"How Our Helicopter Landed On Water" – Bristow Helicopters Release Statement

  Bristow Helicopters has given official details of the accident involving one of its aircraft  today, saying the helicopter actually landed on water.

 In their statement, the company said the helicopter got involved in water landing in Lagos while returning from an offshore platform.

The statement said the nine passengers on board and a crew of two “are accounted for and in the process of being transferred to a nearby installation”.

The statement said, ” Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited, confirmed today that one of its helicopters, was involved in a water landing near Lagos at about 10.25 a.m. local time on return from an offshore platform.

“The aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76C++, had departed on a routine crew transfer flight offshore with nine passengers and a crew of two.

“All persons onboard are accounted for and in the process of being transferred to a nearby installation.

“The company is in the process of collecting pertinent information and will release more details as soon as it is available.”

The Accident Investigations Bureau had earlier told PREMIUM TIMES that crew members and passengers aboard the helicopter survived the accident.

Tunji Oketunbi, the spokesperson for the Bureau told PREMIUM TIMES on telephone that all occupants of the craft survived the accident.

“They all survived, they all survived,” the AIB spokesperson said when contacted for updates.

Mr. Oketunbi later issued the following statement, ” A S76 C++ helicopter marked 5N-BQJ belonging to Bristow Helicopters, which departed ERHA Platform enroute Lagos was ditched into the Atlantic Ocean 95 nautical miles into destination at about 10:20am local time.

“All the eleven souls on board including two crew members were rescued alive. Accident Investigation Bureau AIB has commenced investigation into the occurrence. Details will be communicated to you later.”

The new crash occurred less than six months after another helicopter belonging to the same company crashed in Lagos.

The chopper had on August 12, 2015 plunged into the Lagos Lagoon, killing six of the 12 persons on board.

"My Wife Has Been Poisoning My Meals Since 2008"- Husband Tells Court

 A middle-aged man, Prince Agina, today told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos State that his wife, Obianuju, has been poisoning his meals since 2008.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the union which was consummated on Dec. 24, 2006 in Anambra had been blessed with three children.

Obianuju was also accused of frequent fighting and infidelity by her husband.

"Since 2008, I have noticed that my food was being laced with poison, which has resulted to my deteriorating health; as I am standing here, I'm sick.

"Usually, I travel a lot. On one occasion when I returned home; I noticed that the centre table in our home had broken; when I asked my daughter how it happened, she told me that one uncle broke it.

"This means my wife brings other men into our matrimonial home whenever I travelled because my daughter knows all her uncles.

"She goes out at will without my permission, she does not listen to me as her husband and I don't love her anymore,’’ Agina said.

However, the respondent denied all the allegations leveled against her by her estranged husband.

"My husband has diabetes and hypertension; and he keeps eating those foods that the doctor warned him to desist from.

"Please tell me why he won't be sick always.

"I stayed with him at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for four months looking after him but he did not listen to the doctor’s advice.

"So, how has his disobedience become my fault.

"He married me a virgin; so why will I start sleeping around now, why will I bring men into the house where my children are staying with me.

"He abandoned me and the children for four years when he travelled to Angola and he wasn't sending money from there for our upkeep.

"My family members took care of my children and I throughout the period,’’ she said.

The president of the court, Adegboyega Omilola, referred the couple to the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) office for possible settlement.

Omilola said the couple should appear before the ADR members on Feb. 25, while he adjourned the case to March 7 for further hearing.

Shocking : Six Months Pregnant Woman Brutally Battered By Husband(Graphic Photos)

 Kenyan activist and photojournalist, Boniface Mwangu shared disturbing videos of a pregnant woman being battered by her husband while neighbours watched helplessly. He wrote:

"She was assaulted by her husband in the presence of her neighbours. She was dragged in the house while bystanders watched without helping and the images that follow after she is dragged into the house are horrific, she is bleeding. The man beating is her husband and she is a silent domestic violence victim. 

Her neighbours are silent too. This man would have killed her and the neighbours wouldn't have lifted a finger. The man was arrested but released after the victim refused to press charges. She is six months pregnant, afraid ,jobless and currently admitted at Langata Hospital. I'm sharing this video with permission from her and her dad"

According to Boniface, the victim who is currently admitted at the hospital, had lost a second pregnancy after a previous assault. The police said the man was arrested and later released on bail and will be arraigned in court on February 10. See more below...

Woman's Body Dug Out From Her Grave On Claims Her Husband Had Not Fully Paid Her Dowry(Photos)

 The body of a 28 year old Kenyan woman, Alice Kemunto Bundi was exhumed from her grave on January 27th, a day after she was buried at her matrimonial home in Nyamatoki village, after her family complained that her husband had not completely paid her bride price and had no right to claim her corpse.

