Herdsmen Attack: Group seeks new U.S. religious freedom post for Nigeria

The Global Coalition Working to Defeat Persecution and Violence in Nigeria, including representatives of the Baptist World Alliance (BWI), the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative (21Wilberforce) and the newly formed International Committee on Nigeria (ICON), decided to petition Congress for the new post after hosting a meeting with Nigerian governors and others Feb. 27-28 at BWI headquarters in Falls Church, Va.

The U.S. State Department currently operates an Office of International Religious Freedom, headed since Feb. 1 by U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, as well as an embassy and consulate in Nigeria.

"But there's been no sort of special coordinator, no individual that's taken up the cause or mantel of addressing specifically the Boko Haram and the Fulani pastoralist militia," ICON Director Kyle Abts told BP today.

Joining the coalition at the February meeting were Adeniyi Ojutiku, a North Carolina Southern Baptist working to help his Nigerian homeland through the Lift Up Now grassroots group. Also in attendance were several governors from Nigeria's Middle Belt, the Church of the Brethren, International Christian Concern, Doctors Without Borders and other groups.

Boko Haram terrorists and a militant group of Fulani herdsmen have reportedly strengthened in Nigeria's Middle Belt in recent months, more than two years after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari declared a technical defeat of Boko Haram.

Texas native Elijah Brown, BWI general secretary since Jan. 1, said Nigeria is at a critical human rights juncture that could affect the entire continent of Africa with global consequences. The longstanding dispute between Muslim Fulani herdsmen and Christian farmers can no longer be viewed simplistically, Brown told BP.

"I believe that the violence sweeping through Nigeria is no longer best understood through an analysis of farmer-herder conflict," he said, recapping an address he made at the coalition meeting. "With thousands of individuals killed, entire communities burned to the ground, famine-inducing conditions inflicted upon entire populations, and the use of helicopters, machine guns mounted to vehicles and sophisticated weapons, this conflict has morphed into one of militant attack.

"Predominantly Christian communities currently account for over 85 percent of the victims," Brown said. "With ongoing discrimination against religious minority communities across northern Nigeria, Boko Haram to the northeast, and Fulani militancy in the Middle Belt, Nigeria is the only country in the world to be currently facing two of the top five most lethal terrorist organizations, and Christians, including some Baptists, are caught in the crossfire."

Within the next month, the coalition will seek a Congressional hearing and request the new post, Abts said. ICON promotes itself as a diverse "group of committed Nigerians and other nationalities joining forces, resources, and voices" to strengthen oppressed and minority groups in Nigeria.

In most recent waves of violence, Fulani herdsmen have been blamed for killing at least 170 Christians in attacks on villages and towns in Nigeria's Middle Belt in January, according to reports. Nigeria's military has launched a six-week offensive to combat the violence that has increased in conjunction with several new local anti-grazing laws meant to protect the farmers.

In February, Boko Haram terrorists kidnapped as many as 101 Nigerian schoolgirls who remain missing, mirroring the terrorists' kidnapping of more than 300 schoolgirls in 2014 from a school in the Christian town of Chibok.

Buhari claimed in December 2015 he had technically defeated Boko Haram, weakening the group so much that it would only be able to carry out isolated suicide bombings.

Boko Haram, which began attacking first Christians and then others in its attempts to establish Sharia law in Nigeria, has killed an estimated 20,000 people and displaced 2 million in Nigeria and neighboring nations since 2009. The terrorists have claimed allegiance to the Islamic State and have been accused of killing Christian farmers increasingly in raids since 2017 in cooperation with or under the guise of Fulani herdsmen.

US President Donald Trump has agreed to a historic first meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un.

South Korea says Kim "expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible."

Accepting the invitation, Trump says "great progress" is being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached.
Trump Tweets: "Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time."
Credit :AFP

Suicide :First-class final-year student Commit suicide in UNIBEN

The management of the University of Benin , Edo State, has confirmed the death of one of its students who allegedly committed suicide .

The deceased, identified only as Adams , was said to have been found dead in his room at Ekosodin community, in the Ovia North -East Local Government Area of the state .

He was said to be a 500- level student in the Department of Computer Engineering .

It was gathered that Adams had been sighted at his department where he submitted an assignment , before he returned to his hostel on Thursday .

Some of his friends were said to have suspected that something had gone wrong when they could not access his room while he was inside.

However, his lifeless body was later said to have been found by his relatives who forced the door open in the evening.

Some of his colleagues seen at the department on Saturday declined to speak on the issue and referred our correspondent to the authorities of the school.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr . Johnson Kokumo , could not be reached for comments as calls put across to his telephone were unanswered .

He had yet to respond to a text message sent to his mobile as of the time of filling this report

But the Public Relations Officer of the university , Michael Osasuyi, who confirmed the incident, said the institution received the report with surprise .

Osasuyi noted that the deceased was a first-class student . He said, “The 500-level computer engineering student was discovered in his room at Ekosodin.

“He hung himself . His father came to see him and that was how it was discovered that he hung himself . The information that got to us was that he was a bright student , a first-class student .’’

Osasuyi urged students , no matter what they might be experiencing , to be bold enough to speak out .

Credit PUNCH 

Whistle-blower allegedly exposes 13-properties- reportedly-owned-by Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu

Nigerian Government Discovers Hidden Multimillion Properties Linked To Deputy Senate President Ekweremadu In The US, UK And UAE
The letter is reportedly about properties owned by Senator Ike Ekweremadu The federal government has reportedly written to the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America over properties allegedly owned by deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu, Sahara Reporters reports. According to the online news medium, the letter was sent by Tunde Fowler who is the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service. It was reported that Fowler “is relying on the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI), a multi-jurisdictional instrument for exposing hidden assets and incomes, to which Nigeria is a signatory.

World's richest Senators receive $37,500 monthly each, separate from salaries

There are 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives so in terms of payment by result, the Nigerian lawmakers do not deserve such high pay and surely does not perform their duties to warrant such hyper inflated pay. In America, a Senator earns 174,000 US dollars and in the UK, a Member of parliament about 64,000 US dollars a year. So what do our lawmaker do for this generous amount can someone please tell me why they deserve this enormous amount of money. It is about time Nigerians demand better service and improvement for Nigeria and Nigerians.
No one deserves that much money while ordinary people are scavenging to make ends meet. Nigeria has got multitude of deprivation; high infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, malnutrition, inadequate health care and transportation and lack of electricity outage, high crime rates, high number of young people not in education, employment or in training. So why is some of these excesses going to improve the lives of Nigerians. So instead Nigerians lawmakers are paid for below par performance and disregard to the electorates that they are meant to represent. I feel that ordinary Nigerians have been severely short changed, cheated and insulted by these so called honourable people.Our  investigation revealed that, the Nation's Senators are the highest paid in the World.
A Senator, who wants to remain anonymous on this issue for fear of being suspended by the other senators  says, "I think what I can say is that the running cost of a senator is N13.5 million every month."

