Thursday, July 31, 2014

DOING ALL NEEDED TO CHECK TERROR : Cameroon sacks 2 military chiefs over Boko Haram .... TheNews


President Paul Biya  of Cameroon has dismissed two senior army officers in the country’s far north following Boko Haram attacks in which at least seven people were killed and the wife of a senior politician was kidnapped.
Militants of the Nigerian Islamist group seized the wife of Cameroon’s vice prime minister, Ali Amadou and killed at least three persons  on Sunday in an attack in the northern town of Kolofata involving more than 200 assailants. At least four soldiers were killed in two separate raids late last week.
According to the decree, announced over state radio, Colonel Youssa Gedeon, commander of the Gendarmerie Legion in the north, and Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Ngonga, commander of the 34th motorised infantry battalion in the same region, were both dismissed.
Both officers were at the forefront of Cameroon’s response to the rising number of Boko Haram attacks in the region. Nigeria says the militants are using Cameroon as a rear base.
Cameroon has already introduced measures to increase security on its long, jungle border with Nigeria, deploying more than 1,000 soldiers, but has failed to stop the raids.

WOMEN BEWARE OF WHOM YOU DATE ... Police Finally Arrest Romeo Killer Of Lagos Rich Biz Woman And Made Away With Her $50,000,Rover Jeep In Cote d Ivoire ... CKN

Late Lizzy

Her resident where the murder took place

On Monday 21st July 2014, The Nigeria Police Area ‘E Command Festac responded to an emergency call at Amuwo Odofin involving the murder of Mrs. Njideka Lizzy – a divorcee and mother of 4. Once on scene, officers say they found the strangulated body of the victim lying lifelessly in her apartment. The remain of Mrs. Njideka Lizzy was immediately deposited at the nearest morgue while the Nigeria police Festac embarked on an intensive investigation and manhunt for her killer.
The gatekeeper at the deceased residence, who is also the prime witness, told the police that the suspect was not just a familiar and regular visitor but also considered a  family friend. Hence, he never suspected anything as he opened the gate for the 33-year-old Kelechi Eze who hurriedly drove off in the deceased Range Rover SUV jeep at about 2:30am.
Information gathered by the Festac Police has it that the prime suspect, Mr. Kelechi Eze who was formally based in South Africa hails from Umuorji in Anambra State, and speaks multiple languages fluently including French. Preliminary investigation reported that the murder suspect was a hatchet man and serial killer who was compelled to relocate from South Africa to Ghana after being declared wanted by the South African security authority for grave atrocities.
The deceased family members reported that Mr. Kelechi Eze had been having a consummated relationship with late Mrs. Njideka Lizzy, which accounted for his incessant trips from Ghana to Nigeria. But the relationship turned sour when the suspect - Mr. kelechi Eze proposed marriage to late Mrs. Njideka Lizzy was turned down by the deceased and family members due to some undisclosed reasons.
It is believed that the disparagement of Mr. Kelechi’s marriage proposal by late Mrs. Njideka Lizzy took him aback; hence his sinister agenda to get even by hook or by crook.
The late Mrs. Njideka Lizzy family members further reported that the murder suspect not only snuffed life out of his unsuspecting victim who until death was a manager of Edmark International but also made away with her Range Rover SUV jeep, over $50,000 dollars, valuables worth over N8 million naira and the decease mobile phones and ATM cards amongst others.
The hatchet man and serial killer- Mr Kelechi Eze who at the execution of his sinister agenda at Amuwo Odofin Festac immediately fled Nigeria for Ghana and from Ghana to Côte d'Ivoire was yesterday Tuesday, 29th July 2014 taken into custody by the Côte d'Ivoire security force following an orchestrated forensic auditing investigation, networked tracking and extensive surveillance masterminded by the acclaimed ACP Dan Nkem Okoro and his DPO - Area ‘E Command, Nigeria Police Festac.
In a press conference in Ghana, the IGP of the Ghana Police Service - Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, and the Côte d'Ivoire security force commended ACP Dan Okoro of the Nigeria Police Force Area ‘E command for his flawless forensic prowess and disposition in solving crimes and concerted efforts to ensuring that criminals have no hiding place in Africa and beyond.
He further asserted that the murder suspect- Mr. Kelechi Eze who has been handed to the Ghanaian Security Force by the Côte d'Ivoire National Security Force shall in turn be processed and securely transported to Nigeria for further prosecution and execution.
On receiving the news of the apprehension of the dreaded serial killer, the entire residents of Amuwo Odofin, especially the immediate families, friends and colleagues of late Mrs. Njideka Lizzy applauded ACP Dan Nkem Okoro (Area ‘E Commander) and the Festac Police force for their ingenuity and responsiveness over the arrest of Mr. Kelechi Eze within one week of the incidence. And in the same vein thanked the IGP of the Nigeria Police for his God-discerned decision in posting such officers to Amuwo Odofin local government area.

A HARVEST OF INCOMPETENCE, THE SHAME OF A NATION ... Chibok 100+ days: The sad reality by Bukky Shonibare ... Peoples'sDaily

