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FOR THE RECORDS .. MEIN KAMPF (My Struggle) : My story, by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi ... VanguardNews

February 23, 2014, 12:47 am
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In the beginning
As at the time I came into office, several things had collapsed. From banks to stock exchange, they had crashed. Inflation was at 15.6percent three months before I became Central Bank Governor; there was already instability in every sector of the economy. When I look back, I thank God for the people who supported us and criticized us as well because criticism has made us stronger. Also, when I look back, I can point to several things that have changed after our arrival and till date.
Keeping inflation down
For the first time in a long while, we have been able to keep inflation at about 7percent since January 2013 and it is still like that up till this moment. As far as instability and exchange rate is concerned, we have worked tirelessly to ensure things work out well for the economy.
We also introduced cash reduction in the system. Although most people didn’t like it because they felt it will add more problem to the exchange rate because people want to buy dollars but against all odds, the cashless policy has worked and it’s still working today.
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*Sanusi
On the face-off between CBN and NNPC
On the face-off between CBN and NNPC, I must say that we are not EFCC. What I have been talking about is the areas that affect my job which have been a dwindling in the money that comes into the Federation Account. Let me make it clear, the disputed $20billion may be gone. And what some people want is the continuity of this; that stealing of public funds should continue.
On his suspension
I must say that there was no time when the CBN received any letter from the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. At no point were we given any letter to respond to over any financial allegations. Also, nothing in the letter declared that I did anything wrong. I can tell you that CBN does not operate the way it’s been presented because all facts and statements of account are there for everybody to see. They said we spent N1.2billion on the police – even if that is true, is that corruption? Did I set up my security outfit and pay myself?  I want to repeat that I have had my last day in office. I have achieved everything I set out to achieve. Looking at the suspension letter, I was not given the benefit of doubt to respond or explain myself.
Court order
However, I have a court order now enforcing my fundamental human right because once they seize your passport, you don’t know the next step they will take. I took an exparte motion to court to ensure I am not harassed.
On the allegation that he is partisan
When I was in King’s College, I was in Form 2 when Bukola Saraki came into Form 1. He has been my friend since we were 11years old. Also, El- Rufai has been my friend. I never knew I will be CBN Governor because I had wanted to study law, also Bukola Saraki never knew he would become a politician because he read medicine. These people remain my friends and, with all sincerity, every one of us has friends across political divides. These are things some Nigerians categorize and accuse me of being a politician. Also, I had known Governor Fashola and Bola Tinubu since I was in First Bank. I am a Lagos boy as well and my children were all given birth to and groomed in Lagos. When Nasir El- Rufai heard what happened, he decided to come to the Lagos airport so that if I am going to be arrested, it will be in the company of some of my friends. He never came to the airport as an APC member but as a friend. I am not a politician but people think I am one.
What next on NNPC
It is not my responsibility anymore but I can comment as a Nigerian. I can talk if I feel like. I believe nobody will challenge me that I did not speak out when I was supposed to as CBN Governor. If the next CBN Governor wants to pursue the missing funds matter or the National Assembly wants to go ahead, they are free of do so. Can you imagine a sitting Minister on national television saying they spent money without appropriation. In any other country, such minister has sacked herself. To  me, that is not financial recklessness.
Let me simply ask, if the Nigerian Constitution says don’t spend money without appropriation or says don’t pay subsidy and the Minister went ahead to pay, is it not a political problem? Technical problem is what we deal with at CBN, we deal with CRR and other issues.
In this kind of situation of investigation going on, you are supposed to either keep quiet as a wise man or walk away. But as you can see, I am not a wise man.
Donation of 100million
It is called principle of donation. During the Ikeja bomb blast explosion, the CBN Governor then, Joseph Sanusi, gave N10million. So I was not the first person to do that. This is contained under Corporate Social Responsibility. The blast in Kano did not affect  Kano citizens alone, SSS offices, police stations were attacked and these are federal offices which have several people from the South working there. I can tell you that 80percent of the victims of that bomb attack are not Kano citizens, there were several Christians from the South involved and I gave N100million to their families. What is bad in that? Why are people not complaining  about the N500million I compelled the Bankers Committee to give to flood victims in Benue State and other places? What is wrong in it? With CSR, you cannot do everything in all the 36states of the federation; you will do the little you can.
Mint printing!
This is one area that we have been able to cut down on spending. In 2012, CBN spent N38billion on mint printing down from the N49billion spent in 2011. In 2013, we spent N35billion and, in my 2014 budget, my plan was to spend N30billion. So we have been bringing down the cost of printing.
Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of the CBN, we contribute 80percent into the Federation Account. In 2008 before I became Governor, CBN contributed N8billion into the Federation Account. In my last year, we gave N159billion. In 2012, we gave N80billion, in 2011, we gave N60billion. In the first four years of my term as CBN Governor, we gave government about N279billion. The National Assembly called  to commend me. We have been able to give N600billion from surplus alone and the money is made from prudent finance, cutting down currency expenses, every over headline has gone down. So I can say, with all sense of humility, that the last thing anybody can accuse me of is financial recklessness.

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MEDICINE AFTER DEATH : Boko Haram: Jonathan Moves to Suspend Gov Shettima, Military Administrator to Oversee Borno ... SundayTrust

