₦airaland Forum

Constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, says the
acquisition of seven warships by Niger Delta militant,
Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo, poses a threat
to the nation’s security. Sagay, who condemned the development in a statement
on Tuesday, said the Nigerian constitution does not
approve of any individual carrying out security duties on
Nigerian waters except the country’s armed forces. The statement comes a few weeks after Tompolo
allegedly kidnapped seven journalists. He said, “The news of the recent acquisition by
Tompolo’s Company, Global West Vessel Service of seven
war vessels, is extremely disturbing and destabilising.
Given the volatile nature of Warri/Benin Rivers Area, and
the over bearing violence of the Ijaw against the Itsekiri
in particular, this is a sinister and dangerous development. “There is no provision in Nigerian Law that permits the
engagement of private persons and outfits to carry arms
and engage in security operations in Nigerian waters.
This duty is the exclusive responsibility of the Nigerian
Navy. Section 3 of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A 20 of the
2004 Laws of Nigeria provides as follows: “(3)The Armed Forces shall be charged with the defence
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by land, sea and air
and such other duties as the National Assembly may,
from time to time, prescribe or direct by an Act”. (4)
Notwithstanding the generality of the provisions of
subsection (3) of this section – (a)The Navy shall, in particular, be further charged with –
(i) enforcing and assisting in co-ordinating the
enforcement of all customs, laws, including anti-
bunkering, fishery and immigration laws of Nigeria at
sea (ii) enforcing and assisting in co-coordinating the
enforcement of national and international maritime laws ascribed or acceded to by Nigeria.” He, therefore, urged the Federal Government and
security agencies not to take the matter lightly,
describing it as a blatant illegality. ” Therefore the present situation in which Mr.
Government Ekpemupolo has been allowed to bring in a
naval fleet into the Western Delta area of Nigeria
constitutes not only a threat to peace in that area, but
also a blatant illegality,” he said.
Source:www.punchng.com/news/ex-militant-tompolo-buys-six-warships/

A former Niger Delta militant, Mr. Government Ekpemupolo, alia Tompolo, has bought seven decommissioned Norwegian battleships, Saturday PUNCH
has learnt. Reports by a Norwegian newspaper, Dagbladet, said that the fast-speed Hauk-class guided missile boats had been re-armed with new weaponry. The report also revealed that Ekpemupolo’s most recent purchase is a KNM Horten, a fast-attack craft now used in fighting piracy in Nigeria’s waterways. It was learnt that in spite of his alleged history of violence, Tompolo, now controls the Global West Vessel Service, a privately owned contractor for maritime security for the Nigerian Maritime Safety Agency. Buying arms from Norway requires an export license from Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ships were reportedly sold first to CAS Global, a British security company that has such a license, after which Ekpemupolo reportedly bought the ships from the British company. Dagblade reported that the seven Norwegian ships are now part of the company’s maritime fleet patrolling under a contract for the Federal Government.
Source:www.punchng.com/news/ex-militant-tompolo-buys-six-warships/

Recently, I feel like I am dating MTN. I go to bed with a
text and wake up with a text msg. It's either they are
calling me or begging me to suscribe to one thing or the
other. VERY SOON MTN WILL BE LIKE: 1. Dear customer are u HUNGRY??...txt HGY to35388 4 tips
on HUNGER And what to EAT 2. Dear customer need DELIVERANCE??.... Text DEL TO
35388 for daily tips on how to deliver yourself 3. Dear customer facing ancestral problems??.... text
ANCESTORS to 35354 and recieve daily ancestral tips 4. Dear customer wanna bathe but u have no soap??....text
SOAP to 35629 to recieve dialysoaps to your phone 5. Dear customer feeling HEARTBROKEN??....Txt HEART to
38545 and recieve tips on how to plaster yourheart... Imagine MTN sending my grandma BEAUTYTIPS... for
what?? HABA! How can i stopp all dis nonsense help me

