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The Nigerian Army has killed 12 suspected fighters from the Boko Haram Islamists during a raid in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the group’s base, a military spokesman told AFP on Monday.

Spokesman Hassan Mohammed of the Joint Task Force Unit said there was a shootout in the city late Sunday between soldiers and “gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram… in the encounter 12 members of Boko Haram were killed.”


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/army-kill-12-suspected-boko-haram-members/

Abuja – Nigeria’s poverty rate stood at 69 per cent in 2010, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday in Abuja.

Mr Yemi Kale, the Statistician-General of the Federation, disclosed this at a news conference while presenting the “Nigeria Poverty Profile Report 2010’’.

He said the figure was higher than the 54 per cent recorded in 2004, and that the North-West and North East geo-political zones recorded the highest poverty rates in the country with 77.7 per cent and 76.3 per cent respectively.

Kale said the South-West geo-political zone recorded the lowest with 59.1 per cent.

He said that among the states from the North-West and North- East geo-political zones, Sokoto had the highest poverty rate with 86.4 per cent in 2010 against 95 per cent recorded by Jigawa in 2004.

The Statistician-General said Niger had the lowest with 43.6 per cent in 2010 against 22 per cent recorded by Anambra in 2004.

He said that Nigerians, who had minimal standards of foods, clothing, healthcare and shelter stood at 60.9 per cent in 2010 as against 54.7 per cent recorded in 2004.

“Among the geo-political zones, the North-West and North-East recorded the highest rates at 70 per cent and 69 per cent respectively, while the South-West had the least at 49.8 per cent.

“Sokoto had the highest at 81.2 per cent, while Niger had the least at 33.8 per cent during the review period.’’

Kale said that 93.9 per cent of Nigerians considered themselves to be poor in 2010 against 75.5 per cent recorded in 2004.

He said the FCT with 97.9 per cent, recorded the highest number of people, who considered themselves to be poor, while Kaduna with 90.50 per cent, recorded the least number of people.

The Statistician-General said the income inequality in the country as measured by the Gini-Coefficient rose from 0.429 in 2004 to 0.447 in 2010.

The Harmonised Nigeria Living Standard Survey was produced by the NBS in collaboration with the World Bank, Department for International Development and UNICEF. (NAN)

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/93-9-nigerians-considered-themselves-to-be-poor-nbs/

President Goodluck Jonathan will today launch a public works scheme designed to create 370,000 jobs for youths across the country.

According to a statement by Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, Senior Special Assistant to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, the launch is to give further impetus to the employment generation focus of Jonathan’s administration.

He said: “The breakdown of the proposed jobs shows that 10,000 jobs will be created in each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The public works scheme is a key component of the government’s Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE.”

The launch will take place at the Presidential Villa.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/sure-jonathan-launches-370000-jobs-scheme/

For everything you need www.naijaict.com

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Gunmen have attacked two more police stations in Nigeria’s second city of Kano, killing at least two people amid a wave of escalating violence blamed on Islamists.

One of the attacks occurred at dawn on Monday, setting off a gun battle with police, residents said. On Sunday night, gunmen stormed another police station near a bus station, leaving two civilians dead.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the violence, but Kano, the main northern city in Nigeria, has been targeted in recent weeks by attacks claimed by Islamist group Boko Haram.

The violence has included coordinated bombings and shootings on January 20 that left at least 185 people dead — the worst attack yet attributed to the group in Africa’s most populous country.

Monday’s attack was the second in three days against the police station in the Mandawari neighbourhood, underlining the apparent inability of the authorities to halt the violence.

“It was crazy. These guys came on motorcycles and opened fire on the police station but they met tough resistance from the police, and it lasted around 20 minutes,” Jamilu Muhammad, who lives across the Mandawari station, told AFP.

Kano state police commissioner Ibrahim Idris confirmed the raid but said the gunmen “could not get access to the station,” and were “repelled by officers”. He made no mention of casualties.

“From my house I heard gunshots at exactly 5:50 am (0450 GMT) coming from around the police station,” said a local journalist who lives in the neighbourhood.

He said motorcycles were racing up and down his street as the sound of gunfire rang around the police station.

The attack occurred during Muslim morning prayers near the palace of the emir of Kano, the most important traditional leader in the city.

Dozens of soldiers went on patrol in the neighbourhood immediately after the assault but most later left, leaving only a truckload with seven soldiers outside the police station.

In Sunday’s attack, a large group of gunmen converged on a police station in the Naibawa district, sparking a shootout with police that lasted more than 30 minutes, residents said.

