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Internally displaced people from Baga town of Kukawa local government area of Borno State, on Tuesday disclosed that they were not allowed to bury the remains of their relations.

They are currently at the IDPs camp at Ali Monguno Housing Estate.

According to them, the insurgents came and asked them to leave the corpses and flee the town if they still valued their lives.

Baba Kuwuji, who spoke to newsmen in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, confirmed that they had counted 160 corpses, which they were trying to bury before they were asked to leave.

“We decided not to leave the town earlier and even after the attack because we do not have any place to go. As a matter of fact, we are not enjoying our stay in the IDPs camp as we are virtually living like prisoners.”

He added that “If not that the insurgents asked us to leave, we were not ready to leave our homes, because sometimes it is honourable to die at home than to live in false hope that government is giving us here. There are many people who die at the lake while trying to escape to Chad.”
Source: http://www..com.ng

The United Nations said Tuesday that the latest wave of Boko Haram's "vicious, ruthless attacks" in the. Northeastern part of the country had sent 11,320 people fleeing into Chad in a matter of days.

The Islamist group stormed the town of Baga on January 3, and subsequently razed it alongside at least 16 surrounding settlements.

While it has been impossible for aid workers to enter the area to verify accounts of the slaughter and of corpses rotting in the streets, the attack is feared to have been the worst massacre since Boko Haram's deadly insurgency began in 2009.

Some 20,000 people are said to have fled their homes in the area since the attack, and the UN refugee agency said that around 11,320 people had arrived in neighbouring Chad alone.

A full 60 percent of the new arrivals in Chad were women and girls, UNHCR spokesman, William Spindler, told reporters, adding that 84 unaccompanied children had also crossed over.

Another 2,000 people had become stranded on an island in Lake Chad during their desperate escape, he said, adding that UNHCR was working to transport them to the mainland.

"We deeply deplore the vicious, ruthless attacks against civilians in... Baga," Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN rights agency, told reporters in Geneva.

While the details of the attacks remained sketchy, she said it appeared "fairly certain... that mass killings and mass forced displacement have occurred."

"The deliberate targeting of civilians is clearly prohibited by international law and we are very concerned at reports that there were children and elderly people among the victims," Shamdasani added.
Source: http://www..com.ng

Nice looking family God is really doing it for him




4 Surefire Signs You're More Than "Just Friends"
Source: http://www.e reporter.com.ng/index.php/more-news/life-style-news/item/2575-4-surefire-signs-you-re-more-than-just-friends

Apparently due to the report by the Independent Television (ITV) on the beating of a Catholic Priest by aides to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, which was considered unprofessional, the Edo State Government on Tuesday withdrew the accreditation of the correspondent and cameraman of the station attached to the Government House.

In a letter to the General Manager, Independent Television (ITV), Benin City, owned by Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, the Special Adviser to the Governor, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, said: “You will recall our earlier discussion with you on the series of fabricated and adversarial reportage of issues in the state which has continued to misinform, misrepresent and confuse the people of the state.

“As you know, these deliberate false reports which have become your editorial policy offend the ethics of broadcast journalism and the code of conduct spelt out by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

“In view of the above, we are withdrawing the accreditation of your correspondent earlier attached to Government House with immediate effect.”

Also, the state government on Tuesday, terminated its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Igbinedion University, Okada.

Though sources close to the state government said the termination of the MoU was as result of the refusal of the institution to honour the terms of the agreement which amounted to N350 million, THISDAY gathered that it might not be unconnected with the disagreement.

A statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation Mr. Louis Odion made available to THISDAY, stated that part of the terms of the said MoU was that the school would pay a token as concessionary levy annually to state government for the use of the state owned Central Hospital and Stella Obasanjo Hospital for which medical students pay fees to the university.

He said the revocation became necessary because upon assumption of office in 2008, Oshiomhole discovered that not only had the terms of MoU been mostly dishonoured despite being too generous to the university, no kobo had been paid to state government over the years.

According to him, “Whereas the MoU in question enabled the Igbinedion University exclusive use of the facilities at the state-owned Central Hospital and Stella Obasanjo Hospital with our highly skilled personnel paid by Edo tax payers, the state-owned Ambrose Alli University was denied accreditation for medical course by the NUC and Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for lack of a teaching hospital”.

Recalling the historical background of the MoU, Odion stated that the agreement in question was entered into on September 1, 2006, under the Lucky Igbinedion Administration to enable the institution enjoy the use of the Benin Central Hospital and Stella Obasanjo Hospital for the practicals of her medical students.

“It was part of the condition precedent demanded by National Universities Commission and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to grant the Igbinedion University accreditation to train medical students in clinical specialities,” Odion noted.

