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Lawmakers to give Mark impeachment request
Senators have levelled 14 impeachable
allegations against President Goodluck
Jonathan.
The lawmakers are expected to harmonise
their allegations with members of the House
of Representatives before sending an
impeachment request to Senate President
David Mark.
The pro-impeachment Senators and
Representatives may meet before the end of
the week to agree on when to present the
request to Mark, in line with Section 143 (1)
and (2) of the 1999 Constitution.
Top on the list of the allegations is the
President’s refusal to sign 120 bills into law.
The Nation stumbled on a copy of the
allegations and signatures.
The President is expected to explain why he
could not curtail the Boko Haram insurgency;
and non-release of the abducted 219 Chibok
girls.
Other issues are undule politicising of the
security situation; failure to act as de facto
President; $10.8billion missing from the
Federation Account; squandering of N10billion
private jets; and sloppiness/ failure in
governance.
Some of the allegations also include alleged
violation of the constitution/ Oath of Office;
failure to implement recommendations of
panels/ committees; setting up of ill-
conceived, “nebulous” groups like TAN for re-
election campaign outside the Electoral Act;
failure to establish and inaugurate the Nigeria
Police Council; illegal deployment of Armed
Forces and sowing seed of hatred and turning
one part of the country against the other.”
Though the list of signatories was obtained by
our correspondent, the senators pleaded
against its publication until what they
described as “auspicious time”.
Although 63 senators were reported to have
backed the impeachment move, the document
shows that 16 signed.
A principal officer in the Senate, who pleaded
not to be named because of the “sensitivity”
of the matter, said: “We are embarking on
signatures drive as I am talking to you.
Senators are vetting the allegations before
appending signatures.
“We have secured the consent of more than
63 senators who are expected to sign up in
the next few days. And the senators are from
both the PDP and the APC.”
The “weighty” allegations have forced some
PDP senators to regroup against pro-
impeachment ones.
The allegations read in part: “The President as
the Head of government has worked to
undermine the effective performance of other
arms of government, especially the legislature,
by constantly frustrating peaceful and
harmonious co-existence among other arms of
government. In performing their constitutional
responsibility of lawmaking, the legislature
passes bills to be assented to by the President
before they become laws of the federation.
“The President has consistently and
consciously failed to sign bills and motions
passed on to him by the parliament, thereby
making the position of the legislative arm of
government untenable. At the last count, the
President has refused to assent to about 120
bills passed by the current National Assembly.
He has not sent any communication as to
their rejection as stipulated in Section 58 (1)
(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Motions and other legislative instruments
have suffered similar, if not worse, fate.
The senators have also decided to hold the
President liable for allegedly not doing enough
to address the Boko Haram insurgency and
communal conflicts.
The Notice of Impeachment states: “The
President, as Commander-In-Chief of the
Armed Forces and Chief Security Officer of the
nation, has failed to ensure the protection of
lives and properties. Mindless carnage by the
Boko Haram insurgents, especially in the
Northeast, recurrent violence in states like
Taraba, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa
etc are manifest examples of how the
President has failed to exert the enormous
powers inherent in his office.
“This total failure of leadership has not only
served to threaten the corporate existence of
the country, it has taken an untoward toll on
the development and progress of the nation.
“The President has in an unprecedented
manner reduced the Office of the President to
an object of ridicule both locally and in the
eyes of the international community, thereby
reducing both the country and our hitherto
respected Armed Forces into laughing stock.
“As we speak, over 200 of our female children
have been abducted for over five months while
some parts of our territorial space had been
overtaken by the unrelenting insurgents. Yet,
the President and Commander-In-Chief of the
Armed Forces has displayed acute sense of
cluelessness on how to tackle the security
challenges.
“The general impression out there is that the
President is thoroughly overwhelmed and,
therefore, incapable of inspiring our gallant
men and women of the Armed Forces who are
daily killed and maimed owing largely to the
incompetence of their Commander-In-Chief.
“Just recently, a large number of our troops
ran to safety in neighbouring Cameroon in the
face of massive onslaught from the
insurgents. The fact that our renowned
military had to find succour with our little
brother next door is the greatest indictment
yet on the capability of the Commander-In-
Chief to rally his men and boost their morale.
“For unduly politicising the security situation,
the President has shown beyond all measure
of doubt that he has neither the courage nor
the sense of judgement to tackle the issue
headlong. Evidence abounds to show that the
President and his handlers by living in denial
as to the abduction of Chibok girls, gave the
insurgents more than three weeks head start
They accused Jonathan of abdicating his
responsibility through the concession of
waterways security and protection of oil
installations to a private firm.
“The President, in his capacity as Head of
State has woefully abdicated state
responsibilities and severely undermined the
capacity of our security agencies by passing a
“vote of no confidence” on the Nigeria Police
and Armed Forces to protect our strategic and
vital infrastructures, like the pipelines.
“A case of this failure was the award of non-
appropriated Oil Facility Protection Contract
worth N3.6b to a private firm (Oil Facilities
Surveillance Limited) controlled by ex
militants,” the document claimed.
The senators also alleged that the President
had failed to address corruption.
The senators added: “The President as the
Head of State is under obligation to abolish
all corrupt practices and abuse of power as
envisaged by Section 15 (5) of the 1999
Constitution (as amended). Since his
assumption of office, corruption in Nigeria has
assumed frightening proportion. For the first
time in our history, corruption is almost
elevated to a state craft where known corrupt
Nigerians are either friends or employees of
the government headed by the President.
“ From Stella Oduah (Minister of Aviation) to
AbdulRasheed Maina of the pension scam, to
how the Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani
Alison-Madueke, has refused to account for
$10.8billion missing from the Federation
Account or how she allegedly squandered
N10billion to fly private jets in two years or
even how the NNPC under her watch managed
to pay subsidy monies to kerosene marketers
for three years without appropriation, thereby
contravening Section 80 (1)-(4) of the 1999
constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
(as amended), it has been a season of
unbridled corruption.
“All of the names mentioned above are close
friends and supporters of the government and
have been seen hobnobbing with the President
in public even when facing charges of abuse
of office and corruption.”
They also accused Jonathan of allegedly
sowing the seed of hatred and turning one
part of the country against the other.
The document said: “As the de facto President,
instead of working to unite the country by
advocating true nationalism and patriotism,
the President has sought to take advantage of
our religious and ethnic differences through
divisive and sectarian policies and politics. By
continually, through his innuendos and body
language, suggesting that a particular section
or group of people of a particular faith or
ethnicity is an enemy of the country, the
President has consciously sowed the seed of
hatred and turned one part of the country
against the other.
“For threatening the fragile peace and unity of
the nation by his unprecedented clannishness
and cronyism, the President has acted in ways
unbecoming of a President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
“Failing to foster a sense of belonging and
involvement among the various people of the
federation, to the end that loyalty to the
nation shall override sectional loyalties, the
President has violated Sections 15 (2), (3) (a)
and (b) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“For failing to establish and inaugurate the
Nigeria Police Council as envisaged by the
Constitution, the President swore on oath to
uphold and defend, he has breached/violated
the extant provisions of Section 153 (1) of the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (as amended).
Section 217 (2) (c) of the Constitution said,
‘the Federation shall, subject to an Act of the
National Assembly made in that behalf, equip
and maintain the armed forces as may be
considered adequate and effective for the
purpose of – suppressing insurrection and
acting in aid of civil authorities to restore
order when called upon to do so by the
President, but subject to such conditions as
may be prescribed by an Act of the National
Assembly. Therefore the powers vested on the
President by virtue of the combined effects of
Sections 217 (2) (c) and 218 (1) to determine
the operational use of the Armed Forces of
the Federation, are not absolute and in fact
subject to the supervising authority of the
National Assembly as expressly stipulated by
the Constitution. Section 218 (4) clearly
states that, ‘the National Assembly shall have
power to make laws for the regulations of –
(a) the powers exercisable by the President as
Commander –in-Chief of  the Armed Forces of
the Federation; and (b) the appointment,
promotion and disciplinary control of members
of the armed forces of the Federation.’
A senator, who is a die-hard loyalist of the
President, said: “There is nothing like the
impeachment process against President
Goodluck Jonathan. Some senators are just
playing to the gallery.
“Even if they attempt to serve a notice of
impeachment, they cannot get the required
one-third of members of the National
Assembly to push it through. Those of us in
PDP will never allow the tyranny of the
minority to take place in the National
Assembly.”

