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Jama’atu Nasril Islam Laments Worsening Insecurity, Poverty In Nigeria

JNI Secretary General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu
The Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) has raised alarm over the rising insecurity and poverty levels in Nigeria and called for fervent prayers to avert the catastrophe. The body also called on leaders at all levels to deliver programmes that will reduce the public outcry against them.

In a message by its Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar Aliyu, to Nigerians on Ramadan Fasting that commenced on Monday, JNI said that over time, it had called on Muslims to fervently pray for the restoration of security, peace, stability, progress and development in Nigeria.

“We once again reiterate same call, as the situation seems to be deteriorating with armed banditry, kidnappings, theft and abject poverty in the increase.
“Similarly, JNI uses this medium to remind leaders at all levels that success shall only come their respective ways when they rollout friendly policies to the citizenry. At the moment, the outcry is loud and clear! Therefore, this period should be a sober reflection time for us all and make the necessary amend, in order to seek Allah’s pleasure.
“Governments at all levels as well as individuals who have the wherewithal are called upon to extend benevolent gestures – such as alms giving and supports to the indigents in severe need, as well as millions of IDPs spread across the country. This is the most appropriate time to show compassion and of course, the needy would want to see such assistance now. Moreover, it is more rewarding.
“JNI as usual uses this medium to call on the Nigerian Muslims to redouble their respective efforts in being more God-conscious through punctual observance of the five daily and Taraweeh prayers congregationally, frequent recitation of the Glorious Qur’an, ardent supplications, as well as continued remembrance of Allah (SWT).”

New Military Junta In Sudan Votes For Sharia, Local Norms In Legislation

Sudan’s military rulers has shown preference for Islamic Sharia laws and local norms to guide legislation against the background of the proposals made by protest leaders on the structure of an interim government.

Protesters, whose months of street demonstrations helped force longtime President Omar al-Bashir from office last month, have kept up their demands for change, calling on the military officers who took over to hand over power to civilians.

Responding to a draft constitutional document presented by a coalition of protest groups and political parties, the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) noted that the document omitted Sharia law.

“Our view is that Islamic Sharia and the local norms and traditions in the Republic of Sudan should be the sources of legislation,” TMC spokesman Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi told reporters.

He also said the council believes that the power to declare a state of emergency in the country should go to a sovereign authority, not the Cabinet as the opposition suggested. The transitional period should last two years, not four, which was the opposition’s proposal, he said.

Discussions with the opposition were ongoing, but calling early elections within six months would be an option if they could not reach an agreement, Kabbashi said.

Former intelligence chief Salah Gosh was under house arrest, he added.

Another council member said more than four members of the TMC had resigned and that the TMC was dismantling an unofficial militia group, known as Popular Security, which was operated by Bashir’s party.

This came after Sudanese forces seized explosives belts, guns including rifles fitted with silencers, devices used to detonate explosives remotely and satellite telephones in a raid on a property in the capital Khartoum, on Monday

The TMC said on Tuesday that those weapons belonged to Popular Security.

The Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces, an alliance of activists and opposition groups, sent the military council the draft constitutional document on Thursday outlining its vision for the transitional period.

Earlier on Tuesday the main group spearheading protests in Sudan said that the TMC had responded to its plans for an interim government structure, and it would announce its position once it had studied the reply.

Amjad Farid, spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which has played the leading role in the protests, said the council had sent a written reply.

“We will study the response and will announce our position later,” Farid told reporters.

The constitutional draft, seen by Reuters, describes the duties of a sovereign transitional council that the opposition groups hope will replace the TMC, but does not specify who would sit on it. It also outlines the responsibilities of the Cabinet and a 120-member legislature.

The military removed Bashir on April 11 after months of demonstrations against his 30-year rule.

Source: REUTERS.

I’m Determined To Meet Expectations Of Nigerians In My Second Tenure – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to meet the expectations of Nigerians as he gets set to commence the beginning of the second tenure of another four years.

“The expectations of Nigerians will be met. I will not let them down. I will continue to do my best,” the President emphasized when he attended, today, Tuesday, the daily Tafsir (Qur’anic interpretations), marking the month of Ramadan Fast at the Presidential Villa’s Mosque.

President Buhari expressed gratitude to all Nigerians for the opportunity they gave him to serve a second term in office, stressing that their expectations for giving him the mandate will be met.

