The WEB GIST

Over 30 people have reportedly lost their lives while watching a football match at a viewing centre in in Calabar, Cross River State.
According to a report by Channels TV, the deceased were killed after being electrocuted by a high tension cable that reportedly fell on the viewing centre.

It was also reported that the football fans, who assembled at the centre to watch a UEFA Europa League quarter-final match between Manchester United and Anderlecht on satellite television, lost their lives when a live electricity cable broke from its mooring and fell on the viewing centre.

There are no official statements regarding the sad occurrence as at the time of publishing.

Senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye ,has alleged that some corrupt Nigerians now hide their loots in caskets and uncompleted buildings in remote villages in some parts of the country.

Melaye said this while moving a motion tagged ‘discrepancies in subsidy payment and non-remittance of funds by the NNPC to the federation account’ on the floor of the Upper Legislative Chambers on Wednesday.

According to Melaye, “Monies are not accounted for and that might be the reason why we now see petro-dollars buried in caskets and uncompleted buildings in remote villages in some parts of the country.”

Recall that the lawmaker had on Tuesday, drawn the attention of the Senate to the refusal of the Federal Government to probe the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, which he said got 51 out of 100 per cent share of companies sanctioned to import petroleum products into the country.

He had said all the oil marketers currently facing trial over alleged subsidy fraud.

Melaye had said, “Surprisingly you (Saraki) are one of those who raised the issue of subsidy in the 7th Senate. The Federal Government is prosecuting marketers and these marketers only constitute 49 per cent of imported refined products. The NNPC is responsible for the importation of 51 per cent.

“While we are prosecuting the independent marketers whose proceed from subsidy is about N3.83 trillion, NNPC collected a total of N5.1 trillion on subsidy and this has never been investigated.

“This has never been looked at and we are busy chasing independent marketers. The time to look at the books of NNPC as regards petroleum subsidy is now.

“We have taken the lead in the fight against corruption in this chamber and I want to say we must do everything within our powers to investigate and bring whoever is found wanting to book.”

1. President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday spoke with his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

According to Adesina, Buhari, who called him around 2: 43 pm said he might not return home soon ‎as he needed more time to rest.

2. The Federal Government has recalled two out of the nine directors who were sacked from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority on Friday.

Those recalled were Alhaji Adamu Abdullahi, the Director of Consumer Protection; and Captain Ayodele Sasegbon, the Director of General Aviation.

3. The All Progressives Congress, APC, Youths Renaissance has warned some persons against referring to this government as ‘Osinbajo administration.’

The group said it was shocked with “attempts by some Nigerians and their collaborators in the media to create crisis of confidence and severe the smooth working relationships between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo through unnecessary praises and accolades”

4. Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ahmed Makarfi, has accused his rival and the National Chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff of plotting to become PDP presidential candidate in 2019.

According to him, all Sheriff was doing was not about the party but his ambition in the next general election.

5. The death has been announced of Hajiya Aminatu Mai Babban Daki, the mother of the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumin Kabir Usman.

Secretary of Katsina Emirate Council and Sallama Katsina, Bello Mammam Ifo, who confirmed the news around 4.30 pm in Katsina, said the late Hajiya Daki passed away after a protracted illness.

6. The rescheduled supplementary election in Igbo Etche community in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State was marred with violence as hoodlums reportedly chopped off the hand of an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

An official said to be with the victim during the incident was reportedly taken hostage by the thugs and has not been rescued yet.

7. Some Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were Saturday arrested by Military officials at Etche Local Government Area of Rivers state where INEC held a supplementary rerun election.

The Chieftains were arrested along with more than 50 other armed youths in Ulakwo community in Etche. The Rivers‎ State Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Samuel Wonosike is among those arrested.

8. The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has explained why it chose to open its first embassy in Spain.

IPOB’s Head, Directorate of State, DOS, of IPOB, Uchenna Asiegbu said the choice of the country was because they would not betray Biafra like others did in the past.

9. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets on Saturday intercepted a group of Boko Haram terrorists moving in a Hilux vehicle mounted with anti-aircraft gun.

Air Force spokesman, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, in a statement said the armed vehicle was sighted at Talala in Northern Borno by an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft on patrol, which then called for strike by combat platform.

10. The acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has summoned the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris over the resurgence of violence in Southern Kaduna.

It was reported that Osinbanjo has demanded an explanation over the recent resurgence of violence that resulted in the death of 21 persons, despite the security measures and level of attention to the area.

