Who are we to believe: Nigerian Army or Cameroonian Army

Embarrassed by reports that close to 500 Nigerian soldiers fled into Cameroonian to escape from heavily armed Boko Haram insurgents, Nigerian military authorities today posted a Statement claiming that the soldiers had charged into the neighboring West African country in a tactical maneuver. Cameroonian officials had told the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that at least 480 Nigerian soldiers had been disarmed and were being held in the protective custody of their gendarmes after the soldiers crossed into Cameroon while fleeing from a fierce attack by the Islamist insurgents. But in a post on its website, Nigeria’s Defense Headquarters claimed that the Nigerian troops found in Cameroun resulted from a sustained battle between the troops and the terrorists around the borders with Cameroun, adding that the Nigerian soldiers charged through the borders in a tactical maneuver. “Eventually [the soldiers] found themselves on Cameroonian soil,” the Nigerian military stated. The release added: “Being allies the normal protocol of managing such incident demanded that the troops submit their weapons in order to assure the friendly country that they were not on a hostile mission. “Following necessary discussions between Nigerian and Cameroonian military authorities, the issues have been sorted out. Subsequently, the troops are on their way back to join their unit in Nigeria. “The reference to the incidence as a defection is therefore not appropriate considering the discussion between the two countries’ military leadership and the series of contacts with the soldiers who have confirmed that they are safe. “Meanwhile, troops are repelling a group of terrorists who are trying to enter the country through Gamboru-Ngala. A group of them who fizzled into the town are being pursued.”

In New Gruesome Video, Boko Haram Declares Caliphate, Shows Scenes Of Fleeing Soldiers, Civilian Massacres

Abubakar Shekau, the mercurial leader of Nigeria’s Islamist group, Boko Haram, today released a video in which he declares the areas under his sect’s control a Caliphate and shows scenes of carnage carried out by his fighters against unarmed civilians. The video, which is the most gruesome since Boko Haram started the tradition of periodic releases of videotaped messages, also shows Nigerian soldiers fleeing from approaching insurgents. Mr. Shekau, who has used such images to cultivate the image of a fierce, reckless and merciless threat, appears to have tailored the current video to draw maximum global attention to his group. His declaration of a Caliphate is reminiscent of the style of the Sunni Islamic group, ISIS that has shot to the frontline of sectarian terrorist groups after declaring its ambition to build an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. In his just released video, obtained by Saharareporters, Mr. Shekau said Boko Haram insurgents were grateful to “Allah who gave us victory to attack Abuja and also the Yobe [State] town called Damaturu.” In his characteristic rambling manner, Mr. Shekau added, “We still thank God for the successful bombing of Damboa and other parts of Nigeria. We are grateful to Allah for the big victory he granted our members in Gwoza and made the town part of our Islamic Caliphate.” Even though Boko Haram has always stated its rejection of Western education and values in Nigeria, the current video is the first time the group’s leader has explicitly declared a Caliphate, a term implying that the areas under Boko Haram’s control would be governed according to strict Islamic codes. Mr. Shekau lashed out at Western nations for supporting Nigeria to fight his insurgent fighters. “We are in an Islamic Caliphate. We have nothing to do with Nigeria. We don't believe in this name," he said, vowing that his group would continue attacks to achieve greater territorial control. Mr. Shekau stated that Boko Haram released the video in order to explain its recent attacks, officially acknowledging that the Islamist insurgents carried out recent attacks in Damboa, Gwoza and other communities in Borno and Yobe States. In the video, he revealed that Boko Haram also executed some of its members whom he described as infidels. “Oh people, I'm making this speech because of the lies being spread always by the government,” he stated. Mr. Shekau expressed his rage at youth volunteers (popularly called civilian Joint Task Force) who repelled attacks by Boko Haram and killed some insurgents. “Have you forgotten what you did to our brethren? You were even asking 'are you Boko Haram, have you ever carried a gun? This was how you killed our members,” said Mr. Shekau, threatening to avenge the killings of his fighters. Excerpts of the transcribed speech by Mr. Shekau are provided below: "I chose to deliver this message in order to refute the lies being spread by the government, about the operations we had in recent times. "We warn the vigilantes called civilian JTF to back off; if not, there will be no place for them to hide. We have evidence of how you killed some of our brethren whom you would ask if they were Boko Haram members before you killed them. We know how you humiliated them by asking them if they had ever carried guns or killed someone…We know everything about the evil you committed against our brethren. "We still have the magnanimity of asking you to repent because you will never succeed in this way by the grace of Allah. And I swear by Allah that we will never stop killing you, because Allah commanded us to kill people like you. If we pity you and spare you, one day you will become infidels. So, to us, having pity on you is an act of disbelief. You can continue to run or hide your identities in women’s attire, but we will get to you and remove the women’s clothing off of you. Then, while you are shouting for mercy, we will strike, smash your heads and kill you all. Even if you don't do anything to us we will kill you...We would do it even to avenge our brethren. You killed our brethren in large numbers. "We don't joke with religion (quoting from the Koran). There is no hypocrisy in this religion. It is only the truth. "We are not proud of our strength, nor with our weapons nor with anything we have but we are only proud of victory from Allah the exalted. Victory is only from God. Who is America in the sight of Allah? Who is America in the sight of Allah? Who is Israel in the sight of Allah? Who is France in the sight of Allah?”

