News

Aliko Dangote

We are going into something big; we will spend $7.5 b on expansion

…"We are going into mining, petrochemicals, cement and infrastructure. We need to spend $7.5 billion in the next four years, so definitely we need a lot of concentration.” Dangote said this changing focus was one of the reasons he was looking for a partnership for his flour business, Dangote Flour Mills, with Tiger Brands, South Africa's biggest consumer foods maker

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Kogi State’s Godswill Orphanage smiles to the bank with NI0 Million

… The final event saw Godswill Orphanage of Kogi State clinching the coveted trophy and the Championship Prize of N10M while the Runners-up, the Lifetime Orphanage of Rivers State got the Prize of N5M. Rachael Homes, Abuja came in third carting home the N3Mprize. The

Princely amount of Five Hundred Thousand each was given to the other remaining five Homes as co-champions and what the Prince called “combined winners”.

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Nigeria Tested by Rapid Rise in Population

… Nigeria, already the world’s sixth most populous nation with 167 million people, is a crucial test case, since its success or failure at bringing down birthrates will have outsize influence on the world’s population. If this large nation rich with oil cannot control its growth, what hope is there for the many smaller, poorer countries? Lifelong residents like Peju Taofika and her three granddaughters inhabit a room in a typical apartment block known as a “Face Me, Face You” because whole families squeeze into 7-by-11-foot rooms along a narrow corridor. Up to 50 people share a kitchen, toilet and sink — though the pipes in the neighborhood often no longer carry water. Read more

… Nigeria's justice ministry said on Friday it would prosecute anyone found guilty of being involved in a $6.8 billion fuel subsidy corruption scheme but urged the public to be patient and allow time for a full investigation. Civil society groups and trade unions have demanded arrests following a parliamentary report exposing one of the biggest known corruption scandals in Nigeria's history.

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Diezani - Allison Madueke

Slain Oyerinde

Reactions trail Oyerinde’s death

Eminent Nigerians from various walks of life yesterday reacted to the brutal murder of the Principal Private Secretary, PPS, to Governor Adams Oshiomhole ...

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Jonathan has betrayed Nigerians; Nigeria has sunk deep into the abyss of poverty, pervasive insecurity and corruption-Shehu Sani

…“The economic focus of the administration is not aimed at transforming the lives of Nigerian working class and non-working people, but aimed at appeasing entrenched interest and foreign interest. The transformation agenda of the Federal Government has no human face. The N18,000 minimum wage is a mirage and a packaged deception of the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration.  Read more

President Jonathan Goodluck

Diezani - Allison Madueke

Nigeria has the biggest bribery violations in U.S. ever, mostly the energy sector

… Penalties for FCPA violations now total $4.04 billion globally as of October 31, 2011. The biggest culprit? Nigeria with $1.7 billion in bribes, mostly in the energy sector

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BPE says Nigeria needs $15-$20b for power over 3 yrs.

… Nigeria only provides its 167 million inhabitants with around a quarter of the amount of electricity used by New York City, leaving those who can afford it to use expensive diesel generators and those who can't to live without any power.

… President Goodluck Jonathan laid out plans in 2010 to break up inefficient Power Holding Co of Nigeria (PHCN) and sell off generation and distribution units. But powerful vested interests, such as diesel generator and fuel importers, unions and power contractors, have delayed the sale. BPE says Nigeria economy could grow at 10 percent with power

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Ibori turns ‘born again’ in London prison .

by Dickson Omonode

Ibori sowed the seed of corruption in his 8-year rule as Delta State helmsman, he was crafty enough to escape imprisonment in Nigeria, but not in United Kingdom where he was slammed with 13 years’ imprisonment by a South-Wark Crown Court in London. Now, James Ibori is alleged to be full of regrets for his past misdeeds. He has also reportedly turned a new leaf

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ACF says Jonathan losing corruption war, cites fuel subsidy fraud; Ibori; Halliburton; Daimler; Siemens; police pension
… The communiqué, signed by National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, said that having reviewed the recent revelations of monumental corruption in the country, particularly, in the police pension office, the fuel subsidy scheme as well as the conviction of former Governor James Ibori by a British court and other bribery convictions relating to Halliburton, Daimler and Siemens in the USA and Germany, “it appears that the campaign against corruption is in danger of losing steam. More distressing, it appears that some of the cases suggest that the nation’s judiciary and investigation and prosecution agencies have been compromised and may be a part of the problem; not much of the solution.”

