₦airaland Forum

ps can somone tell me the code that i can use to terminate my mtn zone that im using

@ duluminati i figured your out to defend your madness. im sure your no a chriatian, cus if you are , you would have come accross in the bible were is writing that a sin against the holly spirite will not be forgiven. dont post anything you dont no of
thats why i never pity any mad person on the road cus you dont no what he has done or said with his mouth.

lets 4get his nigeria or whatever, the point is tha he fails to improove
so i think he gots served as well

Until we get men who know the meaning of patriotic and the importance of electricity in this modern economy

i got u, but i think this nnaji is trying his best .
u can neva espect the transformation one day .

what abt the jab. huh

\






Okada riders’ widows demand N100m from police
February 23, 2012 by Sunday Aborisade, Akure 2 Comments
Widows of the two commercial mortorcycle operators who were allegedly killed by the Police in Okitipupa, Ondo State last year, Mrs. Grace Okotie and Mrs. Queen Akarewan, have approached a High Court in Okitipupa, seeking N100m compensation for the death of their husbands.

The late motorcyclists, Messrs Robinson Okotie and Christopher Akarewan, were allegedly shot dead by some police officers on different occasions. While Okotie was allegedly shot for refusing to give a N20 bribe, Akarewan was killed at the police station for daring to challenge the officers over the death of his cousin.

In the suit No: HOK/3M/2012 filed on their behalf by their lawyer, Mr. Tope Temokun, the widows joined the state Commissioner of Police, Nigeria Police Force, John Aghaulor and Igbodi Gbefamoghan the alleged Police officers who shot the deceased as respondents.

They are also demanded for a full investigation and prosecution of the killer, of their late husbands, because they had violated their rights to life according to Section 33 of the Nigerian constitution.

The women noted that they had been nursing the children left behind by their late husbands without any assistance from anybody.

In her statement of claims, Okotie’s wife said, “My first child, Blessing is just 12 years old and she is in primary six, second born, Michael now eight years and he is in primary two, while the last born, Destiny, is two and half years old.

“I am seeking for justice over the person who killed my husband who is our breadwinner because it had been so difficult for me alone to be taking full responsibility of these children.”

The unfortunate incident had infuriated the youth in the community who stormed the police station with dangerous weapons demanding the killers of the deceased.




http://www.punchng.com/news/okada-riders-widows-demand-n100m-from-police/

Mikel set to quit Chelsea
From TUNDE OMOLEHIN, Sokoto
Thursday February 23, 2012


Mikel Obi
Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section
Mikel Obi is unhappy at Chelsea and he could be open to a sensational move to big-spending Russian club, Anzhi Makhachkala.

Close sources to the Nigeria international midfielder said he has been unhappy for some time now at Stamford Bridge under Manager Andre Villas-Boas.

And his escape from his misery could now be Anzhi, who have hired Mikel’s former boss at Chelsea, Guus Hiddink.

“Mikel has clearly made up his mind to quit Chelsea and already there have been some moves by Anzhi to have him,” a top source said.

The Russian club has attracted some big names like Samuel Eto’o, Roberto Carlos and only recently, Yuri Zhirkov left Chelsea to join them.

Mikel’s Chelsea contract still has two more years to run, but lately this season, it has become increasingly clear that he may not have a future there under AVB.

Tuesday night he was an unused sub as Chelsea crashed 3–1 at Napoli to leave their UEFA Champions League hopes again hanging by the thread.

The player’s agent, John Ola Shittu, has insisted Mikel is staying put at Chelsea as “they have not said they do not want him”.

The 24-year-old Mikel joined Chelsea in 2006 after a transfer saga that also involved Manchester United.

He won the English Premier League championship with ‘The Blues’ in the 2009/10 season as well as three winners’ medals in the FA Cup and one such medal in the League Cup.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/sportsonthehour/2012/feb/23/sportsonthehour-23-02-2012-001.htm

Power privatisation to be completed Q3 – Nnaji
On February 23, 2012 · In News 3:29 amTweet
By Clara Nwachukwu
ABUJA — The ongoing privatisation of the power sector, which has been on the table of the Bureau of Public Entreprises, BPE, for more than a decade, will be completed by the end of the third quarter, Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, has said.

Nnaji, who spoke on the state of the nation’s power sector at the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas, NOG, international conference and exhibitions, in Abuja, also said, yesterday, that the sale of Federal Government’s assets in the sector might be delayed for another two months due to outstanding issues.

He, however, insisted that the exercise would be completed early in the fourth quarter, saying: “The privatisation programme is going on very well, we are experiencing a few delays … so we will have two months or so delay in the process, which we expect to be completed by the end of the third quarter, or at the latest, the beginning of the fourth quarter.”

The minister, responding on the row with labour over some outstanding issues, which have contributed in delaying the process, noted that while the existing workers would not be fired immediately, “because every power facility needs experienced hands,” they will, however, be placed under temporary employments for the period of the transition.

He said: “The workers will be paid off and given temporary employment for a period of six to nine months during the transition period, so that the new owners will have the liberty to appoint their own workers. So, those who prove themselves will be given permanent employment by the new investors.”

With regard to criticisms that the power sector has not grown as appreciably as expected in view of the enormous money pumped into it since the return of democracy in Nigeria, Nnaji said under the current administration, the sector was doing as much as it could to grow it.

According to him, “it is on record that generation capacity has not grown up to 4000mega watts since the history of Nigeria, and we have achieved it.

“However, gas has remained a major impediment because we are told that it takes time to gather gas and develop the necessary infrastructure, so we need serious investments in gas.”

He, however, anticipates that most of the gas issues will be resolved by March or April at the most as issues with transmission and gas supply are being pursued at the executive level vigorously.



He said the sector has received a lot of expressions of interest even from unexpected quarters because of the ongoing reforms in the industry, adding that the submission of bids is expected to end by July.

Admitting to the gas issues, Executive Director, Gas Development, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Dr. David Ige, said year 2012 will be the toughest for the power industry in terms of gas supply. “2012 will be one of the toughest periods in the power sector in terms of gas to power.”

Ige, who spoke on the gas development in Nigeria, in reference to the Gas Master Plan, and the gas to power policy, said the Federal Government has adopted a short, medium and long term approaches to deal with the gas supply issues over the next four years, ending by 2015.

He said that part of the plan is to reinforce excessive gas supply from the Eastern network, and taken to the western region that is in short supply to close up shortages to the power plants.