“Two civilians were shot dead in the attack on the Naibawa police station,” Idris told AFP on Monday.

He said the gunmen threw an explosive inside the police building, causing damage, but said no officers were hurt.

Kano remains under a dusk to dawn curfew following the series of bombings and shootings on January 20 that mainly targeted police stations and killed at least 185 people.

Monday’s attack was the fourth on police buildings since then.

On Saturday, a purported Boko Haram spokesman ruled out dialogue with Nigerian authorities and instead warned it would spread its attacks to another northern city in Africa’s most populous country.

In leaflets distributed around Kano over the weekend, Boko Haram warned residents that it would continue to target the security services in northern Nigeria’s main city.

Kano had previously escaped the worst of Boko Haram’s violence, and the brazen January 20 attacks highlighted the group’s renewed strength.

The sect has been blamed for the deaths of more than 900 people in roughly 160 separate attacks since July 2009. It has claimed attacks that have killed more than 200 people since the start of 2012.

In a media interview last week, President Goodluck Jonathan said the group must make clear demands as a basis for dialogue, and calls have grown for talks to end the violence.

But Jonathan’s call was “not sincere,” self-declared Boko Haram spokesman Abul Qaqa told journalists by telephone in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the group’s base.

He warned that if members of the group being held by police in the northwestern city of Sokoto were not released, the group would launch attacks similar to those staged in Kano.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/01/fresh-attacks-on-police-stations-kill-two-in-kano/

Gunmen attacked another police station yesterday in the flashpoint city of Kano, sparking a shootout with police and causing pandemonium, witnesses and police said. The shootout occurred in Zaria Road axis of the state. The attack followed the January 20 attacks by the Islamist group Boko Haram that killed 185 people in the city and after a string of recent threats of more violence from the group.

The bitter confrontation started at about 6.45pm at a police station in Naibawa area, after the sect members launched an attack.
The police station was on fire as at the time of filing this report. Soldiers were seen moving to the scene of the incident. Residents of the affected area have all run into quarters and homes to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

“A large number of gunmen stormed the area at prayer time and opened fire on the police station,” local resident Kabiru Maikatako told AFP. The police fired back and a shoot-out has been going on for the past 30 minutes,” he added.“I am now trapped in my (timber) shed. It is shooting all around and the whole area has been deserted. Only the police and the attackers are shooting at one another.”

Kano State Police Commissionner Ibrahim Idris confirmed the attack.“I am aware of the attack on the Naibawa police station,” he said. The commissioner confirmed to reporters that part of the police station was burnt.

He said no policeman died in the attack, adding that the security agents succeeded in repelling the sect members.
However, Idris said a civilian was shot dead by the sect members as they were retreating.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2012/jan/30/national-30-01-2012-001.html

The Minister of Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said in Ilorin on Sunday, that about 1,000 Nigerian youths were being detained at various prisons in China for drug related offences.

He said he had already written to the Chinese government for details of their offences so that the Federal Government could use them as campaigns to dissuade young people from engaging in drug trafficking business.

He urged youths to stop engaging in drug and other illicit businesses, saying the risks and punishments outweighed the seeming benefits.

Abdulahi said many youths were attracted to drug trafficking in a bid to get quick wealth without knowing or appreciating the inherent dangers.

“The risks of drug trafficking far defeat the benefits, infact there is none. Whoever gets involved will get caught sooner than later and whatever the person might have acquired will go with it. So where is the benefit?

“The only way to good living is to be involved in legitimate business whereby nobody is running after you for committing an offence. “There is nothing like getting rich quick and there is no short cut to it,” he said.


http://www.punchng.com/news/1000-nigerians-jailed-in-china/

Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji has disclosed that the federal government planned to commission more than 3,300 mega watts of electricity from new independent power plants over the next two years.

He also said that plans were underway to generate additional 3,509MW in capacity through the existing National Integrated Power Projects, NIPP, in a bid to boost capacity and promote private investments in the power sector.

Nnaji, who made the disclosures during a presentation at the National Power Sector Retreat, with the theme: Leapfrogging into Sustainable Power Supply, in Abuja, also stressed that the challenge with procuring gas by the Independent Power producers was a major hindrance to government’s goal of achieving improved generation.

According to him, government was ready to “incentivize the private sector to make investments in the domestic gas industry by ensuring that the approved price to be paid to gas producers remains close to export parity price to LNG plants or other projects in Nigeria, and most importantly that this price is passed through to electricity consumers.”

