Women Demobilize Boko Haram Insurgents In Borno!

Residents of Attagara and Kawuri villages in Gwoza and Bama local government areas of Borno State, respectively, repelled attacks on their community by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.

A resident told Vanguard news that the attackers invaded the village yesterday on motorcycles but met some women.

According to the resident, “they wanted to hit the women with sticks but when they raised the sticks, their hands refused to descend.

“Three of the insurgents fled, but seven were not lucky as the women alerted the people,” and the vigilante group in the community rushed to the scene, disarmed the seven insurgents, who were later lynched.

Attagara, a border community with Cameroon is about 10 kilometres South-East of Pulka District in Gwoza Local Government Area of the state and about 130 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital.

Also, scores of gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram were killed yesterday through the combined efforts of members of the vigilante youths, otherwise known as Civilian JTF, and the military in Kawuri village, Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.

A 20-year-old vigilante youth identified as Mallam Mamman Yakubu,  who participated in repelling the insurgents, said: “We were able to kill many of the terrorists who invaded our community yesterday night.”

On whether arrests were made, Yakubu said they were not interested in any arrests because Boko Haram members hardly reveal any secret when arrested.

A top security source, who confirmed the incident, reportedly said that three dead bodies of the terrorists were recovered yesterday morning in Kawuri, adding that more of the terrorists were killed in a nearby bush of Kawuri when they attempted to flee to the Sambisa Forest.

Senate warns against award of contracts not covered by budgetary allocation!

The Senate Committee on Aviation has warned the Ministry of Aviation, against awarding contracts that are not covered by its budgetary allocation.

The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma, gave the warning in Abuja during an oversight visit by members of the Committee.

The warning followed the discovery that contracts awarded by the Ministry under BASA arrangement had over-shot ten billion Naira allocated for the programme in the 2013 budget.

Senator Uzodinma therefore asked the Ministry to forward to the Committee, details of all awarded contracts and loans obtained.

Responding, the Supervising Minister, Mr Samuel Ortom, said due process was followed in the award of the contracts.

It was gathered that the Ministry of Aviation was allocated forty point two billion Naira in the 2013 Budget, out of which twenty point seven billion Naira was released.

culled.

Sudan woman facing execution for apostasy gives birth in prison!

The pregnant Sudanese woman sentenced to death after refusing to renounce her Christian faith in favor of Islam reportedly gave birth in prison.

Information revealed that 27 year old Meriam Yehya Ibrahim, gave birth to a girl early Tuesday in the hospital wing of a prison in Omdurman, the twin city of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, one of her lawyers, Elshareef Ali, said by phone. Her 20-month-old son has been held with her in prison since late February, Ali said.

Ibrahim was convicted of apostasy and adultery by a court in Khartoum on May 11 in a case that’s sparked criticism from the U.S., U.K. and international rights groups including Amnesty International. 

The court gave her three days to recant her faith and sentenced her to death by hanging when she refused.

Her legal team lodged an appeal with the Sudanese court on May 22, saying the verdict contradicts the country’s 2005 constitution, which enshrines freedom of faith, as well as international rights agreements to which Sudan is a signatory, Ali said.

Nigeria’s Political Crisis: U.S.-Based Group Demands Recall Of Corrupt, Inept Leaders!

The US-based Edo United for Home Land Empowerment, a human rights action movement, has called on members of Nigeria’s civil society to initiate the constitutional process of recalling corrupt and inept elected political office holders.

The organization, with headquarters in Boston in the state of Massachusetts, argued that part of the beauty of democracy was the people’s rights to decide who governs them, adding that the political class in Nigeria had failed the masses who elected them into office.

The group’s position was contained in a statement that detailed a study its members carried out in Nigeria. The study revealed widespread disenchantment by voters with the political class. The report cited extreme poverty among the masses, gross corruption, kidnapping, terrorism, lawlessness and insecurity in the country.