He estimated that about 1,500MW of power is stranded on account of gas suppy shortages, adding that in the short term, government planned to stabilize supply from the existing facilities within the next four weeks.

In the medium term, he said government planned to expedite actions on the East west gas pipeline, which he hoped would be completed by 2013. While in the long term, by 2015 and beyond, as more gas fields come on stream, government would have “created a platform for a market-led unhindered power growth,” given that many gas infrastructure contracts have been awarded to facilitate set objectives.

In view of the scepticism over the workability of the Gas Master Plan, Ige asserted, “We have a credible and implementable plan, which will become obvious over time.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/power-privatisation-to-be-completed-q3-nnaji/

Lassa fever kills 40, as FG releases emergency numbers
On February 22, 2012 · In News 1:59 amTweet
By Victoria Ojeme
ABUJA—No fewer than 40 persons have died from Lassa fever in the last six weeks, the Federal Government said yesterday.

The government also said all 397 cases reported so far across the country would be treated at no cost to patients.

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, who disclosed this at a briefing in Abuja, said six of the dead were health workers, including two doctors and four nurses.

He said other cases had been reported in 12 states, namely Edo, Nasarawa, Plateau, Ebonyi, Taraba, Yobe, Ondo, Rivers, Gombe, Anambra, Delta and Lagos.

Of the 397 cases reported, the Minister said only 87 had been positively confirmed by medical officials.

He said adequate quantities of Ribavirin injections and tablets, the specific antiviral drug for Lassa fever, had been released to the affected states.

He also said the Ministry had deployed rapid response teams to all affected states, adding that there was great emphasis on routine barrier nursing precautions.

He said: “Nigeria has the capability to diagnose Lassa fever and all the cases reported so far were confirmed by our laboratories.

“No travel restriction will be imposed in the affected areas but hotlines have been provided for health workers for expert advice. The numbers are: 08037154575, 08023214998, 08037879701 and 08023047101.”

In his remarks, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammad Pate, said the Ministry had also distributed over 750,000 doses of Ribavirin injections and tablets as well as safety gloves and protective vests for health workers.

He said there were nine specialist centres across Nigeria where tests on Lassa fever could be done, and advised Nigerians not to panic as government was responding promptly and effectively to the outbreak.

… warns on domestic chemicals
By Funmi Olasupo
Abuja — Federal Government, yesterday, warned that chemicals commonly used for industrial, domestic and agricultural purposes could negatively impact on human health and the environment if uncontrolled.

Consequently, the government vowed to strictly enforce all environmental laws in the country to protect Nigerians.

Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, Dr. Ngeri Benebo, stated this at NESREA-step B World Bank-assisted workshop on environmental risk assessment in Abuja,







http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/lassa-fever-kills-40-as-fg-releases-emergency-numbers/

look @ what this evil religion has coursed this people.
somtimes they enter thesame bus with you, the passengers will start shouting at the driver why he he allowed this aboki to enter thesame bus with them.
after enugh shouting they will be forced to be sreen before allowing them. i always pity those carnibals

trust this man nnaji when he says let thire be light, i asure you thire will be light in lagos
could you imagine that i work in a bank located inside the barrack, in enugu but we dont make use of generator.
when ever thires is a blink, our ups will take over.and some times the light dosn't last up to 45 min. befor it will be restored back.
what im trying to say is that, for those of you who are think this old man is making an emty promises you are wrong

Nigeria, bush leaders, great nation!


@
beef this the least i espected from .you dont abuse nigerian police for simply trying to do a good thing. is not fair

even though , no 1 like him. we they your side solivan ride on

Enugu guber poll: Chime knows fate April 23
On February 21, 2012 · In News Tweet
By IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI
ABUJA—A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, fixed April 23 to determine whether Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State was validly nominated by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to contest the April 26 gubernatorial election.

Presiding Justice Adamu Bello slated the date after he concluded hearing on a suit seeking to sack the governor from office on grounds that he emerged from an illegal primary election.

It was an aggrieved PDP governorship aspirant, Chief Alexander Chukwuemeka Obiechina, that dragged the governor, the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, before the high court.

In his originating summons, dated April 6, Obiechina urged the court to, among other things, determine whether the PDP had the powers to organise a “special congress” for the purpose of nominating its governorship candidate without recourse to the Electoral Act.

Arguing through his lawyer, Mr Maduabuchi Oba, the plaintiff contended that the January 12, 2011, PDP gubernatorial primary election that produced the governor was legally flawed as it was not conducted in compliance with provisions of section 85 of the Electoral Act.

Consequently, he prayed the court to go ahead and ascertain whether the two-days notice given to the Enugu State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, of the INEC, for the said special congress or primaries, complied with section 85[1] of the Electoral Act.

As well as, whether pursuant to section 87 of the Act, the National Executive Committee of the PDP, followed due process when it conducted the gubernatorial primary election that saw the emergence of the governor as the standard bearer of the party for the April election.

Besides, the plaintiff tendered 13 separate exhibits, just as he yesterday implored the court to hold that governor Chime was not validly nominated ab-initio and as such, was not validly elected and should therefore vacate the office.

“My lord, it was section 31(1) of the Electoral Act that made it possible for Chime to even participate in the April 26, 2011 governorship election pending outcome of this suit, otherwise he was a goner”, the plaintiff averred.

Meanwhile, governor Chime and the PDP yesterday adduced reasons why the suit should be dismissed in its entirety.

Both the party which was represented by its National Legal Adviser, Chief Olusola Oke, and the embattled governor, filed separate preliminary objections against the suit.

The respondents challenged the jurisdiction of the high court to entertain the matter, adding that the plaintiff was bereft of the locus-standi to seek such reliefs.

According to Oke, “my lord, we wish to draw your attention to a judgment the Supreme Court delivered on December 16, in a case involving Senator Lado Vs the CPC, which we believe has fortified our objection to the jurisdiction of this court to entertain the instant suit.

“The apex court has made it clear that where a suit invites a court to determine which of two primary elections of a political party is valid, such issue goes beyond the jurisdiction conferred to courts under section 87(9) of the Electoral Act, 2010.

“A look at the process before this court will reveal that the case bothers on which of the two primary elections of the PDP in Enugu State is valid. Is it that of January 9, or that of January 12, and it is our humble submission that such issues are outside the jurisdiction of either this court of INEC”.

