In a highly controversial step, a panel of justices of the Nigerian Court of Appeal today ruled that retired Colonel Hamza Al Mustapha, a former confidante of Nigeria’s late dictator, General Sani Abacha, must be set free of a murder conviction for the June 4, 1996 assassination of Kudirat Abiola, a wife of Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

Mr. Al Mustapha, who served as Chief Security Officer to Mr. Abacha, was earlier convicted by a Lagos High Court on charges of authorizing, planning and overseeing the murder of Ms. Abiola, who was shot in one of the streets of Lagos as she drove to an appointment. The killing of Mr. Abiola’s wife shocked Nigerians and the world, and made the name Kudirat one of the most revered icons of the Nigerian struggle to force the military from political power. Mr. Abacha, whose regime epitomized the height of military repression, died suddenly in November, 1997, in the midst of an amorous soiree with three young prostitutes. His death brought to an end Mr. Mustapha’s reign as the most powerful member of a small power-drunk clique that carried out Mr. Abacha’s repressive agenda, sometimes by physically eliminating the late dictator’s most visible opponents.

A Court of Appeal presided over by Justice Amina Augie today ruled that the Lagos High Court that convicted Mr. Mustapha for the murder of Ms. Abiola was “stroked to secure a conviction by all means.” On January 30, 2013, the high court had sentenced Mr. Mustapha to death for conspiracy to commit murder.

But the appellate court’s acquittal of Mr. Mustapha is bound to raise judicial dust, said an Abuja-based lawyer familiar with the case. He said the stage for today's ruling had been set when a no-nonsense judge earlier involved in the case withdrew for inexplicable reasons and was replaced by Justice Amina Augie, who headed the panel. The source described Justice Augie as “one of the justices on the Court of Appeal who is linked to judicial corruption.”

Earlier, SaharaReporters had done an expose on a conspiracy between Justice Augie and a top lawyer, Joseph Bodunrin Daudu, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, to work on a deal to secure Mr. Mustapha’s release.

Justice Augie and Mr. Daudu also “”worked together” in the corruption case against former Governor James Onanefe Ibori of Delta State. Justice Augie wrote and read a decision ordering that Mr. Ibori’s prosecution be moved from a Kaduna court to a high court in Delta State. SaharaReporters reported that Mr. Ibori had engineered the judgment knowing full well that prosecution witnesses would be terrified to appear against him in Asaba, the Delta State capital, where Mr. Ibori could easily mobilize thugs and other forms of witness intimidation.

Mr. Ibori was subsequently acquitted on 170 counts of money laundering and corruption during his eight-year tenure as governor. However, he was convicted by a court in London on some of the same charges and sentenced to a 13-year jail sentence.

A lawyer who was in court today said the appellate court’s decision to free Al Mustapha was “an unfortunate display of judicial politics, to say the least, and will send the wrong signal that highly connected people can easily get away with impunity in this country.”

Union leaders and sacked staff of Diamond Bank, on Thursday, barricaded the entrance to the bank’s headquarters and two other key branches in Lagos over alleged discrimination and sack of 200 workers.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) led the protesters, preventing customers from gaining entrance to the three offices.

The protesters displayed several placards with inscriptions such as: ‘Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Diamond Bank has closed door against workers, do not keep silent’; ‘Core staff or not, we are all workers of Diamond Bank Plc’; ‘Equals should be treated equally’.

The picketing, according to leaders of NLC and NUBIFIE, was prompted by the alleged refusal of the management of the bank to, among others, reinstate the sacked workers, even when the National Industrial Court and Ministry of Labour and Productivity, advised it to do so.

They were said to have arrived the bank’s head office few minutes past 8a.m., barricaded it and ensured that its operations were crippled.

Reacting to the development, the bank said it recently had “challenges” with the consultant entrusted with recruiting its support personnel.

“Third party support personnel posted to Diamond Bank have recently had challenges with their employer – C & M Exchange,” the bank stated. “As these issues are yet to be resolved, the third party personnel would like Diamond Bank to intercede to resolve the differences. Diamond Bank remains concerned about the working conditions and welfare of its entire staff, both contractual and full time. As such, we are currently discussing intensely with C & M Exchange to ensure they resolve the issues with their employees in a swift and amicable manner. Please, be assured that normal banking operations continue at our locations nationwide.”

NUBIFIE President, Danjuma Musa, said the picketing became imperative after the management demonstrated unwillingness to heed the order of the court to reinstate sacked workers.

A Chief Magistrates’ Court in Dutse, on Wednesday sentenced three university graduates to three months imprisonment each for possessing fake National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) call-up letters.

Chief Magistrate Kabir Lamido sentenced Ale Oluwaseun, 25; Owolabi Saheed and Makinde Lanre, both aged 23, who pleaded guilty to the one count charge, during arraignment.

Lamido, however, gave each of them an option of N5, 000 fine and warned them to desist from illegal acts.

The prosecutor, Cpl. Garba Abdul, had earlier told the court that the three men came to an NYSC Orientation Camp with the fake letters and pretended to be intending corps members, adding that an employee of the NYSC, Ejibunu Zachary, reported the case to the Kubwa police area command on June 26.

He submitted that the offence contravened Section 366 of the Penal Code.

The graduates had pleaded for leniency, saying they were Nigerian graduates of the University of Cotonou, Benin Republic, desirous of serving their fatherland.

They said a man who claimed to be an official of the NYSC, issued the letters to them when they were making enquiries about the scheme.

