Mercedes-Benz E-Class offers best of luxury ahead 2017

AHEAD of debut in 2017, Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been described as a car to patiently wait for, as it promises to offer potential that goes beyond what any other car will offer in terms of luxury and unmatched technological features.
The sedan, slated to debut at the 2016 Detroit auto show, comes with more sensors, cameras, and radar units that will enable drivers to park their car without being in it, talk to other cars, see the night as if it were day, read traffic signs, and transform a smartphone into a key.
The car won’t be completely autonomous, meaning a person is going to have to sit in the driver’s seat, but the car is expected to demonstrate how much safer the world could become.
Director of Driver Assistant Systems and Active Safety at Mercedes, Michael Hafner, said: “The potential of the new E-Class goes beyond what any other car will offer.”
Mercedes promises to move the technology quickly through its lineup in much the same way that all the S-Class features that arrived two years ago have already proliferated through Mercedes’ other vehicles.
The expanded Intelligent Drive already brings drivers closer to autonomy. A Mercedes with adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist will adjust a car’s speed, keeping the vehicle between the lines as it flies down the highway. The system is so good that there are times when the car has to remind the driver to put his or her hands back on the wheel.
The car can automatically adjust to the highway’s speed limit using either its cameras to read road signs or the navigation system to mark the speed limit based on the vehicle’s location.
Additionally, Mercedes’ Active Brake Assist uses the car’s radar system to detect other vehicles and judge whether they are slowing down or speeding up and then warn the driver of a pending collision or initiate the brakes.
The car’s processor, which is continuously evaluating situations, can determine if the driver needs to take evasive manoeuvres and, if an accident is imminent, prepare the driver for impact. Humans take seconds to make a decision but the car can do it milliseconds, which is the difference between a close call and a call to your insurance agent.
Among the most pronounced features of the upcoming luxury class that have been making the rounds on the internet is its autonomous Park Pilot, which allows the owner to park the car via remote control.
It is actually the same feature as that of the BMW 7 Series so the one in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is officially the second in the world although there are reported testing already being done on self-driving vehicles since last year, most notably by Google and Apple. What the Park Pilot feature of the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class is just a baby step for the supposed self-driving vehicles of the future.
The 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class has been undergoing test runs as of late and many spy shots have come out of it on the road. There are also snapshots of the luxury sedan without disguise and those have become the subject of scrutiny by car experts.
While many motoring enthusiasts think that the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class is just a refined copy of the S-Class and the C-Class, the upcoming luxury sedan has distinguishing features actually, notes Auto Evolution.

BlackBerry’s upcoming Priv Android handset specs and release date

Earlier today, the folks at CrackBerry reported they’ve (a curious BB fan) spotted the specs and release date of BlackBerry’s first Priv Android phone right from the Canadian’s webpage. And while that may have not held much claims to follow-up, the specs found has however been confirmed. Thanks to another spotter who found the device already up for preorder at £580 for the SIM-free model on Craphone Warehouse’s retail site.

The Priv specs detailed on Carphone Warehouse listed just the same features the CrackBerry folk earlier found.

Reported to arrive on November 16, the company’s Android phone boasts some powerful specs. It’s equipped with a 5.4-inch plastic AMOLED 2,560 x 1,440 resolution display screen and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor clocked at 1.8Ghz including a 3GB RAM, 32GB on-board storage and expandable microSD card slot capable of holding up to 2TB.
Just as we reported weeks back, the BlackBerry Priv device comes with a 18MP and 2MP rear and front facing camera respectively. The rear shooter is capable of shooting 4K videos at 30 frames-per-second and the front selfie taker putting a f/2.8 lens can record 720p videos.
Not to forget, BlackBerry Priv Android phone is already available for preorder from UK retailer
Carphone Warehouse

[Via: Engadget ]

Image: CrackBerry

EFCC Arraigns Businessmen for Failure to Declare $5.3m

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arraigned two business men before the Federal High Court (FHC) for failure to declare a combined sum of five million, three hundred thousand dollars ($5.3 million).
The first accused, Mr. Ojukwu Nnamdi Rowland, was arraigned before Justice Ibrahim Buba of the FHC, Lagos on one count charge bordering on bulk cash movement and money laundering.
Rowland was alleged to be in possession of two million, nine hundred and seventeen thousand, two hundred and seventy two dollars ($2,917,272), which he failed to declare to the authorities when he was arrested at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), en-route to China.