Thousands of residents from Gubio town
in Borno State yesterday fled to
Maiduguri, the state capital after
suspected members of the Boko Haram
sect reportedly sent them a letter warning
of an imminent attack.
The fleeing residents, who arrived
Maiduguri on lorries, vans and trucks,
were seen in their numbers heading
towards the direction of the Shehu of
Borno’s palace as well as towards the
city centre.
One of the displaced residents, Fannami
Abuwar, said “We have been threatened
with letter by the Boko Haram insurgents,
saying that they would attack us soon
and we all have to flee for our lives
having heard of what happened to
communities like Damasak and
Malumfatori where similar threat were
made and carried out”.
Confirming the development, a
spokesman for the Vigilante Group in
Borno State, Muhammed Gava, said: “We
were all disturbed by the development
because Gubio, though not too far away
from Maiduguri, has been very peaceful
and calm all this while”.
Meanwhile, there has been no official
reaction to the situation from officials of
the state government and aid workers.
Gubio, which is about 96 kilometres away
from Maiduguri, is an agrarian town and
headquarters of Gubio local government
area.

Yomi Peters

Former international Yomi Peters died on
wednesday after a short battle with gastric
cancer.
The 74-year-old former Stationery Stores
player and coach gave up the ghost at the
General Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos.
“He died at 9.20am and his body has been
deposited in the mortuary,” Peters’ wife, Toyin
told our correspondent on Wednesday
morning.
Peters was earlier diagnosed of gastric
tumour but after series of tests, it was
discovered that he had gastric cancer.
Peters initially had problems settling his bill
at the General Hospital, until the Lagos State
Government came to his rescue, with a
promise to pay the bills incurred by the ex-
Stores forward.
Ex-internationals had complained about the
poor treatment of Peters, while in his ward at
the hospital.
“How can you keep him in an ordinary room
with three other heroes? He should have been
kept alone in a separate room because he is
a hero. If it was a politician who was in his
(Peters) situation, he would have been flown
abroad for treatment. But they don’t build
hospitals; even the ones we have are poorly
equipped,” ex-Super Eagles goalkeeper, Segun
Oguns, said.
“It’s sad to lose a hero like him. Its painful
for a great player in Lagos to die the way he
did. Now what they are talking about is
paying his bills but he is dead. If he was
flown abroad, he probably would have lived
another three years. If we had an effective
players union, things like this won’t happen,”
1984 Africa Cup of Nations silver medallist,
Clement Temile, said.
Peters played for NIgeria and Stores in the
1970s and became a household name in
Lagos for his striking abilities and leadership
qualities with the Adebajo Babes.
He was feared for his aerial prowess and as
a coach, helped Stores reach the final of the
Africa Cup Winners Cup in the early 1980s.

