Following the new tactics of operation adopted by the Joint Task
Force (JTF) which is tagged “Humanitarian Line of Operation” against the
deadly Boko Haram sect in Maiduguri and Jere council areas of Borno
state, a raid operation was conducted within the metropolis leading to
the recovery of large arms and ammunition yesterday.
Briefing newsmen at the JTF Headquarters along Pompomari By- pass in
Maiduguri, the Field Operations Commander, Colonel Victor Ebheleme
commended the efforts of residents for cooperating with the security
agencies in providing information on the hideouts of the sect members,
which according to him led to the success of recovering the arms and
ammunition .
Ebheleme said, some residents provided information on the hideouts of
some suspected members of the sect, enabling the JTF swung into action
and arrested some members and after interrogation, the suspects revealed
the house of a person (now at large),
During the JTF search of the house 4 AK47 rifles, 1 set of GpMG, 9 RPG Bombs and 11 chargers were recovered in the house.
He added that other weapons of mass destruction recovered from the
house include 1,032 rounds of ammunition, 3 AK47 Magazines and 3 Wooden
Butts.
Also the JTF Field Commander revealed that two criminals involved in
sending anonymous threats through text messages to individuals
requesting for money were also arrested in the state Capital, Maiduguri.
He therefore reminded members of the Public to always report such
threat to security agencies early enough for prompt action, even as he
enjoined them to always give information that will lead to the arrest of
criminals in the state, stating that all information provided by the
general public will be treaded with utmost confidentiality.
In another development, some gunmen laid ambush in Gwange ward of
Maiduguri metropolis and shot dead a banker with First City Monument
Bank (FCMB), injuring one of his friend, while the other escaped unhurt.
The incident it was gathered took place at about 6:45pm when the
deceased along side his two friends were breaking their fast infront of
his house in Gwange, when the gunmen came and opened fire on them and
escaped without being arrested.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public relations Officer, DSP
Gideon Jibrin said, “information available to the Command revealed that
some suspected terrorists laid ambush in Gwage ward on Thursday evening
killing a banker with FCMB, and injured one”.
He said investigation has already commenced with a view to arrest the culprits.
Culled from Vanguard
Saturday 11 August 2012
Iran earthquake kills at least 87, over 400 hurt
TEHRAN,
Iran (AP) — A 6.2-magnitude earthquake killed at least 87 people and
injured over 400 others in northwestern Iran on Saturday, state TV said.
Iran's main news channel said the quake hit the towns of Ahar, Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province at 4:53 p.m. local time (GMT 12:23), also damaging hundreds of homes.
The TV quoted Khalil Saei, local Crisis Committee chief, as saying that 30 people were killed in Ahar, 40 in Varzaqan and 17 others in Haris.
The broadcast said at least 60 villages sustained damage ranging from 50 to 80 percent, while 4 other villages had been totally leveled to the ground.
The TV said at least three aftershocks — measuring 6.0, 4.7 and 4.1 — jolted the same area and were felt in a wide region near the Caspian Sea.
Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one earthquake every day on average, although the vast majority are so small they go unnoticed.
Iran's main news channel said the quake hit the towns of Ahar, Haris and Varzaqan in East Azerbaijan province at 4:53 p.m. local time (GMT 12:23), also damaging hundreds of homes.
The TV quoted Khalil Saei, local Crisis Committee chief, as saying that 30 people were killed in Ahar, 40 in Varzaqan and 17 others in Haris.
The broadcast said at least 60 villages sustained damage ranging from 50 to 80 percent, while 4 other villages had been totally leveled to the ground.
The TV said at least three aftershocks — measuring 6.0, 4.7 and 4.1 — jolted the same area and were felt in a wide region near the Caspian Sea.
Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. It experiences at least one earthquake every day on average, although the vast majority are so small they go unnoticed.
PPolitician’s Son Sleeps on 100 Million Naira Cash Bed: See picture here!
A son of a prominent Bauchi state Politician displaying the wealth his father must have drawn from public funds.
Yet pupils in some part of Bauchi state are still studying under the tree.
$620,000 Bribery Scandal: Farouk Lawan breaks down in tears
Farouk Lawan
Aside reporting to the Police Special Task Force on two times daily basis, or whenever his presence was needed to shed more light on some issues, Farouk Lawan is said to have wept in one instance when it dawned on him that he had been abandoned by his colleagues to swim alone and was neck deep in the bribery allegation and that it will take close to a miracle to escape the consequences.
When the issue of his travelling for pilgrimage ‘Umrah’ came up, the authorities studied his conduct and analyzed his willingness to cooperate with the bribery investigation. In most cases, all the addresses, information needed from him were provided and were found to be true; the only exception being that he regretted that his colleagues in the house, disappointed him when the $620, 000 which he claimed he kept in the house was not forthcoming.
It was gathered however that a specific time frame within which the embattled former chairman would perform his religious obligation and return to the country, was agreed and signed, and failure to keep to the agreement would lead to ‘certain actions’, the source said.
Vanguard was made to understand that up until when the investigation was concluded last week and the report submitted to the Attorney-General’s office for legal advice, Farouk had continued to insist that his colleagues would bring the money to him to hand over to the police.
It would be recalled that Vanguard reported last weekend that authorities of the Special Task Force investigating the $620, 000 bribery scandal concluded the investigation, had written its final report and submitted the case file to the Attorney- General’s office.
Consequently, Hon. Farouk Lawan who has been in the eye of the storm over the bribery allegation, is set to face a 15 count charge of conspiracy, bribery, corruption, and lying under oath among others.
However, contrary to the widely held belief that going by the provisions of the law, the giver and taker of bribe are liable to face criminal charges, Vanguard gathered that Chief Femi Otedola who gave the bribe might be a prosecution witness if the recommendations of the investigation report is approved by the Attorney-General.
While intimating Vanguard of a watertight case file owing to the fact that painstaking steps had been taken to plug any envisaged loophole in the report, sources disclosed that it will be difficult for the defence lawyers to arm-twist both Farouk Lawan and Boniface Emenalo the secretary of the committee from complicity in the allegation.
Vanguard gathered that among new addition to the charges included in the case file, were attachments detailing how Farouk Lawan collected and concealed the bribe monies from both the House Committee on Subsidy probe and the ploy to deceive investigators that he handed over the money to the chairman of the Financial Crimes Committee for safe keeping.
Asked if the non recovery of the hard cash of $620, 000 would not stand in the way of nailing the culprits in the scam, a source said, the Police is very optimistic that even though the $620,000 was not returned to be used as exhibit, there is overwhelming evidence to get conviction for the duo.
Recall that Hon. Lawan claimed in his statement to the Special Task Force (STF) that the $620,000 bribery money was handed over to the chairman House Committee on drugs and financial crimes, Adams Jagaba. Jagaba however rubbished the claim and challenged Lawan to prove how the money was given to him which he (Lawan) has so far failed to do.
Source: Vanguard
“Terrible scene”: 13 dead after lightning strikes mosque
When residents of Dhaka, Bangladesh gathered at a mosque in their
community for evening prayers, they had no idea just how much of the
wrath of mother nature they would be feeling in just a short while.
Lightning struck the mosque on Friday as the worshippers gathered for a
special evening taraweeh prayers conducted during Ramadan. 13 were left
dead in the wake of the disaster, with 20 wounded.
The lightning hit a rooftop microphone being run on power from a car battery and killed the Imam instantly, local council member Abul Kalam told AFP by telephone, adding that “the bodies and faces of some of the victims were burnt.”
“Multiple lightning strikes occurred during a storm when nearly 35 people gathered at a house in the village of Saraswati where they turned a tin roof shed into a makeshift mosque for the month of Ramadan as a regular mosque was far away,” Dharmapasha police chief Bayes Alam told CNN.
“It was a terrible scene,” Alam said. “Dozens were lying on the floor. Some dead, others writhing in pain.
“We took the injured in three boats and headed to hospital in Dharmapasa”, the closest big town, he said. “But it took hours to get there.”
The lightning hit a rooftop microphone being run on power from a car battery and killed the Imam instantly, local council member Abul Kalam told AFP by telephone, adding that “the bodies and faces of some of the victims were burnt.”
“Multiple lightning strikes occurred during a storm when nearly 35 people gathered at a house in the village of Saraswati where they turned a tin roof shed into a makeshift mosque for the month of Ramadan as a regular mosque was far away,” Dharmapasha police chief Bayes Alam told CNN.
“It was a terrible scene,” Alam said. “Dozens were lying on the floor. Some dead, others writhing in pain.
“We took the injured in three boats and headed to hospital in Dharmapasa”, the closest big town, he said. “But it took hours to get there.”
ECWA CHURCH DONATES FOOD ITEMS TO MUSLIMS IN KADUNA
The Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) Gospel Church, Tudun Nupawa, Kaduna, yesterday donated foodstuff to six Muslim communities in Kaduna as assistance for less privileged persons. The items include: bags of sugar, millet, maize, and beans.
Donating the items, Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, the Senior Pastor of the church, said the donation was to assist less privileged Muslims with whom they had been living together over the years.
Nmadu said the gesture was part of efforts to re-establish the long-standing relationship between the Muslim and Christian communities in the area, especially in view of the current security challenges.
Receiving the items in his palace, Sarkin Dutse, Alhaji Shu’aibu Balarabe, said that the Emir of Zazzau had advised the people to live in peace with one another.