boko-kidnap-School-Chibok-girls
It has been emotionally zapping for me to wrap my mind around the fact that we actually hit 100 days, and still counting, since the abduction of our precious girls. Apparently we are the ones that were not prepared for this level of crime; but the abductors were, because it is definitely not child’s play to camp hundreds of hostages for 100+ days! This reality then forces one to ask: how long shall we still wait? That the 2015 general elections are just few months down the line makes it more difficult for the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners to have constructive engagements with some of the critical government/political stakeholders, who erroneously view the campaign through political lenses. It is high time government understood the important seats that citizens occupy in a democracy as well as the need to always use our most significant and available tool – our voices!
While I admit that this level of insurgency is new to Nigeria and that this current administration inherited the problem, it’d be foolhardy to wave aside the fact that this devilish crime has become awkwardly rampant in recent times and this is definitely unbearable for a democratically fragile nation as Nigeria. We also know this is a learning curve for us all, which makes it best that we avoid divisive efforts, rather a collective one where all hands are allowed to be on deck to combat this common enemy. This fight, however, must start from the top, as we cannot disassociate the huge negative impact of corruption on the eventual outcome. There has to be an holistic approach to end terrorism in Nigeria, lest we only pluck out leaves whereas the tree generating the leaves is deeply rooted.
Section 14 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is apt in conveying the angle of responsibility and the need to take ownership of this situation. It says: “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government…” The phrase ‘primary purpose’ indicates that above every other responsibility of the government, the security and welfare of the people must be prioritized. It also clarifies that the entity with the responsibility and constitutional authority to #BringBackOurGirls is the Federal Government.
Taking our protest to the insurgents, as advised, is a misdirected action to dignify an heartless group. Moreover, that we keep demanding #BringBackOurGirls from the government means we have reposed our confidence on them to achieve what we seek. Besides, we never voted a political party called ‘Boko Haram’ or a candidate called ‘ Abubakar Shekau’, so it becomes a sheer display of sarcasm to hear/read intellectual-shallow statements like: ‘take your protest to Boko Haram/Sambisa Forest.” Does the government realize that doing so invariably means that we have erroneously abdicated the responsibility of the protection of lives and properties to a deadly sect?
The #BringBackOurGirls campaign has received condemnation for being against the current administration and hostile in so doing. We must be guided and know that demanding accountability is totally different from being anti-government. We rallied and voted this particular government into power – I, particularly, voted for the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan, and this was because I believed and hoped that I, alongside other Nigerians in my shoes, would experience the breath of fresh air that was promised. So, when what is seen and experienced is a far cry from what was promised, it is only legitimate to ask questions and demand accountability.
I strongly believe in the maxim: injury to one is injury to all; hence my unwavering commitment to the #BringBackOurGirls cause. That the Chibok girls are not related to most of the campaigners and well-meaning supporters is definitely not crying more than the bereaved, as has been opined. We believe in the spirit of brotherhood where we are each other’s keeper; and we will never allow that narrative to see the light of day, where our locus standi and legitimacy is questioned. We are one Nigeria, and one Nigeria shall we remain. It is therefore my greatest hope that the current administration permanently break the lenses of politics with which the #BringBackOurGirls campaign is seen and judged, and come to a point where they appreciate the campaigners for altruistically risking it all to ensure the whole world beams its spotlight on Nigeria and join hands with us in the quest to #BringBackOurGirls, and end the broader issue of terrorism.
As we anxiously await the return of our girls, it is imperative to ensure that we have holistic readiness systems in place for their immediate process of reintegration. This, for me, is in three forms: Family Readiness: Immediate family members, and relatives of the girls must be emotionally and psychologically ready to receive and cohabit with them. 100+ days is long enough to cause some distortion in what they were used to before their unfortunate abduction. Care and patience must be displayed in helping the girls re-align back to their family system, and this can be achieved through choice of words, conduct, expressions, and ability to accommodate and correct any unexpected actions. Also, government must be ready and willing to assist families in their readiness by considering relocation/resettlement plans (where necessary) as well as financial support and assistance for sustainable income-generating activities, among others. The second is the Societal Readiness. It is important for the girls to return to a society that will empathize and not stigmatize them on the account of any abuse they may have experienced or blame them for not being brave enough to escape like others. The third and most crucial is the Institutional Readiness. It is essential that government consider the role of all three tiers of government in readiness for the return of our girls. The executive must ensure all relevant stakeholder institutions have in place systems to guarantee the girls’ immediate process of rehabilitation and reintegration in psychological therapy, education, health/medical, etc as well as security systems so that the girls can return to a safe and secured society and never have to fear a repeat, similar, or worse experience. The legislative arm must institute policies that will further protect them and others; for instance the passage of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Bill. The judiciary must enforce policies and ensure correctional and punitive measures against the abductors and other insurgents. Our religious homes (churches and mosques) are non-government institutions with huge role to play in the reintegration of our girls, when they soon return.
I hope Nigerians know that we currently have 57 courageous ‘Malalas’ in Chibok (and 219 others in captivity) all waiting to be brushed up and showcased to the world to hear and be inspired by their stories of bravery, tenacity, and hope. I humbly ask that we always pray for the President and our leaders, so they make right decisions so that our girls can be brought back within the shortest possible time, and the challenge of insurgency/terrorism in Nigeria will soon be a thing of the past.
Bukky Shonibare is on linledIn

OSUN POLITICS AND THE DISPENSATION OF ALL KINDS OF INFRASTRUCTURE : Aregbesola Empowers Okada Riders to the Tune of 57.5million naira .... Distributes motorcycles to create more Okada riders ... OsunDefender

