REALNAIJAGISTS: ANOTHER BOMB AGAIN IN BORNU

REALNAIJAGISTS: ANOTHER BOMB AGAIN IN BORNU: Scene of a bomb explosion •Suicide bombing foiled at Gaidam’s campaign office •FG: Sect is recruiting fighters i...

ANOTHER BOMB AGAIN IN BORNU

Scene of a bomb explosion

•Suicide bombing foiled at Gaidam’s campaign office •FG: Sect is recruiting fighters in three Borno communities

Michael Olugbode and Adebiyi Adedapo in Abuja with agency report

A bomb attack on Biu’s main market in Borno State has claimed five lives and injured 10 others, eyewitnesses have said.

One of the eyewitnesses, Yusuf Gunda, a member of the youth vigilante group in the town, which is in the southern part of the troubled state, told THISDAY on the phone on Thursday that a woman was caught trying to set up the explosive device very close to the market about 3.30p.m.

According to him, youths and traders around the area “were not too sure what she was trying to drop off, as such incidents were uncommon.”

However, he said the action was enough to arouse suspicion, he adding: “and as they were asking her to carry what she had dropped off, the explosive device detonated and killed five persons including the woman.”

Gunda said ten other persons were injured in the explosion, adding that “the ten persons were taken to the Biu General Hospital to receive treatment.”

He revealed that though security agents swooped on the market immediately after the incident to ascertain the level of destruction, things soon went back to normal, as people who were initially apprehensive started going about their normal activities.

A source at the hospital, who spoke anonymously to THISDAY, confirmed that ten persons were brought in with various degrees of injury.

He said: “I cannot however confirm the number of those who died in the incident, as they were not brought here, but I learnt that they were five including the woman who was trying to plant the bomb.”

Several attempts to get the Public Relations Officer of the police in the state, Gideon Jibrin, were not successful as his mobile  phone was not reachable.

In other incidents in the North-east, Boko Haram insurgents bombed a police station in Yobe State, as the Islamists pressed on with attacks despite a multinational offensive targeting their strongholds, witnesses and security sources said.

Separately, an attempted suicide attack was foiled outside a political office elsewhere in Potiskum, raising fears of growing unrest in the run-up to Nigeria’s general elections, which have been postponed by six weeks.

Scores of militants armed with guns and explosives also stormed a police station in the town of Kanamma in Yobe State last Monday, multiple sources told AFP.
Details of the violence took days to emerge because of the poor phone network in the remote area.

“The terrorists overpowered our men and set the police station on fire before kidnapping the DPO (district police officer), whose body was later found in the bush,” said one senior officer, who requested anonymity.
Several other policemen were killed, he added.

That account was supported by Kanamma resident Maina Kachalla, who said the police station was bombed and burnt down.

Kanamma holds significance in the history of the Boko Haram conflict.
The group was formed in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, in 2002, but a hardline faction relocated to Kanamma in 2004 and attempted to form an extremist enclave in the town which they called ‘Afghanistan’, taking inspiration from the Taliban.

They clashed with the military in Kanamma in January 2004 in the first known case of unrest involving the group that later became known as Boko Haram.

The latest violence there was several hundred kilometres (miles) from the eastern edge of Borno State, the current epicentre of the multinational offensive, which indicated that regional armies have substantial ground to cover if they hope to crush the insurgency.

In Yobe State economic capital, Potiskum, many witnesses said an attempted suicide bombing was thwarted outside the campaign office of Governor Ibrahim Geidam.

The suspect reportedly raised suspicion by loitering outside the office and was confronted by a crowd, causing him to run into an abandoned building where he blew himself up, according to witness Abubakar Ubale and two others.

Meanwhile, the federal government yesterday confirmed that Boko Haram had commenced massive recruitment of fighters in three Borno communities of Geidam, Mairi and Dupcha with the plan to disrupt the elections in the state.

This is just as the government appealed to Nigerians to support the military operations against insurgency in the North-east.