Sex Deliverance: Cleric Conducts Month - long Deliverance on Lady

A 26-year old Lagos cleric, identified as Babatunde Samuel, has been arrested for defrauding a woman to the tune N500,000 and engaging her in “sex deliverance.”
It was learned that the suspect took the victim for the sex deliverance at Jofolo Street in Iyana Ipaja area of Abule-Oke, where Police officers from Area ‘M’ Command, Idimu, busted the plan and arrested Samuel.
Samuel, who was into selling films’ CDs before he became an Alfa, informed the Police that he gave the victim a fake prophecy that put fear into her.
According to the victim, Samuel met her and informed her that she will soon die and needed deliverance to cast out the spirit of death from her life.
It was gathered that Samuel told the victim things related to her and her family and she asked for the solution to avert the looming calamities.
Healing ways
After successfully convincing her, Samuel took her to the place where he gave her the conditions, which involved paying the said amount of money, buying a goat and sexual intercourse with him, which will continue for one month before she will be totally delivered.
The  victim collected money from her sister to buy the necessary items and fulfil other requests, including engaging in the “sexual deliverance.”
Trouble started after Samuel continued to make more of monetary and sexual demands from her, making the victim confide in her sister about her travails in the hands of Samuel.
The matter was reported to the Police; Samuel was trailed, arrested and taken to the Area M Command, Idimu.
Police sources said during interrogation, Samuel admitted that he gave the victim a false prophecy to obtain money from her and slept with her.
He was charged before Ejigbo Magistrate’s Court for the alleged offences, but pleaded not guilty.
The presiding magistrate, Mrs J. O. E. Adeyemi Ajayi, granted Samuel N100,000 bail with two sureties in like sum. The court also ordered that the sureties must deposit another N100,000 into Court Registrar’s account.
The prosecutor, Superintendent Kenneth Asibor, did not object to his bail condition.
Samuel was remanded in prison custody, pending when he will perfect his bail condition, and the matter was adjourned till March 26.
Credit :Vanguard

Lagos Banker Pleads Guilty To N70 Million Fraud

A serial bank fraudster, Nsa Ayi has pleaded guilty to the 10 counts fraud charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC. At the resume of hearing on Tuesday before justice Mojisola Dada, counsel to EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo informed the court that witness is in court to give evidence and subject to the overriding convenient of court, the anti-graft agency is ready for trial

Another mass burial for victims of Benue massacres-Gov Ortom

Governor Samuel Ortom has directed that the 24 persons killed on Monday at Omusu Edimoga be given mass burial next Friday .
According to his media adviser , Tahav Agerzua , the governor ordered that the victims of the herdsmen attacks be buried Friday
He said , “Governor directed that arrangement be made for mass burial by next Friday
                            
Scenes from the burial service held at IBB Square in Makurdi for Benue residents slain by herdsmen

Breaking:39 die in Russian plane crash at Syria base: Kremlin

A Russian transport plane crashed on landing at an airbase in Syria Tuesday, the defence ministry said, killing all 39 people on board in one of the deadliest incidents since Moscow's intervention in the country's war.

The ministry said the 33 passengers and six crew members were all military personnel, in a statement carried by news agencies, revising up an earlier toll of 32.

                 

"The reason for the crash according to preliminary information could have been a technical fault," the ministry said, adding that the plane had not come under fire according to a report from the ground.

The transporter was around 500 metres (yards) from the runway at the Hmeimim airbase in western Syria, according to the defence ministry.

President Vladimir Putin expressed "deep condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed in the crash and also to all of the military over the loss of their comrades".

Putin, who is on a trip in the Urals region, spoke to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on the phone about the accident, according to the Kremlin.

A commission will investigate the causes of the crash, the defence ministry said.

The Investigative Committee, which covers major incidents, also announced a probe into possible safety breaches, saying the plane was carrying out a planned flight.

Wreckage of WWII aircraft carrier USS Lexington found off Australia

Wreckage from the USS Lexington, a US aircraft carrier which sank during World War II, has been discovered in the Coral Sea, a search team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen announced Monday.
The wreckage was found Sunday by the team's research vessel, the R/V Petrel, some 3,000 meters (two miles) below the surface more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) off the eastern coast of Australia
The badly damaged Lexington, nicknamed "Lady Lex," was deliberately sunk by another US warship at the conclusion of the battle.

More than 200 members of the crew died in the battle but most were rescued by other US vessels before the Lexington sank

                                   

Handout photo obtained March 5, 2018 courtesy of Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen showing wreckage from the USS Lexington aircraft carrier which sank during World War II, and has been found in the Coral SeaThe search team released pictures and video of the Lexington, one of the first ever US aircraft carriers, and some of the planes which went down with the ship.
Admiral Harry Harris, who heads up the US military's Pacific Command (PACOM) -- and whose father was one of the sailors evacuated -- paid tribute to the successful research effort.

"As the son of a survivor of the USS Lexington, I offer my congratulations to Paul Allen and the expedition crew of Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel for locating the 'Lady Lex,' sunk nearly 76 years ago at the Battle of Coral Sea," Harris said in a statement

Credit :AFP

Scandal :S. Korean presidential hopeful quits after rape accusation

A former South Korean presidential contender stepped down as a provincial governor Tuesday had announced his retirement from politics after a secretary accused him of multiple rapes.

