Russian air strikes in Syria cause civilian deaths

Civilian deaths are being reported from apparent air strikes by Russian fighter jets in the Syrian province of Hama and in areas bordering the Idlib province. Russian forces carried out the air strikes on Wednesday morning, in addition to targeting anti- government armed groups with surface-to- surface missiles, said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. A video of the purported raids uploaded to YouTube by activists said at least four people were killed and dozens injured, and that the death toll was expected to rise. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the reports of the air strikes. Meanwhile, Syrian army forces have launched a ground operation in the country’s west, reports say. The offensive is targeting Khan Shaykhun, a town in Idlib strategically situated on a rebel-controlled route that connects Aleppo and Damascus. The developments come at a time when Syrian fighters are targeting government forces and pro- regime units in Hama with Grad missiles, the Syrian Observatory said in a statement. It said it has “no information about casualties” yet. Russia, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al- Assad’s government, started carrying out air strikes in areas across Syria last week. On Tuesday, Russian jets hit areas under the control of the Islamic State of the Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in Palmyra and the northern outskirts of Aleppo.

Bomb blast hits Buhari Housing Estate Yobe, 16 killed

Sixteen people have died and 10 others injured in multiple explosions on Wednesday morning in Damaturu, Yobe State capital. Executive Secretary, State Emergency Management Agency, Alhaji Musa Idi, confirmed the story to newsmen in Damaturu on Wednesday. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the explosions took place around Ministry of Housing quarters and Buhari Housing Estate in Damaturu. NAN reports that normalcy had returned to the state capital as schools opened, while workers and other residents had resumed their normal business.

Warplanes violation: NATO rejects Russia’s explanation

NATO has rejected Russia’s explanation that its warplanes violated the air space of alliance member Turkey on the weekend by mistake and said Russia was sending more ground troops to Syria. The comments by the alliance on Tuesday came as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was losing patience with Russian violations of his country’s air space, and Russian officials said they would welcome talks with their Turkish counterparts to avoid “misunderstandings”. “An attack on Turkey means an attack on NATO,” Erdogan warned at a Brussels news conference. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance had reports of a substantial Russian military build-up in Syria, including ground troops and ships in the eastern Mediterranean. “I will not speculate on the motives … but this does not look like an accident and we have seen two of them,” Stoltenberg said of the air incursions over Turkey’s border with Syria. He noted that they “lasted for a long time”. The incidents, which NATO has described as “extremely dangerous” and “unacceptable”, underscore the risks of a further escalation of the Syrian civil war, as Russian and US warplanes fly combat missions over the same country for the first time since World War Two.

ISIL claims suicide bombings in Yemen’s Aden

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group’s Yemen affiliate has claimed responsibility for an attack on an Arab coalition base that killed at least 15 troops, including four Emirati soldiers. The armed group made the claim through its affiliated accounts on Twitter on Tuesday, posting a series of photos depicting the bombings and pictures of the suicide attackers involved. “Four martyrdom operations targeted a gathering of Saudi, Emirati, and Yemeni offices,” a statement released by the group said. The names of the attackers in the pictures suggested those involved were all Yemeni in origin. Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra said the claim of responsibility by ISIL marked the start of “strange scenario” in Yemen. “On one hand we have government forces and the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, and now you have ISIL fighting the government and Houthi forces,” Ahelbarra said. “You’ll have the [southern] secessionists fighting al-Qaeda, and ISIL fighting al-Qaeda at the same time…It will be a complete nightmare scenario in the near future. “In 2014 ISIL emerged saying that they were there to defend Sunnis who had been undermined by the Shia…they were present in the capital Sanaa but now they’re trying to build a platform in the south.”

