How I survived Ebola – Late nurse' fiance, Dennis Akagha speaks

On his relationship with the late Justina, Dennis said;
"The  truth is that Justina and I were not legally married, we were planning for our traditional marriage in October and she just got this job. She was a qualified graduate nurse and got the job at the First Consultant Hospital in Lagos. She resumed duty at the hospital on the 21st of July, while Patrick Sawyer was admitted at the hospital on the 20th. He was her first patient. She was one of the nurses that nursed him. She was pregnant and so her immune system was weak, which made it easy for her to contract the disease. On that first day which was a Monday, she was having some pregnancy symptoms, but I just encouraged her to go because it was her first day at work. Sawyer was her first patient. The next day, Tuesday, she didn’t work on Sawyer. Wednesday and Thursday, she was off. Then on Friday, Patrick Sawyer died. They didn’t know he had Ebola, it was three days later that they realized it was Ebola" he said
On how he found out she had contracted the deadly virus, he said
"It was after Sawyer died that she told me she nursed him but that she was on gloves. She even thanked God that she didn’t have direct contact with him. The fever continued and we thought it was just pregnancy symptoms and even when she went to her hospital, they confirmed the same thing. She took drugs and ran tests, yet it persisted. At night, she was usually cold and feverish and her body temperature was usually very high. At a point, I began to suspect that she had contacted the virus. I did some research on the disease and realised that she was having similar symptoms. On the 14th of August, it became serious, she started stooling and vomiting. I had to clean up everything. All of a sudden, she started bleeding and she started crying that she had lost the pregnancy. I had to call her relatives and other people. The bleeding persisted and I had to clean up everything. Initially I was not wearing gloves because I felt I had already been exposed to the virus. But later I cautioned myself and started wearing nylon on my hands. But I couldn’t stay away from her. I kept consoling her. Even when I took her to the hospital, she wanted to hold me and I told her to also consider my safety. She managed to hold herself and was able to find her way out in a pool of her blood. We chartered a taxi to the hospital, but first, I took her to First Consultant Hospital because I felt they should know more. When we got there, I was directed to IGH, Yaba. I told the taxi driver to take us there. The driver wasn’t even aware of what was going on as he took us to Yaba.  Justina was on the floor for 30 minutes before she was attended to. She was screaming that she was going to die. She was seriously bleeding, she had to come out of the taxi and lay on the floor. I ran around, trying to get doctors to attend to her. After everything, they took her in, took her blood samples and the following day, the result came out that it was Ebola. They washed the taxi with chlorine and also bathed the taxi driver and I with chlorine spray. At that point, the taxi driver knew what was going on, he couldn’t even take me home because he was so scared. I had to look for somewhere to pass the night in the hospital. Early the next morning, I left the Hospital. The taxi driver is alive today, nothing happened to him. We have been checking on him and the last time we spoke he told me, he was fine" he said.
On what happened after he was exposed to the virus, Dennis said;
"14 days after I was exposed to Ebola, my temperature rose from the usual 35.2 degrees centigrade to 37.2. The Lagos State government gave me a thermometer the day I dropped Justina off at the centre. It took them two straight weeks to visit my home and to disinfect it. Before they came, I had already done the much I could do. I used bleach and detergent to clean the whole house, furniture and clothes inclusive. We should be reminded and educated that a healthy person with Ebola virus cannot get anybody infected, except if the person is sick and totally down with the virus like what happened to Sawyer and to my late wife-to-be, Justina. I contacted the virus because Justina was very sick and I was taking care of her without any appropriate protection. When we knew what we were dealing with it was almost too late for me as I had already contacted the virus" he said.
On what was done for him after his visit to the Isolation centre, Dennis said
"The Lagos State government sent health professionals to check on me regularly to know how l was doing or if l had the signs of the virus manifesting. So they used to come around to check on me. At some point they created scenes with their visits. I was embarrassed and I was stigmatized. I complained severely to them that I didn’t like what they were doing. Then, one Saturday they visited again, I complained about the pains I was beginning to experience; excruciating pains around my waist. I started praying and asking people to pray for me. Before this time, I believed in the Holy Communion, so I usually take it daily and do feet washing. I was going to the hospital daily to see late Justina. Initially, I was seeing her through the window and she would say I should take her out of the hospital. She complained of lack of care. Perhaps, Justina would have survived the virus, if not for the state she was in. Her immune system was down because she was pregnant. Along the line, she had a miscarriage and lost the baby due to the Ebola virus disease. The doctors, who were supposed to do an evacuation on her couldn’t do it because they claimed that an evacuation was too risky as she was heavily infected and may pass on the virus to another person. Since nothing was done even after the bleeding had stopped, it led to more complications for her because the already dead foetus somehow got rotten in the womb and started a damaging process which led to further complication. Meanwhile, she was still stooling and vomiting and since nobody could dare to touch her, she was left on top of her excretions even when she couldn’t do much for herself due to her weak state. She was given her incisions and other drugs. I believe if some people survived Justina should have been one of them. At a point, I wished I was a doctor myself; I would have taken the risk of doing the evacuation because it really affected her".
On the last day he say his late fiancee, Dennis said
"The last day I saw her, I had to go inside the ward because she was so unkempt as nobody attended to her. At that time, the quarantined patients were in the former facility where there was no water and she had messed up herself again. I had to look for water to clean her up, change her pampers and arrange her bedding. Since I was aware of what I was dealing with, I got myself protected while cleaning up the place. I made sure she looked better than when I saw her. Justina was shivering the last day I saw her, one side of her stomach was already swollen, and her legs were also swollen. I prayed for her.At a point, she needed oxygen and the hospital couldn’t provide it. Her friends had to provide it. That was the last day I saw her. On Sunday Morning, I called her line like I usually did before visiting her, but she didn’t pick her calls. When I got to the hospital, I was told that she was dead".
Asked if late Justina was taking his calls while she was at the Isolation center, Dennis said;
"Yes, in fact she called me that last day and I knew she was going to give up, because she was saying some funny things. She said I should tell my people to go and meet her father so as to finalize our marriage plans, that she’s leaving that place.
Asked if he was not scared that he would die form the illness seeing that his Fiancees health was deteriorating, Dennis said;
"I personally don’t believe in taking medications. I had the mentality that I wasn’t sick. I told the government what I was experiencing. On the day they came to pick me up for treatment, all of a sudden, my temperature went back to normal. The shivering and pains were all gone. So they decided that they would be checking on me. But it got to a point people stopped selling things to me. It was as if the government got a report that I shouldn’t be around. So, they came and said I should go with them that they wanted to take my blood sample. I went with them and they took my blood sample, I was kept in a ward known as the ‘suspected ward. The result came out and it was positive. I was then taken to a confined ward. One of the doctors from UNICEF, a white lady told me that they were having issues with the results and that they would have to re-run the tests. They did the tests again and it was still positive. I told them that it wasn’t my result and that I was healthy. I was even doing my usual exercises (press-ups) every morning. I kept telling them that I wasn’t sick. They took my blood sample the third time. That night, they told me that I tested negative in the last result and that I don’t have any reason to remain there. That was how I was discharged" he said
Speaking on what was hapening to his job as he was under isolation, Dennis said;
"I was a marketer in an oil and gas company. I worked on commission basis, but at a point, I realized that people were not calling me and when I called they won’t pick my calls. Even the person that I report directly refused to pick my calls and also refused to associate with me. Justina and I just got our jobs, she got hers at First Consultant Hospital and I got mine as a marketer with the oil and gas company.
On whether the government or First Consultant Hospital owes late Justina's family  some form of compensations, Dennis said;
"Although, no amount of money they give to the family will bring her back I think the government owes Justina’s family a lot because she died trying to save a situation. Justina died in active service as her death wasn’t natural".
On how his status changed from postive to negative, Dennis said
"I was reading a book on healing and taking of the Holy Communion. So I learnt to take Holy Communion morning, afternoon and night. I also engaged myself in feet-washing every day before going to bed. The Almighty God saved me; the Holy Spirit healed me. It wasn’t as though l didn’t fall sick as l had direct contact with Justina but the Almighty God healed me. When I was discharged, I got to my house on Saturday evening and spent two hours the next day, Sunday, thanking God on my own. I didn’t go to church or anywhere because of the already established stigma but today I can confidently attend church activities because I guess they all know I’m free now. I know my faith and belief healed me. God also worked for me apart from the fact that my immune system is also working. I believe I got healed also because friends prayed for me" he said.

