Blessing Okagbare made it double with the win in 200m Gold In Glasgow

Blessing Okagbare won the 200m sprint yesterday night at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland, finishing ahead of English duo Jodie Williams and Bianca Williams with a time of 22.25 seconds.
Though the three British sprinters who took second, third, and fourth place achieved personal best times, they could not best Okagbare, 25, who also won the 100m race on Monday.
"I am happy I won," said Okagbare. "It wasn't favourable weather and running two rounds in one day is new for me." She furthered, "I wanted something faster. I didn't get the time but I got the win and two golds. It's amazing."

Nigeria Appoints Suleiman Abba As New Police Chief

The Federal Government has appointed Mr. Suleiman Abba as the new Inspector General of Police. A press statement issued by President Goodluck Jonathan's media aide, Reuben Abati today states that Abba will resume as new IGP tomorrow.Mr. Abba who once served as Aide De Camp to the wife of Nigeria’s late dictator, Maryam Abacha will succeed Mohammed Abubakar, whose tenure ended today. A source at the Presidency told SaharaReporters that Mr. Abubakar tried in vain to gain an extension of his tenure, but that many forces opposed to him prevailed on President Goodluck Jonathan to look for a successor. Mr. Abubakar had spent 35 years as a police officer. “He was desperate to stay in office to enable him [to] oversee the 2015 general elections,” said our source, adding that Mr. Jonathan did not buy into the plan. The retiring IG’s tenure was marked by serious questions in the last week when he made the controversial and widely condemned decision to reinstate Sam Chukwu, an Enugu- based police officer considered the mastermind of a crime ring in Enugu. Mr. Chukwu was indicted in the 2009 kidnap of 19-year-old Lotachukwu (Lota) Ezeudu, but went underground to avoid facing prosecutors and Justice Afam Nwobodo, who is handling the trial of other suspects. Police officers, prosecutors and residents of Enugu criticized Mr. Abubakar’s decision to assign the fugitive officer, Mr. Chukwu, to the post of provost of the southeast police command headquartered in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State. Before his appointment, rumors have swirled around Mr. Abba’s closeness to Nigeria’s first lady, Patience Jonathan especially as Abba lobbied for appointment reportedly doling huge sums of money to Mrs. Jonathan. A former IG of Police, Mike Mbama Okiro, today congratulated Mr. Abba on his new appointment. Mr. Okiro is the current chairman of the Police Service Commission. The new IG, who is from Jigawa State, was until his appointment the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Charge of Zone 7, Abuja. Mr. Okiro advised the new IG to strive to rise to the challenges of his new post. He described Mr. Abba as a tested officer who had held various command positions in the Nigeria Police Force, adding that he was confident the new police chief would bring fresh perspectives to the search for solutions to the security threats confronting Nigeria.AIG Abba, currently the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 7, comprising Abuja, Kaduna and Niger states, replaces the incumbent Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Abubakar who proceeds on statutory retirement today having completed 35 years in service. The incoming Inspector-General, a lawyer, hails from Jigawa State and is an alumnus of the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies. Positions previously held by him in the Police include Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department, FCT Command, Deputy Force Secretary and Commissioner of Police, Rivers State. His appointment is with effect from Friday, August 1, 2014 Reuben Abati Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) July 31, 2014

President Jonathan Condemns Terror Attacks in Kano, Adamawa And Cameroon

President Goodluck Jonathan today wholeheartedly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Kano and Adamawa States, the kidnap of the Lamido of Kolofata in Northern Cameroon, Lamido Seini Lamine, and the wife of the Vice Prime Minister of Cameroon, the presidency said in a statement.President Goodluck Jonathan today wholeheartedly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Kano and Adamawa States, the kidnap of the Lamido of Kolofata in Northern Cameroon, Lamido Seini Lamine, and the wife of the Vice Prime Minister of Cameroon, the presidency said in a statement. He described as shocking, callous and reprehensible, the multiple bomb blasts that occurred in Kano within 24 hours, and the unrelenting attacks by the Boko Haram at a time the Muslim faithful are observing the holy festival of Eid el Fitri. President Jonathan’s remarks came as the management of the Ado Bayero Mall in Kano announced closure of the complex for the rest of Monday in response to the attack. Commiserating with the families of all those who lost their loved ones in the Kano and Adamawa attacks, he noted that the deployment of young women as suicide bombers represents a new low in the inhuman campaign by terrorists, and an expression of utter disregard for the dignity of the female gender as well as a wicked exploitation of the girl-child. The President stated that the abduction of the Lamido of Kolofata and the wife of the Vice premier of Cameroon clearly underscores the regional security threat that Boko Haram has become. “He welcomes the recent resolve by the Defence Ministers of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Benin and Niger to further strengthen existing partnerships in order to forestall the desperate attempt by misguided elements to turn the sub-region into a battleground for terrorism and radical extremism,” he said, urging the security forces to remain resolute, and not be discouraged by the desperation of the agents of evil. He expressed the belief that with the continued cooperation between Nigeria’s security forces and their counterparts in neighboring countries, the war against terror will surely be won. The management of the Ado Bayero Mall said that further announcements will be made in due course The attack on the mall was reportedly carried out by a 19-year old female suicide bomber. Meanwhile, the police have announced the arrest of several suspects in connection with two separate attacks on Isyaku Rabiu Mosque and St. Charles Catholic Church. Several suspects were killed in the church attack.