“As a political party, we urge this court to strike out this suit for want of jurisdiction or alternatively, dismiss same for lacking in merit” he added.

Governor Chime who was represented by Chief Mrs Justina Offiah, SAN, equally adopted the prayers of the party, insisting that he was validly nominated for the said election.

It would be recalled that hearing of the suit suffered setbacks owing to a petition that was forwarded to the National Judicial Council, NJC, by governor Chime, who accused the previous judge that presided over the case, Justice Gladys Olotu, of bias.

Sequel to the said petition dated April 28, 2011; Justice Olotu disqualified herself from the matter, a situation that culminated to the re-assignment of the case-file to Justice Bello.

Comments are moderated. Please keep them clean and

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/enugu-guber-poll-chime-knows-fate-april-23/

Police inspector shot dead by patrol team
On February 21, 2012 · In News Tweet
By TONY EDIKE
ENUGU—A Police Inspector, Clement Onwueguta, attached to Uwani Police Division in Enugu South local government area was shot dead weekend by a police patrol team which mistook him for an armed robber.

Four members of the police patrol team who killed the police officer have been detained and are currently being interrogated, with a view to ascertaining the person that actually fired the shot.

Vanguard learnt that the deceased police officer, who was dressed in mufti at the time of the incident on Friday night, was sighted with a pistol along the Railway Line at the end of Aku Street within Ogui New Layout and was ordered by the police patrol team from Ogui Police division to stop for a search.

Rather than complying with the directive, the late inspector reportedly took to his heels, prompting the patrol team to give him a hot chase.

State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the incident yesterday, said the inspector was running toward the Uwani police barracks, which is about 100 metres away, when one of the police men shot him.

He said: “Inspector Onwueguta was not identified as a policeman when sighted from a distance somewhere along Aku Street, which is under Ogui Police division.

“People always trek from Edinburgh Road to Uwani through Aku Street and reports available to us show that hoodlums always attack people within that area.

“On that fateful day, February 17, men of Ogui Division had gone out on a routine patrol at the black spot. When they were coming, they sighted somebody from a distance and thought he was a hoodlum. The policemen shouted at him to stop but he took to his heels because he was alone.

“The operatives gave him a hot chase and in the course of the chase, the policemen heard a gun shot believed to have come from either one of them which eventually brought him down.

“On getting to the spot where he laid, the policemen searched and found on him a Beretta pistol and police ID card bearing the name Inspector Clement Onwueguta.

“It was a clear case of mistaken identity but members of the patrol team are already being interrogated. It was, indeed, an unfortunate incident.”

Meanwhile, the corpse of the police inspector who hails from Rivers State, had been deposited at an unnamed hospital for autopsy.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/police-inspector-shot-dead-by-patrol-team/

…
Soldiers kill 8 members in Maiduguri shoot-out
•Three others injured in blast
From TIMOTHY OLA, Maiduguri
Tuesday, February 21, 2012


Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section
In a seeming reprisal against the arrest of a member by civilians last Thursday, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members went to the fish market along Baga Road in Maiduguri, Borno State, yesterday and attacked three civilians with explosive devices.
People in the vicinity scampered for safety as a result of the deafening explosions.

The action attracted the presence of the Joint Task Force (JTF) soldiers who killed eight members of the Islamist sect.

The group probably went to the market to avenge the arrest of a member by civilians last Thursday.

An eyewitness who did not want his name in print, said: “I actually went there to buy a bag of onions when the thing happened. There were three bomb blasts. The first happened around the fish market and everybody scampered for safety. But another two came again. It was as if I was trapped, but I managed to get out some minutes later. I was, however, scared when I saw corpses.”

Confirming the attack, JTF spokesman, Lt.- Col. Hassan Mohammed, said: ``This afternoon, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram sect members attacked three civilians at the Baga Road Fish Market.
``The JTF men came on rescue operation, engaged the suspects in a shoot-out and succeeded in killing eight of them,’’ Mohammed said.

``The JTF detonated three IEDs and defused several others recovered from the attackers. We also recovered large number of arms and ammunition from them.
``The JTF has cordoned off the entire area and a search operation is going on to uncover hidden weapons and IEDs.’’

He maintained that none of the JTF personnel was injured even as he said that the market has been condoned off. He also said a “come down and search operation” by the JTF was going on within the area. Sources at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), however, disclosed that two bodies were brought to the hospital in a van escorted by a military patrol vehicle, adding that one of the victims was not dead, but was “badly injured”

Sources said the dreaded Islamic fundamentalists attacked the market to avenge the arrest of one of their members last Thursday. A lone gunman was said to have strolled into the market located on the outskirt of the metropolis last week and had attempted to pull the trigger of his AK 47 rifle before some traders reportedly overpowered him.
According to JTF, some people at the Baga Market had made gallantry efforts when they assisted the JTF in the arrest of a gunman who entered the market to kill innocent people. “They have displayed that security is a collective responsibility and that the sect members are not invisible as they now choose to operate in markets and highly concentrated areas,” the JTF said. Barely a week later, the Boko Haram men returned to the market to launch what would have been a deadlier attack.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2012/feb/21/national-21-02-2012-002.html

Boko Haram
We snatch cars for suicide bombings –

Abu QaqaFrom IKENNA EMEWU, Abuja
Tuesday, February 21, 2012


Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section
Detained Boko Haram spokesman, Abu Qaqa, yesterday gave more hints to the State Security Service (SSS) on how the group sourced cars for suicide bombings. In his further testimony to the SSS, Qaqa, the dreaded henchman, said the cars they use in suicide bombings are neither bought for the mission nor gotten as enhancement by financiers.

They are actually snatched cars, procured by the use of force by the actors, who get them at gunpoint with an original intent on what they would be used for.

Qaqa said: “We snatch those vehicles at gunpoint. We use the less exotic ones for suicide bombings. As we get them, we just load them with bombs, drive them near our target, park, get out of them and leave them to explode thereafter. But in some few instances, the drivers who have been destined to die in the act by the leadership drive the bomb-laced cars into obstacles to enable them detonate.”

He spoke further in an indictment of the leader of the group, Imam Shekau. According to him: “the leadership – Shekau and kinsmen, take the expensive (exotic) ones always, saying that he would arrange for them to be sold and the proceeds put into the Jihad. This is never done, anyway.

