Presidency confirms release of 21 Chibok girls

Twenty-one of the 219 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram in 2014 have been freed by the sect, Sahara Reporters and the British Broadcasting Corperation have reported.

Video grab image created on August 14, 2016 taken from a video released on youtube purportedly by Islamist group Boko Haram showing what is claimed to be one of the groups fighters at an undisclosed location standing in front of girls allegedly kidnapped from Chibok in April 2014.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed this in a statement made available to journalists.

Shehu said the released girls were currently in the custody of the Department of State Services.

He said the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, briefed President Muhammadu Buhari of the development shortly before the President left for Germany.

The presidential aide added that Daura wanted the girls, who were very tired, to rest before he would hand them over to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

He attributed the release of the 21 girls to negotiations between the government and the Boko Haram sect brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government.

He said,

“The release of the girls, in a limited number is the outcome of negotiations between the administration and the the Boko Haram brokered by the International Red Cross and the Swiss government. The negotiations will continue. 

“The President welcomes the release of the girls but cautioned Nigerians to be mindful of the fact that more than 30,000 fellow citizens were killed via terrorism. 

“Lawal wants the girls to have some rest, with all of them very tired coming out of the process before he hands them over to the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. 

“The President takes off shortly on a trip to Germany for a state visit. The names of the released girls follows shortly.”

This is still not the kind of news I would have wanted. How many of the 219 kidnapped Chibok girls have been returned to their families?

Culled from www.punchng.com
Photo credit: AFP

Army wants ATMs for soldiers in Borno

The Nigerian Army on Sunday called on commercial banks to deploy Automated Teller Machines in the military barracks in Maiduguri for the use of front line soldiers involved in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in Borno.

The General Officer Commanding 7 Division, Brig. Gen. Victor Ezugwu, made the call while speaking at a Civil-Military Forum organised by the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri.

Ezugwu was reacting to criticism by residents that soldiers often refused to join queues at the ATM points in the town.

He said that the army had written several letters to the banks for the deployment of ATM machines in the barracks without much success.

“We have been battling with the issue of lack of ATM in the barracks for the use of soldiers in the front line zone.

“I wrote letters to the banks over seven months ago for them to deploy the ATM in the Maimalari Cantonment for soldiers use, but there is no response yet,” he said.

Ezugwu said that the military was concerned about the development and urged the residents to intervene.

“I want to urge everybody here, especially traditional rulers, to help put pressure on the banks so that they can give us ATM at the barracks and allow you to use the ones in town.

“We are aware of the fact that everybody needs the ATM at one point or another,” he said.

“A soldier carrying 12 ATM cards at a time must have brought his colleagues’ cards from the frontline to take money and send to their families all over Nigeria.

“We have areas where there is no network, it is only through the ATM that the soldiers can send money home to their families’ he said.

Ezugwu appealed for more understanding from the residents pending when the ATM would be provided by the banks at the barracks.

Culled from www.punchng.com
Photo credit: AFP

Boko Haram: Cameroon sentence 89 militants to death

Cameroon has sentenced 89 members of Nigerian militant group Boko Haram to death.

Cameroonian President Paul Biya (L) walks with his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari (R) at the airport in Yaounde, Cameroon, July 29, 2015. Cameroon has sentenced 89 members of Boko Haram to death.

Some 850 alleged members of Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in 2015, are being detained in Cameroon, according to the BBC’s Hausa service. The executions are the first since a new anti-terror law was enacted in 2014 in Cameroon, which is part of a multinational force along with Nigeria and others aimed at combating the group’s spread in West Africa.

Boko Haram has been waging an insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2009, killing some 20,000 people and displacing more than two million. During 2015, the group upped its activities across Nigeria’s borders in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Boko Haram militants have been suspected of carrying out suicide bombings particularly in Cameroon’s Far North region. The 89 suspects were convicted by a Cameroonian military court for their role in various attacks in the north of the country.

Cameroon joined forces with Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Benin in March 2015 as part of the 8,700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force and has conducted cross-border operations with Nigeria’s permission. In February, the Cameroonian military said it killed more than 150 militants and liberated a Boko Haram stronghold in the town of Goshi in northeastern Nigeria. The U.S. is also providing tactical support to Cameroon—President Barack Obama pledged in October 2015 to send a total of 300 American military personnel to Cameroon to assist with providing intelligence and planning anti-Boko Haram operations.

