No end, as Boko Haram kills another 40 in Borno

MAIDUGURI— In what appears to be total dominance of Borno State, Boko Haram terrorists, Monday night, invaded Jakana village in Konduga council area of the state, killing no fewer than 40 people including two policemen.The gunmen were said to have arrived the village around 10 pm in 21 Toyota Hilux vehicles and motorcycles, as well as explosives and petrol-bombs.
Other property destroyed in the multiple attacks include the police station, a primary school, mosque and several houses and huts of villagers.

NIGERIA, Maiduguri :
People gather on March 2, 2014 near the wreckage at the scene where two explosions rocked a crowded neigbourhood in Maiduguri’s Gomaris district on the evening of March 1. At least 35 people were killed following two explosions in a crowded neighbourhood of Nigeria’s restless northeastern city of Maiduguri, a stronghold of Boko Haram Islamists, police said March 2. “We are still counting. So far we have counted 35 bodies. Our men are still working with rescue workers at the scene,” Borno state police commissioner Lawal Tanko said. AFP PHOTO /

An unconfirmed report, however, said that dozens of the terrorists who attacked Jakana were bombed in a nearby Sambisa village by Air Force fighter jets while attempting to flee from military counter offensives.
Jakana is on Maiduguri-Damaturu road and 40 kilometres west of Maiduguri, the state capital.  The insurgents that attacked Mainok, last Saturday, also killed 39 people. Jakana village which was set ablaze, is 20 kilometres east of Mainok.
An eyewitness, and resident of Jakana, Ba Mala Modu in a telephone conversation, yesterday, in Maiduguri said that the insurgents stormed the village at 10pm with explosives and petrol-bombs, chanting God is Great in Arabic. They shot sporadically into the air initially, before setting the houses ablaze for three hours.
Modu said:  “The gunmen came in droves in Toyota Hilux vehicles and motorcycles; and started shooting, killing and at the same time pouring petrol on our houses and huts, setting them on fire. The people in the houses cried for help, but no one was there to prevent these multiple attacks and killings. Some of us had to flee towards the neighbouring villages, farmlands and bushes.
“I am talking to you now from a hiding place in the bush. I cannot get into the village, but we counted 35 bodies that were pulled out from the torched houses this morning; and more bodies could be retrieved before noon today (yesterday), because several people were trapped in their houses when the insurgents wreaked havoc on both lives and property.”
Speaking on the fleeing villagers, he said: “We had to flee, because when the gunmen struck in the night, some of us fled through the farmlands and bushes. Some of the fleeing villagers had to trek to Maiduguri for safety, while others are taking refuge in the neigbouring villages with no protection from security agents. My neigbour called me that two policemen were killed, while repelling the insurgents who set the police station on fire.”
He said there were no soldiers in the village when the attackers struck, adding that the policemen at the station were overpowered, and lost officers who were on duty, while trying to repel them that night. According to him, “the soldiers rushed to the village immediately after the attack on their patrol vehicles, and cordoned off the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road for two hours, before motorists were allowed to pass through the destroyed village in which over 35 people were slain, including 15 women and children between the ages of nine and 12”.
Confirming the incident, the Borno police commissioner said that armed hoodlums attacked another village (Jakana) on the Maiduguri-Damaturu Road, killing several people and promised to send the details to newsmen as soon as it got to his office.
However, Police sources in Maiduguri also said that since the Maiduguri twin blasts of last Saturday that claimed 53 lives, the weekend and Monday’s attacks in Mainok, Jakana villages and  Mafa town also claimed the lives of over 120 people, while property worth billions of naira were destroyed.