- See more at: http://leadership.ng/news/110713/court-sentences-graduates-possessing-fake-nysc-call-letters#sthash.s81a8mQW.dpuf

It seems the most effective way in getting government’s attention on any issue in Nigeria by its employees and other unions is to embark on industrial action, otherwise called strike. The strike option is a common phenomenon adopted by many, from truck/tanker drivers, teachers/lecturers, Judicial workers and transport workers(bus drivers) among others, to air their grievances.
Surprisingly, strike action is a common occurence in our educational sector as academic and non academic staff resort to it in calling goverment’s attention to their welfare and decay in the system and there is no doubting the fact that the incessant industrial actions have crippled the varsity and polytechnic systems and caused disruptions to the sector,including untold hardship to students. ASUU and ASUP should find other methods of airing their grievances, most especially their selfish interest. I have never heard these unions embarking on strike for the cause of poor studying laboratories, equipment which students should use in practicing and poor funding to educational projects, HABA NA!!!!!

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Students under the aegis of Nigerian Education Rights Coalition and Coalition Against Commercialization of Education in Nigeria today embarked on street protests in Lagos that has brought traffic to a standstill on on Lagos main road, Ikorodu road.

The protest which started with a handful of students protesting against Nigerian government insensitivity to ongoing strike by university and polytechnic teachers has steadily grown in the last hour.

Policemen are seen trying to break up the protest but the students have so far stood their ground and proceeded peacefully in defiance of the police.

Minister of Education, Professor Ruquayyatu Rufai on Monday appealed to members of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) to call off its industrial action in the interest of Nigerian students.

Speaking at a meeting with Vice-Chancellors of Universities in Abuja, Professor Rufai expressed optimism that issues of non-implementation of policies between the federal government and members of the union will be resolved amicably when both parties meet with members of the Senate Committee on Education on Tuesday.

University lecturers embarked on an indefinite strike a week ago over the failure of the federal government to implement an agreement reached in 2009.

The Minister also warned Vice-Chancellors to desist from awarding honorary degrees to people who did not deserve it noting that the situation has become embarrassing.
www.telegraphng.com


What ASSU is doing to students is very bad and its killing, i can't see why they should embark on a strike after the Federal Government has met with at-least 80% of their demands and funny enough this strike their embarking on is not for the degenerating standard of education in the country or neither is it for the poor infrastructures that our institutions are having but its for their selfish purposes and not for students.. Haba! year-in year-out students can't really say for sure this is when am graduating from school because our lecturers are always looking for ways of how they can enrich their pockets and they forget that their actions are not in favor of the students the pretend to advocate for or the parents that try to send their wards to schools..... My brother right about now is spending five (5) years plus and counting for a course program which is suppose to run for Four (4) years haba na.... Pls ASSU and your various unions STOP this wickedness cause a time is coming way students will no longer blame government but rather start facing you for all the wrongs their elder brothers and sisters and also them are facing because of your selfish actions and intentions....

A Maiduguri-based businessman (name withheld for security reasons) on Thursday turned in his biological son, a member of the extremist Boko Haram sect to the Joint Task Force, JTF, with an order that he should be shot dead, witnesses said.

The son, according to close family sources, had once threatened to kill his father before he fled home and returned only recently as security operatives continue to clamp down on the sect.

He was said to have returned as a prodigal son, seeking asylum in his father’s compound.

“After confessing all his crimes, including how he participated in the killing of people and looting of banks to his father, the old man said he has no such conscience to keep a killer son in his home,” said a close family member under anonymity.

The 60-year old Kanuri man, who lives in Babban-Line Commercial Area, Maiduguri, simply approached the Sector Office of the JTF and told them about his son.

Witnesses quoted him as saying, “This boy is my son; he is a confirmed member of Boko Haram and has killed many people, he too should be killed.”

In a dramatic twist, as the young man attempted to flee from the soldiers to whom his father handed him, he was shot at and struck down by a bullet.

He later died. His father, who was yet to leave the scene simply turned around, looked at the writhing body of his son on the ground and said, “Masha Allah” meaning, “To God be the glory.”

Before he was handed over to the soldiers, the young man was said to have revealed to his father and family members that he possessed two cars and had millions of naira buried somewhere near his family home.

But the reportedly father said he had no interest in the ill-gotten assets and had no intention of inheriting them as according to Islamic laws, they are ‘haram’ (unlawful).

The troops of the Special Forces deployed for the State of Emergency in the north have apprehended a key terrorist who specialises in recruiting young men into the fold in Maiduguri following a tip off to the Military command.

The same success was recorded in Yobe State with the arrest of 49 suspected Boko Haram terrorists (BHT) in various locations in state by troops of the Special Forces following a tip off by locals in some communities.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/state-of-emergency-terrorist-recruitment-specialist-nabbed/149483/

Residents of Omu-Aran in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara now travel to Ekiti for banking transactions after a robbery attack on banks in the town three weeks ago.

Armed robbers, had on May 14, raided three banks in the town, killing three persons and escaping with unspecified amount of money.

Checks by the News Agency of Nigeria indicate that residents in Omu-Aran now travel to Ilorin, the state capital, and towns in the neighbouring Ekiti State of about 50 kilometres for banking transactions.

Emmanuel Ilesanmi, Business Manager, Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Omu-Aran district, said that the situation was negatively affecting the company’s revenue generation.

“Majority of our customers now capitalise on the unfortunate development and refuse to pay their bills.

“They attribute their inability to get money from the bank as the excuse for not paying their bills,” Mr. Ilesanmi said.

Awawu Popoola, a market leader in Omu-Aran, said that traders were experiencing low sales and had incurred losses as a result of the closure of the banks.

“Majority of our members have been thrown out of business, due to losses incurred as a result of poor sales occasioned by closure of banks in the town.

“The fear of attack on banks in Omu-Aran has also driven away some potential buyers to more secured markets in other towns,” Mr. Popoola said.

Meanwhile, youth in the town, under the platform of Omu-Aran Youth Forum, have called for joint police-military patrol to curb incessant robbery attacks in the area.

Yemi Aransiola, the councilor representing Omu-Aran Ward 2, who is also the leader of the forum, said that the joint police-military patrol had assisted in checking insecurity in parts of the country.