Aregbesola Empowers Okada Riders to the Tune of 57.5million naira
By Adebayo Rasheed Mabayoje
In another effort towards empowering the people and boosting the Osun economy, governor Rauf Aregbesola today announced the distribution of 500 motorcycles worth 57.5million naira to commercial motorcycle riders in the state.
The development is contrary to allegation from the opposition that Osun government plans to ban motorcycle transportation in the state.
Addressing the mammoth gathering of commercial motorcycle operators and other members of the public at the Nelson Mandela freedom park in Osogbo, Governor Rauf Aregbesola reiterated the commitment of his government towards banishing poverty and unemployment in the state.
He said every action and steps of his administration towards banishing hunger and making life better for the people of the state have been already mapped out before assuming office.
While urging the the different factions of the commercial motorcycle riders to come together and form only a body to be known as “Osun Okada Riders Association” the Governor pointed out that it is the only way by which they can enjoy more benefits from the government.
He then explained that each rider that will be given a motorcycle is expected to make a daily payment of 500 naira to an account at Sterling bank everyday till they complete the amount for each motorcycle without interest, this according to the Governor will enable their association to buy more motorbikes for other members who don’t have.
The Governor used the occasion to announce that the present administration in the state will not relent in its efforts towards making life better and meaningful for the people of the state.
He urged electorates in the state to be law abiding before, during and after the August 9 elections, stressing that they should not feel intimidated by the presence of security Personnel in the state as they have only been deployed to the state to maintain peace during the forthcoming elections.
The state helmsman also charged the people to troop out enmass on election day to perform their civic duties while also calling on them to ensure that they monitor their votes to make it count.
Also speaking, the state Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Prince Gboyega Famoodun stated it is in recognition of the efforts of the commercial motorcycle riders towards economic growth that government decided to embark on the project.
He enjoined them to continue to be law abiding and disciplined while doing their job.
In their separate remarks, the leadership of the various associations under the aegis of “Accomoron, Mutum and Anacowa” led by their various chairmen, Prince Olu Agunsoye, Comrade Gbemiga Ajenifuja and Comrade Jimoh Rasheed respectively all expressed appreciation to the Governor for the gesture which they said will go a long way in alleviating poverty in the state.
The programme was attended by thousands of excited commercial motorcycle riders popularly called “Okada” who thronged the Nelson Mandela freedom park”

EBOLA SCARE HITS ANAMBRA : Ebola In Anambra? Govt Seals Hospital, Quarantines Staff ... InformationNigeria

The discovery of a corpse of an indigene of Anambra State in Nkwelle Ezunaka, Oyi Council Area of the state has raised fears that the dreaded Ebola virus may have entered the state.
The corpse was said to have been brought in cargo into the town from Liberia and deposited in the morgue of one Apex hospital at the weekend by relatives of the deceased, who were said to be making arrangement for his burial ceremony.
In a move to forestall an outbreak, the Anambra state Government today (Thursday) sealed off the hospital and the mortuary and quarantined the workers and the in-patients on the suspicion that the corpse might be a victim of Ebola having been brought in a Cargo from Liberia, one of the countries in the West African sub-region prevalent with the Ebola virus.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Josephat Akabuike said in Awka that the hospital was shut down when an informant from the community who suspected that the corpse must have been a victim of Ebola disease in Liberia informed the state government that a corpse was brought into the community from the West African Country.


According to him, the informant was aware of the effects of the Ebola disease in Liberia and as a matter of fact was responding to the announcements the state government had been making since the disease became public knowledge.

HERE WE GO AGAIN : Female Suicide Bombers Are Not Chibok Girls, FG Says .... VanguardNews


The Federal Government, Wednesday, took steps to douse anxiety over the possibility that Boko Haram insurgents are using the abducted Chibok girls as female suicide bombers.
Female bombers have carried out series of attacks on Kano city in the last five days, fuelling fears that those involved could be some of the girls being held by the terrorists.
Also, former education minister, and co-coordinator of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has expressed fears that the abducted Chibok girls may be indoctrinated or coerced into being used as suicide bombers.
She said on her twitter page recently: “It feels like eternity since April 14 when our girls lost their freedom. How can we move on like that? This new trend and pattern of female suicide bombers surely should particularly worry us. Female suicide bombers are again and again becoming the trend and our Chibok girls are still in the enemy’s den.
“It worries me stiff. Are we thinking? Our Chibok girls really need to be rescued from the clutches of evil. We must all not stop praying and demanding that the Federal Government acts for results. We have no apology for being agitated. We have nothing to defend for crying out for their rescue.”
However, Co-ordinator of National Information Centre, Mike Omeri, during a routine security briefing, alongside representatives of security forces in Abuja, vehemently denied the insinuation.
“The use of Chibok girls by Boko Haram is actually not true,” Omeri sharply responded to a question asked by a journalist at the briefing.
Also, Omeri confirmed the arrest of a minor female suicide bomber in Katsina State by security forces.
He said three Boko Haram suspects were arrested,Tuesday, July 29, 2014, at about 10p.m. along Zaria Road, Tudun Wada area of Funtua metropolis.
The suspects, according to him, include a male, Iliya Dahiru, and two females, Zainab Musa, 18, and Hadiza Musa, 10.
“The three suspects were arrested in a Honda CRV car. When they were directed to disembark for security checks, 10 year-old Hadiza was discovered to have been strapped with an explosive belt and immediately, Iliya and Zainab attempted to escape with the car, but were later blocked by other concerned Nigerians, and subsequently arrested. The Police successfully unstrapped the explosives.
“It is on this note that we appeal to parents to consciously observe and watch their children’s activities to prevent them from participating in unwholesome activities, particularly acts of terrorism,” he said.

PROUD TO BE NIGERIAN ... Amaru - Naija Boy ... A Must Watch Video.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

YOU CAN FOOL SOME PEOPLE SOMETIMES BUT YOU CAN'T FOOL ALL THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIMES : Nigeria Has Failed At Fighting Terrorism – US ... LeadershipNews

