WAR OF TRiBALISM: Radio Biafra back on air

Controversial pirate channel, Radio Biafra, has again resumed transmission, despite the Federal Government’s claim that it had jammed the station’s signals. The Federal Government had on July 14 announced that it jammed the transmission signals of the radio station, which was operating illegally from an unknown location. Our correspondent observed that the channel had not been transmitting on the FM 104.7 band, on which its signals was received in Enugu, since July. However, it was observed on Saturday that the station, which was monitored from 8pm to 9pm, had resumed transmission on the same 104.7 FM band, from which it transmitted before it went off air. Listeners were invited to call in from various parts of the South-East, and from outside the country. The station was still transmitting as of the time of filing this report. The broadcast addressed the most current issues in the country, an indication that the channel was still on air.

APC PERPETUAL LIARS: Ekiti PDP, APC clash on economy

The Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State has warned the All Progressives Congress to stop its “perpetual lies” against Governor Ayodele Fayose or else they will face the wrath of the masses. The PDP said that it had come to the conclusion that the opposition party in the state had chosen destructive propaganda in its attempt to discredit the good work of the governor. However, the APC in Ekiti described the “ceaseless attacks and insults” on President Muhammadu Buhari by the governor as “a devious bad- mouthing and reckless diversionary tactics” to take public attention from his many alleged constitutional breaches. It said such petulant antics would not save the governor from facing justice over his many infractions on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In a statement by the state PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jackson Adebayo, the party said the latest claim that Ekiti State Government received N8.5bn as the allocation for June instead of N6.8bn was a deliberate distortion of fact. “In as much as we are not opposed to the contribution of the opposition on any issues of state importance as a political party, we should be mindful of the fact that people out there are watching us and could judge us based on the assessment at their disposal which could have great influence on their reactions to any party. “Although we are happy that the APC is misbehaving to the people of the state, we believe we can still help them to minimise their calamity by rendering such warnings at a time like this.” But the state APC Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, in a statement on Tuesday, said the governor’s antics in his relentless media attacks on the President would not distract the Federal Government from pursuing its anti-graft agenda and free the country from official impunity. “It is laughable and an insult on the intelligence of Nigerians for Fayose to accuse President Buhari of persecuting the opposition simply because he wants to recover stolen funds from the nation’s treasury and punish looters. “Fayose has persecuted members of the opposition in Ekiti State to no end. He runs them out of town, as promised, by declaring them wanted over trumped-up murder charges. “He seized monetised vehicles of opposition members in the last administration and recently ejected them from their houses at a government housing estate, disregarding their subsisting mortgage agreement with the housing corporation, even as no fewer than three opposition members are in prison over Fayose- induced trumped-up charges,” Olatunbosun explained.

Stop calling Buhari ‘Baba go slow,’ Dickson warns

The Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has said it is wrong for some Nigerians to call President Muhammadu Buhari “Baba go slow,” adding that such a derisive appellation demeans the office of the President in the eyes of the international community. Speaking during a news conference at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Tuesday, Dickson said that calling the President derogatory names was bad politicking. He also condemned those who referred to former President Goodluck Jonathan as “clueless,” saying it was wrong to demean the occupier of the highest office in the land. The governor, whose tenure expires on February 28, 2016, has yet to formally declare his intention to seek re-election in the December 5, 2015 governorship election coming up in the state. He said, “What are you saying when you call President Buhari ‘Baba go slow?’ In what light are you putting the President before the international community? When you refer to someone as ‘clueless’, what do you mean?” Dickson explained that politics must be played with honour, dignity and integrity, stressing that the best way to develop the country was for the opposition and the ruling party to interrogate ideas and put the interest of the nation first always. “We should pray for our leaders. We should support them. Bad politics is not good,” he said. He dismissed the insinuation that the wife of former President Jonathan, Patience, was sponsoring a candidate in the All Progressives Congress against his governorship ambition. “Patience Jonathan is not my enemy. I’m not aware she’s sponsoring any candidate against me. Former President Jonathan believes I should be re-elected. He is my elder brother.” Dismissing the wave of defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC in the state, the governor said the defection was inspired by greed, ambition and personal interests. He said, “All those who defected are my contractors. Would you call someone who gave you a contract your enemy? They are positioning themselves for federal appointments, as my party cannot give them that. “I have faced stiffer opposition in the past and I came out victorious. The PDP is solidly on the ground in Bayelsa and nothing can shake it. In the past 16 years, Bayelsa has always been with the ruling party. That is why some of them are going to the APC. It’s all part of politics. The defectors are not my enemies.”

Police arrest Aregbesola’s ex-aide for 29-year- old lover’s death

The police in Osun State have arrested a former Senior Special Assistant to Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, Mr. Bode Olugbore, after a 29-year- old woman, Kemi Arobieke, was allegedly found dead in his apartment. PUNCH Metro learnt that Kemi, who the family claimed was Olugbore’s lover, was found dead in the ex-SSA’s apartment on Saturday, August 8. Our correspondents gathered that Kemi, an event planner, came from Lagos to visit Olugbore in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Thursday, August 6, and promised to return on Saturday. It was learnt that Kemi’s family, however, got a call on Sunday that the lady had been electrocuted in the ex-SSA’s apartment, and her corpse had been deposited in a mortuary. It was gathered that the matter was reported at the Dada Police Division, and policemen from the station removed the corpse from the apartment. It was learnt that the ex-SSA was arrested thereafter. The deceased’s elder brother, Ayoola, who confirmed the death of his sister to our correspondents on the telephone on Tuesday said Kemi had known Olugbore for about four years, but the family initially did not know about their relationship. He said he, Kemi and Olugbore were members of the same church in Lagos, adding that her sister told the family that the suspect had separated from his wife, who had three children for him. He said, “My sister travelled to Osogbo and she was supposed to return to Lagos on Saturday, but we got a call from the police that she was involved in an accident and it was very serious. “When we got to Osogbo, the police prevented us from seeing her, but told us that she had been electrocuted by an electric fan, but it is unbelievable.” Ayoola, said the explanation sounded illogical as there were no traces of burn either on her body or on the fan. He said, “However, we are waiting for the outcome of the autopsy which was done on Saturday. We have known Bode (Olugbore) for a while. He works with the Osun State Government. Kemi was also gainfully employed, having finished from the university. “We were made to understand that she was electrocuted in the apartment by a standing fan. That is very hard for me to understand. The police showed us the fan, and it seemed to be working fine. It was not burnt. The socket was not burnt. So, it is suspicious that she was electrocuted. The current in a fan is not enough to kill except one has direct contact with a live wire. The marks on her body suggested something contrary. “Right now, everyone is waiting for answers from the autopsy. We know that the man has been arrested by the police.” Our correspondents gathered that Olugbore’s lawyer’s said the ex-SSA was not in his apartment at the time of the incident, adding that Kemi’s death was a domestic accident. When our correspondent called the ex-SSA’s phone number, the calls did not connect. The Arobieke’s family lawyer, identified only as Olayiwola, told our correspondents that the result of the autopsy was with the police, adding that both families would be invited by the police. The Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Folashade Odoro, confirmed the arrest. She added that investigation was ongoing on the matter. She said, “I don’t know about who is involved, but the suspect has been arrested by the police. Investigation is also ongoing on the matter. When things like this happen, the first suspect is the owner of the apartment. So, he was arrested immediately.” The governor’s media aide, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, when contacted declined to comment on the matter. He said, “It is a police matter. You can get accurate information about whatever happened from the police.”

Senate forgery: Police report’s whereabouts unknown

There is confusion over the final report of the police investigation into the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 with conflicting claims by both the police and the justice ministry on the status of the report. While the police insisted on Tuesday that they had sent the report to the Ministry of Justice for possible prosecution of suspects, the ministry official said the report had not been received. A source however confided in The PUNCH that the police had yet to return the report to the ministry. The allegedly forged 2015 edition of the Senate Standing Orders was used for the conduct of the election of Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively, shortly after the proclamation of the 8th Senate on June 9, 2015. The police had sent an initial report to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation for proper legal advice but the AGF office had sent the report back to the police, asking them to conduct a better investigation of the allegation. In the initial report, the police confirmed that “some group of senators” criminally amended the Senate Standing Orders 2011 to produce the 2015 edition. But the Directorate of Public Prosecutions of the Federal Ministry of Justice had sought for more information on the senators that allegedly amended the document. The whereabouts of the final police report now appears unknown. While several sources in the ministry confirmed to one of our correspondents on Tuesday that the police had yet to respond to the request for further investigation, the police on the other hand claimed that they had responded to the ministry’s inquiry. “The police have not responded to the inquiry by the ministry and the DPP yet. If they have responded, maybe their response is on its way,” a top ministry source told one of our correspondents on Tuesday. Another lawyer in the ministry had told The PUNCH on Monday that the ministry had yet to hear from the police on the status of the report. “We have written to the police but we have not heard from them,” the lawyer said. But the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, told one of our correspondents on Tuesday that the police had responded to the ministry’s inquiry. “We have sent to them (Ministry of Justice) the letter; I can’t remember the exact day but I’m sure we have sent it and we have been cooperating with them to ensure speedy prosecution of the case,” the police spokesman said. When contacted on Tuesday, the Director of Information in the justice ministry, Mr. Charles Nwodo, said he was not aware of any development on the case. “I don’t know anything about the case,”’ he said. The PUNCH had on August 4 exclusively reported that the grey areas, which the ministry was seeking clarification on from the police, included information on the “group of senators” involved in the illegal amendment. The 13-page police report had reportedly confirmed that the amendment of the 2011 version of the Senate Standing Orders to produce the 2015 edition was “criminally done” as it was carried out by only a group of senators. The police report, however, failed to indict any particular person and also did not recommend anybody for prosecution. The Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Dan’Azumi Doma, who was said to have signed the report, had recommended that the report be forwarded to the AGF to determine whether a crime had been committed or whether the alleged offence could be regarded as an internal affair of the Senate. The forgery allegation arose from a petition by Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi of the All Progressives Congress from Kaduna State. The petitioner had alleged that some parts of the 2015 Senate Orders were different from the one ratified by the 6th Senate in 2010, which was used by the 7th Senate, as Standing Orders 2011. The police, in the course of their investigation, had on July 6 questioned some members of the 7th and the 8th Senates as well as some management employees of the Senate, including the Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa. A study of the controversial 2015 Senate Standing Orders, Rule 3, as contained on page four of the document, which has to do with the election of presiding officers, showed that it was different from the 2011 Senate Standing Orders. Rules 3(e) (i) and (ii) had been included in the 2015 document to accommodate electronic voting and secret ballot, whereas secret ballot and ballot papers were not specifically mentioned in the 2011 Standing Orders. SOURCE: PUNCH