Details later

Golden Eaglets go for pound of flesh against Croatia

THOUGH already through to the Round of 16 at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015, the Golden Eaglets say they are ready for revenge when they meet Croatia at the Estadio Francisco Sanchez Rumoroso in Coquimbo today.
As recent as September 6, Croatia beat Nigeria 3-2 in an acrimonious encounter at the 2015 Suwon U-17 Invitational Tournament in Korea but the Golden Eaglets reckoned it would be payback time today.
“We were unlucky against Croatia in Suwon because we were leading them 2-1 until few minutes to the end of the match,” recalled defender John Lazarus.
“They got a penalty to equalize and the winning goal later and that stopped us from winning the tournament .
“We won’t allow that to happen against us on Friday and we will  work harder to win,” added the diminutive defender, who was in the U-13 National Team that won the London International Youth Tournament in 2010.
Midfielder David Enogela, who made his international bow at the youth level against Croatia in Suwon after coming on as a second half substitute for captain Kelechi Nwakali, said the Golden Eaglets must be at their best against the combative Europeans.
“We saw in Suwon how physical they (Croatia) can play and I agree with Lazarus that they  were unlucky to have beaten us ,” he said. “We are going to ensure that they don’t beat us on Friday and that means we have to be at our best, because they need the result more than us. “
The two matches in Group A would be played simultaneously today at 12:00 midnight Nigerian time (8:00pm local Chilean time) with the three other teams needing a win to have a realistic chance of progressing to the Round of 16 along with Nigeria.

Host Chile who have one point along with USA would slug it out at Estadio Sausalito while Croatia with two points from two matches confront the Golden
Eaglets in Coquimbo.

The Golden Eaglets would be without defensive midfielder, Udochukwu Anumudu, who was booked against USA and Chile, as well as striker Funsho Bamgboye, who saw red against Chile on Tuesday.

The Golden Eaglets left Vina der Mar for Coquimbo on Wednesday ahead of their last Group A match against Croatia.
A Nigerian, Mr. Nojeem Igeola Hassan was delighted to welcome the team at their new abode at Hotel De La Bahia.
“I’m so happy to welcome you here and I’m really impressed with the boys’ performance against Chile on Tuesday,” he said.
“The Chileans never believed an African team would play like that against them. You really made me proud,” he added.

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CFAO launches vehicles to capture market share in Nigeria