Nigerian ambassador, 3 ECOWAS staff, 55 others had contact with Lagos Ebola victim — Idris

The Lagos State Government disclosed, yesterday, that the Nigerian Ambassador to Liberia, Chigozie Obi Nnadozie, three staff of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and 55 others had contact with the victim of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, Patrick Sawyer, who died in Lagos, last Thursday. The Joint Federal and State Team in collaboration with other health organisations on prevention of Ebola outbreak in Lagos, has begun monitoring of the 59 persons that had contact with the victim, who died of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, in a private hospital in Lagos, last week. Addressing a joint press briefing, yesterday, on the update of the Ebola virus disease, Director National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Professor Abdulsalim Nasidi, and Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, explained that out of the 59 persons that had contact with the Sawyer in Lagos, 44 were hospital contacts (38 healthcare workers and six laboratory staff) and 15 airport contacts comprising three ECOWAS staff – driver, liaison and protocol officer, Nigerian Ambassador to Monrovia, two nursing staff and five airport passenger handlers. Appeal for calm Idris, who appealed for calm, said right now, 20 contacts had been physically screened. “The airline manifest has not been provided by the airline at the time of this report and therefore, the precise number of passenger contacts is yet to be ascertained, especially as two flights were involved Monrovia – Lome and Lome – Lagos. There was no report of medical incident filed and the General Declaration report of the flight.” Idris who stated categorically that only one case of imported Ebola and one death has been recorded in Lagos, said: “No Nigerian is infected, but all contacts are being actively followed. We call on all Nigerians to be calm and not panic and I do hereby assure them that both the state and Federal governments are up in arms to ensure that the virus did not escape and that no Nigeria is infected with this virus,” he stressed. Preliminary investigation It was further disclosed that preliminary laboratory investigation conducted by the NCDC AI virology laboratory of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, and the Redeemers’ University’s World-Bank Funded African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID) detected viral DNA and in both blood and urine samples obtained from the patient were positive for the Pan Filo virus analysis and Ebola Zaire MGB virus strain – specific analysis. Samples were also collected for further confirmation at the WHO, collaborating laboratory for Ebola in Dakar. Meanwhile, an isolation ward has been designated by the Lagos State Ministry of Health at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba for case management. The designation of three other health facilities was said to be under way. Idris explained that adhering strictly to WHO guidelines, the body of the deceased patient was decontaminated using 10 per cent sodium hypochlorite and cremated, with the permission of the government of Liberia. “A cremation report has been prepared for dispatch to the family. The vehicle that conveyed the remains was also fully decontaminated.” Nasidi, who allayed fears that EVD cannot be acquired through mere coming into contact with the EVD patient, disclosed that effort to send the packaged sample of the decease to Dakar failed as the courier company turned it down. “We were disappointed that the courier rejected the sample. That is why we immediately sought the second opinion of World Health Organisation, WHO, recommended laboratory which is International Centre for Genomics. We are still going to dispatch it to Dakar, most likely first thing today but the WHO has accepted this result.” Nasidi explained further that even dead bodies of EVD could be more dangerous in terms of transmission. Case management To ensure appropriate case management and infection prevention and control, he explained that an isolation ward has been designated by the Lagos State Ministry of Health at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba for case management, adding that the designation of three other health facilities is under way. Further, he disclosed that a total of 100 Personal Protective Equipment, PPEs, have been procured by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, and Federal Ministry of Health, FMOH and distributed to the private hospital and the state Ministry of Health and WHO also donated 250 PPEs to the NCDC/FMOH. On how the corpse was decomposed, the Commissioner said the state adhered strictly to WHO guidelines, the body of the deceased patient was de-contaminated, using 10 per cent sodium hypochlorite and cremated, with the permission of the government of Liberia. “A cremation report has been prepared for dispatch to the family. The vehicle that conveyed the remains was also fully decontaminated,” he added. Recognising the importance of involving the community early in the response, he stated that already the various communities, traditional and religious leaders have been alerted about the disease and urged to report promptly to healthcare workers of any suspected case. Categories of EVD Explaining categories of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, spread, he explained that “those who come in direct contact of excretions of the dead are primary high risk group; the second group are those that come in contact with facilities used to actually treat or handle these patients; the third category are those who come in contact with those who came in very closed contact with the victim or the dead body. However, the fourth category is those who are within the areas of active transmission of the virus. “It is also important we clarify a question of whether any of the contacts has been tested - the two laboratories are on standby for 24 hours and we have the APIN and the laboratory committee on the group screening one on one, and taking temperature of the contacts twice a day – morning and evening. We are following WHO criteria and the special protocol that you screen only the blood of only those contacts that start developing symptoms. We are going to identify few of them that we’d already known that came directly in contact with the blood of the deceased while managing him,” he added. Warning communities that eat bats, he said this is the time for them to desist from consuming it. Similarly, he noted that some communities that worship bats and keep them in their houses should be very careful and stop the act. Burials On burial ceremonies of people who died from EVD, he said it had been shown that 40 per cent of the cases of Ebola virus spread was from the mishandling of the burial of the dead bodies. He warned that in case of any Ebola death, people should not just go and bury but contact public health officials. Preventive tips President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Professor Oyewale Tomori, who commended the state government for its prompt response, harped on the rules of hand washing and infection control. “There is no need for panic if we follow the rules of hand washing and infection control. There is need for Nigerians to be at alert as it is happening within the West African countries. There is absolutely no need to panic, he insisted. “Where it has spread, it is because people have abandoned the rules of hand washing and infection control; we shouldn’t have diseases like Ebola if we maintain the rules of hand washing. Where people have followed the rules of hand washing, we must be at alert; we are not out of the wood yet. We must continue to be at alert. We need to be washing our hands but no reason to panic.” He explained that domestic animals are not carriers of Ebola virus and people who are rearing domestic animals such as pig should not be afraid. Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. Yewande Adeshina urged residents and health officials in the state to report any suspected case of Ebola virus immediately. Adeshina appealed to residents to reduce the risk of contracting the disease by observing high standard of hygiene through washing of hands often with soap and water. “Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick and ensure that objects used by the sick are decontaminated and properly disposed because fluids from an infected person are extremely dangerous,” Adeshina urged residents. NCAA suspends A_SKY Airline operations to Nigeria Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, yesterday, said it has suspended all A_SKY Airline operations to Nigeria with immediate effect. The airline flew the Liberian infected with the Ebola virus into Lagos, which has created panic and diverted world attention to Nigeria.