President Muhammadu Buhari has spoken with Nigerians appreciating all the prayers and goodwill messages that have been extended to him.

The president who is on an extended vacation in the UK spoke with Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Wednesday, February 22 on phone where he thanked Nigerians for all the prayers.

Vanguard reports that the president spoke for about three minutes in vernacular with Governor Ganduje, while a prayer session was going on at the Government House in Kano.

When Ganduje inquired how he was doing, Buhari said “Alhamdulillah (all praise be to Allah)”.

The prayer session was broadcast live by local radio stations in Kano and Governor Ganduje told the President that Islamic scholars and Imams in Kano were praying for his speedy recovery.

Buhari replied: “Maa shaa Allah”, meaning, “God willed it.

He expressed the hope that Allah will accept the prayers and appreciated the efforts of the Islamic scholars who were praying on his behalf.

Ganduje said the president’s voice indicated that he was better and expressed hope that he will be well soon.

He said: “We prayed for Buhari to win and he won. It is now mandatory on us to rally round his government and pray for his wellbeing.”

Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday presided over a meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Rice and Wheat.

The parley was part of Federal Government’s efforts aimed at boosting food security.

In attendance were four state governors -Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa) and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi).

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Agricluture, Audu Ogbeh; and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, also attended.

Bagudu told State House correspondents that the meeting reviewed the government’s wheat programme.

He said, “This is the meeting of Presidential Task Force on Rice and Wheat and we reviewed the wheat programme and what we can do more to support states in order to increase production of wheat.

“We also want to ensure that our farmers who have responded to the call are supported in terms of getting good price for their output in order to sustain their interests.

“We reviewed where we are with rice production. The Acting President noted with satisfaction all the efforts be different stakeholders to attain sufficiency in the shortest possible time.

“The Acting President assured the meeting that the Federal Government will continue to support the drive towards self sufficiency in food security. He said the government, of necessity, will support the farmers, the millers and other stakeholders involved in the value change‎.”

He said farmers had responded and that about 32 states had showed readiness to increase production.

“I think we have done very well. We have remarkable increase in the number of states that have produced wheat from the last season.

“Last season, we had about five states but today we are hearing reports from about 11 states‎ and the increase in output per state is quite significant as well.

“So we believe that with sustained trajectory that we are seeing, we will be able to achieve our self-sufficiency”, he added

The Ali Modu-Sheriff faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday prayed for good health and return of President Muhammadu Buhari.

At an expanded South-west PDP Committee meeting in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun state, the faction said Nigeria needs Buhari “in order to continue his anti-corruption crusade”.

This is contained in the nine-point communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, read by the faction’s National Vice-Chairman, South-west, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe.

It acknowledged efforts of leaders to reposition the party and get PDP back to winning ways.

The communique said PDP remained the only alternative to the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government.

The communique urged members to prepare for the forthcoming elections in Ekiti and Osun States.

In his remark, Sheriff said he would continue to work for the progress of the party and return it to the grassroots.

Sheriff, who stated that he would not be provoked by the statement of Chairman of the PDP Strategy Review Committee, Prof. Jerry Gana, challenged him to go and contest election in his locality and win before he could talk to him about party administration and management.

In his keynote address, former Deputy Senate President, Alhaji Ibrahim Mantu, also the Deputy Chairman of PDP Reconciliation Committee, attributed the crisis rocking the party to lack of internal democracy, imposition of candidates and impunity.

Mantu said: “The national leadership is doing its very best to rebrand and reposition our party positively before the Nigerian public in readiness for 2019.

“In spite of the crack in the family, the leadership is moving steadily in the right direction; encouraging mass participation of members in the activities of the party, thereby giving them sense of belonging.

“All hands must be on deck to ensure total victory in the entire South-west and Nigeria in 2019. We must therefore not allow seeming differences affect our victory at the polls.

“Our detractors had expected the crack in the family to be the beginning of our end. Tell them that the lion was just sleeping in order to conserve more energy for 2019. No matter how much weight an elephant loses, it can never be compared to a cow”.

The meeting was attended by the Sheriff’s deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojuigbo; National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo; Senator Sam Anyanwu (Imo West), Senator Buruji Kashamu (Ogun East) and former FCT Minister, Mohammed Abba Gana.

