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We are Back and running

Just want to say a big thank you to all our fans for their patience and for staying with us this long. Just want to inform you all that we a...

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ACF to monitor soldiers in state of emergency zone

THE Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)  has declared readiness to raise a team that would monitor soldiers and ensure that they abide by the rules of engagement in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. <br /> This was part of the resolution at the National Executive Council (NEC) of the ACF, in Kaduna, on Thursday.<br /> A communique signed by the deputy national publicity secretary of the ACF, Fati Ibrahim, said the meeting was presided over by its chairman, Alhaji Aliko Mohammed and was attended by delegations from all the states of the North. <br /> After reviewing and discussing recent developments in the country, the ACF took notice of the proclamation of the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by the Federal Government on the grounds that attacks and killings by insurgents and other terrorist groups required massive military response.<br /> “The meeting was concerned that the president appears to have more faith in a military solution, even where evidence from our experiences so far bears no such optimism.<br /> “It is the hope of the ACF, therefore, that the Federal Government does not consider the increased military deployment as a superior option or alternative to the slower and more tedious path of dialogue, negotiation and conciliation.<br /> “Given the dismal history of peace-making campaigns by the military all over the world, dispatching battalion after battalion to the field in the hope of combating insurgents or terrorists sound naive,” the forum said.<br /> The ACF called on the military to avoid the temptation of deploying tactics or adopt measures that would cause increased civilian casualties and bloodshed under the cover of emergency rule. <br /> “They are well advised to involve the local populace in their operational plans, in order to minimise collateral civilian suffering,” the group added.

ACF to monitor soldiers in state of emergency zone

THE Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)  has declared readiness to raise a team that would monitor soldiers and ensure that they abide by the r...

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Insecurity: FG deports 19,000 illegal immigrants

A total of 19,000 illegal immigrants who gained entry into the country over the years have, so far, been deported, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to boost security in the country.<br /> This came as the Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro, disclosed that the number of illegal immigrants in the country had soared as a result of the porous borders and the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) protocol on free movement of persons and goods.<br /> Speaking in Abuja at a leadership forum organised by the Nigerian Pilot/Newsworld, on Thursday, the minister lamented that Nigeria did not have an accurate figure of illegal immigrants currently in the country, due to the factors that fuelled their entry.<br /> The minister said the country required extraordinary measure to deal with what he described as extraordinary problem, noting that the government would consider construction of relevant perimeter fence at the nation’s borders if the means became available, so as to curb entry of illegal immigrants into the country.<br /> Moro said what the country needed to do was to classify the borders and construct legal border plazas and then deploy officers to the plazas to assist curb the trend.<br /> He, however, expressed disappointment that there was no quick solution to the myriad of illegal borders, while hinting that illegal immigrants were becoming impediments to effective policing of the country.<br /> According to him, the ministry was in the process of acquiring ICT equipment to effectively manage border security, so as to stem threats to national security.<br /> Moro said the Federal Government was thinking of decentralisation of the nation’s prison system, to enhance effective management, although that was subject to when the relevant prison act and the constitution were amended.

Insecurity: FG deports 19,000 illegal immigrants

A total of 19,000 illegal immigrants who gained entry into the country over the years have, so far, been deported, as the Federal Governme...

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Lagos employs 70 women truck drivers

The Lagos State Government on Friday said it had just employed 70 women as truck drivers, as part of efforts to empower women in the state. <br /> The Deputy Gov., Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, announced this at a news conference in Ikeja organised to mark Gov. Babatunde Fashola`s sixth year in office.<br /> She said that the women had been trained on driving large vehicles before they were deployed to the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) as waste truck drivers.<br /> “We are also considering training and empowering women as Taxi drivers. We are currently examining some security risks that these women might face driving taxis.<br /> “But we hope to partner with some hotels in the state on how we can attach some of these female taxi drivers to them, so that we can track who they are dropping off, in case there is a problem,“ she said.<br /> Orelope-Adefulire, who oversees the Ministry of Women Empowerment, stressed that gender equality and women empowerment were top on the agenda of the Fashola administration.<br /> She said the government had established a number of skills acquisition centres across the state, saying that thousands of women had acquired trade skills at such centres, to set up their businesses.<br /> The deputy governor added that women entrepreneurs who were in need of tools and equipment for their trades had also been assisted by the government with such needs.<br /> She said the government, through the ministry, had facilitated micro-credits for small-scale business women, to assist them grow their businesses.<br /> Orelope-Adefulire said the government was making steady progress at attaining the 35 per cent Affirmative Action with the appointment of more women into top positions in the state.<br /> “Though we are yet to attain 35 per cent Afirmative  Action, we are aggressively working towards it.Today. we have more and more women occupying top positions in government.<br /> “68 judges, 92 magistrates and 52 Permanent Secretaries is a indeed progress. We are still working harder and we will surely surpass the 35 per cent target at the end of the day,“ she said.<br /> The deputy governor, however, decried the growing cases of domestic violence in the state, saying that the government was taking appropriate steps to control the trend.

