IT’S the kind of thing that people think only happens in movies!
But for a Bulawayo man movies depict reality as his mother-in-law couldn’t control her taboo sexual urges enough to resist telling him that she wanted a taste of his bedroom skills.

Manfield Nhemachena shockingly claimed he was left disconcerted by his estranged wife’s, Tariro Nhemachena, biological mother when she stormed into his bedroom and allegedly demanded to have sex with him.

Manfield decided to share the hard-to-believe request in court, where his estranged wife was seeking a protection order against him after years of alleged emotional and physical abuse.
“On 17 November my estranged husband Manfield Nhemachena came to my house to drop off the child.

We are on separation pending divorce and according to a court order he is supposed to leave the child by the gate, but on this particular day when I sent my child-minder to collect him (her son), he refused to give her saying he wanted me to come there personally.

“As I was about to go, I was shocked when I saw him already inside the house with the child. He went straight to disconnect the Television set saying he has a right over it since our divorce has not yet been finalised.

“From the lounge he stormed into my bedroom and took my laptop which he bought for me when we were still staying together. When I tried to stop him, he violently pushed me against the wall. He grabbed me by the throat and strangled me,” recounted Tariro.

In self-defence, Tariro revealed that she also aggressively grabbed him by his shirt, causing the buttons to fall off.

“I started screaming and he rushed out of the house with the laptop and I followed him as I wanted the laptop which has personal information. Outside the house, he grabbed me by the neck and tackled me. I fell headlong to the ground and neighbours later came to my rescue after I screamed. For a moment, I blacked out and when I woke up, that is when I discovered that I had sustained injuries all over my body,” further narrated Tariro.

A scorned Manfield, however, hit back accusing his estranged wife’s mother of being a sex pest.
“She is always after fixing me by fabricating stories. She once claimed that I wanted to stab our child with a kitchen knife. As if that is not enough, she also reported me to Justice for Children claiming I had kidnapped the child.

“For the past four years she would not allow me to see the child. She and her mother were controlling me to the extent that her mother once entered my bedroom and wanted to be intimate with me. The whole family is aware of the incident and it is the one that also led me to walk out of the marriage,” claimed a livid Manfield.

With regards to the TV set, he said: “I asked her to give me one since she had two sets so that when the child comes to where I am now staying, he could also have access to TV. She refused and I forcibly took it. Turning to the issue of laptop, she lied to me that it was stolen. When I wanted to collect it that is when she screamed”.
Taririo however, refuted Manfield’s submissions before labelling him a “serial liar”.

“He is a liar. He abused me for years. He once assaulted me and I was admitted in hospital for two-and-a-half weeks. He is such an embarrassment, on the divorce summons he even demands that the table flowers and teaspoons should be shared equally,” retaliated Tariro.

In her ruling the presiding magistrate Adelaide Mbeure granted a reciprocal order which compels both parties to stay away from each other’s premises.

She also stopped unreasonable disposal of matrimonial property before the parties’ divorce is finalised.

The magistrate further ordered Manfield not to physically abuse or threaten his estranged wife.

Defendants in the collapsed Synagogue church building Guest house closed their case at the weekend with the cross examination of their last witness in a Lagos high court sitting at Igbosere.

During resumed proceedings, the court heard that the mode of collapse of Synagogue church Guest House negated the characteristics of collapsed building with structural defects.

Professor Patrick Nwankwo stated this while being crossed examined by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosection, Mr Yequob Oshoala.

Nwankwo, a Professor of Structural Engineering and Construction Materials an expert witness at the instance of Engr Oladele Ogundeji who is facing trial for the collapsed building as its Supervising Engineer was before Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo.

"Any defective building whether emanating from under or over reinforcement, poor constructional materials among others will have a ductile type of collapse.

"That of Synagogue Guest House was too catastrophic and such could only have been caused by an external factor".

Asked by counsel to first defendant, Olalekan Ojo (SAN) what he meant by "the type of collapse", the professor of structural engineering clarified: " if defective or substandard materials were used, the mode of collapse would be ductile and gradual".

He shared in the views of the prosecution that a building with defective structural and substandard materials could lead to collapse.

He however maintained: "different mode of types of collapse is dependent on types of materials used.

"The characteristics of a building coming down on itself is different. If it is structural defect or use of defective materials, the mode of collapse will be ductile and gradual.

"This is not the case with the collapsed Synagogue church guest house. This building has about 12 frames. The frames, beams, columns would not all have collapsed at the same time. It can only happen by some external forces", he said.

While further responding to questions from the DPP, Professor Nwankwo an international expert said he was motivated to conduct investigation on the collapsed Synagogue church building by its unusual mode of collapse, professional and academic concern noting: "Engr Ogundeji is a known competent professional colleague whom I have known over time".