 President Jonathan and Obama
The United States government yesterday said that the Federal Government of Nigeria has failed in its fight against terrorism, adding that the failure was a result of the inability of the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration to adequately equip and train security forces to contain violent extremist groups in the north who attacked religious freedom.
Making this known in the US International Religious Report for 2013, which was released in Washington, DC, yesterday, secretary of state John Kerry said that the federal government did not act swiftly or effectively to prevent or quell communal or religious-based violence and only occasionally investigated and prosecuted perpetrators of that violence.
“The government also failed to protect victims of violent attacks targeted because of their religious beliefs or for other reasons,” the report a copy of which was sent to our correspondent in New York said.
Citing instances, the report said legal proceedings against five police officers charged in 2011 with the extrajudicial killing of Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf did not resume during the year, adding that the court was not in session on continuation dates set in February, March, May, and June after the presiding judge transferred to a different jurisdiction in 2012.
It stated further that there were no indictments or prosecutions following three fatal attacks on high-profile Muslim leaders in late 2012.
It pressed further that local and state authorities did not deliver adequate protection or post-attack relief to rural communities in the northeast, where Boko Haram killed villagers and burned churches throughout the year.
The report also berated reported discrimination and a systematic lack of protection by state governments, especially in central Nigeria, where communal violence rooted in decades-long competition for land pitted majority-Christian farmers against majority-Muslim cattle herders.
It added that federal, state, and local authorities did not effectively address underlying political, ethnic, and religious grievances leading to this violence.
“Recommendations from numerous government-sponsored panels for resolving ongoing ethno-religious disputes in the Middle Belt included establishing truth and reconciliation committees, redistricting cities, engaging in community sensitization, and ending the dichotomy between indigenes and settlers. Nationwide practice distinguished between indigenes, whose ethnic group was native to a location, and settlers, who had ethnic roots in another part of the country.
“Indigenes and settlers often belonged to different religious groups. Local authorities granted indigenes certain privileges, including preferential access to political positions, government employment, and lower school fees, based on a certificate attesting to indigene status. The federal government did not implement any recommendations despite ongoing calls by political and religious leaders to do so” the report read.
Furthermore, the US report noted that the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, or “people committed to the propagation of the prophet’s teachings and jihad” continued to commit violent acts in its quest to overthrow the government and impose its own religious and political beliefs throughout the country, especially in the north.
“Boko Haram killed more than 1,000 persons during the year. The group targeted a wide array of civilians and sites, including Christian and Muslim religious leaders, churches, and mosques, using assault rifles, bombs, improvised explosive devices, suicide car bombs, and suicide vests.
“An attack on the Emir of Kano in January was widely believed to be an attempt by Boko Haram to silence the anti-extremist Muslim leader, although the group did not officially claim responsibility. On September 28, Boko Haram killed at least 50 mostly Muslim students at a technical college in rural Yobe State. After this and other incidents, security forces faced public criticism for arriving at the scene hours after the assailants had fled.
“Government attempts to stop Boko Haram were largely ineffective. Actions taken by security forces under the state of emergency, declared in May in the three northeastern states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa, often increased the death toll, as bystanders were caught in crossfire during urban gunfights, security forces committed extrajudicial killings of suspected terrorists, and detainees died in custody,” the report noted.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

TRAGIC PHOTOS FROM HAMZA EL RUFAI'S ROAD ACCIDENT IN ABUJA. ... DareLasisiBlog

Photos From El-Rufai"s Hamza Car Accident!






Photos herein from the fatal accident at Kubwa, Abuja involving El-rufai's son Hamza this morning. The crash which occurred at about 5:30 am involved a black Lexus car belonging to Hamza and a stationery Volkswagen Sharon, blue colour. Two persons were involved. Only Hamza died. May his soul rest in peace! Amen





Photo Credit : Nairaland.


THE AGE OF ALTARTAINMENT AND ALTARTAINERS IN THE HOUSE OF GOD : Unbelievable : Female Bishop Touches Pastor's Privates During Church Service In Ghana [Pictured] ... ReportGhanaNews


According to ReportGhanaNews, the Pastor(pictured above) was preaching to his congregation on a Sunday morning then he ask people with health problems to stand up and come close to touch a specific place on his body for healing.

While everyone was touching the Pastor's head, shoes and shoulder; this woman, a bishop of same congregation decided to hold the pastor's pen*s for healing.

The Pastor ask why she hold his pen*s and the woman said, "her husband pen*s is not working anymore so she believes when she hold the Pastor's pen*s, her husband's would be healed." Then the pastor shouted, hallelujah somebody. Can you blame the lady, wasn't she obeying simple instruction?

AN EXPECTED ACTION FROM ANY SELF RESPECTING LEADERSHIP : Security operatives in Cameroon have rescued wife of Vice Prime Minister ... 18 Persons Killed in Operation : DailyTrust


Security operatives in Cameroon have rescued wife of Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali who was kidnapped by the Boko Haram sect on Sunday along with a traditional ruler of Kolofata town, reports BBC Hausa Service.
The reports say that 16 people lost their lives in the rescue operations, although Cameroon information minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said government was still investigating the matter to ascertain the actual number of people killed.
The Boko Haram members carry out attacks in northern part of Cameroon from Nigeria where they established their base in the Sambisa Forest.
Last week, a Cameroonian court sentenced 14 members of the sect to 20 years imprisonment after they were arrested with weapons in March around Marwa in northern Cameroon, says the BBC Hausa report.
A local religious leader and mayor, Seini Boukar Lamine, was also kidnapped in a separate attack on his home.
Three people were killed during the daring raid.
Boko Haram fighters clashed with the Cameroonian army in cross-border attacks twice since Friday, killing four soldiers.
Cameroon has deployed more than 1,000 soldiers along its border to help combat the Nigerian armed group.

Monday, July 28, 2014

CASTING SPELLS FOR 2015 : Buhari for President 2015 contact office opens in Abuja ... ThisDayNews

buhari
Former Head of State, retired General Muhammadu Buhari and his loyalists seemed set to kick-start the campaign for his presidential aspiration on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC), with the opening of a contact office in Abuja.
The office,  a rented apartment located at No. 34 Lobito Crescent, off Adetokunbo Ademola Way in Wuse II, was opened without fanfare a few weeks ago.
THISDAY gathered that Buhari was persuaded to also hire a residential accommodation in an undisclosed area in Asokoro so that he could have more time to stay and interact with political stakeholders in Abuja.
One of his associates who spoke to THISDAY yesterday said the former Head of State was being pressured to declare his bid early enough before the congress that will produce delegates at the Presidential convention scheduled  for later this year.
Buhari does not reside in Abuja as he often shuttles between his base in Kaduna and Abuja to attend political meetings, a situation his political associates viewed as not being convenient and healthy under the circumstance.
“Buhari is going to run and there is no doubt about it. We, his supporters will insist that he runs even if he saying otherwise. Majority of the party supporters believe that he is the right person to run for the presidency if APC is desirous of changing the administration in Aso Rock,” said the source.
On the plan to launch the presidential bid, the source said before the bomb incident, Buhari had concluded plans to formally declare his interest after Ramadan festivities. He said the former Head of State also planned to relocate to Abuja so that he can properly coordinate his campaign strategy.

