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A bomb explosion occurred in front of the Jimeta main market in Yola Adamawa state at about 7:45pm today June 4th.
Eyewitnesses say the residents of the area had just finished observing their evening prayers at a nearby praying ground when the bomb detonated.
It is believed the explosion was carried out by a male suicide bomber. Unconfirmed reports say as much as ten persons have been certified dead from the blast. Some survivors pictured above.
According to Borno state government's news platform, KSM News, two al jazeera journalists who were detained by the nigerian military were this morning allowed to leave the hotel where they have been detained and have been moved to the state government lodge on the advice of Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima.
The two journalists, Ahmed Idris and Ali Mustafa were detained in their hotel in Maiduguri, by the Nigeria military over allegations of loitering on march 24th 2015..
A bomb explosion has reportedly rocked a polling unit at the WTC Primary School, Enugu, Saturday morning. WTC Primary School is located at Enugu North, one of the municipal local government areas in the Coal City State.
The Anti-bomb disposal unit just detonated one of the bombs as at the time of filling this report. Although journalists are unable to gain entrance to the place, a source said the bomb was laden in a Honda Baby Jeep.
The APC has described as insulting the recent remarks by first lady Patience Jonathan that its presidential candidate, General Buhari is brain dead.
At a PDP Presidential rally in Kogi state on Wednesday March 3rd, the First Lady reportedly described the former Military Leader as brain dead "Wetin him dey find again? Him dey drag with himpikin mate. Old man wey no get brain, him brain don die pata pata.” she reportedly said in pidgin English.
The APC reacted to the insult in a statement released yesterday March 4th, describing her comments as demeaning.
"It is not only insulting for Mrs. Jonathan to describe Buhari as “brain-dead, it is also demeaning of her status as the President’s wife to speak in the manner with which she did. It was discourteous and inexcusable for a wife of any President with a modicum of decency to make such a false and infantile pronouncement about the health status of another man on account of politics.
The APC Presidential Campaign Organization similarly observed that much as indecent and disgraceful as the outbursts of Mrs. Jonathan was in an attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians about her husband’s incompetence to lead the country, it is typical of the PDP’s modus operandi to confuse Nigerians with mundane issues instead of the issues of corruption, for which her husband has achieved an unbeaten record; his appalling lack of capacity to secure life and property of citizens and a glaring incompetence in dealing with the challenges facing the country.”
The statement also said it has observed that the first lady had in recent times continued to make inciting comments during any of the PDP women campaigns According to APC, Mrs. Jonathan had made statements “invoking violence like she did in Calabar over the weekend,when she urged the PDP supporters to stone all those canvassing for change.” The statement called on President Jonathan to caution his wife.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has refuted allegations made against it by Nigeria’s ruling party, PDP, and asked the party to prove them.
The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, PDPPCO, had alleged that the commission was deliberately preventing valid voters in certain sections of the country from getting their Permanent Voter Cards.
The campaign organisation’s spokesperson, Femi Fani-Kayode, said at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday that the PVCS were yet to be imported to Nigeria, and were still in China where they were produced.
Mr. Fani-Kayode added that INEC was deliberately distributing the PVCs in such manner as to disenfranchise many voters from North Central, South-East, South-South and South-West geo-political zones. He claimed those voters were supporters of the PDP candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan.
In his reaction, Kayode Idowu, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, told PREMIUM TIMES that the onus was on PDP campaign to validate its claims. “It is they that should produce proof that we have not produced the cards, because INEC has produced those cards and put them in the public domain. Anybody who says it is not like that should produce proof,” Mr. Idowu said.
While speaking on the millions of registered voters who were yet to collect their PVCs, Mr.Idowu said, “We have extended the collection deadline and people need to make use of that opportunity to come out.” “INEC cannot drag people out of their houses to collect their PVCs. It is for INEC and the media to continue to sound it in the ears of people that they need to make judicious use of this time; otherwise, anyone who does not collect his card will disenfranchise himself,” he added.
The electoral commission had said on Friday that over 70 per cent of the voters’ cards had been distributed. The distribution of the cards was a reason the PDP and some parties and groups called for the postponement of the elections, initially scheduled for February 14 and 28. Although the elections were eventually postponed to March 28 and April 11, that was mainly due to the statement by security agencies that they needed six weeks to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency before the elections are held.
