THE 2nd Defendant/Applicant submitted that no court can make an order capable of turning a citizen into an outlaw; as this can lead to a state of general break down of law and order and if the current trend of rushing to court for injunctive orders restraining criminal prosecution by some powerful individuals is not quickly halted by this Court, then Nigeria shall soon be witnessing a situation where armed robbery and murder suspects will obtain orders to restrain the Police from arresting, investigating and prosecuting them.

A DECLARATION that the Defendants are not entitled to rely on, utilize or in any manner whatsoever put to any use any report, findings or conclusion produced or arrived at by the 1st Defendant as a result of the purported investigation or inquiry into the appropriation, disbursing, administering or management of funds of Rivers State.

IN the course of this proceeding, the 1st -32nd Defendants were represented by counsel, so also the 37th Defendant. The 34th-36th Defendants neither put up appearance in court, nor were they represented by counsel.

HOW IT ALL STARTED: THE PLOT – THE GREAT GANG UP

I, DR. Peter Otunuya Odili, became the elected Governor of the new Rivers on the 29th day of May, 1999, after a well contested and won election against a strong opponent Chief Ebenezer Isokariari who was the then immediate past Secretary to the State Military Government under Gen. Sani Abacha regime.

IN the first three chapters of this book, I alluded to the role of Ifa divination and Ifa priests in various rituals in the sacred city, especially those relating to the resolution of the conflicts between Oduduwa and Obatala. I will devote this chapter to the place of Ifa divination and the Ifa deity in regulating and managing the spiritual and social affairs of the city and will introduce the myths and rituals of Orunmila, also known as Ifa, the Yoruba god of divination; Ifa divinatory practices; and the religious, ethical, and thought systems espoused in the rich Ifa divination texts, otherwise known as ese Ifa or Ifa divination poetry.

The Imagined Sacred City
THE Portuguese image of Ile Ife: The Europeans saw Ile-Ife as the preeminent city-state and as an important ceremonial centre in what was then often referred to as “the Negro world.” The seafaring Portuguese, the first Europeans to explore the coast of West Africa, arrived in the fifteenth century. Although they had heard much about the city of Ile-Ife, their inability to access interior forested regions made contact very difficult. However, the Portuguese recorded their impressions of the importance of this ancient city, especially of its artistic and historical relationship and connection to the kingdom of Benin, with which the Portuguese had earlier contact.

Jacob K. Olupona, scion of an Anglican priest, winner of Nigerian National Order of Merit Award (NNOM), Professor of African Religious Tradition, African and African American Studies at Harvard University unveils the mysteries of Ile-Ife and the Yoruba history, cosmos and the deities in a new book CITY OF GODS: Ile-Ife in Time, Space and the Imagination, Thursday at NIIA, Lagos. We publish exclusive excerpts of this Yoruba book of identity.

Jacob K. Olupona, scion of an Anglican priest, winner of Nigerian National Order of Merit Award (NNOM), Professor of African Religious Tradition, African and African American Studies at Harvard University unveils the mysteries of Ile-Ife and the Yoruba history, cosmos and the deities in a new book CITY OF 201 GODS: Ile-Ife in Time, Space and the Imagination, Thursday at NIIA, Lagos. Here is a tip of what to expect tomorrow as Vanguard publishes exclusive excerpts of this Yoruba book of identity.

Paul Ogbebor wrote, among other things, of his battle to gain admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy-‘The Great Quest.’

“In my passion for enhanced military knowledge, I had in London in 1987 bought a book on the British Royal Military Academy at sandhurst: A Documentary by Michael Yardley, which I completed reading during my flight between London and Lagos. The knowledge about Sandhurst coupled with that gained during my 1971 study visit to the United States Military Academy at West Point gave me the incentive to write a book on the Nigerian Defence Academy at Kaduna.” With these words, Paul Ogbebor opens his knowledge box on Nigeria’s elite military academy and the Indian and British connections. The first in this two-part book serial.