Charles Okah attempts suicide in court

A suspected mastermind of the October 1, 2010 bombing in Abuja, Charles Okah, caused a row, by attempting to commit suicide during Tuesday’s proceedings in his trial before a Federal High Court in Abuja. Okah, after ending an emotion-filled comment about his protracted trial during the court session, grabbed a nearby chair with which he made repeated but futile attempts to break a window in order to create an opening through which he could jump down from the courtroom located on the third floor of the five-storey building. His frustration on Tuesday was ignited by his lawyer’s absence in court. Defence lawyers – Mr. Samuel Zibiri and O.O. Otemu – were provided by the Federal Government-owned Legal Aid Council, after Okah in October last year, dispensed with the services of a Lagos lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, whose law firm had defended him since the case started in 2010. Okah, who is standing trial along with Obi Nwabueze for terrorism charges arising from the October 1, 2010 bombing incident, sought the permission of the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, to speak after it was discovered that his lawyer was not in court. After the judge granted him permission to speak from the dock, Okah in an emotional outburst expressed frustration about his long incarceration and the attendant deprivation of the opportunity to cater for his family. Okah said, “I have been incarcerated for about five years now, and I have a family to cater for. “My children would grow up without feeling the warmth of their father. I’m tired of this endless trial.” It took the intervention of lawyers and some other persons who were in the courtroom for their respective cases to stop his attempt to commit suicide after his emotion-laden speech. The chair with which he attempted to break the window was collected from him after he was overpowered and Justice Kolawole promptly adjourned the case till October 20. The lead prosecuting counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN) , was in court during the Tuesday’s dramatic event. Okah, is a brother to former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, Henry Okah, who is already serving jail terms in South Africa for the bombing near the Eagle Square, Abuja, on October 1, 2010 in which about 12 persons were said to have died. The prosecution had a major breakthrough in the case when it called its first witness on April 23, 2015. For over four years, Okah and his legal team deployed a flurried interlocutory applications which hindered progress in the case. At the opening of his case, Izinyon called the first prosecution witness, Mr. John Afolabi, who is an exhibit keeper at the Department of State Services, and through whom 14 exhibits were tendered and admitted by the court as exhibits on Tuesday. The witness said during his evidence-in-chief that the items were retrieved by DSS investigators at “scenes of investigation” into the bombing incident. The first exhibit admitted by the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, was a list of items which Afolabi said were retrieved during the investigation conducted into the bombing by the DSS. Other exhibits were the 13 items contained in the list. The list comprised an old Mazda 626 car with registration number LAGOS BY 318 FKJ, military wear and camping materials.

Buhari’s list not worth the long wait –PDP

Opposition political parties and some socio- political groups on Tuesday said President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial list read out by Senate President Bukola Saraki did not worth the long wait by Nigerians. The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, the Labour Party and the Yoruba pan socio- political group, Afenifere, were some of the groups that said the list did not show any surprise commensurate to expectations. The PDP, in a statement in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, stated that Buhari’s delay in constituting his cabinet could not be justified. It said, “By a mere look at the list, one can tell that there is nothing to be excited about, especially considering the length of time it took the President to come up with it. “Looking at the list, it is hard to put a finger on why it should take any serious-minded and focused government six months after its election to assemble such a regular team.” He said the list and the length of time it took to present it had further confirmed that the All Progressives Congress-led administration was being driven by propaganda and deceit, a development he said raised doubts about the sincerity of the government’s anti-corruption crusade. The National Chairman of LP, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulkadir, said that the President’s list was filled with “recycled politicians and individuals.” He said, “From independence till date, the same people are being recycled. Governors who ruled their states recklessly are on the list. They never considered any youth worthy of consideration as a minister. Many of them are analogues and are not in tune with modern day expectations. “None of the ministerial nominees can meet our yearnings and expectations. It is very unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari will delay Nigerians for five months just for a list of recycled people and 21 names for ministerial positions. The implication is that before he brings the rest, four years tenure would have gone. This has shown Nigerians that nothing good will come from Buhari and the APC. “This is to show Nigerians that the change mantra is fake; there is no sincerity of purpose there and no commitment to the Nigerian cause. They just deceived Nigerians with ‘change, change’ slogan and won the heart of Nigerians.” Also, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said that there was no fresh face on the list. Odumakin, speaking for Afenifere, said, “One would have loved to see fresh faces who can at least offer hope. The list is however replete with a lot of faces that have been active part of the rot of the past years. There are persons perching on mountains of corruption and we can only hope that the Senate has enough resolve to do a proper screening. These are all Genesis people and not Revelation.” A human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, said that nothing was inspiring about the list of the ministerial nominees. He said all the nominees were familiar faces. The lawyer said, “The impression that the President gave to everyone was that he was searching out for ‘saints’ to work with him. We could not have wasted the past three months waiting for Fayemi, Fashola, Amaechi, Ngige and Audu Ogbeh. These are people who had worked with the President, whose names he should have compiled even before he was sworn in. “There was thus no need for all the hype and melodrama about the ministerial list, in the manner that the President has kept the whole nation in such frenetic suspense and deliberate guesswork. “They all appear to be people of conscience, on the face of it, who ordinarily should help midwife a new Nigeria, but given the internal contradictions currently plaguing the ruling APC, then we may not expect any miracle from those names already announced.” A member of the African Regional Representative, International Bar Association Human Rights Working Group, Ms. Carol Ajie, faulted the inclusion of only three women. She said, “Three women out of a list of 21 is seven male nominees to one female, falls short of our sustainable development goals of promoting gender equality, empowering women in politics and the professions. “Nigeria is one of Africa’s leading lights, hence our political leaders should position our country to attain the development agenda ratified by all countries, in keeping true to the millennium momentum.” But a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Joseph Nwobike, said the President reserved the right to nominate those he believed would help him to achieve his agenda for the country. “The President knows what his agenda is. He knows what he wants to achieve by way of giving dividends of democracy to Nigerians. So what it means is that those the President has nominated are those he believes will assist him in achieving his agenda and to deliver the dividends of democracy. We cannot assess them now because they have not assumed offices,” he said.