AS THE GALE OF IMPEACHMENTS BLOW ACROSS THE LAND : Imo gov, Rochas Okorocha faces impeachment ... Imo lawmakers vow to impeach Okorocha …No such thing, says Owelle’s aide ... SunNews

Okorocha 12
Barely two weeks after the impeachment of Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako and the sack notice given to Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura a week ago, both of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), their colleague in Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha is being threatened to be removed by the state lawmakers.
In Al-Makura’s case, the House of Assembly has asked the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Suleiman U. Dikko to raise a seven-member panel to investigate alleged allegations of misconduct against him, he did that at the weekend.
In Imo State also at the weekend, there was tension as members of the Assembly vowed to commence impeachment proceedings against Owelle Okorocha for allegedly with­holding their entitlements since he became governor in 2011.
A competent source told Daily Sun at the weekend that the state legisla­tors who are scheduled to return on September 9 are spoiling for a show­down with Governor Okorocha if he fails to pay them the arrears of their entitlements of about N420million, The lawmakers said they would have no choice, but to commence Okoro­cha’s impeachment.
According to the source, the lawmakers held another meeting last Friday where they resolved to use any legal means including the threat of impeachment to force Governor Okorocha pay them.
“At the last meeting of the lawmak­ers last Friday, July 25, they resolved that they must use whatever legal means to collect their entitlements which Governor Okorocha has refused to pay them since he assumed office in 2011 in the name of Rescue Mission. Before this time, the legislators have made several appeals to the governor through the leadership of the House that lawmakers have to be paid their allowances and the alleged slashing of their salaries by the governor to fund his free education programme since 2011”.
Although, the Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Uwajimogu and his deputy, Donatus Ozoemena, were said not to be part of the alleged plan by the 24 out of the 26 lawmakers excluding Oguta constituency where election matter is still pending in court, the lawmakers were united in their resolve to impeach Okorocha.
They have also vowed not to accept any payment which is not cash and they are also determined to equally impeach the Speaker should he stand on their path.
“If the Speaker stands in the way, he is going to be bulldozed along with the governor, anything short of cash will not be acceptable” the source said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Hon. Acho Ihim, has dismissed the alleged impeachment plot, describing it as baseless and malicious.
He, however, confirmed the dispar­ity in the salary of the current lawmak­ers and their predecessors.
He said, “during the administration of Chief Ikedi Ohakim, the House took a loan and it was deducted monthly from the salaries of lawmak­ers, so when we came in, the Clerk of the House was changed and a new one who was not properly briefed about the loan repayment, started paying with the records he met on ground.
According to him, when it was discovered, we quickly wrote the governor, who promised to intervene and he has done that. For instance, we were paid normal salary in June. The governor is ready to pay, all he is ask­ing for is a little time because the mon­ey is much. It is about N18 million per lawmaker. It is true that there could be agitation, but it has not amounted to impeaching anybody”.
Similarly, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, Senior Special Assistant (Media) to Okorocha, dismissed the allegation, saying the governor has a cordial relationship with members of the As­sembly.
“How can it be true, there is no such thing, you can verify from the Assem­bly members, the state government has a good working relationship with them and I don’t think anybody is plotting any impeachment, for what, on a gov­ernor who is performing, it is not true my brother,” Onwuemeodo said.

FOR THE RECORDS ... A RIPOSTE TO THOSE MISGUIDED NIGERIAN PALESTINIANS : A Letter to that Nigerian-Palestinian, By Gimba Kakanda ... PremiumTimes