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President Jonathan Goodluck

Six mobile laboratories have also been acquired out of which two are fully equipped.  These are for material testing and quality control to guide against sub-standard works.

Oil subsidy removal: ACN to Jonathan; admit you were wrong, apologize to Nigerians, and revert fuel price to N65 

…“In more-civilized climes, those who bandied spurious figures to Nigerians and hinted that the economy would  collapse if the subsidy was not removed – would by now have tendered their resignations – with apologies – over the discovery that what the government has been subsidizing over the years are corruption and inefficiency, not“The sectional groups who threw their weight behind the fuel subsidy removal, for no other reason than that the President is their ‘son’, should also have repeated the adverts they placed in the newspapers, but this time repudiating their earlier adverts and apologizing to Nigerians.

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Action Minister Mike Onolememen

BEFORE

AFTER

BENIN-ORE-SHAGAMU DUAL CARRIAGE WAY      -  Read more

Bokos give Christians 3-day ultimatum; Leave Northern Nigeria or be attacked

… Human rights activist Shehu Sani told CNN that the latest Boko Haram threat was credible, but many Christians born and raised in the north have nowhere else to go.
… The BBC reported that Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, declared a state of emergency on Saturday in parts of four states hard hit by violence blamed on Boko Haram.
 

It said Mr Jonathan vowed to "crush" the group, which he said "started as a harmless group" but had "now grown cancerous".

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MD ABUBAKAR

Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

Nigeria police want to interrogate rights leader over comments he made about officers carrying out "extrajudicial" killings

… Odinkalu, the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, received a written request from investigators at police headquarters in Nigeria's capital Abuja to appear for questioning, lawyer Bamidele Aturu said. The request comes from a talk Odinkalu gave March 5 in which he said that the police force "executes well over 2,500 detainees summarily every year," Aturu said.

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Govt. plans to punish Nigerians again; NLC Says Nigerian workers will resist pay cut, fuel increase

…NLC carpets Sanusi, Okonjo-Iweala over excess crude account depletion. Okonjo Iweala had declared at a forum that the excess crude fund had been depleted to $3.6bn and that Nigerians should brace up for hard times especially if the prices of crude oil were to take a dip. Similarly, Lamido Sanusi had said at a forum in New York that a reduction in the price of crude oil “would lead to a massive depreciation of the currency, a collapse in the reserves and a huge growth in deficits.” …Tales of 3 figures: Highlighting some of the inconsistencies in government, he said, “For instance, while the Presidency proclaimed that the country spent N1.3trn on fuel subsidy in 2011, the Central Bank Governor under Oath in the House of Representatives gave the subsidy paid for the same period as being over N1.7trn, while the actual figures spent were over N2.3trn. read more

Okonji Iweala

UK aid funded firms 'linked to Nigeria fraudster Ibori' - By Peter Marshall

…James Ibori almost became Nigeria's president. James Ibori's money-laundering network spanned four continents … Britain's Department for International Development betrayed Nigerian whistleblower Dotun Oloko, it revealed his identity to the people he was accusing. CDC Group, the private enterprise arm of DfID, is said to have put $47.5m (£29.9m) into a private equity fund which invested in Nigerian companies allegedly linked to Ibori. CDC is overseen by the development secretary, Andrew Mitchell. In January, Mr. Mitchell issued an unreserved apology to an Anglo-Nigerian whistleblower after Newsnight revealed DfID had betrayed his identity to the people he was accusing.
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President Jonathan blames God, says God gave Nigeria worst leaders including him

…We are not the best candidates during the 2011 general election; god selected us even when we are not the best materials available. “I always make my supplications to God that in selecting me as the President of this country, the Vice President, the Governors, members of the National Assembly, the Ministers, we are not the best material, but God knows why he choose us and we pray he should use us to change this country”. He said. Read more

Locals fetching diesel from leaking Barge in Bayelsa State

Princewill Initiates 120M Naira Reality TV Show for Orphanages

By Nkemjika Chileetam

In an unique show of concern for the less privileged, Prince Tonye Princewill, a PDP Chieftain and Leader of Princewill Political Associates (PPA) has pumped in the sum of N120M in collaborate with Adonis Productions to organize the first ever Reality TV show for orphans under the umbrella of Melody Shelters.  read more

