Gunmen kill 10, burn 20 houses in Taraba!

The Police Command in Taraba has confirmed that gunmen on Tuesday killed 10 people in Jibu village in Wukari Local Government Area of the state.

According to Punch newspapars, the Police spokesman, ASP Joseph Kwaji, told newsmen in Jalingo that the suspected assailants also burnt more than 20 houses.

“Yes, I can confirm to you that at about 5 a.m. today, a group of Jukun youths stormed Jibu village, opened fire at the inhabitants and killed 10 people,” he said.

According to him, the suspected gunmen killed every one they saw in the area irrespective of the person’s ethnicity and region, including Jukuns.

“I can also confirm to you that 15 people are badly injured and about 20 houses were set ablaze,” he said.

Kwaji, however, disclosed that a joint patrol of Mobile police and military had been deployed to intensify security in the area.

The spokesman, therefore, appealed to people in the area to stay calm, saying security personnel were on top of the situation.

He assured members of the community that the perpetrators of ‘this dastardly act’ would be brought to book.

Prince Charming George at New Zealand playgroup on his first official engagement!

Prince George undertook his first royal crawl-about as he attended a parent and baby group with his mama and dada. 

The eight-month-old was brought along by his clearly proud parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, to the ‘playdate’ organised by The Royal New Zealand Plunket Society at Government House in Wellington.

Following his scene-stealing appearance on Monday when the family arrived in New Zealand to begin their three week tour Down Under, all eyes were on the future king as he was introduced to ten babies born within a few weeks of his own birthday, on July 22 2013.

It was the first time that the third in line to the throne had undertaken a public duty – of sorts. But it clearly won’t be the first, in what will be a lifetime of royal service.

Army, Boko Haram Working Together in Parts of Nigeria?!

 

A Nigerian soldier reportedly said he witnessed incidents that suggest some Nigerian military commanders are working with Boko Haram, an Islamist militant group blamed for thousands of deaths since 2009.

In an exclusive interview with VOA's Hausa service, he described how his military unit, based in the northeastern Borno State region, was ambushed by Boko Haram fighters.

The soldier, who did not want to be identified, said the commander of a nearby military unit, based in the town of Bama, recently sought assistance from his unit in carrying out a raid.

The soldier said when the two military units joined up, they were given different uniforms. The Bama unit commander gave his own troops green uniforms. The soldier said his unit received tan "desert camouflage" uniforms.

When the troops reached the battle area, the soldier said the commander of the better-equipped Bama unit suddenly withdrew his forces, leaving the remaining troops to fend for themselves against Boko Haram fighters.

Speaking in Hausa, he said, "We had only light arms and our men were being picked off one after the other."
The soldier also said he recognized some of the Boko Haram fighters as his former military trainers in Kontagora, a town near the capital, Abuja.
"We realized that some of them were actually mercenaries from the Nigerian army... hired to fight us," he said.

This soldier and others have said that too often, commanders have pocketed money that was supposed to be used to help equip units.

VOA has made repeated attempts to get reaction from the Nigerian government for this story but no officials have been willing to speak on the record.

However, in a January 2012 speech, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said Boko Haram members have infiltrated his government's executive, legislative and judicial sectors, as well as the police and armed forces.

Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in three northern regions where Boko Haram is active, and launched operations to destroy the group's camps. Despite those efforts, though, large-scale attacks have continued.

Atlantic Council Africa Center Director Peter Pham said the soldier's account could have merit.

 "It certainly would not surprise me that it is happening," said Pham.

Pham said the goal should be to figure out how and why collaboration between military officers and terror groups could happen.

"What’s critical is to understand, if there is this collusion, to understand whether it is a collusion born of corruption, born of desperation simply to avoid combat that would result in casualties for the men under your command, or if it is born of ideological sympathy with the insurgents," he said.

Apart from some well-trained elite units, Pham said most of Nigeria's military is "woefully underfunded and under-resourced" in terms of equipment and training.
Deputy director of the International Crisis Group's Africa program E.J. Hogendoorn,  said Nigeria's military disfunction is part of a broader problem of systemic corruption extending through most government sectors.

Hogendoorn says "drivers," such as bad governance and the inability of state institutions to provide basic services, help create a pool of unemployed youth "ripe for radicalization."

"We argue that even were Boko Haram to be defeated, if you don’t deal with those drivers, you are not going to be able to stabilize either northern Nigeria or the entire country," he said.

Hogendoorn said in order for change to occur, the Nigerian government needs to address corruption and poor governance in a systematic and sustained way.

culled.

President Goodluck Jonathan gives out first daughter in marriage!

All road lead to Otuoke - Bayelsa state, the home town of President Goodluck Eberechukwu Jonathan, on Saturday, April 5, 2014, as Faith Elizabeth Sakwe, the first daughter of the President was traditionally married to her beau Godswill Osim Edward from Cross River state.



The traditional marriage journey began on Friday, April 4, 2014 at about 7pm, with the payment of bride price and exchange of gifts between the two families which saw in attendance, family members on both sides and a friends, the likes of Hajia Bola Shagaya, Senator Ben Obi, Ifeanyi Uba, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, Governor Liyel Imoke, among others.

Pictures below:

Do or die Politics- Thus butcher APC party member in Lagos!

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA)of Lagos was allegedly attacked with a machete by some thugs over his refusal to hand over the materials to be used for the Party Congress.

The victim identified as Soji Ayinla belonged to the APC Ilamose Ward of the Ejigbo Local Government.

It was gathered that, his attackers acting under the instruction of an un-named council chairman inflicted fatal cuts on parts of Ayinla’s body.

It was alleged that Ayinla disagreed with the thugs who reportedly wanted to infiltrate the congress venue with fake materials with the aim of manipulating the congress result.

Ayinla was rushed to private hospital in Ejigbo while some thugs connected to the attack have been arrested by the Police and are being detained at the Ejigbo police station.

Victim's photo below, viewer discretion is strictly advised:

First Royal tour together: Shopping list for Prince George sent to New Zealand!

According to reports, a detailed shopping list of baby essentials has been sent to officials in New Zealand so that Prince George will have everything he needs when he arrives in Wellington with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Information revealed that the royal couple have packed dozens of outfits for their eight-month-old son as part of their bulky luggage that is accompanying them on a commercial flight via Australia, but nappies, wipes, baby food and toiletries will be waiting for them when they land.

The family will be staying at Government House in Wellington, the official residence of the Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae, who is the Queen’s representative in New Zealand. 

A nursery has been prepared for Prince George, along with bedrooms for the couple and their son’s nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo

A royal aide said: “There have been conversations between Kensington Palace and the teams in Australia and New Zealand about all aspects of the tour, but this is the first time we have been on a royal tour with a baby.

“Everything that is required for the parents and their baby has been provided. A list of stuff has been sent on and they have tailored things to the needs of an eight-month-old.”

NASA sets solar flare images to music!

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory released images of an April 2, 2014 “mid-level” solar flare set to music. 

The video could be poised to become a viral video hit.

The Observatory explains:

"Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

This flare is classified as an M6.5 flare. M-class flares are ten times less powerful than the most intense flares, which are labeled X-class. The number after the M provides more information about its strength. An M2 is twice as intense as an M1, an M3 is three times as intense".