Balarabe said there was no compulsion in religion and advised his subjects to live in peace together in spite of their different faiths and to be partners in peace building.
He said it was their duty to protect all the churches and the mosques in the area.
``We have been living together in peace but unfortunately, the crises experienced in the state seem to be dividing us. We know that all the crises were not motivated by religion,`` he said.
The Imam of Tudun Nupawa Mosque, Malam Attahiru Liman, said most of the youths, who indulged in violence, neither attended church services nor observed regular Muslim daily prayers.
Donating the items, Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, the Senior Pastor of the church, said the donation was to assist less privileged Muslims with whom they had been living together over the years.
Nmadu said the gesture was part of efforts to re-establish the long-standing relationship between the Muslim and Christian communities in the area, especially in view of the current security challenges.
Quote
``People
of other communities will learn from what happened today. We grew up
together without any differences, our parents taught us to live together
but along the line the relationship went sour.
``We are here to let the people know that we are one people in spite of our different religions, we love everyone.
“If God wanted us to be Muslims, all of us would have been Muslims, and if God wanted us to be Christians, He would have created all us Christians.
``We are here so that the World will know that we are of different religions but are living together as a people and not as Muslims and Christians,`` the pastor said.
``We are here to let the people know that we are one people in spite of our different religions, we love everyone.
“If God wanted us to be Muslims, all of us would have been Muslims, and if God wanted us to be Christians, He would have created all us Christians.
``We are here so that the World will know that we are of different religions but are living together as a people and not as Muslims and Christians,`` the pastor said.
Receiving the items in his palace, Sarkin Dutse, Alhaji Shu’aibu Balarabe, said that the Emir of Zazzau had advised the people to live in peace with one another.
Balarabe said there was no compulsion in religion and advised his subjects to live in peace together in spite of their different faiths and to be partners in peace building.
He said it was their duty to protect all the churches and the mosques in the area.
``We have been living together in peace but unfortunately, the crises experienced in the state seem to be dividing us. We know that all the crises were not motivated by religion,`` he said.
The Imam of Tudun Nupawa Mosque, Malam Attahiru Liman, said most of the youths, who indulged in violence, neither attended church services nor observed regular Muslim daily prayers.
Fraudsters Have Cloned My Phone Number – Fashola
It apparently shows the desperation to make money by all means.
These are the small crimes, those are the corrupt tendencies that we must all as a nation put to bed.
They are the ones that lead to the bigger crimes. If we focus our attention on the bigger crimes, we will lose the larger picture.
All of these speak to the need for increasing compliance with law and order in every state, every local government, every ward, every home.
All of us must rise up and reclaim our country back from this lawlessness.”
Fashola bemoaned the development, adding that making money through cheap means could halt the nation’s value system .
Source: National Mirror
Gunmen Burn Church in Borno, Pastor Narrowly Escapes Death While Son gets Shot
Gunmen have attacked the Ekilisiyar Yan’uwa Nigeria (EYN) Church, Gajigana, 55 kilometres North of Maiduguri, setting it ablaze, with the Pastor escaping while his son was shot in the leg. The pastor, although within the premises, escaped being hurt, but his son was not so lucky. The son has however been rushed to a hospital where he is receiving treatment.
Shortly after this attack, a banker with FCMB, in Maiduguri, Yakubu Abdullahi was also shot dead at his Sabon residence while his friend was wounded in the leg. They were breaking their Ramadan fast around 7.45pm when they were attacked.
Confirming the incidents, the Borno State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Gideon Jibrin said it was “unfortunate”, and was “saddened” about the incident.
Meanwhile, the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has condemned in strong terms the recent killings of innocent Nigerians in a place of worship, describing it as unwarranted, provocative, criminal and horrendous as well as an infringement on the rights to life and freedom of worship of all Nigerians.
Source: Guardian
Lover plunges to death while plucking fruit for his lover in Calabar
It was a tragic end to a love story for a teacher based in Calabar,
Cross River State, simply identified as Eddy, who reportedly fell from a
tree while trying to pluck a pear fruit for his girlfriend.
The man, who was a teacher at the Federal Housing Estate Secondary School, Calabar, was said to have climbed a ladder in a bid to get ripe fruits for his girlfriend, Vicky, who had come visiting when the unfortunate incident happened.
Sources say, “He was at home on Wednesday afternoon since school vacated last week and Vicky, his girlfriend called that she was coming to the house. When she came, she saw that quite a number of the pear fruits were ripe and ready for plucking and she asked Eddy if he could get some for her and he obliged. But he died while doing that.”
According to the Vanguard Newspapers, the young teacher who lived with his elder brother, a serving permanent secretary with the state at House 2, J Line Federal Housing Estate, was reported to have climbed the pear tree with a ladder which slipped and sent him crashing to the ground forehead first.
He struggled to drive himself to the hospital but had to stop on the way due to dizziness.
His brother finally drove him to the General Hospital, Calabar, where he finally gave up due to brain hemorrhaging according to the doctors. His body has since been deposited in the hospital mortuary.
Source: YNaija
The man, who was a teacher at the Federal Housing Estate Secondary School, Calabar, was said to have climbed a ladder in a bid to get ripe fruits for his girlfriend, Vicky, who had come visiting when the unfortunate incident happened.
Sources say, “He was at home on Wednesday afternoon since school vacated last week and Vicky, his girlfriend called that she was coming to the house. When she came, she saw that quite a number of the pear fruits were ripe and ready for plucking and she asked Eddy if he could get some for her and he obliged. But he died while doing that.”
According to the Vanguard Newspapers, the young teacher who lived with his elder brother, a serving permanent secretary with the state at House 2, J Line Federal Housing Estate, was reported to have climbed the pear tree with a ladder which slipped and sent him crashing to the ground forehead first.
He struggled to drive himself to the hospital but had to stop on the way due to dizziness.
His brother finally drove him to the General Hospital, Calabar, where he finally gave up due to brain hemorrhaging according to the doctors. His body has since been deposited in the hospital mortuary.
Source: YNaija
Thousands gather for burial of Ghana’s President Atta Mills
Late John Atta Mills
| credits: cp-africa.com
| credits: cp-africa.com
by Agency Reporter:
Tens of thousands of people gathered in
the Ghanaian capital Accra to attend the state funeral for President
John Atta Mills, who died suddenly in July.
At least 18 African heads of state,
including Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan and United States
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton witnessed the ceremony in Accra’s
Independence Square.
Mills, who had long suffered from throat cancer, died only five months before he was set to seek re-election.
A BBC reporter in Accra says his death has united Ghanaians in grief.
She says his death was seen as a test for the country’s young democracy.
Mills, who started a four-year term in January 2009, was succeeded by Vice-President John Dramani Mahama.
Ghana has won international plaudits for
the swift manner in which it handled the transition in a nation known
for its divisive politics.
“Today a dark cloud hangs over Ghana,
over Africa and indeed over the entire world,” Mr Mahama told the
thousands of mourners who were able to watch the proceedings on large
television screens set up around the square.
“President Mills was the very embodiment
of what has been missing from our politics – civility, humility in
service, honesty,” he said.
People began gathering before dawn in
and around Independence Square, dressed in the official colours of
mourning – black and red.
Most of the traditional chiefs attended along with their own drummers who pounded out personal messages of grief, she says.
In front of the drummers, dancers performed – the twisting of their hands and arms all had symbolic meanings.
When the military band and cortege
carrying the coffin entered the square, the drumming, praise singing and
warrior songs stopped, our reporter says.
Mournful flutes played while President
Mahama lit the perpetual flame of remembrance for the late president,
who was often referred to as “The Prof” – a reference to his long
academic career – and “Asumdwoehene”, meaning prince of peace in the Twi
language.
The president’s body has been taken for
burial in a bird sanctuary next to the seat of government, the
17th-century Fort Christiansborg, also known as Osu Castle, which
overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.
NIMET alerts of impending heavy rains, flood
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency on Friday said there was a high prospect of intense rains between August and October and advised governments and residents of flood-prone areas to clear their drains.
A statement issued by the agency’s Director General, Dr. Anthony Anoforum, said that states to be seriously affected include Lagos, Ogun, Delta, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi and Gombe.
Others are Kano, Katsina and Jigawa, Anoforum said.
“The rains will leave in its trail devastation and destruction reminiscent of similar incidents recorded in some parts of the country some months ago,” he said.
According to him, the agency has observed wetter-than-normal soil surface moisture and groundwater conditions in some parts of the country over the past 12 months.
“As you are aware, the northern sector of the country will experience peak rainfall during the August to October season.
“The effect of the wetter-than-normal conditions observed signifies prospects of the occurrence of above-normal rainfall which may lead to surface run-off,” Anoforum said.
Fraudsters hack Fashola’s phone
The conmen used the number to send scam text messages to members of the State Executive Council.
They were asked to pay undisclosed sums of money into a Skye Bank account opened in the name of Agazie Stephen C.
Fashola confirmed the development in an SMS to Lagosians on Friday night.
He warned them to ignore any such SMS.
He did not, however, state when it happened
Source: Punch
Court jails grandmother for begging with underage children
The Lagos State Special Offences Court,
Alausa, Ikeja, on Wednesday, sentenced a 52-year-old grandmother, Mrs.
