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Some members of the Boko Haram sect on Friday ambushed three emirs on the Biu–Azare-Garkida Road in Borno State. The victims are the Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Idrisa Timta; and his counterpart from Askira, Alhaji Abdullahi Askirama, and the Emir of Uba, Alhaji Ismaila Manza. A security source said that Timta was killed by the attackers while Askirama and Manza were missing. But the Defence Headquarters said Askirama and Manza were rescued by security personnel deployed in Garkida. It was learnt that the emirs were on their way to Gombe to attend the burial of the late Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar, when they were attacked by the terrorists. The source said the security details of the three emirs were also missing. It was not clear whether the escorts were abducted or killed by the attackers. However, the Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, confirmed that the Emir of Gwoza died in the attack while security personnel deployed in Garkida rescued ...

Twenty-four-year-old Sherifat Bakare, is a young lady one could describe at first glance as pretty. But as she sat on the ground in front of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Ogun State Police Command in Abeokuta, one cannot but imagine how deadly she might have been on operations with her robbery gang. “I was hustling before Raji, my boyfriend, told me to join his gang,” Bakare began. But when she was asked to elaborate on what she did as a “hustler,” she explained that she meant prostitution. Bakare in company with four other members of her gang, were apprehended on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 by the men of Ogun State SARS, who had been on their trail after receiving a tip-off about the gang’s plan. It all began a few weeks ago, Bakare narrated. She said another member of the gang, Bola Onasile, (also in SARS custody) had approached her boyfriend about the availability of N70m in a wealthy man’s house in Joju area of Sango, Ogun State. “I have only gone on two operation...

Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar Security was on Thursday morning beefed up around the Presidential Villa, Abuja, ahead of a protest rally being planned by #BringBackOurGirls  campaigners seeking the rescue of the abducted pupils of Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. The campaigners had threatened to take their protest to the Presidential Villa where they are expecting President Goodluck Jonathan to address them on efforts being made to secure freedom for the girls that were seized from the hostels since April 14. The march is scheduled to start from the Unity Fountain, located close to Transcorp Hilton Hotels, Maitama, at 3pm, and proceed to the Presidential Villa through the Federal Secretariat. But as of the time of this report, armed security men have been drafted to the two gates leading to the Villa, apparently to stop the protesters from gaining access. At the Villa gate, approaching from the Fire Service side of Asokoro, pol...

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday formally handed over the 2014 Budget to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Director, Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu, for implementation. The handing over was said to have followed his signing the document into law on Wednesday. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, confirmed this to our correspondent on the telephone. Abati said Okonjo-Iweala was not around when the President signed the budget two days ago, hence the need to formally hand over to her. “The President actually signed the 2014 Budget two days ago. But you know that the Minister of Finance was not in town. So he needed to hand over to her and the Director Budget for onward transmission. That was what he did today. The ministry will be addressing the press in the next one hour,” he said. Immediately after handing over the document to the minister, Jonathan left Abuja for Pretoria, South Africa where he will take pa...

Militants in Nigeria have raided three villages and killed those they accused of being anti-Boko Haram vigilantes, residents have told the BBC. More than 30 people were killed in the attacks overnight into Friday in north-eastern Borno state, they said. The raids took place as the UN Security Council approved sanctions against the Islamist group. It is five weeks since Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls, prompting international outrage. Nigerian officials say President Goodluck Jonathan is due to travel to South Africa for discussions with other African heads of state on combating terrorism in Africa following on from last weekend’s summit hosted by France. Earlier his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, said African presidents should take responsibility for their failures and resolve their own conflicts together. “I find that our leaders, who should have been working together all along to address these problems that only affect their countries, wait until they ...

President Goodluck Jonathan President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday urged those who have been protesting the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, to henceforth direct their protest to the Boko Haram terrorists and not the government. The President also urged the protesters to learn from citizens of other countries who do not blame their governments for any terrorist act. He has however admitted publicly for the first time that his administration was currently consulting with some stakeholders with a view to exploring what he called alternative methods of resolving the present crisis. Jonathan made the disclosure in a speech delivered on his behalf by the Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Olajumoke Akinjide, to a team of  #BringBackOurGirls campaigners, led by a former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwezili. The protesters, who had planned to take their protest to the Presidential Villa where they wanted Jonathan to address them were res...

United States Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security,  Democracy and Human Rights, Sarah Sewall The United States Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, Sarah Sewall, has said that corruption is hindering Nigeria’s efforts at ending   insurgency in the North-East. Sewall, who appeared before a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, alongside a Pentagon top Africa official, Amanda Dory, added that the military must overcome entrenched corruption and incompetence for it to   rescue the over 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram on April 14. She said that despite Nigeria’s $5.8bn security budget for 2014, “corruption prevents supplies as basic as bullets and transport vehicles from reaching the front lines of the struggle against Boko Haram.” Sewall, according to the  New York Times , also told the committee that morale was low and that desertions were common among soldiers in th...

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have filed a fresh suit before a Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to restrain the National Assembly from probing her over the alleged N10bn chartered jet scandal. Through the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/346/2014, the plaintiffs are praying the court to declare that both the Senate and the House of Representatives lacked the power to conduct any investigation into allegation of fraud, corruption or criminal activities. The Senate and the House of Representatives are the only respondents in the suit. The suit followed an order given by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, directing Diezani to appear before her for further probe of the jet scandal. Meanwhile, the applicants are praying the court to restrain both the Senate and the House of Representatives from further “conducting...

Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo The leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has dared Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, to be prepared to meet him on the battle field. Asari-Dokubo, who dismissed the threat by the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau, against President Goodluck Jonathan, warned that 2015 would be “more than do-or-die.” The Niger Delta region former fighter, who spoke Thursday night during a strategic partnership session with former militant leaders organised  by the Niger Delta Development Commission, recalled how Shekau threatened that the violent Islamic sect would soon come for President Jonathan. Asari-Dokubo cautioned that the people of Niger Delta would not be deterred by any threat to them or President Jonathan and added that the 2015 election remained a challenge to the survival of the people of the region. He said, “They are starting oo! Shekau (Boko Haram leader) said in his video that we shoul...

A former member of the House of Representatives, Uche Onyeagucha, has stated that the All Progressives Congress will not field Muslim-Muslim candidates for 2015 presidential election. Onyeagucha, who was the chairman of the party’s state congress committee in Enugu,  dismissed reports that the APC was planning to field two Muslim candidates for the election, saying those bearing such stories were only speculating. He told our correspondent in Enugu that the APC was bent on carrying its members along at all times, and would ensure that all interests were accommodated in the countdown to picking its presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2015 elections. “If we must carry our members along, there is just no way we would field a Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket. It won’t happen because the party’s leaders are aware of the implications,” said Onyeagucha. He said, “We won’t even field a Christian-Christian ticket. Every member must be involved in picki...