“But those retained cars are put into other uses by the leadership of the sect – Shekau and his Kanuri brothers in blood. They serve two purposes – one to be used by the powerful leaders as status symbol within the group. The second reason is to serve as decoy against security. Because the police and other security agencies at checkpoints hardly stop to search such vehicles or request the identity of the users, Shekau and his henchmen latch unto this lapse or advantage and cruise about in them to do their business of further violence without let or molestation.
“Most of those vehicles end up with him and the Kanuri members of our sect. They use them, pose in them to deceive security agents at checkpoints”, Qaqa stated.

Another fact is the use of proceeds of the cars, not sent to the crematorium of bombing, are put to when sold. He revealed that if they are sold, what the proceeds go into is the exclusive preserve of Shekau and his close allies.
On the distribution or sharing of the left-over cars, he said: “The distribution or utilization of these stolen vehicles is on ‘man-know-man’ or ‘man-know-tribesman’. This also became another source of anger and acrimony but you have to bear it or you die. Once you are in, you are in. If you attempt to leave, you are seen as a traitor who must die.”

Recall that two weeks ago, Qaqa in his song blurted out that the sharing and use of N41million booty the group made in a bank raid caused bad blood in the group. So, his revelation again of the distribution of snatched cars among kinsmen of the leader as another source of acrimony lays credence to the fact that Boko Haram might not be tightly sutured in unity and purpose as earlier believed.

His position to the SSS is that it is coercion rather than cohesion that drives the actions of the group. The members, in fear, toe the line of the leadership because any dissent means paying the ultimate price.
Through the revelations of Qaqa, the SSS raided the home of a kingpin in Madalla, Niger State last Friday where they recovered pornographic materials and other security documents. The suspected kingpin, Bashir Madalla, is still at large even as the SSS has declared a manhunt for him


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2012/feb/21/national-21-02-2012-001.html

so my criminals, and taut,
fasholal do somthing ohhhh

so my criminals, and taut,
fasholal do somthing ohhhh

Would be a good move.

even after Nigeria splits hopefully by 2015, it would probably be a good idea to maintain a common currency

do u think biafra would accept that.
NO  they wount, is just like asking u.k punds to join with euro currency.
i have a dream[b] BIAFRA[/b] will be a great nation

ECOWAS to introduce single currency by 2020 – Ekweremadu
On February 20, 2012 · In News Tweet
BY TONY EDIKE
ENUGU—THE Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, is to introduce a single currency in the sub-region by 2020, while it will become effective in English speaking countries in 2015.

Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, made this known at a dinner organized for members of the Administration, Finance and Budget Committee of the organisation after their one week meeting/workshop in Enugu weekend.

Ekweremadu, who is also the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate said his tenure as speaker would see the parliament performing all its legislative functions to the fullest and taking the sub- region to the next level.

In his words: “Our parliament will henceforth screen the list of Commissioners for the Commissions, scrutinize and pass budgets as well as make laws that would transform the sub-region.”

He also said ECOWAS had transformed from being a committee of states to becoming a committee of the people, adding that it was for this reason that the meeting/workshop was drafted to hold in other places other than state capitals as was the practice in the past.

In his speech, Chairman of the Committee on Administration, Finance and Budget of the parliament, Alhaji Farouk Lawan, paid glowing tributes to the speaker of the parliament and called on members to support him to achieve all the laudable dreams he had for sub-region.

In his remarks, the fourth deputy speaker of the parliament, Michael Nyaunu, thanked the speaker, government and people of Enugu State for the hospitality extended to them during their one-week stay in the state; describing the people of the state as peaceful, warm and friendly.

On February 20, 2012 · In News Tweet
BY TONY EDIKE
ENUGU—THE Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, is to introduce a single currency in the sub-region by 2020, while it will become effective in English speaking countries in 2015.

Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, made this known at a dinner organized for members of the Administration, Finance and Budget Committee of the organisation after their one week meeting/workshop in Enugu weekend.

Ekweremadu, who is also the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate said his tenure as speaker would see the parliament performing all its legislative functions to the fullest and taking the sub- region to the next level.

In his words: “Our parliament will henceforth screen the list of Commissioners for the Commissions, scrutinize and pass budgets as well as make laws that would transform the sub-region.”

He also said ECOWAS had transformed from being a committee of states to becoming a committee of the people, adding that it was for this reason that the meeting/workshop was drafted to hold in other places other than state capitals as was the practice in the past.

In his speech, Chairman of the Committee on Administration, Finance and Budget of the parliament, Alhaji Farouk Lawan, paid glowing tributes to the speaker of the parliament and called on members to support him to achieve all the laudable dreams he had for sub-region.

In his remarks, the fourth deputy speaker of the parliament, Michael Nyaunu, thanked the speaker, government and people of Enugu State for the hospitality extended to them during their one-week stay in the state; describing the people of the state as peaceful, warm and friendly.

Another arrest ‘ll sink Boko Haram – Security agent
On February 20, 2012 · In Headlines Tweet
BY ROTIMI AJAYI, KINGSLEY OMONOBI, OKEY NDIRIBE, LUKA BINNIYAT & PETER DURU
ABUJA — CONTRARY to the image of invincibility woven around the Islamic terror group, Boko Haram in the media, the sect was not thoroughly organised and may be routed by security agencies with another major arrest, a reliable top source within the security apparatus in Abuja, disclosed yesterday.

According to the source, Boko Haram was no longer as powerful as it used to be, before the arrest of its spokesman, Abu Qaqa and one of its foot soldiers, Kabiru Sokoto, whose arrest had led operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the arrest of several other members of the group who were in their planning council.



Revealing that from the statements and intelligence gathered from the arrested members, the SSS was close to routing the group completely out of Nigeria, the source said: “We are on the winning side. We are very close to wiping them out completely as most of their top planners are already in our custody.

“It is however lamentable that much of the information being published on this group concerning their revelations were not correct. This group is not as organized as it is being portrayed in the press.

I must tell you that if it were a very organized group, someone like Kabiru, would not be in Nigeria after he had escaped from the Police the first time. These boys who are being used for the attacks were only errand boys who were getting only feeding money. Kabiru was selling recharge card and even when he was re-arrested he had nothing significant. He was only bathed and dressed up by the Service in order to present him to the Press. Certainly we are almost through with them. With just one more arrest, Boko Haram will cease to exist.”