Nwankwo who said he conducted the investigation by visiting the place, asking questions, examining the various investigations already carried out and the technical drawings on the building stated that his reports submitted to the court was thorough in the integrity of the profession".

The European trained expert who had earlier conducted various researches on collapsed structures in the country said he was not involved in the previous enquiries instituted by Corona Inquest on the collapsed Synagogue church building.
Responding to DPP on the Orion Design Software output he faulted on the first prosecution witness against the collapsed building, Nwankwo who is also a Master in Orion design Software operation said what was earlier interpreted from the Orion output was completely wrong because "there's usually a print out of whatever is rejected by Orion software which was not the case here. I used the same 750mm by 225mm and it was not rejected by same Orion design Software as can be seen evidentially in my report. "

Earlier in the cross examination by Mr Oluseye Diyan, Chief Efe Akpofure SAN and Mrs Titi Akinlawon SAN, the erudite scholar and expert in Structural engineering stated there were appropriate international standard codes guiding construction industry and he had examined the collapsed Synagogue church building's structural elements, its design and construction works meeting all the required appropriate codes.

He also revealed that the reports earlier submitted by the witness to the prosecuting counel is mischievous.

He admitted that when a wrong code is in existence, it will affect the conclusion and can’t be relied upon.

He said such conclusion could be termed mischievous.

He admitted the calculation in the report submitted by Lagos state is erroneous and the implication is that exaggerated result will be gotten and the conclusion can’t be relied upon.

He confirmed that since the calculation is wrong, more errors are in that reports findings and as such can’t be relied upon.

He, however, defended himself that his own findings in report he tendered in court Is the required code of practice in Nigeria.

The trial which has been on since 2014 when the building collapsed in which many nationals died has undergone protracted trials with several witnesses drawn by both the prosecution and defendants.

Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo adjourned the case to January 24, 2020

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has directed its enrollment centres nationwide to give preference to applicants sitting for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)/Direct Entry (DE) examinations, for enrolment and issuance of the National Identification Number (NIN).
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board in October had said it will no longer register candidates who do not have the NIN for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

It warned that only intending candidates who have the NIN will be registered, beginning with the 2020 examination.

But the House of Representatives last month asked JAMB to suspend the “no NIN, no JAMB” policy until 2021.

The National Identity Number (NIN) is the nation’s database capturing personal data towards assigning a unique identity to every Nigerian.

A statement signed by the spokesperson of NIMC, Abdulhamid Umar, Thursday afternoon, said the NIMC DG/CEO, Aliyu Aziz, made the announcement at the NIMC Headquarters.

“Pursuant to the collaboration between the Commission and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to make the NIN a compulsory requirement for all applicants wishing to sit for the 2020 UTME/DE Examinations, which is in line with the enforcement of the mandatory use of the NIN as provided in the NIMC ACT of 2007,” the statement reads.

It said Mr Aziz noted that the new policy forms part of the ongoing efforts to curb unwholesome acts and infractions that have characterised UTME/DE exams at the point of registration, examination and admission of applicants over the years.

He advised parents and guardians to guide their wards in carefully filling the enrolment forms to ensure names are arranged properly and the correct date of birth registered.

“Where an applicant is below 16 years, such applicant(s) would be required to provide the NIN of his/her Parent or Guardian and they must confirm that all information supplied to the enrolment officer on the applicant’s monitor in front of them at the point of registration is correct,” he said.

He said UTME/DE applicants are to be accorded special consideration in line with established standard of the enrolment processes that includes capturing of biometric and demographic data of any applicant before the issuance of the NIN and verifying the applicants at the point of UTME/DE registration.

Mr Aliyu said all school authorities and local education secretaries should inform and educate parents and students on the importance of registering for the National Identification Number (NIN) to enable students and applicants sit for the 2020 UTME/DE registration commencing in January.

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! I really wish i could scream my voice across the universe to show how happy of a Queen I am today...There are have been many hurdles but today isn't about so many words. It's been a tremedous year for I have accomplished many of the goals that I set for myself. Your girl is 42��� come click a glass with me � for I am a woman who knows she is a queen.'

Kicking a man when he is down is poor form. Despite his desperate best efforts, Tunde Fowler did not get a second term as Executive Chairman of Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), with President Buhari naming one Mohammed Nami as his replacement on December 9th. So what was it like inside FIRS when Fowler held sway? In many ways it is a cautionary tale for his replacement.

When Fowler was appointed in 2015 there was some relief, even rejoicing, at his taking over the reins from the then Acting Chairman, Samuel Ogungbesan. This was because Ogungbesan, who had taken over from Kabir Mashi, was perceived as high handed and rash.