Culled from europe.newsweek.com
Photo Credit: Getty Images

Soldiers arrest four Boko Haram spies in Bauchi

The soldiers of the 33 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Bauchi, have arrested four persons for carrying out surveillance activities of the Boko Haram insurgents.

The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement on Wednesday one the detained terrorists spies, Victor Moses, carried out a surveillance mission for the Boko Haram before the attack on the Catholic Church at Madallah, Niger State on December 25, 2011.

According Usman, the spies included Victor Moses, Abubakar Shettima, Salisu Mohammed and Umar Sadiq Madaki.

He said that the troops arrested the Boko Haram spies when Victor Modes went to a mosque ostensibly to get converted to Islam in Bauchi.

He said that the worshippers who doubted the sincerity of Moses alerted the security operatives who arrested him and commenced a process of investigation into the matter.

Moses was said to have confessed to the military interrogators that he was working for an Islamic Cleric in Gombe who was at large.

He was also said to have mentioned one Abubakar Shettima, who is based in Jos, as the link between him and the cleric.

Usman said that Moses also confessed that he carried out surveillance activities for the Boko Haram on places targeted for attack including the Madalla church Christmas day attack.

“The headquarters of 33 Artillery Brigade, Nigerian Army, Bauchi, has arrested four persons suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists spies that include the one that carried out surveillance on the Madalla church before it was bombed.

“The men Victor Moses, Abubakar Shettima, Salisu Mohammed Bello and Umar Sadiq Madaki have been carrying out surveillance mission for the Boko Haram terrorists on target for suicide bombings or attacks.

“Luck ran out for them when Victor Moses went to a mosque in Bauchi and pretended that he wanted to be converted to Islam and the people suspecting that he was not genuine, promptly reported the matter.

“On interrogation he confirmed that he was working for an Islamic cleric in Gombe (now at large) and that their point of contact was Abubakar Shetima based in Jos. He confessed to casing targets for suicide bomb attacks including that of the Catholic Church Madalla, Suleja, Niger State on Christmas day, 25th December 2011.” The statement read in part.

Usman said that the four Boko Haram spies, undergoing interrogation at the headquarters of the 33 Artillery Brigade, Bauchi, were paraded by the Brigade’s Commander, Brig. Gen. Abraham Dusu, on Monday.

Culled from www.punchng.com

Photos: Bimbo Akintola and Francis Duru At IDP Camp Maiduguri

Nollywood actors Bimbo Akintola and Francis Duru, last Sunday, visited Internally Displaced People camps in Maiduguri.

Check out more photos below;

Boko Haram attacks kill at least 30, locals say

Boko Haram militants killed at least 30 people during attacks on two villages over two days in northeast Nigeria, local vigilante fighters and a local official told CNN on Saturday.

The vicious attacks saw the raiders looting food supplies, carting away herds, and kidnapping women and children.

Boko Haram Sect.

Gunmen in pickups and on bicycles stormed the remote villages of Yakshari and Kachifa in Damboa district, slaughtering villagers, said Musa Suleiman, a member of a local ad hoc group fighting Boko Haram alongside Nigeria's military.

"The attackers slaughtered 30 people Yakshari and Kachifa villages in Damboa local government area in two separate attacks on Friday night and Saturday morning," Suleiman said.

His account was supported by his comrade, Awana Ari.

The gunmen attacked the farming village of Yakshari around 9:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. ET) on Saturday, slaughtering 22 residents and taking away food supplies and cattle, said Suleiman, who is from the town of Biu, 120 kilometers (75 miles) away.

"The Boko Haram gunmen killed 22 people in Yakshari by slitting their throats. They then stole all the food supplies and all the cattle in the village," he said.

The day before, the Islamist militants raided nearby Kachifa village, killing villagers and taking property, Ari said. 

"On Friday around 10 p.m., Boko Haram gunmen raided Kachifa were they slaughtered eight residents and looted grains barns and herded their cattle into the bush," Suleiman said.

The vigilantes believed the attacks were carried out by the same marauders.

A local official confirmed the attacks, adding that an unspecified number of women and children were taken captive in the attacks.

"We received reports on the attack on the two villages where the attackers killed, looted, and kidnapped women and children," a Damboa local government official told CNN from Maiduguri. 

"We are still working to determine how many women and children were kidnapped," said the official, who didn't want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the attacks.