This disclosure came as fresh bomb blast rocked Suleja and the Police in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, beefed up security in the city with new motorized electronic detecting equipment deployed to places like Aso Rock Villa, Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport and the entry point between FCT and Niger State.

Meanwhile, Pastor Isua Kiforo, a director with Kaduna State Ministry of Information, who was shot several times on his legs and lower abdomen last Monday at Kaduna State Government House, died yesterday at the 44 Army Referral Hospital, Kaduna after battling for life for six days. His wife, Mrs Charity Kiforo, confirmed his death to Vanguard on phone.

Suleja: How scores escaped death in church

But for the alertness of security personnel attached to Christ Embassy Church located at 82 Morocco Road, Suleja, another massacre similar to that which happened on December 25, 2011 at nearby Madalla, Niger State, would have occurred yesterday.

Matthew Musa, a worshiper, who was in the church when the bomb exploded at about 10 am said: “One of our members, who had parked his car outside the church premises had suddenly remembered something he forgot in the booth of his car. When the man went to pick what he forgot from the booth of his car, he noticed that a strange sack which looked like a Bagco super sack had been placed in front of his car. When he looked inside the bag, he noticed it contained a big tomato tin which had wires connected to it. He immediately alerted security men working in the church and the pastor.”

Musa stated that it was this man who immediately raised the alarm about the presence of what was suspected to be a bomb near the church.

According to him, the Pastor immediately got in touch with the Police, Army and other security agencies and they were rushing towards the area when the blast occurred. Before the blast, security men attached to the church had swung into action by preventing members of the church and other passers-by from getting close to the spot where the suspicious object was placed.

He said the story would have been different if the bomb had exploded after the church service when worshippers would be trooping out.

Miss Kelechi John, a member of Triumphant Ministries, another church which also holds its service within the same building, narrated her own experience. “The Pastor had just announced that it was time to pray. He had just said In Jesus name and the congregation replied Amen and the next thing we heard was the sound of a very loud explosion. We all began to run for our dear lives. It was the Pastor who came out last”.

It was learnt that although there were no casualties, several persons were wounded including a man whose abdomen was slashed open by the impact of the blast. The man was said to be a resident of another house located directly opposite the spot where the bomb exploded.

Another resident of the house said the injured man whose name was given as Chike was standing in front of the house when the explosion occurred. Another lady who also resides in the house said a lady was severely wounded on her neck.

The injured persons were said to have been rushed to Suleja General Hospital after which they were transferred to Gwagwalada General Hospital.

A resident of the building in which the two churches are located, who identified himself simply as Ekene said he saw the man who dropped the sack containing the explosives. “The man wore a white singlet and a knee-length jeans trouser,” he said.

The impact of the explosion was so powerful that it reduced two cars – between which the device was sandwiched- to heaps of scrap metal. Three other cars that were parked nearby had their windscreens shattered. The window panes and ceiling sheets of the affected buildings were all shattered.

Already a heavy security cordon has been thrown around the Suleja community with soldiers, policemen and operatives of the Nigerian Security with Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in-charge.

It would recalled that a suicide bomber attacked St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla- a stone throw from Suleija- on Christmas day last year and killed over 43 persons.

Four suspected terrorists arrested in Makurdi

Four suspected members of Boko Haram sect were, yesterday, arrested at the St.Theresa Catholic Church, at the High

level area of Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

Vanguard gathered from eyewitness that the four suspects had attempted to gain entry into the church while the second Mass was ongoing at 10.am when they were stopped by private security men on guard at the church.

The four men who were dressed in long ropes aroused suspicion when they could not respond appropriately to questions put to them by police men attached to the church.

Vanguard gathered from some members of the church and security man at the gate that the suspects claimed they came in from Kaduna State on a visit to a yet to be identified person in Makurdi.

Confirming the arrest, the state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Assistant Superintendent of Police Alaribe Ejike, said that the people were not members of Boko Haram.

Following claims that Benue state was on the invading list of the dreaded sect, the state government and religious leaders in the state have taken measures to beef up security in places of worship and some churches now have heavy presence of security agents manning their gates every Sunday.

How Pastor Kiforo died – Wife

Confirming Kiforo’s death, his wife Mrs Charity Kiforo, who declined extensive comments, mournfully said, “my husband died this morning after six days in the hospital.”

The Kaduna State Commissioner for Information, Alh. Saidu Adamu paid tribute to the man, saying, “I was informed about his death this afternoon, He was a nice, gentle and good person to work with. For the years we have worked together, I have found him a great staff to work with. I don’t understand what he did that led to his being shot. That would be left to the Police to explain”, he said.

Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Mallam Mohammed Bala Nasarawa, had six hours after the shooting of Kiforo, issued a statement saying the man had breached security at Kaduna Government House. He, however, said that no weapon or explosives were found on him or in the car he was driving.

Said Nasarawa: “At about 1328 hrs, a combined team of security personnel attached to Government House main gate, Kaduna intercepted a Toyota Corolla Saloon car, maroon in colour with Kaduna state Government official Reg.No Kaduna,KD-06-A 04.

“The driver drove dangerously in a suspicious manner towards the Government House gate. The security personnel stopped the lone occupant, but instead of stopping, he forced himself through the exit gate and found his way into the Government House.

“The security agencies thereafter, opened fire and shot the suspect on the leg and lower abdominal part of his body. The suspect was later identified as Pastor Isuwa Kiforo ‘M’ of No.7 Abba Rimi, Narayi Kaduna, who is the Director Finance and Administration, Ministry of Information, Kaduna State. He was rushed to 44 Army Reference Hospital Kaduna for treatment, after he was given first aid by a team of medical personnel attached to the government House. The vehicle was thoroughly searched in my presence by our Anti-Bomb disposal experts and nothing incriminating was recovered. In essence neither weapon nor explosives were found in it.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/another-arrest-ll-sink-boko-haram-security-agent/

Aba to shut down as Ojukwu’s body arrives Feb 28
From OKEY SAMPSON, Aba
Monday, February 20, 2012


Late Ojukwu
Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section

Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) says markets and schools in Aba, Abia State, will be closed on February 28 to enable residents of the commercial city to pay their last respect to the body of Eze Igbo Gburugburu, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, which will be brought to the city on that date as the late Igbo leader’s remains makes its last journey to its final resting place.

