Troops Recovered eight more towns in Yobe, Adamawa

L-R: Terrorists’ vehicle destroyed by troops and another vehicle mounted with anti- aircraft gun recovered by the Nigerian



The Director of Defence
Information, Maj.-Gen
Chris Olukolade, has said that troops have
recaptured more towns from the members of
the Boko Haram sect.
Olukolade said in a statement on Friday that
the troops handed out a crushing defeat to the
insurgents and recovered the headquarters of
Gulani Local Government Area of Yobe State,
Bara, and the headquarters of Madagali Local
Government area, Gulag, from them in the
early hours of Friday.
He said that the troops also flushed out
terrorists from other locations such as Shikah,
Fikayel, Tetebah, Buza, Kamla and Bumsa,
during the two-day operation.
According to Olukolade, many insurgents were
killed in the fierce fighting that preceded the
liberation of the communities.
The Defence spokesman said that the troops
recovered and destroyed several arms and
ammunition, vehicles and other equipment.
According to him, the items recovered
included anti-air craft guns, general purpose
machine guns, barrel grenade launchers, rifles
and mortar guns.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan
expressed confidence that troops would
sustain the gains they have been recording in
the fight against the Boko Haram sect.
He assured that the military would recover
more territories seized by the terrorist group.
Jonathan gave the assurance when the
outgoing French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr.
Jacques Champagne De Labriolle, visited him
at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to a statement by his Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben
Abati, the President said the officers and men
of the Nigerian Army he met on the frontline in
Borno and Adamawa states on Thursday were
in high spirits, well prepared and determined
to successfully complete their operations
against the terrorist group.
“We have already recovered much territory
and very soon our troops will clear the
terrorists out of other areas not presently
under our control.”
Accepting a congratulatory message from
President Francois Hollande to Nigeria for
recent successes of its armed forces against
Boko Haram, Jonathan restated Nigeria’s
appreciation of France’s support for Nigeria
and its neighbours in the fight against
terrorism.
He commended Hollande for organising the
Paris Summit of Heads of State of Nigeria,
Benin Republic, Cameroon, Niger and Chad in
May 2014 to foster greater regional
cooperation against terrorism and insurgency.
The President pledged that beyond the
ongoing military campaign in the North-East,
Nigeria would continue to implement all
agreements reached at the summit to ensure
lasting peace and security within its borders
and in neighbouring countries.
Jonathan, however, reassured the international
community of his commitment to free, fair and
credible polls in the country next month.
The President wished the outgoing
ambassador well in his future endeavours and
urged him to always be a “good ambassador
of Nigeria’’.
In his remarks, Labriolle said that France was
“confident in the future of Nigeria and its
ability to continue playing a huge role in Africa
and world affairs.”
The ambassador also expressed delight at
improved trade and economic ties between
Nigeria and France in the last three years,
noting that over 250 French companies are
currently operating in Nigeria.

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17 dead, 27 injured in Yobe Bus Blast- Witness, Rescuers

At least 17 people were killed on Tuesday
when a blast ripped through a bus in
Potiskum, northeast Nigeria, witnesses and
rescue workers said, in the latest violence to
hit the troubled region.
The explosion happened at the Tashar Dan-
Borno motor park on the outskirts of the city
immediately after a man put a bag in the boot
of the bus and then tried to board.
“The bus had just loaded with passengers on
its way to Kano when a huge explosion
happened inside the bus at exactly 11:40 am
(1040 GMT),” said a driver’s union official at
the bus station.
Potiskum, the commercial capital of Yobe
state, has been hit repeatedly by bombings,
including on Sunday, when a young girl with
explosives strapped to her body blew up at a
crowded market.
Thirteen dead and 31 injured were initially
brought to Potiskum General Hospital after
Tuesday’s blast, according to a nurse at the
facility, but she added: “Four more died here.
“So, we have 17 dead and 27 people with
injuries.”
The drivers’ union official said it was not
immediately clear whether the man who placed
the bag in the boot was a suicide bomber or
whether the explosives were hidden inside it.
– ‘Bus engulfed in flames’ –
Rescue workers at the scene said that all 12
people on board the bus were killed.
The girl in Sunday’s attack which left seven
people dead in Potiskum was thought to be as
young as seven, according to multiple
witnesses.
Boko Haram Islamists have increasingly used
young girls and women as human bombs,
with so-called “soft targets” such as markets
and bus stations hit regularly.
Both bombings again underlined the severe
security challenges facing Nigeria in the run-up
to presidential and parliamentary elections on
March 28.
The elections were initially scheduled for
February 14 but were delayed by six weeks to
give the military and its allies more time to
secure and stabilise the northeast to allow
people to vote.
Waziri Danu, who lives in the area, said of the
latest bombing: “I was at a car wash nearby
when I heard a huge explosion and saw
volleys of fire and smoke coming from the
motor park.
“I and people around rushed to the place and
we saw a bus engulfed in flames… It is not
likely if anyone in the vehicle has survived.”
Another driver, who also asked not to be
identified, said: “We were taking turns to load
when this man came. He appeared to be in a
hurry.
“He asked if the bus was going to Kano. I said
yes. But before he could be screened he
dropped his bag in the boot among other
luggage and just made to enter the bus.
“Some people tried to restrain him for the
screening but then there was an explosion.”