BREAKING: Obasanjo bombs Jonathan again, says
President’s “evil” actions destroying Nigerian democracy
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has again torn at President Goodluck Jonathan, saying Nigerian democracy remained at risk due to the action of the present administration. Speaking at a book Launch in honour of the pioneer chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, Mustapha Akanbi, in Abuja, Mr. Obasanjo, who is the Chairman of the occasion, said the president should stop encouraging ‘verbal violence which may not physically hurt but has ways of degenerating into physical violence’. Mr. Obasanjo said the greatest indictment against any administration is to be seen trying to destroy opposition of all sorts which invariably mean destroying democracy. “Management of democracy without resorting to brute force and dictatorial tendencies must be cultivated,” the former President said. “As a leader, you must not deliberately do evil or condone evil. You should know that you will one day give account to God, you may cover up here, but before God, there is no cover up.” The former president also spoke at lenght on the President’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency, corruption, the economy and youth unemployment. On insecurity, Mr. Obasanjo said Boko Haram is not out to “frustrate anyone’s political efforts” and lamented that it took Mr. Jonathan the years to fully understand the menace. On corruption, Mr. Obasanjo said, “when the head is rotten, the whole body is useless” On the economy, he said Nigeria would continue to sink deeper and that what Nigerians are told about the state of the economy “is not truly what the economy is”. “The economy is in doldrums, if not in reverse,” he said. Mr. Obasanjo’s latest attack on the President is coming seven days after he rated Mr. Jonathan’s performance as below average. The former president had spoken last weekend in Abeokuta while addressing book writers as part of activities marking the Ake Arts and Book Festival. “I rate this current administration below average,” Mr. Obasanjo said in response to a question about Mr. Jonathan’s performance. The former president also said he deserved credit for helping an individual from a minority tribe become Nigeria’s President.
“Rather than take blame for bringing Jonathan to power, I should be taking credit,” he added. The Nigerian presidency responded Sunday, slamming Mr. Obasanjo and describing his rating as untrue and misleading.
In a statement in Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, said Mr. Obasanjo’s rating was at variance “with the facts on the ground”. Mr. Okupe said President Jonathan had performed so well that “in terms of performance and achievements, no
administration since 1960 when Nigeria gained independence from Britain, has done as much as that of President Jonathan”
source;www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/171903-breaking-obasanjo-bombs-jonathan-says-presidents-evil-actions-destroying-nigerian-democracy.html#.VHW_QEHnjqo.twitter

Nigeria’s former head of state General Muhammadu
Buhari (retd) has reportedly taken a swipe at the
Nigerian police force. Buhari, who is a leading Presidential aspirant on the
platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), blasted
the police for invading the National Assembly on
Thursday.
The former head of state made the condemnation at the
APC national secretariat in Abuja, when he returned his
nomination and expression of interest forms to seek the
party’s ticket ahead of the 2015 general elections, Daily
Independent reports.
Buhari, who described that invasion of the National
Assembly as distressing said: “It is a distressing situation
where those who are supposed to protect the
constitution are the ones that are undermining it.” “The House Representative and Senate House are sacred
places; they shouldn’t go there as members of law
enforcement agencies much less fire teargas and
harassing them, they are breaking down and
undermining the constitution and if they are doing that,
who is going to correct?” he questioned. The retired Army General thanked the APC National
chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, and other leaders of the
party for making themselves available for the event.
However, the former Secretary to Akwa Ibom State
Government Mr Umana Umana, who has a desire to
dump to the All Progressive Congress (APC) recently
took a swipe at General Muhammadu Buhari, describing him as mentally unstable. Buhari who is a Presidential Candidate under the platform of APC had already contested twice for the Presidential position but lost on both occasions.

It was gathered by the Nation that the plot has now
spread to the Senate, and that growing number of
Senators are said to be enthusiastic to team up with the
Reps to get the President removed. It was reported that 130 Reps signed to support the plot
to oust Jonathan on Thursday, but a source revealed that
as at Friday, the number had drastically increased to 148. The plot to impeach the President started as a reaction to
the alleged growing impunity by the Federal
Government with the recent incident that took place at
the nation’s National Assembly, where lawmakers were
tear gassed by the police who barred the Speaker Aminu
Tambuwal from entering the chambers. A source within the Senate on Friday disclosed that some
senators were inclined to get President Jonathan
impeached. He said the ring leader of the plot in the
senate is from the Northeast where the President
proposes to extend the emergency rule in Adamawa,
Borno and Yobe States. Another source said the ring leaders have been meeting
to plan how to convince and win other senators to buy
into and support the pro-impeachment lawmakers. He
further disclosed that things will get clearer by Tuesday
25, 2014, when the Senate is expected to resume plenary.