As soon as he was named Acting Chairman, he quickly set about throwing his weight around and letting everyone know he was in charge. However, anyone who thought his excesses were the worst they had seen was in for a rude shock. (Iron law of Nigeria: No matter how bad things are, they can always be worse). The joy and celebration at his exit quickly proved to be premature once Fowler was in position.

In the euphoria of Fowler's arrival, many missed the early signs of trouble. On the first day he set foot inside the FIRS offices, he turned up with a full posse of armed policemen and plainclothes bodyguards in dark goggles, with loud sirens for added emphasis. He quickly rejected the official Toyota Camry assigned to him, opting for a more befitting Lexus Jeep.

Things only got worse from there. It became increasingly clear that whatever Fowler's strengths were, tax administration was not one of them.

One key failure of the Fowler administration was the absence of a full governing Board to check some of his excesses. Then again, he was an expert at ignoring and circumventing due process so the presence of a Board may have been much of a muchness. If the lack of a Board was the federal government's fault, the total jettisoning of the regular management meetings was all his work. The management meetings used to hold twice a quarter with other emergency management meetings called when needed.

Fowler simply never held such meetings - at most he would randomly assemble the attendees and inform them of a decision he had made. Directors and other senior staff were kept in line under pain of being sent to different locations of the dreaded Training School - a posting to irrelevance and redundancy which often spelt the end of your career. This generated an incredible amount of bad blood when it became obvious that such postings were often done to make room for a Fowler appointee to take over a unit or department.

Alternatively, Fowler routinely created Units and Directorates to accommodate specific individuals he wanted to bring into the FIRS. In this manner, the 'Research and Development' unit was created to be headed by one Dr. Akinfala, a clear duplication of the already existing Planning, Research and Statistics Department. All that Dr. Akinfala ended up doing was something called a 'Business Environment Scan' report which in reality was just a collation of business news stories from newspapers. The Relationship Management Unit was also created and headed by a certain Mr. Eniola.

Their remit was apparently to provide quick response and special services for specific taxpayers in designated sectors of the economy. Yet this is precisely what local tax offices - where taxpayers accounts are actually domiciled - are set up to do. Then there was the Office of the Special Assistant to the Chairman on ICT. There was already an ICT Department headed by a Director before Fowler's creation of this new office. This Director also wore the hat of acting coordinating director of the FIRS IT modernisation support project. Fowler stripped him of this role and handed practically all his tasks to the new Special Assistant (who had no management experience before being parachuted into FIRS).

Where some useful and needed units were created, the way he staffed them meant they never had the effect they could have had. An Efficiency Unit was created and headed by a Director, Faramade Ogunsanya, who had worked with Fowler during his stint at Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS). This turned out to be an overkill as the Unit did not need to be a full directorate. In the end, Mr. Ogunsanya ended up with a big title and barely any work to do. A Value Added Tax (VAT) Department was created and headed by one Arnold Staff who was quickly replaced by a Fowler acolyte, Mr. Adefeegbe. A lady, Lovette Ononuga, was made Deputy Director of the of the department in charge of Northern Nigeria. She had previously been an analyst at a Mercedes Benz dealership in Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom.

The FIRS under Fowler went on a two-year recruitment spree to the delight of no one but the recruits themselves. Employment was for the most part arbitrary (subject to the mood, whims and good graces of Fowler himself) with hardly any due process followed other than obtaining the endorsement of the Federal Character Commission, who needed little motivation to approve.

Fowler didn't stop employing both Staff and Youth Corp members even when it became clear that the financial and logistic cost to the FIRS was unbearable. The result today is that there are FIRS offices around the country where the staff have no seats, to say nothing of laptops or even work schedules. When Fowler took over the FIRS, the organisation had a staff strength of 7,500.

By the end of his tenure the number was around the 10,000 mark. The FIRS had before Fowler stopped taking on Youth Corpers but he resumed this and today there are around 2,000 of them on the books of the FIRS. While the hiring of Youth Corpers is in itself not a bad thing, Fowler effectively turned them into staff members, and paid them as such, even though he called them 'Tax Volunteers'.

Today the FIRS not only have more staff than it needs, and worse, many of the corpers are being owed their pay. As a result, promotions became scarce with the consequent frustration of staff members. Yet Fowler kept recruiting even up to his penultimate week in office.

Unprofessionalism got so out of hand that Fowler's friends (who were not FIRS staff) had the power to present Memos to him for favour's for their own friends in the FIRS, influence postings, sit in on his official meetings, and summon Directors to instruct them on sundry issues.