ICPC probe: ‘Super rich’ civil servants rush to sell houses

THESE are not comfortable times for some ‘super rich’ civil servants as they are said to be rushing to sell their choice houses and state-of-the-art automobiles in order to avoid losing the properties to the President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-graft crusade. Already, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission has reportedly confiscated some buildings said to have been owned by public servants whose earnings are said not to support ownership of such grand structures. Our correspondents learnt on Tuesday that some civil servants now bombard estate agents in the Federal Capital Territory in order to aid the quick sale of their properties, while financially buoyant buyers were said to have started cashing in on the development. One of our correspondents gathered that the sale of properties in Abuja since the new administration came on board had increased by about 30 per cent. In fact, it was learnt that property sales in the FCT increased “tremendously” within the past four weeks, in contrast to the lull that characterised the sector from January to May this year. Real estate agents in the Federal Capital Territory told The PUNCH that the increase could be attributed to the recent probes of government officials and the resultant confiscation of their properties by the ICPC. ThePUNCH had reported exclusively a few weeks ago that the ICPC would commence a clampdown on very wealthy civil servants. On August 16, SundayPUNCH reported that the ICPC had seized 24 landed properties that belonged to three officers of the Niger Delta Ministry. It stated that the properties were seized because they were “excessive of the emoluments of the affected officers.” The commission had also explained that the properties were seized in pursuant to Section 45 (4) a – (b) of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000. The ICPC had, among others, said, “Whereas the commission is investigating a matter involving some staff of the Niger Delta ministry, wherein certain movable and immovable properties owned by the said staff are in issue. And whereas the commission is of the opinion based on the aforementioned investigation that these movable and immovable properties owned by these people who are staff of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs are excessive, having regard to their present emoluments and all other relevant circumstances. “The commission hereby notifies the entire public that all movable and immovable properties owned by these staff and listed hereunder are seized.” Real estate agents that spoke with our correspondents explained that some private individuals had started consulting real estate agents, requesting assistance in disposing of their properties. “The probe has created panic. Private persons now consult us, requesting our assistance in helping them sell their properties. Of course, they won’t say they are trying to avoid probe, but most of us know that that is what they are avoiding,” an agent and member of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, who pleaded not to be identified, said. When contacted, the immediate past National President/Chairman of Council, REDAN, Chief Olabode Afolayan, said that the property sector had witnessed an unprecedented boom in the sales of properties in the past few weeks. He said, “In the last couple of months, you could see that there was no activity at all. Between January and May, it was like there was no activity at all. So, what we are experiencing now shows that people are coming back to business and we hope that things will soon take normal shape.” When asked if the rise in sales of properties could be attributed to the anti-corruption stance of the President and the recent sanctioning of some civil servants, he said “that might not be far from the truth.” Afolayan said, “That might not be the case with estate developers because we are not government officials, rather we sell our own properties. But for owners of existing properties who are beginning to offload their belongings, then it might be for the reason not too far from what we are experiencing now, in which we have a government that is going to be proactive in addressing corruption and is not going to condone any form of negativity that will affect the system. “But for us, it is a different thing because we have our own businesses and many of our businesses are funded by financial institutions. We sell our properties now because we don’t want the devaluation of the naira to catch up with our businesses.” Afolayan’s successor and incumbent President of REDAN, Mr. Ugochukwu Chime, told one of our correspondents that it was expected for the sales of properties to increase, adding that many government officials of the past administration might want to dispose of their properties now. He said, “We have not done any study now. However, it is a seasonal thing. Some of the officials of the past government will not want to leave Abuja just like that, it is not possible. Those who are coming with the new government have moved massively into Abuja and they are willing to buy. “Those of the past government will want to sell their properties to either meet their needs or may do so not to leave Abuja just like that.” The FCT Chairman of REDAN, Mrs. Binta Ibrahim, said she could not attribute the haste by civil servants to dispose of their belongings to probe, but noted that the sales of properties had increased. “People are buying properties and sales have increased since the new administration came onboard, particularly in recent times. However, I cannot say if those selling are civil servants who are trying to avoid corruption probe by the President or not,” she said Meanwhile, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria has applied to the ICPC for information on civil servants alleged to own properties worth billions of naira. The union said that it asked the anti-graft agency to furnish it with the details of civil servants that were discovered to have used proceeds of corruption to purchase properties in Abuja, Lagos and other cities of the country. The General Secretary, ASCSN, Bashir Lawal, said this on Tuesday when our correspondent asked him to react to the ICPC report in which many civil servants were alleged to own high net worth and choice properties. Lawal declined to comment on the report, saying the union needed to see the content of the ICPC report before it could offer a response to it. Lawal said, “We need to confirm whether the owners of the properties are real civil servants; at times, some people are brought into the civil service; so, are we talking of people brought into the service by politicians or the real civil servants? “We have called for details from ICPC; when we get the details, we will react appropriately.” SOURCE: PUNCH

Boko Haram kills 60 in Yobe village

Over 60 persons have been killed by Boko Haram fighters in Kukuwa – Gari in Gulani Local Government Area of Yobe State. Speaking to our correspondent on the telephone on Tuesday, the spokesman for the Yobe State Police Command, Mr. Toyin Gbadegesin, confirmed the attack. But he did not give the casualty figure. He said, “I can confirm that there was an attack at Kukuwa village and the police and other security operatives were able to repel the Boko Haram attackers. We are not aware of the high death toll.” But a member of the local vigilance group, Abubakar Aliyu, told our correspondent that over 60 people lost their lives in the attack. He said most of the victims were shot dead by the sect fighters, while some drowned in a river while they were fleeing from their attackers. He said, “Most of the villagers were drowned in the river which was flooded by the downpour while others were shot dead by the terrorists. The terrorists invaded Kukuwa-Gari village and its environs on motorcycles and trucks and started shooting at every possible target. “Some of us in the local vigilance group and some security officials could not withstand the Boko Haram terrorists’ firepower as they were over 50 and were heavily armed.” Aliyu said they were forced to go into hiding and when they finally came out they counted 60 corpses, adding that most the victims were found at the river bank. Another resident of the area, Kashim Mohammed, who narrowly escaped being killed in the attack, said the death toll had risen beyond 60, insisting that many more corpses were seen at the river bank after the initial count on Friday. He said, “I was able to hide in the bush for two days, when I came out, many dead bodies which is far more than 60 were seen close to the river bank. Most of us could not communicate with people in Damaturu, the state capital, because telecommunication masks have been blown off by the insurgents.” Yobe State had suffered a series of attacks from insurgents in the past and President Muhammadu Buhari had given a new charge to the military to end insurgency in three months.

22 ex-Reps besiege Dogara, Lasun’s offices for jobs

Up to 22 former members of the House of Representatives are presenting themselves for jobs to serve as aides to the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, and the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yusuf Lasun, The PUNCH learnt on Tuesday. Investigations showed that at least six of the ex- lawmakers had been handed letters of engagement to serve as special advisers to Dogara and Lasun. The majority of the job seekers were part of the 2011-2015 batch, members whose tenure at the National Assembly rounded off on June 5. A senior member of the House disclosed to The PUNCH on Tuesday that some of the ex-members were “very supportive” in the run up to the election of the presiding officers of the House on June 9. “The jostling for jobs here started long before now. Some of them worked in the speaker’s team before the election. “This is like compensating them for the roles they played, but there are others who truly requested to serve as aides to Dogara and his deputy. “Only a few have been confirmed really; there is no possibility that everyone will be on board. Many are still on the waiting list,” the official added. However, one of the engaged aides, a former Chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions, Mr. Cyril Maduabum, was carried over from the 7th Assembly where he had served as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Speaker at the time, Mr. Emeka Ihedioha. Findings indicated that among those Dogara and Lasun had engaged so far were a former Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Mr. Jerry Manwe, who was appointed as Chief of Staff to Dogara. He was allegedly considered for the job ahead of another former younger ex-lawmaker on the grounds that Manwe was “more experienced in administrative matters”, besides being a very close friend. The younger former member, who once served as the deputy chairman of a popular House committee in the 7th Assembly, is said to be among those still on the awaiting list. On his side, Lasun had appointed a former member from Ekiti State, Mr. Bimbo Daramola, as his chief of staff. Daramola was formerly the Director-General of the campaign organisation of a former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, in the last governorship poll. Similarly, a former Chairman, House Committee on Science and Technology, Mr. Abiodun Akinlade, is the Special Adviser on Special Duties to the deputy speaker. Another former Chairman on Youth Matters, Mr. Kamil Akinlabi, is also a special adviser to Lasun. But, when contacted, some of the members described as “erroneous” any impression that they were scrambling for the positions. For example, Akinlade told The PUNCH that their services were needed as experienced legislators to help the presiding officers to stabilise the House. “This is not even about saying we are looking for jobs or something. That is not correct. “Some of us have up to 12 years of experience in the House; so, the experience will help the system. “If you go to the Senate, you will see a similar trend of keeping some experienced hands behind”, he added. The Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, did not comment on the issue when his reactions were sought. However, the Chief Press Secretary to Lasun, Mr. Wole Oladimeji, defended the decision of his boss to hire ex-members as his aides. He told The PUNCH that Lasun merely kept a tradition of retaining some ex-members to serve as advisers to presiding officers. “This is not new; since the days of (Aminu) Masari, some former members do serve as advisers or work for the presiding officers,” Oladimeji stated. A source at Dogara’s office also claimed that about six ex-members served as aides to the immediate past Speaker of the House, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal. One of them was Mr. Sada Soli, who served as Tambuwal’s chief of staff.