Jemilat Oseni, to three months imprisonment for “using five underage
children to beg for alms”.
Two other women- Mrs. Rainat Ado and
Mrs. Zainab Abubakar- were fined N10, 000 each for releasing their
children to Oseni for the purpose of alms begging.
A prosecutor from the state’s Ministry of Justice, said the acts were “illegal and a violation of the rights of the children”.
The prosecutor, who did not give her name, said, “Four of the children were not hers.
“Two belonged to Mrs. Rainat Ado; one belonged to Mrs. Zainat Abubakar; one is her grand child. Only the last is her child.”
It was learnt that Oseni, who is from
Osun State, was arrested while begging for alms with the children by
officials of the state Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences
(Enforcement) Unit at Seme Border.
The children were put between nine months and 11 years old.
However, both Abubakar and Ado claimed ignorance of what Oseni did with their children.
Ado said, “Oseni told me that she wanted to use the children as cover to smuggle some goods from Benin Republic.
“She explained that the children would make custom officials at the border to pity her and allow her to go with her goods.”
She added that Oseni usually give her some quantity of rice after the trip to Seme.
It was learnt that a worker with the
state Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation saw the woman
and the children at Seme and promptly reported the matter to the task
force officials.
The court also ruled that the five children be kept in custody of WAPA.
Source: Punch
Customer baths commercial sex worker with acid
The Enugu State Police Command on Friday said its officers had commenced
an investigation in a bid to know those who bathed a female sex worker
with acid in Enugu.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday that the victim, who was bathed with acid on August 7, was recuperating at the Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu.
Amaraizu said the victim, who was identified as a commercial sex worker, was reportedly hanging out around Artisan Market, Independence Layout, Enugu.
He said the incident occurred along Ozubulu Street, Independence Layout and was carried out by an unidentified man that used to patronise her as a commercial sex worker.
Source: Punch
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday that the victim, who was bathed with acid on August 7, was recuperating at the Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu.
Amaraizu said the victim, who was identified as a commercial sex worker, was reportedly hanging out around Artisan Market, Independence Layout, Enugu.
He said the incident occurred along Ozubulu Street, Independence Layout and was carried out by an unidentified man that used to patronise her as a commercial sex worker.
Source: Punch
Libyan General Hadia killed in Benghazi shooting
A Libyan army general, with a senior defence ministry role, has been shot dead in the eastern city of Benghazi.
General Mohamed Hadia al-Feitouri was returning home from
Friday prayers when a group of gunmen pulled up in a car and opened
fire, his son said.In recent months, Benghazi has seen a spate of killings of security officials who, like Gen Hadia, served under former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The incident comes a day after Libya's new interim assembly assumed power.
The historic June elections to the body - the first free vote in decades - faced boycott calls in Benghazi.
Some political groups in oil-rich eastern Libya, where the uprising that overthrew Col Gaddafi last year originated, fear domination by the capital Tripoli and the west.
Gen Hadia was one of the first military officers to defect to the rebellion, the BBC's Rana Jawad reports from Tripoli.
He was the defence ministry official responsible for ammunition and weapons.
The identity of the attackers and the motives behind the killing remain unclear, our correspondent says.
Last week, the military intelligence service's offices in Benghazi were hit by an explosion, but there were no casualties.
Source: BBC news
A year without polio: Angola celebrates victory with a vision to eradicate
LAUNDA, 10 August, 2012 – Today, Angola marks a year without a new wild poliovirus case, moving the world a step closer to the final global goal of eradicating this contagious crippling disease forever.
After a concerted effort to stop polio transmission the number of polio cases dropped from 33 in 2010 to five in 2011 and no cases registered in 2012. Laboratory results have confirmed that the last case of wild poliovirus was a 14-month-old child from Uige Province in the country's Northwest in July 2011.
In recent years, Angola has made significant progress in the fight against polio by working with partners to improve disease surveillance, strengthen the quality and coverage of mass polio vaccination campaigns, expand and improve routine immunization services as well as expand access at a household level to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
In the last year, the country has sought to better control the circulation of the polio virus in reservoirs, particularly in Luanda and Benguela, as well as along the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo with steps including synchronizing vaccination campaigns.
"This achievement reflects the leadership and commitment of the Government, who contribute around 89 per cent of operational costs of the polio campaigns. It also signifies the impact of our investment in strengthening access to primary health care services," said Evelize Fresta, Deputy Minister of Health.
"We deeply appreciate the commitment of local, provincial and national Government officials, civil society, international partners and the private sector and the media, who have all played a significant role in achieving this milestone." To sustain the current gains, efforts should be strengthened to improve the routine immunization coverage in the high risk provinces, he added.
The country invested in improving the quality of massive vaccination campaigns, where thousands of health workers and volunteers were deployed to ensure door to door vaccination against polio, including vaccination at crossing points, main streets, markets, water points targeting all children under the age of five.
For the first time in the country's history, 95 per cent of children targeted in these campaigns were reached, according to the post-campaign independent monitoring data from the last nationwide polio campaign from June 29 to July 1, 2012.
"This interruption of the poliovirus circulation is significant, but we cannot afford to be complaisant. These investments demonstrate the importance of building strong primary health care for all the country's children." said Koenraad Vanormelingen, UNICEF Angola Representative. "We have a duty to protect and ensure that all children are born and develop in a healthy polio-free environment, which means we cannot stop until every child is fully vaccinated."
According to the acting WHO Representative in Angola, Dr Jean-Marie Yameogo: "This success is the result of the improvement in the quality of polio campaigns round after round, the high commitment of the Government at central level, the engagement of the provincial Governors and municipal administrators as well as the implementation of the community-based strategy which brought a much bigger involvement of local leaders, NGOs and churches in the campaign preparation and evaluation particularly in the high-risk provinces like Luanda and Benguela.”
Dr. Yameogo also emphasized that the Angolan government took the National Immunization Polio Days over by increasing gradually its financial contribution to the polio emergency plans since 2010.
Angola, which eliminated polio from 2001 to 2004, has been plagued by the re-emergence of this crippling disease since May 2005. The disease has since spread from Angola to Namibia (2006), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2006, 2008 and 2010), and the Republic of Congo (2010).
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is spearheaded by national governments, the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF, and is supported by key partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Since 1988 (the year the GPEI was launched), the incidence of polio has been reduced by more than 99 per cent. In 1988, more than 350,000 children were paralyzed each year in more than 125 endemic countries. In 2012, 103 cases have been reported as of 1 August 2012, and only three countries remain endemic: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Friday 10 August 2012
Stressed men prefer bigger women - Study
British researchers said their study indicates men who are going through stressful times prefer larger-sized women.
The Westminster University team said they separated 80 male volunteers into two groups and submitted one of the groups to stressful activities including mock job interviews and math exams, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.
The researchers, who published their findings in the PLoS ONE journal, said they then showed all of the men pictures of women with various body sizes and asked them to rate the attractiveness of the women.
The men who were submitted to the stressful activities chose a significantly larger body type as the "ideal" than the men in the control group, the research team said.
"The results provide the first experimental evidence that the experience of psychological stress shapes men's judgments of female body size," the researchers wrote. "Men experiencing stress not only perceive a heavier female body size as maximally attractive but also more positively perceive heavier female body sizes, and have a wider range of body sizes considered physically attractive."
The Westminster University team said they separated 80 male volunteers into two groups and submitted one of the groups to stressful activities including mock job interviews and math exams, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday.
The researchers, who published their findings in the PLoS ONE journal, said they then showed all of the men pictures of women with various body sizes and asked them to rate the attractiveness of the women.
The men who were submitted to the stressful activities chose a significantly larger body type as the "ideal" than the men in the control group, the research team said.
"The results provide the first experimental evidence that the experience of psychological stress shapes men's judgments of female body size," the researchers wrote. "Men experiencing stress not only perceive a heavier female body size as maximally attractive but also more positively perceive heavier female body sizes, and have a wider range of body sizes considered physically attractive."
I revoked 8 plots of land and allocated them to my family as FCT Minister – El-Rufai
CPC Chieftain Admits to Land Grab (Naija Pundit)
In a rare show of honesty, former minister of the FCT, Malam Nasir Erufai, now a chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change, has admitted revoking plots from others and allocating same to his family. Elrufai made this admission in a tweet (see below). This tweet may be admissible in court in the case between Elrufai and the EFCC.
It will be recalled that Elrufai is under trial for corruption related offended after he as indicted for abuse of office by revoking lands in choice areas from certain individuals and institutions and reallocating some to his wife ad children including an undefeated child.
In a rare show of honesty, former minister of the FCT, Malam Nasir Erufai, now a chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change, has admitted revoking plots from others and allocating same to his family. Elrufai made this admission in a tweet (see below). This tweet may be admissible in court in the case between Elrufai and the EFCC.
It will be recalled that Elrufai is under trial for corruption related offended after he as indicted for abuse of office by revoking lands in choice areas from certain individuals and institutions and reallocating some to his wife ad children including an undefeated child.
New Lagos Traffic Law: Safety Or Revenue Generation?
Expectedly, the new Lagos Traffic Law has generated a lot of comments, some good, others not so good. The articles that have been written on the Law that came to my notice are Abimbola Adelakun’s column of Thursday 19th July 2012 which focused on the draconian nature of the Law vis-Ã -vis the mostly bad state of the roads in the state and the double standards of our public officials to obeying Laws; Mr John Awe’s very informative ROADS THAT LEAD TO JAIL IN LAGOS published in the Punch Newspaper on Friday 3rd of August 2012 and finally, the Punch Newspaper’s editorial of the 8th of August 2012.