CFAO Motors Nigeria Limited has unveiled set of new Mitsubishi Fuso trucks with the intention of providing customers with a range of options as well as expanding its market share in West Africa.
Besides, the organisation has revealed that it would tap into the Federal Government’s automotive policy by building an assemblage plant which is expected to roll out about 2,000 trucks yearly.
Speaking at the unveil in Lagos on Monday, the firm’s Head of Regional Centre Africa, Rajaram Krishnamurthy, said: “Nigeria is one of our strategic markets in West Africa, and we intend to significantly increase market share for our Mitsubishi Fuso brand in close cooperation with our local distributor.
According to the organisation’s Managing Director, Thomas Pelletier, the event which also had in attendance, Director of Sales Africa, Fuso, Ilan Elad, Director Equipment CFAO Automotive Equipment and Services West Africa, Frederic Nonet, Managing Director CFAO Automotive Equipment and Services Nigeria, Thomas Pelletier, General Manager CFAO Equipment Nigeria, Fabrice Claire and Head of sales Fuso, CFAO Equipment, Idris Siyaka was part of initial to expand the company’s reach.
The firm said: “Today’s milestone represents another successful launch for Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, under its continual growth offensive in Africa following the recent launches in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Mozambique”.
Pelletier stated that the organisation was determined to offer customer best quality by introducing outstanding products which would give value to buyers’ investment, adding that firms was not only interested in selling vehicles but offer a robust after sale services that would assist customers maintain their vehicles.
“These newly launched robust Mitsubishi Fuso trucks will help to further strengthen our portfolio and offer more choice for our customers in Nigeria,” he said.
The new vehicles consist of light-medium-duty (GVW 9-16 tonnes referred to as ‘FA’/‘FI’ and FK’/FM) and the medium-heavy-duty (GVW 25 tonnes referred to as ‘FJ’).
According to the firm, the light-medium-duty FA and FI trucks are based on Daimler Trucks technical platform – Fighter medium-duty truck on the chassis and the Canter light-duty truck on the cabin – incorporating a newly developed 4D37 diesel engine and a six-speed manual transmission.
“The medium-heavy-duty FJ based on Daimler trucks technical platform – Mercedes-Benz Axor chassis and cabin – incorporates a newly developed 6S20 diesel engine (Displacement: 6,373 cc, Output: 170 kW (810 Nm)/205 kW (1,100 Nm) and a six- or nine-speed manual transmission.”

West Africa Container Terminal Boost Trade At Onne Port After N29bn Investment

Onne Port in Rivers State, South-south Nigeria is seeing new heights in trade, with China leading with at least three vessels calling at the port weekly after one of the concessionaires, West Africa Container Terminal invested N29 billion in port infrastructure.
The company said the huge investment is one of the ways it was helping to positively impact on trade and economic activities in Nigeria by increasing the competitiveness of the port and making it attractive for shipping lines to sail directly from Asia, particularly China, America and Europe to Onne with vessels as large as 4000 containers capacity.
“This has had a direct impact on the cost of goods as compared to past. This was achieved by a N29 billion investment made by the company in terms of yard capacity, introduction of sophisticated cargo handling equipment and electronic solution for invoicing and payments, reducing vessel waiting time, dwell times and above all reducing the number of days for containers to arrive Nigerian markets from the origin of shipment,” said Mr Martin Jacob, managing director of WACT.
Jacob concurred to the fact that the Onne Port was now more competitive with an average of three direct vessel calls per week from China especially which has grown by 22 per cent year on year since 2011. This is attributed to the visible investment and development being made in the terminal.
He also said that the WACT Onne is a one- stop- shop business environment that houses shipping lines and government agencies within the terminal to reduce travel time for customers and increase the ease of doing business in WACT.
“West Africa Container Terminal is determined to becoming the new hub of economic activities in Nigeria, being the gateway to major markets in Onitsha, Kano, Abuja, Nnewi, Enugu, Aba, Ogidi and Port Harcourt which will in-turn boost the nation’s economy. Hence our resolve to keep investing and increasing the competitiveness of the WACT so that larger ships can call the port directly and importers don’t have to travel hundreds of thousands of miles to collect their goods when they can easily do that in Onne,” he said.
WACT is also planning to begin a Roll on-Roll Off (RoRo) service where vehicle importers can clear their car in Onne and also increase stacking area by 100,000 sqm.

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Nigeria Hires S’African Mercenaries Again to Battle Boko Haram