(CNN) – Wren Thomas grew up in the middle of the cornfields of central Illinois, longing, he says, to do
something important in his life “to make his family
proud.” So when a cousin beckoned him to come work
on boats off Louisiana, he jumped at the chance. His goal: to be a ship captain, “the best that I could be.” “It meant strength, accomplishment,’ he said when he
finally was made a captain in 1991 and traveled the
world for various shipping firms. With a wife, eventually
three children and boat to lead, Capt. Wren Thomas had
achieved his piece of the American dream. “I wanted to be in charge of my own destiny,” he
recalled during an interview in his attorney’s Houston
office. All of that came crashing down on October 23, 2013
when Thomas was piloting his supply boat, the C-
Retriever off the coast of Nigeria towards a Chevron-
owned oil field. Over the next six hours, he would huddle with his crew
in an incredibly hot, water-sealed tank room as a half-
dozen pirates stormed his boat and began their siege
looking for their prize: the American captain and his
American-born engineer. Thomas reluctantly gave up
when the pirates started firing guns through a hole in the room door. He told his engineer they had no choice if
the rest of the 13-member crew, still in hiding, was to be
spared. “I told him, ‘Look I think it’s time we give up. If we
don’t give up we are either going to die or somebody is
going to get killed from ricocheting bullets.’” Thomas and his engineer were the only ones to be
kidnapped by the pirates, driven away in a speed boat
and held in Nigerian swamps and jungles for 18 days.
The experience was so horrific that even today Thomas
is unable to bring himself to reveal all details of his
captivity. “We weren’t being punched or kicked or anything like
that but just I’ve told people that I would have rather
been punched then went through what I went
through,” Thomas said. “The mental abuse of it with the
guns pointing at you. And knowing how unstable these
guys are.” Thomas said there were about 18 Nigerian kidnappers,
some chain-smoked marijuana or crack incessantly,
constantly waving their weapons and making threats. Food consisted of instant noodles — on days the
negotiations were going well — and maybe a bottle of
water. And his captors blared their music constantly,
fixated on, of all things, country singer Dolly Parton’s
song, “Coat of Many Colors,” and the music of hip hop
artist 50 Cent. “I knew I was going to die. We knew it every day,
every night,” he said. Despite the chaos in the jungle, Thomas said the leaders
were organized, using satellite phones to negotiate, first
demanding a $2 million ransom. Thomas believes the
payoff was eventually whittled down to several
hundred thousand dollars, though CNN cannot confirm
who paid the ransom or who received it. Thomas said one evening he and his engineer were told
to get in a small boat with six pirates. They motored for
about two hours to reach a village. There, four of the
pirates got out and met some other men who handed
them backpacks, Thomas told CNN. They returned to the
boat and counted the cash stuffed into the bags. After a dispute, Thomas says he and the engineer were taken to
the other men and told to lie on the ground until the
pirates left. Then they were put in a car and driven off.
Later they were transferred to a second car, where a
representative from the shipping company was waiting
for them. At that point they were finally free, 18 days after being seized at gunpoint. After a debriefing by his ship managers, then a similar
one by the FBI in Lagos, Nigeria, Thomas returned to the
United States last November, days after his release. He
has been seeing mental health advisers and other
medical professionals since. But his hostage-taking and the negotiations that freed
him have raised alarm bells in counterterrorism circles
and elsewhere for numerous reasons; not the least is
Thomas’ claim that the FBI told him the money paid for his freedom may eventually have wound up in the hands of the notorious terror group Boko Haram. That is the same group that in April kidnapped nearly
300 Nigerian girls. They’re also blamed for laying waste
to multiple villages in the northern part of the country,
burning them down and killing many people in bomb
attacks. Thomas said during his debriefing in Lagos the FBI indicated that the money paid for his freedom may have been funneled through other groups before making its way to Boko Haram. The FBI would not comment. CNN cannot independently confirm whether
Boko Haram received any money from the kidnapping. Yan St-Pierre, CEO of Modern Security Consulting Group, said his contacts believe Boko Haram, once confined strictly to the northern parts of Nigeria, is benefiting from the increase in piracy along the west coast of Africa. But the group is perhaps not directly carrying out the kidnappings itself. “So when people are asking, is there a link between
Boko Haram and piracy in Nigeria, it’s not the one they
usually expect it to be,” said St-Pierre, whose firm was
not involved in the Thomas case. “It’s one that is not
necessarily logistical and operational. It’s one that is
more subtle. Essentially they will probably provide personnel every now and then, but it’s not a fixed
structure. So we are talking more (about) providing
means to wash the money, to clean it. To make sure the
smuggling routes, personnel, sex slaves, drugs, weapons
above all else, these pirates need weapons. “So if Boko Haram provided the weapons in advance for
example and said, ‘Well we will get a cut of the ransom,’
which is standard policy within these groups within the
region in general, this would make absolute sense to
say, well the ransom money that was paid for the
captain ended up at the very least partially into Boko Haram’s hands, quite probably as a payment for services
delivered.” Major oil companies have an official policy of not paying
ransom for personnel or the thefts of fuel and ships on
the high seas. And subsidiary companies, like Capt.
Thomas’ employer Edison Chouest, aren’t talking, so it is unclear if they, too, have the same policy. It is against U.S. law to deal with terrorists but that issue
becomes murky when dealing with ransoms for
captives because so many middle men are involved,
counterterrorism sources said; it is hard to say who is a
terrorist and who is just a common criminal. Piracy off the coast of Nigeria is on the rise, according to
one study published by Oceans Beyond Piracy , a project of the One Earth Foundation. By contrast, piracy off
Somalia — on the other side of the African continent —
dropped dramatically in 2013 to only 23 vessels attacked
from 237 ships attacked in 2011, the same group reported. In West Africa, the group estimates there were at least 100 total piracy attacks and characterized them as
more violent and frequent. Thomas, in a series of emails, says he warned his
company, Edison Chouset, that security was
deteriorating and he feared some of his own Nigerian
crew members. His attorney shared two of the emails
with CNN. In one email to his operations coordinator, Thomas,
summing up his fear of the security situation, wrote “I
am also asking to not to return to Nigeria.” Thomas said company officials told him things would
improve but never did. On the day he set out on his
fateful trip, Thomas said dock workers announced over
two-way radio where the ship was going and what
supplies it was carrying. He said those communications
left them doomed before they ever got to their destination. “The pirates (later) told me they knew where we was
going … they knew my cargo, they knew my position,
they knew the track I was taking.” CNN made multiple attempts to contact Edison Chouest
for comment but the company refused to return
multiple calls or an email. Thomas said two representatives from the company
stayed near his wife in their hometown during his
ordeal and the FBI was also in contact. But once he was
freed, the communications virtually ended. It wasn’t
until January that someone from the company offered
to assist in his medical care and other financial needs, he said. Thomas is now consulting with a Houston attorney on
his next move as he says he is medically unable to return
to his overseas duties as a ship captain. “Life is hell for me now,” Thomas said. “Life will never be
the same again. The man that my wife married is not the
same anymore….I walk around all day paranoid. I’m
sad. I can’t sleep. My family is hurt.” Earlier this year, Thomas finally broke his silence, giving
an in-depth interview to a shipping newsletter gCaptain. He is talking now, he says, so others don’t face the same
fate. His attorney, Brian Beckcom, represented members of
the Maersk Alabama crew that served with Capt. Richard
Philips, whose capture by Somali pirates was made into
a movie starring Tom Hanks. He said he believes these
companies owe crew members, like Thomas, the same
level of protection now provided to crews off the Somalian coast. “Now all the ships in East Africa have armed guard, or
most do, and piracy has plummeted in East Africa. West
Africa is now the hotspot and there is no question that
these companies are making hundreds of millions in (oil)
profits should do something more than they’re doing to
protect the men that work over there,” Beckcom said.

