Group of Nigerian Soldiers Refused To Fight Boko- Haram!

A group of soldiers in the North East has been reported to be refusing to fight Boko Haram insurgents until they are better equipped.

One of the soldiers, who requested anonymity, told the BBC that at least 40 of his colleagues would refuse orders to deploy.

Wives of some soldiers recently demonstrated at the army barracks in Borno State to protest deployment of their husbands to fight the terrorists because, according to them, the Boko Haram group had better equipment than the Nigerian Army.

A state of emergency that was declared in three North Eastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe last year has failed to curb the insurgency.

"Soldiers are dying like fowl," the anonymous soldier, who said he and his colleagues were just outside Maiduguri, told the BBC Hausa service.

"The Nigerian Army is not ready to fight Boko Haram," he said, explaining that soldiers were not being given enough weapons and ammunition to take them on.

"Boko Haram are inside the bush, everywhere," he said, adding that "they (senior commanders) are sacrificing soldiers".

Even the vehicles the soldiers were expected to use were old armoured cars that were not up to the job, he added.

A General in the army, who asked not to be named, told the BBC that he was unable to confirm the mutiny, but said "cowardice" was not uncommon in times of war - and that any mutineers would be punished.

When the solder was asked if he feared being court-martialled for taking part in the mutiny, the source said a soldier could only be taken to task for refusing to go to war.

"I joined the army to defend my country, but you cannot defend it without being equipped to do so", he said.

In April, Boko Haram caused global outrage by abducting more than 200 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS), Chibok, Borno state.

Boko Haram has also carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations, including that of moderate Muslim leaders opposed to its ideology.

But the Defence Headquarters denied any mutiny by soldiers in Maiduguri.

Director of Defence Information, Chris Olukolade, a Major General, said the report of mutiny was part of calculated efforts to rubbish the military that has devoted all its powers to prosecute the war against insurgency and terrorism.

"The report is not true and even the man they spoke to is not a soldier. The Nigerian soldiers are 99 per cent loyal and would not descend to the fabrication of the report.

"Anyone who knows the military reward for mutiny will not join anyone to try it. The overwhelming majority of the Nigerian soldiers remain as brave and disciplined as ever.

"They will certainly not join any renegade, coward, deserter or those trying to incite mutiny in the military to betray the nation at a time like this in the way that impostor told his interviewers.

"His claims are false," Olukolade stated.

He argued that such reports are a reflection of those sympathetic to the terrorists, assuring that the military has the wherewithal to defeat the insurgents.

Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff, Kenneth Minimah, a Lt. General, has warned officers and men of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, that any act of mutiny would be followed with death sentence after court a martial in line with military laws.

Minimah, who was in Enugu to begin the first leg of his familiarisation visit to the division, spoke in reaction to the attack by soldiers on an army commander in the North at the peak of Boko Haram insurgency.

"We are taking charge of sabotage in the North and we are working on it. If they are found guilty that will be death by firing squad. Some may be dismissed.

"This happens more in the North and they are saboteurs against the fight against insurgenccye. I wish to announce that we have made procurement to fight the crisis in the North and I can guarantee you all that it will soon come to an end.

"I also wish to assure you that we will win this war," the Army chief said.

On the recent protest by soldiers' wives in Borno, Minimah warned that the Army will not condole that anymore, adding that they are not under the employment of army and has no role to play in its activities.

"If that repeats itself they will be kicked out of the barracks, they are meant to be controlled by their husbands. If they dare that they will see. We shall get stick and strip them naked," he added.

Source: Daily Independent

Nigerian female team qualifies to the finals!

The Nigerian female under 20 World Cup Team defeated their Korean counterpart to book a place in the finals of the ongoing Female World Cup Soccer Tournament.

We are very proud of you girls......

Group Accuses British American Tobacco of Misleading Police On Tobacco Law!

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, ERA/FoEN, has accused the British American Tobacco Nigeria, BATN, of embarking on a mission to thwart the implementation of the tobacco control law in Lagos State.

The group accused the tobacco company of "deliberately misinterpreting" the recently-passed Lagos State bill regulating smoking in public places.

In a statement issued in Lagos, Monday, ERA/FoEN said the series of visibility events organised by BATN, including a sensitization exercise last week for police officers in Lagos on enforcement of the anti-smoking law, were nothing more than gimmicks to confuse the public and police officers.

Akinbode Oluwafemi, ERA/FoEN Director, Corporate Accountability, said while the intent of the Lagos State government in fashioning the legislation is targeted at saving lives, the interests of BATN are strictly commercial.