Lagos employs 70 women truck drivers

The Lagos State Government on Friday said it had just employed 70 women as truck drivers, as part of efforts to empower women in the state...

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Members of Boko Haram may face war crimes charges – UN

United Nations – Members of Boko Haram and other extremist groups in Nigeria, could face war crimes charges for deliberate acts leading to ethnic and religious cleansing, the UN has said.<br /> Rupert Colvile, the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said this in a statement made available at the UN Head quarters in New York on Friday.<br /> He reiterated calls on Boko Haram and other extremist groups in Nigeria to cease their “cowardly attacks” against civilians, members of government institutions, security forces and foreign nationals.<br /> “The High Commissioner noted that members of Boko Haram, if judged to have committed systematic attacks against a civilian population on grounds such as religion or ethnicity could be found guilty of crimes against humanity.<br /> “Deliberate acts leading to population `cleansing’ on grounds of religion or ethnicity could also amount to a crime against humanity,” Colville stressed.<br /> In recent weeks, more than 220 people have been killed in violent clashes between military forces and the Islamist group, Boko Haram.<br /> OHCHR has urged the Nigerian government to abide by human rights principles during security patrols.<br /> The rights body also said it was concerned about the large number of casualties, reportedly including many civilians, and massive destruction of houses and property.<br /> Colville urged the government to ensure that international human rights law was respected during its emergency operations.<br /> Similarly the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon had said he remained very concerned about the ongoing instability in the country.<br /> He underscored the need for all concerned to fully respect human rights and to safeguard the lives of all Nigerians. <br />

Members of Boko Haram may face war crimes charges – UN

United Nations – Members of Boko Haram and other extremist groups in Nigeria, could face war crimes charges for deliberate acts leading to ...

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NEF to Jonathan: You ‘ve declared war on Northern Nigeria

Northern elders, yesterday, broke their silence on the slamming of state of emergency on three states, describing the action of President Goodluck Jonathan as an indirect declaration of war on Northern Nigeria.<br /> The President’s action, which took the northern elders by surprise, came barely three weeks after Jonathan accepted a roadmap from the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, on how to end the Boko Haram insurgency.<br /> The elders had successfully impressed upon the Presidency to raise the Boko Haram committee to dialogue with the sect to restore elusive peace to the region.<br /> Jonathan, who met with the NEF leadership in Abuja in April, subsequently inaugurated the Turaki-led committee with a mandate to broker peace with the sect and compensate their victims within a two-month time frame.<br /> However, after inaugurating the panel, the sect leadership rejected the amnesty offer, saying that it was the government that should seek amnesty for having killed its Muslim brothers.<br /> But irked by continuous bloodletting in several parts of the north, President Jonathan on Tuesday called on the armed forces to move into the states of Borno, Yobo and Adamawa, arrest suspected terrorists and restore peace in those places.<br /> Many reports indicated that soldiers armed with armoured tank were already on the ground in the affected states preparatory to take out terrorists from their strongholds scattered in the North Eastern part of the country.<br /> But a spokesman for the NEF, Prof Ango Abdullahi, who relayed the position of the group, told Vanguard that they were disappointed by the sudden change of tactic by Jonathan on how to resolve the crisis in the north.<br /> <br /> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_365714" style="width: 422px;"> <img alt="President Goodluck Jonathan (C, R), standing next to Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima (C, L) waves upon his arrival at Maiduguri international airport on March 7, 2013. Jonathan visits two cities in northeast Nigeria, where Islamist group Boko Haram has carried out scores of attacks, his first trip to the embattled region since taking office in 2010. AFP PHOTO" class="size-full wp-image-365714" height="250" src="http://d12nfihn4mbl66.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Borno-Jonathan.jpg?119b56" width="412" /><div class="wp-caption-text"> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">File photo: President Goodluck Jonathan (C, R), standing next to Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima (C, L) waves upon his arrival at Maiduguri international airport on March 7, 2013. Jonathan visits two cities in northeast Nigeria, where Islamist group Boko Haram has carried out scores of attacks, his first trip to the embattled region since taking office in 2010.  </span></i></div> </div> Abdullahi said: “It is very sad to see that the President has easily changed direction from dialogue and reconciliation to war in his bid to end the cycle of violence in the north.<br /> “The volte-face by Jonathan amounts to undermining our agreement with him on peace and reconciliation and we are disturbed that he has opted for force rather than peace to end the violence.<br /> “What the President has done has now justified the fear of those who rejected membership of the Boko Haram amnesty committee on the suspicion that he was not sincere in setting up the panel and that it was programmed to fail so as to justify military action against the north.<br /> “We hereby call on the President to immediately disband the so-called Boko Haram amnesty committee, as there is no need to continue to waste public funds on a matter, whose purpose has been deliberately truncated by the very person who initiated it.<br /> The NEF has lately been mounting opposition against Jonathan’s re-election bid in 2015, insisting that it is their turn to occupy the top post.<br /> Vows to truncate Jonathan’s 2015 presidency<br /> The group has vowed to wrestle power from Jonathan in 2015 by presenting a candidate that would defeat the President at the polls.<br /> At a meeting with the Borno State Governor on Tuesday, the NEF stated that they had what it takes to produce the next President of Nigeria and they would seek to do just that.<br /> Though Jonathan has not openly declared his intent to run, his kinsmen and foot soldiers have been threatening there would be war if he is dumped at the poll.<br /> The Presidency is yet to condemn or distance itself from the strident calls by various Ijaw groups and individuals in the Niger Delta for him to be re-elected or for Nigeria to break up.