The Coordinator of the National Information Centre ( NIC) and Director General of National Orientation Agency ( NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri, while briefing journalists yesterday in Abuja, explained that there was need for constant vigilance by the security authorities and the public to effectively tackle the menace of terrorism.

“In the general effort to contain acts of insurgency in the North East and secure the entire area for the forthcoming general elections, the centre wishes to alert the public on very recent intelligence reports which indicated a considerable movement of Boko Haram recruits from such locations as Geidam, Mairi and Dupcha (all in Borno State) to training camps within the general area.
According to Omeri, previous major attacks by insurgents, including the siege on Bama and Monguno military bases, were preceded by such massing up of fighters in training camps within the proposed targets.

“This recent development, which points in the same direction, has also been alluded to by the Boko Haram group in its recent boast about having a 30,000-50,000 strong force to disrupt elections in Maiduguri,” he said.

The government also released emergency telephone numbers with which the public could lay complaints and report incidents of security breaches and related issues for prompt intervention.
These numbers include 07057274630, 07057276432.

Omeri said military had been fully mobilised and deployed against the insurgents who are being chased and roundly subdued.
“We urge the public to exercise a high level of vigilance and also support the effort of the military to ensure hitch-free elections and a return to normalcy in the general area, soonest.”

“We also seize this opportunity to restate government’s commitment to keeping the country and her citizens safe from those who seek to destroy the nation”
“In addition, we urge the civil society, politicians and everybody to avoid disruptive and inciting statements, while assuring the citizens of regular update on the successes scored by our military and security forces in the fight against terror in the North-east,” he stated.

REALNAIJAGISTS: I Stand On My Statements On Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - ...

REALNAIJAGISTS: I Stand On My Statements On Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - ...: My attention has been drawn to statements credited to the Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okon...

I Stand On My Statements On Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - Soludo

My attention has been drawn to statements credited to the Hon. Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in response to my latest article and call for a structured debate on the issues. According to the report, she no longer wants to join issues with me. In the circumstance of the moment, I therefore withhold parts two and three of my promised three-part response.

Let me also state for the avoidance of doubt that I stand by every statement I made in the two articles viz: (1) “Buhari Vs Jonathan: Beyond the Elections”; and (2) “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Missing Trillions.”  In particular, I insist that over N30 trillion has either been stolen or unaccounted for, or grossly mismanaged over the last few years. This figure does not include the estimated $40.9 billion (N8.6 trillion at parallel market exchange rate or nearly two years’ Federal Government budget) which the African Union’s (AU) recent report claims to be “stolen” from Nigeria each year.

I wish to thank Nigerians all over the world who have been contributing to this timely debate. This is election time and it is expected that some vested interests will either choose to live in denial or attempt to politicise the issues. But from the debate so far, I am convinced that our economic management won’t be the same again. Once our managers know that the citizens will rigorously and vigorously challenge them to account, the welfare of the citizens will be better for it. Whoever wins has his job cut out for him, and to the extent that this debate has challenged the respective teams to seriously re-examine their blueprints to guarantee the security and prosperity of every Nigerian, my objective is accomplished. I love my country Nigeria, and as I said before, I won’t keep quiet again.

UNESCO seeks Osun’s permission to adopt, reproduce Opon Imo

The United‎ Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has approached the government of the state of Osun seeking to adopt the e-learning device created by the Rauf Aregbesola administration, Opon Imo (Tablet of Knowledge).

UNESCO, in a letter dated November 15, 2014 to the Osun Commissioner for Education and signed by Prof. Hassana Alidou, Director and Representative UNESCO’s Regional Office in Abuja said the organisation is impressed by the components of the Osun e-learning project.

UNESCO also requested permission to reproduce and adapt the educational learning resource material and content of Opon-Imo to promote its educational programmes in Nigeria.
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The organisation added that it was fascinated by the three major content categories of the e-library, the integrated test zone, the virtual class room containing 63 books covering civic education, Ifa on ethics and morals among others in Opon-Imo.

The United Nation’s organisation held that the concept and educational contents of Opon-Imo is in line with UNESCO’s objective to promote open access to quality education in the country.