As the Nigerian military races to meet the December deadline given it by President Muhammadu Buhari to flush out Boko Haram insurgents, the country has again hired mercenaries to combat the terror group, senior military sources have revealed.
The mercenaries, estimated at around 250 personnel and hired from South Africa-based private contractor Specialised Tasks, Training, Equipment and Protection (STTEP), are being deployed along with fighter jets in Operation Fire Force, a source at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said on the condition of anonymity.
“The mercenaries have been re-engaged and their platforms are being deployed,” the source said. “By platforms, I mean fighter jets, helos (helicopters), coms (communication), surveillance, medics, etc.”
STTEP includes veterans from the South African apartheid era who will work with and train a Nigerian strike force, according to the source.
Another army source confirmed the development to the Turkish news agency, Anadolu Agency. “There is definitely something happening in that direction,” the source said.
According to STTEP’s official website, the company’s trainers and advisers are drawn from “conventional, clandestine, and covert units of the pre-1994 South African Defence Force”.
It claims to have a proven track record of success in Africa, the Middle East, the Far East and Central and South America.
The same group STTEP was hired by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in January to fight the insurgents, but was described as “shameful” during the March 2015 election campaign by Buhari.
Buhari, a retired general, said the practice represented the depth of weakness of the Nigerian Army.
Asked why the Buhari administration was again deploying mercenaries, the DHQ source said it appeared to be the most practical option if headway was to be made against militants whose guerilla tactics are new to the Nigerian military.
Nigeria claimed significant success against the militants in the run-up to the March election, with some analysts crediting the mercenaries.
According to the DHQ source, the Buhari administration initially terminated the mercenary contract because it was “opaque and without accountability”. However, a new agreement was reached to boost the counterinsurgency operation.
“As it stands now, huge amounts of monies are owed to the contractors as fulfillment for the previous engagement,” the DHQ source added. “So they are starting a new engagement for an initial period of three months. As for their outstanding balances, investigations are being carried out to ensure everything is above board.”
The Nigerian military did not respond to Anadolu Agency’s request for comment.
However, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu denied that government was engaging mercenaries again.
“It is true that the previous administration hired South African mercenaries to fight Boko Haram,” he said. “They, however, left with the government that brought them.”
“Since coming into office, this government did not have any engagement with mercenaries of any kind and there are no plans to do so.”
Siphiwe Dlamini, a spokesman for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), said his country did not have any troops in Nigeria but could not say if private mercenaries were operating there.
“I wish to reiterate there are no SANDF personnel in Nigeria fighting Boko Haram,” he told Anadolu Agency. “If there are South Africans who are there as you allege, they are not our members but private citizens.”
“I cannot comment on what private citizens are doing in any part of the world.”
STTEP did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Earlier this year, South Africa’s Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula issued a stern warning to South African mercenaries, saying they had no business in Nigeria and should be arrested on their return.
“Now that the matter has been brought to our attention, it is (up to us) to verify that information as the government,” she told broadcaster SABC at the time. “The police have a responsibility to make sure that when they come back these people are arrested.”
South African law forbids its citizens from participating in foreign wars. Most South African mercenaries are believed to be soldiers who fought for the apartheid regime.
The Nigerian Army has spoken about impending military deployments against Boko Haram, saying in a statement over the weekend that the country's sovereignty was under threat.
“The next few days would be crucial to the operation Lafiya Dole (Peace by Force),” the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said in a message to troops. “It is also crucial to our country Nigeria. Our sovereignty as a nation is threatened.”
“The Nigerian army and indeed the military as the symbol of our nationhood are being challenged. Our ability to stand and defeat the Boko Haram terrorists in the next few weeks will determine the future of our country.”
The use of mercenaries is not a new phenomenon in Nigeria’s conflicts. Hundreds of French mercenaries fought on the side of Biafran rebels against the Nigerian army in the late 1960s.
The country also hired mercenaries to weaken Boko Haram between February and early April 2015 when the army rolled back much of the militants’ advances.
However, the government claimed the mercenaries only operated as instructors.
Meanwhile, the federal government has arraigned five suspected members of the Boko Haram sect at the Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly masterminding the Nyanyan and Kuje bombings early this month, resulting in the death of scores and injuring several others.
The accused persons – Abdulazeez Muhazab, Ishaka Salihu, Mohammed Jimoh, Abdulwaheed Nasiru and Abdullahi Nasiru – are being tried on five-count terrorism-related charges before the presiding judge, Justice Abdulkadiri Kafarati.
The prosecuting counsel, Mr. Mohammed Saidu Diri, at the trial on Thursday slammed the accused persons with conspiracy, contrary to Section 17 of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, for acts of terrorism contrary to Section 2(a) of the same Act, for acting preparatory to an act of terrorism contrary to Section 2(b) of the same Act, and accessories to an act of terrorism contrary to Section 2(g) of the same Act.
The prosecution also alleged that 12 ready made bombs and bomb making devices comprising 27 detonators, aluminium powder, hexomine, hydrogene peroxide, sulfur powder, sodium oxide plus nitrate, soldering wire, sodium carbonate, thermometers, PH litmus paper and a bag of fertiliser were found in their possession on October 6.
The accused persons however pleaded not guilty to the charges except Mohammed Jimoh who pleaded guilty to count five only.
Diri, who is the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, told the court that the investigation into the alleged crime had been completed and that his team was ready for prosecution.
He asked Justice Kafarati for an adjournment to enable him assemble his witnesses and exhibits to be tendered during the trial.
An attempt by the defence lawyer, Nureni Suleiman, to apply for bail of the accused person orally was unsuccessful.
Suleiman also clarified that one of the accused who pleaded guilty “was not properly informed; the way the charges were read to him seemed not to be clear to him”.
According to him, “Pleading guilty is not a big deal, because this is a capital offence and he can still withdraw it.
“I am just getting involved in the matter and have not been properly briefed and that is why I requested that they be transferred to Kuje Prisons where I can have access to them.
“Also, one of the guys said he is an armed robber, saying he was actually locked up before the explosion.”
Justice Kafarati adjourned the trial to November 17 and 24 this year.
He also ordered that the accused persons be moved from police custody to Kuje prison.