John Awe’s article and the editorial particularly reflect my concerns about the new law. While I agree that something needs to be done about the traffic situation on Lagos roads and the particular lawlessness of commercial bus drivers and even some drivers of private vehicles, my worry, as also expressed by the editorial aforementioned, is the in the implementation of the law.As would have been noticed by all those who read John Awe’s article, its central theme is the absence of signs warning drivers that a particular road is a “one-way” road. Where there are signs however, the signs are either hidden from view, faded, or confusing. An example of a sign that is at best confusing is that placed on the university road that leads to the University of Lagos, the road that John Awe aptly describes as 95% dual and 5% one-way. The sign, apart from not being very visible is placed in such a way that a first time visitor to the area, who happens to see it, will be confused as to which of the roads he should not enter.
And of course, everybody knows by now that as bad as the reputation of the police is, you are much better off asking them (again in the absence of signs) whether a particular road is “one-way” than asking LASTMA officials. I am aware of quite a number of people who have made enquiries from LASTMA officials who deliberately mislead them only to arrest them all because of their desires to be “settled”.
Most drivers in Lagos are only aware that certain roads are “one-way” roads because of their familiarity with those roads. I dare say it will be criminal to criminalise a driver for driving on a one-way road or a road with changing status from one period to another when there are no signs to warn him of the status of the road.
Just last week, I was told about someone who was arrested by LASTMA officials for making a U-turn in a place with a sign that indicated that it was allowed only to be told by the arresting LASTMA officials that U-turn was no longer allowed there and yet the sign there carried the “U” without the red arrow over the U that would indicate that U-turn was not allowed there! Of course, the driver wasn’t allowed to go till some money changed hands. Now, while some people are blessed with the gift of seeing signs that are not visible or in existence, the Lagos State government should please realise that not everyone has this gift and while some of us prefer to remain on the right side of the Law, we wouldn’t want to be criminalised for disobeying when there
are either no signs to warn us or the signs are hidden or at best confusing.
The Punch editorial has rightly pointed out the absurdity of making minor traffic offences punishable by jail terms especially at a time when there are talks and worry on how to decongest the prisons. I have not seen the text of the Law itself and so I am not sure what the Law’s definition of eating while driving is. Does eating mean eating eba and ogbono or does it mean eating gala? And what about those that chew gum, does the movement of their jaws while chewing constitute eating as well?
With the drastic change (for the worse) in the attitude of LASTMA officials in the past year or two that seem to have shifted the
emphasis from traffic management to revenue generation (for both the officials and government), the penalty for violation or perceived
violation may only serve to enrich the LASTMA officials at the expense of otherwise law-abiding citizens. I do hope however that the State
government will take steps to put up clear and visible signs at every possible entrance to one-way roads if really as claimed by Mr Ade
Ipaye, the intent is not to allow people fall victim due to ignorance only so the State can continue to be in the lead as the State with the
highest IGR.
By Adenike Oyalowo
Source: Daily Post
BIZARRE: Herbalists rush for used condoms in Abuja, prostitutes arrested with quantities of sperm
Information has it that herbalists now buy it from most call girls and runs babes in the Federal Capital Territory.
Already most patrons now pick their used condoms from prostitutes, and dispose it themselves so as not to get their sperm that is stocked in the condom in the hands of herbalists.
According to those who should know, many young girls who are now involved in the prostitution business are now willing to go out with men at any cost unlike in the past. They don’t haggle prices with customers because they make fast cash from the sale of the sperm of all customers that they sleep with.
According to some of the young prostitutes, some herbalists do come along from 4:30 am each morning to collect and pay cash for used condoms.
Last month and early this month, men of the Abuja Task Force arrested over 1400 prostitutes out of which over 80percent were caught with used condoms filled with sperm which shocked the Task Force personnel thereby giving credence to the booming trade involvement of the most call girls in the sordid act of selling sperm for money.
Already the business is now a booming one as the girls are in haste to sleep with anyone so far they can be handy with the condoms from such entanglement, thereby earning some thousands of naira in cash as proceeds from their sperm sales.
While none of the young girls arrested and spoken to can give any accurate or clear cut reasons why and what the buyers are using the sperm for, some herbal practitioners confirm it is a ready-made tool for some herbal charm.
Source: International Top News
Senator raises alarm as JTF clamps down on Okene residents
Joint Task Force,JTF increase effort in search of suspected terrorists in the Central Senatoral District of kogi state, as Senator Nurrudeen Abatemi Usman raises an alarm over attack the on the residents of Okene by the military men.
The JTF who have embarked on house to house search since they were drafted to the area by the federal government following the mass killing of worshippers in the church and two soldiers were alleged to have subjected people to physical torture and humiliation in an alleged retaliation for the death of their colleagues.The Senator Nurrudeen Abatemi Usman who is representing the Kogi Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, has called on residents of the area to continue to remain calm and law-abiding saying he has forwarded their complains to the Inspector general of police and the chief of army staff on the matter.
In a statement signed by Michael Jegede, Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Abatemi-Usman, and made available to journalists in Lokoja on Friday, the Senator disclosed that he has discussed with leadership of the security agencies and he has been assured that they have been duly cautioned to concentrate on fishing out the criminals and not to punish the innocent citizens.
Source: Daily Post
Tragic: Bees Sting Man, 44, to Death in Delta State
In a rather unusual occurrence, one Samuel Onuabuchi, a bulldozer operator, was stung to death by bees in Ama Community in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State. Up to the time of his death, Mr. Onuabuchi was working with Setraco Construction Company.
The bulldozer operator was said to have been attacked by the bees while he was removing trees and debris on a site that had been contracted to his firm for repairs – the Ogboin-Ama–Akugbene community road.
According to sources, Mr Onuabuchi was stung to death before people could come to his rescue; besides, other workers on site with him could not go near him for fear of being stung. When Mr. Onuabuchi was eventually rushed to the Hospital, however, it was too late, as doctors confirmed him dead.
Mr Onuabuchi, an indigene of Anambra State, was aged 44 as at the time of his death, and he had four children. May his soul rest in peace.
Only 38.9% passed May/June WAEC exams
The West Africa Examination Council on Friday released the results of the May/June 2012 Senior Secondary School Certificate examination.
The Head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC, Iyi Uwadiae, at a press briefing at the council’s office in Yaba, Lagos, stated that 649,156 candidates, representing 38.81 per cent of those who sat for the examination, obtained credit in five subjects and above, including English Language and Mathematics.
Uwadiae stated that the results showed an eight per cent improvement when compared with that of 2011 May/June results, which had a pass level of 30.91 per cent.
Uwadiae added that 1,695,8788 candidates registered for the examination out of which 1,672,224 candidates, consisting of 923,974 male and 748,250 female candidates, sat for the examination.
“Out of the total number of candidates, 1,545,004 candidates, representing 90.10 per cent, have their results fully released while 1,545,004 candidates, representing 8.90 per cent, have their results fully released while 150,874 candidates, representing 8.90 per cent, have a few of their subjects still being processed,” Uwadiae said
The full results will be available on the WAEC website from Saturday, he said.
The examination body also stated that 112,000 candidates’ results, representing 6.70 per cent, are being withheld in connection with various cases of examination malpractices.
Central Bank likely to launch N5,000 notes with Yar’Adua’s face in September
The
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will very likely release into the market
on September 1, 2012, a N5,00 0 currency, under its on-going currency
and payment reform scheme. The currency, according to a very reliable
and close source in the apex bank, was considered because of the CBN’s
cashless policy, which will be extended to other parts of Nigeria by
next year.The source also disclosed that the N5000 currency is like a guarded secret by the CBN, which it plans to release as a surprise to the market. The N5,000 single note will be the fifth note to be introduced into the economy in 13 years.
The first was N100 introduced in 1999, by the then Governor of CBN, Mr. Joseph Sanusi. Also, in 2000 and 2001, N200 and N500 denominations, respectively were introduced into the economy. The apex bank also in 2005 launched the N1000 denomination under the immediate past Governor of CBN, Professor Chukwuma Soludo.
It is speculated that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s head will be the bust on the note as mark of honour to him for his contributions to the polity and national economy.
Our source disclosed also that the CBN plans to make the currency a bit scarce unlike other currencies to ensure it does not disturb the volume of money in circulation or cause adverse effect of inflation.
However, on contact with the CBN on phone, a top officer denied any such plan. The official told Daily Sun that it was not true that the apex bank ever comtemplated a plan. “Forget that story. It is not true,” he said.
Source: Daily Post
Bakassi militants declare war
In line with their determination to
reclaim the Bakassi Peninsula now under Cameroun’s authority, Bakassi
Self Determination Front (BSDF) has established a radio station in Day
Spring Island for the propagation of their cause.
They have also hoisted the Bakassi Liberation Flag, a Blue-White-Red liberation flag, dotted with stars at Dayspring Islands.
The establishment of the station known as Dayspring Radio, is one of the steps towards reclaiming the area from Cameroun.
Though the Day Spring Island is not in the main Bakassi peninsula, the radio station, which operates on 4.2MHz and 5.2MHz band, commenced transmission on Monday, Daily Independent gathered.