Consequent upon this circumstance, he said the Ambrose Alli University became an orphan who had to depend on the generosity of University of Benin Teaching Hospital at first, of the University of Jos Teaching Hospital and finally the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital for the sustenance of its own medical course.

Odion posited that consistent with the governor’s avowed commitment to the principle of probity and accountability, the state Ministry of Health in 2013 invited management of Igbinedion University to settle the outstanding liabilities as well as convey to the institution’s authority, a notification for an upward review of the annual fee to reflect current economic realities which amounted to N350 million as at 2013 at N50 million per annum which was duly conveyed to the university in writing.

However, he said the university wrote back and offered to pay a ridiculous N50,000 monthly for the use the facilities, adding that all concerted efforts made since by government to make the university management to pay the debt that had accumulated over the years and also agree to the upward review of the annual charge have proved abortive.

Odion therefore declared: “In that circumstance, the governor is left with no other option that to terminate the MoU in the public interest.”

The Ministry of Health has equally been directed to inform the NUC and MDCN that the Central Hospital and Stella Obasanjo Hospital will no longer be made available for the use of the medical students of Igbinedion University.”

But in his reaction, the Vice Chancellor, Igbinedion University, Okada, Prof. Ehosa Osaghae, said the university was yet to be informed about government’s decision.

Osaghae who spoke in a telephone interview said the university has honored terms in the MoU and wondered why the state government would rush to the press instead of writing to the university, adding “I am yet to be fully informed about the decision.”
Source: http://www..com.ng

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no.5 go hard to stop ooo





Boko Haram Attacks Borno/Adamawa Border Town, Askira again
Source: http://www.e reporter.com.ng/index.php/national-news/item/2561-boko-haram-attacks-borno-adamawa-border-town-askira

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), at the weekend, suffered a major setback ahead of the general elections as over 150 members of its party decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The members were received by APC stakeholders who include the FCT senatorial candidate, Sen. Sidi Ali and AMAC/Bwari contestant for the National Assembly, Hon. Isa Dara, in Karshi community.

Receiving the members, the state chairman of the party, Alh. Abdulmalik Usman, commended the decampees for their action, which he described as the best towards actualising a better Nigeria, saying that APC is the party to beat across Nigeria during the 2015 general elections.

Usman promised them that the party would accord them equal and fair treatment which the older members of the party are enjoying.

The chieftain said the APC was out to salvage Nigeria and expressed optimism that it would win the 2015 general elections both at the national and the FCT levels.

He said, “More people will soon join the APC and we will collectively work to ensure the success of the party at all levels during the forthcoming general polls. Those who claim to be representing us at the National Assembly are either deaf, dumb or cannot understand the English spoken at NASS.

“I want to encourage the residents to use their voter’s cards to remove the PDP and their candidates in the FCT because they are only there for their pockets and they have become messengers to the FCT minister that was appointed, not elected by our people. It is time to change them for the future of our children.”

In his remarks, Sen. Sid Ali said the decampees will experience equity and justice in the party, adding that were received in Karshi community by APC stakeholders, noting that nothing have been done for the interest of the residents since he left the senatorial seat for his successor.

The decampees spokesman, Alh. Jibril Abdullahi, said their action were spurred by the tremendous achievements of the APC in the states they won, saying that candidates provided by the party will guarantee victory in the FCT come.
Source: http://www..com.ng

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council yesterday accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of covering up the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, over his failure to submit his certificates and credentials as demanded by the law.

The presidential campaign team of the ruling party further declared that Gen. Buhari was not qualified for the 2015 election since he has not submitted his certificate to INEC.

Following reports that he did not submit his certificate to INEC, Buhari had explained in an affidavit he deposed before an Abuja High Court, that all his certificates were with the Secretary, Military Board.

The affidavit was dated November 24, 2014 and was stamped and received by INEC on December 18, 2014.

But addressing a press conference yesterday, director of publicity of the PDP presidential campaign council, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said INEC erred in law by publishing the name of a candidate without receiving the personal particulars of the candidate within seven days of receiving his nomination forms as indicated in section 31(3).

He further said from records made available, Buhari did not submit any credentials in 2011 and previous elections he had contested in.
Source: http://www..com.ng

It was an embarrasing sight to watch as thousands of irate youths yesterday booed vice president Mohammed Namadi Sambo and Governor Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State at their Zaria home town during the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the reign of Emir of Zazzau, Alh. Shehu Idris.

The vice president, who arrived the venue of the occasion late when the procession of horse was about to terminate at about 2:30pm met the anger of people who converged at the palace to witness the historic celebration.