Still, not everything about Fowler's tenure was bad. Without a doubt, many staff will miss the endless opportunities for partying. The FIRS have over the past three years become one of the biggest sponsors of comedy shows and concerts in Abuja, the nation's capital. Artistes and comedians from Davido to Chuks the General, all benefitted from the FIRS largesse. The jury remains out on what effect this kind of sponsorship had on tax collection.

As things are, Mohammed Nami - himself a thoroughly unremarkable fellow - will be faced with a mountain to climb in dismantling the administrative mess built by his predecessor. There were wild celebrations in FIRS offices and Whatsapp chat groups when it was confirmed that Fowler would not be returning.

But that Iron Law of Nigeria must never be forgotten...

Credits: This post, Fowler's Fouls first appeared in Faye & Fraser Briefing Note on Fri, Dec 20, 2019.

Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, has described as embarrassing, the delay by the China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC) in completing the 10 railway stations along Lagos-Ibadan standard guage rail line.

Amaechi said this on Friday during an inspection of the rail project.

According to him, CCECC, the contractor handling the 156km rail line, reduced the pace of work between November and December.

He said the government needed to meet with the construction company to sort out the issue.

“The delay is becoming an embarrassment and I think we need to meet with the CCECC. We cannot continue like this. The speed has reduced drastically this time, we need to meet with the management of CCECC. We have a problem with CCECC honestly,” Amaechi said.

He also expressed displeasure over the work pace at Agbado, Kajola, Papalanto and Abeokuta railways stations.

He said the contractor had promised to finish the stations within three months.

The minister insisted that the stations should be completed by the end of January 2020, and not by April when the project is expected to be inaugurated.

The minister said three years after the inauguration of the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge rail line, the contractor was still at the site working on power.

The federal government had commenced a free train ride from Lagos to Ibadan in November. The free ride, which is part of the testing phase of the project, will last till March 2020.

No drinks on me: The pair met as managers when Lampard took his Derby side to Old Trafford last season

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has revealed he won't share a drink with Chelsea boss Frank Lampard after Sunday's crunch top-four clash between the sides.

Mourinho won three Premier League crowns across two spells at Stamford Bridge, with then Chelsea midfielder Lampard playing a key role in the Portuguese' success in west London.

The pair have maintained a close relationship, and Lampard said on Friday he has "huge respect" for the 56-year-old but does not want to be a "clone" of him.

The Spurs boss said he would "always love" Lampard but revealed that a hug, rather than a post-match drink, was the only hospitality his opposite number could expect this weekend.

"I don't think [we will have a drink] because our stadium is built in the way that our office is completely on the inside our private headquarters," Mourinho said.

"Until now I didn't invite any managers to go there and I don't think I'll do that with Frank. But a big hug before the game and another after the game, that's for sure independent of results and who is happy.

"I think our feelings will be forever. I'll always be grateful to him for what he gave me as a player. Nothing is going to change that. I love the guy, I will always love the guy. I hope he loses on Sunday."

The pair met as managers when Lampard took his Derby side to Old Trafford last season, but this fixure will have added spice as Mourinho's Spurs can leapfrog their London rivals with victory.

Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5 can authorize its agents to engage in criminal activities, potentially including murder, kidnap and torture, a London court ruled, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new government prepares to overhaul espionage laws.

Judges on the Investigatory Powers Tribunal declared in a majority decision that MI5 has the power to permit informants to operate in criminal groups, even if the policy itself confers no legal immunity. The case focused on powers that were only disclosed last year by then-Prime Minister Theresa May.

“The case raises one of the most profound issues which can face a democratic society governed by the rule of law, Judge Rabinder Singh said in the ruling.

The decision comes as Johnson seeks to update laws to bring them in line with the U.S. in a crackdown on spies, saboteurs and hackers working for foreign states such as Russia, North Korea and Iran. Preventing MI5 from running agents in criminal organizations “would strike at the core activities of the Security Service,” the judges said.

The tribunal cited the agency’s own guidelines to agents and handlers that said the authorization “will be the service’s explanation and justification of its decision,” if the agent’s activities were to be scrutinized by police or other prosecution authorities.

Human rights campaigning groups including Reprieve had asked the court to grant an injunction “restraining further unlawful conduct.” The request was dismissed in a 3-2 decision[/color], which was also the first time a dissenting opinion has ever been published in the tribunal’s 20-year history, Reprieve said.

“The IPT’s knife-edge judgment, with unprecedented published dissenting opinions, shows just how dubious the government’s secret policy is,” Maya Foa, Reprieve’s director, said in a statement. She said the groups planned to seek permission to appeal.

“The use of covert agents is an essential tool for MI5 as it carries out its job of keeping the country safe,” a spokesman for the Home Office said in a statement.