Punch

The leadership of the Nigeria Football
Federation have admitted that their hands are
tied where Stephen Keshi’s tenure as coach of
the Eagles is concerned.
Nigerians are calling for the resignation of
Keshi following his failure to qualify Nigeria
for next year’s AFCON defence of the title he
won in 2013.
But the Edo born coach still wants to remain
as coach.
He is yet to be offered a new deal and the NFF
have been silent on his future, a situation
which a board member of the NFF said was
out of their control.
Keshi and Amaju
“The last time we did what we thought was
best, we were forced to revert the changes by
people in high places. This time around we
are helpless”, the source lamented.
“We are scared of announcing we won’t renew
his deal due to what happened last time and
unless he resigns or walks away we can’t help
out”, he further added.
Keshi himself has insisted he is still the best
man for the job.

Hon. Kawu Sumaila, one of the lawmakers
who jumped the fence and  fought for House
of Reps speaker, Aminu Tambuwal to get into
the chamber last week, is seeking to be the
Governor of Kano state come 2015.

An Afghan woman has killed at least 25
Taliban militants to avenge the murder of
her son who was a police officer in western
Farah province.
According to reports, Reza Gul was forced to
pick up arms after her son was shot dead by
Taliban militants in front of her eyes.
Her son was leading a small group of police
forces in a check post located in a village of
Farah province.
She was supported by her daughter and
daughter-in-law during the gun battle which
lasted for almost 7 hours that left at least 25
Taliban militants dead and five others injured.
Sediq Sediq, spokesman for the Ministry of
Interior (MoI) said the armed campaign by
women against the Taliban militants is a
symbol of a major revolution and public
uprising against the group.
The Taliban militants group has not
commented regarding the incident so far.
Farah is among the volatile provinces in
western Afghanistan where anti-government
armed militants are actively operating in its
various districts and frequently carry out
insurgency activities.

Four students of the University of Jos in
Plateau State were on Tuesday shot by yet-
to-be identified security operatives during a
protest by some students which led to the
closure of the institution by the school
authority.
The spokesman of the Special Task Force
(STF) on peace in Jos, Captain Ikedichi Iwela,
confirmed the incident, saying: “Four
students were shot by unidentified security
operatives while the students were
protesting.”
He added: “The injured students are currently
receiving treatment at the STF Clinic at the
force’s headquarters.
“We had to rush them to our clinic for
treatment because government hospitals are
currently on strike. The injured students are
responding to treatment.”
He denied the involvement of the task force
in the shooting.
Similarly, the police have also exonerated its
men, saying the Force had nothing to do with
the shooting.
The state Police Commissioner, Nasiru Oki,
said: “When we got the news of the protest,
we immediately deployed our men in the
scene to protect public properties and to
forestall any breakdown of law and order, but
none of our men fired any shot.”
Thousands of students of the university had
started a protest on Monday, shutting down
academic activities and demanding the
reversal of the decision of the management
of the institution to increase their
development levy.
President of the Students’ Union Government
(SUG), Abel Nok Du, had said the students
were agitated by the increase of their levies.
“We are calling for the removal of the N10,
000 development levies from our school fees.
We are also calling for the reduction of N25,
000 acceptance fees for admitted students.
“As I’m talking to you now, most of our
properties have been destroyed as a result of
our position-standing between the students
and the school authorities,” the students’
union leader said.
Du disclosed that: “The SUG met with the
school authority and resolved that the
examinations would start yesterday, but the
students were adamant and accused us of
compromise, and therefore destroyed our
properties.”
But the management of the university denied
the allegation. The Vice-Chancellor of the
university, Professor Hayward Mufuyai, told
the students to disregard the rumours being
peddled that the management intends to
review school charges.

Prof Wole Soyinka

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Oluwole Soyinka, today,
opened up on his health status, saying he was
diagnosed of cancer last December.
But an expert and Founder of African Cancer
Centre, Lagos, Prof. Olu Williams, quickly
assured Soyinka that he would “not die of
cancer.”

Williams, who revealed that Soyinka had the
disease because of his old age, said the
playwright will only “die with the ailment.”
Soyinka, who revealed his cancer status at a
press conference at the June 12 Cultural
Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State, said he had
decided to open up so as to create awareness
about cancer disease and to help people take
measures to prevent it or seek prompt medical
attention for cure.
The Nobel Laureate said he survived the silent
killer disease because of early detection,
treatment and proper dieting, adding that it
has also dawned on him that the family has a
history of cancer ailment.
He noted that his initial reaction when it
dawned on that he has cancer was to see it as
one of those challenges and nuisance that
should be dealt with, adding that a time he
considered it “an unwanted squatter in his
body and had to get rid of it whether it is a
slow growing one or malignant.”
Although, “Kongi”, who showed a crest to
attest to his surviving the disease, did not
reveal to reporters the nature of the cancer he
was treated for, his son, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka,
who is also the Commissioner for Health in
Ogun State, later told The Nation his father
was treated for “prostate cancer.”