According to UNESCO in the letter of request, “as you may be aware, UNESCO is a specialised Agency of the United Nations with a broad mandate in promoting education, science, culture, communication and information.

“The concept and education content of Opon-Imo is in line with UNESCO objective to promote open access to scientific information, open educational resources and open training platform as well as open distance learning.

“We acknowledge that the Opon-Imo was designed to enhance students’ access to knowledge, sexuality education and entrepreneurship, all of which are within the scope of UNESCO’s educational programme activities in Nigeria.”

The organisation also pointed out that it will partner with Osun, noting that the government of Osun will be officially acknowledged by UNESCO and other users as the major source of the e-learning resource materials wherever they are used.

Opon Imo [Tablet of Knowledge], the innovative education tool by Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration, has bagged several international awards.

Opon Imo was selected as the best in innovative category in the e-learning and science category of the United Nations-backed World Summit Awards (WSA), among many other awards.

PDP blasts Amaechi over ‘N6bn bribe to Pastors’ claim

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has descended on the Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organization and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, over his claim that ‎the PDP offered N6 billion bribe to some pastors to assist President Goodluck Jonathan in the February 14 election. 

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, accused the governor of lying.

Mr. Metuh, who stated this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, also accused the APC of conniving with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disenfranchise non-indigenes in APC-controlled states, especially Lagos, by refusing to issue them their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs.

Mr. Metuh said it was stunning that the APC was trying to drag religion into politics. He described the claims by Mr. Amaechi as shocking and challenged him to name the pastors that benefitted from the alleged bribe as well as where the money came from.

“We are shocked that APC Campaign could impugn the character of Pastors and I dare say that this is ungodly; it is a sin against God. We challenge the DG of APC Campaign to state the facts; the pastors involved and where such huge sum of money can come from.

‎”This attack is capable of bringing Christians and Muslims into a major disagreement and major dispute. If truly the person who issued this state is a Catholic as he said, we are asking him to go for confession and seek God’s forgiveness”, he said.

The PDP spokesman noted that the statement is a continuation of APC’s “Janjaweed ideology” to truncate democracy in Nigeria.

He pointed out that the APC has been seeking to create the impression that it was popular but now seek to cause mayhem after it become obvious that the PDP is ahead and that Mr. Jonathan will win the election.

On the plot to disenfranchise non-indigenes in APC controlled states, Mr. Metuh said this was because of the fact that 90 per cent non-indigenes in such states were supporters of the PDP. He alleged that in some states, particularly Lagos, the PVCs of non-indigenes were being burnt.

Mr. Metuh also dismissed insinuations that some PDP governors were hobnobbing with the APC noting that all PDP governors are loyal to the party and have been part of the nationwide presidential campaigns. 

Violence In The North May Disintegrate Nigeria If… – Ex-Militants

The Convener, Ex Niger Delta Militants Revolutionary Front, General JohnJohn Bosco Caterpillar, has declared that Nigeria will be forced to disintegrate if the current trend and wave of violence meted on the nation’s minorities is not checked.

The former militant who spoke with newsmen in an exclusive interaction, condemned the attack on minorities resident in the northern part of the country whose business and livelihood have been cut short due to the incessant violence and bomb blasts which have caused impromptu migrations and made them refugees in their own country.

Relating the recent wave of attacks by the northern extremists as planned to destabilise the government of Goodluck Jonathan in a bid to discredit it and also terrorise it, he said the Niger Delta militants who had willingly decided to surrender their armed struggle will soon be pushed back into violence to defend their kith and kin.

General Caterpillar further called on security agencies to apprehend the leaders of the north who had through their various comments promoted violence and inhumanity perpetrated in the north.

“We expect that by now the security agencies should have told us the number of people they have arrested for crimes against the state like inciting the people to violence, treason and even terrorism as they have variously supported terrorism and even called for violence through their declaration”. He said.

In his outburst he announced that the former militants were already regrouping to go back to the creeks to wait for the reaction from the north as well as the security agents who are expected to tame the north and the nation’s provocateurs or else they were ready to continue their armed struggle to emancipate the Niger Delta Region from oppression.