Nigerian Troops Hold Suspected Bomber Disguised As A Woman

Nigerian troops are holding a man suspected to be connected with the explosion targeted at General Buhari on Wednesday. The young man was apprehended by a military patrol team that immediately swooped-in on the area following the explosion. The team found the suspicious character disguised as a woman; he was clad in female garb, with a brassiere affixed to his chest to exude femininity.
The patrol team that arrived on the scene arrested the suspect while he was trying to disappear into a crowd of onlookers. Youths in the area attempted to mob him while he was being arrested but they were restrained by troops who whisked him away in an armored personnel carrier. He is currently being interrogated by security agencies in a bid to ascertain his links.
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Bomb Blast Reported At New Road Bus Station In Sabon Gari, Kano...

Residents of Sabon-Gari in Kano, Kano State, have confirmed to SaharaReporters that a high capacity improvised explosive device (IED) detonated at the New Road Motor Park in Sabon Gari, Kano, at around 3:00pm (1500 GMT) today.
One of them, who spoke with our Reporters on phone, said the explosive devices were hidden in a worktop fridge, concealed in a bag and dropped off by two men masquerading as travelers. The number of dead and injured victims was unclear at the time of reporting, but unlike last year’s blast the same area, there were fewer number of people around the scene of the blast. In March at least 60 were reported killed, and several vehicles destroyed by a bombing at the same motor park.
Police in the state also confirmed the blast, saying: “Explosion has occurred at New Road Motor Park, Sabon-Gari, Kano, at 3pm. Explosives [were] hidden in table top fridge disguised as luggage.” Today's incident joins the near-daily string of attacks that has plagued the region.