The maiden broadcast made by one ‘Commander General’ Ekpe Ekpenyong Oku of the BSDF, stated as follows: “Please, for the umpteenth time, we plead with our people to leave Abana now.
“The fight is going to be thickest and fiercest now that our Northern and Eastern brothers have fully arrived. Bakassi we hail thee!”
According to the broadcast monitored from Calabar, Oku warned those using the waterways around Bakassi area to keep off navigation routes from Saturday August 11 and Sunday August 12.
“No sea movement, so that you don’t have cause to regret. There shall be no movement of boats from Ikang or Marina beach to Cameroun on these two days. Be warned,” Oku said.
He also appealed to men of goodwill, individual, human rights organisations and indigenous people of Bakassi, to join hands in resisting and fighting international conspiracy against the people.
Before the announcement, a statement from the BSDF signed by Oku read in part: “Ours will be a classical story of the elephant and the ant.
“The elephant will soon be driven frantic with ants all over its enormous bulk. The elephant will be so harassed and will find no respite and will dash itself against a tree trunk.
“Throughout history, injured people have had to resort to arms in their self-defence where peaceful negotiations fail.
“Bakassi people are no exception. Our right to self-determination is imminent; some will die, but some will live to reap from our labours.”
However, feelers from the Cameroun indicates that its authorities are not taking the threat announced from the radio station lightly as they have adopted some measures to ensure that they maintain security within its area of jurisdiction.
It is feared that Cameroun has deployed its military hardware and personnel to ward off any possible attack from the Bakassi youths.
Source: Daily Independent
They have also hoisted the Bakassi Liberation Flag, a Blue-White-Red liberation flag, dotted with stars at Dayspring Islands.
The establishment of the station known as Dayspring Radio, is one of the steps towards reclaiming the area from Cameroun.
Though the Day Spring Island is not in the main Bakassi peninsula, the radio station, which operates on 4.2MHz and 5.2MHz band, commenced transmission on Monday, Daily Independent gathered.
The maiden broadcast made by one ‘Commander General’ Ekpe Ekpenyong Oku of the BSDF, stated as follows: “Please, for the umpteenth time, we plead with our people to leave Abana now.
“The fight is going to be thickest and fiercest now that our Northern and Eastern brothers have fully arrived. Bakassi we hail thee!”
According to the broadcast monitored from Calabar, Oku warned those using the waterways around Bakassi area to keep off navigation routes from Saturday August 11 and Sunday August 12.
“No sea movement, so that you don’t have cause to regret. There shall be no movement of boats from Ikang or Marina beach to Cameroun on these two days. Be warned,” Oku said.
He also appealed to men of goodwill, individual, human rights organisations and indigenous people of Bakassi, to join hands in resisting and fighting international conspiracy against the people.
Before the announcement, a statement from the BSDF signed by Oku read in part: “Ours will be a classical story of the elephant and the ant.
“The elephant will soon be driven frantic with ants all over its enormous bulk. The elephant will be so harassed and will find no respite and will dash itself against a tree trunk.
“Throughout history, injured people have had to resort to arms in their self-defence where peaceful negotiations fail.
“Bakassi people are no exception. Our right to self-determination is imminent; some will die, but some will live to reap from our labours.”
However, feelers from the Cameroun indicates that its authorities are not taking the threat announced from the radio station lightly as they have adopted some measures to ensure that they maintain security within its area of jurisdiction.
It is feared that Cameroun has deployed its military hardware and personnel to ward off any possible attack from the Bakassi youths.
Source: Daily Independent
2015: Southeast leaders insist on Igbo presidency
Southeast leaders met on Thursday in Enugu and
resolved that they would do everything possible to actualise a Nigerian
President of Igbo extraction in 2015.
The Southeast leaders who met under the aegis of South East Forum (SEF) warned that they would no longer play a second fiddle for anybody in Nigeria, since ‘what is good for one geo-political zone is good for another’.
Former National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo who chaired the launching of the SEF constitution, said that nobody would negotiate Ndigbo out of this country.
Nwodo who was the first civilian Governor of Enugu State, said the demand of Ndigbo was not anchored on marginalisation, but on the fact that Ndigbo are the most qualified for the presidency at a time that the country is at the brink of collapse.
“The ingenuity, resourcefulness and the dexterity of Ndigbo must be given a chance. This country belongs to all of us. Nobody can negotiate us out of it. No race is more superior to Igbo race in Nigeria” he said.
The former PDP helmsman called for concerted efforts by Ndigbo to ensure that the Southeast gets presidency in 2015, saying that all stakeholders in the zone must come together for this mission to be accomplished.
Earlier in an address of welcome, National Chairman of SEF, Dr Ezekiel Izuogu warned that never again should Ndigbo be sidelined and taken for granted in the politics of our nation.
Source: Daily Independent
The Southeast leaders who met under the aegis of South East Forum (SEF) warned that they would no longer play a second fiddle for anybody in Nigeria, since ‘what is good for one geo-political zone is good for another’.
Former National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo who chaired the launching of the SEF constitution, said that nobody would negotiate Ndigbo out of this country.
Nwodo who was the first civilian Governor of Enugu State, said the demand of Ndigbo was not anchored on marginalisation, but on the fact that Ndigbo are the most qualified for the presidency at a time that the country is at the brink of collapse.
“The ingenuity, resourcefulness and the dexterity of Ndigbo must be given a chance. This country belongs to all of us. Nobody can negotiate us out of it. No race is more superior to Igbo race in Nigeria” he said.
The former PDP helmsman called for concerted efforts by Ndigbo to ensure that the Southeast gets presidency in 2015, saying that all stakeholders in the zone must come together for this mission to be accomplished.
Earlier in an address of welcome, National Chairman of SEF, Dr Ezekiel Izuogu warned that never again should Ndigbo be sidelined and taken for granted in the politics of our nation.
Source: Daily Independent
Thursday 9 August 2012
Dana plane crash: Journalists attacked as victims’ families collect bodies
This development, which occurred despite efforts of the Lagos state government to ensure speedy collection of the corpses of the victims of the plane crash, slowed the entire process such that only few of the 20 bodies scheduled for release could be evacuated.
“Some of the relatives did not come on time and so we took their reference specimen late,” the Chief Medical Director, LASUTH, Professor David Wale Oke who could not ascertain exactly how many bodies were evacuated, said: “I cannot say precisely how many bodies that have been released so far because some relatives were not ready and some others decided to keep the bodies in the morgue.
“Let me clarify this, as long as the corpses stay in the morgue, Lagos State Government is not charging any money from the relatives. I assure you if all the families are ready today they will get the corpses of their relatives accordingly. We are hoping that in the next one week we’ll be done depending on the relatives response.
“The DNA test result got to us on the night of Saturday August 4, on Monday the Commissioner was informed, the Governor was informed, we immediately constituted a committee that was in-charge in breaking the code of the results because they came in codes.
“Earlier on, we have coded the bodies, and when the result came we need to match them with the 132 bodies. Then on Wednesday we held a meeting with the relatives and it was decided in that meeting that 20 bodies will be released every day until all the bodies are exhausted except those yet to be identified.”
Further, he stated: “ The reasons for that was some relatives did not come, some bodies were badly burnt that we could not get the DNA materials needed for their identification processes, but our pathologist are on ground to see if they can use their experiences to further identify the remaining 16 bodies.
A
Photo journalist with the Leadership Newspapers was beaten and brutally
assaulted during the coverage of the collections of the remains of the
late DANA Airlines victims at the Ikeja General Hospital (LASUTH),
Lagos, Wednesday Px shows Mr Benedict Uwalaka after the assault. Photo
by Shola Oyelese
“On why some of the names of the deceased already buried still appeared on the list, the CMD said in order to be on a safe side we conducted DNA tests for all the victims, so that in case mistakes are made we would know how to make restitution but thank God there is no mistake so far.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said the scuffle between the mortuary attendants and the photographer, which contributed to delay of the scheduled release of the bodies occurred when the photographer, Benedict Uwalaka, of the Leadership Newspapers, was allegedly attacked, severely beaten up and grievously injured by the mortuary attendants who accused him of attempting to take shots of the bodies inside the morgue.
But in response, Uwalaka, who was later admitted at the hospital where he obtained treatment for injuries sustained in the fracas, denied the allegation levied against him.
“What happened is that as a photo journalist, I needed to get a close up photograph of my objective, and when I noticed that a vehicle had been parked across the entrance of the mortuary, I moved closer to get a close-up shot of the vehicle. That was all.
“Before I knew what happened, someone seized my camera, another grabbed my phone as the others charged at me, raining blows all over my body. I was hit in the face by a bottle and ended up with cuts and bruises to my left eye, head and left leg. I was covered with my own blood.”
Uwalaka, who said the incident was reported to the Area “F” Police Command, GRA, Ikeja, where he obtained a promise of a full investigation of the incident. A letter was procured for him to obtain treatment at the Surgical Emergency ward of the LASUTH.
An eyewitness said Uwalaka was unjustly manhandled because he never took a shot of the corpses. Responding to the incident, Lagos State Commissioner for information, Mr Lateef Ibirogba who visited Uwalaka in company of the Chief Medical Director, LASUTH, Prof David Wale Oke and Chairman, Nigerian Union of Journalists ,Lagos state chapter, Mr Deji Elumoya , promised that Uwalaka’s missing camera and phone wouldl be replaced by government.