News of the attacks was slow to emerge due to poor communication in the area following destruction of telecommunication towers by Boko Haram militants in previous raids.

Vigilantes in Biu received reports of the attacks late Saturday when their colleagues drove 86 kilometers (54 miles) from Damboa to break the news to them.

Nigerian troops retook the town of Damboa in August 2014 after it was briefly seized by Boko Haram the previous month.

Despite huge troop deployments in Damboa and other towns reclaimed from Boko Haram, the Islamists militants still carry out sporadic attacks on remote villages with no military protection, according to residents and vigilantes.

Culled from edition.cnn.com

Nigerian suicide bomber gets cold feet, refuses to kill

Strapped with a booby-trapped vest and sent by the extremist Boko Haram group to kill as many people as possible, the young teenage girl tore off the explosives and fled as soon as she was out of sight of her handlers.

Her two companions, however, completed their grisly mission and walked into a crowd of hundreds at Dikwa refugee camp in northeast Nigeria and blew themselves up, killing 58 people.

Later found by local self-defense forces, the girl's tearful account is one of the first indications that at least some of the child bombers used by Boko Haram are aware that they are about to die and kill others.

"She said she was scared because she knew she would kill people. But she was also frightened of going against the instructions of the men who brought her to the camp," said Modu Awami, a self-defense fighter who helped question the girl.

She was among thousands held captive for months by the extremists, according to Algoni Lawan, a spokesman for the Ngala local government area that has many residents at the camp and who is privy to information about her interrogation by security forces.

"She confessed to our security operatives that she was worried if she went ahead and carried out the attack that she might kill her own father, who she knew was in the camp," he told the AP on Thursday.

The girl tried to persuade her companions to abandon the mission, he said, "but she said she could not convince the two others to change their minds."

Her story was corroborated when she led soldiers to the unexploded vest, Awami said Thursday, speaking by phone from the refugee camp, which holds 50,000 people who have fled Boko Haram's Islamic uprising.

The girl is in custody and has given officials information about other planned bombings that has helped them increase security at the camp, said Satomi Ahmed, chairman of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency.

Culled from www.yahoo.com/news

Nigerian Airforce drone destroys Boko Haram base

On Saturday last week, the Nigerian Air Force said it has conducted 286 air operations on Boko Haram targets in the last one month.

According to the Deputy Theatre Commander (Air) of the counter-insurgency operation in the North-East (Operation Lafiya Dole), Air Vice Marshall Isiaka Amao, who made the revelation, the 286 “operational sorties” against Boko Haram terrorists targets conducted between December 25, 2015 and January 30 2016 translate to 157,000 square kilometres of operational coverage, equivalent “to the total land mass of South Korea, Portugal and Togo.”

He had also revealed that the operations were aimed at further degrading the terrorist group, while also trying to locate the abducted Chibok girls and others being held hostage by the terrorists.

Here is a video of one of the air raids conducted with a drone:

Culled from www.punchng.com

Armsgate: I returned N25m Metuh paid into my account to EFCC – Witness tells court

The trial of the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh resumed on Monday at the Federal High Court, Abuja with the prosecution witness, Abbah Dabo telling the court that he returned the 25 million naira he received from Metuh to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Dabo is a retired public servant and a former Special Adviser to the President in the office of the former Vice President, Namadi Sambo . He was the former editor of the Sunday New Nigeria, Kaduna, Gaskiya Tefi-Kwabo, the Hausa version.

He was also a onetime Chief Press Secretary to former President, Shehu Shagari.

Dabo in his testimony told the court how the embattled PDP spokesman gave him the sum of N25m five days after the Presidential nomination Convention.

He said,

“Metuh had on Dec 16, 2014 paid the sum of 25 million naira into my personal account through his company Destra Investment for the purpose of publicity for the PDP during the last Presidential campaign.”

Dabo said sequel to the 2015 Presidential election, some concerns were raised by the party among which was negative publicity in the media and in order to address these, Metuh ” thought I could assist in the mitigation in view of my antecedent as a media man.”

He added that the money was refunded to the EFCC as he could not reach Metuh at the time, as reports in the media linked the transaction between him and the PDP spokesman to the funds meant for the procurement of arms.

“There were publications in the media linking my transaction with Metuh to controversial circumstances. It was alleged that the N25m he gave me through his company was sourced from the arms deal. 