The statement, which was signed by Frank Ekhator, president; Emanuel Okunmwendia, director of publicity; Yvonne Omolayo Omoruyi, Secretary-General; Sam Edo, director of cyber security and research; Kienuwa Obaseki, director of education and outreach, and Adam Aliu Otokiti, director of research, challenged the Nigerian political class to rise to the responsibilities of their various offices. 

“The Nigerian political class has failed the nation woefully, hence everything seems to be falling apart. Democratic governance empowers citizens to reward or punish public officials, based on performance. Our elected representatives must therefore be held accountable,” the group argued.

Edo United reminded Nigerians that the concept of accountability encompasses periodic political audits which may be followed by use of the process of recall, an instrument provided by Article 69 of the Nigerian Constitution empowering Nigerians to recall members of the House of Representative or Senate for dereliction of duties or ethical lapses.

The group noted that the recall instrument was seldom used, but noted that it “remains the most effective way for citizens to make elected office holders carry out their official responsibilities and to punish corruption and lack of performance.  Every citizen has the right to demand transparency and accountability from elected government officials.”

The organization decried Nigerian masses’ habit of remaining silent over the lack of performance by elected officials, remarking that such silence encourages elected public officials to take the Nigerian people for granted and to believe that they can always buy the electorate with mere handouts, such as money, bags of rice and other edible inducements.

Edo United argued that Nigerians had “for too long allowed elected political office holders to operate the way they want, relying on godfathers and thugs. Many of these representatives now enjoy fabulous personal wealth with no legitimate origin, and this plutocracy has cast a dark shadow on democratic governance in the nation.”

It disclosed that its recent “national political health test on Nigeria” revealed that "the current security crisis is caused by across-the-board corruption, ideological and ethnic division, administrative ineptitude, [an] underfunded/incompetent military and security forces, and the failure of the three tiers of government—the executive, the legislature and the judiciary—to adequately perform their statutory responsibility of checks and balances.”

The organization noted that most members of the National Assembly and state houses of assembly hardly engage with their constituencies. Edo United accused these national and state legislators of failing to address issues that matter to their constituents, except in cases where the politicians can derive personal gains.

The organization also questioned how members of various state and national legislatures spend the funds allocated to them to hire political aides and operate offices in their various constituencies and districts, adding that many of these representatives have failed to show that they make appropriate use of funds.

Edo United enjoined all Nigerians to demand that their representatives justify their expenditure of all allocated funds. It also urged the electorate at various levels to start taking stock of the activities of their elected political office holders as is often done in countries with thriving democratic traditions. If particular elected officials are found wanting, Edo United said, then their constituents must begin to gather signatures to recall them.

“Nigerians must question the usefulness of the National Assembly, which shares legal responsibility with the President for national security and over-all good governance,” the group stated. It urged Nigerians to view the success of the country’s democracy as non-negotiable, adding that citizens ought to act decisively to save the nation from heartless politicians.

“Our political class needs to be taught a hard lesson by the electorate as we do not want any military incursion into our political system,” said Edo United.

The organization commended the U.S. Congress for appropriating extra funds for military and intelligence aid to Nigeria, adding that the total collapse of the Nigerian state would not be in the interest of the United States and Nigeria’s neighboring countries.

Edo United referred to widespread media reports of Nigerian soldiers’ low morale and lack of sophisticated and adequate weaponry to fight Boko Haram, culminating in a revolt by the rank and file at Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri, capital of the terror-plagued Borno State. The irate soldiers shot at the official car of their commanding officer, Major General Ahmed Mohammed to express outrage over the loss of more than 30 men due to his alleged incompetence.

Edo United stated that the military mutiny and other such developments are echoes of a deeply unstable state, calling on all enlightened Nigerians to join together to arrest their country’s dangerous slide.

Pope Fracis in the Middle east!

Pictures of Pope Francis middle East visit:





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Security Will Worsen Without Credible Polls- Ikunna!

Born in England in 1966 where he spent the first 10 years of his life, Joseph Chukwuka Ikunna, an entrepreneur with exceptional management skills and the founder of the Joseph Chukwuka Ikunna (JCI) Foundation, has recorded impressive achievements in the business world as well as in humanitarian services.