According to premium times Gombe, the capital of Gombe state, is under attack by Boko Haram terrorists. The insurgents, according to witnesses from Gombe, are currently being repelled by soldiers some three kilometres away from the town.
A source from Gombe, Mallam Hassan, told PREMIUM TIMES on phone that “we’ve all rushed back to our homes now. our town is under attack; we heard that Boko Haram terrorists, in their hundreds, are trying to invade the town”.“Everywhere is quiet now, but the sounds of shooting and explosion is deafening. We hear the soldiers are battling to stop them.
Another resident of the town said the sect members are engaged in exchange of fire with a combined team of Nigerian military and mobile police force in Linji village, on the outskirts of Gombe.
A resident, Ahmed Hamza also told PREMIUM TIMES that some young men from Dadin Kowa town earlier informed him that the sect members are attacking their town. “We can hear sounds of gunshots from a distance and everybody has gone indoors now,” he said.
Another source who declined to be named for security reasons also said the insurgents headed towards the Army Barracks along Dadin Kowa road when the Nigerian Army troop engaged them while a detachment of mobile police officers provided back up. The spokesperson of the Police in the state, Fwaje Atajiri, could not be reached for comments at time of this report. The Boko Haram terrorist group has repeatedly attacked the town bombing bus stations and other locations.
Saturday’s attack is coming less than two weeks after a suicide bomber struck in the city shortly after President Goodluck Jonathan campaigned. Mr. Jonathan was in Gombe for a rally that February 2, when a female suicide bomber struck shortly after the campaign train departed. The female suicide bomber and a passerby died in the attack, while six persons were injured, the police said at the time.
In the new schedule announced on Saturday by the Chairman of the commission, Professor Attahiru Jega said that the Presidential Election will hold on March 28 while the Governorship election will hold on April 11.
Professor Jega said that the commission had had wide range consultations with relevant stakeholders before the decision was taken.
He said that the decision of the commission was in the interest of Nigeria’s democracy..
Credit; channelstv.com
THE director general of Buhari campaign organization and Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, has threatened mass action if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) decides today to shift this month’s election.
Amaechi, who said monumental change is about to happen in Nigeria because the vast majority of Nigerians yearn for it, insisted that the presidential election must hold on February 14 because Nigerians are charged and poised to vote on that day for an inevitable change.
He stated this during the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign rally at Isiokpo, the headquarters of his Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. Addressing thousands of APC supporters who had converged for the rally, the governor charged his kinsmen and the people of the State to vote against the president and the Peoples Democratic Party because they are adverse to the rule of law and good governance. “If PDP say there are strong, we are ready for election, let them come out.
APC has said to PDP, let us wrestle; they are running away. “If they try the postponement, we Nigerians will match out on the streets. Nigerians are charged and poised to vote on February 14,” he said. Amaechi, who observed that INEC would be meeting today with critical stakeholders to deliberate on the forthcoming elections, insisted that whether the Federal Government likes it or not, the presidential election must hold on Saturday.
According to him, Nigerians are yearning for freedom from the yoke inflicted on them by the PDP administration, which is endemically corrupt. He told the teeming audience that the APC presidential candidate remains gravely concerned about the incessant attacks on the party’s faithful in the state and has assured them that he would ensure the protection of life and property if he wins the February 14 presidential election.
Monday Agu Jnr ---- Daily Times
Citing the need to defuse the rising tension in the land, among other reasons, the Federal Government is set to shift the coming polls by six weeks, the Daily Times has learnt. The presidential and National Assembly elections are currently scheduled for February 14, while those of the states will hold on February 28, Daily Times authoritatively learnt that under the new proposal, the elections may now hold at the end of March.
The proposed change is hinged on the mounting tension in the country sequel to violent displays at some of the ongoing campaigns across the country. The feeling inside government circles is that there is need to let the tension, which is nearing boiling point in the country at the moment, come down before the election could hold, otherwise there could be an implosion.
Sources say that within the six weeks, efforts will be made to calm frayed nerves and encourage more people to embrace peace. It is feared that the presidential election in particular may lead to an implosion in the country.