Vanguard.

IS Jihadists kidnapped 90 Christians in Syria: Monitor

Jihadists from the Islamic State group have
kidnapped at least 90 Assyrian Christians in
northeast Syria, after overrunning two villages,
a monitor said Tuesday.
The abductions appeared to be the first time
the group has kidnapped Christians en masse
in Syria, though the jihadists have taken
thousands of prisoners as they have advanced
in the country and neighbouring Iraq.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
Britain-based monitor, said IS kidnapped the
90 Assyrians on Monday after seizing two
villages in Hassakeh province.
The group had no immediate details on those
kidnapped, including whether women and
children were among them, or where they
were being held.
There were just 30,000 Assyrians in Syria
before the country’s conflict erupted in March
2011, with most of them living throughout
Hassakeh province.
They represent a tiny percentage of the
country’s overall Christian population, which
numbered around 1.2 million people before
the war.
The 90 Assyrians were kidnapped after IS
fighters overran the villages of Tal Shamiram
and Tal Hermuz, which had been under the
control of Kurdish People’s Protection Unit
(YPG) fighters.
Fierce clashes broke out on Monday between
IS and YPG forces for control of the two
villages as well as the nearby town of Tal
Tamr, which remains under Kurdish control.
After the clashes, IS forces set fire to part of a
church near Tal Tamr, before installing some
of their fighters in the remains of the building,
the Syrian Revolution General Commission
activist network reported.
The US-led coalition fighting IS, which has
backed Kurdish forces battling the group, then
bombed the building on Monday, destroying it
and killing IS forces inside, the SRGC said.
Control of Hassakeh province is largely
divided between Kurdish forces, who in some
places patrol with regime troops, and IS
fighters.
YPG fighters have since last week been
advancing in the province, expanding on their
gains further west in Raqa and Aleppo
provinces.
Since recapturing the strategic border town of
Kobane in Aleppo from IS fighters on January
26, YPG forces have taken dozens of nearby
villages.
They have also seized 19 villages from IS in
Raqa, where the jihadist group has its de facto
capital, and another 30 villages and hamlets in
Hassakeh.
The Kurdish advances have been aided by the
US-led air strikes, including a series in
Hassakeh on Monday that killed at least 14 IS
fighters, the Observatory said.


- Christian churches destroyed -


The mass IS abduction of Assyrians appeared
to be the first of its kind in Syria, but the
group has become infamous for its abuses,
including the mass kidnapping of minority
Kurdish Yazidis in Iraq.
It also abducted dozens of Kurdish students in
Syria last year, freeing them only after months
in captivity.
The group has destroyed Christian shrines
and churches in the territory it controls in Syria
and Iraq, and demanded a tax known as jizya
from Christians who remain in its self-declared
Islamic “caliphate”.
It regularly refers to Christians as “crusaders,”
and has carried out brutal executions of
foreigners held hostage in Syria.
Last week, the group’s Libyan branch released
a video showing the gruesome beheading of
21 mostly Egyptian Coptic Christians.
Those killings prompted “extreme sadness”
from Pope Francis, who has frequently warned
of the plight of the dwindling number of
Christians in the Middle East.

The Monitor.

Troops recapture Baga from Boko Haram.

Nigerian forces backed by air strikes have
seized the northeastern border town of Baga
from Boko Haram , the military says.
Retaking the town – at Nigeria’s border with
Chad, Niger, and Cameroon – is particularly
important as Baga was the headquarters of
a multinational force of troops from all four
countries.
Boko Haram, an armed group which wants
to form an Islamic state, had claimed a
January 3 attack that killed scores, possibly
hundreds, and left its fighters in control.
“We have secured Baga. We are now in full
control. There are only mopping up
exercises left to do,” Major-General Chris
Olukolade, an Nigerian defence
spokesperson, told Reuters news agency by
telephone on Saturday.
In a statement minutes earlier Olukolade
had said that “a large number of terrorists
had drowned in Lake Chad” as troops
advanced on Baga.
Al Jazeera could not independently confirm
the government’s report.
The fighters appear to be on the run in many
parts of Nigeria and regions near its
borders, after being subjected to a major
offensive on all sides, reported Reuters,
adding that although they have come close
to being defeated in the past, they have
bounced back deadlier than ever.
“Not even the strategy of mining over 1,500
spots with landmines on the routes leading
to the town could save the terrorists from
the aggressive move of advancing troops,”
Olukolade had said in a statement earlier in
the day.
Al Jazeera’s Yvonne Ndege, reporting from
the Nigerian capital Abuja, said the military
has confirmed the report.
“This is a significant moment, a symbolic
victory,” she said. “But it is very difficult to
know precisely how successful the
operation was.”
Successes in pushing back Boko Haram are
welcome news for Nigeria’s President
Goodluck Jonathan as he faces an election
on March 28 that was delayed by six weeks
on the grounds that more time was needed
to fight the campaign.
The poll, however, also provides a strong
motive for the government and military to
talk up successes.