Others included Senator Hosea Ehinlanwo, Hon. Adesegun Adekoya, Hon. Segun Odebunmi; Hon. Victor Akande, Hon. Bowale Solaja, former Presidential adviser, Ahmed Gulak and the leadership of the party from Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Lagos, Ondo and Ogun States.

Govt recovers N54.1 billion through whistleblowing policy
Nigeria is considering a new debt service provisioning of N361 billion ($1.2 billion) for the $1 billion (N305.1 billion) Eurobond which was acclaimed to have been over-subscribed.

When consummated, the development will not only add to the country’s debt stock, its current debt service provision at over N1.4 trillion will rise, and it will deepen the troubled debt-to-revenue ratio which has been impeding the country’s ability to freely finance growth projects.

Government had said its 15-year Eurobond offer was priced at 7.875 per cent, with a lump sum repayment of the principal ($1 billion) at the due date – February 2032.

The investors had opted for a higher yield to cover their assessed risks or devaluation in early negotiations, asking for a 7.5 per cent for a 10-year period or eight per cent and above for a 15-year period, due to foreign exchange crisis and other macroeconomic issues.
However, the aggregate cost for the deal at the offering rate may not be less than N361 billion at the prevailing official exchange rate, considering that investors would be paid in dollar, representing a yearly average cost of about N24.1 billion ($79 million).

A popular economist who would not want his name in print told The Guardian that the net proceeds of the Eurobond would naturally be less than the amount quoted due to service charges incurred in the process, “but we would be debited with $1 billion.”

“If you factor in these costs, you begin to ask whether we should have been here. It is irritating that in the midst of these challenges, misappropriation, huge governance cost and outright embezzlement of public fund still persist.

“The budget items of some ministries are clear fraud and these have put the country on an unsustainable path. What is there to celebrate about the Eurobond? Is it that we are now committing our young generations, even the unborn, to poverty and immediate struggle?” the economist queried.

But the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, in a statement, said: “Nigeria is implementing an ambitious economic reform agenda designed to deliver long-term sustainable growth and reduce reliance on oil and gas revenues while reducing waste and improving the efficiency of government expenditure.

“We are establishing the building blocks for long-term growth and making the hard decisions that must be made to reset our economy appropriately.”

The Director-General of Debt Management Office, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, also said: “Nigeria is delighted to have successfully priced its third Eurobond issue…The Eurobond is the latest step in a broader debt strategy designed to significantly re-balance our debt profile towards longer term financing and reduce the burden of interest on our annual budget.”

A director at Union Capital Markets Limited, Egie Akpata, said he was sure that the country would raise the amount and predicted an oversubscription earlier, but expressed worry on the pricing, which he said would have been a lot lower if the fundamentals did not get this bad.

“Eurobond is the easiest platform for international fund raising for the country now, because there is no string attached, unlike the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

“With the assurance that our daily oil earnings may be more or less this amount, it is not a ‘back breaking’ deal. But considering the exchange rate, local debts would be better off, as the total cost incurred would be less,” he said.

The Executive Director of Centre for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, Idris Miliki, said with the President’s absence, investors’ risk assessments would always be on the high side.

Besides, he said that both investors and those in acting capacity would approach with caution any economic decision now, because the truth about the head of government is shrouded in uncertainty and that is a risk for investment.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government’s whistleblower policy has so far led to the recovery of $151 million and N8billion in looted funds.

The government yesterday said it would not disclose the identities of the whistleblowers or make public when they would receive the 2.5 to 5 per cent reward promised.

If the whistleblowing policy is well managed, it will boost the fight against corruption so that the nation’s resources can be used to develop the country rather than allowing corrupt leaders to siphon them for use only by their families.

In an interview with The Guardian, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed assured that government would not renege on its promise, arguing that disclosing the identities of the whistleblowers or when they would be rewarded would jeopardise the entire programme.

“We cannot disclose to you when where or how the whistleblowers will be paid, the moment we do that, we have blown their cover and this will jeopardise the entire programme so we have to protect their identities. But nobody will receive anything below 2.5 per cent, there is no question about that,” he said.

The Federal Ministry of Finance in December 2016 devised a whistleblower policy aimed at encouraging anyone with information about a violation, misconduct or improper activity that impacts negatively on Nigerians and government.

The policy stipulated that “In order to encourage Nigerians to key into the whistleblowers’ scheme, if there is a voluntary return of stolen or concealed public funds or assets on the account of the information provided, the whistleblower may be entitled to anywhere between 2.5 per cent (minimum) and 5.0 per cent (maximum) of the total amount recovered.”
Reacting to the development, the lead Director, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere expressed reservations over the authenticity of government’s claim and demanded that it tells Nigerians where the recovered money would be deployed.