“In view of that, I decided to return the money back to THE EFCC as Metuh could not be reached.” Dabo said.

CUlled from www.dailypost.ng

Nigerian soldiers had faulty weapons under Goodluck Jonathan - Minister

Nigeria’s information minister has accused former President Goodluck Jonathan of arming soldiers with faulty weapons in the war against Boko Haram.

In a statement issued on Monday, Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, rejected claims Jonathan made recently that the Nigerian army’s success in taking back territory from the militant group in 2015 was down to weapons purchased under the previous administration. On the contrary, Mohammed said, weapons and equipment purchased under Jonathan’s administration lacked basic components and spare parts. There were even reports of ammunition exploding inside gun barrels when the weapons were fired, injuring soldiers, he added.

Jonathan recently claimed in an interview with France 24 that the Nigerian military was still using the equipment procured under his administration and that his government laid the groundwork for their successes in 2015.

But in his statement, Mohammed said that, under Jonathan’s administration, troops lacked basic vehicles and other equipment needed to fight against Boko Haram effectively and often had to use civilian vehicles and trailers as makeshift military vehicles. “That explains why troops remained largely static and were unable to effectively deploy to completely rout the Boko Haram terrorists in all their known enclaves,” he said.

The minister also made reference to an arms corruption scandal that took place partially during Jonathan’s time in office. A 2015 investigation by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), found that more than $2 billion of government funds meant for buying arms to fight Boko Haram had gone missing since 2007.

The scandal centers on Sambo Dasuki, Nigeria’s former national security advisor, who is accused of fraud totaling $68 million. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Several other high-profile figures, including former defense minister Bello Haliru Mohammed and Olisa Metuh, the publicity secretary for the opposition People’s Democratic Party, have also been implicated in the scandal. They both deny any wrongdoing.

Jonathan has not been implicated in the arms corruption scandal and has refused to discuss the issue while cases are ongoing.

“It is also clear, as has been shown so far by the outcome of the panel probing past arms deals, that the purchase of substandard weapons apparently resulted from the massive corruption that enveloped the deals, the kind of horrifying graft that saw the purchase of refurbished choppers that lacked rotors or fighter jets that could not be deployed to the theater of war because they were not up to par,” said Mohammed.

Jonathan has not responded publicly to Mohammed’s comments.

Culled from europe.newsweek.com
Photo credit: Getty Images

Nigerian authorities raid former VP Namadi Sambo's office over alleged arms fraud

Nigerian authorities have raided the office of former Vice President Namadi Sambo as part of ongoing investigations into a $2 billion arms corruption scandal, the BBC reports.

Nigeria former Vice President Namadi Sambo.

Documents including bank statements and contracts were seized during the raid, which took place on Saturday at Sambo’s office in the Nigerian capital Abuja, a source told the BBC. Sambo served as vice president under former President Goodluck Jonathan between 2010 and 2015. Sambo has not been arrested and is not currently facing any charges.

Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), reported in 2015 that $2 billion of government funds earmarked for purchasing arms to fight Boko Haram had gone missing since 2007. According to the EFCC, the money had been spent on phantom contracts for military equipment, including helicopters and fighter jets, which never materialized.

A number of high-profile figures have been arrested and charged as part of the ongoing investigations. At the center of the scandal is Sambo Dasuki, Nigeria’s former national security advisor, who has been charged with 19 counts of fraud, money laundering and criminal breach of trust totaling $68 million. Dasuki denies the charges against him. Former defense minister Bello Haliru Mohammed has been charged with money laundering over 300 million naira ($1.5 million), while Olisa Metuh, publicity secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), is accused of diverting 400 million naira ($2 million) of arms money into campaign funds for the PDP between November 2014 and March 2015. Both deny the charges against them.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who has made the crackdown on corruption a signature of his administration, ordered the EFCC in January to investigate 20 former military chiefs and officers over alleged fraud, as well as 20 companies.

Newsweek contacted the EFCC for confirmation and details of the raid but did not receive an immediate response.

Culled from europe.newsweek.com

Thousands return to Nigerian town after Boko Haram ouster

Thousands of Nigerian refugees, who fled to neighbouring Cameroon in 2014 to escape Boko Harm militants, have returned to the liberated northeastern town of Gamboru only to find their homes and their livelihoods destroyed, residents and officials told AFP Friday.