Punch.

We have recaptured 11 towns, killed 300 insurgents-DHQ.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj.
Gen. Chris Olukolade, has said that troops of
the Nigerian Army and personnel of the Air
Force have killed over 300 fighters of the
Boko Haram sect.
Olukolade said in a statement on Wednesday
that the insurgents were killed during a
combined operation of the Air Force and
ground forces put in place to liberate 11
communities captured by the Boko Haram
sect.
According to him, the communities liberated
by the troops are Monguno, Gabchari, Abba
Jabari, Gajigana, Gajiram, Damakar,
Kumaliwa, Bosso Wanti, Jeram and
Kabrisungul.
He said that troops had commenced a cordon
and search operation in the areas involved in
the latest operation.
He stated further that some of the terrorists
and their weapons were captured by the
troops.
Olukolade also said that the military captured
“five different types of armoured fighting
vehicles, an anti-aircraft gun, about 50 cases
of packed bombs and eight different types of
machine guns, five rocket-propelled grenade,
49 boxes of various types and calibres of
ammunition, as well as 300 motorcycles
destroyed in the fighting.
He added that “a total of six Hilux vehicles
including those mounted with anti-aircraft
guns were also destroyed.’
The Defence spokesman said that two
soldiers lost their lives while ten others were
wounded in the encounter with the terrorists.
Olukolade said that various phases of highly
coordinated combined operation involving the
Air Force and ground forces were ongoing in
the mission area within and outside the
country.
Meanwhile, about 30 civilians were killed
when an unidentified airplane dropped a
bomb on a Nigerian border village, military
sources based nearby in Niger said on
Wednesday.
“We don’t know whose plane it was. We
understand that the victims are residents who
were gathered for a ceremony but who were
mistaken for terrorists,” said a military source
based in the town of Bosso in Niger.
He added, “Around 30 people perished.”

Punch

ECOWAS cautions Jonathan, Buhari on hate speeches.

President assures EU on May 29 hand-over
date
Jaiyeola Andrews in Abuja

Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS), on Monday cautioned President
Goodluck Jonathan and Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari to refrain from hate speeches capable
of overheating the polity.
Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and
Security at the commission, Salamatu
Suleiman, made the disclosure while speaking
with State House correspondents shortly after
the commission’s team visited President
Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa.
He said :”The President of ECOWAS
(Ouedraogo) said the observers went to all
the different geo-political zones and they
made observations on issues relating to
distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards
(PVCs) and other issues.
“These issues as the President said were
deemed necessary to share with the
President of the country (Jonathan), INEC
and the leading opposition party, the APC.
“One of the issues is that our long term
observer missions noticed that there was a lot
of hate media, hate speeches being
distributed, it is not good for our polity and is
heating up the polity.
“And the President (Ouedraogo) has spoken
to all stakeholders to look into lessening this
aspect in the electoral process and I think it
is an aspect the media can help greatly in
addressing.
“This is a very important election for Nigeria,
Nigerians are concerned, ECOWAS
Community is very much concerned that it all
comes out very well and that we all owe it as
a duty to say very positive things that can
move this nation forward.”
Earlier, President, ECOWAS Commission,
Kadre Desire Ouédraogo, told journalists that
“ECOWAS by virtue of its mandate, is to
monitor and observe all the electoral
processes in our community. To that effect,
we have sent a fact-finding mission to Nigeria
led by John Kufuor former President of
Ghana. We have set up a long term
observation that came into the country, they
were deployed in the five geo-strategic zones
of the country and they made their report.
“Inspite of the postponement of the elections,
there was a de-briefing with them and we
think is us necessary to share their
observations with all the stakeholders and it
is in that respect of that we came this
morning to inform His Excellency about the
findings and recommendations of our fact-
finding mission.
“We are going to engage with all the
stakeholders, the APC candidate and INEC to
share with them the findings if our
observation mission.
“We have also issued a declaration following
the postponement of elections, appealing for
calm and understanding and also appealing
to all authorities to make sure the constitution
is respected.”
Meanwhile, Chief of Observer, European
Union (EU), Santiago Fisas, yesterday said
Jonathan restated his commitment on May
29 hand over date to a new government.
Fisas spoke to State House correspondents
shortly after the EU team visited Jonathan at
the Presidential Villa on Monday.
“As the Chief of Observer European Union, I
must meet with all the candidates for these
elections. I met twice with Gen. Buhari and
today yesterday President Jonathan very
kindly accepted to receive me and my team,
the EU Ambassador, the Deputy of Observer
European Union, colleagues, just to have
exchange of views about the elections.
“I am very happy to be assured by the
President that the inauguration of the next
president will take place on May 29th. I think
this is very good news because this is
constitutional” Fisas said.
Asked if he believed what the president told
him, the EU chief observer said “yes. I do not
see why I should doubt that. The President
said that publicly and also to us. We asked
questions on security and he said to us that
in a very short period of time the security
situation will improve a lot.”