The stunning fall of Ahn Hee-jung -- who came second to Moon Jae-in in the contest to select the Democratic Party's presidential candidate last year -- makes him the most prominent figure to face abuse allegations in a swirling #MeToo movement in what is still a male-dominated society.
One of his secretaries told a television interviewer on Monday that Ahn had raped her four times since hiring her in June.
Kim Ji-eun told JTBC that the last straw came when Ahn called her into his office on the night of February 25 and apologised for having hurt her, talking about the country's #MeToo movement.
"And then he raped me again," she said, holding back tears. She also accused Ahn of sexually assaulting others.
Following the TV interview, the ruling Democratic Party held an emergency meeting and expelled Ahn with immediate effect.
Hours later the 52-year-old announced his resignation as governor of South Chungcheong Province and retirement from public life.
"I apologise to everyone, especially to Miss Kim Ji-eun," he said in a Facebook post.
"I ask for forgiveness for my stupid action... it was all my fault," he said.
It is an astonishing turnaround for Ahn, who enjoyed huge popularity among young, liberal voters thanks to his wholesome image and good looks, which helped him earn the nickname "South Chungcheong's EXO" -- after a K-pop boy band.
Ahn threw his support behind the #MeToo campaign in a public speech made just hours before Kim appeared on TV to talk about the sex abuse she suffered at his hands.
"That he raped me again after mentioning the #MeToo movement and apologising to me made me think 'I may never be able to escape from this. How can I escape from him?'" Kim said.
- Fear and loathing -
The revelation sparked widespread anger, with one online commentator writing: "Shock, fury... no words will describe how we all feel right now."
A former Ahn supporter was arrested for throwing a baseball bat at his residence on Monday night, breaking a window, according to multiple reports.
Ahn was runner-up in the Democratic Party's contest to select a presidential candidate last year, losing to Moon, who went on to win the election in May.
He had been tipped as a front-runner among liberal presidential hopefuls to succeed Moon -- who can only serve one term -- with South Korean conservatives still reeling from the massive corruption scandal that led to the ouster of former president Park Geun-hye.
Moon last month threw his support behind the #MeToo campaign spreading across the country, urging measures to combat the widespread abuse of women and punish offenders.
A growing number of South Korean women have accused prominent figures of sexual abuse, making headlines in a country that remains deeply conservative despite economic and technological advances.
But many victims are still reluctant to speak out due to fears of relentless public shaming and online bullying.
Kim said in the interview that she had chosen to come forward publicly out of fears for her personal safety.
"I'm afraid of all the changes that may occur in my life after this revelation, but I'm more afraid of Governor Ahn Hee-jung," she said.
"I hope that people of South Korea can protect me... since Ahn and I are so different, I wanted to seek strength from other people and to stop him," Kim added.
South Korean police chief Lee Chul-sung said the police had launched a preliminary investigation into Ahn after contacting Kim's lawyers, and vowed to ensure her personal safety.
Credit :AFP.

Very Shocking picture

Above pix 

The Turkish President 

                                                   In front of Putin
                                                   The World is Watching.
                                                    What is your opinion?

Question for the Week

Which one do you prefer as a matter of Urgencies :
a)  Death Penalty for NON PERFORMING POLITICIANS
b) Death Penalty for Treasury Looters
C) Death Penalty for Deceptive/lacklustre government
d)  Death Penalty for HATE SPEECH

Breaking :Neymar arrives hospital for leg surgery

Neymar just arrives hospital for leg sugery in Brasil. 

Photos: Dapchi schoolgirls who escaped Boko Haram attack

Fatima Abdu, 14, Zahra Bukar, 13, Fatima Bukar, 13 and Yagana Mustapha, 15, four schoolgirls of Government Girls Technical College, who escaped from Boko Haram attack when the militant group stormed their school in Dapchi, Yobe state, on February 19, nearly four years after a similar mass abduction in Chibok, Borno state.
Also below parents of those who did not escape go through list of 110 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram from the college.

(From left) Fatima Abdu, 14, Zahra Bukar, 13, Fatima Bukar, 13 and Yagana Mustapha, 15, four schoolgirls of Government Girls Technical College, who escaped from Boko Haram attack, sit at home of schoolmate at Dapchi town in northern Nigerian on February 28, 2018.
Nigeria’s government on March 1 said it had set up a committee to establish how Boko Haram jihadists managed to kidnap 110 girls from their school in the country’s remote northeast.. / AFP PHOTO

Parents go through list of 110 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram from Government Girls Technical College at Dapchi town in northern Nigerian on February 28, 2018.
Nigeria’s government on March 1 said it had set up a committee to establish how Boko Haram jihadists managed to kidnap 110 girls from their school in the country’s remote northeast. Members of the militant Islamist group stormed the Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi, Yobe state, on February 19, nearly four years after a similar mass abduction in Chibok, Borno state. / AFP PHOTO

Medical doctor accused of raping and impregnating patient's 16-year-old daughter in Niger state

A medical doctor at the Federal Medical Center, Bida, Niger State, Dr. Seyi, has been accused of raping a sixten year old girl named Fatima Yusuf and impregnating her while she was attending to her mother who was on admission at the hospital for severe diabetes. Fatima died last

Monday during childbirth.
The Nation reports that Fatima had informed her family of the said doctor's repeated sexual assault. A family source said the rape started when the doctor called Fatima to his office pretending to want to advise her on her mother's medical condition. He forcefully had sex with her in his office and continued until Fatima’s mother was discharged from the hospital.
The family source, who pleaded not to be named because she was not qualified to speak for the family, said that when other family members discovered that Fatima was pregnant, they asked her who the father of the baby was and she fingered the said doctor, who vehemently denied having any sexual relationship with her.
The case, however, became so serious that the Emir of Bida, Alhaji Abubakar Yahaya, had to intervene in it. The accused doctor, in the course of interrogation at the Emir’s palace, was said to have admitted that he only hugged Fatima and rubbed his body against hers, but did not have any sexual intercourse with her. Fatima however maintained that the doctor forcibly slept with her, and the act resulted in her pregnancy.
The situation was said to have caused the Emir to order that a paternity test be conducted on the pregnancy. But while the Federal Medical Centre complied with the directive, it has been reluctant to release the result of the test, a situation that led to the decision to conduct another paternity test in a hospital outside the state. Unfortunately, while this was going on, Fatima died on Monday some time after she was delivered of a baby boy at the family house in Bida.
Alarmed by the development, the Niger State Child Rights Agency was said to have taken over the case. The Director General of the agency, Barrister Mariam Kolo, who confirmed to our correspondent that the agency had taken up the case, said the agency’s attention was drawn to it because the victim was underage and because it was suspected that the management of the hospital was trying to cover up for the accused doctor.
Kolo said that while Fatima might have died, the agency would go ahead with the case and see to its logical conclusion. If Dr. Seyi is found guilty, she said, he will not escape the wrath of the law.
Even in the worst case scenario, a naive and underage girl like that cannot just accuse someone who is higher than her wrongly. If the man did not have carnal knowledge of her, she would not accuse him falsely. Why did she not accuse another doctor in the hospital? She even knew his office and how it looked like. Why did she stick to her story till she died in spite of pressures from all quarters? The family is not asking for money. They are only asking the doctor to own up and take responsibility for what he did. We are waiting for the DNA result. When it comes out, we will know who the father is. Government cannot take responsibility of the child when the father is alive.”
Kolo said the Federal Medical Centre, Bida, was trying to cover up the case, adding that the doctor was hiding under the guise that the result of the DNA test was not yet out and that he would not say anything until the test’s result was released.
''Although no autopsy was done, it was clear that she died out of intense depression. Look at this: her mother is ill, a man raped and impregnated her and denied it, and they do not have money to feed. He put her under intense depression. It is one of the factors that led to her death. He contributed to her psychological state of mind. This is a very sensitive matter. If medical doctors are now harassing children, it leaves one to wonder if our children are safe. ”
When contacted, the hospital’s Head of Communication, Musa Ladan acknowledged that a case of alleged sexual harassment was filed against one of its doctors, adding that the hospital was not covering up anybody. Ladan said nothing has been done to the accused doctor because it cannot rely on mere allegations.
There is a case we are handling. It is not a case of cover-up by the hospital as it is being alleged in some quarters. The case is about a patient’s relation who accused one of our doctors of having carnal knowledge of her. It was brought to our attention and we have set up a high powered committee to investigate it. We have even gone ahead to do a DNA test and we are currently awaiting the result, although while we were waiting, the lady in question died in her family house.
We have to establish the accusation. Everything is at accusation level now. We have not done anything to the doctor because we are waiting for the result of the DNA test. After the result, we will know the step to take.” he said