In his reaction, Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Latiff Ibirogba said, “Journalists are important people in the society that must not be molested for any reason. He described the incident as an unfortunate one which shouldn’t be especially in this democratic dispensation.
“Let me first of all take responsibility of whatever happened today. I want you to see it as if I am the one who offended you. It is not wrong that you have come here to do this report , I am also aware that journalists do go extra mile to get information to be disseminated to the public and they always want to get the best.
But because we are dealing with people who are not in our profession, right from the days of Babatunde Jose, they have always seen us as enemies. “When journalists write something beautiful, people praise them but on the other way round, they go after their lives.
The commissioner however said that confrontation is part of the hazards of the profession but maintained that it should not be at the expense of Journalists’ lives.
He therefore pleaded with the attacked Journalist to forgive and forget assuring him that they will take responsibility for the hospital bills, replacement of lost camera and handset.
Meanwhile, Ibirogba urged Journalists to stay within the limits of ethics of the profession, explaining that this will further strengthen the credibility of the profession.
Source: Vanguard
Nigeria: Gunmen raid Ebonyi state offices
Unidentified gunmen in the early hours of Thursday in Abakaliki, capital of Nigeria’s eastern state of Ebonyi raided the state secretariat at Nnorum street.
The gunmen, whose number could not be ascertained, gained entry into the secretariat after they overpowered the four security men at the gate.The Head of Service, Mrs Ugo Nnachi, while briefing newsmen confirmed the raid on the secretariat.
She said, “I came to work this morning and saw some armed policemen cordoning off the gate to the secretariat.
“On inquiry, I was informed that unknown gunmen allegedly raided the secretariat in the early hours of today (Thursday).”
She said the gunmen tied the security men to the rail of the stair-case after they over powered them.
According to her, the hoodlums ransacked all the offices of the secretariat.
Nnachi said that she had directed proper inventory be taken to ascertain if there were documents or property lost to the raid.
“I cannot say for certain, if there were items lost as a result of this burglary.
“I have directed that an inventory be taken on documents and property in the secretariat to ascertain if there is any loss,’’ the head of service said.
Meanwhile, a member of staff in the Office of the Auditor-General, who pleaded anonymity said that the N400,000 monthly contribution from staff was stolen.
She said the money was kept in a drawer in her office after she collected the money on Wednesday.
She said that she intended to deposit the money in the bank on Thursday morning.
“The money was contributed yesterday (Wednesday) and I had intended to deposit it in the bank today (Thursday) now the money is gone,’’ she lamented.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Ebonyi, Mr Sylvester Igbo, when contacted for comments, said he had not been briefed on the incident. (NAN)
Jonathan, 15 other presidents for Atta Mills burial
Fifteen Heads of State and Government,
including Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan will grace the funeral of late
Ghanaian president, John Evans Atta Mills tomorrow in Accra, the
Ghanaian capital city.
Also to attend is Hillary Clinton, the
United States secretary of state who will ending a tour of Africa she
began last week with her participation at the funeral.
President Goodluck Jonathan will arrive
Accra later today (Thursday) and is expected to visit President John
Mahama in Osu Castle, Ghana's seat of power to pay condolence to the
Ghanaian people ahead of Friday's burial.
Vice President Namadi Sambo had earlier
visited to convey Nigeria's best wishes to the government and people of
Ghana shortly after President Mahama took over the reins of power.
Also to attend the burial tomorrow are
Alassane Quattara, president of Cote d'Ivoire and chairman of ECOWAS,
Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, Theodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatoiral
Guinea, Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso.
Others are President Hifikepunye Pohamba
of Namibia; Jakaya kikwete of Tanzania; Ellen Sirleaf Johnson of
Liberia; Mahamadou Issoufou of NIger. The rest are Deputy President
Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa; Yahya J. Jameh of the Gambia and
Macky Sall of Senegal
Clinton Urged to Press Nigeria on Violence
U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton is making a brief visit to Nigeria Thursday for
meetings with President Goodluck Jonathan and other leaders.
She is traveling to the capital, Abuja, amid calls to urge Jonathan to address rising sectarian violence in Nigeria. Northern Nigeria is mostly Muslim. The south is mainly Christian.
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch says Clinton should encourage Jonathan to confront violence committed by the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, as well as abuses and corruption by his own security forces. The U.S. government has declared three Boko Haram leaders as terrorists.
Source: Voice of America
Clark to IBB: lead talks with Boko Haram
Chief Edwin Clark
Elder
statesman and Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark yesterday challenged
former Military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida to a public debate on
national issues.
Gen.
Babangida through his media aide, Prince Kassim Afegbua, suggested that
Clark was suffering from old age for blaming the Boko-Haram insurgency
on him and some leaders of the North.
The
statement was issued in response to Clark’s speech at the State of the
Federation lecture organised by the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal
Studies (NIALS) in Abuja last week .
Clark
said the comments attributed to Gen. Babangida were at variance with
the very positive and patriotic feedback he received from Nigerians
after the lecture.
Clark challenged Gen. Babangida to direct his energy to finding solutions to the Boko-Haram violence instead of abusing him.
He
said Gen. Babangida’s reaction showed miscomprehension and
misconception of his opinions and the challenge thrown to the leaders of
the North on the need to resolve the Boko-Haram menace.
Speaking
through his Legal Adviser, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, the elder statesman
recalled that he met with the Niger Delta militants in the creeks in
what later led to the amnesty programme.
He
challenged Gen. Babangida to organise a peace meeting with the
Boko-Haram members to prove that he is a great patriot that he claims to
be.
“Ordinarily,
Gen. Babangida should have joined many other Nigerians who applauded
Chief E. K. Clark for crying out over the wanton loss of lives being
experienced daily over the senseless killings of Nigeria’s women and
children, Christians and Moslems alike.
“Chief
E. K. Clark is committed to the unity of Nigeria and peace within its
borders. This was aptly demonstrated when some youths in the Niger Delta
took up arms against the Federal Government of Nigeria, resulting in
the near total shut down of oil production; crude oil production which
normally stood at 2.5 million barrels per day was reduced to 700
thousand barrels daily. Chief Clark led a delegation of Niger Delta
leaders into the creeks to appeal to the youths to lay down arms and
embrace peace.
“Chief
E. K. Clark also went to the creeks with the then Vice President, now
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, particularly to Okerenkoko and Camp 5
(which was the headquarters of the militants), thereby laying the
foundation for the late President Yar ‘Adua’s amnesty programme.
“Therefore,
amnesty did not come on a platter of gold, but through the genuine
determination of the leaders of the Niger Delta, led by Chief E. K.
Clark. Today, crude oil production in Nigeria has risen to about 2.7
million barrels per day.
“It
is therefore imperative, irrespective of the name calling, to restate
what was said at the NIALS lecture on the state of Nigerian federation
that “Gen. Babangida and other Northern leaders must speak out, be
proactive as well as demonstrate genuine commitment to address the
challenges posed by the Boko Haram.’’ This is more so as precious lives
of Nigerians are being wasted daily across the country in Borno, Yobe,
Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna, Kogi, Abuja, Bauchi, etc.
“Furthermore,
Chief Clark’s challenge to the leaders of the North above is predicated
on the misguided statements of some of the Northern opinion leaders
since the inception of this administration. For example, in October 2010
during a build up to the last presidential election, Alhaji Lawal
Kaita, a prominent Northern leader, promised to make Nigeria
ungovernable if the President did not come from the North. And as if on
cue from Lawal Kaita, several other leaders of Northern Political
Leaders Forum, headed by Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, of which Gen. Babangida is
a prominent member, followed suit with similar reckless comments which
might not only threaten peace in Nigeria but also Nigeria’s very
existence.
“Recently
in March, Lawal Kaita issued another threat to the effect that the only
condition for Nigeria to be one is for the presidency to come to the
North in 2015.
“It
is in this vein that Chief Clark speaks to his good friends in the
North, including General Babangida once again, irrespective of Gen.
Babangida’s threat of litigation, that they should openly condemn Boko
Haram and join hands with the Government and good people of Nigeria
towards finding a lasting solution to the challenge posed by the Boko
Haram menace. Any laxity on their part would, either wittingly and
unwittingly, potentially put them out as accessories to the present
security scourge in the Northern part of Nigeria.
“If
this simple advice above is urgently heeded, it will save Gen.
Babangida the need to wear uniform once again at the age of seventy one
to fight for the unity of Nigeria.
“Let
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida step forward and offer his services
to his Nation at this time of need. That is the road for the true
patriot to tread.
Source: The Nation
Bloodbath in Benue: 10 killed in renewed communal clash
No fewer than 10 persons were feared dead, with property worth millions of naira destroyed in a renewed communal clash that ensued between residents of Ojantele and Ijegwu communities in Otukpo and Obi local government areas of Benue State.
The crisis, we gathered broke out between the border communities on Tuesday night, following a land dispute adjoining the warring neighbours.
According to insiders, houses, huts and farmland were not spared by the warring communities just a many inhabitants flew their homes.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Omadachi Oklobia, confirmed the death of two of his cousins when he appeared before the state assembly to give the position of the state finance on Wednesday.