Controversy as Ayefele allegedly collapses after show

Controversy surrounded the performance of gospel musician, Yinka Ayefele, in Ado Ekiti on Monday, as he was said to have collapsed after the show. According to his publicist, David Ajiboye, he was immediately rushed to an undisclosed hospital in the town. The musician, who was attacked by hoodlums in Akure, Ondo State on Saturday, was in Ado-Ekiti on the invitation of the Ekiti State Government to perform at the World Teachers Day. Apparently, he had not recovered from the injuries that he sustained during the attack on Saturday. “The doctors are treating Yinka in his home now. He is responding well to treatment,” Ajiboye said in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday. But the Special Assistant to the state Governor Ayo Fayose on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, noted that there was no problem during the show. He said in a telephone interview, “The programme was televised live. It started well and ended peacefully.” Other sources contacted denied knowledge of the incident. Ajiboye, however, said the singer’s condition was serious but not critical. But he painted a grim picture of Saturday’s sordid encounter with the hoodlums in Akure, saying, “They hit him on the chest with a piece of wood. They threw stones and other missiles at him. There was no way that he could defend himself because he was sitting on a wheelchair.” Even the armed mobile police guard that was assigned to provide security for the musician was wounded during the attack. Ajiboye said the guard could have fired at the hoodlums, but the musician had previously instructed him not to shoot so as to avoid a scandal. With the wounded policeman out of the way, there were no bodyguards to confront the attackers. Explaining why Ayefele, unlike most other popular artistes of his calibre, did not keep bodyguards, Ajiboye said, “Normally when we go out for a show, we take some money along for the settlement of area boys. So, we didn’t think it was necessary to hire bodyguards for this particular show.” Not less than three different sets of hoodlums, he said, approached Ayefele and his band for ‘settlement’ on Saturday. The first two sets were given N100,000 each. Then the third set demanded N500,000 from the musician. An argument had ensued between Ayefele and the hoodlums after he refused to grant their request. According to Ajiboye, the musician was saved from being murdered by a team of Civil Defence Corps operatives who promptly intervened in the matter and chased the hoodlums away. Earlier, a press statement signed by the publicist after the incident had indicated that Ayefele’s Ford Explorer 2015 model was vandalised and his recently acquired musical equipment, valued at N150m, was also destroyed by the attackers.

Access Bank, Irish firm improve ATM, e- banking channels

Access Bank Plc has collaborated with CR2, an Ireland-based self-service banking software provider, to modernise its Automated Teller Machines, Internet and mobile banking channels. CR2, in a statement, announced that the Nigerian lender had selected BankWorld, its omnichannel suite, to manage its self-service channels including ATMs, Internet and mobile banking platforms. The strategic alliance was inked at Access Bank’s London headquarters, CR2 said in the statement. Access Bank, which received its first banking licence in 1988, currently has five million retail customers and over 1,500 ATMs. The statement read, “Access Bank understands the importance of the self-service channels in supporting Nigeria’s retail banking growth. As such, they sought a solution which would allow them to launch the right product, in the right place, at the right time which can only be achieved through a true omnichannel approach. “By selecting BankWorld and holding CR2’s self- service platform at the core of its strategy, Access Bank now has the tools to stay competitive and highly flexible to market changes as well as personalising each interaction with its customers at every touch point.” It added, “With CR2, Access Bank will be empowered to reduce its operational costs by managing all channels from a single point while also having the opportunity to generate revenue through the launch of targeted and personalised services.” The Ireland-based firm said the development would enhance Access Bank’s capacity to offer a range of innovative and convenient payment facilities new to the Nigerian market. The statement quoted the Group Managing Director, Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, as saying, “We aim to become the leading bank in Nigeria and provide new services that will change the way people bank. “Having a best of breed self-service offering, providing convenient banking and managing all our client’s relationship from a single place are at the heart of our strategy and we believe that BankWorld will help us to achieve our vision.” The Chief Executive Officer, CR2, Franky Van Damme, said “I welcome Access Bank as a new client of CR2 in Nigeria. “We believe that CR2 can help Access Bank in offering their customers innovative and unique services across their entire electronic self-service network. We are committed to innovation and look forward to working with Access Bank to deliver cutting-edge banking and enhanced customer experiences.” According to Van Damme, CR2 is enhancing its experience in the Nigerian financial market and that the latest move follows its strategic alliance with Global InfoSwift, its local partner in Nigeria. The General Manager, Global InfoSwift, Mr. Solomon Edun, was quoted as saying, “Global InfoSwift has joined forces with CR2 to bring the latest banking technologies to the Nigerian market and make banking easy and accessible to all. “This alliance and the agreement with Access Bank is a first step towards the banking revolution that Nigeria will go through. We are very proud to take part in Access Bank’s journey and help them achieve their vision using cutting edge technologies.”

