Nigeria would have collapsed, if Jonathan had won — Oshiomhole

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZXBMZwsjGABaRo-FM8wvli1MXUHlN1eDT8yC0FymLb9Iu5PHXD5DQyn4Aa5mtuNz4DWy_XFSKWs3r3QZdRc18sLQKds3v0OofBX0rQzpGAiN1J3X3bB-OaojzXAwMZyUJ9WCqoHfmdKZ/s1600/jonathan+oshiomole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZXBMZwsjGABaRo-FM8wvli1MXUHlN1eDT8yC0FymLb9Iu5PHXD5DQyn4Aa5mtuNz4DWy_XFSKWs3r3QZdRc18sLQKds3v0OofBX0rQzpGAiN1J3X3bB-OaojzXAwMZyUJ9WCqoHfmdKZ/s400/jonathan+oshiomole.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State said, yesterday, that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under President Goodluck Jonathan squandered the resources of the country and that of its members.<br /> <br /> While he pointed out that things had changed positively since the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari, he, however, asserted that “it will take time to clean up the mess of the past”.<br /> <br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> Oshiomhole stated this while receiving over 5,000 members of the PDP in the three senatorial districts of Edo including the immediate past Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Power, Patrick Ikhariale; Abbas Braimah; and Bisi Idaomi.<br /> <br /> The decampees were received into the party by Oshiomhole, assisted by some governorship aspirants of the APC, such as former Governor Osarhiemen Osunbor and Gen.Charles Airhiavbere, who had on several occasions urged the PDP leaders to forget pride and join Oshiomhole in moving the state forward.<br /> <br /> “For the first time, big people are being asked to account, in the past we only hear of governors, local government people, commissioners but this time we are seeing Minister of Finance confessing like a witch craft how they took money and even co-opt their children so they didn’t just share money for the party they shared for their families. When a Minister pays money into her own personal account, we have seen national security being redefined to meet the security of a political party to secure the party in office rather than secure the nation even in the face of a devastating insurgency”, the governor stated.

Latest-News Nigeria would have collapsed, if Jonathan had won — Oshiomhole

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State said, yesterday, that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under President Goodluck Jonathan squander...

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How Adams Oshiomhole ejected ‘Mammy Water’ to deflood Benin roads

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdLckbbbZY39QyhG9ux98iNWWH3OV3zMQxYmnNvLJOiu5Px8FZkAdyzfXp8a6YyMB0JZnoVJdV8K4gJpCv80roXMoPxvgLWMgqILNqxSxkJJkuIUh64skKrpJ3pBS9WGHcvoG2RSxMw23/s1600/Adams-Oshiomole-Edo-Governor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmdLckbbbZY39QyhG9ux98iNWWH3OV3zMQxYmnNvLJOiu5Px8FZkAdyzfXp8a6YyMB0JZnoVJdV8K4gJpCv80roXMoPxvgLWMgqILNqxSxkJJkuIUh64skKrpJ3pBS9WGHcvoG2RSxMw23/s400/Adams-Oshiomole-Edo-Governor.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> It is a joyous moment for residents of Igbinaduwa, Upper Siluko, Textile Mill and 2nd East Circular roads in Benin City following the on-going road and drainage projects in the area by Edo State Government. Residents had abandoned their residences over the years after flood swallowed the homes.<br /> <br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> But hope came when the Governor Adams Oshiomhole- led administration came into office in 2008 and decided to tackle the flood problem in the state head on. There was this belief that a certain goddess, popularly known as Mammy Water, resided in Upper Siluko, down to Teachers House, and had frustrated any effort by government to solve the flood problem in the area. However, when Oshiomhole came, after studying the situation with experts, it was agreed that, no matter how much is invested in road construction in the area, it will be a waste unless a solid erosion work was done, that will channel the flood from these area to the Ogba River.<br /> <br /> That was how government came up with the N30billion Benin Water Storm Project. Today, the impact is being felt in the area as those who abandoned their homes have returned. The signs were obvious when Oshiomhole paid an unscheduled visit to the project sites, as a mammoth crowd welcomed the governor, expressing appreciation for finding solution to the flood problem. The 1.3km, 5 meter-deep underground drainage system linking Textile Mill Road to Ogba River through Igbinaduwa Street is one of the solid erosion projects inspected by Oshiomhole last Tuesday.<br /> <br /> The governor took time to celebrate with the over joyed residents at Igbinaduwa, where he had to break protocol to attend a wedding ceremony in one of the houses which were abandoned but the owners are now back to their homes. His appearance at the ceremony, even when he was not invited, generated thunderous cheers from the celebrants, as the guests echoed ‘Osho Baba, Osho Baba, you too much, you too much’.<br /> <br /> The governor, visibly happy for the appreciation expressed by the crowd, invoked the “precious blood of Jesus” to destroy any attempt to disrupt the ongoing projects in the state by persons he described as enemies of progress. He vowed not to abandon any project at the expiration of his stay in Edo Govt. House in 2016.<br /> <br /> “We will fight those we need to fight in order to do the projects we need to do. But that fight is informed by public interest and there is no going back. And as you can see what is going on around the country, all my enemies are falling one after the other and we are standing,”he said. “And by the grace of God, we will stand because God sees our heart and He covers us with the blood of Jesus, so no evil planned by man can stop the progress that we are determined to make for the benefit of the people of Edo. The verdict of the people is what matters.<br /> <br /> You can see how people are happy with the work and that is my greatest joy. We are just coming from around the Teachers House; you have seen what is obviously, by any standard, what is passed for a miracle because people gave up, that Mammy Water had taken over that area. And you could see the feeling of people driving on the road.<br /> <br /> You can see the depth of the drainage and, right on top of it, we are constructing a road that will connect Ogba River, Textile Mill Road and, under it, we have flood going. This is part of the Benin City Master Plan. And, from the reaction of the people who know what this place used to be, you can see their joy. That, to me, is the verdict. “<br /> <br /> I am satisfied that, at this time when people are debating whether or not people are able to pay salaries or not, we are not only paying, we are also working. And I have made the point that we will not abandon any project. Our task as managers is to find solution to unforeseen challenges and make sure that we keep the Edo project going”.

