Abdulmumin: I Ensured Ogor Did Not Emerge Deputy Speaker>> read more!!

The sacked Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Jibrin Abdulmumin, has said he is proud of his role in ensuring that Minority Leader, Hon. Leo Ogor, did not emerge as the Deputy Speaker of the House, during the tussle for the leadership of the green chamber in June 2015.

In a statement yesterday, Abdulmumin said Ogor has not forgiven him for the role he played in stopping his ambition.

Ogor is one of the four principal officers accused by Abdulmumin of corruption and abuse of office. Others are the Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Sulaimon Lasun, and Chief Whip, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, whom he accused of making senseless insertions into the 2016 budget.

“Ogor will never forgive me for the selfless and onerous role I played at ensuring he did not emerged Deputy Speaker! That would have amounted to bringing up one of the longest serving mafia in the House as a presiding Officer. It is a role I played and remained very proud of,” Abdulmumini said.

Attempts to reach the Minority Leader were unsuccessful as his mobile number was unavailable.
Abdulmumin in another statement again outlined allegations against the principal officers, and nine chairmen of standing committees.

He has however refused to address allegations that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigating several petitions against him including a N413 million contract fraud for the National Commission of Refugees.

The EFCC has also allegedly resuscitated a money laundering charge against Abdulmumin, and his firm, Green Forest Investment Ltd.

He was charged alongside a former Governor of Nassarawa State, Mr. Aliyu Akwe Doma, and seven others inconnection to the charges of laundering stolen state funds totalling over N15 billion in October 2011.

In December 2012, the EFCC removed his name from its amended charges.

Abia: Another PDP Aspirant Pushes to Replace Ikpeazu>> read more!!!

One of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirants in the 2015 governorship primary election in Abia State, Mr.  Friday Nwosu, has dismissed the legal challenge initiated by Dr. Uche Ogah seeking to replace the state Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, saying the duo were not qualified to be governor.

Nwosu said contrary to claims by Ogah that he is the rightful replacement of Ikpeazu, he is actually the person that came second in the  December 18, 2014 PDP governorship primary.

Nwosu, also claimed that he was the first to blow the whistle over the Abia governor’s alleged tax evasion, adding that while Ikpeazu contested with questionable tax papers, Ogah, participated in the primary election but withdrew midway, alleging irregularities, a development, he said,  made him as the only qualified  candidate the party and so should be declared winner.

He said he had since instituted legal suits, one of which is seeking the disqualification of Ikpeazu and the other asking that Ogah, who was ordered by the Federal High Court in Abuja to be given Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) be either made governor or recognised as candidate of the party given that he withdrew from the contest, alleging irregularities.

But he alleged that some powerful forces from the state who knew the strength and merit of his case in courts were working to frustrate him by ensuring his cases were not heard.

Addressing journalists in Abuja at the weekend, the legal practitioner frowned at what he called “expeditious treatment” of Ogah’s case against Ikpeazu, leaving his case which he said was instituted before that of Ogah.

He called on the President of the Appeal Court to immediately constitute an appeal panel to hear his appeal  case.

Nwosu said: “What  happened was that on December 8, 2014, at Umuahia Central Stadium in Abia State, the PDP conducted its governorship primary election, and a lot of people took different views of that election.

“The governorship election was zoned to Abia South senatorial zone in compliance with what Abia people called Abia Chatter of Equity, where political positions in the state are zoned to the comprising areas.

“When the election came up, seven aspirants came out from Abia South senatorial zone including my humble self. One person, in defiance of the party’s zoning policy, Dr. Uche Chukwu Ogah, who aspired from Abia North senatorial zone contested.

“When the election was conducted, Ogah had a very different view from the view of the party. I won’t be too free to speak because of the pendency of this matter in court.

“But it is enough for me to say that Ogah wrote a petition to the party complaining about a lot of things among which were that PDP delegates who were supposed to vote in that election were locked up somewhere by the then governor of the state, Chief Theodore Orji, now a senator.

He said the real PDP delegates were locked up somewhere, detained somewhere while the party imported several persons from neighbouring states who were not even PDP people into the Umuahia Central Stadium who voted without accreditation.

“I also wrote a letter to INEC to that effect  that they have obligation to look at the documents submitted to them and crosscheck it with the position of the law. That now that my candidate has submitted documents that cannot pass the scrutiny of the law, that they should advise my party, the PDP to withdraw him and bring a qualified person, that was my letter to INEC.”

He said he was worried that no panel had been set up to superintendent over his case.
‘”Well, my worry now is that some people, powerful people somewhere are sitting on my appeal.  The appeal that was contemptuous with the appeal of Ogah has not been listed for hearing, no panel has been set up to hear that appeal while a panel was set up promptly to hear Ogah’s appeal,’’ he said.

B’Haram Stalls Prisoner Swap with Abducted Chibok Girls>> read more!!!

Fresh facts have emerged on why President Muhammadu Buhari has remained steadfast on his position that the federal government would only negotiate for the release of the abducted Chibok girls with those who are directly holding them.

It has emerged that two recent attempts in recent weeks by the Federal Government for prisoners swap with the so called representative of the terror group may have reached a dead end as each time security officials arrive at designated locations with Boko Haram prisoners for the swap, Boko Haram representatives fail to show up as they are required to produce at least 50 verifiable Chibok girls for the first wave of the swap, security officials said.

Two hundred and seventy six girls were kidnapped from their school dormitory on April 14, 2014, and although 59 were able to escape, one recently, 217 have remained in captivity, sparking global outrage over their abduction.

THISDAY exclusively gathered that the federal government had through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), in conjunction with the Directorate of the State Service (DSS), have in the last two weeks reached back channels agreements with some on the leadership of the sect on the venue, date and other logistics necessary to facilitate the swap of identified Boko Haram prisoners from specific prisons for the Chibok girls.