Investigations into the matter is still ongoing.

2019: Atiku to formally declare in two weeks

A former Vice President and Wazirin Adamawa Atiku Abubakar has said that he will formally declare his 2019 Presidential ambition under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform in two week in Abuja.
He stated this Saturday in Abuja at the formal launch of the Street to Street Support Initiative (SSSI) for Atiku 2019 and the inauguration of national, zonal and states officers of the organisation led by National President and Head of Administration Wabara Emeka Gerald.
He was represented at the event by the National Chairman of Atiku Cares Foundation and Director Youth of Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation (AACO) Aliyu Bin Abbas.

According to him, the former vice president betrayed emotion and had to fight very hard from shedding tears due to the overwhelming support and love shown him across the country especially in his bid for the Presidency.
“He nearly shed tears when he (Atiku) asked me to reschedule another engagement to represent him here as he was overwhelmed by the massive support given to him by Nigerians especially the youths in his 35-year experience of being a politician. He has suffered a lot from the hand of politicians but is consoled by the increasing support by Nigerians. In two weeks’ time by Gods’ Grace he will formally open his campaign office in Abuja under the platform of the PDP.
“His message is that it is high time for Nigerians to vote out those in government due to their failure of helping the country out of its predicament and only resort to propaganda; and use and dump tactics,” he said.
On his part the Chairman of the Intellectual Think Tank for Atiku, Theophilus Ohoba lament that the promise of change by the present administration has turned to chain due to the worsening livelihood of majority of Nigerians irrespective of the propaganda of the government.
Some of the inaugurated national leaders are National President and Head of Administration Wabara Emeka Gerald, national director contact and mobilization John Dunu, national secretary Lilian Uju Dizo, national women leader Hajia Zainab Mohammed and national publicity secretary Rev Emmanuel Oyelowo among others.
Gerald after the inauguration said Atiku is known for his being non-tribalism would move Nigeria to the promise land and would carry all Nigerians along in his administration if he emerged President.
Credit :DailyTrust Newspaper

Photos: Buhari, Governors storm Kano to celebrate wedding of Ganduje’s daughter

15 killed in fresh attack on Fulani settlements in Mambila

At least 15 people were killed and several others injured in fresh attack on 15 Fulani settlement on Mambila Plateau by suspected Bachama militia.

A victim of the attack, Abubakar Ardo, who escaped with his family, told NAN in Gembu that the attacks started at midday on Thursday and most of the killings occurred in the night.

He said almost all houses in about 15 Fulani communities were torched by the assailants.

Mr Ardo said the timely arrival of both army and police prevented further killings and destruction of property.

He said about 15 people were killed during the violence on Thursday evening, adding that five of those killed were buried in Gembu on Friday.

Mr Ardo also confirmed that security personnel have been drafted to the trouble areas leading to restoration of peace.

He called on the state government and security agencies to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators to serve as deterrent to others.

But the Police Command in Taraba however said only five people were killed and several others injured in the attacks on Fulani communities.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, David Misal, told NAN on Saturday that the crisis erupted in Nyiwa and Yerimaru areas on Thursday as a result of a misunderstanding between a farmer and a herder.

He said units of mobile policemen and soldiers from the 20 battalion in Serti have been deployed to the area to maintain law and orderMr Misal, an assistant superintendent of police, added that the situation, which led to the burning of several homes and killing of many cows, has been brought under control

Credit :NAN 

Former Super Eagles Striker Jay Jay Okocha Has Been Inducted As A Bundesliga Legend

Former Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder, Jay-Jay Okocha has been inducted as one of the Bundesliga legends.

     

The Super Eagles legend joins former Ghana international, Anthony Baffoe in the 11-man legends network.
Okocha joined Frankfurt from FC Saarbrucken in December 1991, and went on to produce 13 assists and 18 goals, and several Bundesliga moments, before his move to Fenerbache in 1996, as Frankfurt were relegated.
In 1993, the 1996 Olympic Gold medalist produced a moment of brilliance, as he dribbled the whole Karlsruhe defence and Oliver Kahn, before he scored.
Okocha who announced retirement from the game in 2008 will join other legends in promoting the Bundesliga values and features in target markets which include Nigeria.

Rann attack: ‘Yesterday, we evacuated 52 aid workers, deceaseds’

Humanitarian work has been suspended until next weekend in a remote town in northeast Nigeria after a Boko Haram attack killed three aid workers, the UN said on Saturday.
The attack happened on Thursday evening in Rann, near the border with Cameroon, where nearly 80,000 people depend on emergency food aid and medical care.
                                 

Following the attack in Rann on 1 March 2018, in which three aid workers were killed and one injured, UNHAS has assisted with the evacuation of the wounded.



At least one other aid worker was critically injured and another three were missing. Eight Nigerian soldiers were also killed.
A UN spokeswoman in Abuja, Samantha Newport, told AFP: “Operations in Rann were temporarily suspended for one week from yesterday morning (Friday).
“Yesterday, we evacuated 52 aid workers and the three deceased, in addition to 300 kilos (661 lbs) of medical supplies that were going to go bad.”
The aid workers are not believed to have been specifically targeted but were caught up in an attack on the military.
Those killed were Nigerians working for the International Organization for Migration and the UN children’s fund Unicef. The injured and missing are also locals.
Newport said an assessment would be conducted in the coming days about damage caused to facilities used in the relief effort, as well as security.
But she said there would be “extremely minimal impact” on people in Rann, where 55,000 people displaced by the Boko Haram conflict are housed in a camp.
Operations elsewhere in the region were also continuing as normal, she added.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has worked in Rann since January 2017, announced on Friday it had suspended medical activities and withdrawn 22 staff.
It said it would return “as soon as the conditions allow”.
In January 2017, a botched Nigerian air strike intended to hit jihadist fighters killed at least 112 people in Rann as aid workers distributed food.
Six Nigerian Red Cross workers were among the dead.
At least 20,000 people have been killed and more than two million others made homeless in Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency since 2009.
The conflict has also caused a humanitarian crisis in northeast Nigeria and the wider Lake Chad region, particularly chronic food shortages.
The UN said it needs $1.05 billion (805 million euros) this year to provide help to 6.1 million people in Borno and the neighbouring states of Yobe and Adamawa.
Credit :Vanguard Newspaper

Dapchi: How insurgents abducted our school girls-Residents.