Disclosing this in a chat with Daily Sun, MASSOB Director of Information for Aba region, Sunny Okereafor said the closure of markets and schools in Aba on February 28 to enable residents of the city come out and pay their last respect to the fallen hero was not only a way of fulfilling one of Ojukwu’s wishes but showing the love and high esteem in which the people held him.

He said Ojukwu equally showed tremendous love and respect for residents in that there was no major action he took during his life time, that he never came to Aba to either intimate and or confide in them, stressing that nothing would be too much sacrifice by residents in honour of the departed hero.

According to him, “Aba was so dear to the heart of the late Ikemba that there was no major public decision he took in life he did not come to Aba either to confide in, or seek the opinion of the residents. First of all, we should not forget that it was in Aba Ojukwu started work as district officer (DO) when he came back from England before joining the Nigerian Army.

“Again in 1967, Ojukwu came to Aba to intimate and perhaps seek the opinion of residents of the city before declaring the war and to cap it all, when he returned from exile; he also came to Aba to inform them. The same thing also happened when he decided to go into partisan politics,” he recollected.

Okereafor therefore urged all residents of the commercial city to come out en masse on February 28 at the Enyimba Stadium where Ikemba’s body would lie in state. Meanwhile, the Abia State government has put to rest the rumour which made the rounds recently that the corpse would no longer be brought to Aba as originally planned.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor T. A. Orji, Ugochukwu Emezue, hinted that Enyimba Stadium where Ojukwu would lie in state on February 28 was wearing a new look just as he assured that security had also been put in place for the Aba event.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2012/feb/20/newsbreak-20-02-2012-001.html

US Gen. Dempsey: Iran rational actor, not after nukes

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:44AM
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We are of the opinion that Iran is a rational actor.

We also know, or we believe we know that Iran has not decided to make a nuclear weapon.”

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey

A top US military official has described Iran as a rational actor in the international arena, stating that the Islamic Republic is not after producing nuclear weapons.


Speaking in a nationally televised interview with the CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” show on Sunday, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said, “We are of the opinion that Iran is a rational actor.”

Dempsey pointed out that US officials aren't convinced Iran has decided to build atomic armaments.

“We also know, or we believe we know that Iran has not decided to make a nuclear weapon,” General Dempsey said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the top US general also described any Israeli attack on Iran as “destabilizing.”

“It’s not prudent at this point to decide to attack Iran,” General Dempsey said, adding that the US government is confident the Israelis “understand our concerns.”

The remarks come as Israeli officials have ramped up their war rhetoric over the past few weeks, threatening Iran with military strikes in case the US-led Western sanctions against the country fail to force Tehran to halt its civilian nuclear program.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on February 9 that, “Israel has a large selection of ways, when the world of international sanctions fails to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program.”

There is growing worry in Israel, however, about the grave consequences of any Israeli attack against the Iranian nation.

“The whole region will go up in flames. Thousands of rockets will fall on Israel. In the initial days, hundreds of them will fall on Tel Aviv. Then we'll be in a war that goes on for months. The economy will crash. Tel Aviv will become a frontier town,” reported leading Israeli daily Ha’aretz on February 11, quoting a senior opposition member of the regime.

Despite the widely publicized claims by the US, Israel and some of their European allies that Iran's nuclear program may include a military aspect, Iran insists on its civilian nature, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production.

This is while the Israeli regime is widely known to possess between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads. Furthermore, Tel Aviv refuses to allow its nuclear facilities to come under international regulatory inspectors and rejects any international nuclear regulatory agreements.

www.presstv.ir

US Gen. Dempsey: Iran rational actor, not after nukes

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:44AM
Share | Email | Print
We are of the opinion that Iran is a rational actor.

We also know, or we believe we know that Iran has not decided to make a nuclear weapon.”

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey

A top US military official has described Iran as a rational actor in the international arena, stating that the Islamic Republic is not after producing nuclear weapons.


Speaking in a nationally televised interview with the CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” show on Sunday, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey said, “We are of the opinion that Iran is a rational actor.”

Dempsey pointed out that US officials aren't convinced Iran has decided to build atomic armaments.

“We also know, or we believe we know that Iran has not decided to make a nuclear weapon,” General Dempsey said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the top US general also described any Israeli attack on Iran as “destabilizing.”

“It’s not prudent at this point to decide to attack Iran,” General Dempsey said, adding that the US government is confident the Israelis “understand our concerns.”

The remarks come as Israeli officials have ramped up their war rhetoric over the past few weeks, threatening Iran with military strikes in case the US-led Western sanctions against the country fail to force Tehran to halt its civilian nuclear program.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on February 9 that, “Israel has a large selection of ways, when the world of international sanctions fails to persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program.”

There is growing worry in Israel, however, about the grave consequences of any Israeli attack against the Iranian nation.

“The whole region will go up in flames. Thousands of rockets will fall on Israel. In the initial days, hundreds of them will fall on Tel Aviv. Then we'll be in a war that goes on for months. The economy will crash. Tel Aviv will become a frontier town,” reported leading Israeli daily Ha’aretz on February 11, quoting a senior opposition member of the regime.

Despite the widely publicized claims by the US, Israel and some of their European allies that Iran's nuclear program may include a military aspect, Iran insists on its civilian nature, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production.

This is while the Israeli regime is widely known to possess between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads. Furthermore, Tel Aviv refuses to allow its nuclear facilities to come under international regulatory inspectors and rejects any international nuclear regulatory agreements.

http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/16/
al-qaedas-biggest-threat
[islam,  islam,
why do some people bow down before thee

February 16th, 2012
07:06 PM E
Tweet Al Qaeda's biggest threat
By Paul Cruickshank, Nic Robertson, and Tim Lister

Editor's note: This report is based on a one-year investigation by CNN into air cargo security in light of a thwarted plot by al Qaeda in October 2010 to blow up cargo jets over the United States. CNN's Nic Robertson's report "Deadly Cargo" airs on CNN Presents, Saturday and Sunday February 18, 19 at 8 p.m. ET.

Ibrahim al-Asiri is the sort of terrorist who keeps intelligence officials awake at night.  He’s al Qaeda’s chief bomb-maker, and he built explosive devices hidden in printer cartridges that got onto several planes in October 2010.  He’s still at large in Yemen.  The bomb plots he’s alleged to have masterminded – the 2009 underwear bomb plot and printer bombs dispatched to the United States in 2010 – have very nearly worked.  And security experts say al-Asiri and al Qaeda in Yemen may yet penetrate the security screening that is meant to protect aviation.