The family of the mother of four who was four months pregnant when she died, went to court and obtained an exhumation permit from the Kisii law court. Her family members also argued that they were not informed by the husband on what killed their sister nor were they carried along during her funeral arrangements.

The husband however provided a clinical report which states that his wife of six years died while trying to undergo an abortion.

Her in-laws confirmed that the dowry for late Alice had not been settled. “We had given them [Bundi’s family] one cow and KES 5 000 cash($48), though they were asking for KES 20 000($196),” said one of the in-laws in an interviewed. See more photos below....

Commercial Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Onboard Explosion(Photos)

 A Daallo Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Mogadishu, Somalia, Yesterday, after an onboard explosion shortly after take-off. The Airbus flight D3159 was traveling from Somalia to Djibouti when passengers heard a loud bang before seeing flames.

 At least two people were reported injured by the explosion which blew a large hole through the side of the aircraft. No explanation has been given for the cause of the explosion, but police are reportedly treating it as "suspicious. See more photos below...

Teebillz Gushes Over Wife, Tiwa Savage(See)

 Teebillz who also doubles as her manager, shared the photo and wrote "Damn! Who's dat girl? That's all Mine bih ��... When bae drops one and still look this s--y that's a Majoy�� #Bae #BirthDayWeek #BlessingsOnBlessings"

Arik Air Staff Disappears After Visiting Lagos Lover

 A worker with Arik Air, Grace Utum, has gone missing after a visit to her lover, Ihuoma Amelogu, who lives in the Ojodu Berger, Lagos State.

 According to PUNCH Metro, the 29-year-old Cross River State indigene had left her Ikeja office for her lover’s house on January 1, 2016.

However, her whereabouts had since been shrouded in mystery.

Grace, a graduate of Accounting, University of Calabar, was said to be working in the hospitality 

department of Arik.

The case was reported at the Ojodu Police Division and Amelogu was reportedly arrested.

It was learnt that a mobile phone and a handbag belonging to the victim were found in his apartment on the day Grace went missing.

He was, however, released after police said there was nothing to connect him with the disappearance.

An uncle of the victim, Felix Omini, explained that the family became worried after her mother called one of her telephone lines and a stranger picked the call. He said:

 “Her mother called her that night and discovered that it was a stranger that picked the call. The stranger said the phone was missing and its owner had called him and said she was coming for it in company with a man. 

Grace’s mother called her boyfriend, Amelogu, thinking he was the man the stranger was referring to. But he said he had also been trying to reach her without success.”

Omini said he called 32-year-old Amelogu and together they went to report the matter at the police station.

The victim’s father, Obongha Utum, said Grace and Amelogu had been dating for three years and would have been married, but for a problem with their blood compatibility.

He said:

“The police said we should talk to the boyfriend because that was where she said she was going, but I don’t know what to think. They are church members and were supposed to have been married; but that became impossible after they discovered their genotypes were not compatible. 

We have also gone to Agbado Crossing in Ogun State, where she lived with a friend. We didn’t meet anybody in the house; everywhere was deserted.”

When contacted, Amelogu said he last communicated with Grace around 3pm on January 1.

He explained that efforts to get across to her through her friends had been abortive.

He said:

“We were together on December 31, 2015; she slept at my place. She sometimes stayed at my place because her office in Ikeja is closer to my house in Ojodu Berger. She rented an apartment in Agbado Crossing, Ogun State. 

Around 6am on January 1, she said she was going to the office. We always had a family reunion every New Year at my uncle’s place in Ajah, so we planned to meet there. 

I spoke with her around 12 noon. Then around 3pm, when I was at my uncle’s place, we communicated again and I asked if she was still coming. She said she was rounding off at the office and would soon join me.”

The civil engineer said his girlfriend’s line, however, became unreachable around 5pm and despite calling till 7pm, he didn’t get through.

He said her mother called him from Port Harcourt around 10pm to ask if he had seen her daughter.

“Her mother said she called her and a stranger picked it and said the phone was missing. I was surprised because she (Grace) didn’t call me that she had misplaced her phone. 

I decided to call the number myself, but it was unreachable. I kept calling till 2am, when it was switched off,” he added.

It was gathered that Grace’s family contacted a telecommunication company to track her calls, but they were asked to get a court order.

Access to her bank accounts were also said to have been blocked.

The Arik Air spokesperson, Adebanji Ola, confirmed the incident, adding that the company was working with the family and the police to get to the roots of the case.

He said:

 “Yes, she works with us. She has not reported for duty for some time now and we were told she was missing. The family and the police have been here and we are doing everything possible to support investigations.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, also confirmed the incident, adding that the police arrested Amelogu and later released him.

She said:

 “Necessary police procedure to be done in the case of the missing person has been done. The boyfriend, who was actually the complainant, was arrested and investigated, but there was nothing to link him with Grace’s disappearance, hence his release. But investigation is ongoing.”