“With the latest attacks on banks in Omu-Aran, I think the time is ripe for joint police-military patrol to end incessant robbery attacks on banks,” Mr. Aransiola said.

Bidemi Olawuyi, Secretary of Omu-Aran Development Association, said the association had taken some proactive measures to assist law enforcement agencies.

“We are not resting on our oars in assisting security agencies, including the town’s vigilance group, to end this ugly trend.

“More importantly, we are already in discussion with the banks’ management in an effort to woo them back to continue their businesses in the interest of the people of the community,” Mr. Olawuyi said.

Christian Association Nigeria on Thursday alleged that Christians were still being killed in the North by Boko Haram members despite the emergency rule imposed by President Goodluck Jonathan.

CAN President, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, stated this in a statement by his Special Assistant (Media and Public Affairs), Mr. Kenny Ashaka.

Jonathan last May 14 had declared emergency rule in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states following the unending violence in the states.

Oritsejafor said, “Last Friday, for instance, an executive member of CAN in Gwoza Local Government, Rev. Luka Bazigila and a member of the COCIN Church, Yohanna, both of who were in attendance at a Christian fellowship were shot dead by gunmen, who mounted a tricycle.

“Members of the sect also killed the step mother of the Medical Director of the Borno State Hospital, when they could not find the doctor at home. A Muslim guard, employed by a Christian architect in Abuja, was mistaken for a Christian and shot dead. One COCIN member on the Mandara Mountain was burnt by members of Boko Haram on Sunday morning.”

Commiserating with the families of the victims of the renewed killings, the CAN President called on Christians to pray for peace and unity of Nigeria as well as an end to the insecurity on Friday, (today).

Oritsejafor added, “In the light of a recent statement that the military recovered a document containing the names of Boko Haram sponsors, I call on the Federal Government to expose the sponsors now. I believe that such exposition will go a long way in the fight against Boko Haram and serve as a deterrent to others who might want to toe the same line”.

Citing reasons other than religion as the cause of the insurgency by Boko Haram, the CAN President pointed to a recent statement by the leader of the sect, Alhaji Abubakar Shekau, where he called on Islamists in Afghanistan, Pakistan andIraq to join the sect to create an Islamic state in Nigeria.

When will this kind of thing happen in Nigeria, where government is interest in the education of our future leaders!!!! Rather than looting money in all corners and politician causing problems in the country for selfish gains.....

Jay Y. Lee, the number-two at Samsung Electronics and only son of chairman Lee Kun-Hee, has publicly apologised for a controversy over his own son’s entry to an elite school.

Prosecutors raided the Younghoon International Middle School on Tuesday on suspicion that it had skewed admission scores to favour certain applicants including, one Seoul city council official alleged, Lee’s 13-year-old son.

Although he accepted no suggestion of wrongdoing, Lee said he regretted not paying closer attention to the issue before it developed.

“I am sorry for having caused a stir over my son’s schooling… it was my fault for not being able to check up on this properly,” Lee said in a brief statement.

Lee confirmed he had pulled his son out of the school and was believed to be seeking his transfer to another.
“

I thought that it was right to take my child out due to the controversy,” he said.

Seoul education authorities have asked prosecutors to investigate 11 school officials on suspicion of manipulating test scores.

The case has caused outrage in the education-obsessed country, where qualifications from top colleges are crucial for careers and even marriage prospects.

The Lee family founded and controls Samsung Electronics — the world’s biggest technology firm by revenue and the top maker of memory chips, televisions and mobile phones.

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho and Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao have reportedly agreed to sign for Chelsea next season.Mourinho, who managed Chelsea from 2004 to 2007 and still remains a favourite with the Stamford Bridge faithful, has long been linked with a move back to the club he led to two Premier League titles.

The Portuguese tactician, a close friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, led current club Real to the La Liga title last season, but Los Blancos have failed to reach the same heights this campaign, and it is expected that the 50-year-old will leave the club at the end of the season.

Mourinho's current contract with Real expires in 2016, but the Spanish outfit is believed to be interested in offering the former Porto manager a new deal over the summer in a bid to tempt him to stay.

However, according to German publication Bild, Mourinho's next destination in his illustrious career will see him make a return to Chelsea as Abramovich seeks to secure a suitable replacement for current interim manager Rafael Benitez.

The report goes on to claim that with current Chelsea strikers Fernando Torres and Demba Ba failing to live up to expectations, the Russian oligarch has also struck an agreement to bring highly-rated striker Falcao over to the club next season for a reported fee of €60million.

Falcao's signing is believed to be Abramovich's 'special welcome gift' for Mourinho, who has reportedly expressed his desire to work with the Columbian hitman.

The news could not have come at a worse time for Real, who were soundly beaten 4-1 by Borussia Dortmund in the first-leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.

The National Working Committee, NWC, of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has suspended Governor CHibuike Amaechi of Rivers State.

In a communique issued at the end of an emergency meeting of the NWC on Monday and signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Olisa Metuh said the decision was taken in furtherance of the determination of the leadership of the Party to enforce discipline at all levels within the Party.

The communique read thus:
The National Working Committee at its emergency meeting on Monday, 27
May, 2013 considered the petition submitted by the PDP Rivers Executive
Committee against His Excellency, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the
Executive Governor of Rivers State for violating Articles 58 1 (b), (c
), (h) and (m) of the PDP Constitution following his refusal to obey the
lawful directive of the Rivers State Executive Committee to rescind his
decision dissolving the elected Executive Council of Obiokpor Local
Government Area of Rivers State.

The National Working Committee after preliminary hearing, in exercise
of the powers conferred by Articles 57 (3), 59 (3), 59 (5) and 29 (2.b),
hereby suspends the Executive Governor of River State, Rt Hon. Chibuike
Rotimi Amaechi as a member of the PDP and refers the matter to the
appropriate disciplinary committee of the Party.