Latest-News How Adams Oshiomhole ejected ‘Mammy Water’ to deflood Benin roads

It is a joyous moment for residents of Igbinaduwa, Upper Siluko, Textile Mill and 2nd East Circular roads in Benin City following the on-g...

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The Army, El-Zakzaky’s Shiite and the Zaria killings

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLONTESuhs4jVacU4jUMxq6B3jlqGg594qP4QlCuheUlt_n4Fgon6p2tVvkpJOHgXTGcBnL8o03UJEf_U2tuID__iiV08puWZzdqglGSYPtE3Q40eJpjuxkqnPs57s4bBA8A0WhrrNUCf/s1600/Ibraheem-El-Zakzaky1+shiite+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLONTESuhs4jVacU4jUMxq6B3jlqGg594qP4QlCuheUlt_n4Fgon6p2tVvkpJOHgXTGcBnL8o03UJEf_U2tuID__iiV08puWZzdqglGSYPtE3Q40eJpjuxkqnPs57s4bBA8A0WhrrNUCf/s320/Ibraheem-El-Zakzaky1+shiite+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br /> The ‘failed attempt’ on General Buratai’s life<br /> <br /> Sheik Ibraheem Zakzaky, 62, the ever turbaned, tough looking leader of the Shiite Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, is an Islamic scholar and a tempestuous preacher. He speaks straight to the powers-that-be and has survived many jail terms in the hands of military governments in the ‘80s and ‘90s for sedition. Never hiding his hatred for Israel and the United States, he lost three sons and 35 followers after a pro-Palestinian protest with the military on July 25, 2014 in Zaria, Kaduna State turned bloody. And penultimate Saturday night, gunfire and occasional explosions kept residents of Gyelesu area of Zaria nervously awake in their homes.<br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> An estate, which housed Zakzaky – a first class graduate of economics from the Ahmadu Bello University (I979) – had been condoned off by soldiers, and was the theatre of the gun battle.<br /> <br /> Even in the gust of the cold, dusty harmattan, residents in high rise buildings around the area claimed that a peep through the window showed battle ready soldiers taking position with their weapons, spitting fire into the large compound where Zakzaky, his household and hundreds of followers were holed up.<br /> <br /> It was not clear if the embattled Shiite Muslims were firing back at the troops, since both sides later gave contradicting accounts. But, residents, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard, claimed to have heard piercing screaming of women and children, with men barking out orders from the compound. The battle went on, right through the night and continued after day-break, until Sunday.<br /> <br /> Zaria, an old Hausa city, with a blend of ancient homes and modern buildings, located on the south-most fringe of the Sahel in Kaduna State, had experienced a violent encounter between the Nigerian Army and the IMN the previous day (Saturday).<br /> <br /> Video clips show a group of people, some of them wielding clubs, machetes and knives, refusing armed soldiers passage on a major road. An unidentified Brigadier General and his men emerge, vehemently pleading with the leaders of the group to leave the road, but to no avail. Objects are thrown at the soldiers as they try to navigate the unruly situation. Suddenly, the crowd, which also has some women, becomes riotous.<br /> <br /> The clips then show scenes of burning tyres and cleared barricades on a street but, this time, deserted. The clips are the evidence of a resolvable issue that later became ugly, leading to the siege on the compound of Zakzaky that Sunday night.<br /> <br /> That penultimate Saturday evening, the Nigeria Army and the Shiite Muslims had traded blames over the afternoon confrontation between soldiers and the sect.<br /> <br /> COAS escaped assassination from Shiites – Army<br /> <br /> A statement by Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, Acting Director, Army Public Relations, issued, in Abuja, read: “The Shiite sect, on the orders of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zak zaky, today afternoon, in Zaria. attacked the convoy of the Chief of the Army Staff, while on his way to pay homage to the Emir of Zazzau and attend the Passing Out Parade of 73 Regular Recruits Intake of Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria.<br /> <br /> Shiite members protest killing of members by soldiers in parts of Kaduna on Tuesday, December 15, 2015<br /> Shiite members protest killing of members by soldiers in parts of Kaduna on Tuesday, December 15, 2015<br /> “The sect members, numbering hundreds and carrying dangerous weapons, barricaded the roads with bonfires, heavy stones and tyres. They refused all entreaties to disperse and then started firing and pelting the convoy with dangerous objects”, the statement said.. “The barricade was obviously a deliberate attempt to assassinate the Chief of the Army Staff and members of his entourage while on a legitimate official assignment as Special Guest of Honour at the Passing Out Parade which had earlier been widely publicized.