General Buhari’s Convoy Targeted By Second Kaduna Bomb Blast

A source close to former military Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari, has told us that a second bomb explosion that rocked the Kawo bus station in Kaduna today appeared to have targeted Mr. Buhari’s convoy. Three aides and security personnel traveling with Mr. Buhari to Daura, his hometown, have been confirmed injured in the afternoon blast.
Our source said that the bombers had trailed Mr. Buhari’s convoy and detonated the bomb as the convoy neared a bridge in Kawo. Our source said the retired General was in good condition, even though he was shaken up by the trauma of the attack. “Three of General Buhari’s aides were injured this afternoon in the explosion at Kawo,” said the source. He disclosed that the injuries were not life-threatening.
An earlier bomb explosion in Kaduna claimed more than 20 lives. Our source stated that scores of people were killed in the second bomb blast near a bridge in Kawo. He added that numerous people, including a security aide to Mr. Buhari and two others in the ex-general’s convoy, sustained varying degrees of injury. The source disclosed that the Kawo bus stop explosion happened as Mr. Buhari’s convoy was passing through the area. He said the ex-head of state, who is a top official of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as a staunch critic of President Goodluck Jonathan, was returning from a funeral in Zaria at the time of the explosion.
On Monday, Mr. Buhari had issued a statement accusing President Jonathan of pushing Nigeria to the edge of a precipice. He blamed the president for a spate of impeachments of political office holders who oppose Mr. Jonathan. In his response, Mr. Jonathan told the former military ruler to focus on mending the internal rifts plaguing the opposition APC.
At least 25 were confirmed dead after a bomb detonated earlier near Alkali Road in Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State. A security source told us that the first bomb blast was targeted at a popular Islamic cleric, Dahiru Bauchi, who was delivering a Ramadan lecture at Murtala Square to Muslims observing Ramadan Tafsir. No group has claimed responsibility for the two high-profile attacks, but a security operative in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, said the explosions were likely the handiwork of the extremist Islamist group, Boko Haram.

Suspension of the Nigeria Football Federation lifted

FIFA has today, 18 July 2014, lifted the suspension that was imposed on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on 9 July 2014 on account of interference. FIFA has noted that the court proceedings and order preventing the president of the NFF, the NFF Executive Committee members and the NFF Congress from running the affairs of Nigerian football that prompted the suspension have been withdrawn.
As statutory order has been reinstated at the NFF and the legitimate bodies reinstalled, FIFA has decided to lift the suspension as of today, Friday 18 July 2014. The lifting of the suspension means that all rights of the NFF as a FIFA member as defined in article 12 of the FIFA Statutes are reinstated.

Nyanya Bombing: Nigeria Police Interpol Unit Finally Arrives Home With Ogwuche

Following the conclusion of tortuous legal and diplomatic processes between Nigeria and the Republic of Sudan, the co mastermind of the Nyanya Motor Park bombing in which scores of citizens died and hundreds wounded, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche was Tuesday, 15th July, 2014 extradited to the country from Sudan where he had taken refuge. Aminu Ogwuche who was handed over to the Interpol Unit of the Nigeria Police Force by the Sudanese Authorities was flown into the country in a special flight from Khartoum which touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 3.00pm today.
It would be recalled that the terror fugitive who had long since been arrested in Sudan following an international red notice issued for his arrest by the Nigeria National Bureau of Interpol had not been repatriated to the country before now due to some necessary processes involved in transferring suspects from one country to another.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP MD Abubakar, CFR, NPM, mni, psc while commending the personnel of the Nigeria Police Interpol Unit for a job well done, noted that the successful repatriation of the terror fugitive to Nigeria shows that the global coalition against terrorism championed by Nigeria is beginning to yield the desired result.

ACP FRANK MBA
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,
FORCE HEADQUARTERS, ABUJA.

Malala Yusafza appeals to Boko Haram militants

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who survived an attack by the Taliban, on Monday appealed to Boko Haram militants in Nigeria to lay down their weapons and "stop misusing the name of Islam." Malala is visiting Nigeria in support of an estimated 276 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram from their school in Chibok in northeastern Nigeria on April 14. Boko Haram, whose name roughly translates as "Western education is a sin" in the local Hausa language, is trying to impose Sharia law across Nigeria and especially opposes the education of women. Malala has been an outspoken supporter of girls' education. In 2012, her views made her the target of the Pakistan Taliban, which tried to assassinate the then-15-year-old as she traveled home from school. She survived and a year later launched the nonprofit Malala Fund , aimed at empowering girls through education. 