Indonesian plane carrying 54 passengers missing in Papua

A passenger plane carrying 54 people went missing Sunday during a flight in bad weather in rugged eastern Indonesia, officials said, in what could be the latest accident to hit the country’s aviation sector. The plane operated by Indonesian carrier Trigana Air lost contact with air traffic control just before 3:00 pm (0600 GMT) after taking off from Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, the search and rescue agency said. The ATR 42-300 turboprop plane was carrying 44 adults, five children and five crew on the flight which was scheduled to take about 45 minutes, the agency said. The agency said the flight had left Jayapura about half an hour before it disappeared and was headed to Oksibil, a remote settlement in the mountains south of the provincial capital and only accessible by plane. Ten minutes before it was due to land, the plane contacted Oksibil control tower asking to descend, Captain Beni Sumaryanto, Trigana Air’s service director of operations, told AFP. But the plane never arrived. Half an hour later, Trigana Air sent another turboprop plane over the same route to look for the missing aircraft, he said. “But the weather was very bad, it could not find it and the plane was turned back to Sentani (Jayapura airport),” Sumaryanto said. He added: “Oksibil is a mountainous area where weather is very unpredictable. It can suddenly turn foggy, dark and windy without warning. “We strongly suspect it’s a weather issue. It is not overcapacity, as the plane could take 50 passengers.” Papua police spokesman Patridge Renwarin told local TV that residents had reported seeing a plane crash, and local authorities were heading to the area to investigate but as yet there was no report from the team on the ground. *– ‘Very bad weather’ –* Transport ministry spokesman J.A. Barata confirmed the plane had lost contact. “We are not sure what happened to the plane yet and we are coordinating with local authorities,” he told AFP. “The weather is currently very bad there, it’s very dark and cloudy. It’s not conducive for a search. The area is mountainous.” Trigana Air is a small airline established in 1991 that operates domestic services to around 40 destinations in Indonesia. It has suffered 14 serious incidents since it began operations, according to the Aviation Safety Network, which monitors air accidents. The airline is on a blacklist of carriers banned from European Union airspace. Small aircraft are commonly used for transport in remote, mountainous Papua, and bad weather has caused several accidents in recent years. On Wednesday, a Cessna propeller plane operated by Indonesian company Komala Air crashed in Papua’s Yahukimo district, killing one person and seriously injuring the five others on board. Officials suspect that crash was caused by bad weather. Indonesia has a patchy aviation safety record. In December an AirAsia plane flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore crashed in the Java Sea during stormy weather, killing all 162 people on board. In June an Indonesian military plane crashed into a residential neighbourhood in the city of Medan, exploding in a fireball and killing 142 people. The aviation sector in Indonesia is expanding fast as the country’s economy booms but airlines are struggling to find enough well-trained personnel to keep up with the rapid growth.

58 killed, hundreds injured in Syrian market air raids

At least 58 people have been killed in a string of Syrian government air strikes on a marketplace in Douma, a rebel-held town near Damascus, a monitoring group said. At least 200 people were injured, with the death toll, most of them civilians, likely to rise as many of the wounded were in a serious condition, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday. The civil defence in Douma put the death toll at 70. Abdel Rahman said locals had gathered at the site after the first strike to help evacuate the wounded when more raids hit. “The preliminary information suggests most of the dead are civilians,” he said. A video posted online by activists of the aftermath of the attacks showed an intersection strewn with rubble and twisted metal. The fronts of several buildings nearby appeared to have been sheared off by the force of the blasts, and several vehicles were overturned and crumpled amid the rubble. SOURCE: ALJAZEERA

Burundi crisis, risk to region – AU

African Union urges need for dialogue to find lasting solution to political crisis as ex-army commander assassinated. The African Union has said that there may be “catastrophic consequences” for Burundi and the region if political differences are not resolved peacefully. This comes a day after Burundi’s former army chief of staff Jean Bikomagu was assassinated, further indicating the possibility of renewed conflict in the country which has witnessed violence since April over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term. This despicable act, and multiple other acts of violence recorded in recent months, illustrates yet again the gravity of the situation in Burundi Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, AU Commission chief Nkurunziza won the July presidential elections despite deadly violence and boycott by the opposition parties and civil society groups. AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Sunday called for “utmost restraint” from all sides. “This despicable act, and multiple other acts of violence recorded in recent months, illustrates yet again the gravity of the situation in Burundi – and the real risk of seeing a further deterioration with catastrophic consequences both for the country itself, and for the whole region,” said Dlamini- Zuma. President Nkurunziza, a 51-year-old former sports teacher and born-again Christian, was a Hutu rebel leader during the civil war. The war pitted rebels from the majority Hutu people against an army dominated by the minority Tutsi. Colonel Jean Bikomagu, a key figure in the former Tutsi-dominated army during the conflict which raged between 1993 and 2006, was gunned down on Saturday in his car by unidentified assailants outside his home in the capital Bujumbura as he returned from church. The 13-year civil war left at least 300,000 people dead. *-Mediation efforts-* The murder comes less than two weeks after the assassination by rocket attack, of feared top general Adolphe Nshimirimana, widely considered to be the nation’s de-facto security chief. Presidency spokesman Willy Nyamitwe commented on the events, saying: “Another black weekend in Burundi. Blackened by the assassination of a senior member of the Burundian army in retirement, Colonel Jean Bikomagu …Very sad, very shocking.” The escalation of violence in the region has increased fears that the small country in Africa’s Great Lakes region could descend back into a state of conflict, with many afraid of pro- government retaliations after Nshimirimana’s death. Dlamini-Zuma called for the “need for dialogue and consensus to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the current crisis.” The AU commission chief also said that the pan- African body continued to support mediation efforts led by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

APC chief asks Buhari to probe Patience Jonathan

Factional Chairman, All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State, Chief Perekeme Kpodo, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to beam his administration’s probe searchlight on former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan. He said such a development would unravel the financial excesses allegedly perpetrated by Patience in Abuja and Bayelsa State. Kpodo, former Interim Chairman of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party, stated this in an interview on Sunday. He said, “There is the urgent need to probe the former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, for her excesses during her husband’s reign. Many of the ministers during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan were her nominees and so she should be investigated also. “Her antecedents during and after the last general elections must not be forgotten so easily. She was one of the people who turned Aso Rock to a toll gate. The same thing happened to Bayelsa State as treasury was looted. All these must not be swept under the carpet. We are fully in support of President Muhammadu Buhari on his probe.” The former Special Adviser on Security in Bayelsa State commended the President on how he had been steering the ship of the country since he mounted the saddle of leadership, stressing that Buhari would offer Nigerians the needed change the party promised during its electioneering. He said because of Buhari’s tough stance on corruption, many would-be lobbyists for ministerial appointments were scared of him. Kpodo also applauded Buhari for the appointment of substantive coordinator for Presidential Amnesty Programme for the Niger Delta. He said the gesture would tackle the rising agitation in the region, particularly with the issue of payment of stipends to ex-agitators and meeting the obligations of Niger Delta students on amnesty scholarships abroad.

China grants 60 Ghanaian students scholarship

Sixty Ghanaian students have been granted Chinese government scholarships for the 2015-2016 academic year. The students came through heated competitions to win the scholarships to pursue further studies in China in various fields. At a reception for the students in Accra Friday night, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana Sun Baohong reiterated the importance of deepening cooperation between China and Ghana on education. “I firmly believe you will integrate your personal ideal with the grand cause of the transformation of Ghana, and by applying what you have learnt in China, contribute your due share to the national development and social progress of your motherland,” Sun said. The deputy minister for pre-tertiary Education Alex Kyeremeh was grateful to the Chinese government for the scholarships and various supports to the sector saying they have greatly impacted positively on Ghana’s human resource and economic development. He advised the students to comport themselves in a worthy manner befitting the status of ambassadors since they are now ambassadors of Ghana. Esther Nuekie Annang, on behalf of the beneficiaries, thanked the Chinese government for the opportunity. The students will join a large group of over 3,700 Ghanaian students studying in China.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE NEXT AFRICA'S HERO ( CRYSTAL RAINBOW)

Some years back,at the mid running to the late 1980s...An hero was given birth to... A baby boy who was destined to lead his nation was given birth to. It was a great AUGUST 16,at the mid-night of one tuesday which stand for victory.The baby lives to be who we know to fight for the race of Africa... He has fought much battle for his dear country Nigeria... He lives his life fighting against oppressors and oppression. He was born in to the family of Mr and Mrs A.O Omotoso (both parents are Educators). He is a Journalist and a good role model who uses the little he has to help others... He is the CEO of Crystal Rainbow's blog(omotosoibukunoluwa.blogspot.com) and Crystal Rainbow Charity Foundation. We say Happybirthday to the next hero of Africa... Happy birthday to the true son of Nigeria and of Africa... We say happy birthday to Crystal Rainbow... Happy birthday to OMOTOSO IBUKUNOLUWA OMONIYI KAMISOLUOMO.

Aregbesola shuns Ooni’s burial for Lagos meeting

Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, was on Friday absent at the interdenominational service held for the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade. The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Moshood Adeoti, said the governor was unavoidably absent because he was invited to Lagos for a very urgent meeting. The governor eulogised the late monarch for his contributions toward the promotion of Yoruba culture. He said the late monarch sent a text message to him before he travelled abroad for medical attention and committed him and the state government into the continuous guidance of God. The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the August 9, 2014 governorship election, Senator Iyiola Omisore, who is a prominent son of Ife, attended the ceremony.

Gbajabiamila: Police bar journalists from election tribunal

Journalists were on Wednesday barred by armed policemen from the sitting of the tribunal hearing petitions against the victory of the All Progressives Congress lawmaker representing Surulere federal constituency 1, Lagos State, in the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila. Gbajamilama, who is now the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, had been declared the winner of the February 28, 2015 poll by the Independent National Electoral Commission after polling 21, 715 votes. But his victory is being challenged by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the said election, Mr. Tony Ashikodi, who polled14, 550 votes. Journalists were on Wednesday denied access into the premises of the Rosaline Omotosho Court House in Ikeja where the Justice C.U. Anwuka-led three-man tribunal was hearing Ashikodi’s petition against Gbajabiamila’s victory. A police patrol van with number plate CY 581 KTU was stationed directly at the entrance of the court house, while heavily-armed policemen were on patrol. Another patrol van with number plate RRS 161 LA was also parked at the junction opposite the Ikeja Police College, Ikeja while two others, which were unmarked, were also were stationed opposite the Lagos State Water Corporation, Ikeja. All the patrol vans were occupied by armed policemen. The armed policemen at the court’s entrance turned journalists back, saying that they were acting “on an order from above that nobody should be allowed to enter the court premises.” One of them, while preventing journalists from gaining access into the court’s premises, said, “Our CP came here yesterday and instructed us not to allow anybody, including journalists to enter here.”