My participation in #BringBackOurGirls shows me the hypocrisy of our Muslim brothers and sisters who, dismissing our hashtags as a gimmick, are now loud champions of #FreePalestine.
——————————–
Dear Friend,
Before you accuse me of finding nothing worth praising about you and yours, let me quickly empathise with you, and of course myself, over the killings in Gaza. You, as a humanist, one whose empathy has no border, are a citizen of the world, one of the reasons the earth is still habitable by the sane. It would be morally irresponsible for anyone to frown at your frantic advocacy which seeks an end to the killings in Gaza, only that common sense demands a man whose house is on fire to rush for the extinguisher for his own dwelling first, before attending to a similar fire elsewhere.
London stands up for Gaza, because London is not bereaved. New York stands up for Gaza because New York isn’t being threatened by hurricane-at least now. Palestine would not stand up for Chibok girls because they also have a strip of misery in which they are just as worthless: Gaza. And the young Malala Yousafzai who came and roused the conscience of her fathers in Nigeria, was not here as a Pakistani as you have announced in defending your geographically insensitive activism from my “secular advocacy”. She was here as a Birmingham, England-based NGO owner, to stand with the girls of Nigeria in whose education Malala Fund has invested thousands of dollars. She has, as the news says, even “offered to partner with the UN efforts to mitigate the impacts of the abduction and help the girls (whose welfare is a responsibility of her NGO) return to school.”
You see, it’s not the way you internationalise your empathies that disturbs me, it’s this seeming pretence that all is well in your backyard while you weep over the blazing fire in faraway Gaza. If you, and others like you, had been half as passionate and emotional in your reaction to local tragedies as you are over the killings in Palestine, the troubles in the northeastern Nigeria wouldn’t have escalated to its present extent. The Palestinians, and their global solidarity soldiers, have gone berserk over the burning of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khudair, their citizen, and you, amnesiac activist of a burning nation, have also been losing sleep over Khudair, ignoring the tens of Khudairs who die in your backyard every day!
It’s not the internationalisation of your empathies that disturbs me, it’s your lack of wisdom to understand that Khudair has his fighters — and he’s fully named, his age too revealed –while all the killed and abducted Dantalas and Asma’us and Johns and Naomis of Yobe and Borno are seen as mere statistics, unworthy of collective advocacy by you.
Ours is not a criticism of the northern establishment, but that of its hypocritical allegiance to “brotherhood of faith”, which is what you say in your solidarity with the Palestinians, ignoring that we’re just as bereaved here, and unknowing that Palestine is also a home for non-Muslims. But, wait, what sort of a human being is responsive to the tragedies that fall upon just the people of his faith?
Ours is a criticism of the collective, not of a specific group. This is a reminder that we have not done enough, not a declaration that we have not done anything at all. It’s a criticism of me and you who, safe from the bullets of Boko Haram, have not done anything comparable to the emotions shown in the sensitivity of our countrymen to the happening in Gaza. Are you, my dear global citizen, trying to say that we, especially resident northerners, need CNN and Aljazeera to remind us that there are carnages going on in our backyard before we acknowledge them?
Haven’t we all lost friends and friends of friends and relatives and relatives of relatives in this madness? What media is more effective than being actually bereaved? The most effective media is our emotions, and on this I dare say that we haven’t shown and done enough. My participation in #BringBackOurGirls shows me the hypocrisy of our Muslim brothers and sisters who, dismissing our hashtags as a gimmick, are now loud champions of #FreePalestine.
See, we are as bereaved as the people of Palestine and it’s quite ironic that, instead of gathering our lots to empathise with ourselves first and demand solutions and justice, we pretend as though all’s well in our house. Why are the people of Palestine not empathising with the people of Borno if our “brotherhood of faith” is actually reciprocal? Why? I repeat: why aren’t the people of Palestine extending their “brotherhood of faith” to us in the hours of our bereavements? The Palestinians have never stopped fighting. They have their men up and running against oppression. Who’s up fighting for us, especially for Chibok and the larger northeast? Why leaving these campaigns against Boko Haram’s terrors to just the members of Civilian JTF and #BringBackOurGirls campaigners?
You even said that no atrocity is more than that going on in Gaza, and I ask: is there an experience worse than having minors abducted, savagely raped and impregnated by terrorists? Saying that no atrocity is as bad as that in Gaza means that the sanctity of a Palestinian’s life is higher than that of a Nigerian’s. And that, fellow countryman, is an unfortunate and disturbing utterance.
Similarly, you have to be really careful in your advocacy. At least get relevant history books to properly understand the religious and political complexity of the territorial conflicts that have turned Gaza into a prison-mortuary. Your alignment with the Palestinians, your brothers-in-faith, may lead you into something called anti-Semitism. And you also need to understand that it’s the peak of such misguided hatred that resulted into the formation of a racist ideology that once sought to promote the “Aryan” German race as the best of humans. Nazism, consequently, championed the killings of the innocent Jews, who were considered threats to proposed German nationalism.
In your analyses of the happenings in Gaza, you have, quite sadly, pandered to a way of the Hitler-led Aryan racists who considered the Jewish race abolishable pests.
Do have restraint in understanding that the happenings in Israel is not a crime perpetrated, and supported, by the whole of Jews. It’s a crime perpetrated by a monstrous ideology championed by a people of Jewish identity, just the way Nazism was not supported by the whole of Germans, but by a small but powerful National Socialist party clique. If you’re to adopt this form of flawed thinking in portraying ethnic or religious groups, obviously the whole of Muslims should be similarly persecuted for the crimes of Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabbab, the Taliban and even Boko Haram who all pretend to be advocates of rights for the Muslim!
Hate the Israelis who, under Zionism, did to Palestinians what the Nazis did to the Jews, but do not go close to hating the whole of Jews. Saying I hate the Jews means I hate some significant figures that shaped me, mine and the larger world. Saying I hate the Jews means I hate Jesus, who in my theology is Isah (AS), needed to authenticate my belief; saying I hate the Jews means I hate Moses (AS), similarly needed; saying I hate the Jews is an ingratitude to Albert Einstein’s contribution to science; saying I hate the Jews is an ingratitude to Sergey Brin, the founder of Google, whose invention has redeemed me in ways I’m incapable of repaying; saying I hate the Jews is also an ingratitude to Mark Zuckerberg whose innovation is the reason you and I are “friends” – even though we’ve never met – sharing thoughts on the ways of the world.
As long as you’re on Facebook, and employ Google to aid your quests for knowledge, both creations of inventors of Jewish identity, declaring that you hate the Jews is a contradiction, a joke clearly on you. And, as Muslims, your faith is threatened the moment you withhold your love for Jesus and Moses.
Don’t let a criminal be a representative of his race, religion and nationality. This approach, this dangerous stereotyping, has been the reason for these many conflicts we are still unable to resolve in this damned world. We must embrace our humanity, the only thing we all have in common, if we’re indeed interested in resolving our racial, religious, political, regional, territorial and ethnic conflicts!
Unlike you, whenever I see a group of people, the first identity that strikes me is the human, not the religious, not the political, not the racial, and obviously not the ethnic. Aside from my immediate family, my next closest family are the righteous people, people always in pursuit of Justice without discrimination, and of their other identities I’m unmindful.
I’ve long overcome the naiveté of hating a people based on the crimes of a group of which they are non-compliant members, just the way I don’t owe any non-Muslim and southerner apology for the atrocities of the Boko Haram. I only owe them explanation, defence, solidarity and empathy. My seeming silence over the killings in Gaza is simply because I’ve also been mourning, and also holed up in a mess of immeasurable depth. The Palestinians, I know, have global solidarity soldiers fighting for them. But, beyond hashtags, who are actually fighting for the redemptions of this place in which we don’t need a visa to reside?
This week, at our Abuja’s #BringBackOurGirls sit-in, as I listened to Oby Ezekwesili, a woman whose public service records never really attracted my curiosity, but I’ve come to like as a humanist and patriot of impressive resilience, lament on the fate and conditions of the abducted girls and the dysfunctionality of the system in charge of our safety, something within me collapsed. So I withdrew from the crowd, hoping that could stem it, but I still couldn’t fight the tears. And that was how I left the sit-in, broken. This is because, in the cruel politics of migrations in this century, I have no home other than Nigeria, and the tragedy that befalls a fellow countryman, irrespective of his/her religious and ethnic and regional affiliations, is a shared grief.
I’m not inconsiderate to your reference to “brotherhood of faith” in standing for the people of Gaza, but I will never ever stand for them simply because we’re of the same religion. My own version of that excuse of yours is: “faith in the universal brotherhood of Man.” I only empathise with them because of a shared humanity. As for those who rightly explain that humanity has no border, which I also endorse, my belief in yours may only be confirmed if you also recognise the conditions of the Iraqi Christians who’re now fleeing Mosul, for they have been told by the ISIS animals to convert to Islam or lose their lives. Many of you are in Abuja, but participating in #BringBackOurGirls is seen as a “waste of time”, insulting those who defy the tasks of their 9-to-5 daily to be a part of the campaign, ignorant of the impending dangers, the danger of becoming refugees in your own city!
Yet, some of you have sought to typify my refusal to label corpses in order to know which deserves my empathy as simply a bid to earn a medal from the non-Muslims I’ve been struggling so hard, according to you, to impress; some of the same non-Muslims who, in a spark of mischief, have in their turn called me an “Islamic propagandist”, whatever that is, for condemning the profiling of northerners in the East, for endorsing a Muslim as presidential candidate… But I’m indifferent to their malicious labeling just as I’ve been to yours because you’re both incapable of denying me the rights to such expressions.
Humanity is still a joke because of this army of cerebrally malfunctioned brothers and sisters to whom we’re seen as hypocrites merely trying to impress the non-members of our group, for exposing a form of oppressive hypocrisy. Well, my dear friend, I don’t write to influence or change you; my writing is a sport that seeks to prove that I don’t think the way you do, and that the way I think is independent of yours. I hope this would be taken in good faith. May God save us from us!
Follow Gimba Kakanda on Twitter using @gimbakakanda