February 23, 2014, 1:05 am
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By Sunday Trust
Governor Kashim Shettima is to be suspended from office early this week and replaced by a Military Administrator as part of plans by the Federal Government to launch a decisive military offensive against Boko Haram insurgents, Sunday Trust learnt from authoritative sources in Abuja at the weekend.
Members of the Borno State House of Assembly are also to proceed on suspension to enable the Military Administrator to exercise full executive and legislative powers. President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to announce the sudden move on Wednesday when he swears in 11 new ministers, including Lt General Aliyu Mohamed Gusau, who is expected to take over as Defence Minister.
Sources told Sunday Trust that the Presidency has already identified a retired Army General that it intends to appoint as the Military Administrator of Borno State. According to the sources, the Presidency believes that placing a soldier in charge of the state government will send a signal to the recalcitrant insurgents and also give impetus to the highly stepped up military effort that it is planning in the wake of deadly attacks on several Borno communities by the insurgents in recent weeks.
It was not immediately clear if the presidency’s planned move is meant to punish Governor Kashim Shettima, who had a sharp exchange with it last week over handling of the war against Boko Haram. Emerging from a private meeting with the president, Shettima told reporters that the insurgents were often better armed and better motivated than the army in the ongoing war. Jonathan’s senior special assistant for public affairs, Doyin Okupe, replied the next day, saying Shettima’s claim was not true, that the governor is too inexperienced to know about weapons and that the military is winning the war against Boko Haram. Shettima, however, visited the State House again last Thursday and had another private meeting with Jonathan, where observers thought they had resolved their differences. Sources said Jonathan invited Shettima to the meeting after last Wednesday’s renewed Boko Haram attack on Bama town.
Sunday Trust learnt that the move to suspend democratic structures in Borno State was recently revived following a similar attempt last May, when Jonathan first declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. His proposal to suspend governors and state legislators in the affected states was vehemently opposed by the National Assembly, lawyers and civil society groups. They pointed out that a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Atiku versus Obasanjo made it clear that a governor, deputy governor, vice president or a president can only lose his position in one of four ways. These are death, permanent incapacitation, resignation and impeachment. A parallel move by Jonathan to seize the financial allocations of the three states and commandeer it to fund military operations was also thwarted by the House of Representatives, which deleted it from the gazette emergency notice issued by the president.
Contacted for his comments yesterday, Shettima’s spokesman Isa Umar Gusau said he was “surprised to hear that the federal government may be contemplating such an illegal, unjustified, unconstitutional and highly controversial move that will heat up the polity and endanger this country’s democracy.” He said his boss is a very calm, extremely patient person, who is not given to muckraking or unguarded utterances. He said “what the governor said was a product of long observation, a welter of information from persons at the receiving end of the attacks and also careful reflection. The view is shared by all elders and community leaders in the state. It was not meant to embarrass anyone but to alert Nigerians to the danger we all face and to seek the support of all citizens towards overcoming it.”
Gusau also said, “If the reason for the alleged move is in order to win greater support for the military in this battle, I doubt if anyone else can do what Governor Shettima has done and is still doing by way of assisting the security operations and also by bringing quick relief to victims of insurgent attacks, including the widows and families of security agents.” He said the Borno State Government under Shettima has provided vehicles, allowances, fuel and other equipment worth hundreds of millions over the years to the military and other agencies fighting Boko Haram.
In addition, he said, Shettima paid over N200m to families of soldiers killed in operations as well as provided hundreds of millions of naira as relief to families of civilians killed by insurgents.
The governor, he said, promptly visits communities attacked by insurgents and arranges immediate relief and resettlement. This is necessary in order to build up public confidence in security operations and maintain popular backing for the military operations, he said.
Contacted for comments yesterday, President Jonathan’s spokesman Reuben Abati told our reporter that he was not aware of any such moves by government.
“I’m not aware of such a plan,” Dr Abati said. “We’ve just returned from Owerri, Imo State, where the president received politicians who have joined the PDP. Why not call the military authorities to confirm that to you. As you know, the constitution is very clear on how a governor could be replaced. I cannot confirm anything to you on this issue.”
Meanwhile, constitutional lawyers spoken to yesterday described the planned move by the Presidency as illegal and unconstitutional.
A constitutional lawyer and executive director of the Human Rights Monitor, Barrister Festus Okoye, said removing a state governor and dissolving the state assembly will amount to ‘constitutional aberration’ capable of affecting the 2015 polls and giving the fight against insurgency ‘an unwarranted political colouration.’
He said the state of emergency that was declared in accordance with Section 305(1) of the constitution and published in Federal Government’s Gazette, after its approval by the National Assembly, did not provide for dissolution of any of the states’ democratic structures.
“The details of the proclamation do not include the removal of the governor and the dissolution of the House of Assembly and other elected democratic structures. It is a constitutional aberration to declare and (or) assume that a state of emergency must of necessity extinguish democratic structures or lead to their dissolution or suspension. The governor and the state assemblies are elected and the conditions for their removal or suspension are also constitutionally spelt out,” he said.
“The governors of the affected states have displayed uncommon courage in the face of the massive onslaught by the insurgents. The security agencies have been doing their own bit. The missing link in the fight against insurgency is in the area of intelligence gathering, analysis and implementation. There is also an imagination deficit in the approach to the challenge of insurgency.
“Any approach to tackling insurgency that does not creatively factor the local population into the solution will not achieve the desired result. The Nigerian people must bond together and tackle the challenge of insurgency.
“The dissolution of democratic structures in any of the states will put an undeserved strain on the 2015 elections and give the fight against insurgency an unwarranted political coloration. The dissolution will be unconstitutional and will polarize the National Assembly. I do not see the National Assembly approving the amendment to the details and when such is defeated in the National Assembly it may demoralize the armed forces. As we move towards the 2015 elections, we must avoid constitutional impunity that will put an undeserved strain on our fragile constitutional democracy,” he said.
Also, human rights activist Femi Falana, SAN, said Governor Shettima cannot be held responsible for the seeming successes being recorded by the dreaded Boko Haram troops in the North East.
Falana, who stated this in a telephone interview with Sunday Trust yesterday, said that no Military Administrator can fight the Boko Haram when army commanders have failed to conquer the insurgent group.
The senior lawyer said it was because of the illegality of the arrangement that President Jonathan could not appoint Military Administrators when he declared state of emergency in three states in the North-East zone last year.
“It was because of the illegality of the proposition that the president could not appoint Military Administrators (MILADS) for those three states when he declared a state of emergency last year. Since the constitution has not been amended to empower the president and the NASS to remove an elected governor, there are no bases to remove the Borno State governor. If anybody has to take responsibility for the worsening security situation and for the crisis in Borno State and the North-East, so far, it is the president who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and not the governor, who is a glorified chief security officer of the state.
“In fairness to Jonathan he has repeatedly assured Nigerians that the situation is under control and that the FG is winning the war against terror. The unarmed governor of Borno State cannot be held vicariously liable for the seeming success being recorded by the Boko Haram fighters, who appear more armed than Nigerian soldiers and have resorted to guerilla warfare, which is very alien to the Nigerian armed forces.
“Instead of resorting to any diversionary tactic, FG should go back to the drawing table by motivating the soldiers and equipping them with modern weapons as well as improvement of the intelligence gathering,” Falana said.
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ROUND PEGS IN ROUND HOLES : Sanusi Sues Jonathan Over Suspension ... LeadershipNews