A trader washes his hands on May 11, 2014 at Gamboru market, burned by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.

Over the past three days more than 15,000 Nigerians have crossed the 300-metre (yard) river bridge that forms the border with Cameroon, following calls by military and local leaders‎ for residents to return, an official in Gamboru said.

"More are coming in everyday," he added.

Boko Haram fighters seized Gamboru in violence-wracked Borno state in August 2014, forcing thousands to flee across the border to the town of Fotokol on the other bank of the river in northern Cameroon.

Chadian forces reclaimed Gamboru in February last year, after intense fighting that left hundreds of insurgents dead, as part of a regional military coalition put together to crush the Islamist group which has become a threat to regional security.

"We found a looted and burnt out town which is a shadow of its former self," said Abacha Mari, one of those who returned to Gamboru on Wednesday. 

"More than nine-tenths of the buildings in the town have been damaged by fire while ‎the rest have been washed away by the rains," he added. 

"Everything was looted and the streets are barely recognisable." 

- 'Nobody found anything ' -

Gamboru has been repeatedly targeted in the Boko Haram insurrection which has cost the lives of 17,000 people in Nigeria and made over 2.5 million homeless since 2009.

Although Boko Haram were forced out of Gamboru 11 months ago, the refugees say they are only now beginning to feel confident enough to return because the Nigerian army has sent a large contingent to the town.

The return of the refugees is being coordinated by Cameroonian soldiers‎ and local officials in Gamboru, the returning residents said.

The Nigerian refugees and their belongings wer‎e screened at the Cameroonian side of the bridge by soldiers using sniffer dogs to detect explosives before they were allowed cross back into Nigeria, where officials were ready to welcome them and provided them with the necessary papers for their return.

Returning residents scoured their empty homes in the vain hope of finding any personal ‎effects neglected by Boko Haram.

"Nobody found anything in their homes which have been looted and burnt," said ‎returnee Ibrahim Wanzan.

The destruction that they found came as no surprise. Some of the refugees had already visited Gamboru under the protection of Chadian soldiers in February 2015 and described it then as a"ghost town".

A key source of the locals' livelihood, the market, has also been destroyed. It formerly attracted traders from neighbouring Chad and Cameroon‎.

"Our main problem is food and how to rebuild our homes," Wanzan said.

The returned residents have been living on the food they brought from Fotokol and desperately hope to receive aid from the Nigerian government before supplies run out, Mari said.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA‎) plans to send aid to Gamboru in coming days.

"We are aware of the return of thousands of Gamboru residents from Cameroon and we are ‎working to send relief items to them in the next few days," a NEMA official told AFP.

Culled from news.yahoo.com
Photo Credit: AFP Photo

Nigeria launches new investigation of 2014 kidnap of Chibok girls

Nigeria's president Muhammadu Buhari has ordered a new investigation into the kidnapping of 219 schoolgirls by Islamist group Boko Haram in April 2014 from the town of Chibok, the presidency said on Thursday.

A statement said a panel would be announced soon by the National Security Advisor. The decision comes after parents of the girls and the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement marched to the presidential villa to demand a meeting with Buhari earlier on Thursday.

"I assure you that I go to bed and wake up every day with the Chibok girls on my mind," Buhari was quoted as saying in the statement after meeting some of the marchers. 

"Securing the Chibok girls is my responsibility. The service chiefs and heads of our security agencies will tell you that in spite of the dire financial straits that we found the country in, I continue to do my best to support their efforts in that regard."

On April 14, Boko Haram militants raided a school while the girls were taking exams. They loaded 270 of them onto trucks. Around 50 escaped shortly afterwards.

There was a global outcry and threats by Boko Haram to sell the girls. Former president Goodluck Jonathan was heavily criticised for his slow reaction and Jonathan's wife at first said she doubted the kidnapping had actually happened.

After nearly a month, Jonathan set up a fact-finding committee that went to Chibok to establish whether the abduction happened and how many girls were missing.

Culled from www.reuters.com

Arms deal: Court admits former PDP chairman, son to bail

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted bail to a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Haliru Bello, and his son, Abba, in the sum of N300 million each.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed, in his ruling on the bail applications by the former PDP chairman and his son, held that they are entitled to bail as the offences they are charged with do not carry the capital punishment.

In addition, the court said the accused persons should provide two sureties, one of which must be a civil servant on the level of a director, who must have a landed property in Abuja worth N300 million.