He added that government would provide, where necessary, FGN-backed credit support so that gas suppliers can secure the financing required for their investments, as well as ensuring the formulation of a gas regulation office and completing the gas contracting framework.

Nnaji explained that the retreat was “very critical for progress in the power sector. We have a roadmap, which is a plan to take us where we want to be with regards to the sector. It is important to take a pause and review your progress, and see if you are following the plan and to point out areas of improvement.”

He added, “We have brought all the stakeholders here so they can all contribute to make sure that we deliver on the Power Sector Reform roadmap. It is important that we hear from them on what is preventing them, or can prevent them, from delivering so that we can see how we can help as government.

“This government is determined to go from being one that puts obstacles to growth to one that supports groups and individuals to provide their best for the country, so that we all can benefit from their services.

Nnaji described as “a no brainer” the insistence by government that workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, be transferred to the 18 successor companies, adding that the threat of strike by members of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, was not a practical move.

He said, “The union has made some progress in understanding the reform, especially the kind that this government is bringing to the power sector. It is a fact that whenever you have a reform, there is bound to be some resistance. Reform, by its nature is progressive but people who are comfortable where they are would rather maintain the status quo.

“You have over a thousand people sitting around in PHCN headquarters, doing nothing but getting paid every day. The law of reform has transferred everything in PHCN to the successor companies, and the workers are supposed to go to the successor companies. Nobody is being relieved of their employment; if anything they are being paid their whole salaries including their transfer allowances.”

He added, “The fact remains that if you are working for a company, you cannot tell the company whether to transfer you or when to transfer you from a particular location. If you happen not to like a transfer, then you are at liberty to resign.”

In his welcome address, the Minister of State for Power, Mr. Darius Dickson Ishaku, noted that the retreat is “aimed at providing excellent platform for the stakeholders in the power sector to brainstorm on the process of ensuring accelerated Implementation of the Power Sector Reform and transformation agenda of the present administration.”

He added that, “The desire of the Federal government to provide Nigerians improved power supply and step up industrialization necessitated organizing from time to time this forum in order to discuss critical issues underlining the power sector by ensuring that challenges brought to the fore are address.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/01/fg-plans-3300mw-new-capacity-in-two-years/

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, AbdulSalam Muhammad, Victoria Ojeme & Ndahi Marama
LAGOS —The Boko Haram sect has cited the stoppage of its monthly financial support for the recent attacks on northern states, claiming that the group was until recently being bankrolled by some northern governors.

The claim by the group came as it also alleged that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in its firing range last September but was spared because of his tolerance of the sharia Islamic code during his presidency.

An unnamed high ranking official of the group alleged that the Ibrahim Shekarau administration in Kano made a monthly N10 million donation to the group while the Bauchi Governor, Alhaji Isa Yuguda besides financial commitments was also an admirer of the military prowess of the group.

The group has, nevertheless, dismissed any personal grouse with President Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that the problems with the administration were carryovers from what it claimed to be the callousness of the Yar‘Adua administration in waging war against the group.

The allegations were made by a high ranking official of the group to the online publication 247ureports.com.

Mr. Michael Ishola, Chief Press Secretary to the Bauchi State Governor, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, however, debunked the claim as a “very, very strange allegation.”

The newly appointed Special Adviser (Media) to the Kano State Governor, Mallam Halilu Dantiye on his part, claimed ignorance of any monthly payment to the group by the Ibrahim Shekarau administration which the present administration succeeded as he claimed that there was no such issue contained in the handover note.

Noting that the attacks on Kano and Bauchi arose from the stoppage of the financial support to the group by some northern governors, the official in the disclosures to the publication said that the entire northern governors have ongoing relationships with the group.

“Most of them pay us monthly to leave their states alone”.
It was alleged that the Shekarau administration reached an agreement as far back as 2004 to be paying a monthly support of N5 million to the group which was later raised to N10 million sometime in 2009.

The agreement also reportedly included infrastructural support. The support was, however, allegedly stopped at the inception of the Kwankwaso administration in May 2011.

The publication alleged that the Kwankwaso regime also turned against the group dismantling its infrastructure in the state.

“We warned the Governor of the consequences. We concluded on Kano in December 2011,” the source said. Shekarau’s spokesman, Sule Yau did not respond to the allegations yesterday as he did not respond to a text message sent to him. Mallam Dantiye Special Adviser to Governor Kwankwaso claimed ignorance of the alleged support saying that nothing like that was contained in the handover note received from Shekarau.