The source familiar with the back channel deal said at the appointed time and date, when all was set and the identified prisoners were moved to the location slated for the swap, neither the Boko Haram representatives, its commanders nor the Chibok girls were anywhere near the vicinity, prompting the federal government to return the Boko Haram prisoners to their prison cells.

Boko Haram’s inability to deliver the girls, the security source revealed is frustrating the federal government’s efforts to recover the girls.

Given its propensity for reneging on its promise, the source told THISDAY that the development informed the president’s insistence that, going forward, although the federal government remains open to negotiations with the sect for the release of the Chibok girls, his administration would only contemplate further negotiations with any group within the sect’s bona fide leadership who are in possession of the girls as that would have to provide proof of life, as well as verifiable guarantees through credible 3rd parties, including the Red Cross, that they know the whereabouts of the girls.

It is the same reason, the source added, that Buhari two days ago asked the sect to nominate an internationally recognised non-governmental organisation (NGO) that would negotiate on its behalf for the release of the girls.

The president, while addressing the issue in Nairobi, Kenya, on the sidelines of the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), said: “If they do not want to talk to us directly, let them pick an internationally recognised non-governmental organisation, convince them that they are holding the girls and that they want Nigeria to release a number of Boko Haram leaders in detention, which they are supposed to know.”

The federal government, starting with the Goodluck Jonathan administration, has made a number of efforts to rescue the girls since 2014, but all attempts have failed to date.

Japan Donates $800m to Fight Malaria, TB, in Nigeria, Pledges $30bn Investment in Africa>> read more!!

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed special appreciation to the government of Japan for donating $800 million to the fight against malaria, tuberculosis among other deadly diseases in Nigeria.

The contribution was part of the $1.3 billion made available to the Nigerian health sector by the Global Fund.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI) in Nairobi, Kenya yesterday, Buhari gave an assurance that his government would ensure full rehabilitation and resettlement of the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east who are currently scattered in different camps as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

The two-day summit which had a theme ‘Advancing Africa’s Sustainable Development Agenda – TICAD Partnership for Prosperity’, was attended by Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, some 35 African leaders and chief executives of at least 80 major companies from Japan.

The TICAD VI agenda and programme specifically focused on three thematic areas which included “Economic transformation through diversification and industrialisation; promoting resilient health systems for quality life; promoting social stability for shared prosperity.

Buhari said the Nigerian military had decimated the insurgents and that normal life was beginning to return to North-east Nigeria. The president however said the welfare of the IDPs remained his primary responsibility. He commended development partners for their help to improve the lives of the two million IDPs in the country.

He said: “The bottom line is that these problems are our primary responsibility. We must tackle them and find lasting solutions for ourselves. I took over the mantle of leadership in Nigeria when the North-Eastern part of the country was being ravaged by Boko Haram.

‘’However, soon after assumption of office, our administration with the support of our immediate neighbours – Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin – and international partners including Japan, faced the challenge frontally.
‘’As I speak, the terror group has been decimated, and life is beginning to return to normal in the affected region. The challenge we currently face which is also being addressed, is that of the IDPs which number over two million to get them re-integrated with their families and their original homes.”

On the gains of TICAD which was holding on African soil for the first time since its beginning in 1993, the president noted that partnerships between Africa and Japan would help create and improve investment opportunities in industries, agriculture, information technology, science and technology among others for the good of the continent and investors from Japan.

He told the conference that already his government had taken concrete steps to diversify the economy. ‘’In view of the challenges Africa is facing, the imperative for a viable partnership like the Tokyo International Conference on African Development cannot be over emphasised. Today, many countries in Africa including the oil producing ones are wisely seeking to diversify their economies away from mono-cropping.

‘’In Nigeria, our administration has already taken concrete steps to diversify the economy by making agriculture not just a development programme but a thriving business. Investing in the economies of this continent especially through Public-Private-Partnership can contribute to building capacity for our economies,’’ he said.

Prime Minster Abe announced that Japan would be investing $30 billion in different areas ranging from agriculture, industrialisation, health, energy, water among other things in Africa. He expressed delight that finally TICAD has come to Africa.

He said: “With 23 years behind us, TICAD is now on African soil, opening a new chapter in the relationship between Japan and African countries. Throughout the continent, I cannot but think that we are witnessing a quantum leap.

“Today, Africa has leapfrogged over legacy technologies and aims at cutting-edge quality. It is little wonder that an increasing number of young people from Japan find Africa intriguing and want to be a part of it.

“For a period of three years from 2016 to 2018, Japan will invest for the future of Africa through implementing measures centering on developing quality infrastructure, building resilient health system and laying the foundation for peace and stability, amounting to approximately $30 billion under public-private partnership.”
The Japanese prime minister recalled that one of the priority areas in the Nairobi Declaration of TICAD VI was that “Japan will steadily translate into action in Africa the outcomes of the G7 Ise-Shima Summit”. He said his country would contribute to African’s human resources development.

He also said: “Japan will provide training to 1,000 people to promote public awareness for intellectual prosperity in Africa. Japan will promote practical training for youths engaged in the IT industry which is expected to grow in Africa under the collaboration among industrial, public and academic sectors.

“Japan will aim by 2020 to have agreements related to investments signed or entered into force in 100 countries and regions and will intensify work towards concluding them with African countries to achieve the goal above”.
While expressing regret that Africa has no permanent membership at the United Nations Security Council despite huge potentials and contributions the continent has made to the world, the Prime Minister said Agenda 2063 was aimed at rectifying the problems by 2023.

He said: “Africa is now up and running, aiming at long-range goals, aspiring to be a certain kind of continent with certain kinds of countries in 2063. Agenda 2063 — the grandness of this concept, to the best of my knowledge, is simply unparalleled.