US military mission in Iraq costs $7.5 million a day

The US military’s bombing raids and other operations in Iraq cost about $7.5 million a day, the Pentagon said Friday.

Since Islamic State (IS) militants seized territory in northern and western Iraq in June, President Barack Obama has deployed about 865 US troops to Iraq to bolster security for American diplomats and advise Baghdad government forces fighting the extremists.

Both manned and unmanned US aircraft have flown surveillance flights to track IS jihadists and since August 8, American warplanes have carried out more than 100 air strikes against the militants — most of them around the strategic Mosul dam in the north.

The price tag of the US military mission dating back to mid-June has “averaged $7.5 million a day,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters.

But the cost has varied day to day and “as our activities have intensified, so, too, has the cost,” Kirby said.

The operation was covered under the “overseas contingency operations fund,” Kirby said. The contingency fund is a separate budget from the annual US defense budget purportedly set up to cover war-related costs.

The contingency fund was created in 2003 after the US-led invasion of Iraq and critics say it is a way of hiding the costs of war or other military spending.

Of the more than 800 US troops now in Iraq, nearly 300 are working as advisers to Iraqi security forces.

Four more air strikes were carried out in the past 24 hours against IS militants near the Mosul dam, US Central Command said in a statement Friday.

American warplanes hit four IS “armed vehicles,” damaged another and destroyed three “support vehicles,” it said.

F/A-18 fighter jets based on a US aircraft carrier in the Gulf, the George H.W. Bush, have been taking part in the air attacks.

The Pentagon said last week that Kurdish and Iraqi government forces seized back control of the dam from the IS extremists, following a wave of US air raids.

But the US bombing runs around the dam have continued.

Kirby said the air strikes were needed because IS militants continued to launch attacks to try to retake the dam.

AFP

Late doctor knew diplomat had Ebola virus – Govt

The Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Samson Parker, says the late Dr. Samuel Enemou, who treated Olu Koye, a Nigerian diplomat with the Economic Community of West African States, was aware that the diplomat was a carrier of the deadly Ebola virus.

The commissioner stated this during a press conference in Port Harcourt on Friday evening.

Parker said, “He had received the late Dr. Patrick Sawyer in Lagos. Upon developing the symptom, confided in a female colleague, called Lilian, who contacted the late Enemuo. It was after contact was established with Dr. Enemuo that Olu Koye flew to Port Harcourt to see him.

“To conceal his movement, Koye, who had been quarantined among other people for having primary contact with the late Dr. Sawyer, the Liberian-American who transmuted the Ebola virus into Nigeria, sneaked out of the isolation unit where he was being observed and took a flight to Port Harcourt and switched off his phone so that he could not be reached or traced should he answer a call.”

On arrival in Port Harcourt, he said Koye checked into Mandate Gardens, a local hotel in the Rumunokoro area in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.

The hotel is within the Rumunokoro area where Dr. Enemuo’s private health facility, Sam Steel Clinic is located.

Parker added, “From what we have gathered so far, Dr. Enemuo, knowing that Koye was positive of the Ebola virus took some measures of precaution to protect himself while treating Koye.

“Knowing the enormity of what he was doing, Enemuo upon Koye’s departure for Lagos, poured bleach all over the room that Koye slept in order to sanitise the place.”

He said the deceased, after having developed the symptom, approached a colleague for treatment at Good Heart Hospital along Evo Road in G.R.A.

He said Enemuo did not tell the doctor that was treating him the truth, stressing that he merely told him that he had fever.

Parker said, “He lied. He did not tell the doctor that was treating him his full story. But the doctor, a nice and conscientious professional, suspected that Enemuo was either hiding something or was suffering from a strange ailment because he proved negative to malaria, fever and typhoid fever.

“To be sure of what he was doing, he spoke to other very experienced doctors about the strange case he was handling in his hospital.”

The commissioner said the doctor treating Enemuo even invited some his colleagues to come over to his hospital to study Enemuo’s medical history.

He said because the news of the Ebola virus was all everywhere, those he called were afraid to honour the invitation.

Parker added that none of them showed up at the hospital where Enemuo was being treated, stressing that Enemuo’s condition continued to deteriorate until he died after which body was taken to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.

FG Recalls 16,000 Sacked Resident Doctors, Lifts Suspension on Residency Training

The Federal Government has lifted the suspension of Residency Training Programme in all federal hospitals with effect from Thursday, while the ongoing appraisal of the programme continues.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the Minister of Health, Dan Nwomeh.
The federal government has also reinstated all resident doctors sacked as a result of the suspension of the training programme.
The doctors’ reinstatement also took effect from Thursday.
“Accordingly, all Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors of the training centres are directed to issue letters of reinstatement to all the resident doctors to enable them resume work immediately.
“The Federal Government urges the resident doctors to see the magnanimity of government in reinstating them as a goodwill gesture to engender greater commitment and dedication to their duties,” the statement said.

Oyakhilome’s wife, Anita, files for divorce

The wife of the founder, Believers’ LoveWorld Incorporated, popularly known as Christ Embassy, Anita Oyakhilome, has reportedly filed for dissolution of the marriage between her and her pastor husband, Chris Oyakhilome, on the grounds of “unreasonable behaviour” and “adultery.”

According to an online newspaper, The Cable, the divorce case, with Suit No FD14D01650, was filed on April 9, 2014 at Divorce Section A, Central Family Court, First Avenue House, High Holborn, London, the United Kingdom, on Anita’s behalf by Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors, a firm with expertise in commercial law, family, wills and estate, personal injury and medical negligence.

It was also reported that efforts to reconcile the couple, whose church is one of the biggest denominations in Nigeria with branches all over world, have failed. They have two teenage daughters, Sharon and Charlyn. Oyakhilome is the president of Believers’ Love World Inc, the registered name of the Christian ministry, while his wife is the vice-president.

However, according to an elder of the church, Chris Oyakhilome has denied allegations of adultery and believes his wife is being influenced by “bad friends” who are intent on destroying their home. While Anita believes she has been relegated in the scheme of things in the church, her husband has reportedly accused her of trying to usurp power and authority above her seniors in the ministry.

Some sources said the pastor had been making efforts to avoid divorce in the hope that the wife would eventually have a change of mind. However, it was reported that the decree nisi was served on the charismatic pastor in his hotel room during a recent visit to the UK.

Decree nisi, in legal terms, is like a yellow card in a football match which is a precursor to a red card (“decree absolute”) if no new evidence is provided to stall proceedings.

Church insiders said Oyakhilome had been hoping for rapprochement, but he was left with no option than to receive the papers when the lawyers cornered him at his hotel in London.

The decree absolute, which will effectively end the marriage, is expected to be issued soon while the terms of the divorce will be worked out by the lawyers on both sides.

A London spokesperson who refused to tell her name and who spoke with our correspondent on the phone said she was not aware of the situation.

She said, “I am not aware of this but I will transfer your call to someone who could speak on the matter. I don’t have any information on this.”

After a few minutes of holding, she told our correspondent she could not get the person who could speak on such issues.

Likewise, a spokesperson of the church in Nigeria, who simply identified himself as Pastor Rich, said “I cannot confirm this. Meanwhile, you can send your enquiry via text message and it will be forwarded to the right department. We are going to respond to this at the right time.”

Adamawa: How Jonathan, Mu’azu saved Ribadu

President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu were instrumental to the granting of waiver to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu by the PDP in Abuja on Friday, Saturday PUNCH has learnt.

With this, Ribadu is cleared to take part in the party’s September 6 governorship primary in Adamawa State if he and others are cleared by the screening panel on Saturday (today).

Also cleared to face the panel are Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd.) and Mr. Marcus Gundiri, who also applied for the waiver.

