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How Four Nigerian Teens Hijacked A Plane Conveying China’s Vice President and Others ‘Because of MKO Abiola’ In 1993

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Background

The clamour for democracy heightened after President Ibrahim Babangida annulled the June 12 1993 presidential election which proclaimed M.K.O Abiola as the winner.

Babangida annulled the election on the grounds of “electoral irregularities”. Before he stepped down from power on the 26th of August, 1993, he set up an interim government that would oversee the transition of power to a democratically elected government…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

The Earnest Shonekan-led Interim National Government had no plan whatsoever to cede power to Abiola and this earned it opposition from Abiola and his loyalists.

During its short stay, the Interim National Government witnessed many pro-democracy protests in the country one of which was the hijacking of Nigerian Airways Airbus A310 by four Nigerian teenagers.

The four plane hijackers
The four plane hijackers

How It Happened

On the 25th of October, 1993, a domestic Nigerian Airways airbus scheduled to fly from Lagos to Abuja was hijacked by four Nigerian teenagers who claimed to be acting for the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD).  The teenagers – Richard Ogunderu, Benneth Oluwadaisi, Kabir Adenuga and Kenny Rasaq-Lawal cleverly smuggled toy guns into the plane and began operation mid-flight.

OldNaija gathered that there were 159 people on the hijacked Airbus 310. As soon as the plane reached about 30,000 feet above sea level, the boys sprang into action. They gained access to the cockpit and one of them announced,

“Ladies and gentlemen, this plane has been taken over by the Movement for the Advancement of Democracy, remain calm, we will not harm you. You will be told where the plane will land you.”

Their initial plan was to divert the Lagos-Abuja flight to Frankfurt in Germany but decided to land in Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic after the pilots insisted there wasn’t enough fuel to reach Frankfurt. The plane had sought to land in Ndjamena, Chad, for refueling but was denied permission and diverted to Niamey.

In 2009, Richard Ogunderu, one of the four hijackers, recounted his role in the incident; he recalled that “the air hostesses were almost stone-dead, gripped by fear. We wanted change. Our action confirmed that when a system is inhumane, it could produce the extreme in all of us.” READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

He added, “I walked into the cockpit and seized the process, and then the others followed me. Two of us stayed back to intimidate the passengers. We took over the plane and asked the pilot to head for another country.”

The young hijackers stated the need to restore democracy and actualize the annulled June 12 election as the reasons for the hijack. Among other things they demanded were press freedom in Nigeria, the trial of all those who collaborated with the military regime, and the dissolution of the present interim government which they described as “illegal”.

Richard Ogunderu with the late Pa Anthony Enahoro, when he (Richard) returned from prison

During the operation, they separated men from women and government officials from ordinary citizens. On getting to Niger Republic, they freed 34 hostages. Those freed included Vice President Rong Yiren of China, said Souley Abdouleye, Niger’s transportation minister in 1993. The Interior Ministry said the people held included Nigerian Government officials and six crew members.

OldNaija gathered that the hijackers gave the Nigerian government a 72 hours ultimatum to meet their demands or else, they would blow up the plane with the hostages. Local and international media were amazed that such an incident could happen in Nigeria, considered an aviation safe haven.

The Rescue

The four teenagers had control of the plane for three days until the military stormed the premises. On the 28th of October, 1993, after Nigerian authorities gave the order to storm the aircraft, the hostages were rescued. The rescue operation left one dead (a member of the crew) and five injured, including one of the four captured hijackers, Richard Ogunderu. With their arms cramped on their backs, they were handcuffed and taken to prison.

Richard and a colleague inside Niamey prison
Richard and a colleague inside Niamey prison

Lawal, one of the four hijackers said they were taken to a prison in a community with day temperature in the range of 55 degree centigrade. “We were poorly fed. We could neither speak Hausa nor French and nobody spoke English to us.”

The hijackers spent nine years and four months in Niamey prison without family contact whatsoever. They were later released in 2002.

 

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Mother left everyone in disbelief after they heard her excuse why she left her baby alone with pit bull only for the dog to chew on the child’s hands and leave her without 5 fingers!

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The young mother, later identified as Chloe, was arrested and charged with neglect after leaving her baby daughter with pit bull. The dog reportedly chewed on the baby’s hand when she left her alone, resulting in the girl losing 5 fingers.

Three of the fingers on the girl’s left hand were fully amputated and two fingers on her right hand were partially amputated. The incident left neighbors startled and in disbelief.

The mother reportedly left her 3-month-old baby alone with the dog so she could take a shower. During and interview with investigators, the 21-year-old mom said that she was feeling ill and put the little girl in her bassinet before heading to the bathroom, per reports.

The woman then turned on the shower and turned it back off again when she heard the baby girl scream. Chloe then found the 3-month-old pit bull puppy chewing on the baby’s hands. She wrapped the baby’s hands in cloth and called 911…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

When the mother found her baby, she couldn’t look at her baby daughter’s fingers because there was soo much bl00d. ‘You never leave a baby or infant alone with an animal. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

You just don’t. Thank God the baby’s still alive,’ neighbor, Kecia said. NBC2 reports the three-month-old puppy that was just brought into the home less than 24 hours earlier after the mother coming across a post for the dog on Facebook.

The mother was charged with child neglect following a four-month-long investigation. Investigators in bringing charges forward said the mother kept changing stories as to why she left the baby alone with the pit bull.