<br /> <br /> “The troops responsible for the safety and security of the Chief of the Army Staff, on hearing explosion and firing, were left with no choice than to defend him and the convoy at all costs as well as open up the barricaded road for law abiding citizens. This is in line with the Nigerian Army’s Rules of Engagement and Code of Conduct.<br /> <br /> “This kind of behavior will not be tolerated from any individual or groups and should not be allowed to repeat itself.<br /> <br /> “We wish to implore all Nigerians to continue to be law abiding and remain conscious of other people’s rights to life, freedom of movement and passage.<br /> <br /> “The Chief of the Army escaped unhurt and continued with his duties”.<br /> <br /> It’s a lie, COAS was never attacked – Shiite<br /> <br /> However, the spokesman for IMN, Mallam Ibrahim Musa, told Sunday Vanguard on phone that the COAS was not attacked, and that it was three vehicles carrying armed soldiers that shot and killed seven of their members and injured 20 after the COAS had long passed.<br /> <br /> He said: “It is true that the COAS was in Zaria to attend the Passing Out Parade ceremony at the Nigeria Military School, Zaria on Saturday. “And this coincided with the time that we hold our annual Maulud at Hussaimiyya in Zaria.<br /> <br /> “At 12 o’clock, we had to control traffic for our members to pass. “The security details attached to the Chief of the Army Staff came down from their vehicles and we discussed and they passed.<br /> <br /> “Immediately the COAS left, some well armed soldiers in three trucks arrived “It was from there that they became very rude and brutal. Then they started firing. I can tell you that we lost seven members and 20 were severely injured”.<br /> <br /> The next day (Sunday), far worse claims were made by the Shiite group.<br /> <br /> Our top leaders killed – Shiite<br /> <br /> A statement by Musa read: “Following alleged blockade of the route of the Chief of the Army Staff by the members of IMN, the Nigerian Army descended on armless members of the Movement with heavy military weapons, killing indiscriminately. “In the mean time, leading members of the Islamic Movement, and other members as well, have been killed by the soldiers including the leader of the Kano Center, Sheikh Muhammad Turi; Dr. Mustapha Sa’eed; Malam Ibrahim Usman and Sister Jummai Gilima. “Also killed were Sayyid Aliy, a son of the leader of the Movement, Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H); the wife of Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H), Malama Zeenat Ibraheem, and tens of other members as more are being killed at the time of this release. “The sporadic killings took place at three different locations that include the residence of the revered leader of the Movement at Gyallesu; the Husainiyya Bakiyatullah at the GRA; and the Darur Rahma, located along Zaria-Jos Road where many armless people were killed.<br /> <br /> Alibi<br /> <br /> “The killing was so brutal at Gyallesu that even those injured in the shooting were identified and killed in cold blood by soldiers. At the time of writing this press release, the victims run into hundreds, if not thousands.<br /> <br /> “We state categorically that the claim by the Army that members of the Movement attempted to assassinate the Chief of the Army Staff is a blatant lie as the Army came back to launch their attack more than an hour after the COAS had passed.<br /> <br /> “Clearly, the Nigerian government, through its military, is now on the rampage, in an all out war with the Islamic movement, its members and structures. The scale of this attack would suggest it was meticulously planned by the authorities and now being executed ruthlessly. The alleged attack on COAS Burutai was just an alibi. As the dust began to settle over Zaria on Monday, the Movement claimed that at least one thousand of its members have been killed by soldiers.<br /> <br /> ‘Zakzaky taken away with wife’<br /> <br /> Another statement by Musa, that Monday, said the Army was not only selectively killing its members , but it had also instigated the public to join in the killings.<br /> <br /> The IMN statement read, among others: “Following the brutal attack on the Islamic Movement in Nigeria by the Nigerian Army in Zaria, we wish to state as follows:<br /> <br /> “A source has confirmed that the Army has taken the revered leader of the Movement, Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H), from his house this morning and is receiving treatment for injuries he sustained during the attack.<br /> <br /> “About a thousand of members of the Movement have been massacred at the moment as counting continues, but the soldiers are now busy evacuating the dead bodies to an unknown destination.