Justice Mohammed also held that for Haliru Bello to be released on bail, his sureties must swear to an affidavit of means and the particulars of the sureties shall be verified by the court. They will also submit title documents of the landed property to the court.

Part of the bail conditions for Abba, the court held, are that of two sureties, one must be a civil servant of not lower than grade level 12.

Justice Mohammed said the defendants cannot interfere with the course of justice since the prosecution said it had concluded investigation into the matter before arraigning the defendants.

While Abba is to be returned to Kuje prison in Abuja until be perfects his bail conditions, the former PDP boss will remain under the custody of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) at the Abuja Clinics where he is currently receiving treatment, as earlier ordered by the court.

The case has been adjourned till February 16, 2016 for trial.

The former PDP chairman was last week brought to the court in a wheelchair to face the four-count charge slammed against him and his son, Abba, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over their alleged involvement in the $ 2.1 billion arms deal during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Culled from www.leadership.ng

$2.1bn arms probe aimed at destroying PDP —Dokpesi

Former Chairman of DAAR Communication, owners of African Independent Television and Ray Power FM, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, has described  the $2.1 billion arms deal probe by the Federal Government that led to the arrest of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki and other members of People Democratic Party, PDP, as a hoax.

Former Chairman of Daar Communications Plc, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Addressing newsmen, yesterday, in his office in Abuja when he was honoured by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  youths under the aegis, PDP Youth Vanguard, as their patron with a certificate, Dokpesi, stressed that the $2.1 billion armsgate was not only a figment of the imagination of the Federal Government, but was aimed at destroying PDP.

Dokpesi said:

“I must hasten to assure you that there is nothing like the much flaunted $2.1 billion armsgate. The competent courts of our land would sooner or later prove this coinage aimed at decimating the leadership and membership of our great party to be nothing but a hoax. 

“Some of us are reminded of the events of 1984/85 which by any stretch of comparison are similar to the unfolding events of today. As I have said not too long ago, we must stand resolutely united especially in the face of this momentary political adversity. For one thing, I say again that the PDP is not dead, is not dying and will not die. 

“I wish to emphasize that the current ruling party is making efforts to impede our journey to political maturity through the manipulation of the federal system to serve purely partisan interest. 

“Our party is indeed experiencing a massive persecution, political reprisal and vendetta, of the kind never before seen on our shores and targeted at the leadership, membership and indeed sympathizers of the PDP by the APC government of the day.

Culled from www.vanguardngr.com
Photo Credit: Gbemiga Olamikan.

Boko Haram kill seven in suicide attack, raid in Borno

Seven people were killed in a suicide and raid attack by Boko Haram members on Izgeki village in Borno state on Tuesday January 5th.

A resident of the state identified as Ishaku who spoke with AFP about the attacks which is the first in 2016, said

"I received information from my relatives who fled the attack... that some Boko Haram gunmen on bicycles attacked Izgeki across the river from Izghe on Tuesday morning where they killed two people.

The attack forced villagers to cross the river into Izghe. The gunmen pursued them. One of them who had a suicide belt on him blew himself up near the market, killing five people".

In a related development, members of the sect group also attacked Nchiha village near Chibok on Tuesday at about 10pm.

Ayuba Chibok, an elder in the town said

"Luckily no-one was hurt but they (Boko Haram gunmen) looted food and burnt a large part of the village".

Former Nigerian defense minister Bello Haliru Mohammed charged with money laundering

According to BBC news, former Nigerian defence minister Bello Haliru Mohammed has been charged with money laundering.

He is accused along with his son, Bello Abba Mohammed, of diverting $1.5m (£1m) that was meant to buy arms for soldiers fighting Islamist Boko Haram militants.

Bello Haliru Mohammed served as defence minister from 2011 to 2012.

The two men have pleaded not guilty.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office in May, set up an investigation into the procurement of weapons for the military, which found that phantom contracts worth $2bn had been awarded.

Last month, former national security adviser Sambu Dasuki was arrested and charged with 19 counts of fraud, money laundering and criminal breach of trust in connection to the case.

Mr Dasuki, who oversaw the fight against Boko Haram while Goodluck Jonathan was president, denied the charges.

Bello Haliru Mohammed served as Mr Jonathan's defence minister from 2011 to 2012 and still holds a senior position in the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP).