Police tear-gas Peterside, Abe, others at INEC headquarters

POLICEMEN and operatives of the Department of State Services manning the gates of the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday assaulted the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, and other candidates of the party in the last general elections. The security agents fired tear-gas canisters at Peterside and 47 other APC candidates in the state elections, who had gone to the head office of INEC to protest an alleged refusal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State, Mrs. Gesila Khan, to release electoral materials for inspection by the APC, in accordance with the ruling of the Rivers State Election Petitions Tribunal. A security operative also threatened to shoot a television reporter, who was recording the protest. The APC candidate is contesting before the tribunal the victory of Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party in the April 11 election in Rivers. The tribunal had ordered that the petitioners be allowed access to the election materials to enable them to show proof that the polls in the state were rigged. The candidates, who arrived at the INEC HQ at about 11:15am, lamented that they had individually submitted petitions against Khan’s refusal to make the needed documents available. Peterside, who led the other candidates during the peaceful protest, wondered why the REC had refused to comply with the order of the tribunal, complaining that the REC had claimed that she was working under instruction from the INEC headquarters. A petition by the candidates, which was eventually submitted at INEC, read, “It is highly worrisome that the Independent National Electoral Commission, which ought to assume the position of an unbiased umpire, has now thrown caution to the wind and is now hobnobbing with the other respondents in the aforementioned petitions to frustrate the speedy and efficient determination of the petitions. “The foregoing collaboration and partnership between the commission and other respondents to the petition is confirmed by the commission’s refusal to allow our expert inspect electoral materials, refusal to produce properly Certified True Copies and the series of objections filed by counsel for the commission, challenging the tribunal’s order for inspection of electoral materials.” Rivers APC candidates who participated in the protest at the INEC headquarters included Senator Magnus Abe, Andrew Uchendu, Otelemaba Amachree, Chidi Lloyd and Victor Amadi, among others. Rivers APC Chairman, Denis Ikanya, also accompanied the protesters to the commission’s headquarters. Trouble had started at the INEC office when the security operatives refused to allow all the protesting candidates to personally present their grievances to the acting Chairman of INEC, Mrs. Amina Zakari. Zakari was said to have instructed that she would only see three of the protesters. The candidates, on arrival at the INEC headquarters, had been accosted by the security operatives at a checkpoint near the commission’s main entrance. Our correspondent learnt that Zakari and Khan were inside the INEC premises during the time of the protest. The Deputy Director of INEC in charge of security, Mr. Victor Egbun, who had been delegated to meet with the protesting candidates at the outer checkpoint, had told them to nominate three persons to represent them at the meeting with the INEC chairperson. Egbun told the protesters that it was the standard procedure at the commission. “I plead with you to cooperate with us. Select three people to follow us to our office,” he had said. But the candidates refused, arguing that they had different cases and complaints to make. Abe warned that the candidates were running out of time at the tribunal, adding that “this chairman should not be shy to see visitors. We are not up to 50 candidates here; she can see us.” The candidates were further miffed when the deputy director told them that his boss was with the Rivers State REC and could not see them. Sensing that they could be denied audience, the protesting candidates, at 11:45, walked towards the commission’s main gate but they were accosted by security operatives, who asked the protesters to turn back. However, the protesters refused to heed the security order and started chanting, “Shoot us!” “President Buhari must hear this.” “We will refuse to leave.” By 11:49am, however, the security operatives started firing tear-gas canisters even as the protesting candidates, journalists and other visitors scampered away to safety. The Director of Security at INEC, Shettima Ngiladi, who had rushed out to see what was happening at the gate, was speaking with the APC state chairman and some candidates when the incident occurred

Senators reject pay cut recommendation by panel

The Senate on Wednesday suspended consideration of the report of its Finance committee following sharp disagreements among members over the pay cut recommended by the panel. Our correspondent learnt that the senators during a two-hour deliberation behind closed doors, resolved to reject the reduction of salaries and allowances as recommended by the Senator James Manager’s committee. The senators, according to one of them who confided in our correspondent, said it was not possible to accept pay cut with other beneficiaries of the N120bn National Assembly annual budget not doing same. The senator said that his colleagues accordingly resolved to reject the report because the recommendations were not practicable. Some other senators who also spoke to The PUNCH on condition of anonymity said further consideration of the finance committee report was stepped down because many of their colleagues rejected the contents of the report. On what transpired at the closed- door session, Senator Matthew Urhoghide (PDP Edo South), said senators told themselves the truth at the session on the need to be very cautious on accepting reduction of salaries and allowances. Urhoghide said that majority of the senators agreed that “funny allowances” like the monthly N42,000 wardrobe allowance should be cut off completely. He said, “Yes, as recommended by the committee, all senators agreed that there must be openness in Senate budget and by extension, that of the National Assembly. “At the same time, many reasoned that why should we further reduce our budget when already, N30bn has been reduced from the traditional 150bn that it used to be for all the seven different organs of the National Assembly. “All of us have people in our constituencies and financial requests from them keep piling up on a daily basis, the reality of which made steps to be redirected, otherwise, some of us may stop coming here.” The committee, it was learnt, also recommended the publication of all the payments accruable to each senator on a quarterly basis. However, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, at plenary, explained that “Senate in closed session deliberated on the report of the finance committee but agreed to stand it down for further legislative input.” Addressing journalists after plenary, Senate spokesperson, Senator Dino Melaye, said further action on the report was put on hold because the senate budget was an integral part of the National Assembly budget being jointly shared by seven bodies. Melaye said, “The Senate today, in closed-door session, discussed the report of the ad hoc committee on finances of the senate. “After due deliberations by the senators, we came to the conclusion that since the budget of the Senate is not independent of the budget of the National Assembly, the budget of the House of Representatives is also inclusive. “We have the management; we have the National Institute for Legislative Studies; we have even the Public Conduct Commission; the National Assembly Civil Service Commission, and over 3, 000 legislative aides, that are beneficiaries of the N120bn annual budget. “Therefore, we have agreed that we should consult amongst other arms that share the budget of the National Assembly, before we would draw a conclusion on the report. “So, the resolution is that we are going to interface with the House of Representatives so that we can be on the same page on the report as presented. This is the resolution of the Senate today in a closed-door session.” Melaye denied reports that the National Assembly had been experiencing cash crunch despite the fact that some senators confirmed last week that they had not received salaries since their inauguration on June 9. “I am not aware of any cash crunch, and for me, it is news from you, and I don’t think it is true,” he said. He said that the senators had the power to reduce their own pay just like the President, the Vice President and some governors had done. Melaye said, “It is the responsibility of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission to stipulate how much you would be paid. But you can sacrifice, as a public officer, to say: I am taking half of my salary, and then taking half back to the treasury. “It means that it would be returned to the treasury, where it would be used for other developmental programmes. “We would make wider consultations with the House of Representatives on the report because we have one National Assembly and whatever is going to affect the Senate, the House of Representatives should also be carried along and I am sure that after this consultation we will get back to the public.” Meanwhile, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Mr. Abdullahi Kaugama as the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Jigawa State following the death of the former REC, Alhaji Abdullahi Minkaila, who was burnt to death with other members of his family.

Amosun sacks workers for setting ‘offensive’ exam questions

The Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has ordered the sacking of six officials of the state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, including a secondary school teacher, over alleged offensive examination question. Those sacked include two Grade Level 17 officers, Mrs. Folashade Oresegun, who was the Director, Education Support Services, and Mr. Rotimi Odunsi, who was the Director, Curriculum Development and Evaluation, and a Grade Level 16 officer, Mr. Majekodunmi Oluwole. Others are a Grade Level 10 officer, Mr. E.O. Asegbe, a Grade Level 8 officer, Taylor Damilola , and an English Language teacher in Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne, Mr. Joel Adegbenro. The sacking of both Oresegun and Odunsi has been converted to compulsory retirement while the four others were summarily dismissed. Our correspondent gathered that their offence might not be unconnected with a comprehension passage in the English Language examination conducted by the ministry for the Unified Examination in Public Secondary Schools for the third term of the 2014/2015 academic session. The offensive section was Section C, where the pupils were asked to summarise a comprehension passage on a policy defect on education. It was alleged that it was considered too critical of the state government. The section partly read, “There is no arguing about the fact that the government is merely paying lip service to the development of education. It is true that a lot of money is being spent on the education sector but with little or no impact felt by the people, except where we want to deceive ourselves. “Many schools run by the government, which were formerly known for academic excellence have suddenly lost their prestige and are living on past glories. No wonder, many parents and guardians are threateningly left with only one option, to withdraw their wards from these schools to other ones that are better managed. “The evidences to show that the government is not doing enough to assist in the development of education are many. Even pupils in both primary and secondary schools can volunteer a good list on their finger tips. “One of the numerous indications is the government’s inability to pay running cost to schools. The running cost is the token amount per pupil paid to school administrators to run the affairs of the school in a term. This has been neglected to pile up for several academic sessions. “Another one is the regular poor conduct of terminal examinations. These examinations are not usually conducted as and when due. The government may have one excuse or the other, but real educationists know that appropriate timing is a strong factor in the process of Continuous Assessment (CA) of students. Thus, a situation, where for instance, the first term examination is shifted to second term is an outright departure from the norms and ethics of Continuous Assessment.” The summary passage was said to have been culled from Jola Adegbenro’s Issues on Education Today. The governor and some other top government officials were allegedly angry with this section, which they believed made a veiled reference to what obtained in the state. Consequently, the embattled officials were invited to Abeokuta last week to face a disciplinary panel set up by the state Bureau of Establishment and Training, where they were quizzed. The state’s Head of Service, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle, while reacting to the sacking, said the government followed the due process “because the affected officials were given opportunity to defend themselves.” She said, “I am aware that not all of them were dismissed, some had their appointment terminated and some were compulsorily retired. “When the issue came up, the state government put in the necessary process, a panel was set up to investigate and based on their recommendations, the state Civil Service Commission has to decide. It is a decision that has been relayed to the affected officers. “The normal process was that a panel was set up, the report was forwarded to the Civil Service Commission for the civil servants, the Teaching Service Commission, for the teachers. “The decision was in line with the civil service rule, due process was followed to the latter.”