Cameroon Army kills 86 Boko Haram militants.

Cameroon’s army says it has killed 86 Boko
Haram militants and detained 1,000 people
suspected of links to the Islamist group, as
central African leaders held talks on how to
combat its bloody insurgency.
Five Cameroonian soldiers were also killed
during the clashes in the Waza region near
the border with Nigeria, defence ministry
spokesman Didier Badjeck said Monday.
Nigeria-based Boko Haram has widened its
attacks into neighbouring nations, notably
Cameroon and Chad, in a conflict estimated
to have claimed a total 13,000 lives since
2009.
Representatives of 10 nations, meeting in the
Cameroonian capital Yaounde on Monday
under the aegis of the Economic Community
of Central African States (ECCAS), urged the
international community to provide more
support in the fightback against the Islamists.
“We have to eradicate Boko Haram,” said
Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, as
attendees pledged to create a 76-million-euro
($86-million) fund to fight the group.
Biya declared that Boko Haram’s utter
disregard for human dignity meant “a total
impossibility of compromise”, but added that
the fight against terrorism was not a “crusade
against Islam”.
Nigeria, where elections have been
postponed by six weeks until late March
because of Boko Haram activity in swathes of
the northeast, was absent from the talks as it
is not an ECCAS member.
The aim of Monday’s discussion was to come
up with “an agreed solution” on the fight
against the extremists, a source close to the
Cameroonian government told AFP.
Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria have
formed a military alliance to combat the
notoriously brutal militants, who are fighting to
create a hardline Islamic state.
A Cameroonian army official announced that
more than 1,000 people suspected of being
affiliated with Boko Haram were being held in
the town of Maroua, in the country’s Far
North region, where more than 2,000
Cameroonian soldiers have been deployed
since August last year.
“At the moment, the prison of Maroua is
holding more than 1,000 Boko Haram
(suspects),” said Colonel Joseph Nouma,
commander of a local operation to combat
the Islamist militants.
The detentions came as police in Niger said
they had arrested more than 160 people
suspected of having links to Boko Haram in
the country’s Diffa region, a border area with
Nigeria which was attacked by the Islamist
group this month.

Jonathan sends ministerial nominee list to Senate.

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday
sent eight ministerial nominees to the Senate
for screening and approval.
The names, contained in a letter signed by
Jonathan and read by Senate President David
Mark, include senator Musiliu Obanikoro from
Lagos state.
Others are, Mrs.Patricia Akwashiki
(Nasarawa); Mrs. Hauwa’u Lawan (Jigawa);
Prof nicholas Akise Ada (Benue); Col.
Augustine Akobundu retd. (Abia); Mr. Fidelis
Nwankwo (Ebonyi); Mr. Kenneth Kobani
(Rivers) and Senator Joel Ikenya (Taraba).
The Senate has not fixed a date for the
screening.

Buhari’s Bow Tie sparks Religious Debate.