“However, the enormous continent of Africa has given no permanent member to the United Nations Security Council. Agenda 2063 states clearly that by 2023, it will rectify this situation. Please accept my complete support on this point.

“You in Africa have a right as a matter of course to demand that the international community better reflect your views. Africa should send a permanent member to the United Nations Security Council by 2023 at the very latest.

“Reform of the United Nations Security Council is truly a goal that Japan and Africa hold in common. I call on everyone here to walk together towards achieving it. Can I have your approval of that?”
Welcoming participants to the conference, ‎Kenyan President, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta urged the world to support Africa. He pointed out that terrorism was dismembering African countries.

He said: “I am happy that TICAD will be held every three years. Together we must ensure that global trade is supportive of African aspiration. We must press for open and fair trade for the development of human resource for our people.

“Terrorism in particular is threatening or even dismembering some states. Organisations practicing this illicit and savage form of violence are spreading themselves throughout the world. We must also ensure that global governing system response is robust to Africa security as it does to other parts of the world”, he added.
The Chadian, President and Chairman of African Union, Idris Derby called for the establishment of an African Fund against Terrorism (AFT). He also called for massive Japanese investments in Africa.

“AU is happy to be part of TICAD and will play its role. I plead in favour of massive Japanese investments in Africa agriculture, industrialisation, health, energy, water etc. The trend of terrorism compromises…to contribute to African fund against terrorism as was established”, he said.

In a goodwill message, President of World Bank Group, Dr. Jim Yong Kim said the world must stop the illicit flow of stolen funds, recognising that Africa though faced with numerous challenges still had opportunities in energy.
“African countries face key economic challenges, yet there are significant opportunities especially in energy. There are untapped resources. We must stop illicit financial flows”, he said.

Military Begins Operations in Niger Delta, Says Army>> read more!!!

Notwithstanding promises by the President Muhammadu Buhari government that it would employ dialogue, as an option, in dealing with the resurgent militancy in the Niger Delta, the military at the weekend launched an operation to root out militants in the oil-rich region. Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said in a statement yesterday that the military campaign was “a precursor operation” to a planned offensive against the militants, code-named operation “Crocodile Smile”.

But in a quick reaction Saturday, president of Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, condemned the decision of the federal government to use strong-arm methods against the groups, which had been attacking oil facilities in the region. Eradiri accused the government of insincerity in its pledge to peacefully resolve the emergent armed agitations, saying the use of force may jeopardise efforts by leaders of the people to resolve the crisis.

The Nigerian Army had been amassing troops, arms and ammunitions for “Crocodile Smile”, which it said was in support of the wider “Operation Delta Safe” being conducted to protect the oil infrastructure in the nine oil producing states.

Usman stated yesterday, “The 133 Special Forces Battalion of Nigerian Army troops have carried out a precursor operation to Exercise ‘Crocodile Smile’ aimed at getting rid of all forms of criminal activities in the Niger Delta geopolitical region of Nigeria.” He said in the course of the operation, “five militants that attacked the troops were killed in action, while numerous others were injured and 23 suspects were arrested.”

The army spokesman said the military operation, conducted on Friday, was carried out by the Special Forces at the militants’ camps. He listed items recovered from the camps to include two AK-47 rifles, 11 Pump Action Guns, a locally made revolver pistol, 292 cartridges of live Ammunition, 199 rounds of AK-47 rifle Ammunition, four electricity generating sets, and a camp gas cooker. The troops also recovered an abandoned engine boat left by the fleeing militants, he said.

There was intense apprehension along the waterways of the Niger Delta at the weekend following Friday’s announcement by the army spokesman that the military was amassing as part of a broader “logistics build-up” in the Niger Delta.

“The military training exercise embarked upon by the Nigerian Army to train its Special Forces, formations and units located in the South-south geo-political zone of the country has commenced in earnest,” Usman had stated.
It was gathered that the Sapele waterways in Delta State were used as springboard for the troop deployment to the creeks of the region.

However, the IYC called for caution and advised the federal government to pull the troops out of the area in order not to endanger on-going peace efforts. The IYC president said he had been inundated with complaints by people scampering for safety and fleeing into the forests at the approach of the troops, who operated in military gunboats in the creeks.

One militant group, the Ultimate Warriors of Niger Delta, also warned that the military would only succeed in maltreating innocent locals, who have always borne the brunt of such exercises.
Eradiri said it amounted to insincerity on the part of the government to be pronouncing dialogue while at the same time conducting a major military operation in the region.

He said, “The EK Clark committee has brought all Niger Delta leaders together. The MEND and the Avengers support them. The other day, the Minister for Petroleum, Ibe Kachukwu, met with them again.

“The unfortunate fact is whether government is sincere in this whole business. How can the military within the period announce that they are carrying out an exercise in the Niger Delta? They should have suspended whatever exercise they wanted to carry out. There is heavy presence of military mobilising into the Niger Delta through Sapele. But whether it is for ordinary exercise or not should have been suspended at this period.

“The communities are apprehensive and many people are now running away from their homes. As at yesterday (Friday) night, there was this rumour that they were going to attack Gbaramatu and the entire community started scampering into the forest because soldiers were seen mobilising in Sapele.

“When we asked, they said the military had met the governor and said they wanted to do a two-week drill in Niger Delta. It is wrong. They should suspend any form of activity because there is an interpretation of a sinister motive in their activities.”

The IYC leader urged Buhari to demonstrate sincerity of purpose in solving the problems in the Niger Delta. According to him, “President Buhari has not shown sincerity. He must withdraw the military from the Niger Delta if he wants genuine discussions. We are sceptical seeing many soldiers mobilising and jumping here and there.
“We don’t have a Sambisa forest where militants are stationed and waiting for the federal government, like in the North. There is nothing like that. This battle is more of an intelligence-civil strategy instead of an invasion that is old-fashioned. It will clearly jeopardise the dialogue.”