The President and Mu’azu’s intervention was sequel to the plan by majority members of the National Working Committee of the party not to grant waiver to Ribadu, who just joined the party barely a week ago from the All Progressives Congress.

Investigations by our correspondent however showed that majority of the NWC members were favourably disposed to granting waiver to Marwa and Gundiri.

When the case was presented to the President on Wednesday and Thursday, he was said to have bought the argument that if the party’s leadership did not want waiver, there wouldn’t have been any reason to insert it in the PDP constitution.

Besides, it was also agreed at the meeting that the disqualification of Ribadu and others could send wrong signals to other people in the opposition party who might be planning to defect to the ruling party soon.

It was said that the meetings agreed that the disqualification would mean that the doors of the party had been closed against such people.

A source at the two meetings said that while the President did not direct them to grant waivers to those who applied, he was said to have tactically asked them to follow the party’s constitution in their decision.

Section 50 (9) of the PDP constitution says, “There shall be a minimum of two- year membership span for a member to be eligible to stand for election into any public office, unless the appropriate executive committee gives a waiver or rules to the contrary.”

With this, it was said to have been difficult for the NWC members who were hitherto divided on the issue, not to grant Ribadu the much-needed waiver.

A source, who was at the meeting said, “The President did not direct us to give the waiver, but he said we should follow the constitution. In that case, what do we do? We have to read the President’s body language even though he is not in any way favouring anyone.”

Apart from this, he said the President also said the NWC members should allow the most popular candidate to emerge at the primary, citing the case of Ekiti State where he said he refused to anoint any candidate to the amazement of some of those who contested the governorship primary of the party in the state.

Before granting the waiver, the members of the NWC met again in Abuja on Friday where they considered the report of a committee set up to examine the issue. The committee was headed by the National Organising Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha. The committee was set up because of the inability of the members of the NWC to agree on the waiver, an action that also stalled the planned screening of the 14 aspirants which was originally scheduled for Thursday.

Briefing journalists after the Friday meeting, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said all the members of the NWC unanimously cleared all aspirants who expressed interest in contesting in the primary.

He said, “After very careful and thorough consideration of all applications and the report of the Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha-led Adamawa State PDP Governorship Waiver Committee, the NWC was satisfied that all the aspirants met the requirements stipulated by the PDP constitution to participate in the process.

“Consequently, waiver has been granted to General Buba Marwa, Engr. Marcus Gundiri and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu to take part in the exercise.”

Ebola: 160 placed under observation in Rivers

Following the death of an Ebola victim in Port Harcourt, Rivers State during the week, at least 160 persons that made contact with the victim have been identified and put under observation.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Sampson Parker, stated at a news conference at the state’s secretariat in Port Harcourt on Friday that the people had shown no signs of the Ebola disease.

He, however, said that the people were strictly under watch.

The commissioner added that the baby of the widow of the late health worker, who has since been quarantined, was in good health.

While dispelling rumours that the state was not working with the Federal Government in tackling the spread of the disease, Parker said, “Rivers State now has a mobile testing unit for testing blood samples for the virus. A national Ebola response team has been set up and headed by the Minister of Health, Professor Oyenbuchi Chukwu.”

He also stated that all places identified to have been visited by the late victim after he met with an ECOWAS diplomat, Oluibukun Koye, were being decontaminated as part of measures to contain the spread of the disease.

The late doctor’s residence, the Green Heart hospital, where he was treated and the morgue where his body was kept, were part of the places being decontaminated.

Meanwhile, there was panic in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital in Cross River State over a suspected Ebola case on Friday.

The scare was intensified when a member of the National Conference from the state, Mr. Orok Duke, took to his Facebook page to spread the information.

Duke said an Ebola patient arrived from Port Harcourt and had been quarantined.

But the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Thomas Agan, expressed shock over the situation while describing Duke’s claim as unfounded.

In a text message sent to one of our correspondents, he said, “I am shocked that someone of your status will post an unfounded story on Facebook to misinform not only Nigerians but the world at large! You know the implications are far reaching!

“Please be informed that there is no case of Ebola both in UCTH and General Hospital, Calabar. I will advise you to retract what you have posted immediately Sir!”

The state Commissioner for Health, Angela Oyo-Ita, said it was not true that an Ebola patient was quarantined at UCTH.

She said, “It is absolutely false. Whoever is bringing that up does not mean well for the state. A sick patient came in and people ran away. I received a call and acted on it; so they got back to me and said the person tested HIV positive. The person came from Port Harcourt.

“It is not true that people have been quarantined in the hospital. The patient has been tested for HIV and not Ebola.”

The Ebola Virus Disease has killed five persons in Nigeria, with five of the deaths occurring in Lagos State, where the first case of the disease was recorded.

Since the outbreak of the disease in West Africa, at least 1,500 deaths have been recorded.

‘How Akunyili dropped her US green card for Nigeria’s passport’

Dr. Chike Akunyili, husband of former Information minister, Professor Dora Akinyuli has disclosed how her late wife who won the American lottery dropped her US green card at the immigration post when she was asked to choose to be either a US citizen or a Nigerian.
Akunyili spoke at the Requiem Mass in his wife’s honour at the Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro Cathedral Catholic Church, Abuja.
This action, he said, demonstrated her true love for her country both in words and in deeds.
“We went to Florida, and there at the immigration, they told her look you are an American citizen (because she won the lottery and that was what favoured us). And here you are you have a Nigerian diplomatic passport, you must surrender one. She used her left hand to drop her green card and retained her diplomatic passport. So you can see the level of her love for this country.”
He thanked President Jonathan and his wife for the comfort they offered him in his moment of grief, stressing that the special valedictory session by the Federal Executive Council also consoled him.
He said: “When Dora died I saw the special FEC session in her honour, that helped me in my grief. When I also had the opportunity to meet the President in his office,, he held my hands and comforted with kind words, he said “give me any date for Dora, I will be there and today he is here”.
“Once in her local government, they brought a trailer load of fertilisers, what did Dorathy do? She shared all to the community. They told her that this was not how it is done and she said, this is how it will be done”.
“Even as a professor if you see her in the home, she will hold water for me to wash my hand. And I will tell her, mummy you are a professor and she will say, I married Nkem before I became a professor”.
He went on: “One day we went for medical check up and we found a lump at her lower abdomen. Doctors said she had seven months. But she said you are not the husband I married, you are always dejected what happened? And I told her that the doctors said she had seven months to live. She said doctors have spoken, God has not spoken, seven months became two years and three months.”
“I want to thank our children, they were always there contributing what they could. We had contact with all the best medical doctors in the world because three of her children are doctors in US.”
“Dora had a message for this country it was a message of love, courage and steadfastness. Even when she was in pain she still attended the national conference. You all heard what she said at the conference that ‘a country grow great when old men plant trees, whose shade they will not live to enjoy.”
“She told me I will serve this country with the last drop of my blood. Many did not want her to go because of her health, she said she will go to the conference. She said Nigeria first and me second,” he said.
The First Reading was taken by one of her daughters while one of her sons took the Second Reading.
Prayers were said for her and her family, for the sick, among others.
Notable personalities at the ceremony were First Lady, Patience Jonathan, Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, members of National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council, Chief Edwin Clark, Andy Uba, Stella Okoli, former ministers, Pauline Tallen.

From Our News Desk -27th August, 2014

UPDATES: Ebola: FG orders schools to resume Oct 13. I am no longer a member of APC —Ikimi. Nigeria’s oldest Pastor, Samuel Sadela, dies at 114. Enugu lawmakers impeach deputy gov for rearing chickens. PDP governors plot against Ribadu. Three dead in UN helicopter crash in S’Sudan. 252 arrested during Notting Hill Carnival. British Ebola patient treated with ZMapp. Dora lived beyond doctors’ prediction –Widower. 60,000 Iraqis prepare to enter Turkey over IS attacks.  Ebola: Lagos steps up campaign with billboards. SSS arrests Maigari, Green. Maigari’s resignation letter doctored – Aide. Man United sign Di Maria from Madrid. Fraudsters shop abroad with cloned Nigerian ATM cards. Total donates vans to Ebola operation centre. NDLEA destroys 50 hectares of Ondo cannabis plantation. Fleeing Nigerian Troops Return Home — DHQ. UNHOLY ACT: Randy Pastor Marries 2 Women In Different Churches. Jonathan To Flag-off National ID Card Tomorrow. Stanbic IBTC Set To Float N10bn Exchange Traded Fund. Giwa Emerges NFF President. Ebola: Nigeria bars Liberia, S’Leone, Guinean delegates from NLC training. Osun PDP legal adviser defects to APC. 30 killed in renewed Eggon, Fulani herdsmen clash. Man United humiliated 4-0 by third-tier English club MK Dons in the 2nd round of the Capital One Cup. Everton confirm the signing of Cameroon international Samuel Eto'o on a two-year deal.