Atiku Abubakar, whose birthday it is
today, said he will be spending his
birthday with family, as they celebrate his
wife, Jennifer Jamilah Abubakar, call to
bar.

Will you vote for Kate Henshaw.. Seems Nigerian Actors are veering into politics.. Nollywood star actress, Kate Henshaw
who is vying for a position at the Federal

House of Representatives under PDP has
revealed her election strategy isn’t to
share any money. She opened up in a
recent interview:
“There’s no money. I can’t match the
people who have been in the system for
20 to 30 years. I’m going with God and
my heart. I’m not sharing money. If you
continue sharing money, it will never
stop. If you want a change, a true
change, then vote for me and you’ll see
the change. But if you want money, hey,
go for money and stay where you are and
don’t ever complain” she says in an
interview.
She also revealed that she doesnt plan to
hold an office for too long:
“I don’t hope to be there forever. I just
want to do, make noise, leave when the
ovation is loudest. That’s the best way. I
don’t want to be there for 10 years, 12
years, 16 years, that’s the best way. I
want to do other things. 4- 8 years.
That’s the limit…you can hold me to my
word” she declares.
Well, we wish Kate all the best at the
polls. Go girl!

Posted via Blogaway

Former Head of State and one of the
presidential aspirants on the platform of the
All Progressives Congress (APC), General
Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), tuesday returned
his nomination form with a pledge to
continue to work for a united Nigeria.
Buhari, who came to the APC national
secretariat with just a few of his campaign
officials, thanked the party leadership for
their efforts at forging a united front ahead
of the 2015 elections.
Speaking on the recent fracas at the National
Assembly, Buhari slammed the security
agents for over-reaching their constitutional
powers by locking down the legislative
chambers.
“ It is a distressing situation where those who
are supposed to protect the constitution are
the ones undermining it. That place-House of
Representative and Senate-sacred place they
shouldn’t go there as members of law
enforcement agencies much less fire teargas
and harassing them, they are brreaking down
and undermining the constitution and if they
are doing that who is going to correct it? “
He said.
The National Chairman of APC, Chief John
Odigie Oyegun, described Buhari as one
Nigerian who has show great passion to bring
about change in the affairs in the country.
“We are glad that you are one of those
Nigerians who have offered themselves on
the platform of the APC with the vision and
passion for change and the time has come
when business has to be transacted
differently in this country. Genuine concern
for the people of this nation should become
the number one priority of any government in
this nation.
“If the good Lord had chosen you to be the
leader of this nation or any other aspirant for
that matter, it is my prayer that one of you in
the APC win the presidency,” he said.
Meanwhile, APC leadership yesterday
inaugurated six zonal screening committees
made up of five members each to undertake
the screening of the party’s governorship
aspirants ahead of the 2015 general election.
The six committees and their chairmen are
North-central - Chief Olagunsoye Onyinlola,
North-east -Senator Chris Ngige, North-west -
Malam Bolaji Abdulahi, South-east Timipre
Silva, South-south, Alhaji Tijani Gwazo and
South –west, Senator Danjuma Goje.
The screening panels are to resume work by
Wednesday..
Speaking while inaugurating the six zonal
screening committees, Oyegun said the
critical nature of the assignment of the
committee had been made even more
manifest with the events that have been
occurring in the last one week. He said the
committees are made up of quality men
whose words are taken seriously.
He said the assignment of the committee’s
was coming in critical times and as such they
should be transparent and above board.
The APC leader said the public was looking
up to them to show that APC is the agent of
change and whether the party would be truly
the agent of change for country.
According to Oyegun, the peoples’s anxiety
had become heightened because of the
insane things that have been happening
recently.
“Why should security agencies invade a
National Assembly which was convened at
the request of the presidency and in which
there is only three days that are critical to
the approval of extension of the stage of
emergency in the three trouble states?
Oyegun commended the legislators for
subjecting themselves to the integrity of
climbing the fence, adding that were it not
for such courage exhibited by the lawmakers,
may be something more biizarre things
would have happened.
He said the storming of the APC office in
Kagos only disrupted the compilation of
membership register of the party.
Oyegun added that the reasons given by the
State Security Service (SSS) “cannot just fly.
You cannot but begin to wonder what is
going on in this country.”
He charged the committees to ensure that
aspirants are friendly and accommodating in
the campaign and to also ensure that they
are all properly documented to avoid
disqualification during or after election.
While responding on behalf of other
committees, Oyinlola said they would work
diligently to deliver a good job, adding that
the committee would do a thorough job that
would make Nigerians see the difference
between APC and other parties.
Also, the Chairman of the committee in
charge of the North-east, Senator Chris
Ngige, said the party considered the
governorship seat as the second highest
position in the land and as such, the
committees would try to as much as
possible to insist on a transparent exercise.
He said the North-east committee which he
heads was considering using Abuja as
centre to screen the aspirants from the zone.
According to him, there are 21 governorship
aspirants for the APC ticket in the six states
of Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Yobe, Bauchi
and Gombe.
Borno has only the incumbent governor who
will be seeking re-election for a second term.