One week after insurgents attacked their community and abducted more than 100 of their school girls, residents of Dapchi, the headquarters of Bursari Local Government Area of Yobe state were gradually recovering from the shock as they recounted how the insurgents carried out the attack.

                                      Prsident Buhari and Dapchi school girls
 The residents also narrated how the girls were deceived by the terrorists who pretended to be soldiers who had been sent to rescue them. According to one of the residents who witnessed the attacks but declined to disclose his name, he said the gunmen who were dressed in military fatigues and turbans arrived Dapchi unchallenged and started firing indiscriminately shouting “Allahu Akbar “ (“God is greatest “). Another resident, Safai Maimagani , a herbal medicine vendor in Dapchi, said the militants headed towards the school, Government Girls Science Technical College (GGSTC) Dapchi, Borno State on Monday, February 19 and that “not long afterwards they returned, and I heard the cries of the girls from their lorry .” Muhammad Kabo, a tea seller, gave a similar account: “They were here for less than an hour. I heard girls wailing in the truck and it was clear that they abducted some girls from the school. “ A school security guard who gave his name as Baa- Kolo said the gunmen tried to stop the girls from fleeing and deceived them into believing they had come to rescue them. According to him, “ Some of the girls believed them and climbed up into the lorry. Many others just kept running. Hadiza Makinta, one of the students who escaped unhurt said, she was fasting on that very day of the incident, and thanked God for sparing her life while she ran to the bush for safety”. Meanwhile, following the false information of the rescue of the girls, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State did not expect the kind of reaction that greeted his visit to Dapchi by the residents of the community last Thursday. It will be recalled that before the attack on the GGSTC Dapchi the insurgents had attacked Government Girls Secondary School GSS Damaturu, GSS Mamudo, Federal government college Buni Yadi, College of Agriculture Gujba and GSTC Potiskum leaving scores of students dead and injured in the past The residents of Dapchi, headquarters of Bursari Local Government Area which is 100 km drive from Damaturu, the state capital, and which also shares a porous border with Niger Republic, did not only boo the number one citizen of the state but threw stones and dangerous objects at his convoy, resulting in the destruction of some vehicles. The governor was at Dapchi to tell the people that the kidnapped girls from GGSTC had not been found contrary to earlier information that they had been rescued by gallant Nigerian soldiers. The governor, who attributed the conflicting statement to his inability to get accurate information from the right source, blamed the military who left the area one week before the attack, for the abduction of the girls. One of the parents, Inuwa Mohammed, whose 16- year- old daughter, Falmata , was missing, said he was “ devastated by this twist of events” and that his wife fainted on hearing the news and was in hospital. “ I woke up with the strong hope of meeting my daughter and my wife had been making preparations for a warm welcome, only for us to receive this shattering news that the story was a rumour ,” he added . Speaking on the abduction, Idris Abdul, Executive Director of Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution (CHRCR), described it as a national embarrassment, and blamed the federal and state governments for leaving the girls vulnerable. He said “I expected that the government must have learned from what happened in Chibok by providing adequate security for the girls in the school. He urged Governor Gaidam to intensify efforts by providing adequate security for all schools, especially the female institutions in the state. Also lamenting, Spokesman of the North East Youth Initiative For Development NEYIF, Mallam Dauda Gombe in an interview, called on the federal government to ensure that all communities which were not covered by adequate security should be given enough military personnel to protect them from the insurgents. He said that the increase of military personnel in the war theatre was the only way wanton killing and abduction can be avoided. According to him, “if there were adequate military personnel to go round, the army commander in the state would not have been under any pressure to remove the soldiers protecting Dapchi at that material time” adding that some tactical mistakes would have been avoided if a mobile strike force was within five minutes reach. Gombe expressed worry in the lack of coordination between the government and the military such that it took two hours before the mobile troops arrived the scene to save an already bad situation. Gombe then requested that “all communities in the local government areas be assigned adequate military men to ensure the security of lives and property of the citizens. In his own reaction, a security experts based in Damaturu Mr. Ali Abubakar Goni said the abduction in Dapchi was not only a national disaster, but an embarrassment to the Buhari-led Federal Government. He advised that, “a more effective mechanism should be deployed to manage and close the gap between the time of postings and shifting of military duties”. Goni also called for a more technical mobile strike force to be established to go round the local councils not only in Yobe but the entire council areas of the north east of Nigeria to fight insurgency. He argued that “all schools be given adequate security men as it was done for commercial banks and many other public places. Above all, as it is clear that the insurgents have insatiable thirst for ladies, the government should upgrade the status of most boarding girls secondary schools urgently so that large number of kids would not be placed in a position where the insurgents would easily pounce on them”. A veteran Journalist based in Maiduguri, Mr. Gbenga Akingbule also submitted that both government and the security agencies were to be blame for not living up to their constitutional responsibilities. Another parent who gave his name as Mohammed Audu in Dapchi said, “the government have to sit up and be up and doing, looking at what happened in Chibok in the past four years. “ One of the constitutional responsibilities of government is to protect human lives, anything short of this, it is better for those in government to resign, rather than shifting blames to the military or the police. “Secondly, the issue of deploying, redeploying and withdrawal of the military to a vulnerable school like that of Dapchi was most unfortunate which I will describe as a fire brigade approach, so our security operatives should do the needful. “ I therefore advise the government and security agencies to punish whoever was found to have neglected his/her duty that led to the abduction of the school girls to serve as deterrent for others”, Audu stated. Credit :Vanguard Newspaper

Fulani Herdsmen: We Will Not Leave Benue Community.

