Insurgents
NAS: Presidency’s defence of Isa Pantami irresponsible
File Photo The National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) has berated the Presidency over its defence of the embattled Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami. NAS in a statement signed by the NAS Capoon, Mr Abiola Owoaje, titled ‘Isa Pantami Must Go’ stated that that the Presidency’s defence was “an ill-judged action that provides a safe haven for a self-confessed sympathiser of terrorism.” Owoaje who described the Presidency’s defence as hollow pointed out that “it suggests that the Buhari administration is so deeply infected with bigotry that the defence of a Minister is informed by factors more primordial than the integrity of governance.” According to him “President Buhari’s decision to retain Pantami as Minister despite documented evidence of him bein...
Rebels attack Myanmar army near border, junta knocks back ASEAN plan
Ethnic minority Karen insurgents attacked a Myanmar army outpost near the Thai border on Tuesday in some of the most intense clashes since a military coup nearly three months ago threw the country into crisis. The Karen National Union (KNU), Myanmar’s oldest rebel force, said it had captured the army camp on the west bank of the Salween river, which forms the border with Thailand. The Myanmar military later hit back against the insurgents with air strikes, an aid worker in the area said. The fighting took place as the junta, in a setback for diplomatic efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said it would “positively” consider the bloc’s suggestions to end the turmoil in Mynamar but only when stability was restored. The ASEAN leaders said after meeting at the weekend...
Forces opposed to Somali president control parts of Mogadishu
Gunmen opposed to Somalia’s Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed had control of strategic parts of the capital Mogadishu on Monday, Reuters journalists saw, after factions in the security forces clashed at the weekend over his term extension. Mohamed signed a law earlier this month extending his mandate for two years after elections were cancelled, setting off a political furore that threatens to distract Somalia’s armed forces from fighting al Qaeda-linked insurgents. The presidential term extension has also irked foreign donors, who have backed his fragile government in the hope of bringing long-needed stability to the Horn of Africa nation largely in turmoil since a 1991 civil war. After exchanges of gunfire rocked Mogadishu on Sunday and some forces came from outside the capital, anti-Mohamed fac...
Delta governor: We inherited N100 billion unpaid pension under compulsory pension scheme
Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Sunday said his administration inherited about N100 billion unpaid pensions under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Okowa disclosed this at the third session of the 8th Synod of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Ughelli Diocese. The session was held at Bishop Agori-Iwe Memorial Church, Ughelli. Okowa said that the financial burden forced 18 state governments out of 26 that enlisted on the scheme to withdraw, leaving only eight state governments, including Delta, in the Programme. The governor explained that the major challenge which forced the states to withdraw and others not to enrol in the scheme, was the huge backlog running into billions of naira. He said that his administration was up-to-date with payment of pensioners in the old scheme. ...
President Buhari condoles with Adamawa community over insurgents attack
President Muhammad Buhari has condoled with Kwapre community in Hong Local Government Area (LGA) of Adamawa over the recent Boko Haram insurgents attack. Buhari, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said this when he visited the community on Sunday. The president expressed his deepest sympathy and condolence to the affected community. ”I am in Kwapre to see things under the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari and to symphatise and condole with the community. ”I have seen the level of destructions which is tragic of monumental dimension. ”I am deeply saddened by what I saw and am assuring the community, government will do all what is possible to protect lives and property of the citizens,” he said. He said that from information available, over 78 ...
Jailbreaks: Nigerian Army to train NCoS armed squad
The Nigerian Army has accepted to assist the Nigerian Correctional Service in giving refresher training to its armed squad personnel. This is sequel to the increasing spate of invasion of custodial centres by armed hoodlums and the consequent jailbreaks. The acting Controller-General of Corrections, John Mrabure had, in a letter to the Chief of Army Staff, requested assistance in training the armed squad personnel in the low-intensity engagement of armed non-state actors who have made jail attack a regular feature. A statement on Wednesday by the NCoS spokesman, Francis Enobore, a controller of corrections, said the training, which was expected to commence soon, will cover relevant tactical components to strengthen the capacity of Correctional Service armed guards to engage invaders adequa...