The bow tie worn by the All Progressives’
Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari, in recent campaign
photographs may have raised worries over
the retired general’s religious views, a
diplomat has told THISDAY.
Buhari had last week met with Catholic
Bishops in Abuja. At the meeting, the APC
candidate allayed fears of an agenda to
Islamise Nigeria, if elected president,
describing the allegations of extremism
levelled against him as baseless.
However, a diplomat from one of the Arab-
speaking countries told THISDAY that the
decision of the APC candidate to wear a bow
tie may be a reflection of his strong Islamic
beliefs.
Spokesman for the Buhari Campaign
Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, however,
said there was nothing unusual with the bow
tie. He was quick to add that the photograph
was taken long before he became Buhari’s
media manager and therefore could not
comment on why a bow tie was chosen.
He promised to “cross check and get back.”
Elaborating on the photograph, the diplomat
said, “I don’t know why (he) Buhari chose a
bow tie. But we know that radical Muslims
don’t wear neck ties out of the belief that it is
Haram (sin).
“Such Muslims believe that the neck tie looks
like a cross, which Christians consider the
most important spiritual symbol of their faith,
reason they don’t wear it.
“However, when it becomes absolutely
necessary to wear a tie, such Muslims simply
go for bow ties,” said the envoy.
The diplomat who didn’t want his name in
print, was quick to add that millions of
Muslims around the world, including himself,
wear neck ties, “not minding the religious
theories surrounding its origin.”
He said, “We have great Muslim
professionals like lawyers, bankers and
security operatives who wear neck ties.”
Buhari had in 2002 reportedly urged Muslims
to vote for only Muslim candidates. The
report had portrayed the retired general as a
fundamentalist, an impression he has been
fighting hard to change.
The APC candidate has been accused by
rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of
harbouring a religious agenda. PDP has also
accused APC of supporting the terrorist
organisation Boko Haram.
THISDAY gathered that one of the strategies
adopted by Buhari’s handlers to woo
Christian voters, particularly in the South-east
and South-south was to capture him in a suit
and tie.
The handlers also released another campaign
photograph of the retired general in traditional
Igbo attire, apparently to appeal to the Igbo
who have a block vote in the five South-east
states.
The campaign photographs had Buhari and
his running mate Prof. Yemi Osinbajo in suit.
In the photograph, Buhari was decked in
black suit, a white shirt, a black bow tie and
a pair of designer glasses. Osinbajo, a
professor of law, had a black suit on, a white
shirt, and a dotted red tie.
This is the first time Buhari, who ran for the
presidency in 2003, 2007 and 2011, would
brand himself in suit and tie.
In the three previous elections, the 72-year
old retired general used baban riga (flowing
robes) and cap for his campaign posters.
However, according to the diplomat,
Buhari’s preference for a bow tie to a neck
tie may have backfired.
He pointed to the United States where
members of the islamic religious movement,
Nation of Islam (NOI), do not wear neck ties.
Such NOI members, he said, include former
world boxing champion Muhammed Ali,
Malcolm X and NOI leader and world famous
Islamic preacher, Loius Farrakhan.
THISDAY checks revealed that some
Christians prefer bow ties over neck ties as a
matter of style. For radical muslims, however,
said the diplomat, “it is a matter of faith
versus fashion.”
The diplomat claimed that Buhari may have
settled for a bow tie “to strike a balance
between achieving some degree of
acceptance among Christians and not
offending the religious sensibilities of certain
category of muslims.”
He said, “Look at the former Governor of the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), (Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi), before his appointment as
the Emir of Kano, he (Sanusi) was a
professional banker but never wore a neck
tie.
“Due to Sanusi’s strict Islamic upbringing
and education, he had to always make do
with bow ties,” claimed the diplomat.
He told THISDAY that Shitte muslims don’t
wear neck ties for religious and ideological
reasons. Iran is home of Shitte muslims.
“After the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran
overthrew the monarchy, the country’s new
spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeni, banned
neck and bow ties.
“Till date, most Iranians, including President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wear suits but leave
the collars of their shirts open,” he declared.

Thisday Live.

Boko Haram: 200, 000 Christians at Risk of Massacre in Nigeria.

BY ROBERT WINDREM AND ALEXANDER SMITH

Boko Haram forces appear poised to attack Maiduguri, a city of 2 million in northeast Nigeria -- meaning that 200,000 Christians could be at risk of slaughter by the Islamist terror group, say U.S. intelligence officials and experts on Nigeria.

"An attack on Madiguri is very likely," said J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Project at the Atlantic Council, echoing U.S. intelligence officials. Pham believes, as do other experts, that Boko Haram has already placed "sleeper cells" among the tide of refugees who have fled the group's murderous rampage through Africa's most populous nation. "They've done it everywhere else they've gone," said Pham. "So why not Maiduguri?"

One big concern is the large number of Christians in the city -- about 200,000, most of them Roman Catholic. In previous attacks, Boko Haram has offered Nigerian Christians the opportunity to convert or be killed. Already, 200 Christian churches have been lost to the group's onslaught.

Strategically, success in Maiduguri would provide Boko Haram with a launching point for further attacks on the neighboring states of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, all of whose territory were once part of an Islamic caliphate that lasted six centuries, ending in the 1300's. Boko Haram declared its own caliphate in the region last year.

But even with limited success, the image of Boko Haram's black jihadist flag flying over any part of Maiduguri could be a symbolic victory. "Even if they only raise the black flag only briefly, it will be a big blow to the central government," said Pham.

Boko Haram currently has about 4,000 to 6,000 men --and kidnapped boys -- under arms, and its tactics have improved. "They're operating at a faster tempo and on a larger scale. They are now capable of large-scale operations," said a U.S. official, citing last month's deadly assault on 16 villages and the city of Baga, northeast of Maiduguri. By some estimates, 2,000 people died in those attacks.

