Simon Akpaasou's Blog

The organisers of the planned academic conference on witchcraft planned for Nsukka next week are looking for another venue after the University of Nigeria withdrew the approval for the use of its Energy Centre. The director of the centre wrote conference organisers withdrawing the approval, amidst the opposition by Christian students and the Christian Association of Nigeria against the conference. The conference, initially scheduled for 28-31 October is the brainchild of the B.I.C Ijomah Centre for Policy and Research and is expected to hold between November 26 and November 27. It is a pure academic exercise, not a real meeting of witches and wizards, the centre said, shocked by the uninformed reaction of Christian students and CAN. Posters pasted by Christian students on the campus decried the conference. The posters bear the messages: “Say No to the meeting of witches and wizards!!! We are (a) Christian community. Don’t pollute our environment please!” “University of Nigeria belongs

ITALIAN goalkeeper Matteo Voltolini has been suspended by his club after being filmed apparently having sex in a nightclub toilet. The 23-year-old plays for Serie C side Reggio Audace. He was an unused sub in their 2-1 win over Vis Pesaro on Sunday. Voltolini later visited a local nightspot, where he apparently got on famously with a young woman. And an unknown fellow clubber secretly filmed the couple romping in a toilet cubicle, report Corriere Dello Sport. A 15-second clip swiftly went viral after being posted on social media including WhatsApp. Reggio Audace said in a statement: “We announce the preventive suspension from sporting activities of our player Matteo Voltolini for one week. “This is while we wait to learn in full about the post-match events on Sunday November 17.” Voltolini is reportedly now considering legal action, claiming a breach of privacy.

The United States authorities have frozen about $14.2 million in bank accounts linked to companies registered by Allen Onyema, the chairman of Air Peace Limited. Mr Onyema and Ejiroghene Eghagha, Air Peace’s head of finance and administration, were recently indicted for alleged money laundering and bank fraud in the United States. Both suspects strongly deny the allegations and said they looked forward to proving their innocence in court. The charges were first made public by the United States Department of Justice on Friday night. Shortly after the announcement, PREMIUM TIMES exclusively obtained the full detail of Mr Onyema’s indictment, which was not made public by the U.S. Department of Justice. The charges said Mr Onyema used several companies he set up in the U.S. to launder funds and commit bank fraud through issuance of counterfeit letters of credit. Some of the companies’ bank accounts in the U.S. and Canada had been frozen with their substantial balances as part of the inves