The representatives of the communities prayed the House of Assembly, through a motion, to call on the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Christopher Katso, to deploy his officers and men in the crisis zone, in order to restore law and order in the communities.
Honourable Baba Ode, representing Otukpo/Akpa constituency, who raised the motion on Wednesday at the floor of the assembly, informed the members that he received a phone call on Tuesday night, intimating him that fighting had erupted between his constituents and the neighbouring Ijegwu community in Obi Local Government Area.
Supporting the motion, Honourable Nick Eworo, who represents Obi state constituency, regretted that the communities had, in the last 10 years, been hostile to each other.
Meanwhile, Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ezeala, said he was yet to be briefed on the crisis.
Source: Daily Post
Suspected Fulani herdsmen strike again on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
A commercial motorcyclist, popularly called okada
rider was on Monday stabbed in the stomach by two hoodlums suspected to
be Fulani herdsmen on the long bridge end of the Lagos-Ibadan
Expressway.
It was learnt that the victim, Mr. Owolabi Habib, had picked his assailants at Berger, Lagos, who posed as passengers.
The hoodlums had told him they were going to New Kara, Ogun State, located around the long bridge.
A source within Habib’s family said, “As
soon as they got near their destination and Owolabi(Habib) slowed down,
one of the men pulled out a long knife and stabbed him in the stomach.
“Habib told us that he abandoned his okada and fled to save himself. But the stab was so deep that his intestine came out.”
It was learnt that a motorist later rescued Habib and rushed him to the Lagos State Accident and Trauma Centre at Tollgate.
Findings on Wednesday showed that Habib had been referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.
A doctor at the centre, who declined to
give his name, said, “The wound he sustained needs intensive care. That
is why he was moved to LASUTH.”
The Ogun State Police Command spokesman, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, said the incident had not been reported to the police in the state.
He said, “We don’t have that report yet.
But we are interested in getting the victim’s account so that we can
work together to rid that area of criminal elements. Please if you can
get across to him; advise him to report to the nearest police station.”
On July 7, 2012, a retired
Brigadier-General, Sylvester Iruh, was killed on the bridge by suspected
Fulani herdsmen as he was changing the tyre of his car.Source: The Punch
If el-Rufai was President of Nigeria, what will he do? – Okupe
By Ben Agande, Abuja.
Newly appointed Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, yesterday frontally confronted some of the president’s worst critics as he upbraided the Vice Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progress Change (CPC), in the 2011 elections, Pastor Tunde Bakare to stop converting his pulpit to political podium in order to deceive unsuspecting Nigerians.
In his second interactive meeting with State House correspondents, Dr Okupe similarly accused the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai of losing his cool over politics.
According to Dr Okupe the manipulation of the present security situation in the country by politicians for selfish reasons was not in the best interest of the nation or its citizens.
The Senior Special Assistant to the president said insurgency as a phenomenon was difficult to resolve in places where it occurred around the world like Iraq, Iran even the United States of America but noted that there were no calls on the leaders of those countries to resign on account of the terrorist activities.
He said , “el-Rufai is my younger brother. I have so much respect for him but politics is more or less derailing or deranging him.
“Everybody knows that insurgency is a very difficult national problem. It is not anything peculiar to Nigeria. No responsible citizen of any of those countries affected by insurgency before call on their Presidents to resign.”
“when he (el-Rufai) talks about intelligence, there is no better security in any country than by the people of the country. It is communal security that will help government and security agencies to root out insurgence.
“If people shielded insurgents, they make the works of security agencies more difficult. Can President Goodluck Jonathan be in Borno and everywhere at the same time?”
“I believe that people just want to play politics. All what you are hearing is just the manipulation of the present situation to suit their political purposes.
“I am sure that my brother, el-Rufai is hopeful to be a presidential candidate of one of the parties very soon. What I will expect him to do with the level of intellect, intelligence and the resource that has been given, his own personal education is to come out with some reasonable plans, some suggestions, not just criticising government for criticising sake.
“If El-Rufai was President of Nigeria, what will he do? Why don’t he say that? Or is he keeping that until when he becomes the President by which time the whole country is wiped off?
“When tragedy befalls a country, responsible men and women of that country forget partisanship and rally round their nation and they try their best to help existing government to tackle that. Once that is over, they go back to politics. This is not time for politics.
“Every man or woman who politicises this issue of Boko Haram, people should disregard and discard whatever information they hear from them. They are not serious-minded people.
“Pastor Bakare also falls into that category. It is shameful. You cannot convert the pulpit to a podium. If you want to be a politician, please come out.
“I have personally followed his career since he ventures into politics and have found it extremely difficult to clearly decipher who he really is – is he a reverend gentleman, a politician, or a civil rights activist. Often times he manifests all the above traits but virtually in all cases there is a major tinge of extremism that tends to cast serious doubts on his personality be it as a man of God, a politician or even a Civil Rights Activists.
“It is however most pathetic that since the Buhari/Bakare ticket failed as expected, the pastor’s obsession or hate-backed capacity to disparage and insult President Goodluck Jonathan is limitless and boundless. Pastor Bakare must now accept that the elections are over and the nation has moved on.
“Pastor Bakare came into politics a few years ago and he became a vice presidential candidate of a major political party. Some of us have been in politics for 30 years and we did not even become a governor and we did not say the country must come down, that is unfair. It is unacceptable,” he declared.
Okupe recalled pastor Bakare’s prediction that former president, Olusegun Obasanjo will not be elected in 1999, a prediction that he said fell flat but not done went ahead to say Obasanjo will be beheaded like an old testament king. “But the glory of God, whose mercies endureth forever, Obasanjo completed his term and is still heal and healthy to this day”.
Source: Vanguard
Newly appointed Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, yesterday frontally confronted some of the president’s worst critics as he upbraided the Vice Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progress Change (CPC), in the 2011 elections, Pastor Tunde Bakare to stop converting his pulpit to political podium in order to deceive unsuspecting Nigerians.
In his second interactive meeting with State House correspondents, Dr Okupe similarly accused the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Mallam Nasir el-Rufai of losing his cool over politics.
According to Dr Okupe the manipulation of the present security situation in the country by politicians for selfish reasons was not in the best interest of the nation or its citizens.
The Senior Special Assistant to the president said insurgency as a phenomenon was difficult to resolve in places where it occurred around the world like Iraq, Iran even the United States of America but noted that there were no calls on the leaders of those countries to resign on account of the terrorist activities.
He said , “el-Rufai is my younger brother. I have so much respect for him but politics is more or less derailing or deranging him.
“Everybody knows that insurgency is a very difficult national problem. It is not anything peculiar to Nigeria. No responsible citizen of any of those countries affected by insurgency before call on their Presidents to resign.”
“when he (el-Rufai) talks about intelligence, there is no better security in any country than by the people of the country. It is communal security that will help government and security agencies to root out insurgence.
“If people shielded insurgents, they make the works of security agencies more difficult. Can President Goodluck Jonathan be in Borno and everywhere at the same time?”
“I believe that people just want to play politics. All what you are hearing is just the manipulation of the present situation to suit their political purposes.
“I am sure that my brother, el-Rufai is hopeful to be a presidential candidate of one of the parties very soon. What I will expect him to do with the level of intellect, intelligence and the resource that has been given, his own personal education is to come out with some reasonable plans, some suggestions, not just criticising government for criticising sake.
“If El-Rufai was President of Nigeria, what will he do? Why don’t he say that? Or is he keeping that until when he becomes the President by which time the whole country is wiped off?
“When tragedy befalls a country, responsible men and women of that country forget partisanship and rally round their nation and they try their best to help existing government to tackle that. Once that is over, they go back to politics. This is not time for politics.
“Every man or woman who politicises this issue of Boko Haram, people should disregard and discard whatever information they hear from them. They are not serious-minded people.
“Pastor Bakare also falls into that category. It is shameful. You cannot convert the pulpit to a podium. If you want to be a politician, please come out.
“I have personally followed his career since he ventures into politics and have found it extremely difficult to clearly decipher who he really is – is he a reverend gentleman, a politician, or a civil rights activist. Often times he manifests all the above traits but virtually in all cases there is a major tinge of extremism that tends to cast serious doubts on his personality be it as a man of God, a politician or even a Civil Rights Activists.
“It is however most pathetic that since the Buhari/Bakare ticket failed as expected, the pastor’s obsession or hate-backed capacity to disparage and insult President Goodluck Jonathan is limitless and boundless. Pastor Bakare must now accept that the elections are over and the nation has moved on.
“Pastor Bakare came into politics a few years ago and he became a vice presidential candidate of a major political party. Some of us have been in politics for 30 years and we did not even become a governor and we did not say the country must come down, that is unfair. It is unacceptable,” he declared.
Okupe recalled pastor Bakare’s prediction that former president, Olusegun Obasanjo will not be elected in 1999, a prediction that he said fell flat but not done went ahead to say Obasanjo will be beheaded like an old testament king. “But the glory of God, whose mercies endureth forever, Obasanjo completed his term and is still heal and healthy to this day”.
Source: Vanguard
Sea pirates kill MD of Tompolo’s firm
The company was contracted by the Federal Government to provide security and monitor the nation’s coastal waters against oil thieves.
It was gathered that master mariner, Itima, who was in pursuit of oil thieves in Escravos , area of Warri Pilotage District, was killed by suspected sea pirates on Tuesday.