The body language in the North suggests a possible repeat of the blood letting that occurred after Jonathan was declared winner of the 2011 election, if the incumbent wins again. It is also feared that a similar turmoil may erupt, especially in the South South, if General Muhammadu Buhari of the All progressives Congress (APC) wins the election.
Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is an Ijaw from the South South area of the country. Besides, there is uncertainty over whether the elections could validly hold in the North Eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa which have been wracked by the Boko Haram insurgency.
There are security concerns over the safety of full-time and ad-hoc staff of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) during the polls.This development was further accentuated by the recent declaration by European Union Election Observers who said they would not be visiting the troubled states over concerns for their safety.
Another reason being adduced for the proposed shift is the non-availability of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) across the states. The fear is that this may end up in the disenfranchisement of many eligible voters.Thus, the Presidency believes that shifting the polls by about six weeks would allow more people to get their PVCs and be eligible to vote.
Indeed, Section 26 (6) of the Electoral Act 2010 stipulates that an election to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be held not earlier than 150 days to the expiration of the date of office and not later than 30 days to the expiration of the office.Thus, if the six weeks shift is finally accepted, it will be within the time stipulated by the Electoral Act as there will be about 60 days before the expiration of the incumbent’s stay in office.
Last month, the National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (Rtd) at a talk shop in the UK mooted the idea of a slight shift in the date of the elections, a development that has sparked heated debates across the country... But now it's only a matter of time to know what the fate of the February 14 Election may be like.
It has just been reported that Boko Haram armies are headed for Maiduguri, capital of Borno state.
A message from a security officer read “Salam, We just got a report that Boko haram will strike Maiduguri tonight. Pls wake up n pray with ur family now. May Allah save us all.”
In the early hours of Saturday, Boko Haram terrorists erased Kambari village, killing 15 citizens and the village head. Kambari village is just 5 kilometers from Maiduguri. The terrorists are believed to be possibly headed to the capital via this route after the many unsuccessful attempts via Konduga.
The terrorists made several unsuccessful attempts on the capital which were thwarted in fierce combats by the Nigerian army and Civilian JTF at Konduga.In one such attack, a Boko Haram leader, “Shekau” double was killed by the Nigerian army.
Nigeria’s president just concluded a visit to Maiduguri in which he had hundreds of soldiers deployed for his protection. It is hoped that these soldiers are still in the capital and will be part of the defense against Boko Haram's Invasion .
Distressingly, Boko Haram burned down the Kambari village while hundreds of troops were stationed in the capital to secure the president of Nigeria’s re-election campaign barely 5 kilometers away.
The terrorists amassed serious weapons, armored tanks and personnel carriers and communications equipment in their successful Raid on Bama barracks early January in an attack that saw them kill over 2500 defenseless civilians.
The terrorists have visibly been more aggressive ahead of the February elections. It is perceived that they are eager to make as much gains as they can before a change in administration to a General Buhari Government that t is expected to be intolerable of their carnage.…God Help us all...
The Boko Haram Islamist sect on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the attack on a multinational military base in Baga, Borno State, during which about 2,000 people were killed on January 3, this year.
The sect leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a new video on You tube also taunted Presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger and Idris Deby of Chad. He also expressed disdain for President Goodluck Jonathan, and the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the February 14 presidential election, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), describing them as infidels.
Shekau, who spoke in Hausa said, “Jonathan, you are in trouble. And Buhari, do you think he is a true Muslim? He’s an infidel.” The insurgents, who invaded Baga early this year, razed many buildings and homes in the week that followed, shooting civilians as they tried to flee, witnesses said.
Some local officials put the death toll as high as 2,000, although the military said it was 150. The video was in the trademark Boko Haram style, with the bearded man claiming to be Shekau in combat fatigues and surrounded by masked gunmen. “We are the ones that carried out the attack and it is just the tip of the iceberg. There are more coming,” he said. On the weapons the insurgents seized from Baga, he said they were enough to annihilate Nigeria.
Soldiers fled the area after the nearby army base, which is the headquarters of a multinational force comprising troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon, by Lake Chad was overrun. Chad and Cameroon are being drawn into the fight against Boko Haram, but mistrust has hampered cooperation.
Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has condemned the escalation of “appalling levels of violence” in the North-East and warned that she would prosecute members of any party responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Bensouda said her office had continued a preliminary examination into allegations that Boko Haram extremists were killing large numbers of civilians, using girls and boys to participate in the conflict and forcing massive numbers of people from their homes. She also warned the Federal Government of its obligation to prosecute crimes that “deeply shock the conscience of humanity.“
No one should doubt my resolve, if need be, to prosecute those individuals most responsible for war crimes or crimes against humanity,” Bensouda said in a statement from the court’s headquarters in The Hague on Tuesday. Boko Haram has increased the ferocity and tempo of its attacks in recent weeks, with international outrage over reports that as many as 2,000 civilians may have been systematically slaughtered in the January 3, 2015 attack on Baga town and the military base at the border with Cameroon.
The sect had also increased attacks on Cameroon, raising fears that the conflict was spreading and prompting the country to deploy troops to defend its borders with Nigeria. Niger’s Foreign Minister, Bazoum Mohamed, told a meeting on Tuesday of the Economic Community of West African States to discuss a collective response to Boko Haram, saying that the Islamic militants are no longer a Nigerian problem but they threaten the security of the region.
According to daily trust; Over 850 Cutlasses were intercepted by Police in Katsina State at the weekend, The Cutlass were allegedly smuggled in by a political party ahead of the general election.
Deputy Commissioner Police Bala Zama Senchi, who disclosed this at a meeting with political parties in the state, however, declined to mention the party. Senchi, who noted that the cutlasses were new, warned that the command would not tolerate thuggery or any act capable of causing unrest before, during and after the elections. He said politicians must operate within the ambit of the law.
He added that the police are non partisan and committed to ensuring peaceful conductof the exercise. Senchi called on parties to submit their campaign timetables to the police to avoid clashes and confrontations during campaigns. “We must collaborate for a successful election,” he said.
They said they were working on instruction.. Probably orders against President Goodluck Jonathan Campaign.. Meanwhile GEJ is reportedly due to be in the state tomorrow..
Miss Grace Ebiloma, who was on her way from a vigil was gang-raped by hoodlums in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. The lady was on her way home from the church when the hoodlums seized her and dragged her into the bush where they raped her.
According to a statement by the evangelist Enechojo Agene of Uleju Ojo Power House Ministry, the lady had gone to a nearby structure opposite the church to rest after the vigil, when the hoodlums struck, raping and killing her.
The statement said that the hoodlums raped her to death, stressing that the body of the victim was recovered from the bush after a search was conducted. Envangelist Agene described the action of the hoodlums as heinous, calling on God in heaven to visit vengeance on the perpetrators of this gruesome act.
Agene also called on security operatives to intensify efforts at bringing the hoodlums to book, noting that those who perpetrated the crime should go unpunished. When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Elvis Aguebor, said that the matter had not been reported to the state headquarters of the command.
Source; Leadership Newspaper
And so it begin this year... A female suicide bomber said to be about 10 years old blew herself up killing at least 10 others at the popular Maiduguri poultry market in Borno state around12.30pm today.
A military source who confirmed the explosion said the little girl strapped herself with explosives that were so heavy that after it exploded, flung her body 500m away from the scene"Her body was completely shattered,” he said. More details to come your way soon..
I will call it a welcome development.. But them no dey finish ni!!! This time no fewer than 200 of the sect members were killed by troops at Askira Uba, a border town between Adamawa and Borno States on Saturday.
The insurgents, it was gathered, were trying to penetrate Damaturu, Yobe State, through the town but were mowed down by the troops who were stationed in the area during a gun battle.
The terrorists had earlier attempted to storm Damaturu on Friday, but were repelled by the military, during an operation that lasted for several hours... Thumbs up to the Nigerian Army by the way..
The Office of the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or Summary Executions, Christof Heyns, has stated that “appropriate action including communication to the government of President Goodluck Jonathan is being considered regarding the imminent execution of 54 soldiers in Nigeria.”
This followed a petition submitted to Mr. Heyns by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, in December 2014 in which the group asked five UN human rights independent experts to individually and jointly use their “good offices and positions to urgently request the Nigerian government and its military authorities not to carry out the mass death sentences imposed on 54 Nigerian soldiers for what the government claimed was disobeying a direct order from their commanding officer.”