The puppy was quarantined as part of protocol following a bite. The pit bull passed the quarantine and was transferred to the Animal Welfare League.

As the baby recovers with family members, the mother, who posted $7,500 bond, was granted supervised visitation. This incident remains under investigation.

 

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6-Year-Old Boy Left In Coma After Being Sent Home From School With Headache

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Ellis Artist of Clayton, West Yorkshire was living a normal, 6-year-old life when everything went downhill.

One night, Ellis woke up in pain and screaming to his parents, 37-year-old Paul Artist and 34-year-old Sarah Girdwood.

His head and neck were in tremendous pain and he began to vomit profusely.

This all happened after a minor illness, which he seems to recover quickly from earlier that day.

Ellis’ parents rushed him to a nearby hospital, and a rash started to develop.

First, doctors thought it was meningitis, but antibiotics didn’t help and Ellis was mumbling and moaning in his sleep, unable to wake up…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Doctors then performed an MRI scan.

The resulting diagnosis was shocking and horrifying: acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM.

This extremely rare condition causes brain swelling, and Ellis now has repeated seizures as a result.

ADEM is a little-understood disease that can begin from even a small infection.

It causes negative reactions to the white matter of the brain, which then affects the body’s immune system.

The result is a severe allergic reaction that involves attacking the immune system and the eroding of nerves’ protective layers.

This condition tends to affect different people in different ways, meaning it is usually impossible for doctors to provide an accurate prognosis – as is the case with Ellis.

75% of those who develop AEDM are able to recover fully, but the remainder may develop significant impairments and disabilities as a result. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

It is unsure whether Ellis will recover, how severe his condition is, or if he will have any long-term effects from it.

After the AEDM diagnosis, Ellis was placed in a medically-induced coma and rushed to the Leeds General Infirmary.

A week later, another scan revealed that the swelling was no longer just in Ellis’ brain – it was beginning to make its way down his spine.

He was also having mini-seizures due to the brain swelling. But it’s not all bad news – after a while of being on a ventilator, Ellis is able to breathe on his own again.

The Sick Children’s Trust has put up Ellis’ family, including his three brothers, the youngest of which still doesn’t know what is really happening to Ellis.

Ellis, meanwhile, is still in a coma with his parents by his bedside as he receives the 24/7 care that he needs.

It is still unknown whether Ellis will recover fully or not, but doctors are doing everything they can to provide information to his worried family.

It’s expected that Ellis will be at the hospital for at least a couple of months, and will then need constant care at home once he is able to leave.

In order to ease the financial strain, family and friends, as well as Ellis’ school Clayton St John CE Primary School, have been working hard to raise funds for the family.

Ellis is a strong, tough boy and everyone is rooting for him and hoping for his recovery.

A fundraiser for the family with a £5,000 target goal has been set up, and around 92% of funds have been raised at the time of writing.

If you’d like to donate to the cause, you can do so at their JustGiving page.

 

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Did An Angel Save Girl From Dying In Hospital?

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Losing a child can be a devastating event, no matter what age.It is, however, universally agreed upon that it is worse when the child is lost at such a young age.

Sadly, this sort of early death is expected for some families, due to the circumstances that their child is involved in.

Despite the advancement of modern medicine, there are still plenty of children who suffer from severe health problems from either a young age or even from birth. These children are often predicted to not survive very long.

In a way, their passing can be considered them finally having rest and relief from their life, which has been an uphill battle all the way…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>

 

Most of these children and their families, however, find themselves with plenty to live for.

They fight, they strive, and they try to use everything at their disposal to push forward and see another day.

Alas, this is a war, and sometimes, the inevitable happens.

In the case of North Carolinian Chelsea Banton, she wasn’t expected to see her third day.

A premature baby born five weeks early, Chelsea had a major problem – she had to deal with excessive fluids creating pressure against her brain.

The doctors gave her at most 36 hours to live.

However, the baby girl would defy all odds, and would live to grow up.

Her life, however, did not get any easier after that first major hurdle.

The girl would spend the following 14 years of her short life fighting against one health problem after another.

Infections, life-threatening viruses, fluid retention, shunt revisions, hydrocephalus – you named it, she suffered it at some point.

In the fall of 2008, Chelsea was struck by yet another round of advanced pneumonia, which had developed from a bad cold she caught. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

This latest bout of illness seemed to be the last one she could handle – the girl was forced to stay in the hospital for seven weeks, completely dependant on life support.

It was at this point that Colleen Banton, her mother, was forced to make a heartbreaking decision.

In the interest of not prolonging her daughter’s suffering, she opted to keep the ventilator off the next time her daughter was strong enough to breathe on her own.

It was essentially plugging the plug for the girl – by this point, Colleen had decided that should her daughter’s time had come, then there was no use in delaying the inevitable.

While praying with friends and family who had come out to support this mother, Colleen was suddenly called over to a nearby monitor by the pediatrician nurse.

There, her attention was directed to the bright light that had appeared in front of the door to the pediatrician unit.

Astonished, Colleen took a quick photo of it with her camera, then went to check this strange light in person.

Oddly enough, it wasn’t there physically.

A miracle occurred shortly thereafter – three days later, Chelsea was well enough to return home once again.

Colleen is convinced that the figure was an angel who helped her daughter.

Chelsea would then go on to live for another 7 more years before passing away in 2015, at the age of 21.

Her story is one for the ages!

 

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