London, SEC to strengthen Islamic finance in Nigeria

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the City of London on Tuesday pledged to work together to deepen Islamic finance in Nigeria in order to bring financial inclusion to Nigerian Muslims and non-Muslims averse to traditional financial system and products. The Lord Mayor of London, Mr. Alderman Yarrow, and the Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, made the pledge at a Roundtable meeting with Nigerian regulators on non-interest finance in Abuja on Tuesday. Yarrow said London with six Islamic banks and another 20 lenders currently offering Islamic financial products and services had the capacity to help Nigeria to deepen its Islamic financial system. He said, “We want our Nigerian friends and partners to see London as Nigeria’s international companion whatever type of expertise is required. From looking at Nigeria’s legal framework, to helping to up skill your young, dynamic and ambitious population, London has the expertise, the variety and the capacity to help. And most of all, we offer the willingness. “Only a few months ago, UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer – which is really the name of our Finance Minister – stood beside me and the Governor of the Bank of England and he spoke about the importance of Islamic finance. “He has made regulatory and fiscal changes making it easier to establish Islamic banks, offer Shariah-compliant products and in general enable British Muslims to engage with the financial system in a way consistent with their faith. Islamic finance is really one of the UK’s strengths.” He added, “The UK is the leading centre for Islamic finance outside the Muslim world. And it is our tradition to stand alongside Dubai and Kuala Lumpur as the main global hubs for Islamic finance. Britain became the first country outside the Muslim world to issue an Islamic bond or ‘simul’ last year. The 200m pound bond attracted healthy investor interest and was the first step in encouraging wider investment. “The UK government has supported that effort. But two things were universally agreed on, Islamic finance will be massive and it’s here to stay. “That is equally true here in Nigeria with about 88 million Muslims and 39 per cent of the adult population unbanked. There is a huge opportunity to offer Islamic finance as an alternative investment and finance model for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I am here as an ambassador for UK services.” At the Roundtable, Gwarzo, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services at SEC, Mr. Zakawanu Garuba, said the commission was considering modalities for setting up a Sharia advisory council as a body of experts to advise it on non-interest product applications. “Our goal is to boost non-interest capital market product innovation so that the segment can be at least a quarter of the overall market capitalisation,” Gwarzo said. He explained that the commission’s aim was to build a strong regulatory regime for non-interest products, encourage stakeholders in the non- interest capital market and ensure the emergence of Nigeria as a prominent non-interest capital market hub regionally and globally. To boost the liquidity of non-interest products, Gwarzo said the commission was working with a committee to support the FMDQ over-the-counter platform to enable secondary market trading of the products. He added, “Over the years, SEC has taken a leading role in deepening the non-interest finance space in Nigeria. Particularly, we developed very robust rules on Sukuk issuance which have already enabled the Osun State government to issue Nigeria’s first ever Ijarah Sukuk.” “We would be delighted to leverage London’s wealth of capacity and experience in this regard. We would be most delighted to get any form of assistance in building a vibrant non-interest capital market in Nigeria that will help push national aspirations for inclusive socioeconomic development.”

Buhari’s ministerial list full of corrupt leaders

President Muhammadu Buhari’s long awaited list of ministerial nominees has just been unveiled by the Senate President, Olubukola Saraki, but my God, where are the angels? The ones the President promised the nation that made him stay this long before releasing the list! Are these the credible ones that the President have been searching for all these while, especially since when it became obvious that he would form the next cabinet after that historic acceptance of defeat by former President Goodluck Jonathan? Let me recall a short dialogue the late environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, had with one of the judges that sentenced him to death. The judge had asked: “Ken, I heard you said this is a kangaroo court?” “Well,” Ken replied, “whenever I look up, all I see are kangaroos.” So, while not dismissing all the nominees, does it mean the President couldn’t find the likes of Mike Igini of INEC or Dr Oby Ezekwesili, etc? I just pray the President does not take the support of Nigerians for granted. May that day never come. Sylvanus S. Aburime, Command Road, Ipaja, Lagos State, +2348027436