ARE THESE TERRORISTS NOT MUSLIMS?- Boko Haram victims

ARE THESE TERRORISTS NOT MUSLIMS?

Whenever anyone called the terrorists Muslims, those who denounce their way of life would quickly jump up claiming they are not Muslims. They cited the indiscriminate killing by the terror agents. But the tserrorists claim they kill Muslims who stand on their way. Please this story of the ordeal of Alhaji Mustapha Oyeyinka who found himself into the camp of the terrorists around Kaduna state to see how those terrorists hate hearing Christianity.

The Boko Haram insurgency is far be­yond the problem of the North East people as families in other parts of the country are now equally battling the bitter taste of the sect’s rampaging ac­tivities. One of such is Alhaji Mustapha Oy­eyinka who is now cursing the day he decid­ed to relocate to Nigeria from Europe where his family has been doing fine. Today, he has not only lost his sight to the insurgents but live with an agonizing memory of seeing his wife raped along with other women almost on a daily basis for three months in one of the camps of the deadly sect in Kaduna State.

Excited about his return to Nigeria, the victim sometime in February 2011 decided to take a trip to Kaduna with his wife, Rachael to attend a wedding ceremony. Unknown to him, that trip will alter his destiny as they ended up in a Boko Haram camp where they spent three horrifying months.

Enraged and bitter, the frustrated 50-year- old Oyeyinka said he has remained in hiding in Lagos since he regained his freedom and refused to tell his story because he was too terrified. He said he decided to open up now because he has made up his mind to return to his base in Spain in Europe where he expects a miracle to regain his sight. In an encounter with Saturday Sun, he told his sordid story.

My story

As a matter of policy, Oyeyinka, who hails from Abeokuta in Ogun State, ensured that he comes home from Europe regularly in an attempt not to forget his roots. “Shortly after my university days, I relocated to Europe in 1988, in search of business opportunities. I was into importation and exportation of goods to and from Europe. I never wanted to forget my root hence I invested in Nigeria. I made it a matter of policy to always return to Nigeria and spend some months.

“As usual, we returned to Nigeria in November 2011 on a long vacation. The plan was to gradually relocate our children down to Nigeria, so that they will not forget their roots. It was also an opportunity to audit our investments and in February 2012, one of my friends invited us over to Kaduna for his wedding.

“I was so excited and my kids pleaded that they wanted to be a part of that trip. I refused because I wanted to use this as an opportunity to hang out with my wife alone. It was also an opportunity to return to the North and see how it had developed. In the early 90s, I used to buy goods from Saudi Arabia and sell them in Ilorin and Kano. I had a lot of friends in Kano.”

According to Alhaji Oyeyinka, his friend made arrangement for a mini bus that will convey them to and from Kaduna. The trip was very smooth till they got to Kaduna. “I do not know the village, but I know that it’s Kaduna because there was a billboard that had the address on it. We ran into a little traffic jam caused by some men who were in military uniform. They were stopping vehicles and searching them. When it got to our turn, they asked us to get down. The driver asked us to relax, as it was a routine.

“I later discovered that the soldiers were not wearing boots and some were smoking. I waved that observation aside since it was in a bush. I assumed that they were tired of wearing boots for hours. Suddenly, there were gunshots; people started lying down on the floor while some were shouting Jesus! Jesus! In a split of seconds, they shot all those who they heard shouting Jesus. It was then that it dawned on me that these were no robbers.”

Terrified and quietly praying for divine intervention, Alhaji Oyeyinka laid on the ground alongside others who survived the shooting. Minutes later, a truck emerged from the bush and they were asked to step into the truck. “We were more than 50 that were packed in the open truck and the rest in another truck. They drove into the bush and at a point stopped and blindfolded everyone. Everyone was silent, except for the loud voice of our captors who kept speaking Arabic language. I am a Muslim scholar, and understand the language although I cannot speak. I was more terrified wondering if they were Talibans. After driving about 50 kilometres, they stopped and asked us to get down from the truck. Our blindfolds were removed.

“We found ourselves in a camp built with mini halls which later turned out to be our detention room. There were so many young men. It was then that they told us in Hausa that they are Boko Haram members. I don’t understand Hausa, so some of us helped to interpret what they were saying. They collected our phones, and asked us to strip down including the women.

“They asked if there is anyone related to the president or any influential Nigerian. Those who said yes were immediately slaughtered and their bodies taken away. Those who claimed that they were Christians were also killed if they failed to renounce their religion. I told them that I am a practising Muslim and they asked me if I was ready to kill for Allah. I kept quiet and the leader of the group said that with time I would beg to join them.

“It was then that I said never and one of them hit me on the head with his gun. I fainted and woke up later in an open hall with my hand and feet tied up. We were kept in that room without food until the next day when they came and took all the women out including my wife.

“They returned them two hours later. It was then my wife told me that they were raped by more than five men each. It was terrible, I couldn’t help my wife but I was consoled that she was still alive. Every day, they will come and carry all the women out to be raped and those who did not come back were slaughtered because they resisted. It was terrible knowing that every day different kind of men will forcefully have sex with your wife and you cannot do anything about it.”

He also claimed that they were only fed with beans, once in a day. “Initially, we were only drinking water and a can of juice. It was days later that they announced that food has arrived and asked if there was anyone in our midst that can cook. Two persons volunteered and they were taken to the kitchen every day to prepare beans. It was always half done and the excuse that was given is that they do not have enough firewood to cook beans”.

The escape

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Alhaji Oyeyinka, who could barely see again, waited endlessly for a messiah. “Then I had completely lost my sight. The after effect of that gun on my head was blindness. I was lucky that my wife was with me to attend to me if need be. On May 8, 2011, the camp remained deserted because they had gone out to hunt. One of the guards came to our cell and picked the prettiest woman among the women. For fear that his people might see him; he shifted her to the end of the hall and had sex with her there. She was just screaming. While he was at it, we heard the sound of the truck, and he quickly ran out of the hall and forgot to lock the cell. They all jumped into the truck and drove off.

“We waited till everywhere was really quite and took off into the bush. My wife was there to assist me since I could no longer see. We only left a young girl who was too weak behind. She was young and beautiful, so sometime they will come for her more than once in a day. It was a survival of the fittest, so we left her behind.

“We got to a point and a Fulani woman who was fetching firewood asked us to follow her. She took us to their village head where we were given food and clothes. He also made an arrangement for a vehicle to take us to Kaduna town. We took the next bus down to Lagos.”

Plans to regain sight

Ever since, they escaped from Boko Haram camp, Alhaji Oyeyinka is yet to regain his sight. “Initially, I thought that I was still suffering from the after effect of the gun that was hit on my face. I got the shock of my life when I was told that I am permanently blind. I have visited different hospitals in Nigeria and the story is the same. I am not losing hope that I will regain my sight. I will soon travel back to Europe where I hope to get my sight back. I have already started selling off every of my investments. I do not want to have anything to do with Nigeria again. I am telling my story, not for anyone to pity me but to draw the attention of Nigerians who are planning to go to the North to beware”.

Our plight, our destiny— Wife

Collaborating her husband’s story, Mrs. Rachael Oyeyinka who still looks visibly shaken said that it was God that destined that they will survive the abduction. “They took turns to rape all the women. I cannot count the number of times but every day. Some of the women got pregnant, and they were given concoctions to drink and flush it out. So many of the women who resisted were killed. If you are very pretty, they will initially reserve you for their leader. As soon as he gets another replacement, he will push the woman out for general use. It was bad and I remained strong because I had children who still need their mother. Today, my husband is blind but we strongly hope that he will regain his sight.