There is evidence that the group has already begun testing defenses on Maiduguri's outskirts. A senator from Borno State, Ahmed Zanna, told NBC News Thursday that a group of suspected Boko Haram militants raided the village of Mbuta, just 15 miles northeast of Maiduguri, killing eight people, burning buildings and forcing most others to flee their homes. "Some people were burned alive," said Zanna, who is currently inside Maiduguri. He also said that on Thursday more than a dozen people were killed in a suicide blast in Biu, 100 miles to the southwestZanna told NBC News that despite these attacks residents were determined not to let their city be overrun. "If Boko Haram comes back people will be ready," he said. "They will come out in the streets in their hundreds and thousands to defend Maiduguri

Jjohn Campbell, the former U.S. ambassador of Nigeria and now director of the Bunche Center at the Council on Foreign Relations, said an internal CFR analysis shows that there is only one road in and out of Maiduguri that isn't controlled by the group.

"It's a noose around Maiduguri," said Campbell, citing recent attacks on villages along Lake Chad that cut off access to the north and east. "There's one road open, going west. There is potential for a raid and occupation."

Most of those who spoke to NBC News think an attack could be timed to the country's rescheduled elections. Last Saturday, the National Election Commission postponed scheduled national elections from February 14 until March 28, but claimed that the inauguration of a new president will still be held May 29.

If and when Boko Haram makes a move on Maiduguri, said a senior U.S. intelligence official, the terror group will have one great tactical advantage. It is very familiar with the city. Late last decade Boko Haram set up an encampment near the so-called Railroad Mosque, which is next to the train station on the western edge of the city. Federal troops launched an attack on the group's camp in 2009, killing its then-leader Mohammed Yusuf. Yusuf, now seen as a moderate, was replaced by current leader Abubakar Shekau, who has run the recent campaign of terror.

Campbell believes the initial Boko Haram raids will focus on the area around the Railroad Mosque in order to enhance the group's narrative.
Intelligence officials and Nigeria experts think it would be difficult for Boko Haram to hold the city, but Boko Haram has surprised both officials and experts in the past.

Sambisa Forest Mission: Military destroy 6 buffur Camps of Boko Haram terrorists.

Aftermath of the directive that the military
embark on the final onslaught to flush out
Boko Haram terrorists from the North East and
try to rescue the over 200 Chibok Girls,
Special Forces of the Nigerian military backed
by attack aircraft of the Nigerian Air force,
Thursday night commenced their movement
into the Sambisa Forests.
As a result of the military’s movement into the
terrorists laden forest, Vanguard gathered that
recently acquired latest T 55 armoured
personnel carriers, with capability for mine and
explosives sweeping devices and heavy
artillery Howitzer guns, led the way from the
ground while the air force carried out air
bombardments from the air.
Consequently, military sources in the epicentre
of the operation told Vanguard that six buffer
camps of the terrorists manned by heavily
armed terrorists, which were positioned to
stop the Nigerian military for gaining entrance
into the forest were taken out and scores of
Boko Haram fighters killed.

Vanguard.

Boko Haram launches first deadly attack in Chad.

Boko Haram Islamist fighters on Friday
carried out their first attack inside Chad,
killing five people in an early morning assault
on a Chadian village and a military camp on
the shores of Lake Chad, residents and a
security source said.
“They came on board three canoes,” a
Ngouboua village resident said.
A security source, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said the militants had killed at
least four villagers and one Chadian soldier
before the army was able to push them back.
Boko Haram militants based in northern
Nigeria have staged a number of cross-border
attacks in recent weeks in their campaign to
carve out an Islamist emirate around the Lake
Chad area which borders Nigeria, Chad,
Cameroon and Niger.
Chad’s army, one of the best in the region,
has joined a regional offensive against them
and says it has killed hundreds of fighters in
the past fortnight.

Muslim Parliament urges Nigerians to vote out Jonathan.

This is mere hypocrisy. Talking of corruption and insecurity without condemning Boko Haram? Who is deceiving who?