[UPDATED] Helicopter crash: Two missing victims recovered dead

The two remaining persons on board the ill- fated helicopter, that crashed into the Lagos lagoon on Wednesday, have been recovered. The victims, who were fished out of the lagoon by the emergency management agencies and local divers at about 10.30am, had, however, died. The bodies were identified as that of the pilot and his assistant. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Operatives of emergency agencies on Thursday morning resumed the search for two missing persons on board the Bristow Helicopter, which plunged into Lagos lagoon in Owonroshoki on Wednesday. The chopper, said to have 12 passengers, took off from an oil rig in the South-South and was billed to arrive in Lagos at about 3.35pm, crashed into the water a few minutes before its arrival time. Four bodies were recovered while six others, who sustained varying degrees of injuries, are receiving medical attention at the Gbagada General Hospital. National Emergency Management Agency, its Lagos State counterpart, marine police, naval officers and local divers have been combing the lagoon for the missing victims since our correspondent arrived at the scene of the incident in the early hours on Thursday. An official of LASEMA, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the wreckage of the helicopter had been located deep inside the lagoon, adding that it required intensive efforts to recover the missing persons. He said, “We just came back from another round of search now. The wreckage has been located in the middle of the lagoon. But it has sunk deep. We are intensifying our efforts to recover the missing persons. For now, we only saw the tail of the helicopter.” ——————————————————- Tragedy struck around 3.30pm in the Alonge area of Owonroshoki, Lagos, as a Bristow helicopter carrying 10 passengers with two crew members on board, plunged into the lagoon. It was learnt that four people were killed, while no fewer than six others sustained varying degrees of injury. The aircraft crashed about five minutes to its scheduled landing time at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos. The helicopter, with registration number, 5N- BDG-760540, was coming from one of the oil rigs in the country. It was learnt that many of the victims were working for an oil service firm, which was doing a job for a multinational oil company. The oil workers were coming back to Lagos when the incident occurred. The identities of the victims had yet to be known. PUNCH Metro gathered that some fishermen, who were operating on the water at the time the incident happened, initiated the rescue mission. Agencies, including the Accident Investigation Bureau, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Lagos State Fire Service, the police, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, and the National Emergency Management Agency, were seen making efforts to recover the remaining two persons in the water. The two missing persons had yet to be recovered as of 8.30pm when our correspondent left the area. A resident of Onabanjo Street, Joshua Oladipupo, said he witnessed the moment the helicopter lost control and plunged into the water. He said, “This afternoon around 3pm, I saw the chopper struggling to find a safe place to land. Suddenly, it nose-dived and I didn’t see it again. I rushed down to the scene. I saw two survivors swimming out of the lagoon.” The Chairman of the boat operators group in the area, Alhaji Rasaq Isiaq, said he directed his men to rescue the victims immediately after the crash. He said, “Initially, the aircraft wanted to land on a two-storey building, but moved forward and crashed inside the lagoon. I called my boys instantly and notified the DPO of the station. We rescued six people alive while four were dead.” Another eyewitness, Mrs. Funmilola Adebiyi said the security agents arrived in the area about 30 minutes after the incident. The spokesperson for NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, said, “The Accident Investigation Bureau will make proper briefing about the incident and other issues after investigation. We have asked the navy to help in the rescue operation.” LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Michael Akindele, said the identities of the victims would be confirmed as soon as the manifest was received. He said, “We are still awaiting the manifest but we were told that 12 people were on board. The four corpses had been taken to the Mainland Hospital Mortuary. As I speak to you, rescue operations are still on.” The General Manager, Public Affairs, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, in a statement confirmed that 12 persons were on board the ill-fated aircraft. He stated that workers were on ground to rescue the victims. The NCAA statement read in part, “A Bristow helicopter with registration number, 5N – BDG – 760540, en route from one of the nation’s oil rigs has crashed at Oworonshoki in Lagos this evening. “The helicopter scheduled to arrive Lagos at 15.35pm had 12 people on board including the crew. However, the number of casualties has yet to be determined. “At present officials of the Accident Investigation Bureau, National Emergency Management Agency and the Nigeria Police are at the site providing rescue operation for the victims.” Bristow Helicopters Chief Pilot, Captain Obinna Ojiako, told one of our correspondents on the telephone that the company was still gathering information on the accident. He promised that a statement would be issued, which had yet to be done as of press time. Officials from aviation agencies, including the Accident Investigation Bureau and the NCAA, told one of our correspondents that there were no indications that the pilot made a distress call before plunging into the lagoon. Sources said Bristow officials had called aviation agencies to inform them that the aircraft they were expecting to land had yet to do so. The development, it was learnt, made the aviation agencies to trace the whereabouts of the helicopter. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Accident Investigation Bureau, Mr. Tunji Oketumbi, said a team of investigators led by its Commissioner, Dr. Felix Abali, had been dispatched to the site. Oketunmbi said in a statement, “Investigation has commenced with AIB Commissioner, Dr. Felix Abali, leading the team.” It is unclear what happened before the chopper plunged into the lagoon, but pilots said engine issues were usually the most common among the problems that could make a chopper to crash. SOURCE: Punch

JOURNALIST KILLER: Mexico quizzes governor over journalist’s killing

Mexico City investigators will travel to the Gulf coast state of Veracruz to question its governor about the killing of a photojournalist, according to the mayor of the Mexican capital. Miguel Angel Mancera said on Monday all lines of investigation remain open in the case, including possible political motives, and the investigative team will go to Veracruz on Tuesday. Javier Duarte, Veracruz’s governor, has told local media that he has no knowledge of the incident, which occurred on July 31 in a Mexico City apartment where four women were also slain. Ruben Espinosa, the photojournalist, had fled Veracruz recently, saying he feared for his safety due to his work covering protests. Espinosa was tied up, tortured and shot in the head at an apartment in Mexico City. The attackers also killed his friend, Nadia Vera, two of her roommates – a 19-year-old aspiring make-up artist and a woman believed to be from Colombia – as well as their 40-year-old housekeeper. Vera had been active in organising protests for various causes in Veracruz.

Afghan President flays Pakistan over Kabul attacks

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has accused Pakistan of sending “messages of war” and harbouring bomb-making camps, after a wave of devastating blasts in Kabul killed at least 56 people. Ghani said on Monday that Pakistan has failed to rein in the Taliban, as peace talks falter and armed groups step up attacks that are testing beleaguered Afghan security forces. “Pakistan still remains a venue and ground for gatherings from which mercenaries send us messages of war,” Ghani said. “The last few days have shown that suicide bomber training camps and bomb-producing factories which are killing our people are as active as before in Pakistan. We can no longer see our people bleeding in a war that is exported from outside.” The Afghan leader made the call as another car bomb exploded on Monday outside the airport in Kabul, killing five people and injuring another 20, including women and children. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a message to Al Jazeera. Taliban fighters are stepping up their summer offensive amid a bitter leadership dispute following the announcement of the death of longtime leader Mullah Omar. Since coming to power last year Ghani has actively courted Pakistan, which has historically backed the Taliban, in what experts call a calculated gambit to pressure the armed group to the negotiating table. Ghani’s sharp rebuke of Afghanistan on Monday indicates a change in tactic in dealing with Pakistan.

Yemen loyalists seize town south of rebel-held capita

Saudi-backed forces loyal to Yemen’s exiled government have seized a town south of the rebel-held capital, military officials said Tuesday, in their latest advance against Shiite Huthi rebels. The “Popular Resistance Committees” — comprising pro-government fighters, Sunni tribes, and southern separatists — seized overnight the town of Utmah, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Sanaa, the officials said. The town is in the Shiite majority province of Dhammar next to Sanaa province, where the Iran- backed rebels have held the capital since September. Loyalist forces also seized six towns in the mountainous central Ibb province, where local Sunni tribes have been clashing with the Huthis for months, the officials said. Backed by a Saudi-led coalition that has been carrying out air strikes since March, pro- government forces have been battling for months to restore President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, in exile in Riyadh, to power. The officials were unable to provide details on the number of loyalist or rebel casualties in the fighting. Pro-government forces have launched a major counter-offensive in recent weeks and recaptured four southern provinces — Abyan, Aden, Daleh, and Lahj. The advance has been leading toward third city Taez, southwest of Sanaa. Pro-government militia sources said clashes were ongoing in Taez, which would be a major prize if retaken by loyalist forces. Elsewhere, military officials said the pro-rebel governor of the southeastern Shabwa province, Ali al-Awlaqi, fled to an unknown location on Monday as loyalist forces prepared to enter the province. The officials accused the rebels of planting landmines in government buildings across the province, in a sign that they were planning to retreat. Complaining of marginalisation, the Huthis descended from their northern stronghold last year and seized Sanaa unopposed. They advanced on the main southern city of Aden in March, forcing Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia and prompting Yemen’s Sunni neighbour to lead an air war on the rebels. As well as the Huthis, rebel forces include renegade troops still loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was ousted in 2012. The latest turnaround in the fighting coincided with the appearance on the battleground of modern equipment that, according to military sources, the Saudi-led coalition had provided to Hadi’s supporters. A military source last week also reported the deployment of “hundreds of soldiers from Gulf countries” in the coalition to Aden, along with dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles.

Three Malian soldiers killed in land mine explosion

Three soldiers were killed after their patrol vehicle hit a landmine on Monday in a forest in central Mali, Defence Minister, Tieman Hubert Coulibaly, has said. Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group al- Mourabitoun on Monday claimed responsibility for a hotel siege in central Mali at the weekend in which 17 people died. “Today again, you lost three brothers in arms to a land mine explosion,” Coulibaly told Malian soldiers in Sevare, where he was visiting following the weekend attack. The blast took place in a forest near the town of Diafarabe about 600 kilometers northeast of the capital in the Mopti region, killing three soldiers and wounding three others. “The soldiers were informed by villagers of the presence of armed men near a village and the soldiers went over to investigate,” Souleymane Dembele, a Malian Defence spokesman said. Mali’s northern region has seen resurgence in number of attacks by armed groups as well as Islamist militants who briefly held the area up until they were scattered by a French military intervention in 2013. Malian authorities also blame a new armed group called the Massina Liberation Front for the growing number of attacks in the central Mopti region.

Australia arrests 91 year-old man for smuggling cocaine

A 91-year-old Sydney man was used by drug smugglers to fly 4.5 kilograms of cocaine disguised as soap from India to Australia, police said Tuesday. The man was stopped at Sydney airport on his arrival from New Delhi on July 8th when customs officers became suspicious of the contents of his luggage, officials said. They found 27 packages of soap which tested positive for cocaine. The man was charged with importing illegal drugs. “Claiming ignorance of drugs hidden inside your luggage does not automatically mean you will not face criminal charges,” acting Assistant Police Commissioner, Wayne Buchhorn, said.