In its own reaction, the Supreme Council of Militia Forces under which the Ultimate Warriors of Niger Delta operates, warned the military to be extremely cautious, threatening that it will not take the killing of innocent civilians lightly. The group said in a statement, “The Supreme Council of Militia Forces is also asking the military to be professional and cautious with its on-going exercise in the Niger Delta waterways. It is unfortunate that we have a military that is lagging behind in amphibious training at this digital age compared to their counterparts in other climes and want to use the Niger Delta crisis as an excuse to further perpetuate their evil of causing panic and fear within our communities.

“This is what the Nigerian Army is known for; violation of human rights and abuses are their hallmark, they seize by the butt of the guns what doesn’t belong to them, including sending our poor farmers and fishermen/women out of the rivers because they want to show off their strength.”

It added, ”You send local people whose only means of eking out a living is fishing to stay away from their occupation without any palliative for them as if there are no rivers in the northern part of country where they can candidly embark on such training.

“But we will not be provoked; we are not for them and we will not give them the room to attack our communities. If anything unpalatable happens in the Niger Delta now that stakeholders have secured a ceasefire deal from agitators, the whole world will know who should be held responsible because the deployment of military devices, personnel and gunboats at a time the region is still fragile is to provoke the sleeping dogs.”

The Ultimate Warriors also welcomed the decision by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta to disband its AARON TEAM 2 and lend its support to the elders, monarchs and stakeholders committee headed by elder statesman, Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark.

Buhari approves governing boards for NPA, NIMASA>>> read more!!

President Muhammadu Buhari, has approved the composition of the governing boards of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
A statement signed by Bolaji Adebiyi, Director (Press), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, named the following as chairmen and members of the two parastatals.
NPA has Emmanuel Olajide Adesoye, as chairman, while the following are members: Supo Shasore; Suleiman Ibrahim Halilu; Constance Harry Mashal; Umar Shu’aibu and Charles Efe Emukowhate Sylvester. Others are Hadiza BalaUsman; Mohammed Bello Koko; Dr. Sekonte Davis; Professor Idris Abubakar and Mrs. I. J. Uche-Okoro.
In the same vein, NIMASA has Major General Jonathan India Garba, as its chairman, while Asekomhe Oaakhia Kenneth; Mohammed Gidado Muazu; Hon. Barrister Ebele Obi; S. U. Galadanchi and Ms Nene Betty Dike, as members. Other members are Dakuku Peterside; Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo; Bashir Yusuf Jamoh; Joseph Oluwarotimi Fashakin and Gambo Ahmed-Member
Adeoye, who chairs the NPA, was a top executive of Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc from January 1984 – September 1998.

End Fulani herdsmen attacks now –Ekweremadu tells Buhari>>read more !!!

Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to put an end to the endless attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen in many parts of the country.
Ekweremadu’s advice is coming on the heels of another dawn attack by suspected herdsmen on Attakwu, Akagbe Ugwu community, Enugu State.
Exactly four months after the Nimbo community in the Uzo-uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State was invaded by rampaging Fulani herdsmen who massacred innocent villagers on April 25, 2016, the cattlemen have struck another Enugu community killing one and injuring four others.
The deceased, Lazarus Nwafor, a Catholic seminarian was doing his apostolic work at Ndiagu Attakwu in Akabeugwu, Enugu West Local Government Area when the herdsmen invaded the bungalow he was staying at about 2:00am on Thursday morning and stabbed him to death.
An eye witness account has it that the previous day, the herdsmen left where they were staying in a nearby bush to graze their cattle in the neighbourhood which prompted an elderly woman to sound the native gong as a way of attracting villagers.
The action angered the  herdsmen.  They returned in the early hours of the next day to the family of Ogbo Nwarum, ripped open the stomach of the pregnant woman, stabbed the seminarian to death and left others with severe injury.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who visited the community, yesterday, condemned the attack warning that government cannot condone the destruction of lives and property in the state.
“I have already summoned a security meeting to determine the next line of action; I sympathise with you and assure you that the government of Enugu State will always be there for you and shall take care of all medical bills incurred.
“We will ensure security of every community in Enugu State and people found guilty of causing breach of peace will face the wrath of the law.
“I have already summoned a meeting of the Fulani Community and security agencies and I assure you that those who unleashed this attack on you will not go unpunished,” he said.
Ekweremadu said the incessant attacks on parts of the country by suspected herdsmen posed a grave threat to the peace, security, and economy of the country. He called on the Federal Government to take decisive steps to put a full stop to the ugly incidents.
Also, the Chairman of the Nkanu West Local Government Caretaker Committee Afam Okereke said: “It is like a black morning. I got a call around 5.00am from the traditional ruler of the community. He said Fulani invaded. It shocked me because we had continued to embark on security meeting with them; their main coordinators are part of our security meeting and they had always promised to maintain peace and order.
“The last meeting we had, we agreed that they are going to submit the list of their members in all our communities, so that when we come we will know the number of Fulanis there, so that in case of any issue we know who to hold responsible. They promised to submit the list but as we speak, that list has not been submitted.
“A seminarian, who just finished his pastoral service  and returned to the community yesterday. He is tenant in the community, the landlord, the wife and sister were also attacked. I am just coming  from the hospital, Mother of Christ. The old woman was stabbed and her intestine laid on the floor. She has just been moved into the theatre, the sister also moved into the theatre. The man of the family, they used machete to cut his head, he doesn’t hear any more, same with the pregnant wife.”
Greg Ugwu, traditional ruler of Attakwu Akaegbu community described the incident as sad.
“We don’t have any problem with them before now. So I don’t know why they should come this morning to shatter our peace. It happened about 2am this morning,” he said.
Bishop Callistus Onaga, the Bishop of Enugu Catholic Diocese said: “We have been living with these people and all of a sudden, they assumed another effrontery, another change of attitude and boldness to now resort to killing human beings. If they cannot live with us together, let them quietly go away. This is our own land and we cannot park away from here. So, we are appealing to the Federal Government to look into this case because it will get to a time when there will be free reign of anger and rioting. We pray that this should be controlled.”
Meanwhile the Enugu State Commissioner of Police Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu has urged members of the Ndiagu Attakwu community, Akegbe Ugwu to be calm just as he sympathized with the family of the victims and the entire community over the alleged attack by suspected herdsmen.
The commissioner of police made the appeal when he visited the family and the community  to  assess the incident, as well as commiserate with the people of the community.
Ojukwu urged them not to panic as the state command in partnership with other relevant stakeholders and the state government have stepped into the incident.
The commissioner of police who also visited the injured persons at both Mother of Christ Hospital and Parklane Hospital  Enugu respectively disclosed that full scale investigations have commenced into the incident.