“It has become obvious that war is inevitable because the north sees the country as its property leaving others behind. This we will not accept, I am hereby supporting my Igbo brothers who have called for self-defense. Let everyone who has no form of defence mechanism go and fortify themselves immediately”. He sued.

He further condemned the recent attack on the president’s convoy in Gombe state while also disapproving the silence and inaction that has followed the assassination attempt. According to him threats and violence has been visited on Niger Deltans and other minorities based on their decision to support President Jonathan. Stating clearly that the north is tactically disenfranchising the Southerners.

“Few days ago the president’s convoy was nearly assassinated in Gombe State, nobody said anything.  Threats and violence has been visited on supporters of Goodluck Jonathan which clearly shows that the elections have already been rigged. Mr. President’s supporters are being forced out of the north daily basis without their votes being transferred to their home states. This is systematic rigging and marginalisation and we won’t sit back and allow our people suffer such injustice”. He informed.

Lt. Gen. 'Theophilus Danjuma' Calls For 'Dokubo' And Tompolo’s' Arrest

A former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.), has called for the arrest of an ex-Niger Delta militants, including Mujahideen Dokubo-Asari and Government Ekpudomenowei(akaTompolo) for threatening to declare war against the nation if President Goodluck loses the February 14 election.

Danjuma, who described the threat as “unguarded and reckless,” warned that “miscreants” must not be allowed to hold the country by the jugular.

Dokubo-Asari, had at a meeting on Friday at the Bayelsa State Government House, Yenagoa, urged an end to what he termed, the intimidation of the Ijaw by other Nigerians.

“For every Goliath, God created a David. For every Pharaoh, there is a Moses. We are going to war. Every one of you should go and fortify yourself,” he said.

At the meeting were Governor Seriake Dickson, Ekpudomenowei, Victor Ebikabowei (aka Boy Loaf), the   Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku and the   President General, the Ijaw Youth Council, Udengs Eradiri.

Boyloaf also said at the meeting that if the North succeeded in regaining power on February 14, the people of the Niger Delta would take their oil back.

However, Danjuma while inaugurating the Kwankwasiyya City alongside Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Wednesday wondered why Dokubo-Asari and Ebikabowei were heating up the polity.

He reminded them that since Nigeria and its resources belonged to everyone,   no one   must hold the government to ransom.

The former Defence minister, therefore, urged the necessary government agencies to immediately arrest the ex-militants.

“You should arrest Asari Dokubo, Tompolo, Boyloaf and other Niger Delta militants for making reckless statements, which in any way does not mean keeping Nigeria as one entity. They   create a war situation.

“Those were reckless statements coming from irresponsible individuals; they should be condemned and   arrested immediately,” he said.

In a situation like this, the issue of entrenching peace in the country is what is needed most. We should not allow some miscreants to hold us to ransom,” he said.

Danjuma, who served as a Defence minister during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, added,   “Nigeria belongs to everybody and we must do everything possible to safeguard her unity.”

He also asked politicians to stop making utterances capable of overheating the polity.

The former minister said, “As we are approaching election time, we must strive to ensure that important issues are thoroughly discussed but not personalities. We want to have a perfect election where no one would have an axe to grind with anybody.

“Once   politicians base their campaigns on issues not personalities and avoid anything capable of causing disaffection, I am confident that we would have foul-free elections.”

He commended Kwankwaso for providing physical infrastructure in the last four years and described the Kwankwasiyya City as one of the modern edifices in the current democratic dispensation.

OLAMIDE WELCOMES NEW SON

YBNL boss Olamide and fianceé Adebukunmi Aisha Suleiman welcomed their bouncing baby boy on Friday, January 30, 2015.

Bukunmi took delivery of the child at St Ives Hospital, Ikeja. Mother and child are said to be doing fine. The couple have already christened the child  his name is Olamidele.

An excited Olamide shared the good news on his Instsgram page:

“Mercy said no, never gonna let you go. Never gonna let you walk away, you don’t have to be afraid , mercy said no. Got you boy New signee #YBNL Batifeori Maximilliano Adedeji”, he wrote