NEF to Jonathan: You ‘ve declared war on Northern Nigeria

Northern elders, yesterday, broke their silence on the slamming of state of emergency on three states, describing the action of President ...

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Casualties as military launch air strikes on Boko Haram strongholds

Nigeria’s military on Friday attacked Boko Haram Islamist strongholds across the northeast, launching deadly air strikes on insurgent camps, the military said, while residents reported that forces had deployed in border areas to block the militants from fleeing. <br /> Several thousand soldiers have spread across three northeastern states where President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency after Boko Haram seized territory and declared war against the government.<br /> <div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_389583" style="width: 422px;"> <a href="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/05/casualties-as-military-launch-air-strikes-on-boko-haram/army1-7/" rel="attachment wp-att-389583"><img alt="Nigerian soldier, part of the "Operation Flush" patrolling in the remote northeast town of Baga, Borno State." class="size-full wp-image-389583" height="250" src="http://d12nfihn4mbl66.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Army1.jpg?119b56" width="412" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Nigerian soldier, part of the “Operation Flush” patrolling in the remote northeast town of Baga, Borno State.</i></span></div> </div> “There have been air strikes since Wednesday,” defence spokesman Brigadier General Chris Olukolade told AFP, specifying that they were continuing Friday.<br /> “Every one of their strongholds is under attack,” he said, adding that he believed “there are a lot of casualties,” without providing a figure.<br /> The offensive is ongoing in all three states put under emergency decree, including Adamawa and Yobe, but Borno state is expected to see the most intense fighting.<br /> Many have warned that there is a risk of high civilian deaths and Nigeria’s military has been accused of massive rights violations in the past, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians.<br /> The operation is the largest against Boko Haram since 2009, when soldiers flooded Borno’s capital Maiduguri, killing more than 800 people and forcing the insurgents underground for a year.<br /> In the town of Gamburu Ngala on the border with Cameroon in northern Borno, residents said that heavily armed troops and tanks arrived on Wednesday, sealing off previously unmanned border posts.<br /> Northeast Nigeria, the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency, has porous borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger, with criminal groups and militants flowing freely between the countries.<br /> “Since January the border posts have been abandoned…but now these posts have been taken over by soldiers,” said resident Haruna Garba.<br /> Olukolade confirmed that forces had been sent to the region, but would not say whether the borders had been sealed.<br /> Reports of Boko Haram’s presence in Cameroon first emerged in February, following the kidnap there of a French family visiting a game park near the Nigerian border.<br /> The abduction was claimed by Boko Haram and the family was released in April.<br /> Soldiers have surrounded the town of Krenuwa in Marte district, also in northern Borno and one of the areas where Boko Haram has taken power, chased away all government officials and removed Nigerian flags, residents said.<br /> Abur Kullima told AFP Friday that he fled his home in Krenuwa in fear of the coming assault.<br /> He said that after the state of emergency was declared in a national broadcast late Tuesday, Islamist gunmen began moving through the district trying to mobilise people “in preparation to face Nigerian troops.”<br /> “I was so scared for my life and my family’s, which led me to decide to leave,” he told AFP from Gamburu Ngala, where he is staying with a friend.<br /> Anyone who tries to leave Krenuwa is screened by the soldiers who have encircled the town, he said.<br /> Boko Haram has become notorious for blending in with the local population, both in towns and major cities where they have carried out suicide bombings as well as gun and bomb assaults.<br /> The group says it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, but its demands have repeatedly shifted.<br /> Some believe it has sought closer ties to foreign extremist groups like Al-Qaeda’s North Africa affiliate, but most analysts believe its agenda is primarily domestic.<br /> Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer but the population remains extremely poor and many of Boko Haram’s fighters are believed to be youths radicalised out of frustration with government corruption.<br /> The conflict is estimated to have cost 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces

Casualties as military launch air strikes on Boko Haram strongholds

Nigeria’s military on Friday attacked Boko Haram Islamist strongholds across the northeast, launching deadly air strikes on insurgent camps...

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