Chibok Families to Buhari: Bring Back Our Girls or Resign>>>

Relatives of the abducted Chibok girls have accused the federal government of abandoning their daughters to suffer in captivity, and have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign if he cannot rescue the girls.

The relatives spoke yesterday in Abuja after they were stopped by security operatives from reaching the Aso Rock presidential villa to see the president.

The protest march, the second in a week, was organised by the BringBackOurGirls group.
The relatives of the missing girls said the president neglected them after repeated unfulfilled promises.
The girls were abducted by the extremist sect, Boko Haram, since April 14, 2014.

Enoch Mark, father of two of the girls, said Buhari had failed the Chibok people who voted for him in 2015 with the hope that he would ensure the return of the girls.

“Many Chibok parents voted for you because we believed that you would ensure the return of our daughters. You promised us that you were a military man and that you cannot lie. You said the war will not be over until the girls are back,” Mark said.

“Now we hear shouts of victory. And you turn around and say you do not know how to get our daughters. Former President Sani Abacha told us that no country can fight war for up to 24 hours without its government knowing about it. If the president lacks intelligence to bring back the girls let him resign.

“We have men who can do the job. There is nothing that Nigeria does not have. What is stopping the president from giving the orders?” he queried.

The mother of Dorcas Yakubu, the girl who spoke in the recent Boko Haram video, said the federal government should exchange the detained terrorists for her daughter if the government had no better option.

“Because it is obvious that no serious effort has been made to ensure the rescue of our daughters, otherwise we would have heard some good news,” she said.

Yakubu said the security operatives preventing her and the other members of the #BringBackOurGirls group from reaching the president were stopping her from fulfilling the request of her daughter.

“My daughter pleaded with me to try and see the president personally and talk to him regarding the rescue of the Chibok girls. They named her Maida. I named my daughter Dorcas, but they changed her name,” she said.
Yakubu called on the first lady, Aisha Buhari, to do her best to assist mothers like her.
Hauwa Abama, another mother of one of the abducted children, said the government was responsible for her ordeal.

“Government is the one that has taken my daughter from me,” she said.
Other relatives, Rhoda Ishaku, whose only sister, Zara, has been with her captors for over two years, and Martha Enoch, wife of Enoch Mark, called on the government to put an end to the silence and return their children.

Mrs. Enoch said her husband suffered a heart attack as a result of the trauma they have been through.
The co-convener of the #BringBackOurGirls group, Oby Ezekwesili, expressed disappointment over the government’s inability to rescue the girls.

She said she was more disappointed that after seven months of the group’s engagement with the president, he was still saying that there was no credible intelligence to lead the government to the whereabouts of the girls.

She said the group would repeat their march to the Villa every 72 working hours until the president made a decisive decision on the Chibok girls’ rescue.

She said: “Mr President, we are tired of being told that there is no credible intelligence. When Gowon visited, the president said the same thing. Credible intelligence will not fall from the sky. It doesn’t fall from the sky. The president should make decisions. We can’t take it and go home.

Nigerians voted for you to solve this problem. Your excuses will not work. We are so disappointed because there is low energy in the issue of our girls. Close your eyes and imagine that any of them are your granddaughters. They would not still be in captivity.

“When you campaigned you said you will bring them back; you would do everything possible. Have you done everything possible?”

Troops repel Boko Haram attack, kill two>>

Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have killed two senior Boko Haram commanders and several other insurgents at Darul Jamel on the fringes of Sambisa forest in Borno.

“The terrorists attempted to storm the troops location at about 10.00pm, but paid dearly as the troops killed several of them including two senior commanders that led the attack,” said Nigerian Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman in a statement.

“Prior to the attack, the troops of the same unit on routine patrol earlier cleared an ambush staged by elements of the suspected remnants of the terrorists desperate for food, near Banki Junction.‬

‪”It is equally believed that the attack and ambush might not be unconnected to the fact that the terrorists were desperately targeting over 890 rescued herdsmen with their 5000 livestock being held captives by terrorists along Nigerian borders with Cameroon,” Usman said.

He said items recovered from the insurgents included one Light Machine Gun (LMG) with Rrgistration number 56M-1101229 and one AK-47 rifle magazine.

Others, he said, were Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) bomb, one top cover of an AK-47 rifle, 395 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition and 15 rounds of 5.5mm by .45 ammunition.‬

Boko Haram “spiritual leader” arrested>> read more!!!

A man identified as the “spiritual leader” of Boko Haram in Kano has been arrested, together with other insurgents plotting to carry out attacks in the country, security authorities said Monday.

The man, whose name was given as Mudasiru Jibrin, was arrested on July 17 at a Boko Haram detention center uncovered by the secret police operatives in Kano.

Preliminary investigation had proved that Jibrin hatched the plan of shooting some high school students near Potiskum city of Nigeria’s northeastern state of Yobe three years ago, the national Department of Security Services said in a statement.