A source told Vanguard, “The team from Global West Vessel Specialist did not know that they were sea pirates in the ship and were approaching the vessel in the course of their duty, when the pirates opened fire on them.
“Itima did not die immediately, as the company’s boat was bullet proof, but the pirates shattered the windscreen of the boat, which forced them to make a detour and crashed into stone breaker. Unfortunately, there was rough tide at that time, which swept away the boat and caused his death,” the source said.
The family in a statement by Captain Winifred Itima, said, “His death occurred during an operation against theft of crude oil and criminal sea robbery activities in the Warri Pilotage District.”
Satanic cleric: Prophet leads robbery gang
•Operates in Lagos, Sagamu, Ogbomoso
From NGOZI UWUJARE, Ibadan
Less than a month after tying the nuptial knot with his heart-throb, an Ogbomosho-based prophet has been arrested for alleged armed robbery. Residents of the ancient Oyo State city were shocked when Prophet Tunde Adeyinka, who also double as prayer warrior, was apprehended by the police. The satanic cleric who belonged to a white garment church had wedded Bunmi on June 29, 2012, exactly 30 days before he was unmasked.
Crimewatch investigation revealed that Adeyinka until his arrest, headed a deadly eight-man gang that had been terrorizing Ogbomosho and its environs while also wreaking havoc on motorists on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The detectives that arrested the evil prophet from the Ogbomosho Area Command were led by Raimi Saka. When Adekinya’s office and home were searched, weapons including AK 47 rifles, dane gun, pump action rifles, and catridges were recovered. He allegedly prepared charms for members of his gang before going for any operation.
The charms were to protect them from bullets. The Area Commander for Ogbomoso, Pat Ezeani, told Crimewatch that they received several complaints that Adeyinka had allegedly duped many people which prompted the police to carry out the operation on July 29, 2012 when he was arrested. He said Adeyinka and his gang may have snatched different cars and killed three policemen in Ogbomoso and collected their AK 47 rifles. Explaining the operational method of the gang, he said that they would normally come from Abeokuta and assemble in Ogbomoso before operation.
The suspect, 34-year-old Adeyinka, said that he is a prophet in a church. “I go there and pray for people and I have my prayer office at Papa Ajao, Ogbomoso where I pray for people. “I am an armed robber and have got involved in many robbery operations in Ogbomoso , Sagamu and in Lagos. It was part of the money that I got from operations that I used to finance my marriage ceremony in June this year. “Whenever we want to carry out operation, I will tell my wife that I am going for night vigil and prayers. We have robbed several people in Ogbomoso and snatched cars and we sell them in Lagos. We have killed three policemen and snatched their rifles. “My family and that of my wife don’t know that I am a robber.
They all thought that I am a prophet. I deceived my wife that I am a prophet and she didn’t know that I am an armed robber,” he said. Adeyinka’s wife, Bunmi, said that she was going to church on July 29 when her husband called her that policemen had arrested him at his office and that when she got there, she saw him in handcuffs. “I didn’t understand what was happening until the Area Commander asked my husband to confess what he had done to me. My husband confessed to me that he is an armed robber and that he has an eight-man gang and that they used to rob in Ogbomoso, Sagamu and Lagos. I almost fainted.
We had courtship for good three years and I didn’t suspect that he was an armed robber,” she said. The Mohammed Tambari, Commissioner of Police, Oyo State said that the suspects were in police net and that his other gang members were being trailed . He said after the conclusion of investigation the suspect would be charge to court.
Source: The Sun
Wednesday 8 August 2012
Leader Of Militants That Attacked Deeper Life Church in Kogi Reportedly Captured In Edo State
By SaharaReporters, New York
The man, Yekini Isah of Obehira in Kogi state, according to the police, was captured at about 4 AM today by well armed crack detectives backed by mobile police squad mobilized from the Kogi Police command that stormed a criminal hideout in Idare Hills area of Okene.
A police statement stated that the area is suspected to be a safe haven for hoodlums wreaking havoc in the State.
On sighting the policemen, the hoodlums reportedly opened fire, prompting a gun duel.
Mr. Isah fled the scene after sustaining head injuries, he was later trailed to a herbalist in Ibilo, Edo state where he was receiving treatment for his injuries and arrested with two other suspects, including a female.
One AK 47 rifle with 30 rounds of live ammunition was also recovered from the the gang.
In confirming the arrest, Kogi State police commissioner, Alhaji Ibrahim Katisna said, “We trailed them and gave them a tough fight, and you know it was in the dark they were able to escape with him to one place in Edo State for medication where we finally got him. We got him alive.”
The police commissioner further clarified that the two soldiers killed yesterday were not killed in a mosque, but in a local government secretariat. Two soldiers and one woman who was passing by the LGA secretariat were shot dead yesterday in Okene by militants.
Egypt's Morsi dismisses north Sinai governor following border attack President Mohamed M
Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi appointed a new national intelligence chief and dismissed the governor of the increasingly lawless north Sinai region on Wednesday after gunmen killed 16 border guards there, a presidency spokesman said.
Morsi vowed to restore security to Sinai after the incident on Sunday, which officials blamed on Islamic militants who have stepped up attacks on security forces since the overthrow of his predecessor Hosni Mubarak last year.
Armed attackers from Sinai breached Israel's border on Saturday in an armored vehicle stolen in a raid on an Egyptian police station that killed some 16 Egyptian policemen.
The vehicle was hit by an IDF aircraft, preventing what military officials said could have been a deadly large-scale terror attack. A second personnel carrier exploded at the Kerem Shalom border terminal, which connects Israel, Gaza and Egypt, before the vehicle could enter Israeli territory.
No Israelis were hurt in the incident.
In response, Egypt launched air strikes in the Sinai region close to the border with Israel on Wednesday, killing at least 20-23 suspected Islamic militants, state media reported. This was the first time that the Egyptian Air Force was called into action in Sinai since 1973.
The reports said that the military actions were coordinated with Israel, as stated in the peace agreements between Egypt and Israel, which were signed in 1978 in Camp David.
Source: Haaretz
Group advises Jonathan to invite Buhari over Boko Haram
Following the upsurge of violence in the country,
American-based Newstime International Company, a non-governmental
organisation (NGO) has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to invite
Muhammadu Buhari for a peace talk on the way forward.
The group, which said it was working for peaceful coexistence in Nigeria, said for the country to enjoy peace, all must put religious and political biases aside.
Addressing a press conference Tuesday in Kaduna, president of the organisation, Tony Oyatedor, said that Jonathan should invite Buhari to Aso Rock for a closed-door meeting on how to achieve peace in the country.
He posited that it was only Buhari that should be invited to Aso Rock for a peace talk, because the retired General was Jonathan’s archrival in the last presidential election, who needed to be carried along in the affairs of the nation, irrespective of political and religious differences.
Oyatedor said it was disheartening that activities like kidnapping, bombing, raping and killings have taken the centre stage in the country, urging all to work for peace.
His words, “Jonathan should invite General Buhari for peace talk. The President must not be a dictator. To achieve peace, religious and political sentiments must be put aside.
“We cannot run away from the fact, Buhari was the only strong opponent against Jonathan during the last presidential election. So it will not be out of place for Jonathan to invite him for a peace talk in a closed-door meeting in Aso Rock.
“We want solution to all these problems in the country, these problems should be resolved once and for all.”
On the 2015 general election, Jonathan’s kinsman said it was too early to talk about it, saying the electorate should be able to differentiate between a bad and good leader before casting their votes.
Source: Daily Independent
The group, which said it was working for peaceful coexistence in Nigeria, said for the country to enjoy peace, all must put religious and political biases aside.
Addressing a press conference Tuesday in Kaduna, president of the organisation, Tony Oyatedor, said that Jonathan should invite Buhari to Aso Rock for a closed-door meeting on how to achieve peace in the country.
He posited that it was only Buhari that should be invited to Aso Rock for a peace talk, because the retired General was Jonathan’s archrival in the last presidential election, who needed to be carried along in the affairs of the nation, irrespective of political and religious differences.
Oyatedor said it was disheartening that activities like kidnapping, bombing, raping and killings have taken the centre stage in the country, urging all to work for peace.
His words, “Jonathan should invite General Buhari for peace talk. The President must not be a dictator. To achieve peace, religious and political sentiments must be put aside.
“We cannot run away from the fact, Buhari was the only strong opponent against Jonathan during the last presidential election. So it will not be out of place for Jonathan to invite him for a peace talk in a closed-door meeting in Aso Rock.
“We want solution to all these problems in the country, these problems should be resolved once and for all.”
On the 2015 general election, Jonathan’s kinsman said it was too early to talk about it, saying the electorate should be able to differentiate between a bad and good leader before casting their votes.
Source: Daily Independent
Hon Farouk Lawan Eventually Travelled
Hon. Farouk Lawan
By Ike Abonyi
Hon Farouk Lawan
eventually travelled via emirate airline to saudi arabia to perform
lesser hajji. The delayed flight left lagos international airport about
4am wednesday.The operatives of the State Security Service (SSS)
allowed him following intervention from high placed presidency
official. The intervention came following frantic call from hon. Lawan
to top persons to help him plead with the operatives of the State Security Service (SSS). Source close to security said he was allowed following intervention and a commitment from him that he was just going to pray.
Source: ThisDay
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