This is in furtherance of the determination of the leadership of the
Party to enforce discipline at all levels within the Party.

Melford Dokubo Goodhead Jr., now known as Alhaji Mujahid Asari Dokubo recently set the Nigerian media world literally ablaze at a press conference.
During the briefings, he threatened fire and brimstone if he was arrested for the threats he made regarding the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, “Nigeria will become history.”

As we watch helplessly the slow but steady destruction of Nigeria, those who refused to listen to the words of truth will expedite its final fall. It is a case of terrible blindness and strange infatuation.

Those of us who expressed fear that Nigeria is marching toward its destruction are like Noah in his day, have been called crazed alarmists.

They hated us because our criticisms revealed the iniquities of the government in power. They accused us of being the cause of all the troubles which had come upon Nigeria in consequence of their actions.

Though without wealth, position, or honorary titles, we’re a terror to evildoers whenever and wherever our names and ideas were known. We’re hated by the wicked and the corrupt.

Because of our persistence and insistence in condemning evil among us, our views and beliefs were a constant rebuke to their selfishness and corruption.
I think Dokubo was being over generous when he used future tense “will” to predict the breakup of Nigeria. It is not the arrest/non-arrest of Dokubo or re-election/non-reelection of Mr. Jonathan that will lead to the disintegration of Nigeria as we know it.

Well, I have bad news for you: as far as I am concerned, Nigeria is already history!

Just look at the time … and just look at what is taking place in Nigeria today. Nigeria has been robbed of the last vestiges of human civilization.

Reduced from a ruler to a platform of political platitudes, Mr. Jonathan has become a titular head of a nation full of zombies with testimony of ancient evils.

President Jonathan’s bone chillingly stupid deaf tone silence and “I don’t give a damn attitude” approach to the problems of the country is undeniably the catalyst that has already made Nigeria history.

According to the federal government chief statistician, 38.24 million Nigerians are unemployed. Minister of State Lawal Yerima Ngama said 350,000 registered companies in Nigeria evade tax. N7.935 billion is said to be missing from the revenue collected by the Nigerian Customs Service.

Excerpt from a gory story written by Simon Utebor in the Punch of May 16 headlined “Philanthropist donates toilets to Police” is worth quoting:
“Chairman of Mello’s Group of Companies Mr. Abimbola Ayo-Yusuf, has donated a block of toilets and bathrooms to the Bode Thomas Police Station, Surulere, Lagos.”

“Yusuf said the facilities were to ameliorate the sufferings of men and officers of the police and detainees of the station. He also said the gesture was to discourage the detainees from throwing their faeces into the nearby canal.”

Nigeria’s store of provision has been destroyed through jealousy and revenge of the contending factions. All the horrors of starvation are killing our people. A measure of gari is now selling for a talent.

Great numbers of our people steal at night to provide for their basic needs. Many have been seized and put to death with cruel torture. Those who escaped were robbed of the little possessions they had.

There is no hospital in the country that is built for human race. Our people are dying in droves of preventive and treatable diseases.

The rulers, fortified with looted money from our treasury, like beheaded chickens rush to overseas infirmaries for simple ailments such as running nose, cough, or headache!

The most inhuman tortures were inflicted by those in power to further pummel the want-stricken people. These cruelties were frequently practiced by those who were well fed, and who were merely desirous of laying up a store of provision for the future.

Thousands of our people perished from famine, disease, and other manmade disasters. Natural affection seemed to have been destroyed. Husbands robbed their wives, and wives their husbands.

Nigerians have become refugees in their own country fleeing from persecution, poverty, and pestilence. A once proud people have become the laughing stock of the world.

Children are seen snatching food from the mouths of their aged parents. Thousands upon thousands of Nigerians perished every day. Above the sound of terror, voices were heard shouting: “Ichabod!” – Nigeria’s glory has departed!

Pensioners, widows, the jobless, the diseased, the hungry, and the homeless screaming and wailing while expiring with hunger and poverty rallied their remaining strength to utter a cry of anguish and desolation.

Men and women, old and young, priests, the innocent, and those who pleaded for mercy were hewn down in indiscriminate carnage. The number of the slain exceeded the slayers.

Not long ago, President Jonathan in an illegal secret deal with an Israeli company contracted a cyber spy program at a sacrilegious cost of $40 million to obliterate every trace of dissent from our citizens.

Everything it deems “heretical” whether persons or writings, the Jonathan administration sought to destroy. Expressions of doubt or questions as to the authority of his administration’s excesses, ineptitude, insensitivity, aloofness, and corruption were enough to forfeit the life of critics.

The long enjoyed freedom of conscience that has become one of our most precious and treasured rights is being disturbed and of a fact dismantled before our very eyes.

War and intrigue, and deception have been employed by the Jonathan regime against people who dared to challenge their brutality, looting, wickedness, and preying on the poor and the powerless.

“Harder they come, harder they fall,” Jimmy Cliff sings of the oppressors. “Oppressors that are trying to keep me (us) down… making me (us) feel like clown (s) … and they think they have got me (us) on the run … I say forgive them Lord for they know not what they have done …and we’re going to get my (our) share right now of what’s mine (ours) … harder they come, harder they fall.”

For as wolves hunting their prey did the enemies of truth pursue those of us who dared to claim freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press.

It is only in a spirit of free inquiry that desirable learning can take place. If you believe that your belief or opinion is based on reason, you should support it by argument.

But if your belief is based on blind loyalty, your argument will go against you. You’ll realize that argument is useless, and will therefore resort to force either in the form of persecution or by stunting or distorting the minds of the people especially the naïve and the gullible.

Matters of truth are to be ascertained and verified by observation and proof, not by relying on ancient propaganda scoundrels.

For President Jonathan and his men and women in government, I’ll like to remind them of the Romish leader’s warning to similar oppressors of his time: “If you will not receive brethren who bring you peace, you shall receive enemies who will bring you war…”

Just look at the time … and just look at Nigeria today... Nigeria is already history!