Sunday, July 27, 2014

A SPECIAL NATION, A SPECIAL PEOPLE : Moonsighting Controversy: Nigeria only country in the world celebrating Eid-El-Fitri today ... PremiumTimes

Crescent Moon Visibility, Saturday, July 27... Photo Credit: www.moonsighting.com
Nigeria is the only country in the world whose Muslim faithful are celebrating Eid-El-Fitri (the end of Ramadan festivities) today following the controversial announcement by the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad, on Saturday night that the new moon of Shawwal was sighted in some cities across the country, PREMIUM TIMES can report today. This newspaper gathered, through extensive investigations and interviews with leading Islamic clerics, that the Ramadan fast in other parts of the world would only end today (Sunday), with the Eid-El-Fitri celebrations holding on Monday. The Chairman of the Nigerian National Moonsighting Committee, Hafiz Wali, as well as a member, Sheikh  Habeebullahi Al-Ilory, told PREMIUM TIMES that in no other country was the sighting of the moon reported by anyone. “It will interest you to know that Nigeria is the only country celebrating Eid-El-Fitri today,” Dr. Wali said. “That is because it is the only country where people claimed they sighted the moon.” Dr. Wali said his committee advised the Sultan that it was impossible for the moon to be sighted on Saturday but that the Sokoto monarch came under pressure from people who claimed they sighted the moon. “By the estimation and calculation of our committee, the moon could not have been sighted and we did not sight it,” the moon sighting committee chairman said. “We gave a report that the moon was not sighted but the Sultan received a lot of messages from people who said they sighted the moon. The Sultan could not tell them they lied. He made his announcement which is the right thing to do.” Mr. Wali said he and his committee would however continue the search for the new moon on Sunday night and that the Sultan and other NSCIA officials would be briefed on the outcome of the exercise. In his own comment, another member of the moon-sighting committee, Sheikh Al-Ilory, the Rector of the Marcaz Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies, said the Sultan’s announcement misled Muslim faithful in the country and made Nigeria the only country on earth observing the Eid celebration on Sunday. “The moon was not sighted anywhere in the world,” Sheikh Al-Ilory said. “As at 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, our committee advised that the moon was not sighted but the Sultan still went ahead to announce the end of Ramadan. I’m just wondering why we have to do this to Islam. Is our own moon different from the rest of the world? “As far as we are concerned, tomorrow (Monday) is Eid-El-Fitri.” Sultan Sa’ad, who is also the President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, had around midnight on Saturday announced the sighting of the new moon and therefore the end of Ramadan. “The new month of Shawwal was sighted in different places within Nigeria and therefore tomorrow (Sunday) is the first day of Shawwal equivalent to 27 July 2014,” the Sultan said in an announcement aired on the Nigerian Television Authority [NTA]. The Sultan made the announcement despite receiving the report of Mr. Wali’s Moon-Sighting Committee that the moon was not sighted. But when contacted after the Sultan’s announcement, the Secretary-General of the organisation, Is-haq Oloyede, a professor of Islamic Studies, said he was not aware that the moon had been sighted. “I spoke to the Sultan about four times tonight and he did not tell me that the moon has been sighted,” Mr. Oloyede told PREMIUM TIMES. “In any case, any such claim is ridiculous and unscientific. It cannot be right. “The National Moonsighting Committee has not informed us of any credible sighting of the moon. Rather, they said the moon wasn’t sighted. The new moon was only born at 11:45 P.M. tonight (Saturday) and it will take several hours for it to be sighted. “Is our own sky different? Is our own moon manufactured in Nigeria?”