“I can’t wait to get out of this country. We are based in Spain and because my husband wanted to relocate some of the kids to Nigeria, we returned about three years ago. The plan was for them to go into boarding house, while our relatives will serve as guardians.”

Continuing, she said: “They forced a lot of Christians to denounce their religion. You don’t need anyone to tell you to claim to be a Muslim. This was the only way you can survive.”

Ebola: British National test positive in Sierra Leone as Ivory Coast closes its border

A British national residing in Sierra Leone has tested positive to the deadly Ebora virus. According to a statement released by the British Department of Health, medical experts were assessing the situation 'to ensure that appropriate care is delivered". The statement also added that Consular assistance is being provided to the Briton.

The Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health, Professor John Watson said;
"The overall risk to the public in the UK continues to be very low. Medical experts are currently assessing the situation in Sierra Leone to ensure that appropriate care is provided. We have robust, well-developed and well-tested NHS systems for managing unusual infectious diseases when they arise, supported by a wide range of experts."
Meanwhile, Ivory Coast has closed its land borders with Liberia and Guinea, two countries strongly hit by the deadly virus. The closure was announced today August 23rd.

My marriage lasted for less than a month – comedian Princess

Comedienne Princess Damilola has opened up once again about her failed marriage, telling Punch that her marriage lasted less than a month and she fell ill and had to be hospitalized after her husband left her. Excerpts from the interview below...
You didn’t say what was wrong with you that you had to be hospitalized?
But you already know. We thank the Lord. The most important thing is that I am alive and better. I appreciate life more. But this one you are asking, e no reach make I sick? After my husband left after our wedding, was it not enough reason for me to be sick? Ah! The Lord is our strength.
Why are you making fun of this?
Ah! I am telling you the truth o. The truth is that we all have challenges in our lives. I have always believed that the challenge is not the issue but how you get up and get over it. I was very down last year. It was my low moment. But with the help of God and the support of my family and friends, I am here now. I am happy.

Are you no longer depressed?
I was never depressed. I reacted like every normal human being would react if she embarks on a lifetime journey and it doesn’t go as she planned it. But God has a reason for everything.
Are there times you wish you weren’t a celebrity especially when you are linked with controversies?
The only time I felt bad about my fame was when my marriage ended. I felt if I weren’t this popular; people wouldn’t have talked about it. So many marriages crash on a daily basis but you will not hear about them. Some people have been married five times but you will not hear their gist because they are not in the eye of the public. People didn’t know that the marriage had broken up until December when I felt I was strong enough to handle the publicity that it generated.
Were you shocked with the kind of publicity it generated?
I was shocked! People called me from all parts of the world including China. Some people cried while some people felt happy. Some guys said they were happy my marriage ended. Some said they were not happy that I even married the guy. Some said I looked older than him. Some said my marriage shouldn’t have ended just like that. People talked and talked. But the only time you know your marriage is successful is when you live with your partner and God calls one of you home. Marriage of 30 years can still break up. It is a bad thing for a marriage to breakup. So you can imagine the unhappiness the parties involved would be going through. Nobody is happy when his/her marriage ends. Some people see me outside and ask, ‘your marriage has ended, how do you feel?’ I will answer them that I am jumping up or how else do they expect me to feel? Nonsense! A comedian once said that ‘complete’ and ‘finish’ appear to have the same meaning but they are not the same. If you marry the right person, you are complete but if you marry the wrong person, you are finished.
Were you in love with him in the first place?
I got married to somebody who I was in love with. At that time, he also said he loved me. Unfortunately, the marriage ended too soon.
Why?
It was due to irreconcilable differences. It is not a thing of joy. I don’t think we should celebrate sadness and bad news. We should be more sensitive. No marriage should end but peradventure it does, don’t make a mockery of that person. You are not even mocking the person, you are mocking God.
Are you giving it another shot?
No! Me ke? Let us struggle first and make some money. In any case, I think I should marry a Chinese or an Indian. If many people agree that I should marry a Chinese, then I will go ahead. But a Japanese might be better. Japanese products are strong and reliable.
Is your ex-husband still your friend?
I don’t think you should call him my ‘ex-husband’ because we were together for less than one month. An ex- husband is somebody you marry and after three years or more, you separate. Anyway, I don’t know where he is. We have moved on.
Are you happy?
I am happier now and I am better. I was happy before, the only thing that got me sad was that the marriage ended. I did one wedding and it didn’t go well and I am alive. I should thank God. A lot of people lose their spouses just after a week of marriage. As long as you are alive, have hope. If God says I should marry again, I will follow His will. I have made my own attempt, let God make His own. I am sure he (ex-husband) is okay anywhere he is anyway.
Wasn’t the break-up your fault?
No. it wasn’t my fault. I can’t really say it was his fault too. It was just irreconcilable differences. We met and we were in love and we quickly got married. Maybe we got married too quickly but I have seen people who got married a month after they met and the marriage lasted. Our own didn’t work out. There is no need to apportion blame.
Do you still believe in love?
I have always believed in fairy tales and a knight in shining armour but my marriage didn’t go that way unfortunately.
There is usually a stigma associated with women who are divorced, doesn’t that bother you?
Stigma ke? That was before. Men can afford to have 20 children from different women. If your wife is abusing you and you cannot take it, my brother, please take a walk. If your husband is abusing you, take a walk. If it is like my own case that both of you cannot agree, you also need to take a walk before somebody wounds the other person. Death is final. So it is better to take off before it degenerates into death. I know somebody that separated from his wife and years later, he came back and begged her and they are back together. He, who fights and runs away lives to fight another day. Don’t die there.
So what if your husband comes back?
No o. But like I said; he, who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.

35 policemen missing after Boko Haram attack on Police academy

35 policemen have been confirmed missing after members of Boko Haram launched an attack on the Nigeria Police Mobile Force Academy located in Gwoza, Borno state on Wednesday August 20th.

According to a statement by the acting Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police force, DCP Emmanuel Ojukwu, the police officers who ran during the attack have been found but as of yesterday August 23rd, 35 policemen are still missing.

Find the press statement after the cut...
Following the attack launched by insurgents on the Gwoza Training camp of the Nigeria Police Mobile Force (PMF), the Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Suleim...an Abba, NPM, NPOM, mni since ordered the tightening of security around all police facilities in the country in addition to efforts made to further protect the lives of all people in Nigeria and their properties.
It will be recalled that a ferocious attack earlier launched on the Training camp by insurgents on 7th August, 2014 was repelled by the Police. On 20th August, 2014, the attackers launched a fresh offensive that lasted for several hours where the Policemen on duty engaged them in a fierce battle.
The search and rescue party launched immediately has located and brought to safety all Police officers in the Training College at the time of attack. So far, thirty-five policemen who are still missing from the facility as a result of the latest attack are being searched for with very promising prospect of locating them.
While enjoining all citizens to remain calm and join hands with the security forces in the collective fight against insurgency, the IGP restates his determination to work closely with other security agencies to stem the tide of terrorism in the country.
DCP EMMANUEL OJUKWU, psc
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,
FORCE HEADQUARTERS,
ABUJA.

Photo: Fiance of late nurse Justina Ejelonu discharged from Ebola treatment centre

The fiancé of late Justina Ejelonu, the First Consultant nurse who died on August 14th from complications from the deadly Ebola Virus has been discharged from the Ebola Isolation Centre, Sahara Reporters reports.

Dennis (pictured left) who turned himself in for observation after falling ill 14 days after his fiancée Justina died, was certified free of the virus and discharged from the Isolation center yesterday evening August 23rd after tests carried out on him showed he didn't have Ebola.