“They should tell us from who they recovered the money and where they want to deploy it. It’s quite difficult for anybody to believe, so he should tell us from who they recovered the money and what they want to do with it because it is a lot of money, you are talking of over N45 billion by the official exchange rate. He can claim anything, nobody is sure of what he is saying.”

NO fewer than 20 persons are feared dead in the renewed clash between the people of Oku Iboku in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State and Odukpani Local Government Area in Cross River State.

The people of Ikot Offiong, who are an Efik speaking tribe of Calabar, were said to have been dislodged from their settlement at Ayadehe community, Oku Iboku council, over the decades.

It was gathered that in the clash between the two communities which started Friday night, combatants from both communities used sophisticated weapons.

It was further gathered that the highest number of casualties was on the Ikot Offiong side, as they were allegedly ambushed in the attack and chased to a neighbouring community in Odukpani Local Government Area of the state.

It was learned that travellers along the major link road between the two states, the Calabar-Itu high way, were held hostage for hours on Saturday until soldiers arrived the scene and chased the hoodlums away and cleared the road for smooth movement of traffic.

An eyewitness bemoaned the actions of the people of Ikot Offiong and wondered why they should start another war after both communities had entered into a peaceful settlement since 2014.

The eyewitness who spoke to newsmen on grounds of anonymity, said that the recent attack which was the third in recent times, must have been sponsored, adding that both communities have no justifiable reason to kill each other because they inter-marry.

The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Cordelia Nwawe, confirmed the clash, but said the police was not in a position to speak on the casualty figure.

Meanwhile, on another front, community leaders in Obubra Local Government Area of Cross River State have told Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State to steer clear from the internal crisis of communities in Cross River State.

This is just as the member representing Obubra/Etung federal constituency of Cross River State, Mr Mike Etaba, has sued for peace among warring communities of Obubra so as to attract development to the area.

It will be recalled that about nine people were killed penultimate week and several houses destroyed in renewed skirmishes between Igbo speaking communities of Obubra, Ohanne Edda and their neighbouring Ogurube community while about 2,000 people are allegedly displaced.

A motor-cycle operator, Jonah Isangha, who was allegedly beheaded and his head allegedly used to perform the ritual rites for a chief in Ohanne Edda sparked off the crisis in the community.

Briefing newsmen in Abuja, weekend, one of the community leaders and former member of House of Representatives, Chief Ernest Irek, accused the Ebonyi State Government of interfering in the internal matters between communities in Cross River State.

He expressed surprise over the involvement and interest expressed by the Ebonyi State Government even when the communal crisis was between communities in Cross River State.

When contacted, the Commissioner of Police in Cross River State, Hafiz Mohammed, said he was not aware of the incident because he was only a week old in the state but promised to investigate.

But the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in Obubra, Noah Ntuen, confirmed the beheading in the area and said that the picture of the deceased was in his office.

He said, “If you want the picture of the deceased, it is in my office. The incident happened on January 10 and 11.  I was the one that removed the corpse. But I am  not aware if the blood was traced to anybody’s place. The situation is under control now.”

Ohanne Edda people trace their link to Ebonyi and speak the same language but the area was ceded to Cross River and named as returning communities by the Justice Nasir Boundary Adjustment Commission after the Nigeria/Biafra civil war.

Since securing political independence from Great Britain in October of 1960, Nigeria has consistently churned out political oppressors armed with the sole objective of raping the nation and its people to a state of nothingness. Nigerians, primary victims of this persistent grand scheme, have been overly malleable to challenge the atrocities of these villainous men and women.

The placid nature of Nigerians toward their political oppressors is not a deliberate choice by the people, it is a result of the defective orientation codified into our bloodstream soon after independence. This, for example, comes to life when a Nigerian looks another in the face and says:

“O boy, NEPA don try today o!”

The above is a typical reaction one elicits from a Nigerian after experiencing two or three hours of uninterrupted power supply. In Nigeria, such a duration of supply is a miracle because the people are used to only five to ten minutes of power supply in an entire week. This questionable commendation as seen above becomes necessary because the oppressors governing our country have told us, and we have gullibly agreed, too, that it is impossible for uninterrupted power supply to exist in our country. With such a damaging orientation embedded in our DNA, it is sometimes a herculean task to make some Nigerians see things differently.

