Boko Haram Attacks Gov Shettima's Convoy, Kills 60 In Borno

Boko Haram insurgents reportedly killed at least 60 persons in the attack on the convoy of Kashim Shettima, governor of Borno state.
According to Reuters, survivors also claimed “between 100 and 200” were abducted in the attack.

The insurgents had attacked Shettima and his campaign team while on their way to Gamboru Ngala, a community which shares border with Cameroon.

Shettima had told TheCable that three persons were killed in the attack: “a soldier and two stakeholders,one of whom is the influential chairman of Jogol Handset Sellers Association.”

But Reuters quoted survivors as saying the casualty figure is much higher than what the governor reported.

“One survivor said he saw about 40 bodies; another estimated that as many as 100 died,” the agency said.

“The militants also took between 100 and 200 people captive, officials said. At least 60 bodies were taken to a hospital morgue in Maiduguri after the attack, some with their throats cut, said a humanitarian worker who looked into the incident.”

It is still unclear how the insurgents learnt about the governor’s movement which was said to have involved an 85-vehicle convoy including buses full of supporters.

They had reportedly opened fire on the convoy as it passed through Maula village.

According to Reuters, while grenades were launched right into the middle of the motorcade, the governor, who was in the front half of the convoy, managed to escape.

A security official who was among the governor’s team reportedly said the insurgents “they came out with two pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns, all of the fighters in military camouflage, while the rest of them came from the roadside, firing on us.”

“Some people tried to escape by turning back. Others abandoned their vehicles and ran into the bush. As they ran, the insurgents opened fire. I would not be surprised if 100 people lost their lives.”

The insurgents subsequently ordered other survivors into the remaining vehicles and drove away with “at least 100 people”, according to a witness, although “a Nigerian intelligence official put the number of captives as high as 200.”

According to another witness’ account, more than 200 people managed to escape from the scene.

“At least 60 bodies were taken to a hospital morgue in Maiduguri after the attack, some with their throats cut,” a humanitarian worker was quoted as saying.

Only recently, the governor wept before President Muhammadu Buhari over the continued Boko Haram attacks in the state.

Shamima Begum: Government 'makes Isis bride stateless' by stripping her British citizenship

The government has deprived Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, allegedly making her stateless.

The security minister previously said the Isis supporter had a right to return to the UK from Syria as a British national, and the justice secretary said she could not be made stateless.

News > UK > Home News

Shamima Begum: Government 'makes Isis bride stateless' by stripping her British citizenship
Teenager has 'never had a Bangladeshi passport', lawyer tells Independent

Lizzie Dearden Home Affairs Correspondent  @lizziedearden
22 minutes ago
74 comments

Click to follow
The Independent
The government has deprived Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, allegedly making her stateless.

The security minister previously said the Isis supporter had a right to return to the UK from Syria as a British national, and the justice secretary said she could not be made stateless.


But a letter from the Home Office obtained by ITV News told her family that Sajid Javid made an order "removing her British citizenship" on Tuesday.

News > UK > Home News

Shamima Begum: Government 'makes Isis bride stateless' by stripping her British citizenship
Teenager has 'never had a Bangladeshi passport', lawyer tells Independent

Lizzie Dearden Home Affairs Correspondent  @lizziedearden
22 minutes ago
74 comments

Click to follow
The Independent
The government has deprived Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, allegedly making her stateless.

The security minister previously said the Isis supporter had a right to return to the UK from Syria as a British national, and the justice secretary said she could not be made stateless.


But a letter from the Home Office obtained by ITV News told her family that Sajid Javid made an order "removing her British citizenship" on Tuesday.


The document, addressed to Begum's mother, said the decision was taken "in light of the circumstances of your daughter".


"I would be very grateful if you could ensure the home secretary's decision is brought to her attention, along with her right to appeal," it added. 

News > UK > Home News

Shamima Begum: Government 'makes Isis bride stateless' by stripping her British citizenship
Teenager has 'never had a Bangladeshi passport', lawyer tells Independent

Lizzie Dearden Home Affairs Correspondent  @lizziedearden
22 minutes ago
74 comments

Click to follow
The Independent
The government has deprived Shamima Begum of her British citizenship, allegedly making her stateless.