President Jonathan Goodluck

MERITOCRACY VS MEDIOCRITY IN NIGERIA

---This unfortunate situation led to a position where unsuitable and unqualified persons were appointed into top positions in strategic agencies only because they had contacts in government and in the ruling party. Some had no clue about the work of the agency they are supposed to lead and manage, other than the size of the budget and how to get a big share of it. This has had a negative effect on national development. Strategic state corporations like NEPA, Nigerian airways, NITEL and several more were run aground by these incompetents selected and trusted to manage them with the loss of billions of naira worth of government assets and massive job losses - read more

General Airhiavbere’s family: Why wife advised him not to contest

… General Charles is married to late musician Bayo Ade’s sister, Ehioyose. A source close to the general revealed to Nigerian politico, that the general’s wife Ehioyose advised him against contesting the July election, because she believed Oshiomhole is a good governor and unbeatable.

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General Charles Airhiavbere

Bokos kills 4, including 7 year old girl in place of dad in Yobe and Borno

… But the Joint Task Force (JTF) also shot dead three members of the group. The seven-year-old girl was reported to have been shot dead when her father, a policeman, who was the target of the group, escaped. … The members of the group reportedly stormed the home of the policeman while he was with his family members. The spokesman for the Yobe State police command, Toyin Gbadegeshin, said: “They fired shots at him while sitting in the midst of his family. “He managed to avoid the bullets and scaled the fence. “The gunmen shot dead his seven-year-old-daughter and seriously injured another 12-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old-son who are now in hospital.” 

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Catholic Church collapses in Nigeria, 22 killed, 36 injured

… Building collapses regularly occur in oil-rich Nigeria, as lax government oversight and shoddy workmanship often sees substandard cement used in projects. A government spokesman says 22 people were killed and 36 were injured when the roof of a Catholic church in rural Nigeria collapsed during services.  Benue state spokesman Cletus Akwaya said Monday that the collapse happened Saturday night at St. Robert's Catholic Church in the village of Adamgbe. Police and emergency services in Nigeria, already largely limited, had difficulty reaching the village. Akwaya said the collapse happened when worshipers at the Easter vigil rushed inside during a rainstorm. A national emergency management spokesman said he had no details about the collapse. Police officials could not be reached for comment. Building collapses regularly occur in oil-rich Nigeria, as lax government oversight and shoddy workmanship often sees substandard cement used in projects.

Archbishop Felix Alaba

Katsina Alu

Journalists Beaten, Arrested on a magistrate court judge’s order

The arrests happened Wednesday in Lagos, where journalists had gathered to cover a coroner's inquest into the deaths of more than 20 people in an August 2010 multiple car crash and explosion. Witnesses previously have blamed the crash and deaths on an illegally mounted police checkpoint where officers had been extorting bribes from motorists. Journalists arrived early for the hearing and were trying to find the courtroom when a prosecutor accosted them in a hallway, said Shola Soyele, a reporter for the independent private broadcaster Channels Television. Magistrate Judge A. A. Oshoniyi came out of her office and ordered police to arrest the journalists, Soyele said. Police beat several of the journalists while arresting them, ultimately taking more than a dozen to a local police station before they were released, witnesses said.
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MODEL PRIMARY SCHOOL BUILT BY GOV. AMAECHI OF RIVERS STATE,

2 FOR EACH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA. KUDOS GOV. AMAECHI.

FUEL SUBSIDY PROTEST: POLICE SAYS

STRAY BULLET KILLED ADERINTO, NOT DPO; WILL HE EVER GET JUSTICE?

… Alagbe, the Investigating Police Officer, IPO, in the killing told Magistrate Tajudeen Elias, the Chief Coroner that the gun that killed the deceased went off when some hoodlums were struggling for a rifle carried by the suspect. The IPO, who gave insight into the statement of the DPO of Pen Cinema Police Station, Mr. Olusegun Fabunmi, alleged to have shot and killed the late Aderinto at Yaya Abatan Street, Ogba, said the DPO wrote in his statement that he received a distressed call from the control room that some hoodlums were attacking innocent people in the area and dispossessing them of their valuables.

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LATE DEMOLA being molested  by 

by the DPO of Area G police Station

 Segun Fabunmi Segun

An illegal refinery discovered by JTF in Bayelsa State

Friends Forever?