ALSO WATCH: Reconstructing al Qaeda's printer bomb

February 16th, 2012
Three international plots

In the summer of 2009, two Saudi brothers clasped each other in a last embrace in the desert.  The elder brother, Ibrahim al-Asiri, had constructed a bomb like none al Qaeda had produced before: a device designed to be inserted inside the rectum of a suicide bomber containing around 100 grams of PETN, a difficult-to-detect white powdery explosive.

The suicide bomber was his younger brother, Abdullah al-Asiri. And their target was Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the head of Saudi counter-terrorism, whose security services had driven them out of Saudi Arabia two years earlier.  Their group - al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) - was determined to show that even well-protected targets outside Yemen were not beyond their reach.  In the end, the attack - in August 2009 - failed.  Despite gaining entry to bin Nayef’s residence by claiming to be defecting, the device killed only Abdullah al-Asiri and slightly injured the head of Saudi counter-terrorism.  But even in failure, his brother and comrades were emboldened.  Never had al Qaeda come so close to killing a member of the Saudi royal family.

At about the same time, a young Nigerian - Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab - arrived in Yemen. Schooled in the West and from a prominent family, he had become radicalized as a student in London. He was the ideal candidate to carry out AQAP's most ambitious attack yet.

According to recently released court documents, al-Asiri was instrumental in developing plans for the Nigerian to bring down a U.S. passenger jet as it approached its destination.  According to the documents, al-Asiri worked in tandem with American-Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who persuaded the Nigerian to conduct a martyrdom mission and approved al-Asiri’s plan for getting a bomb past security onto a U.S.-bound airliner.

Al-Asiri met with AbdulMutallab several times and personally delivered his ingenious new device: 200 grams of PETN stuffed into the lining of specially tailored underwear. According to the court documents, al-Asiri trained AbdulMutallab, "having the defendant practice the manner in which the bomb would be detonated, that is, by pushing the plunger of a syringe, causing two chemicals to mix, and initiating a fire (which would then detonate the explosive)."

AbdulMutallab slipped through airport security to board a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day but failed to fully detonate the device as the plane came in for landing.  It was a lucky escape.  An explosives expert told CNN that one of the likeliest explanations for the failure was the wear and tear on the device during AbdulMutallab's three-week journey through Africa, before flying to the United States.

After the failed attack, the FBI found al-Asiri’s fingerprints on the underwear device and matched them to a file kept by the Saudi government, but the bomb-maker continued to elude the grasp of counter-terrorism agencies.

The following year, Ibrahim al-Asiri began developing his most ingenious device yet. It involved placing 400 grams of PETN inside a printer cartridge and connecting it to a detonator and timer embedded in the circuitry of a laser printer.  The choice of a laser printer was deliberate: PETN is similar in texture to ink-toner powder and would therefore evade detection by single-view X-ray machines at many air cargo departure points.

"Whoever designed this is at the clever end of the scale," Sidney Alford, one of the world’s leading explosive experts, told CNN.

Al-Awlaki again played a significant role in the plot. He “certainly encouraged, supported, supervised al-Asiri's efforts," a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official told CNN.

In late October 2010, two printer bombs designed by al-Asiri were dropped off at FedEx and UPS offices in Sanaa, Yemen.  They passed through airport security undetected and were then loaded onto the first leg of their journey toward the United States.  Only an intelligence tip to Saudi authorities allowed authorities in Dubai and the UK to eventually intercept the deadly cargo.  Al-Asiri had concealed the explosives so well that bomb disposal teams at both locations initially believed the printers were not bombs.  It was the most sophisticated al Qaeda device that Western counter-terrorism officials had ever seen, and they said it had the potential to bring down a plane.

Al Qaeda later boasted in its online magazine Inspire: "The following phase would be for us to use our connections to mail such packages from countries that are below the radar and to use similar devices on civilian aircrafts in Western countries."

A bomb-maker’s journey

Though al-Asiri remains a shadowy figure, CNN has pieced together details of his journey to jihad.  This account is based in part on a detailed briefing on AQAP that Saudi counter-terrorism officials, including Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, provided late last year to Mustafa Alani, the director of security and defense studies at the Gulf Research Center.

Saudi Arabia is generally viewed as having the most extensive intelligence presence in Yemen. Bin Nayef, whose father is crown prince, responded to the assassination attempt against him in 2009 by expanding the Saudi intelligence-gathering operation in Yemen, developing a network of informants, according to Alani.  In late October 2010, it was a communication from an informant close to AQAP’s inner circle that tipped Saudi Arabia off to the fact that explosive packages had just been dispatched by the group to the United States, according to Alani.

Al-Asiri was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on April 18, 1982. His father had served as an officer in the Saudi military, and according to interviews the family later gave the Saudi newspaper Watan, nothing about Ibrahim and his brother Abdullah’s upbringing marked them for jihad.

"They were not religious boys at the time. They used to listen to music and had a wide variety of friends; friends not like the ones they had later when they became more religious," his mother told Watan.

One of their sisters told the newspaper that the death of their brother Ali in a car accident in 2000 was a turning point in Ibrahim and Abdullah's attitude.

"It was after that that they started swapping videotapes and cassettes on the Mujahedeen in Chechnya and Afghanistan, and they became at times distant," the sister said. "Abdullah started to go out a lot with his new friends to camps known as 'preaching camps.’ "

Al-Asiri began studying chemistry at King Saud University in Riyadh but dropped out after only two years, according to Alani. Though he would acquire bomb-making expertise later on, those studies would lay a foundation for his future terrorist career.

Then came the Iraq war. Like hundreds of other young Saudis, al-Asiri was determined to fight in Iraq against the U.S. occupation.  But he never made it there.  In 2006, he was arrested by Saudi security forces as he tried to cross the border into Iraq. "He was not considered an important person, so he was released after spending a brief amount of time in prison," Alani told CNN.  He was held for nine months.

When he was released, al-Asiri, who became known as Abu Salah in militant circles, attempted to create a new militant cell inside Saudi Arabia, linked to al Qaeda, that planned to bomb oil pipelines in the country, according to his later designation as a terrorist by U.S. and U.N. authorities.  When police swooped in on their meeting place in northern Riyadh, six of his cell were killed in a shootout, but he and his brother were not there.  They were not then viewed by Saudi authorities as key members of the Saudi wing of al Qaeda, according to Alani.