EFCC foils plot to steal seized $2.1m NHIS cash

Two persons have made separate attempts to claim the $2.1m (about N418million) cash seized by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The NDLEA had on July 3 intercepted the cash which was being conveyed by a bureau de change operator, Mr. Ibiteye John Bamidele. The anti-narcotics agency had suspected the bureau de change operator of laundering the money. Following his confession that he was on money laundering errand allegedly for a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Dr. Olufemi Thomas, the NDLEA had on July 8 handed over the suspect and the cash to the EFCC. Investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday reveal that two different persons have showed up at the Lagos office of the EFCC to claim the cash. Our correspondent learnt that one of the impostors, a man, who showed up to claim ownership of the money, later confessed to EFCC operatives that he was hired by some persons he didn’t name to retrieve the money from the commission. His claim was said to have been punctured by the EFCC team and he was subsequently arrested. Similarly, a lady was also said to have appeared at the Lagos office of the EFCC, claiming that she was the one that gave Bamidele the money. The lady was said to have made repeated calls to the supposed owner of the money who failed to fulfil his promise that he would meet her at the EFCC office. When she realised that her partner had failed her with the refusal to appear at the commission. She was also said to have pleaded for mercy especially when the operatives confronted her with facts from Bamidele. A top officer of the EFCC, who spoke on condition of anonymity to SUNDAY PUNCH, said, “Another thing you must know about this drama is that the commission has foiled some attempts to retrieve the money. “From the time the case was handed over to the commission on July 8, 2015 to date, two people have come forward to claim the money. “A few days after the money was handed over to the EFCC, a man came to the office to claim the money but when he was grilled, he contradicted himself. In fact, he said he was hired by some persons to claim and retrieve the money from the commission. “Apart from the man, another woman showed up the following day to claim that she was the one who gave Bamidele the money. “According to her claim, the money was proceeds of an investment which was liquidated with a bank and was intended to be used to purchase a property for the construction of a cardiac centre. “However, her claim fell through when operatives confronted her. The bureau de change operator who was caught with the money did not mention her name. Then she realised that she wasn’t going anywhere with her lies, she started pleading for mercy.” Meanwhile, indications emerged on Saturday that Thomas had been granted administrative bail on Friday by the EFCC after undergoing interrogation in relation to the seized $2.1m. The EFCC had invited the former NHIS boss, the prime suspect, for interrogation on Friday and released him after hours of interrogation. SUNDAY PUNCH gathered on Saturday that the EFCC operatives, who grilled the ex-NHIS boss in relation to the ownership of the controversial money, asked him to report to the Lagos office of the commission for further investigation whenever he is needed. No date was fixed for the next session with the commission. Another senior officer of the EFCC, who also spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said, “The case involving the seized $2.1 million is still pending. The man was interrogated on Friday but released to go on what we call administrative bail. “Since the case is a Lagos case, he is expected to be reporting to the commission’s office in Lagos whenever he is needed.” Prior to Thomas’ interrogation, the EFCC had given the indication that it could declare him wanted after weeks of searching for him. SOURCE: PUNCH

I Thought You Knew (Does it really matter?.....)

I THOUGHT YOU KNEW BUT,IF YOU DON'T NOW YOU DO: In this weeks edition of 'I Thought You Knew' we will be discussing some stories in the Bible that were usually misread or retold to make it perfect. Have it in mind that these stories does not really change any thing. At the end of it all, ask yourself this question... Does it really matter?.......  -*Adam and Eve*- Contrary to popular belief, Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden not because they ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but in order to prevent them from eating from the tree of life (both forbidden trees are in Genesis 2:9) which would have made them eternal. God doesn't like competition! Here is the verse (Genesis 3:22-23): “And he said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now, therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. [23] And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he was taken.” -Does it really matter?....... -*Brothers Keeper*- Another quote we all know from the Bible is “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Now ask yourself – do you know what God’s answer was to this question? You don’t – no one does because the Bible doesn't tell us what He replied. If God were to have answered, we can presume it would have been in the affirmative if all of the other commands to look after our brothers in the New Testament are taken into consideration. -Does it really matter?....... -*Samson and Delilah*-  Samson and Delilah is a famous story from the Old Testament which ends rather badly, as Samson’s long hair is cut short to destroy his strength. The common misconception is that Delilah was the one to give him the chop – a kind of ancient bobbit if you will. But in fact, it was Delilah’s servant who did it. (Judges 16 vs 19) -Does it really matter?....... -*Rapture*- The “Rapture” is not in the Bible! Despite being believed by a large number of protestants (many of whom also believe that only that which is in the Bible can be true) it was actually invented in the 1600s by one Cotton Mather – otherwise famous for murdering women by strangling them to death (by hanging) in the Salem witch trials. The term in the Bible commonly mistranslated to the word “rapture” actually comes from the Greek ἁρπάζω (harpazo) which actually means “caught up” or “taken away” and it refers to one person only (Philip). -Does it really matter?....... -*The Three Wise Men There weren't three and they didn't visit Jesus in a manger. The Bible gives neither the number of men (but does the number of gifts as three, which is probably where this misconception stems from). Additionally, Herod demanded the death of all boys under two, making it probable that Christ had been born up to two years prior. Also, the wise men visited Jesus when he lived in a house according to the Biblical account in Matthew 2 vs 11 and not in the manger. Does it really matter?....... To be continued next week.

Suicide bombers spread fear of Boko Haram in Cameroon

Empty streets, body searches and tips to police embody the fear that Boko Haram has instilled in northern Cameroon, where they killed more than 40 people in suicide bombings in July. Raiders from the Nigerian sect later kidnapped 135 villagers and killed eight others in a pre-dawn strike across the border last Tuesday, police and local sources said. Boko Haram has attacked villages in Cameroon’s Extreme North region for about two years, but the horrific bombings mark a change of tactics, while Cameroonian troops have joined a regional force to tackle the Islamists. The suicide bombers can be young women and even teenage girls, who behave like locals and blend in at crowded places to cause maximum casualties. Residents of Maroua, the main town in the Extreme North, were spared until successive blasts tore though the bustling central market and a bar on July 22 and 25. Those bombs killed 33 people and wounded dozens more. “We’re very worried and no longer know where to turn,” says Albert, a worried father. “Should we send the children to school when the next school year starts?” he ponders. “Boko Haram is against Western education and may very well carry out attacks on schools.” The sect’s name loosely translates as “Western education is forbidden”, and Boko Haram notoriously abducted 276 Nigerian schoolgirls in April last year. Some managed to escape but more than 200 are believed to be held in the large Sambisa forest, where the Nigerian army this week said it had freed 178 captives.

SPORT-EPL: Man’U start on winning note, beat Tottenham 1-0

Manchester United beat Tottenham 1-0 at Old Trafford in the first match of the Barclays Premier League season. In the unexciting match that lacked quality, an own goal from Kylie Walker was enough to earn United three points.

Bobbi Kristina's family accuse Nick Gordon of drugging and putting her 'face down' in the bathtub

Late Bobbi Kristina's family is now accusing Nick Gordon of murder. An amendment to the $40m lawsuit filed against him by Bobbi Kristina's family gives a chilling timeline of what they claim happened in the hours before she was found unresponsive in her bathtub on January 31st… From TMZ- The lawyer says at 6 AM on January 31st -- hours before Bobbi Kristina was found face down in the tub -- Nick Gordon came home from an all-night cocaine and alcohol bender. The suit claims he reviewed camera footage and became irate. The suit says Gordon began screaming at Bobbi Kristina, accusing her of cheating and calling her a "whore and bitch.". Their argument then went from room to room, and at some point the suit claims Gordon gave Bobbi Kristina a "toxic cocktail" that rendered her unconscious. The lawyer then says Gordon dragged Bobbi Kristina to the bathroom where he placed her face down in a tub filled with cold water. According to the docs, Gordon got in bed, put his head on a female guest's ankle and said, "Now I want a pretty little white girl like you." Fifteen minutes later the suit says another person (presumably Max Lomas) discovered Bobbi Kristina in the tub. The suit also says when Bobbi Kristina was pulled from the tub, one of her teeth was hanging loosely from her mouth, indicating she had been injured. And this is odd ... the suit says authorities found a dust pan at the bottom of the tub.

US yet to give Buhari oil thieves’ list

The United States has yet to give the list of oil thieves to President Muhammadu Buhari, findings by our correspondents have shown. Saturday PUNCH learnt on Friday that during Buhari’s visit to Washington in July, 2015, the United States did not give any list. Sources at the US embassy said they were not aware of any exchange of documents between American officials and the President during the visit. If there was such a list, a source said, it was not given to Buhari during the visit. The source said, “Though President Buhari engaged in discussions on various issues with the US President Barack Obama, there was no exchange of documents between them.” When contacted, the US embassy in Abuja declined comment on the issue. The Press Attaché, Sean McIntosh, said he had no comment on the issue. There had been media report that the US government had given Buhari two separate lists containing the names of corrupt Nigerians and crude oil thieves, adding that the President was taken aback when he saw the list. The list was said to contain the names of top government officials who have been stealing the country’s oil, using their high offices to perpetrate the stealing and the other containing the names of illegal oil bunkerers. The report further stated that the list given to the President by the US might compel him to probe the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, denied knowledge of any list of corrupt Nigerians reportedly handed over to Buhari during his visit to the US. He said he would not be able to make further comment on the matter since he was not aware of the list. “I have no knowledge of the list you are talking about so I can neither confirm its authenticity nor those listed therein,” he said.