[color=#006600][/color]CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — It was a highway robbery but
the bandits got more than they bargained for when they
stopped a taxi in Guinea and made off with blood
samples that are believed to be infected with the deadly
Ebola virus. Authorities publicly appealed on national radio Friday to
the unidentified robbers to hand over the samples that
were stolen from the taxi during its 265-kilometer (165-
mile) trek on winding rural roads from the central
Kankan prefecture to a test site in southern Gueckedou. The samples, stored in tightly wrapped vials tucked into
a cooler bag, were in the care of a Red Cross courier who
was among nine passengers sharing a taxi when three
bandits on a motorbike led the attack near the town of
Kissidougou, a local Red Cross official said. The robbers forced the passengers out, stole mobile
phones, cash and jewelry, and fired into the air as they
demanded the handover of the cooler bag, said Saa
Mamady Leno of the Red Cross in Gueckedou. The
courier, Abubakar Donzo, was later questioned by
police. Faya Etienne Tolno, a spokesman for the Guinea Red
Cross, said the aid group had a shortage of vehicles for
transport, which explains why a taxi was used. No one
was injured in the incident, which took place on a road
known for banditry. "We don't understand why they stole the blood sample.
Perhaps they thought there was cash hidden in the
flask," Tolno said. Dr. Barry Moumie, who heads patient care for the
national Ebola response coordination committee, told
The Associated Press: "We have informed the security
services. If these thieves handle this blood, it will be
dangerous." Ebola is spread primarily by contact with infected bodily
fluids including blood, feces and vomit. "I can assure you, however, that the sample-
transportation procedures will now be strengthened to
avoid such disappointments," Moumie said. The theft underscores how hazards abound and hiccups
remain in the aid response, despite millions of dollars'
worth of international support pouring into West Africa
to fight a virus now responsible for more than 5,000
deaths in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Dr. Hans Rosling, who is advising Liberia on its Ebola
response, noted the difficulties of transporting such
samples, saying countries and groups like the United
States and the United Nations have rules about moving
such hazardous materials. In Liberia, "we use specifically allocated motorbikes and
cars. We use what's available and what's reasonable. We
have to organize things as we go along," he said. "It
may have been the correct decision in Guinea (to use a
taxi) and the robbery was just a sad mishap." "There's no way we can secure transport in all of this
area," Rosling said. "It was a good initiative to try to get
the sample out."
source:news.yahoo.com/bandits-guinea-steal-suspected-ebola-blood-105816420.html