However, the rising privation in the country resulting from the extreme mismanagement and pillaging of public resources by our elected oppressors has recently turned Nigerians into a questioning people. It started with the subsidy scandal in January of 2012. In fact, the public awareness and consciousness about the deceptive conduct of our political office holders is growing well and fast these days. It has acquired a broader shape and size with the woeful and disastrous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who rode to power on the back of ‘change’ and a well-publicised campaign against corruption. Curiously, not only has the Buhari government aborted the promise to wage an unrestrained war against corruption, the President and his accomplices have now produced what is obviously one of the most fraudulent government administrations Nigerians have had since 1960.

The recent demonstrations across the country indeed confirm that the expiration date placed on our collective foolishness and docility is approaching its last days. Although the crumbled administration of President Buhari may have arranged a counter-protest through an indoctrinated set of Nigerians who have equally been impoverished by the ineptitude and overly corrupt APC government and the successive ones, what this administration is yet to learn is that there is no force on earth capable of stopping a people who are ready to take charge of their destinies. And when a people have reached such a firm decision, they will move with one strong voice knowing that they have nothing to lose in their fight for justice and self-emancipation.

Now that we have realised that the goats we trusted with our yam barn have depleted and left the barn in a state of obliteration, there is a need for us to change the conversation from peaceful protests to organising a major revolution which should consume the oppressors. What is deducible is that the drums of peaceful protests are too weak to salvage the Nigerian ship from the path of perdition which the calamitous administration of Buhari has chosen to face.

At this time, oppressed Nigerians must begin and continue to mobilise for major mass action with a united mind until the country is fully rescued from the jaws of a vicious group of sharks threatening our collective existence on our own soil.

What invokes more vexation at this time in our grief-stricken history is just how the current administration of Muhammadu Buhari, in a desperate attempt to keep the people in check, has made spirited efforts to shut down unwavering media organisations and outspoken citizens who continue to question the anti-people policies of the administration and its endemic state of corruption. Sadly, President Buhari and members of his battalion are yet to realise that with the acute economic austerity they have imported into the land, the people have suddenly realised that there is dignity in speaking and marching on the streets than dying beneath their beds with sealed lips.

Indeed, the Nigerian revolution is ripe and the time for it is now. The oppressed must rise in their numbers to liberate their nation from the gaping abyss of shame and disaster.

In rounding off this treatise, I shall leave you with the words of American activist and preacher, Martin Luther King Jr. Hear him:

“Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals… Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.

No fewer than nine persons have been reportedly killed in a renewed communal clash between Azuofida-Edda and Ogurude communities of Ebonyi and Cross River states respectively.

The boundary dispute, which started last month, has claimed over 20 lives, with properties worth millions of naira destroyed.

General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division, Maj. Gen Adamu Abubarkar, who visited the warring communities, urged the aggrieved citizens to embrace peace.

Speaking at a meeting with traditional rulers and youths, the army boss pointed out the repercussion of allowing youths take laws into their hands and the necessity for forgiveness and peaceful coexistence.

He urged the traditional leaders, youths and elders of the communities to pardon one another and allow peace to reign, pending when the relevant authorities will conclude investigation into the matter and proffer solution.

“As humans, we must refrain from revenge, acting in anger and wanton destruction. This will certainly not bring solution to any problem, but will rather compound it. It appears these brotherly communities are now victims of this cyclical danger of violence and destruction,” General Abubakar said.

He told the traditional rulers that soldiers and policemen drafted in their communities would maintain and, where necessary, enforce peace and should be given all the cooperation.

Addressing the GOC, the traditional rulers revealed that over nine persons have been killed just last week in the melee.

No fewer than 11 million survivors of the destructive Boko Haram insurgents are in desperate need of humanitarian aids.

Mr Toby Lanzer, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, said this while Spotlighting the desperate plight of millions in Africa’s Lake Chad basin.

The top United Nations humanitarian official for the Sahel region also called for international solidarity with the people in urgent need.

Lanzer told UN Correspondents at the UN Headquarters in New York that the Boko Haram crisis did monumental destruction to the Lake Chad basin countries, which include Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.

The UN emergency official regretted that the condition of the victims of the insurgents was dire adding,
“I wish I had good news, but I don’t”.

“About 11 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, 7.1 million of them are severely food insecure.