I hope they didn't capture them to be jailed only for a jail break to set them free
One man one bullet is the motto
I hope they are adhering to that

Nigerian soldiers have begun an offensive against Boko Haram Islamists, raiding camps in a remote northeastern park, while more than 2,000 troops have been deployed to retake territory seized by the insurgents, a military source told AFP Thursday.

“Our men raided some terrorist camps in the Sambisa Game Reserve,” in Borno State, said the senior officer who requested anonymity.

“So far 2,000 troops have been deployed to Borno,” he added, declining to comment on the forces sent to the other affected states of Yobe and Adamawa.

The defence ministry yesterday deployed troops and aircraft to the restive three states slammed with emergency rule by President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday.

A military source speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP Wednesday that fighter jets would also be deployed to the region.

President Jonathan issued the emergency decree in a broadcast, acknowledging for the first time that Boko Haram Islamists had “taken over” parts of Borno State, the insurgents’ stronghold.

“Nigerian Armed Forces have commenced operations to rid the nation’s border territories of terrorist bases,” a military statement said.

“The operations which will involve massive deployment of men and resources, is aimed at asserting the nation’s territorial integrity,” it added.

A top US official called on Nigeria to protect the rights of civilians and avoid any “heavy-handed” response against the rebels.

“We call on Nigerian officials to ensure that Nigeria’s security forces protect civilians in any security response in a way that respects human rights and the rule of law,” State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.

“We have made clear to the Nigerian government that its heavy-handed response to insecurity in northern Nigeria and the failure to address human rights violations will potentially affect our ability to provide security assistance going forward,” he added.

The emergency measures were applied to three states, including Yobe and Adamawa, but the offensive is widely expected to be concentrated in Borno, which shares borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

Boko Haram, which says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, had used Borno’s capital of Maiduguri as a home base but its fighters have relocated to remote border regions following a crackdown in the city.

The area’s borders are porous and analysts say that criminal groups and weapons can move freely between countries.

The military’s presence in these areas had previously been limited, especially compared to northeastern cities like Maiduguri and Yobe’s capital of Damaturu, where the military has blanketed the streets to combat Boko Haram.
http://pmnewsnigeria.com

Social stigma is harming attempts to combat cervical cancer in India where more women die annually of the disease than anywhere else in the world, a new report said Friday.

The also indicated that India, China, Brazil, Bangladesh and Nigeria account for over 50 percent of the annual 275,000 cervical cancer deaths

More than a quarter of cervical cancer deaths worldwide occur in India, representing 72,825 a year according to the report by the US-based Cervical Cancer Free Coalition, although African nations have higher mortality rates.

Cervical cancer is the second largest killer of women in low- and middle-income countries and is a taboo subject in many conservative societies as it is linked to sexual transmission, said the report.

“It is critical to educate the public on the importance of screening and to break down cultural barriers about discussing sexual issues,” said Usha Rani Poli, a doctor at the MNJ Institute of Oncology in the Indian city of Hyderabad.

She urged dismantling of the cultural barriers that impede frank discussions over sex in the largely patriarchal and male-dominated Indian society.

India, China, Brazil, Bangladesh and Nigeria account for over 50 percent of the annual 275,000 cervical cancer deaths, said the report, which compiled data from multiple sources including the World Health Organization.

Zambia has the highest mortality rate globally at 38.6 deaths per 100,000 women with India registering less than half that rate at 15.2 deaths.

By contrast, Australia, which has a strong cervical cancer vaccine immunisation programme, has the lowest death rate at 1.4, said the report to be formally launched Sunday to coincide with International Mothers’ Day.

“Lack of awareness and deep-seated stigma associated with the disease pose significant barriers” to treatment access in many countries with high death rates, the report said.

Cervical cancer is “preventable”, said coalition executive director Jennifer Smith, adding “we can dramatically reduce this disease through vaccination, screening and education”.

The US group, based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and funded by drug firms and other donors, chose 50 countries to provide a global snapshot reflecting geographic, economic and population variations.

“Unless women’s groups and civil society join together to lead movements that break through stigma, patriarchy and other societal barriers, we will continue to see large numbers of deaths,” the report said.

Doctors believe the disease can be prevented through better awareness.

“There are encouraging opportunities for prevention with breakthroughs in cervical cancer screening in low-resource settings,” said gynaecologic oncologist Poli.

Zambia’s Christine Kaseba, wife of President Michael Sata, called the nation’s high cervical cancer mortality rate “shocking”.

“We can change this by making life-saving vaccines available that almost entirely prevent the disease,” Kaseba said.

People of Ogada II in Obubra Local Government of Cross River State are planning to frustrate any further amnesty re-orientation at Obubra Rehabilitation Centre to protest the neglect of their community by the Federal Government.

The Federal Government has so far trained over 26, 000 ex-militants at the centre, which is also the permanent orientation camp for the National Youth Service Corps scheme in the state.

The village head of Ogada II, Chief Ofute Ovat, alongside the clan head, Chief Okpa Abam, who spoke to our correspondent on Saturday, said they would be compelled to stop further training in the community due to Federal Government’s “unfulfilled promises”.

According to them, the Federal Government has failed to grade and tar some roads in the community as well as pay compensation for the destruction of economic trees and crops while the programme lasted.

Ovat said, “We are angry with them because they lied to us that they would compensate us for the land they acquired and for the destruction of our economic trees. I do not think we are going to allow them to return to this community again after all the havoc and cheating they committed against us.”

He, however, noted that the community would obtain a written agreement with the handlers of the amnesty initiative on some key areas before any other re-orientation holds in the community.

Abam said, “Although the amnesty programme was not bad with us, they never fulfilled all that they promised. If they are actually coming back, we would have to stress on employment, training of our people and compensation for destroyed crops.”