Prior to the Boko Haram leader’s arrest, the secret police had on July 8 arrested a notorious Boko Haram fighter and three of his accomplices while perfecting arrangements for major coordinated attacks on selected locations in the northwestern Kaduna state, the statement added.

Boko Haram has been blamed for some 20,000 deaths and displacing of more than 2.6 million people in Nigeria since 2009.

So far, Buhari has not disappointed us- Obasanjo>>> READ MORE!!!

In spite of heavy criticisms of the All Progressives Congress, APC, led administration by many  Nigerians, former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday, gave President Muhammadu Buhari a pass mark saying “so far, Buhari has not disappointed us”.

Speaking with newsmen in Taraba state, Obasanjo expressed confidence in President  Buhari’s ability to “overcome” Nigeria’s challenges. “So far, Buhari has not disappointed us. I trust him (Buhari), he will not fail Nigerians. I know he will overcome the challenges the country is currently facing,” he said.

Obasanjo also stressed that his decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is final and cannot be reversed. He said that having drawn the curtain on his membership of the former ruling party, there is no coming back. “In the part of the country where I come from, there is a saying that you cannot say, ‘good night’ and come back to say ‘good evening’ in the same place. So for me, it is good night for the Peoples Democratic Party and that’s all.”

Meanwhile, the General Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare has appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience with President Buhari saying it is too early to judge him. Pastor Bakare who  expressed confidence in the abilities of Buhari to turn the country around for the better, and bring the country “out of the woods”, said there is no pain without gain.

The pastor was speaking at the presidential villa in Abuja after holding a closed door meeting with Buhari yesterday Said he: “It’s too early and just too soon to begin to judge. If there is anything I know about Mr. President, it is that he has a good heart. He loves this country and he wants the country to run well,” he said. But it takes time. I know we are all impatient and in a hurry and I trust we will come out of the woods.

“When you are driving on a wrong direction, for example, you are going to Ibadan and you face Badagry, and you get to Cotonou and you realise you have gone in the wrong direction for too long a time, then you make a U-turn, there will be some suffering you have to go through. “Pain is part of gain. No pain no gain.” The years of wastage and all that we have done wrong has finally caught up with us.

“All we are praying for is wisdom for this government to do things right and to do the right things so that gradually, we can begin to come out of the woods.” Bakare was Buhari’s running mate in 2011 when the president contested on the platform of the then Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

Rivers to Sue Police, DSS over PDP National Convention>> READ MORE!!!

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike,  has declared that the State Government would sue the Police and the Department of State Services, DSS, for sealing the Sharks Stadium, initial  venue of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, National Convention of August 17, 2016.

The governor also stated that the people of the state allowed the security agencies take over state facilities  because  of  the  visitors from other states .

Speaking at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Friday  while inaugurating the Peace and Security Committee of the State, he said the Rivers State Government would seek judicial interpretation to determine  if the Federal Government was right to take laws into its hands.

The  governor stated that the security agencies   should not think that the illegal invasion of Sharks Stadium and other government property was a dress rehearsal for the rigging of the forthcoming rerun elections in the State.

He said: “I hope what you did that day  is not what you plan to do during the rerun elections.  We allowed it because we had visitors from outside.  Nobody  will allow  you  rig elections in this state”.

The governor charged members of the Peace and Security Committee  to work  towards promoting security of lives and property within the ambit of the law.

The membership of the Peace and Security Committee  inaugurated by the governor include: The Commander of the NNS Pathfinder,  the representative of the Nigerian Army, the Rivers State Police Commissioner, the Director DSS, Comptroller of Prisons, Comptroller of Customs, Sector Commander of Federal Road Safety Corps, Comptroller of Immigration,  Commander of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and a representative of the State Traditional Council.

Speaking further,   Wike berated the prison authorities  for playing  politics with the production  of  a murder suspect in court for prosecution.

Responding on behalf of the Peace and Security Committee, Navy Commodore Obi  Egbuchulam assured the governor that the security  agencies would  work  towards promoting peace in the state for businesses  to  thrive.

Biafra is bigger than Nnamdi Kanu –Igbo leaders, agitators>>> READ MORE!!!

Some Igbo leaders and groups clamouring for Biafra Republic have declared that the struggle for a sovereign state is bigger than any individual, warning that the incarcerated leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Mr. Nnamdi Kanu must not be allowed to die in detention like the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola. They spoke against recent concerns that if  Kanu is not released urgently from custody, he may suffer the same fate as the late business mogul.
Leader of the Movement for Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) Comrade Uchenna Madu said because there is no similarity between the case of Nnamdi Kanu and that of MKO Abiola, the IPOB boss must be released unconditionally.
According to him, “Nobody should see Nnamdi Kanu’s case as that of Abiola, the nature of these political matters are not the same. Nnamdi Kanu has the  massive support of Ndi Biafra because his arrest and detention is linked to  Biafra.  He’s a prisoner of conscience and political detainee, he is not aspiring to be Nigeria President.
“Nnamdi Kanu will not die in detention like Abiola unless Nigeria wants to set itself on destructive fire. Abiola did not die in detention because of his political mandate, he died because of his pathological hatred on Ndigbo and Christians in general, Abiola boasted that he can rule Nigeria without Ndigbo. How can Nigeria progress economically, politically, spiritually, academically, technologically and socially without Ndigbo?
“MASSOB supports the position of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as the leader of IPOB, being the symbol of this latest development, his consent and approval must be considered first. MASSOB as a sister organization will always support every positive move that will effect the release of our comrade, Nnamdi Kanu, not  all these confusing steps which some groups, even the defence counsels made which IPOB quickly condemned.
“ Concerning the actualization and restoration of our Biafra, MASSOB will never relent or succumb,.We shall continue to forge ahead with the spirit of consistency and commitment in accord with other Pro-Biafra groups with undented and committed spirit. Nnamdi Kanu will soon be released. Nigeria is tired and ashamed of his continued detention.
“MASSOB does not see Mazi Nnamdi Kanu  as one who can betray his belief on Biafra, he is not a sell-out, his ideologies on Biafra may differ, he can never betray hundreds of Biafrans that died recently in the course of Biafra. Secondly, Biafra is not a religious faith that can be renounced or abandoned. Nobody can renounce Biafra, it is an identity, culture, tradition and existence of group of Nationalities, it’s not personal or individualistic.
“There are thousands of Biafra persons more determined, consistent, dangerous, focused, unshakable than Nnamdi Kanu, Uchenna Madu and other leading figures in Biafra struggle, Biafra is also bigger than all the leading figures put together. MASSOB  is advising our sister organization to be cautious and watch out for some disgruntled and hypocritical persons who directly or indirectly engaged themselves or representing IPOB on the much published dialogue or frantic efforts for the release of Nnamdi Kanu.