Narrating how Justina fell ill and later died, Dennis said Justina, who was two months pregnant when the illness started, began vomiting on him and then collapsed in his presence before he immediately rushed her to the hospital. He said while she was admitted at the isolation center, he hung around the hospital occasionally going into the Ebola ward to cater for her as nurses and doctors abandoned her to her fate at the treatment center.
Justina was the nurse who attended directly to Patrick Sawyer at the First Consultant Hospital

EFCC arrests ex-Ecobank manager for alleged N81 million fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday said it arrested a former Branch Manager of Ecobank, Victor Amushie, for alleged N81 million fraud.
A statement by the Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said Mr. Amushie was arrested for allegedly stealing N81 million through loan resources he provided for himself.
Mr. Uwujaren said the suspect used several names and accounts of some customers of the bank with whom he shared proceeds from the fraud.
Although the alleged fraud was stopped, Mr. Uwujaren said the former bank manager was at the verge of fleeing the country when he was arrested
He also said that evidence of the loan disbursed by Mr. Amushie showed that N57.98 million was granted to Onezh Oil and Gas Limited; N11.3 million to Esubeb Staff Multipurpose Cooperative, and N11.7 million to Ogochukwu Amanda.
He said Mr. Amushie is still in custody of the commission and will be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed.

Nigeria’s revenue earning declines by N154.6billion

Revenues collected by the Federal Government dropped by about N154.56 billion in July, the Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda, said on Tuesday.
Mr. Yuguda said this at the end of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting in Abuja and added that only about N630.32 billion revenue was realized during the month, down from N784.88 billion collected the preceding month.
Mr. Yuguda attributed the sharp decline in revenue to Force Majeure declared by Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, and a series of shutdown of trunk lines and pipelines at various terminals.
Force Majeure is always declared by a company to bring to the attention of their customers about unforeseen developments in their operations that may likely make meeting obligations to scheduled contracts difficult or impossible.
Mr. Yuguda also identified the substantial decline experienced by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, in their Companies Income Tax, CIT, collections as also contributory to the dip in revenue for the month under review.
In spite of the shortfall in revenue accruals, the minister said FAAC still distributed a total sum of N654.58 billion to the three tiers of government as allocation from all revenue sources, an amount that is N30.31 billion more than what was shared in June.

Tuface’s father dies of cancer at 68

Michael Agbo Idibia, the father of Nigerian pop singer, Tuface Idibia, is dead.
Mr Idibia died in an unnamed hospital in Abuja after battling with cancer.
The deceased had been battling prostate cancer for over year. He was an alumnus of Kansas State University, USA; and retired from the Ministry of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State.
Confirming his death, the family, in a press statement issued Saturday night, said, “With sadness in our hearts, but with gratitude to God for a life well spent, we announce the passing on of our father, brother, uncle and in-law, Mr. Michael Agbo Idibia, a native of Okpokwu Edumoga in Benue State.
“He is survived by wife, Mrs. Rose Owoyi Idibia, children: Steven Idibia, Innocent ’2face’ Idibia, Hyacinth Idibia and Oche Idibia, grand-children, and siblings.”
The late Mr. Idibia’s burial arrangements will be announced soon, the family said.

Female Suicide Bombing: SSS Reports 13 Catholic Sisters’ Attires Stolen

The Department of State of State Service, DSS has raised the alarm that at least 13 pieces of Reverend Sisters’ regalia of the Catholic Church have been stolen from a shop in Kano state purportedly for suicide bombing.

A statement from the deputy director, information of the SSS, Marilyn Ogar, made available to LEADERSHIP Weekend advised Nigerians to look out for persons, especially female suicide bombers who may disguise in the attire

The statement reads in parts, “On 20th August, 2014, about 0400 hours, some yet to be identified persons broke into a tailoring shop located at No.55 Odutola Street, Sabon Gari, Kano, and stole about thirteen (13) pieces of Reverend Sisters’ regalia of the Catholic Church. With the recent trend in female suicide bombings in the country, the removal of these regalia may be the handiwork of terrorists’ elements that may want to perpetrate acts of terror using such garments.

“Consequently, this Service has taken necessary pre-emptive measures to thwart the exploitation of distinct religious wears for terrorist purposes. We also wish to draw public attention to this development and call on all citizens to be more circumspect and exercise greater vigilance with users of such peculiar attires.

“We enjoin all and sundry to continue to cooperate with law enforcement agencies through the provision of useful information on suspicious activities within their immediate environment. This Service will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders as we strive to keep our country safe.”

From Our News Desk -23rd August, 2014

UPDATES: Adadevoh Deserves National Honour – Owelle Azikiwe. Jonathan Ill, Flown To Germany. Nyako: Court Declines Hearing On Reinstatement Suit. 2 Pregnant Women, 7-year-old, 5 Others Drown In Kaduna River. Ebola: Customs Intercepts, Destroys Truckload Of Monkey Meat. Nigeria’s Forest Animals Are Not  Ebola Endangered – Expert. Uncertainty Over Warri Refinery As PPMC Stops Crude Supply. Fashola Flays FG Over Use Of Revenue Allocation. Don Moen, Ron Kenoly, 11 Others For Asaba Concert. Tears as Akpabio gives account of steadwarship in U.S. I regret not being a lawyer –Omisore. Two Spouses Of Primary Contacts Test Positive For Ebola. Mario Mandzukic scored to hand Atletico Madrid a 1-0 victory and  2-1 Spanish Super Cup aggregate win over Real Madrid. Olujumu of Ijumu Kingdom is dead! May his soul rest in peace.

Two year jail terms for hiding Ebola victims in S.Leone

Sierra Leone, battling a deadly outbreak of Ebola, passed a law on Friday that will see anyone harbouring a victim of the disease facing a two-year jail term.

The attorney general announced the new measure as a top parliamentarian lashed out at neighbouring countries for failing to do more to help resolve the crisis.

Sierra Leone has been one of the hardest hit by the epidemic, with 374 deaths and 907 cases since the outbreak began.

“A maximum of two years jail term will be imposed on anyone caught hiding somebody who is believed to be infected with the deadly Ebola disease,” Attorney General Frank Kargbo said after introducing the bill into parliament.
With tensions over the outbreak running high, the majority leader of the house, Ibrahim Bundu, criticised neighbouring countries that he said had abandoned Sierra Leone.
“We are appalled by the slow pace of response by some of our development partners and the abandonment and isolation from those we viewed and believed to be our biggest friends at sub-regional, regional and global levels,” he said in a statement.
He called the cancellation of flights and closing of borders to contain the virus “ugly developments” that were leading to further isolation and causing businesses to shut down “at the time of greatest need”.
He said Sierra Leone would be reviewing its relations with countries that the government felt had snubbed their cries for help “when life returns to normal”.
According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization, 1,350 people are now believed to have died from the Ebola virus, which has been raging in the region since March.
The WHO said it was concerned that families were hiding infected loved ones in the belief they will be more comfortable dying at home.

AFP

30 Muslims killed during Friday prayers in Iraq mosque

Gunmen shot and killed at least 30 Muslims in a Sunni Muslim mosque during Friday prayers in Iraq’s Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, police officials in the province said.

The unidentified attackers used automatic machine guns in the Musab bin Omar mosque in the town of Baniyas, police said.

Baniyas is about 75 kilometers northeast of the provincial capital, Baquba.

It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the attack. Both Sunni militants and Shiite Muslim militias have been active in the province.

Hamas kills 17 suspected informers for Israel

Hamas has killed 17 Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel, a day after Israel killed three of the group’s top military commanders in an airstrike on a house in southern Gaza Strip, witnesses and a Hamas website said.

A Gaza security official said the first batch involved 11 people who were killed early on Friday at the Gaza City police headquarters.

Six more were killed later in the day in a public execution in a central Gaza square, according to a Hamas website and witnesses cited by Reuters news agency.

Three suspected collaborators were also killed on Thursday.

The victims, their heads covered and hands tied, were shot dead by masked gunmen dressed in black in front of a crowd of worshippers outside a mosque after prayers, witnesses and al-Majd, a pro-Hamas website, said.

The Gaza security official said the 11 men had previously been sentenced by Gaza courts, reported the Associated Press news agency.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the incident with reporters.

Israel’s intelligence services rely, in part, on informers to pinpoint the whereabouts of Hamas leaders.