<br /> <br /> “There are hundreds of others who have received various degrees of injuries that are in need of assistance but have currently been denied access by the soldiers on ground who are in a killing spree, shooting anyone identified as a member of the Movement. “We wish to state here that some of those earlier declared dead through various sources might not have been killed but might be severely injured and in need of assistance. “Members of the Movement should be allowed immediate access to Sayyid Ibraheem Zakzaky (H) as a means of taming the situation from aggravating. “Access to health facilities should immediately be allowed to those injured anywhere in Zaria”.<br /> <br /> Zakzaky, wife in our custody – Army<br /> <br /> Shortly after the Monday statement by the Shiite Muslim group, the General Officer Commanding, GOC, 1 Division of Nigerian Army, Major General Adeniyi Oyebade, said the Islamic leader was in the custody of the Army<br /> <br /> He told journalists: “On December 12, 2015, myself and Kaduna State Commissioner of Police were with President Muhammadu Buhari who was in the state for an assignment when I received a distress call that the life of the Chief of the Army Staff, COAS, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, was threatened by some hoodlums who blocked his way on Sokoto Road in Zaria city. “After much persuasions from senior officers on the entourage, the hoodlums, who were later identified as Shi’ites members, remained adamant and, in line with our Rules of Engagement, we had no option than to clear the road for the COAS and, in the course of doing that, the hoodlums started throwing missiles at the convoy; and our men responded which resulted in minimum casualties.<br /> <br /> “From there, we received information that they had started mobilizing in one of their temples at Husainiyya, the residence of the leader at Gyellesu and Dambo Road. That was on Saturday night, this led to a long night of battle.<br /> <br /> “We have nothing against the Shiites because they are Nigerians and our duty is also to protect them. But we cannot tolerate them forming a government within a government. I call on all Shiites members to be law abiding and go about their religious activities without tampering with the freedom of others. “I want to say that Zakzaky and his wife are with us and they are safe. We shall soon allow his family and members to meet him. “Please don’t ask me about the number of casualty. All I can say is that both sides had casualties and it is not our job to count how many of the Shiites were in the casualty”.<br /> <br /> Corpses<br /> <br /> But there were many accounts on the casualty figure. One claimed that the morgue at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria was filled with corpses of the Shiite Muslims, and that truck loads of more were still being dumped there. Another claimed seeing corpses in open drains, toilet soak-aways and under the rubbles of demolished buildings.<br /> <br /> But one thing was sure: Scores were killed by soldiers in the university city..<br /> <br /> Pandemonium<br /> <br /> On Tuesday, hundreds of protesting members of the IMN, around 12 noon in Tudun Wada quarters of Kaduna metropolis, caused pandemonium that spread to many parts of the town. The Shiites, demonstrating against the Zaria incident and the detention of their leader, El-Zakzaky, were, however, blocked from continuing the protest by armed police men around Tudun Nupawa. Pedestrians in Tudun Wada and adjoining areas ran in different directions in fear, many not knowing the cause of the panic. Shops hurriedly shut while banks and other corporate businesses closed. Vehicles, tricycles and motor-bikes sped in different directions, hooting as they fled to safe areas. Around 2pm, Sunday Vanguard put a call to Musa, the IMN spokesperson. He said: “Our members came out about two hours ago to protest the Zaria killings. They were also peacefully demonstrating against the detention of our leader and his wife. The Sheikh was shot four times on his legs. Our protesting members are saying that they cannot trust anyone to take care of the leader outside our members and members of his family. But, fully armed policemen came and halted the peaceful demonstration. They then started shooting at the protesters. As they ran, people also ran with them, because the police were firing into the procession. “I cannot tell you how many have been killed now. You know that when you escape with gun shots, anything can later happen”.<br /> <br /> When contacted, Kaduna State police spokesman, DSP Abubakar Zubairu, said the police had merely gone there to restore law and order.<br /> <br /> <i>Culled from Vanguard</i>