Also, the community youth chairman, Mr. Ebenezer Obasse, said they would ensure that the community was not taken for granted during any future programme.

He said, “They would have to employ and train our members otherwise we would not be taken for granted anymore.”

Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram has rejected the idea of any potential amnesty deal, which the country’s presidency said it would study in a bid to curb a bloody insurgency.

In a statement, Shekau, designated a global terrorist by the United States, claimed his group had “not committed any wrong to deserve amnesty.”

“Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you pardon,” he said, listing what he described as the state’s “atrocities” against Muslims.

The Hausa language audio recording was distributed by email in a manner consistent with previous Boko Haram messages, and the voice was similar to that of previous Shekau statements.

President Goodluck Jonathan last week formed a panel to look at the possibility of offering an amnesty deal to the Islamists, whose insurgency has left more than 3,000 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security services.

Jonathan has come under intense pressure over the issue, with politicians from the country’s violence-torn north as well as Nigeria’s highest Muslim spiritual figure, the Sultan of Sokoto, calling for amnesty.

The panel, reportedly to be composed of national security officials, northern leaders and others, is due to report later this month.

The move has been widely debated in Nigerian media in recent days.
abubakar shekau: snubs amnesty offer

abubakar shekau: snubs amnesty offer

Boko Haram has claimed to be fighting for an Islamic state in Africa’s most populous nation and largest oil producer.

The group also claimed the February 19 kidnapping of a French family of seven over the border in Cameroon. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

Boko Haram’s demands however have repeatedly shifted and the group is believed to include various factions in addition to imitators.

Nigeria offered an amnesty to militants in the southern oil-producing Niger Delta region in 2009, which has been credited with greatly reducing unrest there, though oil theft has since flourished.

Violence blamed on Boko Haram has been concentrated in the mostly Muslim north.

Christian and Muslim civilians, the security services and other symbols of authority have been among the group’s victims.

A leader of the Boko Haram sect, Muhammad Marwan, has said that if the Federal Government would not blackmail or deceive them as was done in the past, they will be ready to avail themselves for dialogue as was initiated by the Northern Elders Forum.

Marwan spoke in an interview with the Hausa Service of the Voice of America (VOA) monitored in Kaduna on Tuesday, adding that he was speaking on behalf of members of Jamatul Ahlus Sunnati lil Daawati wal Jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram, on the call by Northern Elders Forum for amnesty for the sect members.

“We thank Allah, we will extend our hands for dialogue to the northern elders just as was done before under my leadership. But if they come there shouldn’t be any deceit in it as was experienced in the past,” he said.

Marwan, who said they were yet to be contacted on the issue of amnesty, however agreed that dialogue was the most important thing in settling matters between aggrieved parties and hoped that a genuine and sincere discussion would eventually lead to amicable resolution of the dispute.

His words: My hope is this, everyday, it is the government that is seeking for this ,on matters pertaining to everyday life, we thank Allah our hope is that there shouldn’t be any deceit, let them come for it. This dialogue is the most important, it is what people want, anytime the issue of dialogue comes in, it is what people are looking for to settle matters between two warring factions.

“Nobody contacted us on this amnesty and we did not contact anybody also. What I’m saying now, truly you are talking with Muhammad Marwan and those that sat with me in the past, will definitely know that you are talking to Muhammad Marwan. I hope if they come through the right channel just as they came to us in the past, Allah willing, they will achieve the desired result. I am assuring the Muslim community particularly in the North, the desired result will be achieved but they should pray so that there will not be any blackmail and deceit on the government’s part as was experienced in the past. This should be their prayers,” he said.

Similarly, an analyst on Boko Haram issues currently in Washington DC for a course, Hamza Idris also spoke with the VOA Hausa Service on the proposed amnesty for the Boko Haram members, saying it’s a good intention but urged that there were certain matters that have to be looked at critically.

“For example it’s a person who believes he has offended that you can now tell that he has been forgiven. That’s my believe in the years that I’ve been writing on the Boko Haram. This is because the sect members still believe they have been offended, that the Federal Government offended them and therefore, if it comes to forgiving, it is they , if they wanted, that will forgive the federal government and not the government to forgive them. “

“Their thinking is what have they done? Like all these security breaches, in their opinion they feel it is like a revenge on what was done to them in 2009. The killing of their leader, destroying their mosque and dispersing the sect members. The government said that all their activities are not recognized by law.

“So when they decided to retaliate, they said they don’t even believe there is anything like government or leadership in the whole of Nigeria. So if you are granting amnesty to someone who doesn’t even recognize your existence, then there is a missing link. They don’t even believe in the existence of the Federal Government so it is something ambiguous to say you are granting them amnesty.
“But in my understanding, there are certain things that should be done. If you look at the past few months, their leader, Abubakar Shekau and those talking for the group have been explaining certain things ,if these things will be carefully looked at, if honest people will be engaged, religious leaders and so on, if people that will not bring the issues of politics will be involved, it will not be a surprise to achieve success.

“First and foremost, the kind of ideology they adopted is independent,on what pertains to religion. If you look at the constitution ,it gives people the freedom of worship. But when they were dispersed, they were denied the freedom to practice their kind of religion. When their mosque was destroyed, anybody who comes out and professed their kind of religion will be dealt with, security agents will arrest him and say the federal government is not in support of that religious creed.So it is therefore necessary to sit down with them and discuss these issues toward resolving them.

“Secondly, many of the sect members have been arrested and detained in prisons, military, police and other security camps like that of the SSS. They explained that it will not be possible to sit down with you for dialogue when everyday, your members are being arrested and detained.

“They also talked about their little children, wives that are detained and they believe in the whole world, nowhere is a war fought and children with their mothers are arrest and taken to unknown destinations. These are important issues that should be put on table to deliberate and find the solution.