According to the President, the reality of his office weighs heavily on his mind at all times, even as he said that he will keep working to deliver an improved life to Nigerians.

He made it clear that he knows what to do and will not fail Nigerians, Buhari reiterated his earlier message on the occasion of Ramadhan to Nigerians that discipline should be the watch word of every citizen.

He advised citizens to use the fasting period to reflect and be more constructive by promoting harmony, reminding Nigerians that Fasting period also provides good opportunity for charity.

In his remarks, Chief Imam of the Mosque, Sheik Abdulwaheed Sulaiman thanked Almighty Allah for making it possible for Nigeria to successfully hold general election throughout the country even as he called for repentance and prayers to avert the current security challenges confronting the nation. He ascribed the security incidents to a test from God.

Killings: Atiku Denies US Report, Reminds Buhari The Buck Stops At His Table

Atiku Abubakar

Presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded Presidential election in Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has denied the report by Centre for Diplomacy and Democracy in the United States of America, implicating him in the insecurity in the country resulting to a series of killings across Nigeria.

In a statement today, Tuesday, by his media aides, Paul Ibe, Atiku described the report by the US body as “contrived by a fictitious non-governmental organization in the United States,” which he said is the deepest low that President Muhammadu Buhari administration has gone in causing further division and promoting instability in Nigeria.

“Anyone versed enough in the protocol of international NGOs will discern without much ado that the particular report by a faceless, insipid organization known as ‘Centre for Diplomacy and Democracy’ was contrived with express mobilization from officials of the Buhari administration in a shameless and disingenuous attempt to find a jejune explanation for the rising rate of insecurity in Nigeria.

“Our investigations have revealed that there is no such report as being touted and no such body called ‘Centre for Diplomacy and Democracy’. Americans will never write ‘Centre’. They will write ‘Center’ in conformity to the American English usage.

“It is so distasteful that the Buhari administration, rather than have a self-introspection and admit to the world that its policies and actions are responsible for the divisions in the country, with manifestation of all manner of crimes such as banditry, kidnapping and wanton killings across the land, chooses to employ the service of a faceless NGO to blame the opposition for its own ineptitude.

“We must remind President Buhari that the buck stops on his table and his infantile style of looking for whom to blame for his failures will not obliterate his abysmal record of performance in the past four years.

“The Buhari administration and the ruling APC are renowned for propaganda stunt and double-speak. Sadly, it does not matter to them the disturbing number of criminalities happening on daily basis in Nigeria. In their warped thinking, the performance rate of security chiefs during times like this is determined on how much weight the Inspector General of Police has lost. The question to ask is: how would the APC have reproved a president who makes such careless remarks on national security at a time when insecurity in the country has assumed epidemic proportions?

“President Buhari and the APC have shown without equivocation that the job at hand is overwhelming for them. And because they lack the basic clue of how to tame the bogey that they have created, they now scamper around like school kids who have caused an upset in a highly sensitive science laboratory.

“Nigerians don’t pray for a president who passes the buck. All they want is a president who can hold the bull at the horn and get the job done. After all, President Buhari took an oath to defend lives and property of the citizens, which is the primary responsibility of every government.”

US Centre For Diplomacy Fingers Atiku In Insecurity, Killings In Nigeria, To Spite Buhari

Atiku Abubakar

Centre for Diplomacy and Democracy, Washington DC, USA has fingered the former Nigeria’s Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just-concluded election in Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in the series of killings across the country.

In a report yesterday, Monday, making the shocking revelation, signed on behalf of the group by Catherine Kerigun,  the Centre said that Atiku was actualizing his threat of destabilizing Nigeria as parts of his electioneering campaign.

It said that the game plan was to make President Muhammadu Buhari seem incapable of handling the security challenges in the country ahead of his inauguration and in order to attract a revolt against the government of the country .

The report also revealed that Atiku Abubakar planned to truncate the swearing in of President Muhammadu Buhari come May 29, 2019 and has paid $30,000 to Fein & DelValle PLLC, a US firm in March to carry out the dirty deal.

Excerpts from the report read below.

The rising wave of insecurity in Nigeria became a cause for concern despite concerted efforts of the country’s security agencies. Daily, Gestapo like criminal activities spring up in various parts of the country that suggest that it might be politically masterminded because of the timing, target and ultimate victims of such organized crime aimed to cause untold embarrassment to the country.