Just when it seemed respite was coming the way of Benue farming communities from the incursions of marauding herdsmen after the flag off of Exercise Ayem A’ Kpatuma, or Cat Race, a military spike operation to end herdsmen killings in the state, armed herdsmen early in the week stormed Mbatoho, an Island community at Mbalagh council ward of Makurdi local government, sacking over 5,000 inhabitants of the vast Island. The invaders who were reported to have quietly ordered the locals to vacate their ancestral homes without putting up any resistance warned that their intent was not to shed blood. Scared stiff of the threat, the locals immediately fled their homes to the mainland after which the well armed herdsmen razed several homes on the island and occupied the territory which is less than five kilometer on sea from the Wadata area of Makurdi town. Majority of the victims caught refuge in homes of relatives and friends on the other side of River Benue while a handfull of others staged a peaceful protest to Benue Government House, seeking the intervention of the state government to save them from being homeless. It was gathered from some of the displaced persons that the armed herdsmen started the action of attacking and taking over the island some days ago. According to the Community Leader of the Island and tax collector of the inner segment of the Island, Chief Peter Tachie, “the armed herdsmen who are usually dressed in black started their action four days ago in our community. “They came in their numbers with their cattle into island from Guma local government area and other places on foot some weeks ago because the water level of River Benue has dropped significantly so they could easily assess the island on foot. “Four days ago they started destroying our houses, farmland and food barns and also taking over the LGEA Primary school in the island and converting same for personal use. “As we speak no Tiv person is on that island at the moment, they have taken our farms and also uprooted our cassava from our plantation to feed their cattle which are also grazing freely on our farmland. “They have destroyed all that we spent years to acquire, so we have all moved into Makurdi main town with our families to seek government’s attention. “You know that we do a lot of dry season farming on the Island and as we speak all that we planted in this dry season have all been destroyed by the herdsmen and their cattle.” On his part, the tax collector of the outer segment of the island, Chief Stephen Guntu, said the invaders had warned that it was in the best interest of the locals to vacate the island in order to avert a major crisis. “They warned that we should leave the island quietly in our own interest. And since we know that they could be ruthless we all fled with our families. “Some of us are currently taking refuge in the houses of friends and relatives while John Kyuka who is a politician that comes regularly to campaign in the island also offered to accommodate very few of us. “We need urgent intervention of the government because they have taken over our farmlands and all the food we harvested during the last farming season. “Moreover, we do a lot of dry season farming and as I speak all the crops we planted this season are now food for the cattle.” Head Teacher of the only Primary School on the Island, the LGEA Primary School, Daudu, Mr. Ephram Otave told Saturday Vanguard that close to 400 pupil of the school had been chased out of school by the invaders. “All my pupils who are close to 400 have been chased out of school and displaced due to the activities of the herdsmen who have occupied the entire island and chased out our people.” Confirming the development, the Benue state Information Commission, Lawrence Onoja Jnr. said the invaders had completely taken over the Island adding that the government had also directed security personnel to push them out of the community before the crisis would escalate. According to the Commissioner “our findings when the Security Adviser to the Governor, Lt. Col. Paul Hemba(Rtd.) led a team to Island indicated that for sometime in the last few days there has been serious influx of herdsmen into Benue especially along Agatu, Guma, Logo, Katsina/Ala local government areas and communities bordering Nasarawa state especially. “It was in the course of this influx that groups of herdsmen some days ago went to Mbatoho Island, at Mbalagh council ward of Makurdi local government area and sacked the locals from their homes. “The people fled from Island and the herdsmen took over the community. When the team got there it was discovered that the herdsmen were feeding their cattle on the farm produce of the people and all they had in their barns. “Governor Samuel Ortom has been in constant touch with security personnel who have mobilized to the Island and have been directed to to push back the herdsmen. “Unfortunately the Exercise Ayem A’ Akpatuma recently launched by the military in the state to end the herdsmen incursion in the state does not cover that area because it is an Island completely surrounded by water. “However, security personal have been mobilized to the island to move the herdsmen out so that the people can move back to their community.” When contacted, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent, ASP, Moses Yamu confirmed that the Special Forces of the Police had moved into the Island to restore order. “Just today, the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni held meetings with some Ardos (Fulani Chiefs) and Chiefs from Agatu, Gwer West and others, after which they went on a visit to the Island. As we speak they are yet to return to Makurdi mainland.”

Dapchi girls: Boko Haram contacts female negotiator, Aisha Wakil

Wakil, who is popularly called Mama Boko Haram, was a member of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, which was set up during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. Wakil made the claim in a video interview with the News Agency of Nigeria that has gone viral on the social media, saying the terrorist group had made contact with her on Thursday. She is believed to have communication links with the leadership of the sect and also believed to have played some roles in negotiations between the Federal Government and Boko Haram insurgents that resulted in the release of persons kidnapped by the group in the past. Earlier in the week, Wakil had pleaded with the abductors of the schoolgirls to release them so that they could reunite with their families. But in the fresh video, Wakil said, “They are even the ones that called me and said Mama, we heard what you have said and told me that they are with the girls and they are going to release them. “I begged of them and said please let this not be another 1,000-plus days of Chibok girls, and they laughed and said no. I asked them where I can come and stay with them (girls) for two days, but they did not say anything. “I can assure Nigerians that so far they are with my son, Habib, and his friends; Habib is a nice guy, he is a very nice boy. He will not harm them, he will not touch them, and he will not kill them. He is going to listen to us, and so far, he indicated interest that he loves peace. And I love them for that and believe what they said on this. “They will definitely give us the girls. All I am begging Nigerians is to calm down, be prayerful, everything will be over in God grace (sic).” Credit:Punch newspaper

Breaking: Four aid workers killed in Boko Haram attack in Borno

Four aid workers were killed in a Boko Haram attack in Rann, in northeast Nigeria, the UN said on Friday, in the latest violence to hit the remote town. Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai looks on at the headquaters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri, Borno State in northcentral Nigeria, on October 4, 2017. The United Kingdom is providing expert training to the Nigerian military in helping to develop the skills necessary to tackle the terror threat of Boko Haram in North East Nigeria. Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency began in 2009 and has killed at least 20,000 and forced more than 2.6 million from their homes. / AFP The attack happened “after dark” outside a camp housing some 55,000 people displaced by the conflict and appeared to target the military, said UN spokeswoman Samantha Newport. A civilian militia source in Rann, which is some 175 kilometres (110 miles) from the Borno state capital of Maiduguri, and a senior military source gave an identical death toll. They also said eight soldiers were killed in the attack but there was no immediate official confirmation. Newport said: “Four aid workers were killed, one aid worker was injured and one aid worker is missing, feared abducted. “Of the aid workers that were killed, two worked for the IOM (International Organization for Migration) in camp management; and one was a medical doctor working as a third party consultant for UNICEF,” the UN children’s agency, she said. No details were immediately available for the fourth but Newport said the injured and missing were both women. All those involved were Nigerian, she added. Boko Haram fighters killed nine people from the Rann internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in September last year, as they worked on farms just outside the town. In January last year, a botched Nigerian air strike intended to hit jihadist fighters killed at least 112 people as aid workers distributed food. Commanders at the time called the bombing a mistake and blamed “the fog of war”. An air force board of inquiry later blamed “lack of appropriate marking of the area” for the bombardment and an unexpected gathering of people at the location.