February 25, 2014, 8:05 pm
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Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and President Goodluck Jonathan
Suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has dragged President Goodluck Jonathan before a Federal High Court  in Abuja over his suspension from office.
Sanusi was suspended by Jonathan last Thursday over alleged involvement in financial recklessness.
In the suit, the suspended apex bank boss is urging the court to restrain the president, the attorney-general of the federation and the inspector-general of police from giving effect to his purported suspension from office as the governor of the CBN, pending the determination of his suit.
He also asked the court to make an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from obstructing, disturbing, stopping or preventing him, in any manner whatsoever, from performing the functions of his office as the CBN governor and enjoying in full the statutory powers and privileges attached to the office.
One of the lead lawyers to Sanusi, Chief Kola Awodein (SAN), told the court that his interlocutory application is necessary because of the issues raised in the suit and that delay may likely entail irreparable and serious damage and mischief on him in the exercise of his statutory duties as the CBN governor.
He urged the court to exercise its discretion in his favour by granting the interlocutory injunctions, as the president’s continuing unlawful interference with the management and administration of the apex bank, unless arrested, poses grave danger for Nigeria’s economy and justifies the court granting his application which will result in maintaining the status quo ante bellum, that is, for his return to his office as the governor of the CBN.
In the affidavit deposed in support of his application, the suspended CBN boss averred that, in the course of his duties as the CBN governor, he discovered certain discrepancies in respect of amounts repatriated to the federation account from the proceeds of crude oil sales between the period of January 2012 and July 2013 and that he expressed concern in respect of the said discrepancies and had cause to inform the National Assembly of the said discrepancies because they affect the revenue of the federation and the national economy.
He further stated that the actions of President Jonathan, in purporting to suspend him from office, are aimed at punishing him for these disclosures.
He also stated that he is challenging the president’s power to suspend him from office, noting that the president did not approach nor obtain the support of the Senate, based on his discussions with several senators including Senator Bukola Saraki.
“I have been informed, and I verily believe the information given to me by Senator Bukola Saraki to be true and correct, that the Senate did not give the president any support for my purported suspension and removal from office as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Sanusi further stated that the actions of the president in suspending him from office is contrary to the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act relating to the appointment and removal of the CBN governor and that his purported suspension amounts to unlawful interference in the administration and management of the apex bank and is illegal, null and void. He urged the court to, in the interest of justice, grant his reliefs.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit while the matter, which was filed yesterday afternoon, is yet to be assigned to a judge.
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AS WE LOOK ON HELPLESSLY, OUR CHILDREN ARE WASTED IN THE FACE OF TERROR : How Gunmen Killed 43 Students In Yobe ... LeadershipNews

February 25, 2014, 8:14 pm
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Boko Haram cowards yesterday killed about 43 innocent students of the Federal Government College (FGC), Buni-Yadi in Gujba local government area of Yobe State.
The blood hounds, who avoid face-to-face combat with military forces, now attack soft targets in remote villages and schools, apparently to make good Nigerians sad.
A source told LEADERSHIP that about 50 gunmen stormed the school, which is a few kilometres away from the state capital Damaturu, killing the students and injuring others.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the gunmen also set some school buildings, cars, classrooms and staff quarters on fire during the attack.
An eyewitness, Mallam Sani Yadi, told our correspondent that the gunmen entered the school around midnight and started shouting on the students and attacking whoever came out.
LEADERSHIP learnt that the attackers shot from different directions while calling on them to remain inside their hostels, with the intention of burning down the dormitories with the students alive.
He said, “They fired shots from different places and killed whoever attempted to escape. That was how they took several innocent lives.”
A survivor, Haruna Kabir, told LEADERSHIP on phone that he heard gunshots from afar and sensed that calamity was befalling the school area. So, he and his friend escaped into the bush.
Spokesman of the state JTF Eli Lazarus confirmed the incident to the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
The state commissioner of police, Sanusi Rufai, also confirmed that 40 people were killed, adding that it was not immediately clear if all of the dead were students.
Rufai said that many of the students died in flames as the school was burned to the ground, adding that all the dead were males as no female student was touched.
The state governor, Ibrahim Geidam, during his visit to the scene of the incident, said that the attack was synonymous to last September’s assault on the College of Agriculture, Mamudo, where over 40 students were killed.
Geidam and his Borno State counterpart, Kashim Shettima, have fiercely criticised the military’s record in combatting Boko Haram in the region, insisting that more resources were needed to defeat increasingly well-armed insurgents in the troubled area.
The failure of the military to protect civilians is fuelling anger in the north-east, the region worst affected by the four-and-a-half-year-old insurgency and an offensive ordered by President Goodluck Jonathan in May has failed to crush the rebels and triggered reprisals against civilians.

Attackers spared women, told them to go home and get married
A spokesman for a Nigerian governor says soldiers who were guarding a checkpoint near a government school were mysteriously withdrawn from the checkpoint, just hours before an attack yesterday by suspected Islamic extremists.
The attack left at least 29 students dead at a school dormitory.
Officials say female students at the co-ed school were spared — and that the attackers instead told them to go home and get married and to abandon their Western education.
The attackers set a locked dormitory on fire. As students escaped through the windows, they were shot and their throats were slit. Some were burned alive.
The governor’s spokesman says he will be asking questions about why the school was apparently left unprotected.
Nigeria’s military has reported arresting several soldiers accused of aiding and passing information to extremists of the terrorist network Boko Haram (BOH’-koh hah-RAHM’). The nickname means “Western education is forbidden.”
More than 300 civilians have been killed this month in Nigeria in a series of deadly attacks.

You’re deranged fanatics, Jonathan tells Boko Haram
President Jonathan yesterday described members of the Boko Haram sect as “deranged terrorists and fanatics” who have become bereft of “human morality” and as such descended to bestiality” as characterised by their mindless killings of students in Yobe.
In a statement by his special adviser on media and publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, the president extended his “heartfelt condolences to the parents and relatives of the murdered students”.
The statement made available to LEADERSHIP noted: “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has received with immense sadness and anguish news of the callous and senseless murder by terrorists of scores of students at a college in Yobe State in the early hours of today.
“The president wholly condemns the heinous, brutal and mindless killing of the guiltless students by deranged terrorists and fanatics who have clearly lost all human morality and descended to bestiality. He assures the nation that his administration will not relent in its ongoing efforts to end the scourge of terrorism in parts of the country which has sadly claimed more innocent lives today.
“The armed forces of Nigeria and other security agencies will continue to prosecute the war against terror with full vigour, diligence and determination until the dark cloud of mass murder and destruction of lives and property is permanently removed from our horizon.”