“Israel has a long and successful history of recruiting collaborators and informers both in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, and they do so through a variety of different means: sometimes it is financial inducements; other times it is blackmail, bullying, threats, promises [and] maybe intimidating family members,” said Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, reporting from west Jerusalem.

She said that by publicising the retribution brought down on the 18 people, Hamas was sending a deterrent to other Palestinians.

The news came as five Palestinians were killed by an Israeli air strike, the latest since Egyptian-led ceasefire talks collapsed three days ago.

Ashraf al-Kidra, a Gaza health official, said on Friday some of the victims were workers at a livestock farm that was hit in the airstrike.

The Israeli military said it carried out 20 airstrikes early on Friday, targeting rocket launchers and weapons sites. It said Gaza fighters fired two rockets at Israel.

Friday’s fighting came as funerals were held for three senior Hamas commanders killed by Israeli air raids.

Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, said Mohamed Abo Shamaleh, Raed al-Attar and Mohamed Barhoum were killed in an attack in Rafah on Thursday, little more than a day after an attempt on the life of its leader Mohammed Deif.

The slain commanders’ supporters later took over the streets as their funeral procession snaked through Rafah, which bears scars of Israeli bombing from previous days.

Another 31 people were killed in other Israeli strikes in Gaza since on Thursday, raising the overall death toll to 2,087 in 46 days of conflict.

Israel meanwhile said it was rotating 10,000 troops – meaning fresh soldiers were being prepared for possible future operations – a day after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel’s offensive may be an extended operation.

Hamas condemned the assasinations, with Sami Abu Zuhri, the group’s spokesman, calling them a “big Israeli crime” for which it would pay.

The fighting resumed three days ago after Egyptian attempts to broker an end to the monthlong war, with Palestinians firing dozens of rockets and Israel responding with airstrikes across Gaza.

(AlJazeera)

Why I can’t reveal my next of kin – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday registered for the National Identity Card (NIC) and kept the information about his next of kin away from the prying eyes reporters who were bent on capturing his personal data.

The former president said this would prevent undue “publicity on the matter.”

Obasanjo, who arrived the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) office, Oke – Mosan, Abeokuta, at 1:35pm and received by the NIMC’s officials led by the Director of Identity Card Database, Abuja office, Engr. Aliu Azeez, quickly had his height measured and finger prints taken.

But when it got to the column requiring information about his next of kin, the former president who had been responding orally to the NIMC officials’ questions, picked a piece of paper, covered it with his palm, wrote the name of his next of kin and handed it over to the commission’s personnel.

Turning to the curious reporters and surging television cameramen, he said: “I have decided to keep my next of kin secret and away from you. If you know it, you will give it undue publicity.”

He later expressed confidence that the project if sustained, would help tackle the country security challenges.

Commandant-General of NSCDC escapes assassination

The Commandant-General, C-G, of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Dr Ade Abolurin, Friday, escaped an attempt on his life as a police Inspector opened fire on his team at Ikorodu, Lagos.

Dr. Abolurin’s team comprising officers of the Nigerian Army, EFCC, ICPC, office of the Attorney General of the Federation among others, came under siege during an inspection and assessment tour of disposable forfeited items seized from suspected oil thieves.

NSCDC’s spokesman, Mr. Emmanuel Okeh, said in a statement in Abuja, Friday, “the attack was orchestrated by the arrest of some suspected vandals and oil thieves on the waters in possession of petroleum products in several jerry cans, including two big Cotonou boats.'

The suspected police team who came in an unmarked danfo bus carrying AK47 riffles challenged the CG that they are in charge, so, he has no right to visit the area because it belongs to the police.

“The committee which the CG, NSCDC is the chairman was constituted by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and have for some time now been on assessment tour of the country for disposable forfeited items used for vandalism of critical infrastructure.

However, attempt by members of the committee to caution the officer was rebuffed by him and members of his team claiming that they are on a mission here so everyone should steer clear.

“Further investigation reveals that a distress call was put across to the suspected police team by the arrested vandals and upon arrival, their aim was to set them off the hook of NSCDC by threatening to shoot the CG who masterminded the arrest of their partners in this illicit business and secondly to prevent the committee from confiscating the recovered items which has become exhibits in event of prosecution”.

He added that it was however unclear if the suspected officer was working on a written script by a superior authority or just acting in his own capacity as one of the arrested vandals was in police uniform.

“What is however clear is that, this is the umpteenth time that officers and men of the corps has been brazenly harassed, molested, assassinated or maimed by officers of the Nigeria police in recent time in the cause of carrying out their legitimate assignments. Still fresh in our memory is the killing of two men of the anti vandal squad of the Lagos state command of NSCDC namely AIC Gabriel Adaji and IC Innocent Akegbe by the police in 2013”, the spokesman said.

He clarified that the Act establishing the NSCDC was unequivocal in its assignment of the duty of protection of critical infrastructure of government and national assets to the corps with tremendous record of achievement by the organization as evident in the various arrest of vandals in different parts of the country and prosecution of same to serve as deterrent to others .

Mr. Okey said that the corps was determined to ensure that President Goodluck Jonathan’s efforts in ensuring constant supply of petroleum products, uninterrupted power supply among others was actualized.

#BringBackOurGirls FOUR MONTHS LATER: Parents want case closed, say funeral rites already performed for abducted girls

It's more than four months since the unfruitful search for their abducted girls began, and now the parents of the kidnapped Chibok school girls have stated that they want the matter closed.

Since the girls have been missing for more than four months, the parents said they presumed the students to have died for which their funeral rites have already been performed in their (parents') minds according to their custom.

They, however, urged the federal government bring the girls' corpses for honourable burial.

This position was disclosed yesterday by the #BringOurGirls advocacy group, during its daily sit-out meeting for the rescue of the missing school girls at Unity Fountain, Abuja.

"All they said they want is their corpses to bury them honourably," the group said.

As a way of driving their demand home, the group said it is vigorously mobilizing people on and offline and via social media towards holding a mega protest march in the FCT.

According to them, over 200 groups in Abuja have so far been contacted and have given positive response to participate, with 135 individuals on the group's database contacted.
While calling on federal government to double its effort to free the girls,  the meeting said only political and military action can rescue our girls, and that is why we do what we are doing to compel that.

The group added a new slogan #NotWithoutOurDaughters! in response to a question on when  it will  stop the campaign

I am Not Boko Haram Sponsor - IBB Cries Out

Few days ago we publish an Interview with Sani Haliru, An Ex-Boko Haram Member who repented and converted to Christianity. He said in the Interview that is the major Sponsor of Terrorism in Nigeria.
Read the Interview here >>  Exposed: List of Boko Haram Sponsors in Nigeria
Now the spokesman of IBB PRINCE KASSIM AFEGBUA, MEDIA SPOKESMAN TO GENERAL IBB Says “Haliru Sani’s Statements Are Effusions of A Deluded Mind”
The Ibrahim Babangida camp has at last offered a response to the allegation of sponsorship of the Boko Haram sect levelled against the former military President. A statement issued by General Babangida’s Media Spokesman denied any links with Sani Haliru, the repented Boko Haram member.
The statement raeds inter alia “We feel a deep sense of concern that the country is going through these obvious challenges of insecurity and bad leadership that are threatening the very fabric of the country’s foundation. We have read and assimilated the effusions of a deluded mind by name Sheik Sani Haliru, who for want of very cheap relevance decided to mention the highly respected name of IBB as one of the “sponsors” of what he called Boko Haram. From our first reading, we felt it would amount to giving undue relevance to a confused mind if we volunteer a response, but for our teeming supporters, associates and friends of IBB, and for the price we owe history, we decided to offer this disclaimer.
First, General IBB cannot in his frame of mind remember any of such names called Sheik Sani Haliru whether as an Almajiri or a jihadist or both. Reading through the interview, one is easily confronted with a number of inconsistencies and well orchestrated conclusions that are spuriously out of place. One, Dele Giwa did not die of suicide bombing as claimed by Sani Haliru. It is public knowledge that he died of parcel bomb and the latest insight by Rev.Chris Omeben as published in Sunday Sun of 5th February, 2012 will form an instructive reading.