"The Muslim Parliament has advised Nigerians
not to repeat the “mistake” of the 2011
elections that was responsible for bringing the
present leadership at the national level.
According to the parliament, the present
leadership has within its period of
stewardship brought corruption, insecurity,
impunity and breakdown of law and order,
among others, to the country.
“Within the period, the nation has witnessed
corruption in monumental dimensions in all
sectors of the economy, insecurity bedevilled
the nation, impunity and breakdown of law
and order, just to mention a few.”
A statement signed by the Chairman of
Bauchi State Muslims Parliament, Imam
Rabi’u Shehu, and made available to
journalists on Thursday, appealed to the
electorate to elect candidates of impeccable
character and requisite experience in good
governance, selfless service to humanity and
sense of patriotism to take the nation out of
its present predicaments.
He opined that the federal government had
not adequately addressed the yearnings,
aspirations and expectations of Nigerians
especially in areas of security of lives and
property, freedom of rights, social well-being
and the safeguarding territorial integrity of the
community.
Shehu stated: “Religious organisations should
not relent in mobilisation and sensitisation of
their members, as imams and pastors in
various mosques and churches should lead
their congregations in the prayers for peaceful
elections, unity of the nation and emergence
of leaders who have the interest of the nation
in their heart.”
The chairman, while drawing the attention of
the people to the importance and challenges
the 2015 elections portend for the survival of
the nation as a corporate entity, said only
voting for candidates with proven integrity,
unblemished records of service and pedigree
for achievements and deliverance will turn the
fortunes of the nations around.
Shehu commiserated with the victims of the
calamities occasioned by insecurity
prevalence in the country, and called for
prayers for an end to the dastardly inhuman
atrocities across the nation, and for
boundless peace to rein in the society.

Election not war but a contest among brothers and sisters- Jonathan.

President Goodluck Jonathan, has counselled
Nigerians to speak good and peaceable words
over the country, stressing that the 2015 polls
is a contest among brothers and sisters from
the womb of one Nigeria.
"I want to remind us all that we have no other
country other than Nigeria and as we
approach the election, it is wise that we speak
good and peaceable words over Nigeria
because we will have to eat our words, so let
us make them sweet rather than bitter. We
must see the coming polls as a contest
amongst brothers and sisters from the womb
of one Nigeria," he said.
He urged political gladiators to avoid the use
of threats and desperations in their campaign,
noting that whatsoever be the outcome of the
polls that victory should be for Nigeria and
Nigerians.
"We must avoid threats and desperation as
we make our case to the electorate. Head or
tale, Nigeria wins. Therefore, I urge all
Nigerians to join me in saying it is well with
Nigeria and by the special grace of God, it
shall continue to be well with our great
country Nigeria," he added.
He made this known on his official Facebook
page, Goodluck Jonathan, which boast of
almost two million followers.
--

Hot and sexy Halima Abubakar in photos

 The Kano born actress is surely  a beauty to behold. Halima spent her early years in Kano and Kogi states attending several primary schools in the process. She is a graduate of Bayero University kano with a degree in sociology.
It would be recalled that just recently, the
petite actress revealed how she was frustrated
with her life and how she almost committed
suicide in 2013.
She also expressed her gratitude to God as
she is now in a better place.
--

Below are her pictures which have just been released.

police impounded vehicle carrying arms in Kwara.

Police officers from the Kwara State
Command have intercepted and arrested a
truck laden with ammunition at Kosubosu, a
border town in the Baruten Local Government
Area of Kwara State.
A police source, who pleaded anonymity, said
on Saturday that the ammunition comprised
cartons of cartridges hidden in a section of
the truck.
The source also said that occupants of the
vehicle who names were given as Amusa
Amodu and Abdulazeez Isiaka were also
arrested.
The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr
Salihu Garba, in an interview with our
correspondent on Saturday said the arrest
was made on Friday night.
He stated that the truck with the number,
Lagos XU 110 BDG, was coming from
Burkina-Faso enroute to Ibadan before the
officials of the Kosubosu Divisional Police
Headquarters intercepted the vehicle.
He added that detectives had arrived at
Kusobuso for further investigations into the
matter.
He also said the police detectives on Friday
also intercepted a cache of ammunition from
some hoodlums at Kulende area of Ilorin, the
Kwara State capital.
He added that the officials of the command
also arrested a golf car at Kaa Akanbi area of
Ilorin. He stated that police officers on
suspicion that the golf car was carrying illegal
items pursued it.
According to him, the occupants of the
vehicles abandoned the car and fled. He
added that the police discovered two AK 4
rifles and two locally fabricated pistols and 22
rounds of AK47 ammunition from the
abandoned golf car.
Garba said the police was on the trail of the
occupants of the car with a view to arresting
them.

Punch.

INEC to decide on Poll shift today, 7th February 2015.