As the 2015 general election approaches, tension now
brews in Enugu North Senatorial Zone, Enugu State
between two biological brothers jostling for one political
position, under the same party, to represent Nsukka/
Igbo Eze South federal constituency in the House of
Representative.
Saturday Vanguard gathered that the two are of one
womb and natives of Echara in Nsukka local
government area. One is Kenneth Okonkwo (a.k.a
Andy), the famous Nollywood actor, while the other is
Luke Okonkwo (a.k.a Aguma). The two were said to be
locking horns for the occupation of Nsukka /Igbo-Eze
South federal constituency seat at the national House of
Representative under People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
According to investigation, Luke, who is Kenneth’s
younger brother, had first indicated interest to vie for
the seat. He had sent out his campaign posters earlier
than Kenneth and other contestants, who later advised
Luke to step down for his elder brother, Kenneth, for
peace to reign in the the family.
Rumors are however rife at the University town of
Nsukka over the feud between the two brothers. It may
be of interest to know that their eldest brother, Peter
Okonkwo (Ohamadike), had severally contested the
governorship election under different political parties
from 2007 without  success, and has now allegedly
decided to take a shot at again in 2015 under the
platform of APC.
In a telephone interview, the famous Nollywood actor,
Kenneth Okwokwo, said there was no rift in their family
over 2015 general elections, explaining that no other
person in his family is running for election to the House
of Representative apart from him.
Kenneth said he wants to change the face of the
constituency for effective representation, pointing out
that he will not speak for any other person from a
different political party, but he remains the only one
from his family that picked the PDP form for the House
of Representatives for the 2015 general elections.
Mr. George Okonkwo, chairman, Nsukka Building
Materials Union, who is also a brother to Kenneth and
Luke, said that politics is all about interest in any
given position. He confirmed it was Luke who first
showed interest to contest for election into the House of
representatives under PDP.
Later, Kenneth queued in for the same position under
the same political party. According to George, Luke has
to step down for his elder brother, Kenneth, not minding
that he had distributed his posters for the 2015 race.
“There is no problem in our family in connection with
the way the two showed interests; we are bounded by
one blood, one love and one interest.
Luke cannot battle for an elective position with his elder
brother. The entire family supports the ambition of
Kenneth to reposition honesty, accountability and
transparency in Nsukka /Igbo Eze South Federal
Constituency,” he said.
A prominent politician in Nsukka, Mr. Festus Omeje,
said the emergence of the two brothers from one political
party sends danger signal which shows that all may
not be well in the PDP family.

The Zionist regime is seeking to coax the Nigerian government into assassination of the African country's top
Shiite leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, his son revealed on Wednesday.
"Given the Zionists' strong relations with the Nigerian government, they always take action against the Shiites in Nigeria," Ali Zakzaky told FNA.
He revealed that the Zionists are pressuring the Nigerian government to assassinate Sheikh Zakzaky soon, and the government is looking for an
opportunity as it also sees the Shiite leader as a burden due to his harsh criticism of the government's atrocities against people.
"The US and the Zionists are pressuring the government to assassinate the Nigerian Shiite leader for their fear of the 12-million-strong Shiite
population in Nigeria," Ali Zakzaky said.A suicide bomber detonated himself in the Tsohuwar Kasuwa area of the Nigerian town after joining
Shiite worshippers who were marching to mark Ashura, a solemn day when Shiites mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hossein, a grandson of
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), in 680 AD at Karbala in Iraq.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack which killed at least 20 and injured over 50, but suspicion is bound to fall on the Boko
Haram terrorist group.
Late in July peaceful rallies by Muslims in Nigeria held on the occasion of the International Quds Day turned violent as Nigerian troops killed
a number of participants in a major city in the Northern parts of the country, including the three sons of a prominent Muslim leader who is an
opponent of Boko Haram.
The troops attacked peaceful Quds Day rallies in Zaria city in the Northern Nigerian state of Kaduna on Friday, killing at least 14
demonstrators and injuring more than 20 others, the Islamic Human Rights Commission reported in a press release.
Three sons of the Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky, including 18-year-old Syed Mahmud Ibrahim Al-
Zakzaky, were among the 14 killed in Zaria city.
Dozens of men and women, including three other children of the sheikh, were also arrested during the rallies.
Witnesses say that the soldiers involved in the shooting came from the Military Depot at Sabon Gari Barracks.
Al-Zakzaky has frequently been imprisoned under the various Nigerian juntas and is a fierce critic of political corruption, as well as the so-called
Boko Haram movement.
Three truckloads of armed soldiers opened fire at the participants of the rally.
A large number of Nigerians, including members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, came out on the International Quds Day to protest in
solidarity with the Palestinians.
The long procession went through streets of the city of Zaria carrying pictures of the massacre in Gaza.
Many have condemned the continuous bombardment of the people of Gaza by the Israeli military resulting in the killing of over 900 civilians,
mostly women and children.
The protesters burnt the American and Israeli flags to condemn the occupation of Palestine and the continuous killing of the Palestinians.
Zaria is the second major city in Kaduna State, and near the state capital, Kaduna, where twin bomb blasts killed scores of people earlier this
week.
Then further to the shootings and killing of pro-Palestinian protesters at Al-Quds Day march in Zaria, and the subsequent killings in custody of
protestors, the army raided the Hussainiyyah Baqiyyatullah Islamic Centre affiliated to the Islamic Movement a day later on July 26 and
opened fire killing 3, and injuring 7.
The center where some of the injured from Friday’s massacre (photos are available here) were sheltering, as well as where some of released bodies
of those killed were being prepared for burial.
This added to the Quds Day’s death toll. Whilst the reports from the Quds Day massacre indicated that the troops involved were from the Sabon
Gari barracks, those in charge there are claiming that the troops involved were in fact sent from Abuja and were not commanded from the locale.
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria is not an armed movement. It has organized peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstrations on annual basis for over
33 years across Nigeria and particularly in the state of Kaduna.
IHRC Chair, Massoud Shadjareh said, “The Goodluck - Netanyahu co-operation is resulting in massacres beyond Gaza’s borders. The blood of
these young men and women killed in Nigeria is equally on the hands of both men and regimes.”
Demonstrations and vigils protesting recent events in Nigeria are planned in various cities world-wide.
F