Jonathan’s comments on Borno wrong - APC
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned President Jonathan’s vituperation against Borno State governor Kashim Shettima during his “Media Chat” on Monday night, calling it unwarranted, un-presidential and petty.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by its interim national publicity secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said President Jonathan was wrong to have threatened, no matter how subtly, to withdraw from Borno the troops who are battling against Boko Haram insurgents, and urged him to apologize to the people of Borno and to all Nigerians for the presidential indiscretion.
It said the threat, which was in response to the statement credited to the governor, that the soldiers needed to be better equipped and more motivated, showed clearly that President Jonathan does not have a full grasp of what is expected of him as president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
‘’Mr President, your most important duty as president is to ensure the welfare and security of all Nigerians, irrespective of the criticisms you may face or whether or not they voted for you. Therefore, you are not doing anyone a favour by performing that duty. It is the role you swore an oath to perform.
‘’Also, even if you feel that the governor should not have made the statement he made, it is incumbent upon you, as the president and the father of the nation, to take the higher road, instead of choosing a public forum to air your grievances.
Wittingly or unwittingly, Mr President, you have played into the hands of the insurgents who must by now be gloating at the discordant tunes in government over the battle against them,’’ APC said.
According to the statement, the party was justified in its call on the president not to go ahead with his reported plan to remove the governor and replace him with a military administrator. ‘’President Jonathan should know that a leader cannot afford to be taking decisions on the basis of a perceived slight or criticism, because such decisions are most likely to be wrong and counter-productive. He should also use his enormous powers as president for the benefit of the people, not to their disadvantage.
‘’By his threat to pull out the troops from Borno for one month, he has further victimized the good people of the state, who have been at the receiving end of the senseless attacks by Boko Haram. A retraction of his threat and an apology to the people will be a good starting point for Mr President to make amends,’’ APC said.

Boko Haram has taken freedom of religion too far
- Skye Bank chairman
The quest of the Boko Haram insurgency to impose Sharia legal system on Nigeria is an expression of freedom of religion to the extreme which must be stopped at all cost.
The chairman, Skye Bank, Nigeria, Dr Olatunde Ayeni, made this assertion yesterday in Abuja in his keynote address at the on-going African Berlin International Conference (ABIC)/ National Defence College Conference with the theme “Revolts and Change, Individual Freedom and National Security: Africa in the Light of Popular Uprisings”.
Ayeni, who set the tone for the discourse, recalled the ongoing uprising in the Arab World and urged the security operatives to do all it takes to put an end to the Boko Haram insurgency. He argued that the agitation is religious extremism that could destroy the country.
“The outbreak of the Boko Haram insurgency in July 2009 has in no small measure foisted new security challenges on the Nigerian nation, raising critical questions about the real intent of the sect. The Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria paints a picture of the freedom of worship or of religion or of association taken too far – almost to a limitless dimension”.
According to him, “There is no known international charter on human rights, not even the UN charter on human rights that guarantees a limitless personal freedom, knowing full well that a man’s rights begins where another man’s right ends. It is indeed foolhardy to contemplate that an individual freedom of worship carried in a manner of sheer violence and rebellion to the state and its national interest, as exhibited over time by the insurgents, should subsume the collective rights of the citizenry. A right that is so crafted and so called is indeed no right at all! No individual freedom is superior to the national interest or the collective rights of the citizenry.”
Earlier in his welcome address, the commandant of the College, Rear Admiral Patrick Agholor, urged the participants “to come up with pragmatic recommendations that could aid policy makers and governments to mitigate some of the daunting development challenges of Africa”.
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WALLOWING IN OUR CESSPIT OF CORRUPTION AND HOLDING ON TO A TATTERED IMAGE ... WE DONT GIVE A DAMN : $20bn Forensic Audit: Okonjo-Iweala Stresses Need For Urgency ... LeadershipNews

February 25, 2014, 8:25 pm
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The minister of finance and coordinating minister for the economy,Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has asked for urgent action with regard to an independent forensic audit of conflicting claims of unaccounted funds made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamdio Sanusi.
In a statement sent to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the minister said, “My position on this has been clear from the start. The ministry of finance’s reconciliation showed a shortfall of $10.8 billion in NNPC remittances to the Federation Account. After this, the conflicting claims continued with new figures such as $20 billion being mentioned.
“So since February 13, I have called for an independent forensic audit.President Goodluck Jonathan, indeed announced last night that there will be an investigation into whether there are any funds missing from NNPC. He also indicated that the correct process needs to be followed in this investigation and I understand that the entity that has the proper authority to initiate such an investigation is the Auditor-General of the Federation,” she said.
“I therefore want to see the truth from an investigation under the auspices of the auditor- general, which in my view should be undertaken as a matter of extreme urgency by independent external auditors,” the minister added.
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Exclusive Footage Of Nigerian CBN Gov. Lamido Sanusi Return To Nigeria A...

February 25, 2014, 8:33 pm
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IS IT NOT TIME TO CALL IN THE DRONES? : Boko Haram Terrorists Roaming Free In Nigeria

March 1, 2014, 10:15 am
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FOR THE RECORDS .... WHY I REJECTED THE CENTENARY AWARD BY WOLE SOYINKA : Centenary: A Canonisation Of Terrors, Treasury Looters –Soyinka ... LeadershipNews

March 1, 2014, 8:34 pm
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Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has said he rejected Nigeria’s centenary award bestowed on him because of the list of the awardees which is nothing but a cannonisation of terrors and looters of treasury  in the country.
In a rejection note headlined,  “The canonisation of terror”, Soyinka observed that the inclusion of Abacha on the list does not only show a failure of a moral rigour but it calls into question “the entire ethical landscape into which this nation has been forced by insensate leadership”.
The literary giant said, General Sani Abacha was a vicious usurper under whose authority the lives of a president elect, M.K.O Abiola and his wife, Kudirat, were snuffed out.
He reminisced that assassinations under General Abacha became routine, saying torture and other forms of barbarism were enthroned as the norm of governance.
Soyinka fumed that, “Nine Nigerian citizens, including the writer and environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, were hanged after a trial that was stomach-churning even by the most primitive of standards of judicial trial, and in defiance of the intervention of world leadership. We are speaking here of a man who placed this nation under siege during an unrelenting reign of terror that is barely different from the current rampage of Boko Haram.
“It is this very psychopath that was recently canonised by the government of Goodluck Jonathan in commemoration of one hundred years of Nigeria’s trauma”.
According to him,  the failure  of successive governments to remove the signposts in the nation’s capital bearing Abacha’s name and  inability to muster the temerity to wipe out the memory of the nation’s tormentor from daily encounter,  demonstrates national self-degradation and a patent lack of political courage.
“What the government of Goodluck Jonathan has done is to scoop up a century’s accumulated degeneracy in one pre-eminent symbol, then place it on a podium for the nation to admire, emulate and even–worship” he said.
“There is a deplorable message for coming generations in this governance aberration that the entire world has been summoned to witness and indeed to celebrate.
“The insertion of an embodiment of governance of terror into the company of committed democrats, professionals, humanists and human rights advocates in their own right, is a sordid effort to grant a certificate of health to a communicable disease that common sense demands should be isolated. It is a confidence trick that speaks volumes of the perpetrators of such a fraud,” he said
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WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND : N500m Ransom: Jonathan Worried Over Foster Father’s Safety ... LeadershipNews