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopiaand Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria's Finance minister

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has become increasingly bold and assertive in his vilification of what he describes as “a bankrupt ideology” that “has impoverished our thinking and hindered our progress.” In his address to ministers of finance and economic planning, who met early last week at the newly inaugurated conference hall of the African Union Commission (AUC), he urged fellow Africans to “liberate our minds from the neoliberal ideological shackles.” read more

Bokos are now armed robbers, kills 4, robbed UBA

… Suspected members of Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram killed four people on Friday when they robbed a bank and stormed a police station in northeast Borno state, a government official said. Gunmen killed two people during a raid on a UBA branch in Askira town in the early hours before attacking the local police station, where an officer and a civilian were shot dead, local government spokesman Malam Yuthama said.

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"FERMA officials ready to use the pothole pacthing machine"

The Honourable Minister of Works, Arc Mike Onolememen flagged off the Preventive Road Maintenance, Surveillance and Emergency Response Programme on Thursday March 29, 2012 along Owerri-Onitsha dual carriageway in Owerri, capital of Imo State, for the South East Zone.

During the flag-off, the Minister of Works Stated ; 'the paradigm shift has become inevitable in road maintenance in our country, judging by our recent experience of the near-collapse of road infrastructure in our country. And the time for this paradigm shift is now. We need to reclaim our road network from its dilapidated state and once again elevate it to an enviable state where it can effectively and efficiently oil the wheels of our nation's economy.'

Hon Minister of Works Arc. Mike Onolememen cutting the tape to declare the Preventive and Surveillance programme open for the zone

MD FERMA; Engr Gabriel Amuchi, Hon Minister of Works; Arc Mike Onolememen, Dep Gov Imo State; Sir Jude Agbaso and Governor Imo State; Rochas Okorocha during the flag off of the Preventive and Surveillance programme for South-East in along Owerri-Onitsha dual carriageway in Imo State

some of the Pothole Patching Trucks deployed to South-East for maintenance of roads by FERMA

Joint Military Task Force (JTF)

House to house: Nigerian forces searching for Bokos, kill 4

 … On Saturday, gunfire erupted in Maiduguri and in the North’s biggest city of Kano, to the west, as militants battled with security forces. The Islamists attacked two police stations with explosives on Saturday, spokesman for the Joint Task Force Sagir Musa said, although they were repelled and three were killed.

 Musa said on Wednesday that two militants, including a commander, were killed during an attempt to arrest them the day before as part of the crackdown.  Read more

Shell to sell its most prolific oil block in Nigeria for about $1 billion; divest its onshore blocks to refocus efforts offshore

… According to the source, three companies are bidding for the block: Conoil Producing Ltd., and Shoreline Natural Resources Ltd., both based in Lagos, Nigeria and BSG Resources Ltd., based in the British dependency of Guernsey                                                             

Nigeria's government estimates that Shell's OML 30 holds 1.4 billion barrels in reserves, an amount greater than proven reserves in the entire countries of Ghana or Equatorial Guinea, lesser regional producers.  

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Prof. Barth Nnaji

GE Signs 5 year Deal with Nigeria for Power Plants, confusion already surrounds deal

… But confusion already surrounds the deal. Local press quoted Power Minister Bart Nnaji as saying the GE agreement would be a $10 billion deal. GE denied that, saying they would only be one company potentially taking part in the effort. …Effort to find companies and set up the privatization process has been repeatedly delayed. That has led some to worry the effort could end up as a failure like a push to privatize the former state-run telephone company. After delays and bidding breakdowns, the government announced it would simply liquidate the firm's assets. Read more

Suspected killers of four soldiers and four policemen including an army colonel in Bayelsa State

Prince Tonye Princewill

UNEP Report: Another Example of Federal Government Keeping Quiet - Princewill

By Nwaorgu Faustinus

Following the United Nations Environment Protection (UNEP)Report on the extent of environmental pollution and degradation in Ogoniland in2011, and the federal government’s so to say nonchalant attitude to showconcern to the people from the area, the Prince of Niger Delta politics, PrinceTonye Princewill has described the report as another example of the governmentkeeping quiet on serious environmental issue that affect the well-being of the Ogoni natives.     read more

Nigeria has more malnourished children than Ethiopia-USAID

…: "Nigeria has more malnourished children than Ethiopia. States in northern Nigeria have the highest numbers of malnourished children in the country. Also, orphans and vulnerable children whose families have been infected or affected by HIV/AIDS are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition. Nearly 1.2 million
children in Nigeria are orphaned as a result of AIDS, and more others are vulnerable because their families are affected by HIV/AIDS.
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President Jonathan Goodluck