A suspected car snatcher, Alhaji Kabiru Akorede, who
was arrested by the Lagos State Police Command,
has said he could not count the number of stolen
vehicles he sold to people.
PUNCH Metro learnt that 42-year-old Akorede, who
hails from Ilorin, Kwara State, was nabbed by
operatives of the special Anti-Robbery Squad in his
residence at NEPA Quarters, Isashi, Lagos.
Our correspondent gathered that Akorede allegedly
belonged to an eight-man robbery gang, who had
gone to the Victoria Island area on September 12, 2014
and robbed one Mr. Albert Omisore of his Toyota
Prado marked, AAA 690 BH.
The vehicle had reportedly been delivered to Moses
Ogbu, a gang member, who in turn, gave it to
Akorede for sale.
According to the police, Akorede allegedly re-fixed the
fittings of the vehicle such as the headlights and
windscreens.
However, after the gang had been nabbed, Akorede
was trailed by SARS operatives. He was subsequently
arrested, while the stolen vehicle was recovered.
According to the police, Akorede had been arrested
earlier in the year and was still standing trial before
an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court when he went back into
crime. The police added that Akorede was arrested at
the point of re-fixing the fittings of a stolen vehicle.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro last Friday, Akorede,
who said he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2010,
confessed that although he started selling stolen
vehicles barely a year ago, he could not recall the
number of the vehicles he had sold.
He said, “I was working as a building engineer until
2013. I started receiving stolen cars last year. It was a
friend, one Dada, who introduced me to the gang.
Since I started with them, I used to sell the stolen
vehicles along the Ile Zik area in Lagos.
“I cannot recall the number of the vehicles I collected,
but they may not be less than 20. There were about
three Toyota Highlander which I sold for N1.2m
each. I also got four Toyota Camry, which I sold for
N600,000 each.”
Akorede, who is married with two children, said that
while the court granted him bail, Ogbu called him
that the gang wanted to dispose a Toyota Prado,
and the vehicle was brought to his place.
He said, “I decided to work on the vehicle so that I
could conveniently resell it. It is true that I changed
the fittings. I gave Moses N250,000 for the vehicle. I
did this because I desperately needed money.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP
Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the arrest, adding that
the suspect would be charged to court.
He said, “Yes, the suspect was arrested for receiving
stolen vehicles. Investigations are ongoing and he
would be charged to court soon.”

The Punch

There was confusion in Onitsha on Monday
following the alleged killing of one Mr Felix
Nwoke by policemen believed to have come
from Ogbaru police station .
But for the intervention of union officials led
by Dr Jim Okonkwo , chairman Board of
Trustees , Motorcycle Transport Union of Nigeria
( MTUN/OWAN ), members of the union would
have taken laws into their hands and burn
down the police station and security buses at
the scene .
Late Nwoke, Daily Independent gathered, was
an executive member of MTUN/ OWAN and
was fighting the rights of his members when
he was allegedly shot by the police .
Members of the MTUN/ AOWAN accused the
police of killing their member for unjustified
reasons .
Anambra State Police Public Relations officer ,
Mr James Ezeh , confirmed the incident and
said that investigations are ongoing to
unravel what led to the death of Nwoke .
Ezeh could not confirm that the police had a
hand in the death.
He promised to ensure that those involved in
the killing will be arrested after a
comprehensive investigation.
Okonkwo accused the security operatives ,
especially the police , of killing one of the
executive members of his union who did not
commit any offence.
He explained , “ I had a phone call that some
policemen in Anambra State are battling our
union members, molesting and extorting
money from them.
“ They collect N 30, 000 to bail any of our
members whenever they are arrested . The thing
became heavily embarrassing to our union.
We wrote to the Commissioner of Police about
this ongoing crime against our union
members .
“ After some weeks again, I had another call
now that one of our executive members, Mr Felix
Nwoke was shot dead at Okpoko in Onitsha
by some policemen and those who call
themselves security task force . When the
incident happened, the police men ran away
with their vehicle while the task force boys they
came with abandoned their bus and ran
away .
“ Some members of the crowd wanted to take
laws into their hands and burn the vehicles
including the police station, but I called on
them not to take laws into their hands as the
Union will make sure that the culprit will be
brought to book” , he said.

