Esther Felix was a regular call girl at Pekas, a popular night club at the highbrow Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, until recently when she ran into trouble for organizing the abduction of one of her customers, who happened to be a citizen of the United States of America and the son of a Lagos-based business man (names withheld).

It is barely 100 days that erstwhile member of the House of Representatives, former Commissioner for Justice and former policeman turned lawyer, Serikae Dickson, was inaugurated as governor of Bayelsa State. Dickson’s path to the Government House was laced with intrigues, physical and mental combats among other challenges. Passing through Lagos last weekend, Dickson took out time to share his experiences in the political fray with a group of newsmen. Excerpts:

Prescription medication “take-back” programmes are increasingly promoted as a way to safely dispose of unused drugs, but they are no better for the environment than simply throwing old drugs in the trash, a new study suggests.

ABUJA—Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, yesterday, canvassed the establishment of family courts across states of the federation to protect the rights of children in the country.

Super Falcons’ first choice goalkeeper and captain, Precious Dede leads the 20 other players named by manager, Kadiri Ikhana for the 2012 AWC qualifying first leg fixture against Zimbabwe in Harare on May 27.

OWERRI – Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has appealed to traditional rulers to assist law enforcement agencies in checking the increasing spate of violent crimes in the state.

ABUJA – Federal Government, yesterday, vowed to implement all the recommendations of reports submitted to it by the visitation panels to 41 institutions of higher learning.

ABUJA – CHAIRMAN of the Capital Market probe, Ibrahim El-Sudi, yesterday said participants at the probe would be given a fair hearing, saying the committee was not out to witch hunt anybody.

A little over a week ago, fresh controversy erupted in the public domain about an exercise whose outcome the nation is awaiting — SIM card registration. The controversy centred around delays in the outcome of the exercise, especially as some networks keep sending messages to their subscribers (who had registered) that their SIM cards had not been registered.

ABUJA—Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, yesterday expressed frustration that only 58 percent of Nigerians had mobile penetration.

The University town of Nsukka in Enugu State was thrown into fear last week following the kidnap of a prominent business man by unknown gunmen along St. Therese’s Road while his wife narrowly escaped from the abductors.

I have found it necessary to address this letter to you in view of certain developments at your Lagos Consulate with regard to visa requirements which have very adverse implications for academic practice in Nigeria. I am scheduled to attend a conference at the Cologne African Studies Centre, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Cologne at the end of the month, precisely from May 30 to June 2, 2012.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, yesterday said those indicted by the House of Representatives committee on the management of the subsidy regime would be prosecuted.

Buyright Africa Dotcom, a new Tech savvy conglomerate, has redeemed its promise to give mini laptops to the first 50 visitors to its website at 7am on its launch date, the 7th of May, 2012. The lucky winners received the laptops from the Buyright Africa Dotcom offices in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Owerri, and Kano.

THE recent re-appointment of Mr Patrick Ugbe as Commissioner and his deployment to Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has further confirmed the sincerity of the administration of Senator Liyel Imoke, Governor of Cross River State in building up reforms in the sector.