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Why Do Some People Get Déjà Vu More Often Than Others?

Many of us know the feeling: You'll be going about your day, minding your own business, folding some laundry—nothing out of the ordinary, when suddenly a sensation of familiarity washes over you, and you're completely aware that it's happening: I've been here before.
Except you haven't. Or have you?
You might try to think back and pinpoint when you'd experienced this moment before. But just as quickly as the feeling hits you, it's gone.

Did you predict the future?
Were you seeing something from a past life?
What is déjà vu, anyway?

The phenomenon of déjà vu (French for "already seen") is, scientifically, pretty poorly understood, but there are a few theories:

Déjà vu may be the result of some sort of "mismatch" in how we're simultaneously sensing and perceiving the world around us. Perhaps we smell something familiar, for example, and our mind is instantly transported to the first time we smelled it. (It's a vague theory, though, and doesn't explain why most déjà vu episodes don't reflect true past events.)

Déjà vu may be a fleeting malfunctioning between the long- and short-term circuits in the brain. The information our brain takes in about its surroundings may "shortcut" its way straight to long-term memory, bypassing typical storage transfer mechanisms, so when we have a moment of déjà vu, it feels as though we're experiencing something from our distant past.

A region of the brain called the rhinal cortex , involved in detecting familiarity, may be inexplicably activated without actually activating memory (hippocampal) circuits. That may explain why déjà vu episodes feel so non-specific when we try to figure out where and when we had previously experienced a particular moment. In fact, some patients with epilepsy reliably experience déjà vu at the beginning of a seizure.

For these individuals, experimental stimulation of the rhinal cortex — and not so much the hippocampus itself — induces déjà vu.
Déjà vu is estimated to occur in 60-70% of us, most commonly in those between the ages of 15 and 25. Why? We have no idea. Interestingly, though, I had previously written about déjà vu years ago out of my own curiosity on the matter, having experienced it fairly frequently. I'm now 26, though, and can't remember the last time I had an episode.

Are any of these theories correct? We may never know. After all, since episodes of déjà vu are completely unexpected—not to mention, for most of us, extremely rare—real empirical research on the topic is next to impossible.

What are your experiences with déjà vu?