“MASSOB acknowledges the overwhelming impacts the arrest and detention of Nnamdi Kanu brought to the Biafra actualization struggle, the peoples confidence, trust and hope criminally abused, jeopardized and bastardized by Ralph Uwazuruike  was restored publicly by Nnamdi Kanu. It is childish for the Federal Government to expect Nnamdi Kanu to renounce Biafra, the fate of over fifty million people.
“Federal Government should stop playing to the gallery on the release of all Biafra agitators.  MASSOB advises Buhari to save his battered Nigeria face from more diplomatic shame by allowing all Biafra detainees in Nigeria prisons in Kuje, Onitsha, Awka, Owerri etc to go.
“We shall continue to press for their release including the ultimate aim of Biafra actualization with non-violence. Nigeria will soon experience another dimension of non-violence struggle that will marvel them, soon the world will celebrate the downfall of the most corrupt country.”
Speaking in the same vein, the Media and Publicity Secretary of IPOB, Mr. Emma Powerful said “ Nnamdi Kanu is not seeking rulership of Nigeria like Abiola that could reasonably bring him into conflict with entrenched Northern interest whose sole desire is to continue ruling Nigeria”
According to him, “What is baffling and a unique problem in Africa is the inability of conscientious people to rise up and insist on the truth. Why should the world not compel Buhari to obey a simple court order in a country that claims to know the meaning of the word ‘law’?
“Should we not be clamouring for adherence to the rule of law rather than encouraging dictatorship by insisting that there must be some kind of rejection of one’s identity in order to be spared. Nigerians who should know better that executive power lies with the President but not judicial or legislative. Both arms combined are infinitely more powerful than the presidency.
“Instead of our leader to renounce Biafra, he would renounce Nigeria publicly, mark our words. We are not after securing bail for our leader, we are after his freedom and freedom for the people of Biafra. Even a child born today knows that any attempt to tamper with Nnamdi Kanu’s life will bring the sort of calamity too horrible to imagine in Nigeria.
“For the sake of clarity, we must state that Abacha did not kill Abiola because they both were killed at roughly the same time. So, for anybody to come from anywhere to kill our leader must also make sure they kill Buhari too in order to have the MKO Abiola scenario replicated.
“One thing is certain, if anything happens to our leader, Somalia will be a paradise compared to what will happen in Nigeria. Some Nigerians with vested interest in the impoverishment of the masses think they know the might of Nnamdi Kanu but I can assure you they don’t. We are not asking for bail, we are demanding his immediate unconditional release as ordered by the Federal High Court Abuja.”
In his opinion, the Traditional Prime Minister of Awkuzu and a Colonel in the Biafran Army, Chief Michael Ozua Okoye appealed to the Federal Government to unconditionally release Kanu since two courts had earlier granted him bail.
He said that the last hope of the common man is the judiciary and in the case of Kanu, the courts had declared him free but the Federal Government has refused to obey the court orders, wondering why the present administration doesn’t obey the rule of law.
Okoye who is also the Traditional Prime Minister of Ndigbo (Ononwu Ndigbo) appealed to the international community, especially the United States of America, Great Britain, Russia, Germany, AU, UN and global human rights organizations to compel Nigerian government to obey the court order that granted Kanu bail.
He noted that the issue of MKO Abiola should not arise in the case of Kanu because they are two different things and should not be joined together, saying that Kanu should remain in detention until the Federal Government obeys court order and release him unconditionally.
According to him, “since the court of competent jurisdiction has granted him bail, Federal Government should swallow its pride and save its face and release him. How can they expect the young man to renounce Biafra before he would be released? It is not done. Biafra is bigger than the man, I know that God will give us Biafra at His own time.
“The struggle for Biafra started even before the young man was born and it will continue. Nobody can stop it until God’s appointed time. I don’t subscribe to war again, the civil war claimed so many lives and war is not the way out but I know that one day, God will give us Biafra. How can anyone renounce his name or origin? So, the Federal Government should do the needful and release the young man unconditionally to go and see his family.
“Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu fought for Biafra, I fought for Biafra, others also fought for Biafra, some of them are not alive and the struggle continues until God answers our prayers and give us our own state. The young man did not commit any crime for fighting for self-determination as enshrined in the UN charter of indigenous people. They should not allow the young man to die in detention.”
Speaking in the same vein, Chief Benjamin Duru, a chieftain of the United  Progressives Party, UPP said that the reasons for which the late MKO Abiola was detained and later died in prison is different from Kanu’s case. He said that the continued detention of the IPOB leader has become an embarrassment to the nation after he has been granted bail by the courts.
Chief Duru insisted that any negotiation for the release of the IPOB leader must involve the leaders of Ndigbo and Ohanaze elders.