NNPC to partner Borno government to establish gas power plant
The Group Managing Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Alhaji Mele Kyari has said that the corporation will partner with Borno State Government to establish a Gas Power Plant following the vandalization of the national grid by insurgents which put the state almost three months into total blackout. Kyari who led a powerful delegation on a courtesy call on Governor Babagana Umara Zulum on Friday said, the Federal Government will not fold its arms and neglect the state which is been ravaged by insurgents, especially cut off from the national grid, as power is a source of income to the teaming people of the state. “We are here with my colleagues, the Head of Gas and Power Business, Engineer Yusuf Usman, Representatives of Greensville Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), which is a...
Nigerian army urges journalists to protect national interests
The Commander, Sector 2, Operation Lafiya Dole, Adamu Nura, has appealed to journalists to prioritise Nigeria’s national interest in their reporting. Nura made the appeal, on Friday, while hosting members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), who paid him a courtesy visit in Damaturu. “National interest is more important than any other interests, including public interest; because when you protect national interest, public interest will automatically be covered,” he said. He, therefore, enjoined journalists to always cooperate with security agencies, to protect the national interest in their reporting “and avoid giving any form of publicity to terrorists”. “Security is everybody’s business, without security nothing can be achieved,” he said. He added that the sector was ready to build...
Niger’s new president blasts terrorists for war crimes
Niger’s new president Mohamed Bazoum lashed out on Friday at jihadists who have carried out devastating attacks on his country, accusing them of “war crimes” after he took the helm of the troubled nation. The inauguration marked the first-ever transition between elected presidents in Niger’s six decades of independence from France — a historic moment that has been widely praised. But the Sahel country’s problems were deeply underscored in the run-up to Friday’s ceremony, after a string of jihadist massacres and an alleged attempted coup just two days before the handover. Bazoum hit out at “terrorist groups whose barbarity has exceeded every limit.” These groups “carry out large-scale massacres of innocent civilians, and in doing so, commit real war crimes,” Bazoum declared. Niger is being ...
Russia hopes for progress as U.S. joins Afghan peace talks in Moscow
Russia said it hoped international talks in Moscow on Thursday would breathe new life into the Afghan peace process, after a high-level U.S. official joined the Russian-hosted talks for the first time. The talks, which also include representatives of Pakistan and China, are designed to give a boost to negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar’s capital Doha, stalled lately by government accusations that the insurgents have done too little to halt violence. “We regret that so far the efforts to launch a political process in Doha have yet to yield a positive result,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in his opening remarks at the talks. “We hope today’s talks will facilitate the creation of conditions to achieve progress in intra-Afghan negotiations.” U.S. envoy Z...
COAS reiterates troops commitment to annihilate Boko Haram
Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, has reiterated Nigerian troops commitment to ensure that Boko Haram terrorists are completely eliminated from Borno, Yobe , Northeast and the country in general . Attahiru stated this on Monday in Maiduguri while inspecting the second phase of large cache of weapons recovered from the Boko Haram terrorists by troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in various encounters with the insurgents in northern part of Borno state and fringes of Lakechad. The Army Boss who is on one week operational visit to the Theatre of Operation Lafiya Dole , had yesterday inspected another sets of heavy weapons recovered by the troops from the terrorists, which were displayed at the headquarters of 7 Division Nigerian Army, before later display of another sets of recovered...
CAN: Isa Pantami serving President Buhari’s interest
File Photo The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, says President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Isa Pantami as Nigeria’s communications minister to serve a predetermined purpose, noting the government will not cast him away no matter how loud the call for his removal becomes. CAN’s position was relayed by its General Secretary Joseph Daramola in an interview with Punch. The comments come less than 24 hours after the presidency defended Mr Pantami of his alleged support for terrorist groups. Mr Daramola said the Christian body is not surprised that the presidency swiftly came out to exonerate Pantami, saying those who tapped him for the job were quite aware of his antecedents and must have given him specific instructions to carry out in government. “Government studies the characters they pu...