"We are not deceived by BATN seeming interest in ensuring the implementation of the bill when in actual fact it is attempting to rewrite the law strictly for its commercial interests through deliberate misinterpretation of the meaning of smoke-free public places," said Mr. Oluwafemi.

Mr. Oluwafemi noted that BATN would stop at nothing to confuse the general public and other regulatory agencies of government that are charged with enforcing the legislation.

"In the months since the bill was signed into law by Governor Babatunde Fashola we have seen a host of articles syndicated across media organisations poking the law and urging so-called smokers groups to challenge sections that protect non-smokers from the hazardous tobacco smoke," he said.

"Is it not ironic that the same industry that sponsors those groups is now trying to lecture the police and general public on provisions of the law?"

The group urged the Lagos State government to "read the lips" of BATNofficials engaging in public trainings on implementation of the bill.

"What we hear is double-speak and outright misrepresentation of the intent and spirit of the law," Mr. Oluwafemi said.

"The Lagos State government must wake up to its responsibility of interpreting in clear terms the letters of the law so as not to leave the citizenry in a state of confusion as intended by the tobacco industry.

"This is simply unacceptable. We must again draw the attention of the Lagos State government and the implementing agencies of government at all levels to Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which de-normalises the kind of interactions that BATN is involved in with the Nigeria Police and other agencies.

"Tobacco industry interests run counter to public health interests.

The Lagos government must henceforth stamp its feet and put a rein on such exercises," he added.

Northern Delegates Seek Amendment Before Final Report Is Submitted to Jonathan!

Despite the unanimous adoption of the National Conference reports at the plenary session last Thursday, a document signed by the Chairman of the Northern Delegates Forum (NDF), Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie, who is also the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Lt. General Jeremiah Useni, has outlined discrepancies in the final report of the conference.

In the letter addressed to the Chairman of the Conference, Justice Idris Kutigi, the Northern delegates demanded that the identified errors in the reports must be corrected before submission to President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday.

The Northern delegates listed misrepresentations on how the Inspector General of Police should be appointed, the mistake in the removal of the land use act, the scrapping of the State Independent Electoral Commission from the constitution as some of the issues that were contrary to the decisions of the national conference.

Also, the Northern delegates said some of the criteria for the creation of new states were not adequately represented in the final report, while criteria for the payment of royalties, infrastructures for border towns, extension of the continental shell project were missing in the final report.

According to Coomasie and Useni, "Page 257 H2.4 - Appointment of IGP contradicts provisions of page 258 K; Conference recommendation is the provisions captured on page 257 H. Page 260 C 5.11 (4) (C): This amendment was rejected by the conference"

On the land use, they said: "Page 21: The following recommendations contained in Chapter 6 of Vol. 2 of the final draft are missing in chapter 5 of Vol. 1:page 678 (3) Infrastructure for border towns, page 678 (4) Bakassi, page 680 (10) Nigeria's Extended Continental Shell Project (NECSP), page 680 (6.10 3(1)) Royalties page 682 (iii) Boundaries enforced and Conference recommendation on Wednesday 9th July was to retain the Land Use."

The document further said: "Conference recommendation on Wednesday 9th July was to retain the Land Use Acts in the constitution. See page. 249 para. 52 (a) of Vol. 1 of the Draft Report. Equally on pg. 657 (1) the Land Use Act was retained in the constitution with some amendments.

However the document titled: Draft Constitution" on page 267 proposes the deletion of Section 315 of the Constitution contrary to the resolution of conference. This by implication puts the total laws of the country in complete jeopardy and specifically deletes the Security Agencies Act, NYSC Act and Public Complaints Commission Acts".

On Citizenship, they said on Page 107 (G), the way it was couched appears to be contradictory and discriminatory. It should therefore be deleted from the report. The recommendation as amended by the Votes and Proceedings of Wed. 21st May, item 13 "page 18, 1.4th paragraph additional recommendation (d) persons incorporated into Nigeria by plebiscite after Independence" was omitted from the final report.

"Another recommendation omitted from the Votes and Proceedings of Thursday 22nd of May, 2014 at page 23, para. 33 (J) (ii) additional recommendations "A person born in a state or who marries an indigene of a State acquires automatic residence status in the State".

"Another omitted recommendation: The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps are very close to the grassroots people and have mandates that should be adjusted to make them more responsive to the conditions of internally displaced person (IDP).

Source: ThisDay

A Passenger in Lagos Boat Explosion Still Missing!

Information says two days after a boat reportedly exploded in Lagos, one of the passengers involved is yet to be found.

The missing person identified as Emmanuel Onu was involved in the accident which injured several passengers who were immediately rescued and taken to different hospitals in Lagos island.