March 1, 2014, 8:38 pm
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Associates of President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said that the Presidency is apprehensive over the fate of 70-year-old foster father of President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Inengite Nitabai, who has been in the kidnappers den.
Also alleged to be a source of worry to the Presidency is the N500million ransom demanded by the kidnappers for the release of the septuagenarian.
An aide of the president told LEADERSHIP Sunday yesterday that the failure of the security agencies to track down the kidnappers and rescued the victim had heightened anxiety in the State House.
The abductors of Chief Nitabai added more pains to the Ebele family in Otuoke, Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa State when they placed N500m ransom on him.
The outrageous demand, it was learnt, had unsettled members of Nitabai’s family and the Presidency. The family is however alleged to be doing everything to secure his release.
A security source told our correspondent that the abductors threatened to kill their victim if the family failed to produce the money.
The source who pleaded anonymity said the family had constituted a committee to evaluate the demand, establish negotiations with the abductors and facilitate his release.
He said the kidnappers as usual warned against the involvement of security operatives in the matter.
Already, the Presidency has ordered massive deployment of security personnel in Otuoke and the Niger Delta creeks to free the victim.
The gunmen seized Nitabai on Sunday after collecting N400,000, from his wife.
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OF ACTIONS AND REACTIONS : Defence Headquarters raids Boko Haram camp; kills 13 militants, arrest dozens ... DailyPost

March 1, 2014, 8:49 pm
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More terrorists have been arrested while 13 of them died following a raid on their make-shift camp sited between Borno and Adamawa states.
A statement last night signed by Major General Chris Olukolade, Director Defence Information, said some of those who escaped from a raid carried out by the Military earlier were also picked up in Maiduguri and its environs.
Meanwhile, calm has returned to Shuwa after the pandemonium generated by the panic in the community when people sighted the convoy of troops going after terrorists and mistook it for another round of attack.
The confusion also led to the claim that the Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako who had visited the community was attacked by terrorists.
Military authorities in refuting the claim, said the troops were on assignment to block a discovered entry and exit point of terrorists into the country through the state, assuring that the community has been assured of their safety as normalcy has returned.
Olukolade’s statement reads in part: “The alleged attack on the convoy of Governor Nyako as presented in a breaking news report on some television channels this afternoon is not true.
“The truth is that the Governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako visited Michika and Shuwa areas of the State to sympathise with the communities that were attacked by terrorists recently.
“While returning, the convoy came across a noticeable pandemonium which resulted from the alarm raised by some people who had mistaken a convoy movement of troops on patrol at Kirchinga village, for another impending attack by terrorists.
“In the ensuing stampede and confusion, people scampered into the bush ostensibly to escape from those mistaken for terrorists.
“The incident which was presented as a “Breaking News” and scrolled on TV is therefore not a true reflection of what actually happened. The report is capable of causing unnecessary anxiety and heightening tension.
“The military authorities therefore find it necessary to put the records straight and call on residents to go about their normal activities while remaining vigilant.
“The operations in the North East are being consolidated and every effort is made to stop the terrorists from continuing their atrocities in that part of the country.
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AND THE MAN FLED : How I escaped death, by Gov Nyako .... VanguardNews

March 1, 2014, 8:54 pm
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Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, who survived a gun attack, on Friday, in Shuwa, yesterday, narrated his narrow escape.
Nyako defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, last December along with four other Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors. He said it was by the grace of God that he escaped the bullets fired by some men close to a military checkpoint.
Speaking through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Sajoh, the governor said he was convinced the assailants wanted to eliminate him given that the attack happened in broad daylight.
Sajoh said the governor and his entourage were about to depart Shuwa at about 12:33pm after addressing some  victims of a terror attack when Nyako noticed some people across the road close to a military checkpoint.
The aide explained that as Nyako made to cross the road and greet some  men and women, who had gathered to receive him, some unknown gunmen started firing at him.
”Before the gunshots started, we heard, “Ga su nan, ga su nan”, as soldiers at the checkpoint ran menacingly towards a stationary armoured vehicle.
”The gunfire came  from the direction of the soldiers, “ Nyako’s spokesman claimed.
”The sporadic shooting created so much tension and confusion that everyone made spirited attempts to board his vehicle.
”The courageous and gallant security details around the governor pulled him off his official car into one of their vehicles.
”As an ex-military man, Nyako was trying to identify the source of  the fire and he was unperturbed.
”The top military officers accompanying the governor on the visit  were also protected by their security details.
It was an interesting scenario. Other people around  made spirited efforts to board their vehicles while others just jumped into the back of any vehicle especially pick up vans, to escape being hit by bullets.
”The governor was forced by the gun attack to cut short his sympathy visit to the terror  victims and returned to Yola, the state capital, at about 1.00pm.
Although it was a Friday when the governor and other Muslim faithful would have stopped to observe their prayers in accordance with Islamic injunctions, the bullets forced everyone to scamper for his life and nothing of such was remembered.
The governor’s spokesman said before the gunfire erupted, his principal was received at the border of Michika Local Government Area by a large number of people including community leaders and traditional rulers.
Members of the community were said to have lined the street waving at the governor. The damage recorded in the town was reportedly monumental.
A  journalist resident in Michika, Mr. Emmanuel Kwache, told Nyako he was a victim and that he lost five rooms in their family compound, seven bags of maize, two bags of beans, two bags of groundnuts, one pick-up van loaded with soft drinks and personal effects. Others had far greater losses.