Yobe killings: We’re working to avert future

attacks on schools —IG

Meanwhile, following the gruesome massacre of over 50 students of a Federal Government College, in Yobe State, Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has assured that the security agencies in the country were working together to ensure that such dastardly act was not allowed to occur again.
Towards this end, the police boss said the safety and security of students and academic institutions across the country are now to be accorded top security priority.
Speaking at the Force Headquarters when the staff and students of Pacesetters’ College, Gwarimpa, Abuja paid him a visit, Abubakar noted that “following the concern and directive of President Goodluck Jonathan, all the security agencies are doing everything humanly possible to ensure that no child, student and their teachers are attacked again anywhere in the country”.
While requesting for the observance of a one minute silence in honour of the students who were murdered in Yobe State, he stated that both overt and covert deployment of operatives into schools were being increased.
He assured that the security agencies were also working with local communities to improve security in and around schools.

An explosive device suspected to be a bomb was Tuesday detected inside the premises of a branch of FirstBank in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
The development which almost paralyzed commercial activities led to the untimely closure of most of the banks in the town.
It was gathered that a security personnel at the bank located along Station Road detected the device and alerted the manager of the bank.
Checks revealed that the incident was later reported to the Police and officers attached to the anti bomb squad of the state Police command were drafted to the bank to ensure safety of lives of people at the bank.
The bank hurriedly shut down operations as a result of the development and other banks in the town also followed suit.
State Commissioner of Police, Mr Ibrahim Maishanu said he received report of the situation at the bank, adding that the bomb detectors from the state Police Command confirmed that the object detected was an improvised explosive device.

Fuel scarcity: 74 million litres of PMS arrives Lagos port

 

 The fuel scarcity situation in Nigeria is set to abate, as major fuel marketers, yesterday, said they have secured the delivery of about 74 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, at their depots in Lagos.
This was even as the scarcity worsened, with many of the filling stations closed to motorists, while the few that were selling had long queues.
A number of the filling stations that were seen dispensing the products were selling above the official pump price of N97 per litre, while others collected fees before allowing motorists inside their premises.
Mr. Obafemi Olowore, Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, told Vanguard in a telephone chat that three vessels, namely United Enterprises, Ocean Centurion and Alizea are discharging fuel in PWA jetty, NOJ jetty and BOP jetty all belonging to MOMAN.
According to him, United Enterprise is discharging 22 million litres of fuel, Ocean Centurion is discharging 22 million litres and Alizea — 30 million litres.
He said, “That gives you a total of 74 million litres of fuel. It is unfortunate that we find ourselves in this situation but everything will ease out this week because we now have products.
“Some of our members would receive their product this weekend while others would receive theirs as from next week. So there is no need for panic buying, no need to hoard fuel and my contact in government has assured us that there is no plan to increase the price.”
Non-renewal of contract, bunkering responsible
In addition, the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, attributed the recent scarcity to the non-renewal of contracts of some independent marketers to import the product and the illegal bunkering in many cities.
The Director of DPR, Mr. George Osahon, represented by the Zonal Controller, Abuja, Aliyu Halidu at the budget defence before the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), yesterday, claimed that non-payment of subsidy fund to the marketers by government had hindered the importation of the product, resulting in shortage in supply.
According to the DPR, the resurgence of fuel queues in filling stations across the country is as a result of the failure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to renew importation contract of independent oil marketers.
Halidu stated that even though there was fuel at depots, independent marketers were not willing to lift the product as they complained that they could not break-even with the current pump price of N97 per litre.
According him, the marketers had complained that the operational cost and other incidentals had seriously eaten into the pump price, making it difficult for them to break even at the current price, adding that the problem was that of supply of petroleum products and not that of availability of fuel.
Besides, he said that the shortage in supply of the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, was equally affected by the increased activities of illegal bunkering in the country. He said that though 120 trucks were quite sufficient to meet the fuel needs of Nigerians per day, the supply had dropped to 60 trucks per day due to inability of independent marketers to import products.
He said: “We have been importing fuel through contract; some of the contracts have not been renewed. It is only the major oil marketers that are selling. The independent marketers cannot buy from the depots because of the price.”