In 2013, the United Nations declared Malala's birthday, July 12, Malala Day as she addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York. This year she is in Nigeria for Malala Day, which is being celebrated Monday, two days after her 17th birthday. Over the weekend, Malala met some of the schoolgirls who managed to escape Boko Haram and the families of the more than 200 girls still missing. Outrage at the mass abduction inspired the social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls , with Malala among the global faces photographed holding a sign with the hashtag. She met with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday in the capital, Abuja. Nigerians and others have accused the government of not acting swiftly or efficiently enough to protect the girls who were abducted from Chibok. But the military has defended its response saying its soldiers have to enforce a state of emergency across Borno state, where Chibok is situated -- an area of more than 90,000 square kilometers (34,750 square miles). After her meeting with Jonathan, CNN asked Malala if he had said whether any progress had been made in finding the girls. "As you all know, in politics nothing is clear. In the circumstances nothing is clear really, but the President did make promises, and the President said that he feels that these girls are his daughters," Malala said. She added that Jonathan had said he would meet the parents of kidnapped girls and provide support to those who had escaped Boko Haram. Jonathan told Malala that the government "was definitely doing everything possible to ensure that the girls were rescued alive and safely returned to their parents," his office said in a statement. "Terror is relatively new here and dealing with it has its challenges. The great challenge in rescuing the Chibok girls is the need to ensure that they are rescued alive," he said. "We have had teams from the United States, Britain, France, Israel and other friendly nations working with us here on the rescue effort and they all appreciate the challenges and the need to thread carefully to achieve our purpose." Jonathan also thanked Malala for "your efforts to change the world positively through your powerful advocacy for girl-child education," the statement said. Malala later gave a speech to mark Malala Day to an audience that included advocates from the #BringBackOurGirls campaign and some of the schoolgirls who had escaped Boko Haram. Malala said she had told the President: "You need to fulfill your responsibilities." She also issued an appeal to the militants. "I ask Boko Haram to stop misusing the name of Islam," she said. "Lay down your weapons, release your sisters, release my sisters and release the daughters of this nation." A country "becomes powerful when its people become educated," she said. "Let us not forget that one book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world." In May, Malala told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that women were targeted by those who feared a society in which women are empowered. Malala's activism started after the Taliban banned girls from schools in Pakistan's Swat Valley in 2009. She anonymously blogged for the BBC in opposition to that order and became an open advocate for girls' education. her visit coincides with her 17th year birthday which is also Malala Day, a day set aside by the United Nations for the world to focus on putting all girls to school. 

The visit of this global voice of resistance against anti-western education to Nigeria is significant for plethora of reasons, few will suffice. 

Firstly, it is apparent that the agitation for the release of the Chibok girls has gone down. We seem to had resigned to fate given the body language of the federal government which suggest indecisiveness and disinterestedness in the matter. The media, especially the main stream media seems to have moved on to more news worthy issues. Evidently, the visit of Malala has reawaken international consciousness to the precarious condition of the abducted girls. It has re-ignited the agitative spirit of the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners who have been serially intimidated, insulted and blackmailed by the forces of retrogression. 

Secondly, the Nigerian president who in the last three months have been exuding a nonchalant disposition in rescuing our girls has suddenly demonstrated modicum of responsibility. The President has finally pledged to meet with the relatives of the girls and to provide scholarship for the girls, he has equally promised to launch a Support Fund for victims of terror. Malala herself has pledged a contributory sum of $200.000 to the education of the Chibok girls. These are appreciable steps towards assuaging the restive mood of the parents of the girls and the nation. 

Thirdly, Malala's visit has once again brought to the fore the cancerous character of the Nigerian state. It has placed our nation on the global map of failing states. Ours is a nation of lost glory, a nation destitute in conscience, justice and responsible leadership. It has exposed the crass failure of our institutions in protecting the poor, weak and vulnerable. It has shamed the Nigerian political class whose penchant for corruption, tyranny and ethno-religious chauvinism has driven our nation to the precipice. 

Lastly, this epochal visit will to some extent undermine the atavistic and imbecilic doctrinaire of the murderous Boko Haram sect. Being herself a Muslim girl from the Middle East, a part of the world where the orgies of Islamic extremism appeals to many, and having survived the onslaught of the Taliban, a radical Islamic sect, which like Boko Haram, is opposed to western education, especially by women and girls, Malala is most eligible to send a message to the women and girls in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and other warring places in the North where Boko Haram has succeeded in intimidating women and girls out of school; a message that western education is not evil, a message that Muslim women and girls have the right to education, a message that it pays to educate the girl child. As a people and nation, it is advisable for us to utilise Malala's visit for self-censorship, the leadership of this country should be circumspect. Let us ruminate on why it took the visit of Malala for President Jonathan to make commitment of meeting with the parents and relatives of the Chibok girls. 

The federal government and the opposition should desist from dancing on the graves of those innocent Nigerians who have been murdered by Boko Haram. The dirty politics must stop now. Those sponsoring Boko Haram must be identified and brought to justice. To Malala, be rest assured that your place in history is secured. #BringBackOurGirls.

Boko Haram claim Abuja, Lagos attacks in new video...

The leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamists has claimed responsibility for a June 25 bombing in the capital Abuja and an attack the same day at a fuel depot in Lagos, in a new video seen by AFP Sunday.
The authorities tried to cover up the Lagos attack, describing it as an industrial accident, but an AFP investigation revealed it was a deliberate explosion. The scene of the blast at Apapa. “I ordered (the bomber) who went and detonated it,” Abubakar Shekau says of the Lagos bomb, while claiming responsibility for the “bomb in filthy Abuja” that killed at least 22 people.

Nigerian Polytechnics To Resume Tuesday As Teachers End Strike

The Academic Staff union of Polytechnics, ASUP, has suspended its 10-month-old strike. The strike, which started in October 2013, was suspended on Saturday morning at the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the union held in Abuja.
The National Publicity Secretary of ASUP, Clement Chirman, confirmed the suspension of the strike. He said all striking lecturers have been directed to resume work on Tuesday.
The ASUP NEC meeting was held two days after the leadership of the union held a ‘fruitful’ meeting with the new Education Minister, Ibrahim Shekarau, who was sworn in by President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday. The ASUP NEC consists of all chapter (polytechnic) chairmen of the union and the national executive of the body.

Nigeria Police Uncover Plans to Attack Abuja Transport Service

Credible intelligence reports at the disposal of the Nigeria Police indicate that terrorists have perfected plot to carry out attacks on the Abuja transport sector. The attacks which are intended to cause panic amongst Abuja residents and visitors alike are planned to be perpetrated through suicide bombings, or through the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) concealed in luggage, bags, cans, and other receptacles. The Police High Command therefore, while ordering FCT Commissioner of Police in particular and other CPs in adjoining States to beef-up security at major parks around Abuja and its environs, enjoins the general public, particularly those within and outside the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to be roundly vigilant and report any suspicious persons, objects, movements or activities to the Security Forces without delay. Meanwhile, the Police Authorities enjoin citizens not to panic as the Security Forces are working round the clock to neutralize and effectively deal with the threat.
As part of additional efforts at forestalling the attacks and strengthening security around the transport sector, the Police High Command has called on the management of Motor-parks to ensure that travelers and workers’ safety comes first. It charges them to constantly conduct regular and routine scanning of their environments while insisting on carrying out a thorough search on passengers and their bags as well as vehicles entering and leaving their parks. It also advises that such searches must have the active participation of the passengers involved and warns that any item or luggage unaccompanied by any passenger must be rejected outright and should not be allowed into the vehicle. Passengers are also enjoined to be on the lookout for any passenger, who might come in with luggage but will attempt to disembark without such luggage. While operators of motor parks are strongly advised to discourage overnight parking of vehicles at motor parks, particularly by unknown persons, the Police authorities further advise motor park workers to reduce congestion at the parks by disallowing the indiscriminate parking of private cars, tricycles and motorcycles at the precincts of motor parks.
In addition the Police High Command advises that the general public in other places outside the motor parks should also monitor their environments as the terrorists may likely shift attention having known that their plots have been uncovered.
Meanwhile, the Police can be reached on the following hot lines: FCT Police Control Room - 07057337653, Force Intelligence Bureau Operations Room - 08139379245, 08075650624 and National Emergency Line -112.

ACP FRANK MBA
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,
FORCE HEADQUARTERS,
ABUJA

Judiciary Workers To Begin Nationwide Strike On Friday

The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has directed its members across Nigeria to shut down all courts in the country yesterday, July 11, with the exception of the federal courts, over the failure to implement the judgment of the Federal High Court on the financial autonomy of the state judiciaries.
In a communique issued at the end of an emergency meeting, the National Executive Committee of the union however urged Federal judiciary workers to be on the alert for a directive from the National secretariat to join the strike. The communique, which was jointly signed by the National President of the union, Comrade Marwan Mustapha Adamu, and the General Secretary, Comrade Isaiah Adetola, also disclosed that the national secretariat of the union has taken over the industrial dispute recently embarked upon by the River state JUSUN over its leadership crisis.
JUSUN described the fact that both the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Rivers State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) issued separate directives for and against returning to work as “unfair”, adding that the workers cannot serve two masters.
It added that the union will not resume work unless the critical stakeholders in Rivers State amicably resolve the matter so as to ensure the security of the workers. According to the communique, “the security and protection of our members is no longer guaranteed in this leadership crisis that engulfed the Rivers State Judiciary in the last one year.”

UN Providing Food to Refugees Fleeing Violence in Nigeria...