No fewer than 1,000 shops and several vehicles were torched in the violent clash that occurred between Christian and Muslim youths in Kaduna on Monday over girls, as the death toll rose to 12 yesterday. When Vanguard visited the scene yesterday, the large scale destruction that trailed the clash which engulfed Kasuwan Magani town in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state was benumbing. Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Austin Iwar, who disclosed the new death toll yesterday, said 18 people had also been arrested. Addressing journalists after a fact-finding and assessment visit to the area, the Police Commissioner vowed that no stone would be left unturned in unravelling the immediate and remote causes of the crisis. The Police Commissioner, in company of the General Officer Commanding I Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major-General Mohammed Mohammed and state commandant of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps, Modu Goni, expressed shock at the scale of destruction. He said: “It is unfortunate. As we can see, the level of destruction is very high, some people were killed and properties were destroyed. This is not what we wish for our state, Kaduna. Some burnt cars during the crisis that took place at Kasuwan Magani town in Kajuru Local Government area of Kaduna state Tuesday. Photos Olu Ajayi. see more photos here “Let me say that we will not leave any stone unturned in investigating the remote and immediate causes of this problem. We will talk to the stakeholders here and try to find out what the problem is and through civil problem solving approach and conflict resolution, we will deal with that.” Police recover petrol bombs, other items “We will also look at the criminal aspect of it. So far, we have arrested eighteen people we suspect were involved in the crisis. We are working round the clock to ensure that we get to the root of the matter. “We have recovered a number of dangerous items, including petrol bombs. We believe this is a planned thing and we will get to the root of the matter. We will do a thorough investigation to ensure that it does not happen again.” He said the police was aware of “skirmishes” in the area two weeks ago and had made some arrests “but we did not know that there was a grand design to carry out massive destruction as it happened.” He defended police response to the crisis, saying he mobilized his men and deployed to the area as soon as the Police received reports of the crisis. “The most important thing to us is, when was it reported to us? Travelling from Kaduna to this place takes about forty minutes. We needed to prepare and mobilize our men. Police officers are not like items sitting on the shelves of supermarkets. “We needed to bring people from other places. We took necessary steps to check the crisis. We brought in military reinforcement, Civil Defence and Police reinforcement,” he added. The Police commissioner said 11 victims of the crisis were “buried around12 midnight”, while one person who sustained injuries later died in the hospital yesterday. Crisis started on Monday, when a Christian girl who was allegedly engaged to a Muslim man was about to convert to Islam, a development that angered youths of the predominantly Christian settlement. Senate warns against hate speech Meanwhile, the Senate has cautioned religious, political, community leaders against hate speech to avoid hate actions. It also said any conflict with religious colouration would be the fastest way to liquidate Nigeria as a country. Speaking yesterday, in Abuja during plenary when Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) raised a point of order on the killings, destruction of property in Kasuwan Magani, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over plenary, said if all Nigerians, irrespective of class, religion and status, treat themselves as brothers and sisters, those following them would follow. Ekweremadu, who urged the leaders to try as hard as they can to avoid escalation of religious crisis in Nigeria, said: “This is one incident too many. This is becoming very worrisome. What is even more worrisome is the religious colouration to the killings, based on what Senator Shehu Sani has said. This is something we need to avoid. “That is, any conflict that will have religious colouration, that will be the fastest way to liquidate this country. As leaders, we must understand that leadership comes with responsibilities. It is our job to keep preaching to those who are leading through our actions and words that we belong to one God. “The fact that somebody is a Christian or Muslim does not mean that he should hate another person. I have not seen any religion that preaches hate killings. It is the way we behave that promotes that. “We are talking about hate speech. The worst of it is hate action. If we treat ourselves as brothers and sisters, those following us will follow us. We must try as hard as we can, not to have any religious escalation in Nigeria.” Credit: Vangauard Newspaper

Just in :Middle-aged man Commits Suicide in Kano

A middle-aged man identified as Nura, has committed suicide in Tsamiya village of Gezawa local government area of Kano, by hanging himself on a tree.
“The man kept his shirt, shoe and a local counter (Charbi) under the tree and then wrote his name before he committed suicide,” an eyewitness told Dailytrust .
RIP!
Photo Credit: Dailtrust

Breakthrough: Michael Okpara varsity discovers cure for HIV/AIDS

Prof. Francis Otunta, the Vice Chancellor (VC), Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, in Abia, has confirmed the discovery of a new drug for the treatment and cure of HIV/AIDS.
Otunta told newsmen at the university campus on Wednesday that the finding followed years of scientific research by the institution.
He said that the breakthrough was made by Prof. Maduike Ezeibe, a researcher in the university.
According to him, Ezeibe had presented the drug to the University management, Senate and Council, where he explained the processes he went through to arrive at his finding.

Minister of Health, Prof Issac Adewole during his HIV test.
The VC also said that Ezeibe had equally presented the drug to his colleagues in the medical field and nobody had contradicted his finding.
“Prof. Ezeibe is a researcher in Veterinary Medicine and one may wonder how he discovered a drug to cure a human ailment,” he said.
He commended Ezeibe for the breakthrough, saying: “He has brought honour to the University and we are proud of him.”
Otunta said that the university was in the process of mass producing the drug for further clinical trials on persons living with HIV/AIDS in the country.
Ezeibe, who is a professor of Veterinary Medicine and Clinical Virology, said that the drug was produced with Aluminum Silicate and Magnesium Silicate (Synthetic Aluminum-Magnesium Silicate).
He said that the two minerals “are already in use as medicines for the treatment of various animal and human diseases”.
He said that 10 persons living with the disease, “who volunteered’’, were made to apply through their doctor to the VC.
“They were treated daily with the Medicinal Synthetic Aluminum-Magnesium Silicate (50 mg/kg),” he said.
Ezeibe said that the volunteers were subjected to monthly tests for viral loads and CD4-lymphocyte counts.
“With the antiviral effects of the medicine, its ability to reach all cells (as nanoparticles) and the lymphocytes, there is no more hiding place (sanctuary) for HIV,” he said.
He said that the medicine had been used to potentiate Ampicilin, Chloroquine, Piperazine and Sulphadimidin, among others, and could be a major foreign exchange earner for Nigeria, if approved by relevant authorities.
According to him, “local and international pharmaceutical companies would find the product as a veritable raw material”.
Ezeibe said that he presented the research findings to the World Virology Conference in Atlanta in 2015, and Antonio (Texas) in 2016.
Besides, he said that the results of the laboratory tests had been published in many international scientific journals, including the British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, among several others.
He said that he was also about to sign a memorandum of understanding with a U.S.-based Scientific Research Publishing, publishers of World Journal of AIDS, for the publication of his book “How I came about the cure for HIV/AIDS”.
Ezeibe, who said that the medicine was patented in August 2014 in Nigeria, called on the Federal Government to help him to secure international patency for the drug.
He said: “If commercialised, the Medicinal Synthetic Aluminum-Magnesium Silicate would become an alternative for petroleum to the Nigerian economy.”
Source :Vanguard