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Asset declaration: Saraki’s trial stalled as tribunal fixes Nov 5 for hearing

The trial of the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over alleged false declaration of assets was yesterday stalled due to the pending judgement of the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division had on Monday adjourned indefinitely judgement in an appeal filed by Saraki seeking to stop his trial.

The Federal Government had last month arraigned Saraki before the tribunal on a 13-count charge bothering on false assets declaration. Saraki, though pleaded not guilty to the charge, approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the tribunal to try him.

At the resumed hearing yesterday, Saraki arrived at the tribunal at 9:57a.m. wearing a cream colour ‘agbada’ with cap to match in the company of about 34 other senators including the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. All the senators including the Senate President came in four coaster buses with registration number ‘NASS MGT’.

However, the tribunal resumed at 10:46a.m. to commence the business of the day. After announcing appearance, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) noted that it was proper and procedural for the accused person who is present in court to stay in the dock while the trial proceeds.

Counsel to accused person, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), however, opposed the submission but rather urged the court to take judicial notice of the fact that there is a pending appeal before the Court of Appeal, hence the tribunal lacks the power to continue with the trial. In a short ruling, the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar held that the accused person should enter the dock, after which any other application can be made.

It was at this point that the Senate President moved into the dock and was given a chair to sit. Jacobs, however, informed the court about the pendency of the judgement at the Court of Appeal, noting that it will be a sign of respect to the appellate court for the prosecution to wait for its judgement before any other thing could be done on the matter.

He, therefore, prayed the court to adjourn for two weeks. Magaji, however, opposed the application for two weeks adjournment, he consequently prayed the court to adjourn sine dine pending the judgement of the Court of Appeal. Delivering a short ruling, Justice Umar held that the adjournment will be for two weeks.

According to him, “the fact that the Court of Appeal adjourned indefinitely cannot make us here to also adjourn indefinitely. If we do so, the defendant may go and relax and we want defendant to be on his toes.

“The tribunal is therefore adjourned till November 5 and 6 for report from Court of Appeal and possibly hearing.” At the Appeal Court, Saraki through his team of lawyers led by J.B Daudu (SAN) contended that the CCT erred in law by proceeding with the trial with two members instead of mandatory three as provided by the constitution.

He argued that the composition of the tribunal during the trial of Saraki violated paragraph 15(1) of the 1999 constitution by sitting with two members instead of three and asked the court to nullify the CCT proceedings of last month due to lack of quorum.

The appellant counsel disagreed with the arguments of the Federal Government counsel, Jacobs, that the Interpretation Act can be used to resolve the constitutional logjam since the constitution was silent on the quorum for the tribunal membership. Daudu insisted that the Interpretation Act cannot override the constitution being the supreme law and the Act being inferior to the constitution.

He also argued that the tribunal was wrong in assuming criminal jurisdiction against the Senate President when it was not a superior court of record. Daudu, who cited several authorities, submitted that the tribunal cannot assume concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal High Court, adding that the CCT was by law inferior to the Federal High Court.

He, therefore, urged the Appeal Court to nullify the proceedings of the tribunal against Saraki and to also set aside the criminal charges filed against him by the Federal Government on account of being illegal and unlawful.
However, opposing the submissions of Saraki’s counsel, the Federal Government through Jacobs asked that the appeal case be dismissed for lacking merit.

Jacobs told the threeman appeal court panel that the constitution was silent on the quorum of the tribunal membership. He urged the court to invoke the Interpretation Act to resolve the issue in favour of the respondent.
The respondent counsel also submitted that the tribunal has criminal jurisdiction because of the use of words like “guilty” and “punishment” in the law that established the tribunal.

Google & Etisalat highlight e-Commerce opportunities for SMEs

Etisalat has called on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and startup businesses in the country to embrace the electronic commerce model of business to boost their capacity and efficiency.

Head of Enterprise Marketing, Etisalat Nigeria, Bidemi Ladipo made this call while speaking on the ‘Role of Mobile Penetration in Online Commerce’ at the recent Webmall Connect Commerce Conference 2015, sponsored by the telecommunication company, in Lagos. He said startup businesses and SMEs would benefit immensely from having online presence because it is a cost effective and faster way to increase their reach.