As violence in northeastern Nigeria causes massive displacement, thousands of families have fled across the border into Cameroon where the United Nations World Food Programme, or the WFP, is providing humanitarian assistance despite insecurity and logistical challenges. The United Nations World Food Programme issued a programme that is currently underway in Cameroon. It is the first time that WFP has operated in locations so close to the border with Nigeria, the WFP reports, where the security situation is volatile. Leaving behind burned homes and often running for their lives, close to 8,000 Nigerians have fled since May into the remote northernmost region of Cameroon from the northern Nigerian states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, from where 200 Nigerian school girls were kidnapped in April. Local communities have provided food and shelter to the refugees, but food stocks are running low and many newcomers are already undernourished. "Local communities have helped as much as they can but these refugees are in dire need of food and other assistance. We have found worrying levels of malnutrition, especially among children. Addressing this is a priority for WFP and our humanitarian partners," said Jacques Roy, WFP's representative in Cameroon. WFP began providing assistance to this new wave of Nigerian refugees in June, reaching nearly 7,500 in a first round of food distributions. A nutrition assessment at the end of June found alarming levels of malnutrition among newly-arrived children. In one village in the Waza district, acute malnutrition rates were as high as 25 percent, well above the 15 percent emergency threshold. WFP has also provided local health clinics with new stocks of special nutritional products to help curb malnutrition and is planning to distribute these foods also to all children under five and to all pregnant and nursing mothers among the refugees to prevent malnutrition. Even before the latest influx, Cameroon was already hosting
refugees from Nigeria in the main Minawao camp and in communities.
According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, some 650,000 people have been displaced in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, where attacks by armed groups are happening most frequently and where the greatest numbers of people are
fleeing their homes. Amid fears that more families may flow into Cameroon, WFP and its humanitarian partners in Cameroon are planning for an operation to assist as many as 50,000 by the end of the year.
At the same time, humanitarian organizations in Cameroon are dealing with a significant refugee emergency in the East. Conflict in the Central African Republic has driven 107,000 people into Cameroon's eastern regions. The number is expected to reach 180,000 by the end of the year.

Ebola continues to spread in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea – WHO

Ebola continues to spread in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, with a combined 44 new cases and 21 deaths between July 6 and 8, the World Health Organisation has said.
This brought the total in West Africa’s first outbreak of the deadly disease to 888 cases, including 539 deaths since February. It is the largest and deadliest ever, the UN agency said. “The epidemic trend in Liberia and Sierra Leone remains precarious with high numbers of new cases and deaths being reported,” the WHO said on Friday.
Just one confirmed new case had been reported during the past week in Guinea.
The Economic Community of West African States set up an Ebola solidarity fund at a summit in the capital of Ghana on Thursday in a bid to back a regional approach to the epidemic. Nigeria committed $3.5m to
affected states. “We must do everything within our means and power to defeat this deadly disease. We must exercise vigilance and caution and avoid any panic or misinformation,” Ghanaian President John Mahama, the group’s chairman, said in a speech in Accra. Ebola causes fever, vomiting, bleeding and diarrhoea and kills up to 90 percent of those infected. It is highly contagious and is transmitted through contact with blood and other fluids.
The WHO has flagged three main factors driving its spread: the burial of victims in accordance with tradition, the dense populations around the capital cities of Guinea and Liberia and the bustling cross- border trade across the region.

Falconets caught in FIFA’s web

World soccer governing body, FIFA has tacitly commenced the process of ostracizing Nigeria from global football activities following the recent ousting of the Alhaji Aminu Maigari led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), by a section
of the football fraternity that brands itself as ‘congress’.
This indication came to light following the refusal of FIFA to issue traveling tickets to Nigeria’s U20 Women national team, Falconets to take part in the upcoming U20 Women’s World Cup tagged Canada 2014. The tournament runs between August 5-24 and the Nigerian side was scheduled to travel out early for acclimatization and play some preparatory games before the tournament.
A confused official of the team said the team went to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in the course of the week but were told that the team does not have tickets from FIFA to travel out. They have since returned to their hotel abode in Abuja and have been training under darkness as the foisted NFF leadership seeks to conceal FIFA action against Nigeria.
The team handled by Peter Dededvo, have been in darkness as to the next line of action, even as there are indications that FIFA will not blink an eye in its determination to ensure that Nigeria tows to international football order by reinstating the Maigari led board and wait for the August 26 Congress to take necessary action instead of the current state of brazen interference of the Sports Ministry that is being witnessed.