As an entrepreneur, Joseph Ikunna sits atop various businesses which cut across oil and gas and general commerce. An active member of ‘Ndi Igbo Lagos’, he was one-time chairman of the Labour Committee of ‘Aka- Ikenga’ and also a member of the Nigerian Institute of Marketers. 

In this interview, Ikunna, shares his aspirations and dreams of a more prosperous Imo State.

WHAT inspired the JCI foundation?

Being a strong believer in the concept of giving, I have always believed that if God blesses you, you must share those blessings with people who have less and who don’t have the same opportunities as you. Accumulation of wealth is therefore not important; we should strive for a positive legacy, by positively impacting and influencing the lives of the people around us through our deeds. Understanding this and witnessing the level of poverty around me, in 2009, my wife and I decided to start the JCI foundation.

In what ways has the foundation impacted on the lives of the people of Orlu Senatorial zone and Imo State?

In Orlu zone, we’ve rehabilitated impassable roads, installed street lights in some communities, which are powered daily by our generators, provided water in communities that do not have, empowered women and youths with funds for training and to start up small businesses.

We have also encouraged women through our breast and cervical cancer tests, of which a major round of testing will commence within the next couple of months.  We’ve assisted organizations in building youth centres; donated exercise books, text books, chairs and desks to schools, embarked on youth-focused computer literacy training and also given out laptops and used clothes to youths and children.

The foundation organises a number of sports competitions annually as a way of exposing grassroots talent to the state, country and the world. In fact, there are a whole range of things we have done to empower our youths and women to a certain extent but there’s still a long way and a whole lot more that needs to be done.

So far, has the foundation received support from any organizations?

No, not at all because I have not solicited for that yet.

What is your advice to politicians on the 2015 elections?

Can we please have free and fair elections in 2015? Let there be no rigging, let INEC do its job properly. If we do not have free and fair elections, I fear that the security issues in this country will increase and more people will lose their lives.

While I say that we have to keep on fighting over and again for our democracy, I think 2015 is a time and a year in which the people of this country must fight more than ever before to protect our democracy, if not, the country Nigeria in its current form might not exist beyond 2015.

What is your thought on serving your people if called upon to do so via elections?

I have not made up my mind whether I want to contest for an elected position or what that position would be. However, if that opportunity arose and I see that it is feasible and the conditions are right, and it is at the request of the people that they want me to serve them in a particular capacity, after due consultation with my wife, I will probably consider it positively.

But it’s not something I will want to think about at this stage because we are still serving the people in different ways. There has been a lot of speculations that I may be about to declare for certain electoral positions but those speculating do not understand how flawed our democracy is at the moment and what it takes to win. Popularity and ability is not enough to win an election in Imo State today.

You need a platform, and you need those that were there before you, to give you their blessing, otherwise one risk wasting the good will people have for one.

Are you at the moment affiliated to any political party based on their ideology?

I am not so sure that political parties in Nigeria are based on ideology. Most people go into politics today for what they want to gain and benefit. So when it comes to pure and strict ideology, I’ll tell you that, that political party has not yet been set up; and if it has, it has not been registered.

Involvement in politics

If I have to get involved in politics, I will have to join any of the existing parties; I have been a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) card-carrying member for a number of years now, so I think if I was going to get involved in politics, that’s where I will start from, not because of their ideology or anything, but to see what changes I can make to the society.

Above all, I will like to see a political party that encourages more young people and more women. We should have Senators in their 40’s, we should have governors in their 30s, and we should have people going to the Federal House of Representative in their 30’s. Look at the setup of the current confab and ask yourself whether it’s a reflection of the society in general, the answer to that is ‘no!’

A particular group of people that do not represent the statistics of the country as a whole have been sent to deliberate on matters that are very important to us all. What is the average age in the confab and what is the average age in Nigeria? When you look at its set up, you are forced to ask yourself, can these people possibly come up with what the entire society of Nigeria needs?