ECHOES OF A TORONTO CERTIFICATE : ‘A PhD Holder Who Is Afraid To Participate In A Debate Is A Moron’- APC To Iyiola Omisore ... NewsWireNGR

‘A PhD Holder Who Is Afraid To Participate In A Debate Is A Moron’- APC To Iyiola Omisore
The All Progressives Congress has responded to IyIola Omisore’s reasons for not participating in the American sponsored pre-governorship election debate in Osun last Saturday, describing it as ‘the wisdom of a fool’.
The party went on to describe the candidate of the People’s Democratic party, PDP as a moron for failing to attend the debate, “‘That was why he ran away from the debate – simplicita! His claim to superiority is empty. A so-called PhD holder who is afraid to confront an O’Level opponent in a debate is a moron,”.
Omisore had reportedly claimed that he was supposedly superior to Gov Rauf Aregbesola, which made it a match ‘between two unequal parties’, and inferred that the ‘weaker of the two parties may resort to physical assault and harassment’.
Barr. Kunle Oyatomi, Director of Publicity of the All Progressives Congres said it is disheartening that this remark came after the event at which Aregbesola was majestic and at home with facts and figures on how his administration had prudently managed the economy of the state.
The debate organized for Governorship candidates ahead of the August 9th elections saw only the APC, Candidate in attendance and candidate of the Unity Party of Nigeria but members of other political party refused to show up.
According to Oyatomi, Omisore sounded mean and shallow when he tried to denigrate Aregbesola’s academic qualification that the governor ‘presented O’Level (certificate) to INEC’. “Again, that’s the wisdom of a fool; but for the foolishness embeded in that piece of information is that Omisore’s current certificate presented to INEC was a court affidavit in place of his primary and secondary school certificates.” a statement issued by the party reads.
“In particular, we challenge Omisore to produce his certificates from St John’s Grammar School, Ile Ife and Owo Polythecnic, Ondo State.
‘What moral authority then has a man who till today present court affidavit to show that he went to primary and secondary schools to denigrate another person who he said presented his O’Level certificate to INEC.”
APC Saidm ‘Omisore has missed his greatest chance to convince the world that he is mentally and intellectually mature enough to handle difficult situation under pressure in a robust and critical debate. The truth of the matter is that, like all inadequate personalities, Omisore was and continues to be afraid of confronting Aregbesola who can expose his lies with incontrovertible facts.
The political debate tagged (Manifesto Hour) organized by the International Republican Institute was broadcast live by the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) on Saturday 26/07/2014.

WILL MOUNTAIN OF FIRE AND MIRACLES LET THIS MAN GO BLIND? : MFM Pastor Close To Blindness Cries Out ... SunNews

A 61-year-old Pastor Lawrence Okechukwu Amuruche of the MFM who is close to being blind has narrated his ordeal while crying out for help. 
Amuruche, who pastors the Alakija, Satelite town branch of the MFM, said for over a year, he has been battling with eye cataract which has already grown on one eye and threatening to start growing on the second eye if medical help does not come fast.
mfm-pastor-blind-702x336
The father of two who narrating his ordeal to The Sun said the problem started when he noticed his eyes were always itching him, a which development degenerated into blurry sight later.
According to him: “I noticed my eyes always scratch me and at a point my vision changed, my sight became blurring. I told my wife about it, she looked into my eyes and told me there was a growth forming in my eyes. So, we sought medical advice.”
The optician they visited, for medical advice, informed him that he had developed an eye cataract and that the only way it can be treated is surgery. “I went to an optician in the estate where I live who told me that it is cataract and that the only way out is surgery. Initially, I didn’t know what the problem was because I have not experienced it before and it is not in my lineage. So, we went to Eye Foundation Hospital, Ikeja, for treatment.”
“At the hospital”, Pastor Amuruche continues, “they said I should provide N450,000 per eye. That is N900,000 for the two eyes but I cannot afford it. I did an eye test for which I paid N130,000 pending the time I will get money for the surgery.  But I have not been able to raise money and my situation is getting worse by the day.”
In his quest to seek alternative treatment for his eyes at no cost, Pastor Amuruche embarked on a journey to Isiukwuato LGA, Abia State, when he heard that a group of opticians flew in from the United States to help people with eye problems free-of-charge.
Unfortunately, his effort to get cured was frustrated by the mammoth crowd that besieged the venue. “I spent five days there but I could not do the surgery because the crowd was much. That is how I have been going around for assistance and now it is moving to the other eye”, he stated.
“I have gone to my General Overseer for money to do the surgery. To get him was a problem. It was just last week that I was able to get him. But instead of giving me money to do the surgery, he gave anointing oil, prayer points and water to be washing my face. I told him that I have prayed. I have been doing fasting and have been doing vigils concerning the eyes. But it has been deteriorating. If my coming out to seek for help will lead to my sack, let him sack me and I will go instead of losing my eyes in the name of ministry. And I will not be able to minister, I will not pastor and I will be in the house and they will not pay me.”

A MISSED TARGET IN THE SIEGE ON KANO : Nigeria Police Averts Car Bombing Of Kano Mosque Today ... SaharaReporters ... SEE PHOTOS HERE


Police commissioner Aderenle Shinaba inspects car rigged with explosives iat a media conference in Kano 

The Nigeria police in Kano today said it averted a major catastrophe in Kano, Nigeria as its Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit de-activated a powerful bomb targeting Muslim faithfuls observing the Sallah break.
Briefing newsmen on the discovery of what he described as high-caliber car bomb, the state commissioner of police Mr. Adenrele Shinaba said the causality figure would have been so alarming had the bomb exploded at a time when tens of thousands of Muslims were observing their Eld-El-Fitr prayer at the Mosque.Back of the Peugot 406 car rigged with powerful explosives
The Police commissioner told the media that a Peugeot 406 car rigged powerful explosives had been discovered neatly tucked at the gate of Isiayaku Rabiu Mosque in Goro Dutche quarters in the city. The car had been timed to explode during Eid Fitr’s prayers on Sunday (today).
 The police EOD unit has defused the car bomb with no injury to anyone, the police officer said.Peugeot car rigged with explosive in Kano today