President Jonathan swears In Former Kano Governor Shekarau As Nigeria’s Education Minister

Mr. Shekarau, a former Kano State governor, decamped from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is rewarded with ministerial appointment. President Goodluck Jonathan has sworn-in the four new ministers, who were cleared by the National Assembly. They include Ibrahim Shekarau, Stephen Oru, Adedayo Adeyeye and Abdul Bulama. Mr. Shekarau, a former Kano State governor, decamped from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Shortly after swearing them in, the President announced their portfolio and also announced a minor rearrangement in the current cabinet. The President announced Mr. Shekarau as the new Education Minister; Mr. Adeyeye was named Minister of State for Works; Mr. Oru, Minister of Niger Delta; and Mr. Bulama, Minister of Science and Technology. Mr. Jonathan also announced that the current Minister of Works, Bashir Yuguda, will now be the Minster of State for Finance and substantive Minister of National Planning. Mr. Yuguda is filling the vacancy created by the exit of the former minister of state of finance, Yerima Ngama. In his cabinet shake up last year September, the President had designated the Minister of Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson, to oversee the Ministry of Science and Technology, vacated by Ita Ewa Okon; while the Minister of State, Works, Bashir Yuguda, was assigned to oversee the Ministry of National Planning following the sack of the longest serving cabinet member, Shamsudeen Usman, who was first appointed minister by late President Umaru Yar’Adua. In his remarks, Wednesday, President Jonathan while congratulating the ministers on their appointment, urged them to work hard not to only impress him but also Nigerians as they were coming in at the ‘injury time.’ Mr. Jonathan told the new ministers that there was no time to rest but to quickly adjust and begin work. “Let me congratulate you for this appointment,” he said. “But It is not an enviable appointment because in football match when you get to the injury time and a player is brought in you expect goals. This government has less than a year to go and you have been brought in this time, so you know the reason why you have been brought in.” “You have no time to sleep, unfortunately for you because first you have to learn how to climb the ropes, because maybe it is a different setting, no matter how experienced you are if you go to something different you will need some time to adjust. “But from your background we know that all of you are eminently qualified to be here and we know that it will not take you too many hours to settle down. We believe that you will perform not just to satisfy Mr President but to satisfy Nigerians. “You are not just serving the President as a principal aide, but you are serving our motherland and in this we will expect the best from you especially at this time when there is global competition” he said.

53 Terrorists Die As Troops Location Come Under Attack … 4 Arrested With Explosives Hidden In A Truck Carrying Fish Consignment

           

Over 50 terrorists died as troops repelled a daring attack on troops’ locations in Damboa, Borno State yesterday night. The terrorists had stormed the troops’ bases and police locations while most of the troops were out on patrol of surrounding villages.
A total of 5 soldiers and a senior officer were also killed while repelling the attack.  A Cordon and search of the locality is ongoing, while the bodies of the fallen soldiers have been recovered and deposited in the military morgue. The wounded are also receiving treatment in the military medical facility.
In another development, troops on patrol around Baga area have recovered explosives and rifles concealed in a truck loaded with fish and other commodities. Four suspects
have been taken into custody in connection with the incident.
At Konduga also in Borno State, a suicide bomber in a Golf car yesterday crashed into a checkpoint killing himself, a policeman and 3 Vigilante Youth members.

Major General, Chris OLUKOLADE
Director Defence Information

Nigerian Soldiers On Rampage In Lagos

A battalion of Nigerian soldiers today took
over the busy Lagos-Ikorodu Road in the
Nigeria’s commercial city of Lagos to protest
the death of their colleague who reportedly
died in an auto accident involving one of the
public buses known as “BRT." The soldiers
assaulted commuters using the public buses
and set at least for buses ablaze. Also, a
security guard in the area was killed by the
rampaging soldiers leading to a complete
breakdown of laws and order in the area.

Nigeria army Bust terrorists' Intelligence Network…Arrest A Key Actor In Chibok Abduction

Nigeria's military said Monday it had broken up a Boko Haram intelligence cell and arrested its leader, alleged to have taken part in the abduction of over 200 teenage girls in April. A defence headquarters statement said that troops have found a militants' 'intelligence cell' headed by a businessman "who participated actively in the abduction of school girls in Chibok," in northeast Borno state last April 14. Of the 276 girls abducted, 57 have been found while 219 are still missing. The businessman identified as Babuji Ya’ari, who was also a member of a civilian youth group that worked along with the military, popularly known as Civilian JTF (Joint Task Force), allegedly used his position as a cover to work for the militants, it said. "The arrest of the businessman who is known to deal in tricycles has also yielded some vital information and facilitated the arrest of other members of the terrorists’ intelligence cell who are women," the military said. The statement accused the suspect of spying for the Islamists as well as spearheading the murder of Emir of Gwoza in Borno state a month ago. He has been coordinating several deadly attacks in Maiduguri since 2011, including the attacks on customs and military locations in the town, a hotbed of the sect, it said. There is no independent confirmation of the military claim. Boko Haram Islamists are blamed for killing thousands since 2009, but the first half of this year has been the bloodiest stretch of the insurgency, with more than 2,000 people killed. An attack on churches on Sunday near Chibok blamed on Boko Haram gunmen killed 54 people, an official has said. They hurled explosives into churches, torched buildings and fired on worshippers as they tried to flee, residents said.