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WHAT KIND OF CRUELTY IS THIS? : Man arrested for allegedly killing toddler by smashing him on floor ... PremiumTimes

March 1, 2014, 9:57 pm
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Detectives in Ondo State have arrested a middle-aged man, Ayelehin Kehinde, for allegedly causing the death of a two-year-old in Supare, Akoko area of the state.
The suspect, who is now in police custody, reportedly pulled the baby boy, who was sleeping, from the back of his mother and smashed him on the concrete floor.
Witnesses say the suspect accused the mother of giving out information about him to police detectives who recently raided his house.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that some detectives recently stormed the area after some leaders in the area complained about unwholesome acts by some residents. There were rumours that someone told the suspect that his name was mentioned to the detectives who visited the area.
Perhaps irked by this information, the suspect was said to have stormed the woman’s residence and accused her of giving false information about him to the police.
Witnesses say an argument ensued, which later degenerated to a fight.
The suspect, overwhelmed by anger, pulled the baby from his mother’s back and smashed his head on the concrete floor, a witness, who sought anonymity, said.
Blood furiously gushed out from the nose, ears, and mouth of the toddler.
The suspect, witnesses say, attempted to flee but was overpowered by the neighbours who took him to the police station where he was detained.
Neighbours rushed the baby to the hospital, but he died on the way and was confirmed dead in the hospital.
When contacted, the Ondo Police spokesperson, Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident.
He said the suspect had been arrested and described the act as “cruel”.
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FOR THE RECORDS : EXCLUSIVE: CBN Governor, Sanusi, replies Jonathan’s query, defends bank’s multibillion naira spending ... DOWNLOAD AND READ FULL REPORTS HERE ... PremiumTimes

March 1, 2014, 10:09 pm
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The documents contain details of the communication between the president and the CBN governor.
The suspended Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido, has defended his bank against allegations of spending billions on extensive loans, staff emoluments, and maintenance of devices.
In suspending Mr. Sanusi last week, President Jonathan accused the CBN governor of “financial recklessness”.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported exclusive details of the president’s second query to Mr. Sanusi early 2013, in which Mr. Jonathan demanded prompt clarification on key spending in excess of a trillion naira. The president’s query followed the submission of the CBN’s audit report by Mr. Sanusi to the president on February 26, 2013.
The president claimed in his letter that Mr. Sanusi’s swift response on the issues raised would be helpful in providing proper “appreciation of the nation’s economic outlook”. It was, however, Mr. Sanusi’s reply that the president forwarded to the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, on whose recommendation the president said it relied to suspend the embattled governor.
In the 22-point query, the Mr. Jonathan demanded amongst other things, the domestic report on the CBN’s 2012 financial statements by external auditors and the financial reporting framework under which the financial statements were prepared.
He also directed the CBN governor to provide names of the trustees of the CBN’s self-insurance, including the board minutes approving the said self-insurance scheme and trustees and the entries of the annual appropriations indicating where it was posted in the financial statements.
Mr. Sanusi was also directed to explain the composition of CBN’s gratuity of N72.653 billion in 2012 and N64, 280 billion in 2011 and how it was determined as well as the board minutes and approval practice of making provisions for internal currency insurance based on the premium that would have been payable to external insurers had they been engaged. The president also wanted names of the insurance companies that were filed tested in the exercise and the modalities thereof.
The president also demanded the justification for the “Repairs and maintenance expenses” of N2.268 billion in 2012 and N2.070 billion in 2011 and the extent of repairs of printing machines and intervention activities of N19 billion in 2012 and N23.865 billion in 2011 as well as the administration of expenses of N42.596 billion and N48.340 billion in 2011.
This newspaper learnt that the query raised by the president contained basically the same questions that the Financial Reporting Council had asked CBN’s auditors who had sent a copy of the audit report to it.
The auditors, Ernst and Young and Pricewaterhousecoopers had responded to the questions, attaching relevant documents to back their submissions.
Those familiar with the matter said it therefore came as a surprise to the CBN when the president wrote to Mr. Sanusi asking the same questions to which the auditors had provided “satisfactory answers”.
Our sources said in responding to the president, the CBN governor simply reproduced and forwarded the same answers that the auditors provided to the Financial Reporting Council.
In his response to the president, obtained exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Sanusi said the repairs and maintenance expenses relate to “general office equipment and ICT maintenance”. The letter is dated May 20, 2013, two weeks after the president’s query.
The CBN governor said about 92 percent of the maintenance expenses were for information and communication technology equipments. The CBN does not have printing machines, he said.
On why he granted N50.06 billion as loan to Wema Bank and another N500 billion to Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON, the CBN governor said the loans were necessary because AMCON was sustaining “heavy losses” while WEMA was still having liquidity challenges.
He said the bank was working to recover the loans.
On the composition of the CBN’s N72.65 billion gratuity in 2012 and N64.28 billion in 2011, Mr. Sanusi said employees of CBN are entitled to gratuity payments after completing five continuous full years of service with the bank.
He said the gratuity is computed based on the number of years of service, gratuity rate, and gross emoluments for final year of service.
The CBN governor, defended his spending of N19 billion in 2012 and N23.865 billion in 2011 as “intervention activities” of the bank, saying the funds were channelled to critical sectors of the economy.
“These activities were carried out as part of the bank’s developmental role,” he said.

http://media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2014/02/RE-CBN-AUDITED-FINANCIAL-STATEMENTS-YEAR-ENDED-2012.pdf
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FOR THE LOVE OF QUICK MONEY : Drug trafficking: Nigerian student sentenced to death in Malaysia (PICTURED) ... YNaij

March 1, 2014, 10:37 pm
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A 28-year-old Nigerian, Prince Bartholomew Obitube, has been sentenced to death by a Shah Alam High Court in Malaysia for trafficking in marijuana.
Obitube, a student with a private college in Kuala Lumpur was sentenced yesterday after a trial which lasted about three years.
He was reportedly arrested by police from the Gombak Narcotic Crime Investigation Department with 9,189kg of the illegal substance at Desa Satu Apartment, Gombak on August 20, 2011 after a tip off.
Tne convict was said to have tried to run away with a backpack containing the drugs when the police swooped on him. The offense, under the Dangerous Drugs Act in the country, provides a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
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DO THEY EVEN GIVE A DAMN? : Why FG granted Visa to World Islamic terror preacher- Minister ... TheNationNews