Call NNPC, marketers to order

Reacting to the development, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, yesterday described the ongoing fuel scarcity in the country as unacceptable and urged the Federal government to call the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, marketers and any other organisation involved in fuel distribution to order to avert a total shut down of the economy.
TUC in a statement by its President and Secretary General, Bobboi Kaigama and Musa Lawal, respectively, lamented the ongoing fuel scarcity and consequent re-appearance of long queues of vehicles at filling stations throughout the country for about a week now.
The TUC said, “The familiar trend of periodic scarcity of fuel is simply unacceptable.  Nigeria remains about the sixth largest oil producing country in the world and ‘giant of Africa’ and one ordinarily expect this to translate to great fortune and comfort for the average Nigerian.”
Also speaking, Mr. Uche Iheakanwa, Oil and Gas Consultant to a number of the jetty owners and oil companies, blamed the scarcity on cabals and entities that look for every opportunity to rubbish the government.
He said, “I must say that all hands must be on deck to protect this democracy as the government is truly making stringent efforts to better the quality of life for our people.
“Within the week, most of the petroleum products warehoused offshore Lome will be in our Ports, depots and Petrol filling stations. It is expected that this unnecessary strife and tension will be fully resolved.”

Scarcity worsens, long queues persist

A visit to petrol stations around Alimosho Local Government, Oshodi-Isolo Local Council Development Area and some areas along the Oshodi-Apapa expressway, revealed that a number of the stations were closed down, while the few that were selling sold above the official price and also engaging in various sharp practices.
At Forte Oil petrol station at Berger Yard, along Oshodi-Apapa expressway, motorists were being made to pay N200 each, before allowed entry into the station, while at the point of purchase, motorists are made to part with another N200 by the fuel attendants. Failure to pay the fuel attendants the amount meant only 10 litres will be sold to the motorist.
Vanguard was told by residents that Mat Oil at Prince bus stop, along Ijegun Road is notorious for ripping off motorists and is presently selling the commodity at N180 per litre, cashing in on the scarcity.
Fidelity Energy Oil and Gas petrol station at Babalegba bus stop, Ijegun road, Ikotun, was closed to motorists, despite claims by the manager of the station that it has about 100,000 litres of fuel.

The General Overseer of Deeper Life Bible Ministries, Pastor William Kumuyi is currently building an untra modern campus for his N1billion private university called Anchor University.

The proposed site for the campus is a vast expanse of land, which has already been fenced, along the Lagos/Ibadan Express way. The campus will serve as the permanent site of Anchor University whose main campus is sited inside Deeper Life's multibillion IBTC headquarters at Ayobo-Ipaja, Lagos.

The new campus will include hostels, faculties, administrative blocks, chalets, laboratories etc.

Pre-schoolers caught ‘having sex’ in school toilets

Abuja - Something that’s bound to terrify any parent of a pre-schooler: Two New Jersey, US, 5-year-olds were discovered naked in the pre-school bathroom by their teacher, at which point they allegedly admitted they’d been “having sex,” reported the Stir.

The teacher has been suspended, and, although she reported the discovery immediately, parents are horrified that the kids managed to get into this situation. Of primary concern to the school board is the teacher’s lack of supervision of the kids.

The report focussed on teacher Kelly Mascio’s lack of supervision rather than the other blatant question: just how did two five-year-old kids understand what they were attempting (perhaps even managing) to do?

The boy and girl had been part of her class on a day when the class was undergoing State testing, which Mascio had to oversee. In New Jersey, a teacher may not accompany children to the bathroom. She has 16 years of experience as a teacher, and seems to have the support of some in her local education association.

The police have not charged her with a crime and have not released a statement about the incident as the kids concerned are minors.

Pre-schoolers are notoriously high-maintenance for teachers as they need to be coached into following rules and being orderly. Pre-school teachers must not only teach kids but also herd them on and off playgrounds, settle them for snack times and direct their focus on their desks.

Any parent would be horrified at hearing their child had been found naked in a bathroom, never mind “having sex” with another child, but does the blame lie solely with the pre-school teacher?

Suspected Boko Haram member spotted in Lagos

Lagos - A suspected member of terrorist group, Boko Haram was spotted in Akowonjo area of Lagos state while he threatened to kill a commercial driver.