Okonji Iweala

Developing Nations set to name Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo to lead World Bank minister

… Washington has held the presidency since the Bank's founding after World War Two, while a European has always led the International Monetary Fund. It has yet to publicly identify a nominee to succee         d Zoellick. But with its majority of votes and the expected support of European countries, the United States is still likely to ensure that another American will succeed Robert Zoellick, who plans to step down when his term expires at the end of June. The candidacies of Okonjo-Iweala and Ocampo, who have credentials as both economists and diplomats and according to sources the respective backing of Brazil and South Africa, pose a challenge to the United States, whose hold on the top post has never been contested.  Read more

Boko Haram talks: Mediator Datti Ahmed quits, doubt govt. sincerity

… Ahmed said on Sunday he had been in touch with senior officials from the government and Boko Haram, which had been ready to discuss a reconciliation.

But he had now decided to pull out of the process after details of the discussions appeared in the Nigerian media. He did not say who he thought had leaked the information. Read more

Datti Ahmed

Colonel-Gaddafi's -Wife-Safia-Farkash

419 Scam email from 'Qaddafi wife' requests cash, promises a piece of her fortune

…“I am desperately looking for a foreign partner whom I can trust to handle some investment,” she writes. She even includes links to various newspaper accounts verifying the immense wealth Qaddafi hid around the world as he left much of his country in poverty. From her exile in Algeria, the widow of the departed Libyan leader needs your help! Or does she?   Read more

Youths killed at least 10 people in reprisal attacks after a suspected suicide bomber hit Catholic Church in Jos

…Boko Haram claimed responsibility for previous attacks, citing violence against Muslims by Christians in Jos as justification. Despite its ideology, it is Muslims in the north of Nigeria who mostly bears the brunt of the sect’s violence. Suspected sect members shot dead a traditional ruler in the northeastern Gombe state, as he left a mosque after Friday prayers two days ago

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Al-Qaeda creates base in Sokoto, Nigeria; responsible for kidnap of foreigners

--- Contrary to reports that it was Boko Haram that kidnapped the hostages, Nigerian Tribune learnt that Maghreb group had shifted attention to Nigeria to expand its hostage taking operations, which was said to account for large part of Al-Qaeda operational fund worldwide.

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Al-zawahiri new leader of al-qaeda

Bokos new strategy: Targeting schools, more than a dozen set on fire; threatens children and undermine right to education

… Around February 20, the first three schools – Kulagumma Primary School, Abbaganaram School, and Budum Primary School – were set on fire. Between February 26 and 29, at least four schools were burned, and on March 1, five schools were set ablaze in what appeared to be a coordinated attack, including Sunshine Stars Secondary Schooland Success Secondary School, which had an enrollment of 700. As a result of the attacks, news reports state that at least 5,000 students are staying home from school.   Read more

There is need to look for appropriate revenue sharing formula– Princewill -

By Nwaorgu Faustinus

… On national issues such as the realistic revenue sharing formula, sovereign national conference and the recent petroleum scarcity in Port Harcourt he said there is need to look for appropriate revenue sharing formula that will assuage the needs of other brother states
especially in the north and supported sovereign national conference to be held, as no one knows what the future holds. According to him, the sooner they had discussion the better, because in the absence of dialogue there can only be distrust. Describing the present fuel scarcity as embarrassing, he pointedly blamed the federal government for it. read more

Prince Tonye Princewill

President Barack Obama

U.S. to establish consulate in Kano urged Nigeria beat Bokos by bringing developing north; pledged support

…Regarding the security concern, we agree with President Jonathan that this must be holistic approach. That it is about security, it is about development, it is about jobs," Sherman said during the first stop of an African tour that also takes in Zambia and Kenya. Together we will do whatever we can, from intelligence sharing, to assistance, to development, to security training."- Wendy Sherman U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs - read more

Bokos bomb kills Bokos: Explosion At Bomb Factory in Maiduguri

… You can see how they are making the explosives and attaching a wristwatch to it as the timer. This is to show you that they have gone far in this their operations, but thank God the thing is exploding with them. The sect members have been going round robbing people of their funds to come and build houses at the outskirt of town only to turn their homes into bomb making factory, adding: They are the same the people that are going round town to set fire on school buildings of recent. You know, when you come around here, you cannot know that such thing is going on. You see them as labourers working, or people who have run away from trouble areas. But these same people are the ones going about taking innocent lives and destroying people’s properties - Col. Victor Ebhaleme.  read more

JTF Patrol Van

Police station, schools attacked in Maiduguri

… Smoke hovered over uniformed students frolicking in a playground Tuesday, hours after assailants set their school ablaze and destroyed another local school, showing how commonplace violence has become in Nigeria's northeast. Assailants attacked Gamboru Primary School just after dawn and then, just over 3 miles (5 kilometers) away, razed a newly renovated, secular coeducational school to the ground in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Hassan Mohammed.