Latest-News The Army, El-Zakzaky’s Shiite and the Zaria killings

The ‘failed attempt’ on General Buratai’s life Sheik Ibraheem Zakzaky, 62, the ever turbaned, tough looking leader of the Shiite Islamic...

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Nigeria’s economy not entering recession — CBN

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KyN1jjAB1EvLQlO1X0lVJRnz9pvXcVdCXZWATRsrb2fwITVUvFj67vthuJ-SDE8xJDdtbtYZ_eWGgaxu43AbyceD84ChrwhLRPtn6PCpIu5hHACqBFzRecz9CyBU8lPaYLfuhB_FNZ7N/s1600/emefiele+cbn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2KyN1jjAB1EvLQlO1X0lVJRnz9pvXcVdCXZWATRsrb2fwITVUvFj67vthuJ-SDE8xJDdtbtYZ_eWGgaxu43AbyceD84ChrwhLRPtn6PCpIu5hHACqBFzRecz9CyBU8lPaYLfuhB_FNZ7N/s640/emefiele+cbn.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has allayed the fear that the nation’s economy may be entering recession.<br /> <br /> The apex bank, however, stated that the economy was currently being restructured in accordance with the dynamics of the global economy.<br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> Fielding questions from newsmen in Osogbo at a sensitisation programme the officials of the bank held with the people of Osun State, Mr. Babatunde Okulaja, Assistant Director, Development and Finance Department of the CBN, said one the innovations of CBN to restructure economy is an initiative called Produce Add Value and Export, PAVE.<br /> <br /> “Through PAVE we don’t only consume all what we have produced, we package and send abroad and earn dollars. By so doing, GDP is improving and the economy will be better for it,” Okulaja said.<br /> <br /> According to him, as the regulator of the economy, CBN has discovered that efforts are mainly geared towards production, while no tangible value was been added to the produced items.<br /> <br /> But through PAVE, Nigerians are being encouraged to add value to the goods produced to make them exportable and thereby earn for the country world stronger currencies.

Latest-News Nigeria’s economy not entering recession — CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has allayed the fear that the nation’s economy may be entering recession. The apex bank, however, stat...

