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The cry of Evans: they’ve been beating me, no good food

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Alleged kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike a.k.a. Evans, broke down in tears on Monday before the Lagos State High Court in Igbosere where he was produced for arraignment on fresh two charges of kidnapping.

After initially refusing to come down from the prison van in protest, he was eventually brought into the courtroom by warders on the order of Justice Adedayo Akintoye.

Stepping into the courtroom bare-footed and in handcuffs, Evans, who wore a pair of shorts and a green T-shirt, torn on the shoulder with sand stain on the back, immediately indicated to the judge that he had something to say.

He said, “I have an explanation to make. Since I have been in the maximum prison, they have been maltreating me; no visit, they don’t feed me well, I have eye problem and I cannot see far.”

But he was countered by one of the prison officials, who maintained that Evans was being given the same treatment as other inmates.

“We have been treating him very well; he is well fed and people have been visiting him. A doctor has been checking him; the doctor came to check him yesterday (Sunday) and even this morning before coming to court, because he was saying he can’t be in court, that he is not feeling fine.

“But when the doctor checked him yesterday (Sunday) and this morning, the doctor said he was healthy and that he saw no reason why he couldn’t be in court,” the official said.

But Evans said he was seen by a nurse rather than a doctor.

The counsel for the second defendant, Ogedi Ogbu, told the court that his client, Joseph Emeka, had also made the same complaints to him.

But the Lagos State Director of Prosecutions, Ms. Titilayo Shitta-Bey, said Evans was only making up an excuse, urging the court not to buy it.

“That was the same thing he said before an Ikeja High Court and we wrote the prisons and they wrote us back that he was being taken care of like every other inmate,” Shitta-Bey said.

Reacting, Justice Akintoye directed the prison officials to ensure that Evans and his co-defendants were treated like other inmates, noting that they were still presumed innocent.

On the request of Evans’ lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, who had earlier written to the court, praying that the case be stood down, the judge acceded to his request and stood the case down.

Soon as the judge rose, Evans broke down in tears.

“What have I done to you people? They have been beating me; no good food; I have been locked up in one place since August 30 last year; why are they taking my case personally? Let me face my trial alive, why do you people want to kill me,” he said sobbing.

About then his lawyer, Ogungbeje came into the courtroom and began to pacify him.

The defendants were eventually arraigned on the fresh charges.

Evans was arraigned alongside Joseph Emeka, Linus Okpara and Victor Aduba.

The charges border on “conspiracy and unlawful capture.”

The state alleged in the charges that the defendants conspired with some persons still at large, to “unlawfully capture one Uche Okorafor, on the 21st of November, 2014, at Festac Town, Lagos and demanded a ransom of $2m.”

The DPP said they acted contrary to sections 409 and 269 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011, adding that they were liable to punishment under the same law.

But they pleaded not guilty.

Justice Akintoye adjourned till May 25, 2018 for the commencement of trial.

.Punch

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The Peruvian Government Has Officially Classified Transgender, Nonbinary And Intersex People As “Mentally ill”

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According to the country’s ministry of health, the controversial decision was made to ensure the country’s public health services could “guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health” for the trans community.

It also categorises “dual-role transvestitism,” “fetishistic transvestism,” and “other gender identity disorders” under the same bracket of mental illness.

The new law will change language in the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS) to reflect the view of trans and intersex people as a mental health disorder.

Trans groups across Peru have loudly condemned the decision as a step backwards for the country’s already complex relationship with LGBTQ+ rights.

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Math Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With 2 Students And Getting Pregnant For One Tearfully Reveals The Baby Was Taken Away From Her

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The UK teacher who had a baby with an underage student while on trial for having sex with another teenage boy broke down in court after revealing her newborn baby girl had been “taken away” from her.

Manchester math teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, sobbed to jurors over how her baby was taken “24 hours after being born” this past January — and now she only sees her for nine hours a week, Joynes told jurors on Monday, May 13, according to the Manchester Evening News.

“At the moment I have contact with her three times a week for three hours and that’s it,” she said through tears.

Joynes was arrested and released on bail on orders not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 after allegedly grooming her pupil, known as Boy A in court, by buying him a $430 Gucci belt before bringing him to her apartment for unprotected sex.

She was suspended from school and eventually fired, but soon after, she began having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy, known in court as Boy B, whom she had a baby with in January.

Joynes, who has denied having sex with either boy when they were underage, told the court that when she learned of the allegations against her she had gone to the second boy in a “panic” and he deleted all of her phone’s content.

The former teacher denied having a sexual relationship with the second boy until after he turned 16 and she was already suspended from teaching.

According to her narration,

She said he had added her on Snapchat twice, which she only accepted the second time because she thought he “wanted to tell her something.”

Joynes said a friendship developed and he quickly became her “best friend” even though the boy would make flirtatious and sexualized comments toward her when he was drunk.

She told jurors that it wasn’t until after his 16th birthday that he messaged her saying “I’ve left school now” with a winky face.

After she received notice that she had been dismissed from her job, he went to her apartment, where following an emotional conversation, they had sex.

The two then entered a relationship that Joynes described as “quite toxic” telling the court how the teenager was “very controlling.”

After discovering she was pregnant, Joynes hid love notes for the boy to find around her apartment.

The notes eventually led to a piece of baby clothing that had the words “I love my daddy to the moon and back” written on it.

The court was told that she gave birth to their baby girl in January, but following an emergency court hearing, the newborn was taken away from Joynes.

Joynes has denied two counts of sexual activity with Boy A; two counts of sexual activity with Boy B; and two counts of sexual activity with Boy B while being a person in a position of trust.

Her trial is ongoing.

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First Man To Receive Pig Kidney Transplant Has Died

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The first Man to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died two months after the operation.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which carried out the procedure in March, announced Sunday, May 12, that Richard “Rick” Slayman, 62, has died.

They said there was no indication his death was a result of the transplant.

Transplants of other organs from genetically modified pigs have failed in the past, but the operation on Mr Slayman, who was suffering with end-stage kidney disease, was hailed as a historic milestone.

In addition to kidney disease, Mr Slayman also suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

In 2018, he had a human kidney transplant, but it began to fail after five years.

Following his pig kidney transplant on March 16, his doctors confirmed he no longer needed dialysis after the new organ was said to be functioning well.

“Mr Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” MGH said in a statement.

Xenotransplantation is the transplanting of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.

MGH said it was “deeply saddened” at his sudden death and offered condolences to his family.

Mr Slayman’s relatives said his story was an inspiration.

“Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” they said.

“Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever.

“To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humour who was fiercely dedicated to his family, friends, and co-workers,” they added.

While Mr Slayman received the first pig kidney to be transplanted into a human, it is not the first pig organ to be used in a transplant procedure.

Two other patients have received pig heart transplants, but those procedures were unsuccessful as the recipients died a few weeks later.

In one case, there were signs the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants.

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