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CAN President Pst Ayo Oristejafor, Representaive of President Goodluck Jonathan; Arc Mike Onolememen who is also Minister of Works, Senate President David Mark and Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Matthew Hassan Kukah with other Bishops during the Bishop's conference yesterday in Abuja

CAN President Pst Ayo Oristejafor, Representaive of President Goodluck Jonathan; Arc Mike Onolememen who is also Minister of Works, Senate President David Mark and Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Matthew Hassan Kukah during the Bishop's conference yesterday in Abuja

RITUAL KILLINGS BUSINESS IN NIGERIA: A CURSE ABOUT TO EXPLODE
By Obinna Akukwe

Suicide bomber rammed his Volkswagen packed with explosives into a church in Jos, killing 2, wounding 38

…Two of the bodies, which police said included the suicide bomber, who had rammed his Volkswagen into the church before detonating the explosives. "NEMA (the National Emergency Management Agency) confirms three dead in suspected suicide car explosion in Jos today, including the bomber whose body was shredded to pieces," NEMA spokesman Yushua Shuaib said by text message.… Christian youths beat two Muslims to death in revenge - Read more

JONATHAN VERSUS SYLVA: NIGERIA CHARGES EX-GOVERNOR IN OIL AREA WITH FRAUD AND MONEY LAUNDERING

… The charge sheet at Nigeria's Federal High Court accused Timipre Sylva, the former state governor of Bayelsa, of using a fraudulent salary increase scheme to transfer 2 billion naira ($12.7 million) from state accounts and of laundering a total of 2.4 billion naira using various surrogate bank accounts….Before he was charged Sylva was embroiled in a dispute with Jonathan, the president, over the governorship in Bayelsa, the home state of both men - read more.

Organized crime Syndicates in Nigeria Stealing 150,000 Barrels of Oil Daily-Shell Executive

… Along with the increasingly sophisticated deep water technology, the theft is pushing major oil producers like Shell to seek oil blocks farther off-shore in Nigeria, where oil production facilities are safe from both theft and much of the regulation Nigeria applies to on-shore platforms. On a single pipeline, Craig said his company observed 50 illegally-installed valves where thieves tapped oil, along with "industrial scale illegal refineries with major, major environmental impact." With Nigeria's daily output currently estimated at 2.4 million barrels, the shadow bunkering industry would account for one out of every sixteen barrels of oil the country drills. "Some countries aspire to that level of production," Craig said.   Read more…………….

Shortage of Insecticide may hit cocoa output in Nigeria by 75% this year

… Cocoa farmers need Actara to combat mirids--insects that if left untreated can reduce cocoa yields by as much as 75%, according to the International Cocoa Organization. Actara, manufactured by Syngenta AG (SYT), is the only insecticide permitted for use in the Nigerian cocoa industry, as it meets European Union directives regarding the maximum residue levels of pesticides and insecticides permitted in agricultural products…Importers weren't bringing in the insecticide because "unscrupulous traders and buyers had in previous years flooded the country with unapproved insecticides that sold at cheap prices."…Nigeria produces around 240,000 metric tons of cocoa each year, around 6% of global output

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3 Nigerians, 2 others arrested over fake US dollars, visa-passport racket

…"Gabriel Olawale Ajisafe(mastermind), Sunny Odigie alias Sunday, and Enwere Okechukwa Kelvin Enwere from Nigeria, Caroline Cherotich from Kenya and Augustine John Kwaku Kyare from Ghana were arrested from near Golchha Theatre in Daryaganj after a trap was set. The documents and currency were recovered from Ganesh Nagar," said Chand. Ajisafe (52), the mastermind of the gang, lives in Delhi. He's married to an Indian and is fluent in three Indian languages, including Hindi. …Ajisafe, who is pursuing a PhD from Bhopal University, was arrested the first time in 2004 for a drug-related crime and was released from Tihar Jail in 2008, said Chand. The accused printed counterfeit US dollars with the help of screen printing technology.  Read more

Gabriel Olawale Ajisafe

Sanusi Lamido

Naira hits 3-month high in the wake of national assembly probe into the operations of fuel subsidy

… The naira firmed to 157.70 to the dollar compared with 158.20 on Thursday and having gained more than 2 percent in the last three weeks.