Why I ‘raped’ my friend’s teenage daughter – UNILAG lecturer

For nine days, Shola (not real name) was in pain. The abdominal pain she endured felt as if a knife got stuck in her, she told Saturday PUNCH. She was scared but she had no choice but to endure the pain since she couldn’t imagine telling her parents the unimaginable trauma she had been subjected to that led to the pains she was going through. “How could I face them? How could I tell them that the man they handed me over to, to help process my admission, had raped me?” Shola said. But then, much as she tried, she couldn’t continue hiding her ordeal, especially when the pains had become unbearable. Shola’s parents eventually got to know what their daughter had passed through in the quest of trying to become an undergraduate. Eighteen-year-old Shola is one of the numerous hopeful candidates, wishing to secure admission into the University of Lagos. But her score of 211 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination fell short of the requirement for Mass Communication, which was her choice. Her father, who resided in Abesan Estate in Ipaja area of Lagos, had done all he could to ensure that her daughter would become a university student this year but all his efforts seemed to be futile. “Someone told me to send her UTME registration number. He checked on the university website and said she was not eligible. Not convinced, I went to the school myself to check and it was the same problem. “I had to start making calls to other universities where she could secure admission and someone told me she they could be helped to gain admission into the Olabisi Onabanjo University with that score. “As soon as the UTME result was released around May, I informed a friend of mine who lives within the estate, who is a lecturer at UNILAG. I took my daughter to him and he promised that when it was time for the post-UTME examination, he would help her out with the process.” The friend Shola’s father mentioned is Dr. Akin Baruwa, a lecturer in the Department of Accounting, UNILAG, who is also a chairman of one of the community development committees of Abesan Estate. Shola’s father explained that when she realised that her result was not being accepted as eligible for Mass Communication, he went back to Baruwa on July 22, 2015 and the lecturer told him to bring his daughter the following morning so he could take her to campus and see how he could help. “He said they had to take off very early the following morning. I did not suspect anything unusual about that timing because I trusted him. By 4am, I roused my daughter. We prepared and I took her to Baruwa’s house. I did not opt to follow them because I trusted him. I did not imagine that anything untoward could happen,” he said. Baruwa and Shola took off from Abesan about 5am. She would later return home by 11am. His daughter was noticeably moody as she came home. Two hours earlier, Baruwa had called the father and told him that he had done all he could but that it did not seem her admission would be possible. “When he told me that, I believed he had done all he could and told my daughter to come back home,” he said. But it was not the same Shola that home that came back. She was moody and noticeably quiet. She went straight to her room and locked the door. In company with child rights activist, Mrs. Esther Ogwu, whom the case was reported to by the family, our correspondent spoke with Shola in private to give details of what actually happened in Baruwa’s office that day. It was obvious the girl was trying hard to stay composed. While she spoke, her right hand would go to her lower abdomen occasionally. When asked about it, she explained that she was still feeling some pain, which had reduced a lot since she got treatment. Shola said on Thursday, July 23, 2015, as her father handed her over to the lecturer, she still did not suspect anything until they got to around Maryland. “While I was inside the car, he started to touch my hair and rub my head. I was very surprised and I brushed off his hand. He never tried it again till we got to UNILAG,” Shola alleged. According to her, while they were on the way, Baruwa was showing her different parts of town, telling her about places she did not know. She alleged, “While we were on the way, he asked if I go out at all and I told him I don’t usually go out. And he would show me a place and say ‘This is Maryland o. You may not know since you don’t go out.’ Then he took me to the Yaba College of Technology. He drove inside and showed me the place. We later proceeded to UNILAG. “When we got to his office, it was about 6.30am. The offices in the building were deserted. He said he liked to be early to avoid traffic. He told me to sit on the couch in his office. “I noticed he was restless. He would stand and go outside sometimes. He asked if I wanted anything, I told him I was fine. He put on the television; I told him I was okay. He put on the air conditioner and I told him I did not want that. “He had already heated water and made Coffee, which he offered to me. I told him I was okay and really did not need that. He then put the hot Coffee on the table. Later, out of respect, I took the cup and sipped a little. I started to feel drowsy not long after that. I did not know why.” According to Shola’s narration, Baruwa later took her to see a female official in another building who examined her documents and explained further that there was little that could be done on her admission. Baruwa reportedly said she might have to opt for diploma. Shola claimed that when they went back to his office, the lecturer kept her document on his table. She said, “He kept standing and moving around the office. Later, he went outside and when he came back inside, he locked the door and kept the key on his table. I did not know what was happening. “A moment later, he told me to pick up a paper for him beside the couch. As I bent down to pick up the paper, he pushed me into a corner of the couch and held me down as he forcibly removed my trousers and underwear.” Our correspondent asked at this point if Shola made any attempt to shout to alert anybody nearby. She claimed that she actually screamed but that the way he held her down did not allow her voice to be as audible as she had wanted it to be. Shola claimed, “If people were around the office, they would have heard me shout. He held me down, and pulled down my trousers and underwear. I screamed and begged him to leave me alone but he did not. “After he had his way, he released me. As soon as I pulled up my trousers, I grabbed the keys to the door and rushed out while he was dressing up. He was walking behind me as I walked downstairs from his office. He said nothing as I walked away crying. He later went back.” Shola’s father told our correspondent that he had been able to secure a place for her to write her post-UTME examination for an admission into OOU but the young girl has refused to go. When our correspondent asked Shola why she refused to go, she said “How can I be sure that this same thing would not happen there? I don’t know anybody there. If it happens again, where would I run to?” Our correspondent tracked down Dr. Baruwa a day after speaking with Shola and he gave his version of the encounter. According to him, he indeed had a sexual encounter with Shola but it was “consensual.” The lecturer, who seemed to be in his early 40s, told our correspondent that he made the mistake of not doing enough to resist the temptation of ‘sleeping’ with Shola. Speaking with our correspondent in the front of his house out of earshot of his wife and two children, Dr. Baruwa said, “I swear to God that the girl agreed to everything that happened. She was a chatty girl, who did not show any shyness. “It is true that I took her to YABATECH and showed her places. What is not true is that I deliberately took off from home because of any plan to do anything bad to her. I took off from home that early to avoid traffic. “When she was in my office, she was the one telling me to be free with her. I realised that I needed to lie down a little and did not want my shirt to be rumpled. When I pulled it off, she even told me not to mind her presence that since it was my office, I could do whatever I wanted. “When we first got to the office, she lay on my chest and was even playing with my manhood. That was why I could not resist it. After we came back from seeing the woman who was supposed to help with her admission, she was about to go when I told her to give me a hug. It was that which now led to the actual sexual encounter. “When I realised that I could not resist her, I had to tell her to let me put on a condom. The truth is that, while I was putting on a condom, she stood by and waited. I did not actually penetrate. When she was saying ‘it’s enough, it’s enough’ and complaining that her tummy had started hurting her, I stopped.” Baruwa explained that Shola’s father had sent a cryptic text message to him (days later when he learnt of what happened to his daughter), saying that he had learnt of what he did to his daughter. “I know I betrayed his trust but nobody would understand it was consensual. I would have reached out to him to beg him if I think it would solve the problem,” he said. When told that Shola went through more than a week of excruciating abdominal pain, Baruwa explained that if Shola left him the day of the encounter with any sign of hurt, he would have reached out to her to find out how she was doing. Two days after our correspondent spoke with Baruwa, he was arrested by the police and the case is being investigated at the Isokoko Police Division, Agege, Lagos. The case has also been reported at the Office of the Public Defender under the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. The Director of the OPD, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, said the case would be followed to its logical conclusion. Director of the Esther Child Rights Foundation, Esther Ogwu, a social worker handling the case, said when the case was first reported to her, the health of the girl was her immediate concern. She said, “I had to refer them to the Mirabel Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Lagos so that she could get comprehensive treatment. This case is just another reason for girls and young women to be cautious of the issue of sexual assault. “I believe this lecturer had been doing this in the past. It is necessary for girls to be aware and know what to do when in a potentially dangerous situation where they may be assaulted. “I don’t expect him (the lecturer) to admit that he raped her. I knew he would say it was consensual, but I suspect that this is not the first time he would do such thing. Let the law take its course because we don’t know how many other girls are being saved because this case is coming out to the public.” Baruwa was arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court, Lagos on Thursday. He has been remanded at the Kirikiri Prison.

Chinese teacher sentenced to life for raping pupils

A court in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region said on Saturday it has sentenced a kindergarten teacher to life in prison for sexually assaulting 12 girls. The Intermediate People’s Court in Yinchuan found the defendant, Huang Zhenxin, guilty of raping or molesting 12 of his students. Huang was a teacher at a rural kindergarten in the city of Lingwu. Lingwu police said Huang sexually assaulted the girls after he told them he would tutor them on their homework. The kindergarten offered compensation to the victims.

UI can only admit 3,000 applicants, says DVC

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), University of Ibadan, Prof. Gbemisola Oke, said the institution could only admit 3,000 out of over 33,000 candidates that applied for admission into the institution for the next academic session. Oke spoke on Friday in Ibadan at a stakeholders’ forum, organised by the Distance Learning Centre of the institution. She urged prospective students, who met admission requirements, but could not gain admission, to embrace Distance Learning to satisfy their needs of qualitative tertiary education. “If we can’t meet the need of our people through the regular face-to-face mode, then we should use the Open Distance Learning. “Education drives growth and development and it must be at the centre for any nation to make advancement,” she said. Oke added that the university would ensure qualitative and standard distance learning education, with strict adherence to the mandate of the nation’s premier university. At the forum, Prof. Francis Egbokhare delivered a paper entitled ‘Accessibility and Openness of the ODL Practice’. Egbokhare said the establishment of private universities as solution to non- accessibility to university education by Nigeria youths had failed. He pointed out that this could be ascertained from the low patronage of private universities. According to him, only three per cent of the total population of candidates, seeking admission through JAMB, choose private universities. Egbokhare urged government to look for ways of expanding the existing ODL facilities to be able to accommodate more candidates. Similarly, Prof. Abiola Awosika in her lecture entitled, ‘The Importance of Technology in ODL Practice’, noted that technology had made the learning world smaller so that everyone could have access to the ‘global classroom’. In his welcome address, the Director of the centre, Prof. Bayo Okunade, said the forum was to fast track the process of change being witnessed at the centre.

Italy arrests five over human trafficking, murders

Italian police have arrested five men accused of multiple murders and human trafficking following a deadly shipwreck off the coast of Libya which left more than 200 people feared drowned. Two Libyans, two Algerians and a Tunisian, ranging in age from 21 to 24, were placed under formal arrest on Friday in Palermo after being questioned on Thursday. Police had earlier mistakenly identified the Tunisian as a Libyan. Testimony revealed how the suspects had allegedly beaten and stabbed passengers during the perilous crossing, locking many people in the ship’s hold. Police said the accused men charged the migrants between $1,200 and $1,800 for the voyage, depending on where they would be placed on the deck of the boat. Those in the hold paid about half as much as those above, they added. The overcrowded vessel was believed to have had more than 600 migrants onboard when it began the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, before getting into trouble and overturning on Wednesday. Italian and Irish ships rescued more than 400 migrants and recovered 26 bodies, including three children. More than 200 others were feared lost to the waves. Police arrested the men after speaking to survivors during the night after they arrived in Palermo. Police said “the criminals each took on a clear role,” with one in charge and the others tasked with controlling the migrants through violence. Survivors told them migrants from Africa had been put in the hold, and that “they could be closed in and compacted in the hull for three days, having paid half price for the crossing”. When water began seeping in, “the migrants, on the traffickers’ orders, tried desperately to get rid of it,” the police said in a statement. When that failed, the migrants “did everything to try and get out to save themselves, but instead were attacked with knifes and sticks, pushed back into the hull,” at which point the traffickers “sealed the hatch, with the weight of the rest of the migrants, positioned on purpose to stop it reopening”. Rescuers said they feared at least 100 people were trapped below deck when the boat overturned, and would have immediately drowned.