The suspected Boko Haram member threatened to slaughter the commercial driver for brushing his car and breaking his side mirror in a traffic congestion along Dopemu bridge.

It took effort by passer-byes to calm the situation as the suspect kept bringing out weapons such as dagger, cutlass and whip from his bonnet while threatening to slaughter the driver.

The commercial driver, his conductor and the passengers all took to their heels leaving the bus alone at the scene which the suspect detained while awaiting the return of the driver.

10 signs of relationship trouble

Abuja - Right, there you are coasting along nicely, paying off the house together, going to school meetings and spending alternate Christmases with your respective parents. The kids seem to be OK – right, they're not child prodigies, but they're far from being juvenile delinquents – and the only debt you have is on the car and the house.

You watch TV on Saturdays and have dinner Sundays and everything seems to be in order. But is it? Many people after breakups or divorces look back and say the recognise some of the signs in retrospect.

Here's how to tell if your relationship is about to hit a bit of a speed wobble.

Signs that trouble is on the way

You do your thing and I'll do mine. Couples certainly don't have to do everything together – they'll drive each other crazy. But if you cannot think offhand of any activity you enjoy doing together, there might be trouble on the way. It's fine if he goes mountain climbing and she goes windsurfing, as long as they do enjoy drawing classes together – or whatever. If you share no interests/activities, you could be drifting apart.

My friends and your friends. Married couples are not joined at the hip and it is only natural that they spend time alone with certain of their friends. But if it's the third time this week it happens and they don't like each other's friends anyway, there could be trouble lurking in the wings.

Kids – hooligans or angels? Many a relationship has floundered when parents differ in their ideas of how – if at all – the kids should be disciplined. If one parent allows everything and the other one comes down in the kids like a ton of bricks, they are undermining each other. A huge fight regarding this is inevitable, and the kids will be dragged into it.

Chuck Norris vs. Cate Blanchett. Everyone's tastes cannot always coincide and one has to allow for differences between people. But if there is no correlation at all in the movies or books you enjoy, chances are that that is not the only major difference between the two of you.

Scrooge versus shopaholic. If your financial values are widely different, it could be very problematic. If she scrimps and saves around every corner and he splurges on golf clubs/new suits/club memberships, it's going to become a situation of 'until debt us do part'. Similarly, if he works himself half to death and gets huge credit card bills for unnecessary boutique purchases, it's going to leave a sour taste in the mouth. Especially if he buys everything at chain stores to save money.

Family woes. Most people have some in-law troubles every now and again, but if your family despises your spouse and treats him/her without respect or her family loathes you, things can become very difficult. Yes, your spouse has vowed allegiance to you, but he/she is still part of their respective families. Constant negative feedback from families is difficult to counteract in the long run.

Perfectionist versus slouch. Differing attitudes to household cleanliness can spell serious trouble. If you fight every day because of your untidy habits, or if his/her obsessive cleanliness really gets to you, this could become a huge issue. You don't even see the dirty coffee cup on the floor and what's more, you really hate the smell of antiseptic household cleaner.

Born again vs atheist. If you and your spouse have widely differing political or religious views, it's bound to make your relationship road a rocky one. It will also greatly complicate the world view you choose to present to your children. Chances are also that your families will not spend every second Sunday together willingly or without incident.

Is this a silent movie, or what? If you and your spouse have become unable to discuss problems that you are going through and have resorted to passive-aggressive silences that last for days, red lights should be flashing. Once resentment starts getting a foothold in a relationship, it's very difficult to eradicate, as it starts feeding on itself.

Sex, oh yes, I remember that. Sex is an integral part of any relationship. Different couples have different sexual needs, so no one can prescribe how often this should happen. But if it's been months, there's something wrong. Something that's related to this is excessive jealousy – there's no greater turnoff than this. Also on this list is constant flirting with third parties by one of the spouses – real flirting, not the imaginary flirting exceedingly jealous spouses think they are seeing.