The Adamawa state government has opted to train
and enlist the services of 10,000 local hunters,
vigilantes and civilian JTF in liberating towns
captured by the Boko Haram insurgents .
The government has agreed to train the local hunters
to change their perception , so that they would execute
their duties according to the rule of engagement.
As part of efforts to fortify the trouble areas in the
state against the onslaught of the Islamist
extremists, the government has agreed to deploy the
services of the local hunters.
The state governor, Mr Bala James Ngilari , on
Monday made the disclosure through his
spokesman, Mr PP Elisha, shortly after an emergency
meeting with security chiefs in the state.
Elisha  declared that at least 10,000 hunters will be
enlisted in the scheme as members of the local
vigilante known as the Civilian JTF, to fortify the
towns and aid the security forces in dislodging the
Islamist sect, Boko Haram.
He tatted that the group would be called ‘’Civilian
JTF ‘’ and saddled with the responsibility to assist
law enforcement agencies in their job of providing
security to the society.
"That is why they sometimes join the military at the
check points,” he explained. “This does not give them
a licence to take laws into their hands by harassing
or arresting innocent members of the society.’

Players taken off after 75 minutes as away
fans throw flares and fireworks on to San
Siro pitch
The match resumed 10 minutes later with
the score at 1-1 after the flares were put
out and removed
UEFA are expected to launch an
investigation into the incidents at the San
Siro in the coming days
Antonio Candreva opened scoring after 11
minutes for the home side with wonderful
strike from edge of area
Ivan Perisic equalised just four minutes
later for the away side at the San Siro on
Sunday
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric taken
off injured after just 28 minutes, replaced
by Mateo Kovacic
Roma's Daniele De Rossi made his 100th
appearance for Italy and Ivica Olic became
a centurion for Croatia
Southampton's Graziano Pelle came on as a
second-half substitute for Italy at the San
Siro
Italy's European Championship qualifier with
Croatia at the San Siro was suspended after 75
minutes as Croatia fans threw flares and fireworks
on to the San Siro pitch, leaving the stadium covered
with smoke.
The referee marched the players down the tunnel
with the score at 1-1 as the smoke continued to grow
and riot police attempted to restrain the Croatian
supporters. UEFA are expected to launch an
investigation into the incidents at the San Siro in the
coming days.
The players were off the field for 10 minutes before
they returned to the pitch after emergency services
extinguished and removed the flares. It was the
second time in the match they had used flares, with
some being thrown on during the first half as well -
with the match interrupted for three minutes after
Croatia scored.

Antonio Candreva had opened the scoring for Italy
before Ivan Perisic equalised just four minutes later.
The match eventually finished 1-1.
Speaking on ITV4, former Croatia boss Slaven Bilic
said: 'It's (crowd trouble and flares being thrown) a
big problem, not only in Croatia but definitely
there.'
Croatia and Italy are now level on 10 points at the
top of 2016 European Championship qualifier Group
H, with Norway just one behind.
The game itself was a pacey first-half which only
slowed with the interruptions for the flares.
Italy were ahead after only 11 minutes when
Candreva picked up the ball on the edge of the box
and fired a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner
of the net.
But Croatia responded just four minutes later.
It was a blunder which led to the equaliser, as
veteran goalkeeper Gianliugi Buffon let Perisic's shot
go under his gloves and into the back of the net.
Unfortunately for Croatia, their play slowed once
Luka Modric was taken off after 28 minutes with an
injury.
The visitors were impressive, however, and enjoyed the
bulk of possession at the San Siro on Sunday night.
Southampton's Graziano Pelle came on to make
another appearance for Italy but he was unable to
find a winner for the home side.
This match will unfortunately be remembered for the
ugly scenes caused by the visiting supporters,
however.

Parts of Kano City and environs are experiencing
power rationing resulting from the loss of a 150MVA,
330/132/33kV power transformer and control cables
attached to two other 150MVA power transformers in
the Transmission Substation, Kumbotso in Kano Sate.
A statement by Transmission Company of Nigeria
(TCN) Management, signed by the General Manager
Public Affairs, Seun Olagunju said one of the four
150MVA power transformers in the substation caught
fire after an explosive sound was heard at the
switchyard.
The fire, which destroyed one out of the four 150MVA
power transformers in the substation was eventually
put off by the Kano state fire service.
The statement further said "during the fire, oil from
the burnt 150MVA transformer, spilled into the cable
trench connecting two other transformers in the
substation, causing the burning of the cables.
"The fire however did not affect the transformers
themselves. The fourth 150MVA power transformer in
the substation, was not affected in any way by the
fire and has since been restored by TCN's engineers".
TCN explained that "it is presently sourcing
materials from its stores for the replacement of the
burnt control cables to the two healthy 150MVA power
transformers that were not affected by the fire, so that
it can quickly restore transmission of electricity
through them.
"Investigations are also ongoing by the company's
engineers to determine the extent of damage to the
burnt 150MVA power transformer, so that plans can
be put in place for its immediate repair".
With the completion of the cable repair works, TCN
said that the capability of the 510MW substation
would have reduced to 383MW, which is still far in
excess of the peak load demand of 250MW ever
recorded in the area.
This means that normal power supply would be
restored as soon as the two healthy power
transformers are energised, the company added.