The security minister previously said the Isis supporter had a right to return to the UK from Syria as a British national, and the justice secretary said she could not be made stateless.


But a letter from the Home Office obtained by ITV News told her family that Sajid Javid made an order "removing her British citizenship" on Tuesday.


The document, addressed to Begum's mother, said the decision was taken "in light of the circumstances of your daughter".


"I would be very grateful if you could ensure the home secretary's decision is brought to her attention, along with her right to appeal," it added.

Timeline of the Isis caliphate
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The family's lawyer, Tasnime Akunjee, told The Independent Begum had been a sole British national and had "never had a Bangladeshi passport".

He said the family was "very disappointed" with the decision.

"We are considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision," a statement added year.

In practice, this power means the Secretary of State may deprive and leave a person stateless if that person is able to acquire (or reacquire) the citizenship of another country."

But in November the government was found to have acted unlawfully in removing the citizenship of two British alleged Islamists.

The government said the two alleged Islamists had links to Bangladesh, but the Special Immigration and Appeals Commission found they had been made stateless.

Use of citizenship deprivations has been increasing. In 2017, the government stripped 104 people of their British citizenship, compared to just 14 people in 2016.

The measure has been used for high-profile terrorists, including alleged members of the British Isis cell known as the Beatles, as well as grooming gang members.

IUK

Atiku to army ~ Protecting territorial integrity your business, not elections

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has countered the latest warning by the Nigerian military, saying military has no role during elections. Atiku was countering the statement wherein the army warned that it would deal ruthlessly with anybody who dares snatch ballot boxes during coming Saturday’s general election.

The army’s warning is coming barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari had threatened that any party thug caught trying to snatch ballot boxes during election would pay with his or her life. Buhari had warned saying, “I have briefed the law enforcement agencies and the military. They have identified the hot spots, flashpoints. “They should be prepared to move. We have made as much arrangement as possible and resources provided as much as the country can afford. “Anybody who decides to snatch ballot boxes or lead thugs to disturb it, maybe this is the last lawful action you will take. “I really gave the military and the police (order) to be ruthless. We are not going to be blamed that we want to rig election. I want Nigerians to be respected. Let them vote whoever they want across the parties. “I am going to warn anybody who thinks he has enough influence in his locality to lead a body of thugs or to disturb the voting system, he will do it at the expense of his own life.” Sequel to the threat by the President, the army, on Tuesday, issued its own warning that it would deal ruthlessly with anybody caught disrupting the election.

The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel, AMINU ILIYASU, had, via a statement, warned that the military would not show mercy to any political thug caught causing confusion or snatching ballot boxes on the day of election. The army’s statement partly read, “…authorities of 6 Division NA wish to unequivocally state that anyone found to be disrupting the electoral process under any guise will be decisively dealt with in accordance with the laws no matter how highly placed he or she is.” But countering the Nigerian army’s stance, the former Vice President and PDP’s presidential candidate in the forthcoming election, Atiku Abubakar faulted the army saying ‘boot and gun’ has no business in the country’s election. Atiku, however, told the army that its role is to protect the territorial integrity of the country.

Atiku gave the statement on Tuesday during the party’s NEC meeting in Abuja. Atiku who reiterated his earlier position that his political ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian, however urged President Buhari to reverse his death threat order on ballot box snatchers and make the same commitment of no blood-letting during elections like he(Atiku) has promised. He reminded the army that its role is not in the conduct of elections but to protect the territorial integrity of the country. According to Atiku, “You will recall that during the Peace Accord process, I stated in clear terms, quoting form former president Jonathan Goodluck, that my ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. “That man is a great man. “Today I call on President Buhari to make that same commitment to the people whose mandate he holds, while also urging all security agencies to uphold our Constitution with an understanding that voting is a civil activity and civic responsibility. “The Nigerian military is constitutionally responsible for protecting our territorial integrity and national borders and has no role to play in the conduct of elections".

VN

130 persons killed in Kaduna, not 66 ~ El-Rufai

The Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has said that the actual number of persons killed last Friday in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state was 130 and not the 66 he said.