“To say “food insecure”, according to World Food Programme, is that they are living on the edge, surviving on, if they can, one meal a day,” he said.

Lanzer added that among the situation of children is particularly worrying.

“Some 515,000 children are severely and acutely malnourished and their lives are at risk if aid does not reach them urgently.

“No government on earth can do what it takes to confront these numbers of severe food insecurity.

“This is a clear case where international solidarity with the governments of the region is needed,” he stressed.

According to him, the Sahel region already has about 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDP).

Lanzer said improving security situation in the Lake Chad Basin region had revealed the depth of the humanitarian suffering of survivors of the destructive insurgent group.

“The scale of humanitarian suffering in the region has become increasingly evident with improving security situation as a result of the military campaign against Boko Haram.

“This has allowed humanitarian actors to reach many places which were impossible to get to earlier due to insecurity.”

Lanzer regretted that following the improved security situation, he personally saw communities that were totally destroyed by Boko Haram insurgency during the period it held sway.

He also lamented over a situation whereby some communities saw some age-grades completely wiped out, particularly the aged and infants as a result of the years-long insurgency.

“We saw towns and villages that were totally destroyed.

“Places that were completely cut off for over three years and places devoid of two, three and four- year olds because they have died,” Lanzer said. (NAN)

As many as 236 people may have been killed in the botched Nigerian air strike against Boko Haram that hit a camp for civilians displaced by the unrest, a local official said on Saturday. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) on Friday had said the death toll from Tuesday’s strike on the town of Rann in the far northeast had risen to 90, although it claimed that could climb as high as 170. But Babagana Malarima, president of the local Kala-Balge government in Borno State where the strike took place, claimed the death toll is much higher. “From what the people who buried the dead victims with their hands told me, not those who treated the wounded, they buried 234 dead,” said Malarima on Saturday. “And I later got a report that two of the injured taken to Maiduguri died.” The bombed camp had been set up to help people fleeing Boko Haram Islamists in Borno State. Nigeria’s air force said it was investigating the incident but military commanders had already claimed it was a mistake. “Our people are really traumatised that a fighter jet belonging to their country can make this mistake and kill them the way it did in their own country,” fumed Malarima. “Lives and property have been lost. It is not enough to just bury the dead and pray for their souls. Their families should be supported as is done in other countries. They should not be forgotten. An man injured during the accidental airstrike recovers in the Menís Ward at the Maiduguri State Specialist Hospital on January 18, 2017. At least 70 people have died in an Internally Displace Camp in Borno State from an accidental military airstrike on January 17, 2017, intended to target Boko Haram militants in Rann, in north-eastern Nigeria. / AFP PHOTO / “The death toll is colossal. We are in grief.” Tuesday’s strike happened while humanitarian workers were distributing food in Rann, a small town close to the Cameroon border where some 20,000 to 40,000 people had sought refuge. MSF said most of the victims were women and children. At least six Red Cross volunteers were amongst the dead with another 13 injured. Rann only recently became accessible to aid agencies because of improved security. But on Thursday night, security forces said Boko Haram launched an attack on Rann that was repulsed, leaving at least 14 militants dead. Nigeria’s chief of army staff Lieutenant-General Tukur Buraitai said on Friday while visiting Rann that Thursday’s attack showed the military were acting on credible intel. “This incident happened in the midst of a civilian population and it was based on intelligence received that Boko Haram had moved into the area,” said Buraitai. “The air force was briefed and they came and the incident happened. “And yesterday we received a report that Boko Haram were back. Soldiers repelled them.” Buraitai added: “This shows that there is credibility in the intelligence report we received that these people (Boko Haram) are moving into Kala-Balge area. “A mistake was made. We pray it doesn’t happen again.” At least 20,000 have been killed and more than 2.6 million made homeless since Boko Haram Islamists’ insurgency began in 2009.

The most popular Ponzi scheme in Nigeria, MMM Nigeria, is preparing to resume operations after freezing the accounts of its particiP@nts in mid-December.

The scheme, via its website, asked particiP@nts, whose accounts were frozen, to perform “Promo Tasks: A New Tool for MMM Community Development”.

The tasks, which would be done both online and offline, is expected to promote the scheme and drive “traffic and participation” by the time the handlers lift the freeze on January 13, 2017.