Secondly, we have every cause to believe that the interview was carefully scripted to convey the message intended and not one conducted under a question and answer basis.
The responses of the said Sani Haliru attest to this fact. From that premise therefore, it will be save to conclude that the interview was structured by certain agents of government to satisfy pre-determined position.

Thirdly, the questions by the interviewer are also leading questions, tending to achieve the predetermined end of the initiators of the interview. The emphasis on seeing Islam as a religion of violence is a clear indication of this motive.

Fourthly, on the one hand, the interviewee declared himself to be a converted Christian, while on the other hand, he was asking for someone that will connect him to God. He talked about his fear of going to jail, why will a man of God be afraid of incarceration or jail if the cause he is pursuing is truly altruistic? How could someone with facts about Boko Haram be saying that he is afraid the SSS will arrest him if he ventured those facts, when the whole wide world is patiently waiting to get a road map out of the Boko Haram pogrom? There are also instances where third person narrative tenor is given to Sheik Sani Haliru, thus making the whole exercise curiously misleading and utterly unconscionable to warrant any serious recognition.
In all of these, so many conjectures, hearsays, deductions, impressions and lies were bandied in the said interview thus making the entire contents suspect. For example, his reference to the October 1st bombing in Abuja is totally at variance with what the State Security Service has unravelled about the masterminds of that dastardly incident. We are therefore at sea to reconcile any of the claims as truly reflective of any sound mind save that we have every reason to believe that this is purely a well-scripted interview to give our revered IBB a bad name. What the real motive of the interview is remains to us very worrisome because we cannot in any way rationalize the immediate or remote intentions of the interviewee and the interviewer.
For purposes of record, General IBB wishes to disclaim whoever that might have granted such interview and wish to emphatically state that there is no iota of truth in whatever the interviewee must have put down. There is no connection whatsoever between himself and the so-called Sheik Sani Haliru. It will serve good purpose if the said Sani Haliru could disclose his age in 1985, 1987 and 1992, because his claim of 44 years of Boko Haram activities could be self-contradicting if we are able to know his real age. 1985 till date is a record 27 years.
By the time we subtract that age from 44 , the guess is as good as mine. One couldn’t possibly know what feat a 17 years old boy would perform in 1985 to warrant any linkage with IBB. It will also be of good use if he could disclose the instances where IBB is directly and indirectly connected or linked to his activities, how much money he was given, who gave the money and what period of time?
The uncomplimentary adjectives he used to describe General IBB further expose the underpinning lies in the interview. Every Nigerian that has had opportunity of interacting with this great Nigerian called IBB from North to South, East to West, would concede to the bare-faced fact that General IBB is generally a likeable person, generous, kind and very hearty personality whose contributions to national development and unity of Nigeria remain unparalleled in the history of Nigeria. For such a leader who has put his all in the development and unity of the country to now get involved in such heinous activities as described by the so-called Sani Haliru stands logic on its head.
All the insinuations as to the deliberate effort of IBB trying to Islamise Nigeria are clear indications that Sani Haliru is suffering from self-delusion. Perhaps, he did not realize the fact that IBB’s Vice-Presidents and some of his key players in his cabinet were Christians. He also might have forgotten that it was in the same regime that our broken diplomatic ties with Israel were restored to allow Nigerians embark on Holy Pilgrimage to Jerusalem. If we are to follow all the writings in the Bible, and interpret them likewise, one will be tempted to say that the Bible is preaching violence too. But the word of God cannot be interpreted on its face value; hence men should be wary about drawing conclusions that are informed by their limited understanding of the word of God.
We therefore wish to inform the public to disregard and ignore whoever might be the face behind that name called Sheik Sani Haliru and the message of doom that he seems desperate to propagate. We wish to assure our teeming members’ world-wide that as elder statesman, General IBB will not desist from offering his plausible contributions to national discourse and that no amount of blackmail can take that leadership away from this great icon. The unity and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria is very dear to General IBB and having fought in the 30months civil war of the late sixties, he would do everything humanly possible to avert any descent to anarchy in our fatherland.
We challenge both the interviewee and interviewer to disclose the documents they claim to have to prove us wrong, otherwise, they should keep their mouths shut forever."

President Jonathan Bombs Nuhu Ribadu…Says Former EFCC Boss Is An Ethically-Challenged Hypocrite

President Goodluck Jonathan today hit back at former Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Nuhu Ribadu and called him an ethically-challenged hypocrite. The president in a statement by his spokesman, Reuben Abati in response to an accusation made against Jonathan government at a lecture in Kaduna weekend said Ribadu is not only an ingrate but one not fit for any public office again in Nigeria.

The release reads in full: “The Presidency totally rejects the false, hypocritical and self-serving claim by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu at a lecture in Kaduna on Saturday that Nigeria under President Goodluck Jonathan is a “sinking ship” in which the yearnings of the masses are being neglected by a tyrannical leadership.

“We find it very sad and utterly deplorable that Nuhu Ribadu has resorted to shameless wolf-crying, the peddling of arrant falsehood and the denigration of the elected government of his fatherland in furtherance of his selfish quest for continued national political relevance after his wholesale rejection by Nigerian voters in 2011.

“It is very unfortunate indeed that the once highly respected former EFCC Chairman has now taken to political prostitution and developed a penchant for irresponsible and reckless utterances aimed at improving the electoral fortunes of his new friends and “leader”, who he once famously denounced as a crook who is “not fit to hold public office”.

“There can be no doubt that nothing else but blind ambition for an office for which he is clearly unfit is driving Ribadu to infer that an Administration led by a President who welcomed him back to the country after his self-imposed exile, restored his rank in the Nigeria Police to save him from the shame of demotion and converted his dismissal from service to retirement has now become tyrannical and anti-people. We take special note of his ingratitude.

“If Nuhu Ribadu wants to talk of tyranny then he should talk of the days when he orchestrated the impeachment of governors with an illegitimate quorum of legislators who had been threatened by the EFCC under his watch. It beats the imagination that Nuhu Ribadu, a man who once presided over an  EFCC which in 2007 compiled a list of disqualified politicians aspiring for office without a court order or legal backing now has the guts to accuse the man under whom Nigeria has had the most credible elections in this Fourth Republic of being  the leader of a “sinking ship”. Can there be a greater tyranny than the tyranny of removing governors via undemocratic means and barring legally entitled persons from contesting elections?

“Nothing else but misguided ambition could have driven Ribadu to urge Nigerian youth to rise up and save the country from an Administration which he willingly served recently, but which he now duplicitously and insincerely claims is “imposing private interests on the majority”.

“It is certainly the height of hypocrisy for Ribadu who built his entire reputation as an anti-corruption crusader by completely disregarding the rule of law and recklessly trampling on the rights of perceived enemies of the government of the day, to now accuse an administration that has consistently upheld the rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights of being tyrannical.

“It is only a shameless man that will turn around and accept to be the political lackey of a man he once openly accused of corruption at various times between 2004 and 2007. Now that he has been used and abused by the undemocratic overlords that reign over the ACN and fearing that he may soon be dumped now that that vehicle is about to be subsumed into the so called All Progressives Congress, Ribadu is  desperately seeking fresh relevance.

“Ribadu’s descent into a moral abyss since leaving the exalted office of EFCC Chairman, his equally ethically-challenged new friends and his willingness to vituperate against any person or institution he perceives as a challenge to the fulfillment of his unattainable ambitions, have clearly exposed him for what he truly is – a thoroughly unprincipled attention-seeker whose entire career in the public service was built on bootlicking and doing the bidding of the powers of the day without a care for legality which should have been his primary concern as an officer of the law.

“President Jonathan and his Administration will not be distracted from the diligent implementation of the agenda for national transformation by the falsehoods and vituperations of Ribadu and his new friends.

“Far from being tyrannical as Ribadu falsely alleged in Kaduna, President Jonathan will, as he has consistently done since assuming office, continue to strengthen institutions of democratic governance in Nigeria, uphold the fundamental human rights of all Nigerians including the youth, and protect their right to elect leaders in free, fair and credible elections.”