Late UNIMAID Prof’s. brother writes letter to Boko Haram leader, Shekau

Malam Usman Abbas, a younger brother to late Prof. Aliyu Usman Mani, who was killed during a suicide bomb attack at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), has said Abubakar Shekau is a “dead man waiting to go to hell”.
Usman stated this in an open letter to Abubakar Shekau, factional leader of the Boko Haram insurgents, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri on Thursday.
“I listened to your audio message in which you claimed responsibility for the suicide bomb attack that killed my brother Professor Aliyu Usman Mani and others during subh (early morning) prayer at the University of Maiduguri Staff quarters mosque on Monday January 16, 2017.
“I am addressing this letter to you and calling you “dead” because your filthy, satanic, useless and lost soul is just wandering on earth waiting to get to hell where you have earned yourself permanent residency in the deepest and most painful part of it.
“Contrary to your claim in most of your video or audio messages, the innocent people you kill are better than you in the sight of both human beings and Allah and you are the one surely going to hell.
“Your soul will never smell heaven.
“The tears I shed on the death of my brother were for my personal loss. For the deceased however, I am extremely happy because he died in a mosque, praying (in ruku’u), fasting on a Monday and was killed by your bomb.
“Given a choice, I would not mind the same type of death.
“His death was very painful but I want to assure you that you cannot stop us from going to the mosque to pray, neither can you stop us from seeking for and obtaining knowledge and education (both Islamic and western).
“We have no doubt lost a brother, father, grandfather, Professor, gentleman, pillar of support, guardian and a good man but we have gained a martyr.
“We are very proud of what Professor Aliyu Usman Mani achieved in life and in death, we are certain he died in one of the best possible ways to exit this world and that his hereafter is even better.
“In death, Professor Aliyu’s status was elevated, his popularity soared, his name heard beyond the academia, beyond the shores of Nigeria, his burial was attended by hundreds of people including my humble self and others from all walks of life prayed for him in private and in congregations at places of worship.
“You cannot change or take away the good things people said and are still saying about him neither can you change the bad things they said and are still saying about you.
“Even your parents, children and relations if you have any, cannot be proud of what you are doing not to talk of the country and Islam as a religion.
“You can only deceive the gullible, uneducated in both Islamic and western education and innocent boys and girls who did not know what they were doing into carrying out your devilish plans.
“If you are convinced that what you are doing is Islam and Almighty Allah is truly with you, then show your face, operate from a known and traceable address, use only male adults and do not brainwash small boys and girls into carrying out attacks on your behalf while you hide like a rat in a hole and claim heroism afterwards.
“I say you are already dead because “alive”, you the killer of Professor Aliyu Usman Mani, cannot show your face physically, cannot move around freely, cannot sleep peacefully, cannot command respect willfully.
” You cannot do anything normally, you cannot enjoy life fully, you can only live in the bush with your cousins the wild animals tamely, and will surely die miserably without the privilege of a proper burial,” said Usman in the letter.
Source :Vanguard

Nigerian Army Arrests 3 APC Governor Associates Over Alleged Links to Boko Haram

Two powerful politicians in Borno state and a traditional ruler have been arrested by the men of the army over suspected links to Boko Haram terrorists.

The names of the politicians are being withheld but TheCable reported that they are close associates of an APC governor.

The third - a traditional ruler is also said to be the first son of another prominent ruler in the state.

The Cable reported that the latest arrests were confirmed by Lucky Irabor, a major general and Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, the counterinsurgency team of the army without further details.

“It is true we have arrested some people. They may be known faces. We started picking them one by one. We’re taking them now and we are still investigating them so I can’t give you any detail,” he said.

The politicians were arrested early this week by detectives and troops from Operation Lafiya Dole.

One of them, who is also an Islamic spritualist, fled the state but was arrested along Maiduguri-Jos road, sources told TheCable.

The second politician was said to be a thug (called ECOMOG) and an aide to some politicians in the state.

Source: TheCable

44 year old Essam El Hadary’s save sends Egypt to #AFCON2017 Final

Essam Kamal Tawfik El Hadary of Egypt celebrates victory during the African Nations Cup Semi Final match between Burkina Faso and Egypt at Stade de L’Amitie on February 1, 2017 in Libreville, Gabon.


Egypt’s goalkeeper and captain Essam El Hadary on Wednesday emerged the shooting range hero to send the Pharaohs through to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final match.
Egypt went through to the AFCON final in Gabon after beating Burkina Faso 4-3 on penalty kicks in the semi-finals.
El Hadary, who turned 44 this month, is already the oldest footballer to play at a Nations Cup and he showed he was not just there for the record.
The match itself was an epic, with neither team having tasted defeat in Gabon, and seven-time champions Egypt were yet to concede a goal.
The match in Libreville ended 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time, with Mohamed Salah ’s 66th minute opener for Egypt cancelled out by Aristide Bance seven minutes later.
A sumptuous strike by Salah in the 66th minute looked to have record seven-time champions Egypt heading into Sunday’s final.
But Burkina Faso were level just seven minutes later, the first conceded by the Egyptians at this Cup of Nations, and there was no further scoring.
With no further scoring it went to a shoot-out where Essam El Hadary’s save from Bertrand Traore ’s last kick for Burkina Faso gave Egypt the victory.
They will now play against either Ghana or Cameroon in Sunday’s final.
Photo Credit: Ulrik Pedersen/Icon Sport/Getty Images

Beyoncé’s Pregnancy Announcement is already the Most Liked Photo on Instagram with almost 7Million Likes in Less than 12 Hours

Beyoncé is the queen of surprises and breaking records.
The 35-year-old entertainer’s baby announcement, featuring a photo of her baby bump, officially has the most likes on Instagram now, with 6.98 million likes in less than 12 hours.
The previous record-holder was a picture posted in June 2016 of Selena Gomez sipping a Coke, which got 6.3 million likes to-date.
Beyoncé has 92.8 million followers on the social media app while Selena has the most followers on IG with 108.4 million