“Also, this talk of nobody knows them, they are ghosts etc, it is an important problem that should be resolved. For example, the President had said he won’t grant amnesty to ghosts, and now he agreed to grant the amnesty to ghosts. This is difficult problem, in my opinion that statement should be changed, it should be now there are some sect members in detention and we are going to start discussing with them. If the talks are genuine and sincere, perhaps it won’t be difficult to achieve result.

“Many of them are detained, some in Abuja, some in Maiduguri, many were taken to other towns in the South. If you are talking of the youth, they are countless. If for example there was a raid in Maiduguri,40 to 50 youths will be arrested at a time .Weapons will be displayed that they belonged to the youths. So if such things are happening, the idea that no one knows them does not even arise. If you will arrest 40 and claim to have discovered certain weapons from them, them the idea of saying you don’t know them shouldn’t arise,” he said.

Morgan1092: Wetn u study na?
@Op. Nice info

I studied Botany, any possible recruitment

Dear President Barack Obama: Greetings. On behalf of the good citizens of the District of Columbia, who, in their infinite wisdom, entrusted me with the Office of the Mayor, I am writing to draw your attention to an issue of urgent municipal importance. Although my aides here in the Mayor’s Office are yet to crosscheck things with Mr. Jay Carney, your Press Secretary, after he issued a curious statement today, I have decided to be proactive by reacting to that extremely disturbing statement.

Mr. President, it would seem that you have convened a prestigious summit between your esteemed self and four Heads of State from the continent of Africa. They have been invited to parley with you in the White House in order to explore avenues of strengthening democracy in Africa. According to the statement released by Mr. Carney, “President Obama looks forward to welcoming President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Joyce Banda of Malawi, and Prime Minister José Maria Pereira Neves of Cape Verde to the White House on Thursday, March 28.” The statement concludes that, “the visit of these four leaders underscores the strategic importance the President places on building partnerships and substantive engagement with sub-Saharan Africa, and our commitment to working with strong and emerging African democracies.”

Mr. President, this is obviously an unmistakable snub of the Nigerian President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, who leads a country that prides herself as the giant of Africa. While we understand the fact that your administration needs to send a clear message of zero tolerance for corruption to the Nigerian President, who has acquired a reputation for running Africa’s most corruption-friendly government, we at the Washington City Hall would like to register our disagreement with your decision to exclude the Nigerians from next week’s parley in the strongest possible terms.

Mr. President, we believe that you have not been properly served by your advisers in this matter. We believe that the economic implications of excluding the Nigerians from this parley should have been painstakingly explained to you to help you reach an informed judgment. We believe that the economic wellbeing of a major American city should be more important to your administration than helping the people of one far-flung country in Africa deal with their corruption enabler of a president. At a time when most American city administrations are groaning under budget cuts, at a time when the ability of American cities to deliver basic services to residents is being streamlined to reflect the dire economic circumstances of the times, any opportunity for a massive injection of funds into any American city’s economy ought to be seized with both hands. Your administration is about to deny Washington DC one such fantastic opportunity through the hasty and wrong-headed exclusion of the Nigerian president from the forthcoming parley.

Mr. President, we believe that you are aware of the fact that the President of Nigeria does not travel light to foreign destinations. During meetings of the US Conference of Mayors, my brother Mayor Bloomberg of New York never fails to regale us with stories of the economic boom that New York City receives whenever the Nigerian president comes to town for UN functions. He and his wife are said to travel with a harem of presidential jets – some travel as advance delegations. The plane loads of raw cash and aides create an economic ripple effect. They stay in the best hotels, charter limousines, and spend days in shopping malls since they hardly ever attend the functions they came for.

Mr. President, you are perhaps aware of the fact that the 127th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union was hosted by our sister city, Québec City, Canada, from October 21-26, 2012. The word on the street is that the South Africans who arrived in Québec City thinking they had a huge delegation were humbled by the benumbing size of the Nigerian delegation. Almost five months after the event, I can tell you authoritatively, Mr. President, that Québec City, Canada, is still reaping the benefits of the economic boom created by the one-week presence of Nigerian parliamentarians in that city. Need one mention what the city of Dubai in the Middle East benefits from weekly injection of funds by Nigerian officials?

Mr. President, we urge you to seriously reconsider your decision to snub Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. It would be a great idea of you could even invite him ahead of the others so that he and his potentially large delegation could get to spend an extra week here in Washington. If he comes here with two or three jumbo jets, as is his wont, this translates to enormous parking fees for Washington Dulles Airport. He, his wife, and their aides are going to take over major hotels in the city and that would be a tremendous boost for our hospitality services. Our limo rental services are going to benefit immensely from the presence of a Nigerian delegation.

In addition, while Dr and Mrs. Jonathan spend time with you at the White House, two or three planeloads of aides are going to spend all that time in our shopping malls. Furthermore, virtually every member of the large delegation would take the opportunity to do a quick medical checkup. Since they have no medical insurance here, they would naturally be paying cash. Imagine, Mr. President, the possible cash inflow to our medical system in these austere times. We understand that Nigerian officials are fond of German hospitals. This could be an opportunity to showcase the superiority of American medical services to these petro-wealthy Africans.

Mr. President, I could go on and on with details of the economic benefits of having the Nigerians here. Please allow me to say, Mr. President, that for the sake of the economy of Washington, DC, the Nigerian president deserves to be pardoned for pardoning corruption. He is of more economic value to us here than the four African presidents you are hosting combined. I therefore look forward to being able to host him and his lovely wife here at City Hall after their White House event.
Yours sincerely,
John-Smith Budweiser
Mayor of the District of Columbia

As the clock ticks for the 2015 presidential election, more gladiators are battle ready for the soul of Nigeria.

One of those who may likely take over the mantle of leadership from Goodluck Jonathan is the current president of the senate, Senator David Aleichenu Bonaventure Mark.

We can authoritatively confirm that the Okpokpowulu of Idomaland is currently warming up to spearhead the affairs of the country, come 2015.