CONTENT
Set in 1,000 acres of lush grassland, the sprawling
campus of the American University of Nigeria
represents everything that the Islamist militants of
Boko Haram oppose. Since opening a decade ago, its
stated aim for its 1,400 students is to provide a US-
standard education for “Nigeria’s and Africa’s future
leaders” – be they Christian or Muslim, male or
female.
Yet among the university’s new autumn intake, one
group of students knows all too well the ruthlessness
with which Boko Haram enforces its mantra that
“Western education is sinful”. The shy, quiet girls on
the university’s new “Chibok Scholarship” are from a
group of 58 who escaped during Boko Haram’s mass
schoolgirl abduction in April, when some 276 female
pupils were snatched from the Chibok Boarding
School.
Since September, the university has enrolled 21 of the
escapees as full-time students for free – in a bold bid
to continue the education that their kidnappers
sought to deny them.
“I feel very excited to have a chance to be part of this
university and to continue my education,” said
Anna, 19, one of the scholarship girls, in an
interview by telephone with The Sunday Telegraph
last week. “I am studying science now and I hope to
become a doctor after graduating.”
Indeed, had Anna remained in Chibok, she might
be contemplating a very different future right now.
For only last Thursday, Boko Haram militants
attacked the town yet again, sending its residents
fleeing into the bush once more and reviving
memories of that dreadful night when so many of
their daughters went missing.
Anna, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym,
is still reluctant to talk about the abduction itself,
during which a number of girls managed to leap
from the trucks that spirited them away. However,
she is well aware how close she came to appearing in
the chilling “class photo” that emerged a month
later, when Boko Haram released video images of her
classmates lined up under a tree at a secret location
in the Nigerian bush.
Since those images were broadcast around the world,
nothing more has been heard from them, and despite
numerous claims of ceasefires and prisoner swaps,
many believe the militants intend to keep them as
bush wives.
“We pray for our friends every day and we hope they
will go back home soon,” she said. “But for myself, I
try to forge ahead and forget about the past.”
In recent weeks, though, forgetting about the threat
from Boko Haram has become rather less easy. The
scholarship girls’ new campus home, which was
founded by Atiku Abubakar, a US-educated former
vice-president, lies on the outskirts of Yola, a city of
300,000 near Nigeria’s mountainous eastern border
with Cameroun. The capital of Adamawa State, it
has so far been spared Boko Haram’s violence, which
has been at its worst in towns like Chibok, some 200
miles further north in neighbouring Borno State.
But over the last two months, Yola’s population has
nearly doubled overnight as hundreds of thousands
of people have fled a major push by Boko Haram
into northern Adamawa. In early November, the
group seized Mubi, a city of 100,000 that is just 100
miles north of Yola, burning down churches,
declaring Sharia law and renaming it as
Madinatul Islam, or “City of Islam” in Arabic.
Such is the influx of people fleeing into Yola that even
the city’s main Catholic Cathedral has become a
temporary shelter. Those camped in its precincts talk
of how Boko Haram gunmen rooted out Christians
from Mubi by asking them to recite parts of the
Koran. Anyone who could not was ordered to flee on
pain of death.
“The Boko Haram guys came into Mubi on
motorbikes and started shooting everywhere,
chanting Allah Akhbar and saying they were here
to impose Sharia,” said Malachy Tizhe, a 53-year-old
college lecturer who is now a refugee in Yola. “They
targeted only the Christians and the Christian shops.
As a man of God, I tell you, it was completely
terrifying.”
For Boko Haram, the latest incursion is just another
bid to expand its empire, which now extends across a
vast swathe of north-east Nigeria that also includes
the city of Bama, north of Chibok, which fell in early
September. The militants now hold sway over an
estimated two million people, and continue to spread
terror elsewhere. Last week, a suicide bomber
disguised in school uniform killed 48 students at a
school in Potiskum on the western edge of their
fiefdom.
The push into Adamawa has gone largely
unreported outside Nigeria, even though its anti-
Christian element has close parallels with Isil’s
campaigns in northern Iraq. It has, however, been
viewed with alarm by Western diplomats, who say it
shows the Nigerian army is still unable to contain
Boko Haram, and that if anything, things are now
worse than they were six months ago, when the
kidnapping of the girls first brought the insurgency
to world attention.
“The overall picture is negative, and it is fair to say
that the Nigerian army has not done particularly
well,” said one Western diplomat.
During the fall of Mubi, for example, there were
widespread reports of soldiers ditching their uniforms
and fleeing. In a sign of their growing confidence,
the insurgents also recently stormed the nearby town
of Vimtim, home to none other than the chief of
Nigeria’s defence staff, Alex Badeh, where they made
a point of ransacking his palatial mansion. It was
seen as a deliberate snub to his widely-reported
claim two weeks before that a ceasefire deal had
been reached.

A 20-year-old man in Ningi, the headquarters of
Ningi Local Government Area of the state, has been
arrested by the Bauchi state Police Command for
having unlawful carnal knowledge of a 16-month-
old baby.
According to reports, the state Police Public Relations
Officer (PPRO), DSP Haruna Mohammed sent out a
statement which read..
“On Sunday, October 19, at about 6.00 a.m., police
detectives attached to Ningi Area Command arrested
one, Annas Adamu, male and 20- year-old of
Stadium road, Ningi Local Government Area.
The suspect had unlawful carnal knowledge of his
neighbour’s daughter, a 16-month-old baby, inside
his matrimonial bedroom,” the PPRO said in the
statement. He added that the scene of the crime was
visited by the detectives, who rushed the victim to the
General Hospital, Ningi, for medical examination,
where penetration was confirmed.
He, however, said that the police were investigating
the matter.