Our government is a poor reflection of the society.  I am sure that if there had been more women in the Senate, they wouldn’t have been able to pass the bill on under-age child marriage. I am sure that if the Imo state House of Assembly had between 30 to 50 percent of women, there would be a strong fight against female genital mutilation which goes on in Imo State today and has harmed the lives of thousands of women.

This is something I am very much against. We need strong legislation to protect our girls from rape, and strong punishments for perpetrators.

View on decamping from one political party to another?                 

I can say that a lot of people that left PDP for APC left because they couldn't get what they wanted in PDP, not because the ideology of APC is any better. I don’t want to condemn those that decamped because then it will mean that our parties have the right ideology, which they don’t. The political situation in the country at the moment is very young, we haven’t gotten to that stage where decamping should be out rightly condemned.  I pray we do get to that stage, but at the moment, I think we are just trying to find our feet, which political parties, what they represent, who they represent. And while we are trying to do that, you will see a lot of movements from place to place. For example, you might be very strong in PDP and at the same time, you might have sympathy for APGA. Now if someone leaves PDP for APGA, I wouldn't necessarily call that decamping, I will think that he’s probably found out that this might be a better party for himself and his people. So would I condemn him for that? No, because on a particular day, a particular party makes more sense to a particular person, and I think that is what we are going through in Nigeria. Until we get certain that this party represent the socialists, and that party represents the liberals, and this party represents the conservatives, like they do in the more developed countries, which we do not have at the moment in Nigeria. So it not difficult trying to understand the basis why they are decamping, the basis is usually that they cannot get the position they want, or the power they want, or the control they want in a particular party, so they move to another party thinking they might get it there and that to me is human behaviour

Advice to politicians on the 2015 elections?

My advice is, can we please have a free and fair elections, let there be no rigging, let INEC do their job. If we do not have free and fair elections, I fear that the security issues in this country will increase and people will lose their lives, so it is really important that we have free and fair elections. My advice to politicians is to do anything you can to avoid being tempted into rigging whether you are going to win or lose, and even if you do lose, concede in a civilized way, accept that you lost this election, and they could be other opportunities at a later date. This idea of going to court and having the elections overturned, I think it is very upsetting to the whole political system, they are some people now that are sitting back, not even worrying about the elections, and ready to grab victory in the courts. This is something that we've got to try and avoid, it is a combination between INEC and the politicians, they need to sit down together and understand that you cannot destroy a democracy by rigging. By rigging, we are no longer democratic, it means that the mandate of the people have been stolen from them. Let us work together; making sure that at the end of the day, the mandate of the people is what they get. That those that won will be accountable to the people, and if they do not perform like what happened in Imo state in 2011, where the majority of the people thought that Ohakim have not performed,  and they didn't vote him back in, so if they do not perform, they wouldn't be voted back in.  But to rig and say we must get this by force and all that, I think it’s damaging our democracy. Whiles I say that we have to keep on fighting over and again for our democracy, I think 2015 is a time and a year in which the people of this country must fight to protect our democracy, if not, it might not exist beyond that 2015.

culled from vanguard online

Sex-for-jobs: How Suspect Lured 12 Married Women To Bed Then Blackmailed Them With Nude Photos!

This 32-year-old man pictured below and identified as Iweka Chigoziem Nnamdi has been arrested by the Police in Lagos for sleeping with women after promising them jobs.

The suspect is said to be in the habit of posing as prominent individuals like Billionaire, Mike Adenuga, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim and many others.

Nnamdi was however arrested last week after posting an explicit video of himself having sex with a banker simply identified as Judith, after he was said to have threatened to make the video public if the victim, who works with a new generation bank in Lagos, refuses to give him money.

According to Vanguard news the alleged culprit is a 32-year-old graduate of   the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State.

How he operated: 

When people applied, he would select only the females, married and single, and invite them to a hotel where the purported interview was scheduled. However  he would  identify himself as the agent or personal assistant to the prominent Nigerian that has the job and  demand for sex , with a promise to facilitate the application.

