Ice Prince to drop album soon

Chocolate City rapper, Ice Prince, has revealed that his debut album, ‘Everyone Loves Ice Prince' will be released on October 4, 2011. Speaking at a press conference held at the Swe Bar, Lagos Island, the ‘Oleku' rapper also revealed that a super concert will hold on Sunday 9 October 2011 at the Expo Hall Eko Hotel & Suites to usher in the album. "We are going to have a concert like no other because I will be acting out the album and will not only be performing it," the Jos born rapper said. "I will also feature top Nollywood actors in the concert so it will be a wonderful experience," he said. MI, who is also present at the press conference, revealed that the concert is powered by a partnership between Conceptshot and Pearl Entertainment. He said the decision to partner with the companies is because of the fact that they are professional event managers and will help Chocolate City achieve what it wants to achieve with the concert. Chocolate City will be giving lucky fans 10 VVIP tickets, 20 autographed copies of the new album, a Blackberry phone and an Apple iPad to celebrate the emergence of the anticipated rapper. Visit the rapper's faebook page for a chance to win any of these items. In other news, Chocolate City also announced the official signing of London based Disc Jockey, DJ Case,on the imprint. "This is the first time a DJ will be giving an official contract and we are happy to have DJ Case on our record label. He will also perform at the ‘Everybody Loves Ice Prince' concert too," MI said. Back

Kidnappers release expectant mother in Benin

An expectant mother in Benin City, capital of Edo State, Omosigho Osawe, almost gave birth to her baby in the most unusual place, a kidnappers’ den, over the weekend. Mrs Osawe, who was attacked and abducted by unknown gunmen suspected to be kidnappers and was kept for three days by her captors, allegedly went into labour while in their custody. The mother of one, who was said to have already passed her estimated date of delivery, was abducted on her way from a wedding ceremony last Saturday a few meters away from the Etete police station, off Country Home, at about 7pm. It was gathered that the victim, who was driving home in her private car, was believed to have been trailed by her abductors with a motorcycle and two other vehicles from the venue of the wedding ceremony. Family sources disclosed to journalists that three days after she was abducted, Mrs Osawe went into sudden labour, which prompted the kidnappers to hurriedly reach an agreement with her relations, who paid an undisclosed sum of money for her ransom, after which she was allegedly dumped somewhere in a bush along Sapele Road, over 7 kilometres away from her home. In an interview, husband of the kidnapped victim, Osagie Osawe, a businessman, said that rather than waiting for the security agencies to rescue his wife, the family had to consider paying the ransom money demanded by the kidnappers, when they informed him that the life of his wife was hanging in the balance, having gone into labour. He further disclosed that his wife’s car has since been recovered by the police, but that her cell phone which she allegedly abandoned in the car was yet to be found. He was however silent when asked if his wife has been delivered of her baby. “I see kidnapping as a dangerous trend that should be addressed by the security agencies. Security Agencies are sleeping in this country. I think the government has to look into the way out of this security challenge,” Mr Osawe said. Omosigho Osawe was abducted on her way from a wedding ceremony on Saturday at about 7pm

Farouk Abdulmutallab pleads guilty in US

Umar Farouk accused of trying to use a bomb in his underwear to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day 2009 pleaded guilty on Wednesday to all charges against him and warned the United States could face "a great calamity." Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 24, entered the guilty pleas a day after testimony began in his trial. Not-guilty pleas had previously been entered on behalf of Abdulmutallab, who was representing himself in the trial with help from an attorney. Abdulmutallab, who is linked to al Qaeda, pleaded guilty to eight felonies, including conspiracy to commit terrorism, attempted murder and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. He faces life in prison when sentenced January 12. Abdulmutallab told the judge he was fulfilling a "religious duty" and participating in an act of jihad against the United States. He said his planned attack was meant to avenge the deaths of "innocent Muslims" in Yemen, Afghanistan and elsewhere. "The U.S. should be warned that if they continue to kill and support those who kill innocent Muslims, then the U.S. should await a great calamity ... or God will strike them directly," he said. "If you laugh at us now, we will laugh at you later." Al Qaeda's Yemen-based arm claimed responsibility for Abdulmutallab's plot, which also was praised by Osama bin Laden months before the al Qaeda leader was killed in a U.S. raid in Pakistan. In order to accept his plea, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds required Abdulmutallab to make a statement to the court acknowledging the factual basis of all eight charges against him. Abdulmutallab, dressed in a tan African tunic with a Western-style sport coat, began by invoking "Allah, the most merciful." In the statement, which lasted about five minutes, Abdulmutallab said he had violated U.S. law but not Islamic law. "In late 2009, in fulfillment of a religious duty, I decided to participate in a jihad against the United States," he said. He told the court that attacks against the United States like the one he attempted were "the most virtuous of deeds ... but my actions make me guilty of crimes in the United States." Outside the court, Anthony Chambers, the standby attorney assigned to help Abdulmutallab, said the Nigerian had made the decision to plead guilty against his advice. "I would never advise a client who was facing life to plead guilty in this manner," he said. "We wanted to continue on. It's disappointing." Abdulmutallab previously told U.S. investigators he had received the bomb, which failed to detonate fully, and training from al Qaeda militants in Yemen, U.S. officials have said. After the attempted attack, the Obama administration moved to strengthen U.S. airline security by deploying full-body scanners to try to detect explosives that could be hidden in a passenger's clothing. In his opening statement on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel said Abdulmutallab had admitted to "each and every person he came into contact with" that he was trying to bring down Northwest Flight 253 as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam with 290 people aboard. Tukel showed the jury a picture of the remains of the underwear he said contained the explosive device Abdulmutallab tried to detonate. Michael Zantow, the only witness called Tuesday, said he was sitting a row behind Abdulmutallab when he allegedly tried to ignite the bomb. Zantow helped subdue Abdulmutallab and said that after his pants were stripped off, he saw that the man was wearing what looked like adult diapers. "All I know is they were bulky, and they were burning," Zantow testified