…Oil companies buy dollars at central bank auctions and from the interbank market to pay for fuel imports, but the central bank have said some of the demand is foreign exchange speculation rather than a genuine need to pay for imports.

Nigeria's parliament is investigating discrepancies in the amount of gasoline subsidy paid to importers against the actual amount brought into the country

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Tinubu says President Jonathan should urgently organize national conference now, and stop dividing the country

…“Nigerians must sit down round a table and talk. Nigerians have the right to demand another constitution. To insist otherwise is not to serve the cause of justice and fairness.” …“Mr. President should stop dividing this country on the basis of religion and ethnicity. Don’t divide Nigeria between Christians and Muslims. We need religious tolerance, and inter-faith harmony in this country. The PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) has no vision for Nigeria. We must reject their ideas of discrimination. “We want unity in diversity for economic prosperity and not divide-and-rule for political adversity,” he said. read more

Tinubu

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton says poverty, corruption helping fuel violence, worried about the security challenges in Nigeria.

…"You can't just have this level of inequality persist. That's what's fueling all this stuff," said Clinton, who appeared along with Cherie Blair, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, at the ThisDay Awards, an annual ceremony hosted by Nigerian newspaper magnate Nduka Obaigbena. Poverty is endemic in Nigeria, and corruption has siphoned away billions in oil earnings since the country began exporting crude more than 50 years ago. New government statistics released Monday showed that in Nigeria's northwest and northeast, regions besieged by Islamic insurgents, about 75 percent of the people live in poverty - read more

Claim and counterclaim: Bokos says it killed 12 soldiers; lie we killed 12 Bokos; JTF countered

…"Yesterday (Sunday) we carried out an attack on military formations at Baga town on the shores of Lake Chad as well as on the JTF in the selected areas of Maiduguri where we killed 12 soldiers and many civilians," Abu Qaqa, Boko Haram spokesman, told reporters by phone in Maiduguri. The joint task force (JTF) in charge of tackling the unrest in the northeast, where Boko Haram first emerged in 2003, dismissed the allegation and said it had achieved a victory. “Yesterday soldiers of the JTF were attacked in Budum ward of Maiduguri by Boko Haram sect members. In the exchange of fire following the attack 12 sect members were killed while two members of the JTF sustained injuries."    Read more

Sanusi Lamido

Bokos insurgency beginning to take toll on economy; security threat dominates government’s attention

… Foreign direct investors and portfolio managers are, however, concerned about the progress of structural reforms in one of the continent's most inefficient and wasteful economies - and about the government's ability to keep a lid on spending. …Nigerian government is distracted by Boko Haram rather than economic growth, and have started witnessing weakening economic fundamentals

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Balarabe Musa

Bokos leader Shakau says we are killing security agents and Christians, Jonathan is not our president, promise more attacks

…“Jonathan is not our President and no matter what he and his American friends are scheming, we would always be above them. They think that by killing us, they will put an end to our operation but they are dead wrong. When they killed our Leader, Muhammed Yusuf and even Osama Bin Laden who are martyrs in our cause, we even become stronger because we are fighting for Allah and his prophet. Look at what they did to our brothers in Iraq and Afghanistan. After killing them, they urinated on their bodies. We would not forgive them for all these injustices. The only solution is for Jonathan to resign from office because we cannot accept a Christian Leader as a President.

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Nigeria may witness fuel shortage in the coming weeks

…marketers cite difficulties being encountered in the process of securing foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria. …“It is not a matter of reduction; some of our members have already stopped importation because the environment is still not conducive to taking such risks. There is no provision made in the 2012 budget for subsidy payment and there are controversies surrounding the subsidy payments made in 2011, so many of the major marketers have either stopped imports or reduce them considerably,” the source stated.

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President Jonathan

Diezani - Allison Madueke

NNPC PROBE: SENATOR CALLS FOR PETROLEUM MINISTER TO RESIGN, SAYS SHE IS NOT INNOCENT

…“The woman is not supposed to be on that seat pending the outcome of investigations into activities of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.                    