But unknown to the victims, a hidden camera  is activated once the ceiling   fan is switched on, records all the fondling and sexual activities, at the end of which the   suspect  would  blackmail  them, with a threat to post  their nude pictures and videos on the internet if his demand for money  was not met.

He  allegedly succeeded in blackmailing about 12 married women. The last straw  was said to be an encounter with a 27-year-old   female banker identified simply as Judith.

A close friend of the banker, who spoke  on  the condition of anonymity,  narrated the story: “ Judith is presently a  shadow of her former self  because of Nnamdi’s mischief. This is because she got information about  her sex video on the internet from close friends.

She met the suspect who posed as Mike Adenuga  on the internet and was convinced  because of Adenuga’s   photograph. They got chatting; at  a point, she accepted an invitation to meet him in an  hotel two months ago. But when she got there, she met Nnamdi who identified himself as Adenuga’s P.A and told Judith that she would have to go through him to see his boss.

One thing led to the other and she found herself in bed with him. But she got the shock of her life when Nnamdi called her on  phone to pay some money into his account, threatening to post  her  sex  video on the internet if she didn’t cooperate.

Judith called his bluff but was shocked when Nnamdi made  good his threat by first posting photographs  on the internet. Judith was yet to recover from the shock when Nnamdi  went ahead to download  the video of them making love on her  Facebook timeline. About 325 of Judith’s Facebook friends watched the video.

“The video cost her, her five years relationship. After that, Nnamdi kept calling and threatening to post the second  sex video on the internet if Judith did not pay him. It was at this point that she reported the case to policemen at Ajah who asked her to play along, in the process of which he was arrested”.

Laptops containing videos  and pictures of different women were said to have been recovered   by policemen during a search of the suspect’s apartment in Ikota Villa  Estate, Ajah.

Police sources said about 12  victims contacted on phone revealed that they were married women, with some of them lamenting that the scandal  destroyed their marriages.

One of them (names withheld), who spoke with operatives on phone when asked to come and testify, was quoted to have said: “I do not care if he has been arrested, killed or alive because   the harm has already been done. Can you imagine that scoundrel sent a video of  me and him on bed to my   husband? Today, I have been sent out of my matrimonial home. Of what use is my coming to testify? Will that restore my marriage?”

Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, who confirmed the suspect’s arrest, narrated: “The case was reported to the police on April, 20, 2014. The complainant alleged that the suspect chatted with her on  the facebook for months until he invited her to hotel in Ajah, under the pretence that he was Mike Adenuga, the Chairman of Globacom.

When Nnamdi finally met with the victim on March, 14, 2014, he chatted with her and finally convinced the complainant to have sex with him. Unknown to her, the suspect had bugged the hotel room with camera. So while they were having sex, the entire action was being filmed.

“After this affair, the suspect started sending threatening text messages to her, demanding she pay various sums of money to him, otherwise he would send the nude pictures to her friends and colleagues at her office. He also sent a GTB bank account number into which she was to pay.

“After his arrest on April, 21, 2014, in an  hotel at Ajah and following interrogation, police recovered the suspect’s laptop in which he had  quite a number of sex pictures and videos of the complainant and also a host of other victims. He made a  confessional statement to the effect that he did all that police recovered  in his laptop, his BB and Techno phone.

On his laptop, police discovered that he had a list of prominent Nigerians such as Mike Adenuga;  Pius Ayim Pius; Nwabara  Adolphus; Van Vicker, a Ghanaian actor; and  Joy Nnwedu, among others. He had been using these images and names to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians. In fact, he has broken marriages as confirmed  by our investigations.”

The suspect, according to her, has been charged to court  on  an  eight-count charge, informing that the case comes up tomorrow ( May  26) at  Court 6,  Tinubu, Lagos State.

According to the police spokesperson, the suspect  was as  “cool as cucumber” after he was arrested, smiling like he had not committed any crime.

We pray he gets served his does of Justice to serve as a deterrence to others still trading on this path.