To underscore the huge opportunities in e-Commerce, Ladipo noted that out of the over 150 million active GSM lines in Nigeria, 89 million of the subscribers use the internet with 75 percent of these having access to the internet via mobile devices. “Having your businesses on the digital space offers you lots of advantage; it reduces your overhead and increases your visibility and reach. At Etisalat, we are committed to offering quality of service both in voice and data, and to continuously provide solutions that help enterprises and startups grow and sustainable”, he said.

He also stated that as part of efforts aimed at encouraging SMEs to connect their businesses online, Etisalat offers affordable and fastest internet data service and voice service including the Close User Group (CUG) platform to bring down cost on calls and data usage.
Speaking in a panel discussion, Managing Director, Webmall, Wole Faroun said the digital space offers SMEs and startup businesses numerous opportunities to grow and expand exponentially.

“Three years back, awareness and knowledge about e-Commerce were not as high as it is today; now more people know about e-Commerce although the full potential of the e-business model has yet to be fully appreciated. e-Commerce offers huge potentials than we are benefiting now”, he said.

Head of Business Development at Google Nigeria, Jola Aderemi-Makinde said she was delighted that more businesses in Nigeria are embracing digital applications, and assured Google’s continued commitment in this regard. “Our focus now is to help local businesses succeed online. There are different tools available to SMEs for them to achieve their business objectives. Startups and SMEs should take advantage of these tools to expand their businesses”, she noted.

Police charge 20 pro-Biafra members with alleged treason

THE police have in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital arraigned 20 members of indigenous people of Biafra and supporters of garrulous director of Biafra Radio, Nnamdi Kalu, for conspiracy and treason.

The accused persons, who were arrested in Port Harcourt on Tuesday during a street demonstration to protest the arrest of Kanu, were arraigned before a Magistrate Court presided over by Chief Magistrate S.D. Andrew-Jaja on a three-count charge.

Those arraigned include Benson Sunday; Emmanuel Ali; Ukeme Monday; Chibuzor Eechina; Charles Eze Egbo Okechukwu; Chibona Ifion; John Douglas and Ezenwa Alphonus.
Others are Wori Endurance; Chinomere Nwolu; Henry Eze Friday Uzunwa; Igbodo Abio; Akaniyene Uwem; Eni Iboro; Obinna Stephen; Monday Ocha; Obinna Ibekwe and kingsely Ezengorie.

The police, through its prosecutor, A. A Ajagha, said the accused persons without lawful authority demonstrated and chanted war songs proclaiming the state of Biafra which caused panic in the neighbourhood, instill fear on reasonable grounds with intent to intimidate or cause panic within the state and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 37 (1) of the Criminal Code, Cap C38 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004.

In the second charge, the police said the “accused persons and others currently at large on Tuesday about 1400hours at Ikwerre Road, Port Harcourt in the Port Harcourt Magisterial District did wilfully and unlawfully damaged the Nigerian flag which was hoisted at Zenith Bank Plc and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 451 of the Criminal Code, Cap C38 Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004.”

An application by the counsel to the accused for bail was turned down by the presiding Chief Magistrate who declared that the court lacked jurisdiction to try the matter. He however, ordered, that the accused be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case till October 27, 2015 to enable the counsel address the court on the issue of bail.

Meanwhile, the state governor, Nyesom Wike, has cautioned against insidious actions by anybody or group in the state.
The governor said he was peeved by Tuesday’s protest, warning that such demonstrations will not be brooked by his administration.
Wike, while emphasizing the indivisibility of Nigeria, said the actions of the pro-Biafra members were capable of stimulating chaos in the state.

The governor warned that as the Chief Security Officer of the state who swore to protect lives and property, he wouldn’t not tolerate actions that could lead to breakdown of law and order in the state.