Former Vice President and frontline runner for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, stated on Monday that he had signed a pact with former President, Olusegun Obasanjo on how to save Nigeria from its current unenviable state.

Speaking with BBC Hausa Service monitored in Abuja, Atiku revealed that a closed-door meeting he recently had with the former president at the Otta Farm, Ogun state, was fruitful and was in the best interest of Nigeria.

He regretted in the course of the programme that a piece of advice he offered President Goodluck Jonathan in the past on the need to effect plans that would lead to the successful enlistment of volunteers like ‘Civilian JTF’ into the Nigerian military was not given consideration.

Speaking earlier on the presidential primaries of the APC which is fast afoot, Atiku assured that; “There is no problem that will arise after our primaries because we are one and will work for whoever that emerges.”

He then went on to comment on his visit to Obasanjo, of which he noted: “We discussed challenges our country is facing, and we reached a pact that we will work together and ensure that our country is out of the mess we are in presently.”

When asked whether he thinks elections could still go on in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states considering the given that Boko Haram terrorists hold sway in some territories within the states, the former Vice President said, “Yes, I agree that there are territories in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno that are under these terrorists, but this cannot stop elections.

“We have seen many countries with similar situation but they still went ahead and had successful elections in peace and calm,” he added.

While objecting to the assumption that politicians were wholesomely not bothered about insurgency but just about jostling for political power, the presidential aspirant said, “It is not true that we don’t bother. All the places we went, you will see us expressing concern and coming up with solution and giving support to the country.

Source:dailypost.ng/2014/11/18/2015-obasanjo-agreed-save-nigeria-atiku/

what do you actulally mean by dat

meshaallah

[b][/b][color=#006600][/color]When will the people of Nigeria decides to say enough is enough?
By asking the Buharis to remain as advisers rather than main
participants. When will Deltans ask Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan and the James
Manager that they have done well and they should exclude
themselves from governance, what about the Osakwes? The
Amoris? The Dr Ifeanyi Okowa? Chief Ogbaburho when will this
leaders hands off and offer advice to incoming brilliant leaders?
When when when when? When will the youths stop stop praising them; when they knew deep down in their heart that this
guys should go and sleep and mind their private business. We fear for everything the Burkina Faso example should motivate
us all and sound as a warning to our leaders who refused to quit! God bless the Bukina Faso youth for forcing 63-year-old Blaise
Compaore out office after 27 years in power. We can do same in Delta State!

what is liverpool plss?