On Bauchi, the publication reported that Governor Yuguda reached a similar agreement with the leadership of the group for the payment of N10million monthly to the group alongside the provision of training grounds on the many mountains scattered in Bauchi State. The governor it was reported also promised to give them security against arrests by the federal government. The agreement was supposedly reached in June 2008 but mid 2011, the governor reportedly stopped the disbursement of the funds.

Mr. Michael Ishola, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Yuguda also refuted the allegation against Governor Yuguda. “It is a very, very strange allegation, because the Isa Yuguda I know cannot be involved in such an allegation. We in Bauchi have been living in peace. We are not involved in that,” he told Vanguard yesterday.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/01/we-re-on-northern-govspayroll-boko-haram/

The police on Monday said that they had found 10 vehicles filled with explosives in Kano, a city rocked with multiple explosions last Friday.

The state Police commissioner, Ibrahim Idris, on Monday said 186 people died in the attacks.

Idris in a statement said the victims included 150 civilians, 29 policemen, three officers of the State Security Service, two immigration officers, one officer of the Nigerian Customs Service and one journalist.

Idris gave the models of the cars bearing the bombs as a Honda CRV, Toyota Camry of different models, Honda Brahma, a Volkswagen Golf and a Toyota Corolla. He added that the vehicles were recovered from the Sheka Quarters, NNPC Mega filling station, Hotoro, Tishama Goron Dutse, Miller Road and Bompai. According to him, the command also recovered 300 Coca Cola sized cans of IEDs at various locations in the metropolis.

An unammed senior police officer, who spoke to the AFP, explained how some of the car bombs were found.

The senior police officer said, “The police were on a stop-and-search today and in two of the checkpoints, the Boko Haram members on sighting the checkpoints abandoned their vehicles and ran.

“The vehicles were later checked and the cars were loaded with explosives. Two brand new Hilux open pick-up vans were also found packed with explosives in the Bompai area of Kano.”

The officer said that many unexploded bombs were recovered around the police headquarters which was one of the targets struck in the Friday attacks.

The discovery of the bomb-laden cars came even as the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Oluseyi Pentirin, said in Lagos that the violent Islamic sect, which had claimed responsibility for the Kano attacks, would soon run out of suicide bombers.

Pentirin spoke at the inauguration of the Nigerian Naval’s NNS Thunder on Monday.

“Nobody should leave where they make their livelihood because of threats from Boko Haram. When a terrorist organisation gets desperate, they start using suicide bombers because you won’t kill members of your organisation if you can achieve the same purpose without doing otherwise.

“This is why they have resorted to suicide bombers and they will soon run out of (the) idiots.”

Also, on Monday, the Police issued a statement giving a fuller account of what happened during Friday’s attacks that saw at least two Boko Haram suicide bombers detonate explosive-laden cars.

The statement by state police commissioner, Ibrahim Idris, described the attackers as speaking accented Hausa and other languages not normally heard in Kano as they assaulted police stations, immigration offices and the local headquarters of the State Security Service.

On Monday also, families of victims, gathered outside the city’s main hospitals’ mortuaries waiting to collect the corpses of their relations for burial.

AFP quoted a survivor found lying on a bed in a hospital as saying that he was driving home from work in company with four other colleagues when one of the bombs went off.

“The four of them died. I am the only one who survived,” the victim, Monday Joseph, said.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress has called for the immediate overhaul of the country’s security and intelligence agencies.

A statement signed by the President of NLC, Mr. Abdulwaheed Omar, on Monday, stressed that the union was worried at the growing state of insecurity in the country

Describing the security system in Nigeria as a “total failure,” the NLC president tasked the government to relieve key officers in the country’s intelligence services of their duties.

He said, “Armed groups have been attacking residents of several parts of the North, culminating in the bloodiest of such attacks on Kano where about 250 people were reported to have died as a result of multiple bomb attacks in several locations in the commercial city. This was followed by another attack on Bauchi.

“We see in all these attacks a total failure of our security system that has consistently displayed incompetence in securing lives and property of everyone living in Nigeria.”

Omar said the excuse of the security agencies each time there was a bombing in the country had been that they were helpless.

“We call on the Federal Government to urgently overhaul the country’s security and intelligence community as well as provide contemporary equipment and manpower that will enable the various agencies to improve their competence in handling security challenges, especially as terrorism seems to have taken root in Nigeria,” he said.

http://www.punchng.com/news/police-discover-10-car-bombs-in-kano/

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