INEC ad hoc worker attending to
prospective voters at a PVC collection
centres
The Independent National Electoral
Commission will take a final decision on
whether to shift the dates for the elections or
not in Abuja on Saturday (today).
But before the decision is taken, the National
Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Attahiru
Jega, will have consultative meetings with
chairmen and secretaries of all registered
political parties.
He is also expected to meet with the
Resident Electoral Commissioners on the
same day, Saturday, February 7.
On Thursday, Jega, was invited to brief the
National Council of States on the
preparedness of INEC to conduct the 2015
general elections.
The INEC boss has been under tremendous
pressure to shift the polls. Some political
parties and other stakeholders have been
calling for the postponement of the election.
Jega made a presentation titled,
“Preparations for the 2015 General Elections:
Progress Report.
The National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo
Dansuki and Armed Services Chiefs also
briefed the Council on the current security
situation.
The Chief Press Secretary to Jega, Mr.
Kayode Idowu, confirmed this in a statement
he signed in Abuja on Friday.
He said, “As a follow-up to that (Council of
State) meeting, the Commission has
scheduled a consultative meeting with
chairmen and secretaries of all registered
political parties, as well as a meeting with the
RECs on Saturday, February 7, 2015.
“Thereafter, the Commission will address a
press conference to brief the nation on its
decision with regard to whether or not the
general elections will hold as currently
scheduled.”
Our correspondent gathered that the dates
for the elections might be shifted.
Security agencies were said to have written
to Jega, saying the security situation in the
country does not warrant holding the election
as scheduled.
Meanwhile, Jega, in his presentation to the
Council of State said the NSA asked for a six-
week postponement of the election.
His presentation read in part, “Although our
state of preparedness may not be 100 per
cent and although a bit of more time of
additional preparation would enable us to
improve and perfect the current level of
preparedness, we believe that we’re ready for
the elections as planned.
“However, we also believe that it is necessary
to take into context the things outside the
control of the commission, such as: attitude
of politicians, political parties, candidates and
voters; and significantly, security for election
personnel, materials and voters, especially in
areas under insurgency, which only the
appropriate authorities can definitely speak
on.
“No matter the extent of our readiness, if
there are serious security concerns, the
successful conduct of free, fair, credible and
peaceful elections would be greatly
jeopardised.
“INEC has been working with these
authorities, especially under the inter-agency
Consultative Committee on Election Security,
but our concerns have not been assuaged.
“Yesterday, for example, we received a letter
from the office of the National Security
Adviser informing us of recent developments
in four of the North-East states, states that
safety and security cannot be guaranteed
during the proposed election period,
adducing reasons why this is so, and
strongly advising that INEC considers
rescheduling the elections by at least six
weeks, within which time span it is hoped to
restore sufficient normalcy for elections to
hold.
“This is a new development that INEC cannot
certainly ignore or take lightly.”
Jega said the conduct of the elections could
not be based on the electoral body’s
preparation alone, adding that some factors
outside the control of the body should be
considered before holding the polls.
He said, “In determining whether or not INEC
is adequately prepared to conduct the
February 2015 elections as scheduled, we
should separate what is under the control of
the commission and what is outside its
control.
“For the things under the commission’s
control, our accomplishments are to such a
degree that we can conduct the election, in
spite of the identifiable challenges.
“Compared with the 2011 general elections,
for instance, our systems are definitely more
robust now. Among others, we have a gently
improved registered voters, having removed
over four million multiple registrants; voters
will use PVCs; and accreditation using card
readers will reduce the likelihood of fraud.”
According to him, only relevant authorities,
not the commission, can speak on the issues.
Jega said, “No matter the extent of our
readiness, if there are serious security
concerns, the successful conduct of free, fair,
credible and peaceful elections would be
greatly jeopardised.
“INEC has been working with these
authorities, especially under the Inter-Agency
Consultative Committee on Election Security,
but our concerns have not been assuaged.”

Punch.

Barcelona accused of tax fraud in Neymar sinning.

Spanish public prosecutors have asked for
Barcelona and their former president Sandro
Rosell to be tried for two charges of tax fraud
committed in the signing of Brazilian star
Neymar.
Meanwhile, prosecutors have also asked for
the investigation of current Barcelona
president Josep Maria Bartomeu and the club
on an extra tax charge in 2014, which could
rise to 2.85 million euros.
In a judicial file released on Monday,
prosecutor Jose Perals Calleja suggests that
Rosell and Barca declared an inferior fee to
that which they paid for Neymar in 2013.
The prosecutors believe that Neymar cost in
excess of the 57 million euros ($64.3 million,
£42.7 million) declared to the Spanish tax
man.
They cite the figure at a cost of 82,743,485
euros divided into sperate contracts that
secured the signing.
According to the calculations of the Spanish
tax authorities, Barcelona owe a total of
12,148,696 million euros in tax on the deal,
which would see the overall cost of the
operation rise to 94.8 million euros.
Rosell resigned as president over the affair just
over a year ago when a complaint brought by
one of the club’s members for
misappropriation of funds was taken to court.
In his testimony before a judge on the case in
July of 2004, Rosell insisted that Neymar cost
the club 57 million euros, 17 of which went to
his former club Santos and 40 million paid to
N&N, a company owned by the player’s
father.
However, following Rosell’s resignation,
Barcelona also confirmed a number of extra
agreements including a 10 million euro signing
bonus for the player and scouting and
collaborative agreements between the two
clubs taking the total to 86.2 million euros.
In February of last year, the club announced
that they had made a voluntary payment of
13.5 million euros to the Spanish tax
authorities regarding the transfer.