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IDPs will start returning home in 2016 - Buhari

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0mNv0LdSWL4Xf3AzVaqD9nICn19isVxLwLC1ZE3AO_btFpCLHJXZnmg395IxRU61ySxayw8hV_HcqklBJ1Xg0C2LkKsWTf4XzX_8M41jWVU69MLRE7HsZsoVukmE7UbjBZr-a2c3XpZG/s1600/BUHARI-new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0mNv0LdSWL4Xf3AzVaqD9nICn19isVxLwLC1ZE3AO_btFpCLHJXZnmg395IxRU61ySxayw8hV_HcqklBJ1Xg0C2LkKsWTf4XzX_8M41jWVU69MLRE7HsZsoVukmE7UbjBZr-a2c3XpZG/s400/BUHARI-new.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> Following the December deadline to flush out insurgency, President Muhammadu Buhari has told a former British Foreign Minister David Miliband that the millions of persons displaced from their homes by Boko Haram would start the process of returning in 2016, just as the National Christian Elders Forum expressed concern over recurring orgy of violence and destruction that seem to define the northern region of Nigeria.<br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> The militant group’s ongoing six-year insurgency, which has spread from northeastern Nigeria to neighboring countries, has killed at least 17,000 people and internally displaced more than two million, 10 per cent of whom live in government-run camps, AFP reported. A September report by UNICEF said that 500,000 children had been uprooted and forced to flee their homes in the previous five months alone.<br /> <br /> Buhari has set a deadline of the end of December for the Nigerian Army to retake all territory currently held by Boko Haram, which has been forced back into its Sambisa Forest stronghold in the northeastern Borno State.<br /> <br />  After a meeting with the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian aid agency headed up by Miliband, the President said that efforts to return the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes would begin “in earnest” in 2016.

Latest-News IDPs will start returning home in 2016 - Buhari

Following the December deadline to flush out insurgency, President Muhammadu Buhari has told a former British Foreign Minister David Mili...

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APC engaging in political terrorism In Rivers, Akwa-Ibom — PDP

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8AYUZ_5RzRBSQJpkzLGJMUX4cvKtZ6Rc28OMWVV5_OQE9jBFxDX8ijgcI1AbM1wNCW58kzW9Qw6RjX5-53ByZ6j5wq1QcK_tZVp7UQJTilbs0TLliazK59qIbor6ZBvKwuajtRmeZXfc/s1600/pdp+apc+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8AYUZ_5RzRBSQJpkzLGJMUX4cvKtZ6Rc28OMWVV5_OQE9jBFxDX8ijgcI1AbM1wNCW58kzW9Qw6RjX5-53ByZ6j5wq1QcK_tZVp7UQJTilbs0TLliazK59qIbor6ZBvKwuajtRmeZXfc/s640/pdp+apc+vs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <b>The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of engaging in political terrorism in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states, just as it stressed that the action portends great danger to the nation’s democracy as well as capable of threatening the peace and stability in these states and the South-South.</b><br /> <br /> In a statement by the Acting National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, the PDP noted that what was going on in the two states and others controlled by the PDP was a script acted in line with the statement of the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, that the ruling party would capture all the states in the South-South.<br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> Secondus said, “The recent comments credited to Chief John Oyegun, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), conveying the desperation of his party and the Presidency to forcefully take over PDP states in the South-South is, to say the least, unfortunate and disappointing.<br /> <br /> “Chief Oyegun’s boast, while reacting to the bizarre ruling of the Court of Appeal judgment on Rivers State governorship petition wherein he stated: “I am more confident of winning Akwa-Ibom than any other state in the South-South…we are going to win; that is almost a certainty”, is not only careless but also smacks of impunity and arrogance that have characterized the APC.<br /> <br /> “This comment also further betrays APC’s dirty underhand deals with unscrupulous electoral and judicial operatives, which gives its National Chairman impetus to make sweeping statements that has no place in electoral reality.<br /> <br /> “Perhaps, it is pertinent to ask: ‘How could Chief Oyegun have known for certainty the outcome of the gubernatorial dispute in Akwa-Ibom State, a matter that may end up in the Supreme Court? Is this not a clear indication so far that Chief Oyegun and the APC are indeed interfering with the judicial processes in their quest to forcefully take over PDP states?<br /> <br /> “Having severally alerted Nigerians and the international community of the plans of the APC to decimate the opposition by `taking over’ states controlled by the PDP, especially in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states of the South-South zone by every means possible, we warn of dire consequences of the actions by the APC to disrupt the will of the people of the two states.<br /> <br /> “Indeed, let it be known that the PDP warned that this script being played out by Chief Oyegun and his ilk in the APC clearly portends danger to our democratic project and our national stability”.