In 2007, al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia instructed its operatives to move to Yemen, according to Alani. Al Qaeda’s Yemen operations had been given a new life after several of its leaders had escaped from prison the previous year.  Al-Asiri, then on the run, called his father to tell him he was leaving the country but did not reveal where he was heading. Saudi counter-terrorism were eavesdropping on the call.

The brothers crossed the border into Yemen. Saudi counter-terrorism officials believe that it was only when he moved to Yemen that al-Asiri developed his bomb-making expertise. Alani says there are indications he was tutored by a Pakistani bomb-maker linked to the group.

By the summer of 2009, Ibrahim al-Asiri was one of several Saudis in AQAP’s inner circle.  In the weeks leading up to the plot to kill bin Nayef, he and his brother were filmed sitting in a tent with several senior AQAP operatives, including its Yemeni leader, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, a former personal secretary to Osama bin Laden.  Some counter-terrorism officials believe that al-Wuhayshi might become the overall head of al Qaeda if Ayman al-Zawahiri is killed.  The film was for a propaganda video for the forthcoming attack on bin Nayef.

According to Alani, the most influential figure within AQAP has been another Yemeni - Qasim al-Raymi - who Saudi counter-terrorism officials suspect steered the group toward directly attacking the United States.  After his brother’s death, al-Asiri was deployed to work with a group separate from the rest of AQAP and tasked with plotting attacks against the United States, according to Alani.  U.S. officials believe that al-Awlaki led the unit.

An enduring threat

A U.S. missile strike in September 2011 killed al-Awlaki.

U.S. officials believe his death has temporarily lessened the threat of an attack on the United States. But they also believe that AQAP has emerged as the most dangerous part of the al Qaeda terrorist network.

As for al-Asiri, "he is in fact undoubtedly one of, if not the largest threats that we face right now," a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official told CNN. "He's smart, determined and quite secretive about his activities and clearly determined."

Saudi counter-terrorism officials believe that political turmoil in Yemen is allowing AQAP to gain strength, according to Alani, because the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh has focused its efforts on survival rather than counter-terrorism.

Recent months have seen jihadist militants linked to AQAP but operating under the banner Ansar al Shariah periodically take control of towns in southern Yemen.

In their public statements, AQAP commanders have claimed to be at the forefront of such efforts - in line with their pledge after the death of bin Laden to follow the guidance of al Qaeda’s new leader, al-Zawahiri, whose strategic maxim for jihadists has long been to create "an Islamic base in the heart of the Arab region."

Some eyewitness accounts report a new focus within the group on seizing territory. Abdul Razzaq al-Jamal, a Yemeni journalist who was given unique access to al Qaeda fighters in Abyan province, wrote in the Al Quds al Arabi newspaper last autumn that the group had "used a new strategy recently, which is the strategy of showing themselves and controlling."

Counter-terrorism analysts disagree on how significant a role the group has played in the fighting in Yemen. An extensive field study published by West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center in September found that most of AQAP’s fighters - in the low hundreds - were drawn from urban areas, and there was no conclusive evidence that the group had yet won the allegiance of tribes in southern Yemen.

By contrast, al-Jamal, the Yemeni journalist, described seeing significantly greater numbers of al Qaeda fighters and witnessing their control of several towns in Abyan province last September.  Despite a fluctuating situation on the ground, jihadist militants still control significant territory in southern Yemen, including much of the town of Zinjibar, according to reports.

Saudi counter-terrorism officials believe AQAP has taken a back seat in the fighting in Yemen, and has instead taken advantage of the breathing space opened up by jihadist advances to build up its cell structure and a network of safe houses, according to Alani.  The group, he says, has learned lessons from Iraq, when seizing territory made al Qaeda an easy target for American airstrikes.

"Their objective in Yemen is to secure a safe haven for recruitment, training and for planning attacks," Alani told CNN.

He says Saudi counter-terrorism officials believe that AQAP's goal is nothing short of eclipsing al Qaeda "central" in the tribal areas of Pakistan as the dominant node of the terrorist network.

"They’ve taken a decision to escalate their global campaign of terrorism," he told CNN. "AQAP believe an attack against the United States is worth a hundred attacks on other places."

Intelligence challenges

The intelligence tipoff that led to the interception of the explosive printers probably saved lives, but it has also made AQAP even more careful about handling information, making it harder for Saudi counter-terrorism to disrupt future plots, according to Alani.

"They tried to find who leaked the information, because the information was so accurate that it must be a human intelligence and not electronic intelligence. Al Qaeda in Yemen became very careful:  They hardly use mobile phones, they hardly use any electronic technology."

Saudi Arabia’s counter-terrorism agency believes that al-Asiri has passed on his bomb-making expertise to about five members of the group. "They understand that Asiri is going to be killed or captured one day," Alani told CNN. "We're talking about a new generation of very skillful bomb builders and very committed people."

U.S. counter-terrorism agencies have reached a similar conclusion.

"There are other people who will benefit from his expertise. I think the fear is not just that he'll share his ability within his own circle, but rather more widely, and send it to other al Qaeda-sympathetic individuals or organizations," a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official told CNN.

CNN’s Ken Shiffman, Pam Benson and Tristan Milder contributed to this report.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/gunmen-kill-three-policemen-in-niger/


i never no say nigeria will later be like kebu and iraq

Gunmen kill three policemen in Niger
On February 17, 2012 · In News Tweet
central Nigeria: police

MINNA (AFP) – Gunmen have killed three policemen and critically injured another in two separate attacks in Niger state, where Islamists killed dozens of people on Christmas day, police said Friday.

“When we arrived… we met the lifeless bodies of the inspector and the sergeant on the floor where they were killed, while a public-spirited man helped the injured corporal to the hospital,” state police spokesman Richard Oguche told AFP of the Thursday attack in Minna, the state capital.

“This is coming after yesterday’s (Wednesday) attack at Maje (in Suleija town) where a corporal was also shot dead in a similar manner,” he said.

Oguche could not say which group was behind the attacks, but the Islamist Boko Haram sect has been blamed for scores of attacks that have shaken Nigeria, including the Christmas Day bombing of a church in the same state that killed at least 44 people.

holy ghost fire will distroy you and your govt. since you fell to resign

bokom  haram bomb will back fire and blast on your family