Sambo hails from the ancient city of Zaria, and he was at the occasion as the Special Guest of Honour.

The booing of the VP by the spectators drew them the wrath of the security personnel at the venue, who used clubs and other instruments to disperse the “deviant spectators.” As a result, many people were injured from the ensuing commotion.

As Namadi Sambo’s convoy arrived the centre of the venue, people started chanting in Hausa “Bamaso – bamaso – bamaso meaning we don’t want – we don’t want – we don’t want”.

The action created tension and security operatives tried to control the crowd using force but people resisted and the chants increasingly gathered momentum.

The security personnel had no option than to smuggle the VP into the residence of the Emir with a view to calming the situation but all efforts to do so failed as people refused to abide by their instruction through a public announcement that all individuals should vacate the area except security men and journalists.

The security details had to take the VP’s vehicle right inside the Emir’s residence to smuggle the nation’s Vice President with Gov. Muktar Yero into the Emir’s Palace to avoid further public embarrassment.

It would be recalled that Sambo had promised President Jonathan two million votes in the forthcoming general elections.

Source: http://www..com.ng

No fewer than 100 persons including security operatives were brutally killed when suspected members of Boko Haram launched coordinated attacks on Baga, a border town with Chad Republic, last weekend, even as the District Head of Baga, Alhaji Baba Abba Hassan, debunked the report of a second attack on the town which said that over 2,000 people were killed, describing the report as outrageous.

Hassan said, “ Although hundreds of people were killed in the Saturday Boko Haram attack on Baga town in Kukawa local government area of Borno State, there was no second attack on the town”.
He told newsmen on phone that the corpses of those killed still littered the streets and bushes of the town and there was no way to bury them.
He insisted that there was no fresh attack on Baga as reported by some media organisations which put the figure of those killed at 2,000, adding that the actual figure of those killed cannot be ascertain but hundreds of people were killed with many others displaced from their fatherland
The traditional ruler said most of those killed were women and children, saying the insurgents pursued them into the bushes before unleashing terror on them.
He said the information residents received that insurgents from Sambiza forest and Gwoza hills were coming to attack Baga again could not be verified, and prayed for restoration of peace in the land.
Hassan claimed that many of his people had relocated to Chad and Niger Republic, stressing that many drowned in Lake Chad while others were killed in the bushes, while trying to escape.
Also commenting on the Baga attack, the senator represent Borno North, Maina Ma’aji Lawan, on BBC Hausa service monitored in Maiduguri, said, “Nobody can actually tell you the number of the people killed and the number of houses burnt down”.
He, however, thanked God and the Borno government who sent buses to the area to convey the fleeing residents to safer zones.
Investigation revealed that the gunmen, in a convoy of several Toyota Hilux vehicles and pickup vans laden with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and an armoured personnel carrier (APC),
attacked Baga at dawn, penultimate Saturday, sacking military posts and barracks of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) with scores of people feared killed.
Baga is on the shores of Lake Chad, and 275 kilometres north of Maiduguri, the Borno capital.
According to Muktar Audu, a survivor who fled to Chad last Sunday afternoon, the gunmen burst into Baga town through Cross Kauwa village and Mile 3 and 4 of MJTF barracks; and attacked the soldiers at their duty posts, before proceeding to Baga to kill any sighted persons.
Audu narrated: “The soldiers at the barracks and their duty posts ran away when the gunmen stormed Mile 3 and 4 areas of of Baga road. Some of the soldiers had to ride motorcycles to flee to Doron Baga Primary School, where other soldiers had fled for safety to take cover. The militants had overpowered the soldiers, and that is why they were begging people with dresses to change; after removing their uniforms, because the militants targeted security personnel, before killing us here, but I was able to escape yesterday morning to Chad with three of my family members in an overloaded boat.”
He said the soldiers did not help matters, as some of them fled along with civilians to Baga and the primary school, while other residents, including women and children, fled to Chad for safety.
He said the militants had planned since last year to attack Baga, even as he spoke of the claim by the MJTF personnel that they could not guarantee the safety of fisher men and other residents in the Lake Chad Basin Area.
“As the time of fleeing, I cannot ascertain the number of people killed yesterday morning, because everyone had to flee to Chad through the lake waters of Chad. Many houses and shops were torched and looted by the insurgents,” said Audu, adding that one of the boats carrying survivors capsized because of overloading, as every fleeing resident wanted to cross to Chad.
Abubakar Gamandi, head of Borno’s fish traders union and a Baga native, confirmed the attacks, adding that hundreds of people who fled were trapped on islands on Lake Chad.

Source: http://www..com.ng