March 2, 2014, 1:25 pm
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Why FG granted Visa to World Islamic terror preacher- Minister
The Minister of Interior, Abba Moro has explained  why the Federal Government granted visa to a renowned extremist and Islamic terror Preacher, Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips.
Philips, who lives in Qatar has been issued a Nigerian Visa to visit and preach in the Country.
Reports had it that the cleric celebrated his Visa issuance with his followers on his facebook on Sunday morning, saying, “Al hamdu lillaah. I just got a visa for Nigeria and will be going there in a few days, in shaa allaah. So, I hope to see all my Nigerian brothers and sisters. Baarakallaahu feekum”.
The cleric has already been banned from countries like Australia, Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America, Kenya, amongst others.
Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the Centenary Interdenominatioinal Church Service in Abuja on Sunday, Moro said that the Islamic terror was given the visa because he met the requirements.
According to him, every country has its own requirement for the grant visa  and in Nigeria’s situation especially against “the back drop of our security challenges, we also have our requirement for granting of visas.
“We have our own black list too of people that because of our security situation should not be allowed into country.”
“And if this preacher that you talk about for instance did not fall within the list of people black listed for their activities that are inimical to internal security. If he is preaching and the content of what he has submitted for the granting of visa that will not undermine the security of the country, then certainly we will grant him the visa. That is the purpose we have achieved here”.
He further said it was double standards, as “when the Nigerian government signed the anti-gay law and the west was complaining, we stated that Nigeria nation is a sovereign country that should be allowed to determine it’s destiny and practices”.
Nigeria, he said, will therefore not use” the refusal of visa by Germany, UK as a basis for refusing anybody visa here.”
“I can assure you that the Nigerian security personnel are equal to the task of detecting whose activities that are inimical to the situation of this country.”
He went on: “Any moment that his preaching and activities are seen to be inimical to the security of this country I can assure you that we are up to the task of repatriating him as soon as possible.”
“And his specific activities in this country guides the request that he has made which has also guided the action of the Nigerian immigration service in granting the visa.
“Apart from the preacher any other person that gains entry to this country whose activities undermine the integrity and security of this country will be properly treated”. He stated.
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WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND : 7 dead in Boko Haram attack in Cameroon: security source ...AFP

March 4, 2014, 9:24 am
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Yaoundé (AFP) – Seven people were killed on Sunday when Boko Haram militants launched an assault in northern Cameroon, a Cameroonian security source said.
“Boko Haram killed a (Cameroonian) soldier. Our soldiers killed six of their guys” and “captured” two others near the Nigerian border, the source told AFP on Monday, requesting anonymity.
A local Cameroonian NGO confirmed the assault and said there were “victims” without specifying the number.
“On Sunday, Boko Haram Islamists entered Cameroon… there was a clash between them and the soldiers,” said Mey Aly, from rights group Os-Civil Droits de l’Homme.
“Around 30 heavily armed Boko Haram soldiers crept discretely into Cameroon. A villager saw them and raised the alarm,” she added.
Soldiers blocked their path and a firefight broke out. Cameroon’s rapid reaction force sped to the area.
“The region’s populations have been terrorised by incursions from Islamists like Sunday’s. We call on stronger efforts from the authorities to reassure the population,” she added.
Earlier Monday, an official said that suspected Islamist insurgents had killed 29 people in Nigeria’s embattled northeast on Sunday, the latest carnage in a surge of violence that has left more than 100 dead this month alone.
The Nigerian military has launched a major offensive aimed at crushing the Islamist uprising, which has killed thousands since 2009.
On Wednesday, Nigeria’s Information Minister Labaran Maku said that much of his country’s problem with Boko Haram stemmed from its border with Cameroon and called for “increased partnership” from its northern neighbour.
Nigeria has alleged that the Islamists have set up bases in sparsely populated areas of its northeastern neighbours, including Cameroon, Chad and Niger, and flee across the border after staging attacks to avoid military pursuit.
“They strike. When we pursue them, they retreat into Cameroon,” complained the minister.
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OF LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS : 'Why I Live Separately From My Wife' - Actor Chidi Mokeme Finally explains ... Omogist

March 4, 2014, 9:49 pm
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Nollywood actor, Chidi Mokeme and his wife, Jean, have been living separately since they wedded in April 28, 2012. While Jean has remained in her US base, Chidi Mokeme still reside in Nigeria.
In a recent interview with Yes Magazine Chidi had this to say:

Well, when I met my wife, this was our default setting. Let me put it like that. Our default setting was that I live in Nigeria and my wife lives in America and then we started a relationship and decided to take the relationship further and decided we were gonna be man and wife. So, having taken that decision and having crossed that level, the next thing is to find a way to ease into a location. Everybody knows that you don’t just pack your bag and move in one day. There are things that need to be sorted, relocation needs to be sorted. So, we are taking our time with it. But then again, by virtue of my job, I have a pretty much very flexible timing. I own my time, I decide when to work, when not to work. So, really, I can be with my wife anytime, every time I so desire and it makes it easy. If I work 9-5, then we will always have to wait for when someone was on leave the whole year round, if I want, just to be with my wife.
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WHAT MANNER OF CRUEL INSURGENCY IS THIS? : “They checked our private parts before…”: Yobe massacre survivors narrate horrific experience .... YNaij

