Suspected Boko Haram spy arrested in MOPOL barracks

Men of the Plateau State Police Command have arrested a middle aged man, suspected  to be a Boko Haram member, was who caught allegedly spying on policemen at the Mobile Police Barracks, Sector 8 in Jos.
The recent incident followed persistent complaints by members of the public on the existence of some strange persons in some parts of Jos and Bukuru metropolis.
Our correspondent gathered that the suspect was arrested on Monday while allegedly spying on some policemen undertaking parade rehearsals in preparation for the pulling out ceremony of the state police commissioner, Mr. Chris Olakpe.
According to police sources, the presence of the suspect near the parade ground raised the suspicion of those on the parade ground.

Boko Haram shows kidnapped girls in new video

| credits: BBC

A new video released by Islamist militants Boko Haram claims to show around 100 girls kidnapped from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State on April 14, 2014.

The group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, said they would be held until all imprisoned militants had been freed.

He said the girls had converted to Islam. The video, released on Monday, claims to show them praying.

Boko Haram abducted more than 200 girls from northern Nigeria on April 14 and threatened to sell them.

The BBC’s John Simpson in the northern city of Maiduguri said that Boko Haram’s comments showed signs that the group were willing to negotiate.

Three of the girls are shown speaking in the 17-minute video, obtained by French news agency AFP, wearing the full-length hijab.

Two girls say they were Christian and have converted to Islam, while the other says she is Muslim.

Correspondents said the girls appeared calm and one said that they had not been harmed.

Watch video:

We did all we could – Adebayor

Adebayor
| credits: File copy

Tottenham forward Emmanuel Adebayor has insisted the team did everything they could to achieve UEFA Champions League qualification.

The Togolese forward found himself frozen out at the beginning of the season at White Hart Lane, with former coach Andre Villas-Boas opting for Roberto Soldado instead.

Spain international Soldado struggled to find the net and never convinced as the focal point of the team’s attack and Tim Sherwood was quick to reinstate Adebayor after replacing Villas-Boas in December.

Spurs ended the season on a high as a 3-0 home win over Aston Villa on Sunday secured a sixth-place finish and Europa League football for next season, with Adebayor netting his 11th Premier League goal of the season with a first-half penalty.

Abducted girls: Police offer N50m reward for info

The Nigeria police on Wednesday announced a cash reward of N50m for anyone who volunteers information that could lead to the location and rescue of the female students abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

The police action came on the heels of local and international clamour for the Federal Government to ensure the safety and rescue of the girls.

The female pupils, about 234 of them, were abducted from their hostels on April 14.

The violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, had on Monday released a video in which the sect leader, Abubakar Shekau, said the girls were abducted by members of his group and that he would sell them off.

“I abducted your girls; I will sell them in the market, by Allah,”the maniacal leader of the sect said.

 A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba on Wednesday in Abuja called on the public to be part of the solution to the current security challenge in the country.

It reassured the citizens that any information given would be treated anonymously and with utmost confidentiality.

The Force urged all patriotic citizens with useful information to contact the following numbers: 09-2914649; 08081777309; 08055547536; 08032125050; 08034617591and 0803596973.

 Foreign help

Beyond condemning insecurity in the country, however, foreign countries have responded positively to Jonathan’s call for assistance.

The Presidency said on Tuesday that Jonathan had accepted an offer from the United States as part of efforts to rescue the Chibok girls.

“President Goodluck Jonathan Tuesday welcomed and accepted a definite offer of help from the United States of America in the ongoing effort to locate and rescue the girls abducted from the Government (Girls) Secondary School, Chibok three weeks ago,” the President’s spokesman, Reuben Abati, said in a statement.

 The US said it would send a security team to Nigeria to help assist the government in finding the abducted girls.

‘Stop INEC from receiving foreign donations’

INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega

Some de-registered political parties have asked an Abuja Federal High Court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission from receiving foreign donations.

The plaintiffs – Hope Democratic Party, Peoples Redemption Party, Peoples Progressives Party, Change Advocacy Party, as well as the Centre For Public Probity Studies – asked the court to declare that INEC was not entitled to receive further funding from foreign organisations until it accounted for previously received foreign funds.

INEC, the National Assembly, the European Union, United States Agency for International Development, the United Nations Development Programme and the Department For International Development were listed as the 1st to 6th respondents in the suit.

The plaintiffs insist that INEC must make an undertaking to conduct free and fair elections devoid of partisanship before it could receive funds.

Besides an order stopping INEC from receiving foreign donations, the plaintiffs are also asking the court to declare that their continued exclusion in preparations for the 2015 general elections was discriminatory, unlawful and wrongful.

In the same vein, the plaintiffs want the court to restrain INEC from continuing to de-register them as political parties despite a court order which nullified the de-registration of political parties by the commission.

In the suit filed by their counsel, Ambrose Owuru, the plaintiffs equally asked the court to order INEC to publish and account for all previous donations from foreign organisations.

Also, they asked the court to order INEC to pay them all outstanding arrears that should accrue to them as political parties.

Gunmen attack Kaduna police station, kill five

Governor Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State

At least two policemen and three civilians were killed  by gunmen who raided a police station in Fadan  Karshi in Sanga Local Government of Kaduna State on Tuesday.

An eyewitness said that the attackers riding on motorcycles stormed the police station on Tuesday night shooting sporadically, killing two policemen and three civilians during the incident.

The Chairman of the council, Mr. Emmanuel Adamu, who described the incidence as a sad development after a peace treaty had been signed in the state, said those that sustained injuries were receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.

Spokesman for  the Kaduna State Police Command, Aminu Lawan,  a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP,  confirmed the incident on Wednesday. He said that investigation was already on  to unravel the circumstances that led to the attack.

Meanwhile, the state Governor, Mukhtar Yero,  has condemned the  attack,  describing the incident  as a provocative attempt by hoodlums.

The governor, who spoke through Mallam Ahmed Mayaki, his spokesman, while condoling  with the families of  the victims of the attack, said  unwarranted attack on policemen and the killing of innocent citizens in the area, were condemnable.

Jonathan leads a corrupt government, says New York Times

President Goodluck Jonathan
| credits: File copy

The United States- based New York Times has said that President Goodluck Jonathan is leading a corrupt government.

It added that the government had little credibility.

The newspaper, in its editorial published on its website on May 6, condemned Jonathan’s “inept and slow” attitude towards locating and rescuing the schoolgirls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14.

It also condemned the reaction of the President’s wife, Patience, to the incident, describing it as “stunningly callous.”

It expressed worry that it took the Jonathan administration more than two weeks after the kidnappings, to call a meeting of government officials to discuss the incident.

The editorial stated, “Mr. Jonathan, who leads a corrupt government that has little credibility, initially played down the group’s threat and claimed security forces were in control.

 “It wasn’t until Sunday, more than two weeks after the kidnappings, that he called a meeting of government officials, including the leader of the girls’ school, to discuss the incident.

 “There is no doubt the intelligence and investigation help President Obama offered on Monday is needed.”

The violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, had claimed responsibility for the kidnappings with its leader, Abubakar Shekau, saying in a video clip released on Monday that “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah.”