In a statement on it website, the handlers said: “Being an MMM member implies not only opportunities, but also a responsibility for the state and development of the MMM Community. MMM is our home, and we are responsible to build and refine it. “A lot of particiP@nts genuinely want to promote MMM, spread its ideology amongst people, though not always knowing what exactly has to be done. Therefore we have created a new PromoTasks section in the PO, which is added with various tasks: online and offline, easy and complicated, individual and team-oriented

MMM NIgeria promo task

“A member who will perform these tasks will be benefited, because the tasks will allow him to attract new referrals, build his structure (and get bonuses for that), and it will be useful the whole Community, because more people will learn about MMM and its ideology.”

MMM NIgeria promo task “A member who will perform these tasks will be benefited, because the tasks will allow him to attract new referrals, build his structure (and get bonuses for that), and it will be useful the whole Community, because more people will learn about MMM and its ideology.”

MMM Nigeria handlers also said via the statement that a “task may guide a member to join a Facebook group and write a comment to create some tweets on Twitter, like a YouTube video, share news on Google Plus, and make your website”

“There are also offline tasks: conducting home sharings, cafe meetings, organizing MavroPicnics, MavroParties or MavroGames,” it said. “Doing the tasks you contribute to the Community’s progress.
Thanks to you and other members doing the tasks, MMM gains more popularity in social media and gets more registrations and PHs.

MMM needs you and depends on your activity! “It is obvious that the activity of MMM Nigeria members is growing. MMM is very proud of its members who are becoming kinder and more responsible. By our efforts, MMM Nigeria will overcome!”

The Nigerian government has awarded contract for the construction of a mental health clinic in each of the Senatorial Districts in the South East geo-political zone.

The clinic will stimulate fast recovery of psychiatric and mentally derailed patients.

A Medical Director in the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Enugu (FNHE), Dr. Jojo Onwukwe, made the statement during a sensitisation programme and inaugural zonal meeting of community mental health project officers.

The meeting was held in Owerri, the Imo state capital in south east Nigeria, and it had officers from the South East zone in attendance.

Dr. Onwukwe revealed that records showed that over 9,000 psychiatric patients were recorded in the institution within the last five years and about 2,000 patients were brought to the facility annually for treatment.

He noted that it would be more cost effective and easy to adapt the environment and reduce stress if patients were brought to a health facility that was closer to them.

“We looked at the disadvantages of crowding patients in a hospital. It takes them at least two weeks for them to adapt the new system in the hospital. But when they are treated in a mental health facility closer to them, it makes them feel they are still within their immediate environment.

“Research findings show that those treated within their immediate communities recover faster than those taken to a far place. It is now global issue to decentralise the mental health facilities than to have one central place that cannot afford the patients recover faster,” he stated.

According to Dr. Onwukwe, the zonal meetings were divided into two prone stages: advocacy and awareness, and construction of mental health clinics attached to Primary Health Centre (PHCs) in the south-east.

He maintained that the advocacy and awareness angle became necessary in order to draw attention to effort of the Federal Government towards handling cases of mental health issues while construction of facilities had already taken off which was entirely done by the Federal Government.

In his remarks, the Consultant for the Mental Advocacy and Awareness Programme, Dr. Ejike Oji, said that the prevalence of mental health was reported at 20 per cent.

Dr. Oji pointed out that one facility was equal to 1.4 million patients compared with its equivalent figure in Europe which stands at one facility to 1,000 patients.

He observed that the demand created the need for more and closer mental health facilities, emphasising that it would ensure awareness for mental health services. The doctor also told reporters that the FNHE felt everyone should have access to quality health care.

The mental health facilities are expected to be have been completed before the end of 2017.

Rivers State Government has expressed sadness at the decision of the Nigeria Police to dismiss six police officers attached to governor Nyesom Wike.

Dr Austin Tam-George, Commissioner for Information and Communication, in a statement, said the police officers were subjected to a secret and unfair trial, on totally fictitious charges of professional misconduct, during the rerun elections in Rivers State on the 10th of December 2016.

“This is a tragic day for professionalism and the respect for human rights in the Nigeria police force,” it reads.

“The dismissed officers committed no crime, other than foil a carefully orchestrated electoral heist by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in collusion with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Nigeria Police force.

“The claim by the Police that the affected officers misused their firearms while in the convoy of governor Wike on the 10th of December 2016, is a wrong and cruel fabrication.

“Governor Wike did not depart from his official premises on the day of the election, and therefore had no use for an armed convoy.