…“I think when speaking of corruption, it is her ministry that is highly endemic in that aspect, so let her go or be re-assigned by the President to a less sensitive ministry, if Mr. President still wants her in his cabinet.  Read more

Ribadu will be bruised beyond recognition by the time he is done dining with the bad guys.

By Ralph Odua

…Ribadu was my candidate in the in the last presidential election. We donated a space ‘permanently’ for him in nigeriapolitico.  Jonathan was no-show in the presidential debate. Ribadu, Buhari and Shakarau were on the presidential stage, I dumped Ribadu when he said he wasn't going to probe past leaders, he preferred to allow the loot go. Because corruption is never punished in Nigeria, because treasury looters are allowed to go with their loot, we continue to have free for all corruption

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Nuhu Ribadu

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Seized weapons from Iran: Nigerians left in dark; did the secret service do a good job?

… The foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, has pledged his government’s cooperation with an investigation into the shipment of weapons, said the Nigerian foreign minister, Odein Ajumogobia. Nigeria’s secret service intercepted the shipment two weeks ago and found that it contained rockets and other explosives. The weapons were in containers that were labeled as construction materials and had been loaded in Iran by a local trader who did not appear on any sanctions list, a shipping group based in France, CMA CGM, has said. read more

MEND resumes attack, says Jonathan is an idiot

…Vows to attack MTN, SAOIL, others; claims responsibility for Agip pipeline attack    

…Rather than address serious issues facing the nation and its citizens, Goodluck Jonathan squanders public funds on tribalistic sycophants and thugs calling themselves ex-militants. Nigerians should disregard the idle threats and ranting of imaginary militant groups and other hired “Jonathan praise singers”. Besides empty talk, they are unable to help Jonathan in any way. In fact most so called ex-militants are hiding in Abuja or Lagos, not venturing near their villages in the Niger Delta.

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Abu-Qaqa Bokos spokesman

Abu Qaqa Bokos spox nabbed in Maiduguri, public confidence in Jonathan grows

…Security services say "Abu Qaqa", who made statements to media after attacks by group, tracked using cellphone signal.

… There is no doubt today’s arrest will go a long way in restoring public confidence in President Goodluck Jonathan’s government who have been under tremendous pressure to bring the group to book.

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Special Report: Boko Haram - between rebellion and jihad

…Even Nigeria's national security adviser, General Owoye Azazi, who sees a link between Boko Haram and North Africa-based al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb AQIM, urges caution in defining the group. "We need to tackle Boko Haram from several perspectives," Azazi said in an interview. "If you go back to history, there are religious concerns; there are concerns about governance, and of course, political implications. It's a combination of so many things."

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Nigeria army kills 11 Boko Haram Islamists during shootout in Maiduguri

… But Boko Haram said its members had been picked from their homes by the army's joint task force and killed

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Reuben Abati writes Sahara Reporters over “Culture of Waste and Insensitivity” and the 18th AU Summit

… You correctly reported that Mr. President travelled with a “25-person delegation to Addis Ababa for the 18th African Union Summit” but after salting your story with a dash of hype and peppering it with innuendo you have managed to cook up the impression that there are 57 Nigerian delegates in Addis Ababa. This is not fair.

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Reuben Abati

Igbo Elders Forum met in Ojukwu’s house; asked Igbos to leave North immediately

… Addressing newsmen at the end of the meeting, Movement for Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) leader, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike, and former President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Justice Eze Ozobu, said the decision was in the best interest of the Igbo.

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Chief Ralph Uwazuruike

Boko leader Shakau replied Jonathan: Dialogue not going to happen, we will kidnap government officials’ family members, bomb schools, and Jonathan must become Muslim

…Shekau's message also discusses Boko Haram's goal: Complete adoption of Islam across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people split largely between a Christian south and a Muslim north. And Shekau said he remains prepared to order more violence to accomplish that he leader of a radical Islamist sect launching increasingly bloody attacks in Nigeria has rejected offers for a negotiated peace, instead promising to kidnap government officials' family members and bomb schools, according to an Internet audio message allegedly posted by the group.  Read more

New IGP indicted by Justice Niki Tobi panel on Jos crisis, for his "ignoble role in the crisis”

… As the Plateau State Commissioner of Police during the crisis, M.D. Abubakar was indicted by the Justice Niki Tobi panel which investigated the crisis, for his "ignoble role in the crisis" and recommended that he be retired immediately from the force.

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Alhaji Mohammed Dikko Abubakar,

Acting Inspector General of Police (IG)