DailyPost over the weekend stumbled on presidential campaign posters of Mark being printed at Shomolu area of Lagos state.

The posters had a picture of Mark donned in a red and black traditional Idoma cap over a black and white apparel.

Above the poster, which is on a green and orange background, was a bold inscription, “Mark of Hope 2015.” Beneath the inscription is another was also written “David Mark for President 2015,” with the logo of the ruling party on both sides.

The poster, which is courtesy of Concerned Middle Belt for Better Nigeria (CMBBN) carries another inscription thus: “Mark my words, Nigeria will be better again.”

It would be recalled that the Idoma people in Benue State had since tipped Mark as the next President of Nigeria come 2015.

His ambition which had been an open secret in political aisle reverberated during a reception in his honour by the Idoma League of Professors, ILP, led by Prof. Owoicho Akpa, with Mike Omeri, a former special adviser to the Senate President, when they had canvassed for Senator Mark’s Presidency at the next general election; arguing that the Senate President had the pedigree to lead the nation after President Goodluck Jonathan.

Effort to reach Mark’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Paul Mumeh proved abortive as his phone rang endlessly without answer.

Controversial former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and now chieftain of the Buhari led Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Malam Nasir Elrufai has called on the Federal Government to give amnesty to Boko Haram and other Islamic militants. In a video released today and which appears below, the former minister is heard advocating that an amnesty for Islamic militants is the way to peace.

It will also be recalled that Elrufai had accused Christian Southerners of being behind Boko Haram in Tweets on Twitter as well as a facebook post on his facebook profile.

HAH: This guys are not terrorist but are obviously working for the iranian intelligence agency they same way we have so many CIA and mossad agents everywhere.

Infact most countries do have intelligence agencies that gather infomation for them in foreign countries mostly locals are recruited to aid in that. In Nigeria we have the NIA who are mostly in foreign land gathering infomation, I personally know of somebody planted by NIA in a foreign land as a clergy.

Nigerias problem is not iran but salafis who are funded by saudi arabia but because saudi is a major US ally they are untoucheable,

The SSS should please stay clear of international politics and focus on our domestic threats.

The country needs all the help it can get from her security agencies to fight any terror against her and note that the SSS is a secret police so any matter concerning internal affairs of the nations in as much as the person involved is a foreigner and is on Nigerian soil that also is their duty to handle such situations. Or maybe your waiting for a strike on the nation then you come saying where was the security agencies!! couldn't dey have stopped it in time that!!!!!! Abi na wettin you dey wait 4 be dat...

What else were we expecting them to say as in YES! Iran denied Nigerian allegations that it had trained militants arrested in Nigeria on charges of planning attacks on U.S. and Israeli targets there. Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said such allegations were "made up as the result of the ill will of the enemies of the two countries' good relations", Iranian state television reported. But lets look back in time:

In 2004, Israeli sources said an Iranian diplomat was arrested on suspicion of spying on the Israeli embassy in Nigeria's capital Abuja. Tehran denied any arrest.

In 2010, authorities at a Lagos port found a hidden shipment of rockets, rifle rounds and other weapons from Iran, supposedly bound for Gambia. Nigerian and an Iranian face criminal charges over the shipment.

Islamist groups in the north have become the biggest threat to stability in Nigeria. Western governments are increasingly concerned they are linking up with militants outside Nigeria, including al Qaeda's north African wing and now a full indicator is showing us that Iran also is part of our problems.

New African Champions, the Super Eagles of Nigeria, moved up a massive 22 places from 52nd to 30th spot in the latest rankings released Thursday by the world football governing body, FIFA.
Last Updated 14 Feb 2013
Next Release 14 Mar 2013
Feb 2013
Rank: World Afica Team Pts
12 - 1 Côte d'Ivoire 999
19 - 2 Ghana 865
25 - 3 Mali 813
30 - 4 Nigeria 747
34 - 5 Algeria 725
42 - 6 Tunisia 612
47 - 7 Zambia 591
51 - 8 Central African Republic 581
55 - 9 Burkina Faso 571
60 - 10 South Africa 525
61 - 11 Sierra Leone 517
62 - 12 Libya 514
63 - 13 Cape Verde Islands 512
67 - 14 Togo 494
70 - 15 Egypt 490
73 - 16 Guinea 482
74 - 17 Morocco 481
75 - 18 Gabon 478
79 - 19 Cameroon 464
82 - 20 Senegal 426
84 - 21 Uganda 424
86 - 22 Congo DR 400
91 - 23 Congo 388
93 - 24 Benin 384
94 - 25 Angola 381
97 - 26 Niger 374
100 - 27 Zimbabwe 359
104 - 28 Sudan 343
107 - 29 Equatorial Guinea 335
112 - 30 Mozambique 310
113 - 31 Malawi 304
114 - 32 Ethiopia 303
115 - 33 Burundi 301
119 - 34 Liberia 280
123 - 35 Namibia 268
126 - 36 Kenya 264
127 - 37 Tanzania 258
128 - 38 Botswana 254
130 - 39 Rwanda 246
135 - 40 São Tomé e Príncipe 232
140 - 41 Chad 221
145 - 42 Gambia 187
162 - 43 Lesotho 121
168 - 44 Mauritania 94
176 - 45 Guinea-Bissau 66
180 - 46 Swaziland 63
181 - 47 Madagascar 55
187 - 48 Mauritius 48
191 - 49 Comoros 38
197 - 50 Eritrea 24
197 - 51 Seychelles 24
200 - 52 South Sudan 20
203 - 53 Somalia 14
204 - 54 Djibouti 11

DELE DELE DELE!!!!!!! Nigerians are crying of corruption in our system and you are also playing a major role in it by this ugly act of yours. Taking candy from a baby!! Am very disappointed in your actions and if i were the original owner i would file a law suit against you period..... You are no different from criminals in Nigeria, always taking whats not either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!