Latest-News APC engaging in political terrorism In Rivers, Akwa-Ibom — PDP

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of engaging in...

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66 soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny will no longer face the firing squad.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7N30zdP2EfCiryxLrBh7maUghSEOjfGJT_HoPc43kWzxYYcGVCkwV6L6FzjRMcisd11Gu3bJMJj9VObWIkbfNH1w55oj1Hs0eIRti81FLzguqWaT-3s91Y6EChU8BUiECW8Luk6ja55x/s1600/Mutiny-soldiers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7N30zdP2EfCiryxLrBh7maUghSEOjfGJT_HoPc43kWzxYYcGVCkwV6L6FzjRMcisd11Gu3bJMJj9VObWIkbfNH1w55oj1Hs0eIRti81FLzguqWaT-3s91Y6EChU8BUiECW8Luk6ja55x/s400/Mutiny-soldiers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> he 66 soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny and other offences in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East, the good news is that they will no longer face the firing squad.<br /> <br /> The Army authorities announced, yesterday, that their death sentences had been commuted to terms of 10 years imprisonment.<br /> <br /> “The death sentences by firing squad, passed on 66 soldiers in January and March, 2015, by separate General Court Martials (GCMs), have been commuted to 10 years imprisonment each”, the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Usman Sani, said yesterday.<br /> <br /> After the sentencing of 12 soldiers to death for shooting at a vehicle conveying the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, Borno State, Major-General Ahmed Mohammed, the Army authorities, on October 2, 2014, at the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) Garrison, inaugurated another nine-man GCM to try about 100 soldiers.<br /> <br /> The soldiers were charged with offences ranging from mutiny to assault, misconduct and tampering with military property.<br /> <br /> Of the lot, 77 were accused of committing mutiny, punishable by death.<br /> <br /> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br /> <br /> The charge said the soldiers attached to the 7 Division, conspired to commit mutiny, saying they refused to join 111 Special Forces Battalion, led by Colonel E.A. Aladeniyi, to the Maimalari Barracks for an operation (against Boko Haram fighters).<br /> <br /> The mutinous soldiers had blamed the GOC and other officers for the death of four of their colleagues allegedly ambushed while on a special operation against Boko Haram in Kalabalge LGA, near Chibok, Borno State; where over 200 school girls were abducted by terrorists in April, last year.<br /> <br /> One of the CGMs was headed by Brigadier General Chukwuemeka Okonkwo.<br /> <br /> The Army spokesperson, Sani, in a statement announcing the reversal of the death sentences handed to the 66 soldiers, yesterday, to 10 years imprisonment, said: “It will be recalled that 71 soldiers were arraigned on several charges in joint trials. The soldiers were arraigned on several count charges that included Criminal Conspiracy, Conspiracy to commit mutiny and Mutiny.<br /> <br /> “Others were Attempt to Commit an Offence (Murder), Disobedience to Particular Orders, Insubordinate Behaviour and False Accusation, amongst others.<br /> <br /> “They (soldiers) were tried, discharged on some charges but found guilty and convicted on other charges which included mutiny.<br /> <br /> “Out of the number, 66 were found guilty on some of the charges and sentenced to death, while 5 were discharged and acquitted and one was given 28 days Imprisonment with Hard Labour (IHL).<br /> <br /> “However, following series of petitions, the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, ordered a legal review of the cases. The directive was carried out to examine the merit of each case.<br /> <br /> “It was on the basis of the review and recommendations that the Chief of Army Staff commuted the death sentences of the 66 soldiers to 10 years jail terms. The sentences are to run concurrently.<br /> <br /> “The cases of other soldiers are being reviewed and will be made public once the appropriate reviews are completed.”<br /> <br /> The reprieve for the convicted soldiers, yesterday, elicited jubilation from their families.<br /> <br /> Family members of some of the convicts, who spoke to Sunday Vanguard on phone, were full of praises for the Army authorities and the Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS), but would have preferred that their kinsmen were outrightly pardoned and possibly reabsorbed into the military.

Latest-News 66 soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny will no longer face the firing squad.

he 66 soldiers sentenced to death for mutiny and other offences in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East, the good new...

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