March 5, 2014, 9:15 pm
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The Yobe college massacre which occurred on Tuesday signalled the end of life for some and the end of innocence for many others.
Survivors of the Boko Haram atatck on the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi in the Gujba Local Government of the state have opened up on the ordeal and revealed how they are are still haunted by it.
The students had just returned from their mid-term break when mayhem was unleashed upon them by the militants and many promising young lives were cut short.
Nigerian Eye reports:
Not long before the gruesome attack, the students of Federal Government College, FGC, Bunu Yadi in Yobe State had returned from a mid-term break sharing stories with each other, not knowing what awaited them.
One of the survivors, who is the college’s Kitchen Prefect, said that all 53 students of the SS3 class stayed behind to read for their mock examination and had gone half-way. He narrated that on the night of the attack, they had group supper at the school Dining Hall:
“After dinner, we were having prep when we heard gunshots, even though we didn’t think much of it as security operatives in the area normally give warning shots most evenings. I nevertheless I advised the junior students to return to their hostels and sleep.”
At about 11:15pm the students noticed suspicious movement around the premises and after some of them shouted for help, confusion took over, all with the backdrop of most of the school on fire. The Kitchen Prefect revealed that the last thing he heard before escaping into a nearby bush, were the screams for help from his fellow students. He disclosed that it still haunts him: “It is the worst thing one could ever imagine,” he narrated, in tears.
A staff of the school, who requested anonymity, described how the incidents unfolded that tragic night: “We caught a dirty-looking man spying the school area on Sunday around 2:00am, very close to the Vice Principal’s house, so handed him over to security personnel, but he was released after pleading that he had simply lost his way.”
He added that on Monday afternoon around 2:00pm a helicopter hovered above the school and eventually left. “We also noticed the military check-point was deserted,” he said, adding that the attackers drove into the school playing loud, nondescript music in nine Hi-Lux trucks, motorcycles and sophisticated weapons. “They trapped the students in their hostels and that’s how the tragedy began,” he said.
Additional sources disclosed that teachers, parents and residents swooped in to rescue the youngsters, long before a medical team arrived from Damaturu to tend to the wounded and evacuate the slain.
Alhaji Mohammed Kati Machina, the school’s PTA Chairman, said a total of twenty-nine corpses of students were recovered after the attack.
A JSS2 student who only gave his nickname as ‘Goni’ said it began to unfold when he was returning from prep and saw a strange, young man. “He held a gun, advancing towards our room, so I dashed in and quickly hid under my bed,” he said, adding that the armed man suddenly began to shoot sporadically. “When I realized he was shooting towards my direction, I ran out, straight at him and he grabbed me and told me he’d not shoot me,” he said, after which he was taken to the mosque area to join some young students.
Goni saw most of his classmates there, who told him they were screened before taken there. “They checked our private parts and armpits and confirmed that we didn’t have hair there,” he said, as he further revealed that the assailants took mattresses and curtains and used them as inflammables to raze the school buildings. “We all lay flat, until they were done around 4:00am and two of them returned and asked that one of us should come,” he said, but none of them did, so he volunteered.
One of the gunmen then gave him a flashlight and warned them to keep still when military men arrive, so they’ll not be shot. Goni said the gunmen warned that they should all stay off school, especially the girls. “They said they should get married or risk being killed whenever they return,” he said.
Mohammad, a JSS 3 student who sustained a bullet wound on his back, said the attackers were close to 100 and some of them came in through the girl’s hostels. “They even apologized when they realized it was a girls’ hostel.
Yobe State Police Commissioner, Sanusi A. Rufai confirmed that all the 29 killed were male students. “None of the female students were killed,” he said.
The father of two of the students killed cried profusely while retrieving their corpses from the hospital, and he said that he loves his children more than anything on Earth, “But, God loves them more and He knows why they died in these circumstances.”
Another man in Damaturu Specialist Hospital was standing at a distance from his son, one of the survivors who sustained a bullet wound and a cut on his throat, and he was shedding tears. “I can’t imagine why anyone would do this to innocent children…my boy wouldn’t do anything to harm anyone…he’s just a child for God’s sake,” he cried, even as hospital staff consoled him.
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A REASSURANCE WE REALLY NEED : “We are winning the war against Boko Haram” – Reuben Abati says on Al-Jazeera’s The Stream ... YNaij

March 5, 2014, 9:18 pm
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Dr Reuben Abati
Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Media and Publicity, has come all out to defend the activities of his principal i n handling the fight against the Islamic militant sect, Boko Haram. Abati said the Federal Government is winning the war against terrorism.
Abati took this position on The Stream, a highly interactive programme on Al-Jazeera hosted by renowned journalist and former CNN anchorwoman, Femi Oke.
According to Abati, who was on the programme with a serving senator, Ahmad Khalifa, Aminu Gamuwa, and a graduate student based in Poland, Babatunde Rosanwo: “The government is winning the war against Boko Haram. The violence has reduced compared to the situation a year ago. Nigerians go to church with fear and trepidation every Sunday but that does not happen anymore.”
In his reaction to Abati’s statement, Rosanwo said “the government must come down to the level of its citizens; they are the ones that are being killed.”
“The government is definitely not winning the war against Boko Haram,” he said.
Senator Khalifa agreed with Rosanwo saying the government has failed in protecting the lives and property of citizens in the affected areas. He put holes in Abati’s argument saying the insurgents are within the community – a notion contrary to the official stance of the government which suggests that the Islamic militant sect adopts a cross-border guerrilla attack strategy.
Rosanwo stated that the president needs to show some empathy to the victims of Boko Haram in Yobe, Borno and Bauchi by paying a visit to the region instead of sitting put in Abuja.
“You need to stop this centenary nonsense,” he said. “How can you celebrate when forty three kids were killed? What stops Mr. President from visiting Borno?” he asked rhetorically.
Abati countered saying citizens, especially a serving senator, should be careful not to make statements that are capable of demoralizing the troops fighting against insurgents. He assured Nigerians of the commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan to the security of every citizen.
The Stream is a web community and daily television show powered by social media and citizen journalism.
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ECONOMICS OF MOI MOI AND AKARA : Debt burden not a threat to economy – Ngozi Okonjo Iweala ... DailyPost

March 5, 2014, 9:26 pm
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The Federal Government on Tuesday said that contrary to fears being expressed in some quarters about country’s mounting debts, the economy was not in any way threatened by the development.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, gave the assurance while speaking during the inauguration of the “Budget 2014 Jam” in Abuja
The Budget 2014 Jam is an online programme for youths in the country to engage the minister on issues bearing on the 2014 budget and it is expected to run throughout the year.
The programme was initiated by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the IBM Technology.
Okonjo-Iweala, who put the country’s debt to the Goss Domestic Product ratio at 21 per cent, noted that the figure was still low when compared to other developed economies such as the United Kingdom (89 per cent); the United States (90 per cent) and Japan (200 per cent).
She said, “Nigeria does not have a debt problem overall, but has to watch its domestic debt.
“There is something called debt to GDP ratio. This is what is used in the whole world to measure the state of indebtedness of a country; and in Nigeria, in whichever way you look at it, our debt to GDP ratio is 21 per cent.
“This is one of the lowest for a country of our profile worldwide.”
The minister said the Federal Government had put in place an effective debt management strategy, adding that there was no way the situation would get to the point where the government would seek for debt relief as was done in 2004.
Okonjo-Iweala put the nation’s external debt to GDP ratio at just two per cent; while the balance of 19 per cent was for domestic debt.
“So, now, we need to keep our debt to GDP ratio very reasonable; the normal standard for a country like Nigeria is around 40 per cent to 60 per cent,” she said.
The minister noted that there was a need for the government to watch the level of borrowing in the domestic market as the loans were being obtained at high interest rates compared to the concessionary loans being obtained from international financial institutions.
She lamented that most of the funds raised from the domestic market were used to finance wage bills as a result of the increase in the salaries of civil servants.
Okonjo-Iweala said, “In 2009/2010 when they increased those salaries, after the increases were granted, it was found that there was no money in the budget to fund it and they went to borrow; and we should never have done that.
“That is why I challenge those who say that the Ministry of Finance and Okonjo-Iweala are mounting debts. You now know why our domestic debt, up to date, is very high.”
The minister said the government must slow down the rate at which the country was borrowing, adding that the current domestic debt was N522bn against N852bn in 2011.
She also said that the country’s debt service to revenue ratio had grown from 14 per cent to 19 per cent, noting that this was worrisome and should be discouraged.


[Punch]
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