Immigration set to recruit 5,000 officers

The Minister of Interior , Abba Moro , on Friday said the Federal Government planned to recruit 5 , 000 officers into the Nigeria Immigration Service ( NIS ) over the next five years . Moro said this in Abuja at the 2014 Comptroller- General ’ s annual conference and stakeholder’ s forum in commemoration of the 50 th anniversary of the service . The two - day conference organised by the service is themed : “Effective Border Control Systems and Procedures for National Security ” . He said recruitment was aimed at enabling the service to increase the number of officers manning the country ’ s 4 , 400 square kilometer borders. “ The fact that we have fewer than 23 , 000 immigration officers manning our very long stretch of border means there is need to add more men into the service . “ We owe Nigeria and Nigerians the duty of securing our borders in spite of the security challenges the country is facing now , ” he said. He said due to the extensive responsibilities of the service , the ministry was committed to supporting it towards being a world class migration management organisation in technologically - driven society . “ The Nigeria Immigration Service has been participating actively in the fight against insurgency in the North East and cross border organised crimes and criminality . “ We have lost some officers in the line of duty but I am pleased to note that in spite of all odds and challenges , our officers and men are fighting on , ” he said. Moro urged the officers to be committed in their service delivery and ensure that they delivered on President Goodluck Jonathan ’ s charge to deliver travel documents to Nigerians within 24 hours . He said that “business as usual ” would no longer be tolerated , adding that corruption and extortion would be appropriately sanctioned . Earlier , Comptroller- General of the NIS , David Parradang , called for the recruitment of at least 5, 000 new officers annually into the service over the next five years . He expressed concern over the unmanned 1 , 400 illegal border routes in the country , noting that, while there were only 84 approved land routes across the over 4, 000 square - kilometre border, the over 1 , 400 illegal routes caused serious security implications for the country . “ NIS presently has a total of 22 , 321 staff and the enormous statutory obligations of the NIS coupled with emerging migration trends and trajectories make this number of personnel grossly inadequate . “ The un - demarcated and poorly marked borders make settlement of people in border communities intertwined and stringent control by the service apparently difficult. He also called for the construction of border plazas equipped with radars, sensors , cargo and document scanners and modern border patrol aircraft , boats, vehicles and communication gadgets. “ Improved training and re - training of our personnel is also required to enable them cope with the dynamics of modern migration management . “ Given the enabling environment and the necessary support, the service can be placed on a better pedestal to guarantee a more improved performance , ” he said. The Chairman , Senate Committee on Interior , Sen. Atiku Bagudu, and his House of Representatives counterpart, Rep . Umar Bature , as well as retired officers of the service attended the conference .

Ebola Report

Help prevent the spread of Ebola! Report any suspected case to 08037879701/08037154575 or email ebolainfo@health.gov.ng (Federal Ministry of Health)

Popular Shopping Mall In Ibadan Gutted By Fire

The busy Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan, Oyo State, has been gutted by fire a source closed to the area.
The fire started around 11: 40 PM Nigeria time, leaving many residents close to the area panicky and running away from the area of the wild fire for safety.
According to the Source, who sent a text message to our correspondent, the cause of the raging fire is not yet known, but properties worth millions of naira have already been destroyed. Aleshinloye market is known as one of the busiest shopping malls in Ibadan North area of Oyo state.
As at the time of filling this report, men of the fire service in Oyo state are at the area to curtail the raging inferno.

