Rock police report.

The child was with his father and grandfather at the time of the incident. The father told Little Rock police he was leaning over the rail in an attempt to take a photograph of the animals and observed his son's feet go over the rail out of his peripheral vision. The child's grandfather says the little boy fell approximately 15-16 feet, police said.

Two jaguars in the enclosure attac