“Two days after the elections, on the 12th of December 2016, thousands of Rivers people, led by Governor Wike, resisted an invasion by the police on the premises of the Port Harcourt City Local Government Council premises, in a brazen attempt to rig the elections in favour of the APC.

“The Port Harcourt City Council was the Election Collation Centre for the Rivers East Senatorial District.

“Throughout the period of the stand off between the invading police officers and the thousands of citizens who resisted them, governor Wike and the officers around him conducted themselves with utmost restraint.

“The dismissed officers are therefore the latest victims of the medieval dictatorship of the APC government. A government that seems to lurch blindly in the miasma of its own incompetence and intolerance. .

“We urge Nigerians to demand the immediate reinstatement of these officers, and for the Inspector General of Police to allow an independent inquiry.

“The APC government has never hidden its desperation to overrun Rivers State, ‘colonize” its people and loot the treasury of the State. But the Rivers people will continue to resist all attempts to enslave them”, he stated

The leadership battle in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) resumed yesterday as Senator Ahmed Makarfi and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff disagreed over the immediate reopening of the party’s national secretariat which has been under lock and key since June last year.

But Sheriff’s camp has called for patience over the clamour for the reopening of the secretariat.

While both camps have been operating from separate secretariats, staff of the party had on Tuesday called on the police to immediately unlock the party secretariat. They also appealed to the judiciary to speedily give judgement in the legal tussle surrounding the leadership of the party.

Spokesman of Sheriff’s faction, Bernard Mikko, told LEADERSHIP that “party faithful, secretarial staff and supporters should be patient as the leadership crisis leading to invitation of Fulani herdsmen by some members of staff to violently subvert the law is resolved.”

But on his part, the spokesman of Makarfi’s camp commended the staff over their position in the matter.

He said: “It is our firm belief that keeping the PDP national secretariat locked since June 2016 till date is ochestrated by the ruling party to decimate and silence our Party from providing viable opposition.

“The gross incompetence of the All Progressive Congress (APC) to deliver on its campaign promises to Nigerians has pitched it against the progress of the PDP.

“This is shameful, inexplicable and unfortunate as the PDP, in 16 years, did not interfere with internal affairs of opposition political parties or use instruments of state to shut down their secretariats due to internal crisis or for anything whatsoever. We allowed all parties in the country to strive and stabilise our democracy for which the APC is the primary beneficiary of in the 2015 general elections.

“We demand, as a matter of urgency, the unconditional reopening of the national secretariat of the PDP to allow staff access into their offices to carry out the duties of holding the government in power accountable.”

He warned that the harassment and intimidation of the opposition in Nigeria by the APC-led administration portends grave danger for democracy in the country and lauded the judiciary for defending the rule of law.

“We again commend the Nigerian judiciary for its effort to actualise the principles of separation of powers, which is the main pillar of democracy, and therefore urge the courts to keep up the good work by maintaining independence on all matters brought before it.

“In the same vien, we pray the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State to deliver the reserved judgment on the party’s leadership issues pending before it to allow the PDP concentrate on its rebuilding process and to provide alternative governance in the country. There is no gainsaying that any democracy without a viable opposition is considered a dictatorship, unstable, unhealthy and recipe for anarchy.

“We also urge the National Judicial Council (NJC) to urgently do the needful in respect of the petition submitted against the Special Appeal Panel of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.”

According to him, the current petition, like the two previous ones, is another delay tactics the Sheriff faction had devised to frustrate PDP membership nationwide

In spite of the cloud of doubts surrounding its operations in Nigeria, the promoters of Mavrodi Moneybox Mundial (MMM), a Ponzi scheme that promises 30% interest on seed funds say the scheme would resume on January 14 as promised.

“Everyone expecting to see a stronger and more sustainable community from 14th January,” MMM Nigeria tweeted on Wednesday.

The scheme in a message sent to all subscribers in December 2016 said it was freezing withdrawal of confirmed Mavros (funds) for one month, noting that the measure was put in place because “the System is experiencing heavy workload.”

While critics believed the scheme was gone for good, participants and promoters said their belief in the system was unwavering. New rules for participants are expected to come into effect on January 14 to ensure its sustainability, the promoters explained.
“New model will address the issues of fake proof of payment and non-confirmation of order by recipients,” said MMM Nigeria.

“On the issue of fighting multiple accounts, the use of BVN was suggested which was unanimously rejected. Head of CRO, Mr Andrew attested that BVN can only be verified by Nigerian banks, so there is no way support can verify BVN.