Governor el-Rufai, had, last Friday, raise the alarm that unknown gunmen had killed 66 persons in the area. But, addressing State House correspondents on Tuesday, the governor said that based on the security briefings he has received, that the actual number of those killed was 130 and not 66.

Governor El-Rufai also described those doubting the killings as “grossly irresponsible.”

On the eve of the earlier scheduled general election, the governor had said that 66 persons were killed by unknown attackers. Many people had doubted the Governor over the report. But coming out from a security meeting he convened, attended by the governors of  Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, as well as the security chiefs, said he gets security briefings daily to know the situation in and around Kaduna, adding that,  “I work only on that basis".

Governor El-Rufai had earlier in a report, said that, “Only irresponsible and insensitive people can recklessly dismiss the deaths of members of a community with whom they have no contact.”

He also noted that, “the latest report shows that over 130 were killed, not even 66.” He therefore restated his earlier resolve that, “The government of a state cannot be detained by parochial, ethno-religious, partisan or electoral calculations from doing its duty to provide security, confirm incidents of security breaches, take steps to reassure affected communities and ensure that perpetrators are arrested and brought to justice.”

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, two days ago, after the governor was led on the spot assessment of the area by the GOC 1 Div, the state commissioner of police and other security chiefs, he had warned that the state government cannot allow itself to be hamstrung by any consideration while performing her responsibilities.

The statement had partly read thus: “Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has visited the scenes of the Kajuru killings.

The governor was accompanied on the trip by Major-General Faruk Yahaya, GOC 1 Division of the Nigerian Army, Air Cmdr. I. Sani of the Nigerian Air Force, Police Commissioner, Ahmad Abdurrahman and State Director of the SSS, A.I. Koya. The chairman of Kajuru local government council, Cafra Caino, also joined the governor on the visit.

“The Kaduna State Government notes the concerted and apparently coordinated efforts by bigoted busy bodies to deny the Kajuru killings, or to minimise the casualty figures, and the specious arguments being deployed in this despicable quest. 

The Kaduna State Government condemns in the strongest terms attempts to politicise the killings. “Only irresponsible and insensitive people can recklessly dismiss the deaths of members of a community with whom they have no contact.

Private individuals and unelected actors cannot be allowed to reduce weighty matters of state security to the province of their limited networks, inexperienced lenses and narrow agendas.

“The government of a state cannot be detained by parochial, ethno-religious, partisan or electoral calculations from doing its duty to provide security, confirm incidents of security breaches, take steps to reassure affected communities and ensure that perpetrators are arrested and brought to justice.

By Adebayo Animasaun

You must meet the 2015 election standard, Goodluck Jonathan did a good job, American lawmaker tells Buhari

American lawmaker, Chris Smith, has advised that, at the minimum, the 2019 presidential election must meet the 2015 standards.

Smith said the standard of the 2015 presidential election led to peaceful transfer of power, while a statement by the then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan averted bloodshed.

Smith, who was the immediate past chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the statement on Monday.

Entitled, ‘On the Postponement of Elections in Nigeria,’ Smith writes:

“Responsibility for the delay of Nigeria’s presidential election lays squarely with President Muhammadu Buhari and those close to him. Actions in advance of the election — including removal of Supreme Court Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen and arson attacks on Independent National Electoral Commission offices in opposition strongholds — are undermining confidence that this election and subsequent gubernatorial elections will be free and fair. At a minimum, the presidential election must meet the 2015 standard, which saw a peaceful transfer of power and a statement by the then-sitting president that all bloodshed must be avoided.”

Rep. Smith also called upon the Trump Administration and the State Department to focus greater attention upon Nigeria.

“In addition to being sub-Saharan Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria is its biggest economy, and what happens in Nigeria has ramifications beyond its borders,” Smith said.

VN

I will make Biafra greater than China – Philip Emeagwali

The father of supercomputer, the inventor of world fastest computer, first black man to invent fastest computer in the World, Philip Emeagwali.

A  dying heart of Biafra, Jamyco online news reported him to have said that Biafra will soon  become a Nation, and he promise to come down to Biafra land and equip many Biafrans with technology skills, within five years, Biafra  will be greater than China. as far as technology is concern.