The development was disclosed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni in a statement dated January 4 and According to Mr. Mumuni, “SERAP has been in discussion with Johel Dominique at the Office of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary or summary executions both on the telephone and via email. Johel Dominique has confirmed that the Special Rapporteur is considering appropriate action to avert the imminent execution of 54 soldiers on death row in the country.
We have also confirmed to the Special Rapporteur that SERAP has the consent of Mr Femi Falana, SAN, the legal counsel to the 54 soldiers to file the petition.” “SERAP welcomes the decision by Mr. Christof Heyns to intervene in the matter. Given his longstanding human rights commitment and achievements, we have absolutely no doubt that Mr. Heyns will work assiduously to ensure that justice is done in this matter and we wish him well as he strives to do that,” Mr. Mumuni stated.
The General Military Court Martial set up by the authorities of the Nigerian Army to try some soldiers of the 111 Special Forces battalion , Maiduguri, have again condemned four soldiers to death by firing squad.
Investigations revealed that the President of the Court, Brig.- Gen Musa Yusuf, found the four soldiers guilty of conspiracy to commit mutiny and thus sentenced them to death. It was learnt that the court condemned the four soldiers to death on December 24, 2014.
The GCM had earlier convicted 54 of the 59 soldiers to death after finding them guilty of conspiracy to commit mutiny on December 17, 2014. Five soldiers from the 111 Special Forces Battalion who were tried alongside the 54 for allegedly refusing to obey an order from their commander, were found to be innocent of the charges and were discharged and acquitted.
Prior to the conviction of the 54 soldiers, another GCM had convicted 12 out of 18 soldiers tried for mutiny on September 14, 2014. The conviction of the four soldiers brought the total number of soldiers convicted and sentenced to death to 70.
Meanwhile, authoritative military sources said that soldiers of the Nigerian Army were being tried for administrative offences in designated military formations across the country. Investigation revealed that the Commanding Officer of the Ojo Garrison Command, the General Officer Commanding of the 82 Division, Enugu and his counterpart in Kaduna are trying officers for various acts of misdemeanor on a daily basis.
These Court Martials are in addition to the General Court Martials established by the authorities of the Nigerian Army to try allegations of acts of misdemeanour against soldiers involved in the ongoing counter terrorism campaign in the North-East.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Olajide Laleye, had said in a press briefing on Wednesday that the military authorities had set up Court Martials in three military formations in Jos, Abuja and Lagos to try acts of misdemeanour emanating from the ongoing counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in the North-East.
The GCMS are domiciled in the Ikeja Cantonment Lagos, The Headquarters of the 3rd Armoured Division, Maxweel Kobe Military Cantonment, Jos and the Nigerian Army Headquarters Garrison, Abuja. On Friday, Laleye commented on the reported dismissal of 203 soldiers after alleged summary night trial, saying it was not true that the Army conducted secret night trial to decide the fate of soldiers.
He said while he was neither confirming nor refuting the story, commanders of the Nigerian Army had been trying soldiers for various emerging offences in adherence with military laws and long established procedures guiding the operations of the Armed Forces.
Source; punchng.com
The Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, has responded to accusations by the Nigerian army that his platform is a propaganda media for terrorism and Boko Haram.
In a chat with The Paradigm, Mr Sowore said the Nigerian army has been reduced to a petty organization". The other day they deployed their men chasing after newspaper delivery vans across Nigeria because some were critical of their handling of the anti-terrorism fight.
Since they can’t find or arrest our copies, they’ve resorted to cheap blackmail. The content of the petition clearly speaks to how Boko Haram could be defeated, and states why they haven’t been defeated" Sowore said.
In the wake of the Xmas preparation, the Kano state Police command today Dec. 24th arrested a 13 year old girl identified as Zahra'u Babban Gida who was found with explosives strapped on her body opposite the Kantin-Kwari textile market, same place where two female suicide bombers detonated bombs two weeks ago killing many.
The Kano State Commissioner of Police Alhaji Tashid Aderile Shinaba said she was arrested by police officers who found her moves suspicious. When interrogated, the young girl said her father was the one who took her to the people who strapped her with the bombs.
According to her, the unknown men told her she had to carry out the suicide attack in order to make heaven. She said the men told her they would kill her if she doesn't follow through with the bomb attack. The Kano state government however said that the young girl was not one of the missing Chibok girls.