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…More leaders react

Evang. Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko, Deputy Secretary Igbo Leaders of Thought
The refusal to address the discontent in the land from the roots is the real problem because the injustice in the land fueled loss of faith by sections of Nigeria, which resulted to millions who believe Biafra is the only hope for them to live like human being with dignity.
It is strange that people pretend that they do not know that frustration from the current unworkable unitary structure has given birth to a feeling of total alienation by millions of Nigerians, who clearly will never believe in this Nigeria, as presently constituted.
If Government and MEND choose to entertain Nigerians about Kanu’s so called renunciation or not of Biafra, it means that Government tragically does not know that if Kanu renounces Biafra, his followers will kill him.
There are millions of people who believe that Biafra is their only hope to ever get justice. Kanu does not have any magic wand to order them to turn around and love Nigeria, the way Nigeria is presently structured. They will surely kill him and another leader will emerge.  I have been shouting for decades to restructure Nigeria, they call me wailing wailer. I know the feeling of young Easterners for years now. I know the groups who mobilized for Biafra in the 70s and 80s in Aba. I know the groups who held meetings for Biafra long before 1999. The feeling is festered by injustice and alienation. After the Aba and Nkpor killings of February 9 and May 30th 2016, 99 per cent of the people became sympathetic to the boys so much so that prominent people now identify with them, unlike the ambivalence of the elite before the May 30th massacre.
Those who think that if Kanu renounces Biafra, then millions of Biafra agitators will automatically turn round 360 degrees and fall in love with Nigeria are naive, mischievous or both, it is strange government chooses not to listen to the voice of reason and restructure immediately.
Government chose to entertain the public, using MEND as government spoke persons. Nnamdi Kanu sent a delegation to me to tell me that he considers his death for freedom of his people from slavery as a great honour. He told me he would rather die than betray the struggle for freedom from slavery. Kanu is not the problem, the problem are those who designed Nigeria so that they would dominate others forever. Every effort made to enthrone a just and equitable structure that would give every section a sense of belonging is fiercely opposed by these oppressors.
As the declivity slide proceeds down the slope, the same oppressors choose to entertain the public through MEND. The truth is: the refusal to address the root causes of loss of faith in Nigeria by millions, while pretending to address the symptoms of the disease is the big issue in Nigeria.
Even your phone call to me on Nnamdi Kanu’s refusal to denounce Biafra, shows that, you probably do not know that the matter is not in Nnamdi Kanu’s hands. The matter is about the unwillingness of millions of Nigeria to continue crawling without hope in this unitary, unjust, unstable Nigeria.
Those who pretend that Nigeria will survive without restructuring are those making it impossible for Nigeria to survive. Nnamdi Kanu’s refusal to renounce Biafra is not the problem. The problem is the injustices, nepotism, oppression, marginalization, alienation and deliberate unworkable structure. Nnamdi Kanu and his followers merely found it difficult to hang the hopes of their children in Nigeria as presently structured. I advice the government to address the core issue at the root of disaffection in the land truthfully.
So many Nnamdi Kanus will emerge, some could take to the bush in a guerilla warfare. The solution lies in telling ourselves the truth and address without delay the structural defect that encourages corruption, indolence, poverty, oppression, ethnic hatred, impunity and arrested development. The clock is ticking, Nnmadi Kanu is not the problem. The problem is the blunt refusal by the slave master to enthrone equity and justice by restructuring Nigeria along the line of true fiscal federation built on regional autonomy. Any other scheme is only an attempt to postpone the evil day by prolonging the absurdities of present day unitary Nigeria. Nnamdi Kanu’s Biafra agitators are only a symptom of a bigger long stranding disease, four conferences from Aburi, Ghana to 2014 Confab has failed to resolve, because some powerful forces simply want to continue to dominate others.
Same problem in the Niger Delta, from Isaac Boroh, Ken Sarowiwa till date, the people desire some measure of control over their God given resources, through fiscal federalism. But the central government has been using a section of the elders to subvert and undermine the struggle each time. Few years after, another group of agitators will arise in the Niger Delta, the central government will smartly put together one Joshua Team or Moses Team to seduce and paralyze the agitation, only for the same scenario to repeat a few years later. Truth is: Only immediate restructuring of the polity will save Nigeria by enthroning lasting peace.

HRH, Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, Osuofia Nawfia
I will suggest kanu should be freed because he has a dual citizenship, so he may have to go back to Britain, whatever he wants to be doing there he can go ahead.
Asking Kanu to renounce Biafra is infringing on his fundamental human right and freedom of association. I thought they were charging him for treason, he has the right to be talking about Biafra but the thing is that he will not do anything violent to the federal government and to Nigeria as a whole. That is really infringement on his fundamental human rights and I won’t support him to take such unconditional release.
I will not advise him to take it, not because I am advocating for Biafra but I want the federal government to protect his fundamental human right. A lot of people are saying what they want, is not purely because of Biafra or anything, I want the country to start looking into the laws and obey the laws. They can release him and let him go back to Britain and do whatever he wants to do there.

Comrade Osita Obi, Coordinator, Igbo Patriots
The issue of Biafra is not what you give conditional or no conditional release. Biafra is a thing of the mind, is the Igbo man that is Biafra. Biafra will not die if the marginalization did not stop, there is no two ways about it. I am a Biafran , am an Igbo man, the consciousness is there and as long as what is happening presently continues, Biafra will still be there, unless the ill is addressed, there is no other way about it.
Biafra can not be renounced, there is no way it could, even if Nnamdi Kanu renounces Biafra today, it is still going to be there until the issues that brought about the clamour for Biafra is resolved. The system is against the Igbo man and as long as the system, the scheme of things in Nigeria is against Igbo man, the agitation for Biafra will still be there, there is nothing you can do about it.
Biafra is not about Nnamdi Kanu, it is a consciousness, it is beyond Nnamdi Kanu, it will be hypocritical for him to renounce it, the moment he renounces Biafra he is gone. So my advice to Nnamdi Kanu is that he cannot renounce Biafra.