Schumer says he will oppose Iran nuclear deal

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is the first Senate Democrat to announce his opposition to the agreement... Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said on Thursday he had decided to oppose the nuclear deal with Iran negotiated by the Obama administration. "To me, the very real risk that Iran will not moderate and will, instead, use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great," said Schumer, the number three Democrat in the Senate, said in a statement. "Therefore, I will vote to disapprove the agreement, not because I believe war is a viable or desirable option, nor to challenge the path of diplomacy. It is because I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non- nuclear power," Schumer wrote. He is among the most influential Jewish lawmakers in Congress and is the first Senate Democrat to announce his opposition to the agreement. Another influential Jewish lawmaker, U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, also said on Thursday he would oppose the nuclear pact. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing lawmakers to oppose the nuclear agreement, which he considers a threat to his country's survival. Obama has been engaged in his own lobbying effort, including a speech on Wednesday in which he said abandoning the agreement would open up the prospect of war. Schumer’s declaration of support for a Congressional motion of disapproval of the Iran deal is emphatic, but President Barack Obama has already made clear his intention to veto any such legislation. That would present Schumer and other Democrats voting against the deal with a decision over whether to support an effort to override such a veto. A congressional aide said Engel would vote for a resolution of disapproval and also vote to override an Obama veto if the resolution passed Congress, according to Reuters. Under the terms of legislation passed in May, Congress has 60 days, or until Sept. 17, to review the deal and pass a resolution accepting or rejecting the accord. A resolution of disapproval would prevent Obama from lifting sanctions put in place by Congress — a critical part the agreement. Nonetheless, Schumer’s decision, first reported by The Huffington Post, may free other Democrats to join with Republicans against the deal. So far, there are 12 Democrats in the Senate who have announced they are backing the deal, as is Sen. Angus King of Maine, according to the New York Times. Among them is Schumer's colleague from New York, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who announced her support for the deal on Thursday. Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont who is running as a Democrat for the 2016 nomination, is considered to support the deal. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who has come out in favor of the deal, and 150 Democratic lawmakers from the House signed a letter encouraging the negotiations, indicating they will likely back the agreement.

Why the US nuclear budget grows while the stockpile of warheads shrinks

Obama's plan to modernize and replace the nuclear arsenal will soon push nuclear weapons spending to Cold War levels... If you simply tally the number of warheads, the United States’ nuclear stockpile looks like a shadow of what it once was. The number of warheads held by the U.S. peaked in 1967 at over 31,000, but has been steadily declining, mainly through a series of treaties with nuclear rival Russia. By February 2018, the deadline for the most recent treaty, the U.S. will have pared down its active strategic arsenal (warheads ready to launch) to 1,605, the lowest number since Dwight Eisenhower was president. And yet, American taxpayers will soon be spending more on nuclear weapons in real dollars than they have since the end of the Cold War. In October 2013, just four months after calling for yet another one-third reduction in the stockpile, President Barack Obama announced plans to “modernize” the entire nuclear arsenal over the next 30 years, arguing that updating and replacing the so-called nuclear triad — the submarines, jets and ballistic missiles designed to deliver warheads — will help create a leaner, sleeker nuclear fleet. But leaner doesn’t mean cheaper, at least not in the short term. According to a recent study by two researchers at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Jeffrey Lewis and Jon Wolfsthal, Obama’s modernization program could carry a pricetag of over $1 trillion, vaulting nuclear weapons spending relative to the overall defense budget to a level comparable to the 1980s. SOURCE: Michael Pizzi - @michaelwpizzi & Michael Keller - @mhkeller

Nigeria as pawn in China-US rivalry

The CCTV News is China’s answer to America’s CNN. Trust the former therefore to look for ways to cast China in a better light than the United States. When Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari visited America’s President Barack Obama the other time, CCTV News searched hard for a sensational angle to report. So, during its 6:15pm newscast on July 23, 2015, the news channel gleefully announced as a headline that Buhari indicted the US over its role in the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Right from that moment, I had wondered if this was possible considering how well the visit had gone up to that point. The news anchor presented other news items, then she got back to the story on Buhari. The four sentences in the footage that CCTV News chose to show out of all that the Nigerian leader said on the issue were enough for me to reach some conclusions. One, I thought the CCTV news producers and editors weren’t versed enough in English Language (Chinese possibly being their mother tongue) to read the President correctly. Two, I thought the news channel chose to be mischievous in order to cast the visit in a way that showed China as the better friend to Nigeria compared to the US. I didn’t change my mind after I read the full text of the President’s speech. Moreover, on July 29 and in spite of denials by Nigeria of this reading of the visit, the presenter of “The Heat”, a CCTV News interview programme, referred to “Nigeria’s indictment of the US” over the Boko Haram insurgency. But what did the Nigerian leader actually say on that occasion? “In our efforts at combating the activities of Boko Haram, the new government has sought and obtained the support of not only our neighbours but other international friends and partners,” Buhari had said in his speech at the US Institute for Peace. “Regrettably,” he continued, “the blanket application of the Leahy Law by the United States on the grounds of unproved allegations of human rights violations levelled against our forces has denied us access to appropriate strategic weapons to prosecute the war against the insurgents. In the face of the abduction of innocent schoolgirls from their hostels, indiscriminate bombings of civilians in markets and places of worship, our forces have remained largely impotent because they do not possess the appropriate weapons and technology which they could have had, had the so-called human rights violations not been an obstacle. “Unwittingly, and I dare say, unintentionally, the application of the Leahy Law amendment by the US Government has aided and abetted the Boko Haram terrorist group in the prosecution of its extremist ideology and hate, the indiscriminate killings and maiming of civilians, in raping of women and girls, and in their other heinous crimes. I believe this is not the spirit of the Leahy Law. I know the American people cannot support any group engaged in these crimes. I therefore strongly appeal to both the Executive Arm and the US Congress to examine how the US Government can provide us with far more substantial counter- terrorism assistance with minimal strings. The longer we delay, the deadlier the Boko Haram gets. At all events, we have re-written the rules of engagement protecting the rights of combatants and in particular safeguarding civilians in theatres of conflict.” My reading of this address was that, yes, the US made allegations of human rights abuses, Buhari didn’t see the allegations made as enough reason to deny Nigeria needed arms because of the exigencies, and in any case the US had been known not to be so strict with some undemocratic regimes. Taken against the background of the many words of thanks Buhari had uttered when he arrived the US, it was obvious that an indictment of the US Government would have been out of sync. In fact, a close examination of some of the comments he made extempore at the Institute for Peace would show he placed the blame for not accessing US military assistance more on the past administration in Nigeria. While he acknowledged that the US Government wouldn’t support actions that ran counter to the US laws, he however enjoined it to ensure that its policies didn’t in any way encourage Boko Haram in Nigeria. No doubt, any media platform would search for eye-grabbing headlines for its reports; but when the story itself contains nothing that supports such sensationalism, it becomes a burden. This puts off the more objective mind, casting the journalists involved in unnecessary negative light. I was surprised the CCTV News interpreted Buhari’s address the way it did. Then, I thought maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. It’s because China is ever in a struggle with the US on the global stage, and the CCTV News is its global TV platform for this purpose. From democracy to trade, and test of military prowess to human rights, China and the US are at war. There’s nothing extraordinary in this; contest for superiority is the flavour in international relations. To paint Nigeria as an enemy of the US in this contest as the CCTV News did that time was another matter however. Was China uncomfortable that Nigeria under its new administration sought to recover the ground it once lost with the US? Or was the angle to the visit which the CCTV News chose to report a means of showing China as the more reliable partner? This is more so considering that Nigeria had actually turned its back on the West and went for China under a past military administration. This notwithstanding, the fact remains that Nigeria has never left the West for China, and it never will. Like every other developing nation, Nigeria will want to enjoy the best of the two worlds, the best of two opportunities that the West and the East provide. There will be bumps in Nigeria’s relations with the West from time to time. Even when relations with the West seem to be smooth, Nigeria remains a nation that no western nation fully knows where to grab, whether by the wrist or by the elbow; but that doesn’t translate into an advantage for China. I got a glimpse of this at a time I had a chat with a senior official in the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS. He admitted that of all the countries the EU deals with, Nigeria was one that they were never sure of who to rely on in order to exert effective pressure and have their way on issues that were of interest to them. He had mentioned a couple of individuals and agencies, but concluded with the observation that getting a particular entity to use in influencing Nigeria’s position on a matter had always proved difficult. With that picture, even the US can’t go to bed, sure that it has Nigeria wrapped up with regard to any matter. No country can pocket a nation of over 170 million people with its vibrant multi-layered forces; not the West, not China. For the internal dynamics here aren’t so straightforward to either grasp or manipulate with any level of assurance. So, if the CCTV News had carried that piece of news from that unfavourable angle with the intention of showing off that China had better and trusted relations with Nigeria than the US, it missed a point. Anyway, in what real terms has China assisted Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram? It’s worth noting that in the same newscast where the CCTV News broadcast its negative take on Buhari’s address, its Nigerian correspondent, Deji Badmus (formerly of the Channels TV) was interviewed by the CCTV News anchor. Asked to comment on Buhari’s visit to the US, Badmus found a way to chip in his disapproval of how the television station had reported the President’s comment on the US and Boko Haram. “We shouldn’t take President Buhari’s comment out of context”, Badmus had said among other things. Another CCTV News correspondent (an American) who was, side by side with Badmus, asked to comment on the visit said, “I’m going to start off from Deji’s (Badmus) excellent analysis.” Obviously, he too didn’t agree with the CCTV News’ unfounded sensational take. That was one huge moment in which I concluded that Nigeria or Africa would always need to have a voice to speak up for it, otherwise foreigners would make pawn of it as it suits their designs.