He appeared at the Abuja High Court on Tuesday in a wheelchair and was transferred to a hospital when the case was adjourned, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said.
His son was remanded in prison until a bail hearing on Thursday.

Boko Haram has killed thousands in north-eastern Nigeria in its six-year campaign to create an Islamic state.

Soldiers had complained that despite the military's huge budget, they were ill-equipped to fight.
Culled from www.bbc.om/news

Skye Bank Employees Lift Displaced People With Relief Materials

The outbreak of the Boko Haram insurgency, first in the North East of Nigeria, and then the attempt to spread it to the rest of Northern Nigeria, beginning from 2010, has created a major refugee crisis in the country. Indeed, the sheer number of people involved in the refugee crisis makes the Nigerian case the largest internal refugee crisis in the world!. No fewer than 2-3 million have been displaced from their ancestral homes by the insurgency.

The affected people have lost husbands, wives, children, parents and relations. Those who managed to scamper to safety are at the mercy of kind hearted Nigerians and the elements as most of them do not have decent shelter over their
In the various camps where they have been resettled, many have died of diseases and hunger while some are in a state of acute deprivation and want. Even though all of them have expressed their desire to return to their ancestral homes, the massive pillage and desecration of their land by the insurgents have made the prospect of their immediate return anything but feasible.

As a show of concern and empathy for the plight of the internally displaced people in the country, employees of Skye Bank Plc have responded to the calls by concerned Nigerians that public spirited individuals and organisations should help the displaced people. employees of the bank last week donated relief materials worth N20 million to the displaced people in Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory.

The bank workers under the aegis of the of the ‘Employees Volunteerism Project’, distributed relief materials to over 120 families consisting of about 800 individuals in New Karshi, Nasarawa State, in addition to reaching out to another 100 families of Chibok people at their camp in Kuje, Federaal Capital Territory.

The relief materials include 2000 bags of rice, 2000 bags of Indomie noodles, beverages, blankets, tooth paste, pampers, semovita, sanitary pads, among others. Skye Bank partnered with two non-governmental organisations that have been working with the displaced people, Likeminds Initiative and Ombus Organisation, to achieve the feat.
Culled from www.leadership.ng

Nigeria's 'Disgrace' That Neighbours Must Take On Boko Haram - GMB

It is a "disgrace" for Nigeria that its neighbours have been more successful in battle against its Boko Haram insurgency than its own army, opposition presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari said in an interview a week before the election.

Presidential Aspirant, General Muhammadu Buhari.

Troops from neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon, all much smaller and poorer than Nigeria, have been battling the Islamist militants who have seized territory in northeastern Nigeria in a five-year insurgency.

Thousands of Nigerians have been killed and 1.5 million displaced in the uprising by militants known for executing and kidnapping civilians.

"It’s a big disgrace for Nigeria. It is now Cameroon and Chad fighting the insurgency more than Nigeria. We will build the capacity and Nigeria should be able to secure its territorial integrity," Buhari told Reuters.
Culled from MSN News www.msn.com/en-za/news

Nigeria Postpones Presidential Election To Fight Boko Haram

Nigeria announces a six-week delay to its presidential election as it battles the threat from the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Nigeria's electoral commission will postpone Feb. 14 presidential and legislative elections for six weeks to give a new multinational force time to secure northeastern areas under the sway of Boko Haram, an official close to the commission said.

Millions could be disenfranchised if the voting went ahead while the Islamic extremists hold a large swath of the northeast and commit mayhem that has driven 1.5 million people from their homes.

A major offensive with warplanes and ground troops from Chad and Nigeria already has forced the insurgents from a dozen towns and villages in the past 10 days. Even greater military strikes by more countries are planned.

The official who is knowledgeable of the discussions said the Independent National Electoral Commission will announce the postponement at a news conference later Saturday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Officials in President Goodluck Jonathan's administration had been calling for a postponement, which is opposed by an opposition coalition fielding his chief rival, former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari.

Supporters of both sides are threatening violence if their candidate does not win. Some 800 people were killed in riots in the mainly Muslim north after Buhari, a Muslim, lost 2011 elections to Jonathan, a Christian from the south.

A postponement also will give electoral officials more time to deliver some 30 million voter cards. The commission had said the non-delivery of cards to nearly half of the 68.8 million registered voters was not a good reason to delay the vote.
Culled from The Telegragh www.telegraph.co.uk