Governor Aregbesola Coasts To Victory In Osun Governorship Election

Incumbent governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola is on the verge of being formally declared as the winner of the governorship election in Osun that held on Saturday August 8 2014. Electoral results officially released by INEC show that that Mr. Aregbesola is leading his closest rival, Iyiola Omisore of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) by at least more than 100,000 votes. Reports coming from Osun earlier disclosed that Mr. Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) party was comfortably ahead based our monitoring of results from polling stations across Osun state. INEC figures in 30 local government areas show that Aregbesola has scored the highest votes in the election against Omisore An INEC official speaking this night from Osogbo told us that figures received from a variety of polling centers suggest that the incumbent governor will be officially announced as Saturday election in a matter of a few hours. The PDP had pulled all the stops in effort to defeat Mr. Aregbesola and to sustain the momentum gained by the party when it won the June governorship election in Ekiti state. Reproduced below are the results collated : ELECTION RESULTS S/N LGA APC PDP 

1 ATAKUMOTA EAST 9,134 6,292 

2 ATAKUMOSA WEST 6,928 5,142 

3 AYEDAADE 13,186 11,306 

4 AYEDIRE 7,834 7,828 

5 BOLOWADURO 4,891 5,035 

6 BORIPE 12,723 9,344 

7 EDE NORTH 17,385 11,064 

8 EDE SOUTH 11,738 7,462 

9 EGBEDORE 10,615 7,024 

10 EJIGBO 9,942 4,422 

11 IFE CENTRAL 9,650 24,555 

12 IFEDAYO 4,225 3,982 

13 IFE EAST 13,821 20,831 

14 IFELODUN 17,447 12,476 

15 IFE NORTH 8,603 9,841 

16 IFE SOUTH 6,544 13,022 

17 ILA 10,825 7,916 

18 ILESA EAST 16,106 5,913 

19 ILESA WEST 15,427 5,449

 20 IREPODUN 13,314 7,386 

21 IREWOLE 17,939 10,263 

22 ISOKAN 9,578 10,028 

23 IWO 21,093 15,435 

24 OBOKUN 11,696 8,618 

25 ODO OTIN 11,950 12,902 

26 OLA OLUWA 7,927 4,953

27 OLORUNDA 26,496 8,466 

28 ORIADE 12,523 10,214 

29 OROLU 8,558 6,786 24,114 

30 OSOGBO 39,948 12,398 

TOTAL 387,504 286,947

 MARGIN= 101,693

US Surveillance Plane SpotsAbducted Chibok Girls

The news came as another U.S. paper, USA Today, launched fresh attacks on President Goodluck Jonathan over his handling of the crisis. In an editorial Tuesday, the newspaper accused Mr. Jonathan of showing no sufficient commitment to rescuing the girls. A United States surveillance plane has spotted what appears to be a group of girls abducted from Chibok by Boko Haram in April. The girls were spotted in July, raising the hope that their rescue is still possible, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, quoting U.S. officials. The girls were abducted from their dormitory in Government Secondary School Chibok, Borno State in the North-eastern part of Nigeria. Amid international outrage, the United States, Britain, France and Canada offered intelligence support and sent specialists to Nigeria. The effort has yielded little, while global attention has gradually receded. Over 50 of the girls have however escaped leaving more than 200 still in captivity. United States officials said the aerial surveillance also showed that most of the girls are still held captive by the group and have not been married off or used as sex slaves as feared and threatened by the group. The surveillance flights over northeastern Nigeria spotted a group of 60 to 70 girls held in an open field early July, two U.S. defense officials were quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying. A set of roughly 40 girls were later seen in a different field. The paper cited reports that referred to intermediaries who reached out to Boko Haram, as saying that the leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, ordered his fighters to treat the girls as valued hostages and not sex slaves. “He gave a directive that anybody found touching any of the girls should be killed immediately,” the report said. The news came as another U.S. paper, USA Today, launched fresh attacks on President Goodluck Jonathan over his handling of the crisis. In an editorial Tuesday, the newspaper accused Mr. Jonathan of showing no sufficient commitment to rescuing the girls. “Jonathan, in Washington this week for a U.S.-Africa summit, says his government is making every effort to find the girls. But he offers no evidence, is dismissive of the foreign help and argues that divulging any details could compromise the mission,” the paper said. The newspaper said the Nigerian government was not matching its words with actions in their rescue efforts.

Nigerian Doctor Who Attended To Liberian Man Comes Down With Ebola Virus In Lagos

Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, has just confirmed that one of the doctors who attended to Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian, who recently died of Ebola in Nigeria, is now sick with the disease.
Chukwu said two other people placed under quarantine were showing signs of the disease, although it is too early to say if their symptoms relates to Ebola. Sawyer was Nigeria’s first case of Ebola death two weeks ago, and since his demise there have been widespread fears that some of the more than 70 people he had contact with also develop the virus.