"The boat which was said to belong to Aquitien Oil and Gas, took off from V-Craft Jetty, Lekki Phase One, and while trying to refill gasoline at Capital Oil Jetty at Victoria Island, the engine exploded," Ibrahim Farinloye, Spokesperson, South-West, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.

"A relative, Sunday Ezugha, of one of the missing passenger Emmanuel Onu, called and narrated that the owner of the boat Aquitien Oil and Gas could not be reached since the incident occurred.

"Emmanuel Onu has not been found as a report indicated that he was rescued and taken to hospital but his whereabouts is not known till now," Mr. Farinloye added.

Nigerian Research Firm Submits Sample Drugs to FG!

A pharmaceutical research center in Abuja, Ben Amodu Firms and Research Center, yesterday said it has submitted drug samples to the Federal Government that have the efficacy to tackle Ebola virus.

The Chairman of the Center, Pharmacist Ben Amodu, said the center had produced drugs for the treatment of haemorrhagic fevers, which could also be used for Ebola virus. He said the drugs have been submitted to the committee set up by the minister of health recently on Ebola adding that the drugs could cure Ebola virus.

"We gave the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and World Health Organization (WHO) samples of the drugs but the WHO later phoned and said they were not supposed to verify Ebola drugs. I gave samples to the committee set by the Minister of Health on Ebola virus and I hope that due process will be followed in determining the cure for Ebola."

He said the Center was into research of neglected tropical diseases, adding that the drugs made by the Center had the efficacy to cure Ebola symptoms.

He said, "We got the drugs that cure Leishmaniasis and they have been previewed. We invented a drug, DAABS 2 which also cures Dangue fever which is viral Hemorrhagic fever and as you know Ebola is also a viral Hemorrhagic fever. Their symptoms include fever, intense weakness of the body system, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and internal and external bleeding.

If you remove the bleeding aspect the disease becomes typhoid and hepatitis. The International Organisation for Scientific Research based in US, Japan and India have also previewed us for the management of hepatitis A,B,C,D,E and F, of which we have treated so many people. We have a drug that stops bleeding, including those from cervical cancer and uncontrolled menstrual flow.

Our drug called SAABMAL was tested by the World Health Organization to have 97 per cent effectiveness in all forms of fever symptoms, including dengue, malaria and Ebola. It presently cures typhoid. Another drug, TAABS 2 also has effects on fever while SAAB 6 has very strong Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties as confirmed by National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD). Also one other drug SAAB is a very good immune booster."

Source: Daily Trust

Nigeria Records First Ebola Survivor!

The doctor who treated Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian-American who brought Ebola into the country, at First Consultant Hospital, and was subsequently infected with the virus, has reportedly recovered and has since been discharged from the Isolation centre in Lagos.

The doctor was the first Nigerian infected with the virus and had been receiving treatment at the Isolation centre.

The Director of Communication and Community Mobilisation for the Nigerian Emergency Operation Centre on Ebola Virus Disease, Adebayo Onajole, confirmed that the doctor had been discharged.

He however declined to give further details, saying the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, would hold a press conference later tonight to fully brief the media about the doctor's recovery.

The spokesperson to the Minister of Health, Dan Nwomeh, also confirmed the development.

"Yes, yes, that's true. I'll send you a statement on that immediately," Mr. Nwomeh said.

The patient, understands, was discharged following series of laboratory investigations that declared him fit to go home.

Nigeria has recorded 10 cases of the disease out of which four people have died; six persons were quarantined while 169 others have been kept under surveillance.

The patient was among the six people receiving treatment at a Lagos treatment centre.

The Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu had on Thursday told journalists that some of the patients were already responding to treatment.

Nigeria was free of Ebola until July 20 when Mr. Sawyer arrived.

He became terribly ill on his flight and was rushed to the First Consultant Hospital Obalende, Lagos, where he died on July 24.

Mr. Chukwu had said on Monday that although the Liberian government has apologized for the incidence, it was pertinent to note that Nigeria was free of Ebola Virus until its importation by the Liberian-American.

Mr. Sawyer's action, he said, has placed unnecessary stress on Nigeria's health system.

An apparently angry President Goodluck Jonathan also described Mr. Sawyer's action as "madness".

Since the Liberian's death in a Lagos hospital, three other persons who had contact with him have died of the virus.

President Goodluck Jonathan has since declared a national emergency on the disease while the Federal Ministry of Health in conjunction with health ministries in the 36 states are working to prevent the spread of the virus, which has killed over 1,000 people in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Source: PREMIUM TIMES