Consequently, the Centre for Diplomacy and Democracy, Washington DC, USA, undertook a systematic research on the major issues that shaped the 2019 general elections, vis-a-vid actions of political parties and political actors that were capable of heating the polity and its consequences after the polls, with a view to unravelling the mystery behind the sustained security challenges in Nigeria.

The findings are mindboggling as it unraveled a whole lot of pointers that indicate that the security challenges experienced in Nigeria are politically motivated and masterminded.

The 2019 general elections in Nigeria was regarded as one of the most fiercely contested in the annals of the country. The incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari and the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar were locked in a fierce contest for the votes of the electorates. And in the process, promises were made, as well as threats as regards to the outcome of the poll.

The bulk of the threats were made by the opposition party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and groups sympathetic to him, who carried on as he had already won the elections before the commencement of the polls.

In the build-up to the elections, armed rebels from Nigeria’s oil-rich southern Niger Delta region (Niger-Delta Avengers) vowed to cripple the country’s economy if President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected. The militant group said its preferred candidate was the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

“We are in charge of the struggle now, and our strike teams are active and gallantly waiting to receive instructions from the high command to cripple the Nigerian economy again if Buhari is rigged back to the office. And this time, it will be a perpetual recession for Nigeria.”

“We are adopting Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as the sole candidate to be voted for by all the people of the Niger Delta as a result of his political ideology, which is in tandem with our agitation for equitable and fair principles of federalism.”

In a report monitored on several newspapers in Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar had expressly stated that killings by herdsmen would continue if he loses the elections.

“The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, stated that the killings by herdsmen would continue and ultimately spark series of ethno-religious crises that would be irreversible if Nigerians do not vote out the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019 elections.”

From the statements gathered, it is sufficient to link the threats made by Atiku Abubakar with the renewed security challenges in Nigeria. The repeated attacks by armed bandits, killer herdsmen all points to one direction, which is the fact that he lost the presidential election and indeed gone to court to contest the outcome of the election with a claim to having access to the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Information gathered from impeccable sources indicates that it could not have been a coincidence that upon issuing such threats, before the elections, and after the elections, activities of herdsmen and armed bandits have increased tremendously.

There are several pointers to the fact that making the country ungovernable is a game plan of Atiku Abubakar who enjoys some level of support from some rebel groups in Cameroon by infiltration of some Nigerian communities and inflicting maximum damage to these communities.

The case of Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Taraba states presents examples of how Atiku Abubakar is carrying out the threat in a subtle manner such that would evade detection by the security agencies.

The case of Katsina, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari has been under attack by armed bandits. The game plan is to make President Muhammadu Buhari seem incapable of handling the security challenges in the country.

The statement by Atiku Abubakar stating that killings would continue if he loses the elections was a strategy designed by Atiku Abubakar to instill fear in the hearts of the electorates to secure their votes during the elections. However, this did not work out in his favour, and he has resorted to activating the plan B, which is to subtly engage the services of mercenaries from neighboring francophone countries to cause mayhem in Nigeria.

The activities of kidnappers on the Famous-Kaduna Abuja highway have defeated all known security strategy. Top security sources revealed that the bulk of the kidnappers are not Nigerians but persons from neighboring countries. And they do not kidnap for ransom, but they kidnap to paint an atmosphere of insecurity.

This much was corroborated by a statement issued by Atiku Abubakar’s party when on 27 April, 2019, it issued a statement that stated thus “The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has for the umpteenth time said the All Progressives Congress (APC) was incompetent to handle the country’s affairs, saying rising levels of crimes and criminality, corruption and impunity have raised questions about the actual purpose of government in Nigeria.”

“Security situation has been such that prominent Nigerian clerics have been raising serious concern on the issue of leadership, even questioning whether we have a Commander-in-Chief in this country. While the Presidency continues to argue that there exists government in our country today, what obtains, in reality, is different. The level of bloodletting occasioned by the barrage of criminalities across the country can only be happening in a country without a government.”

The above statements from the opposition party leave more to be imagined. It points to a bigger plot to cause disaffection amongst the populace and to paint a picture of incompetence before the international community.

This much was also corroborated by the fact that security agencies are probing an alleged plot by Atiku Abubakar, to prevail on the United States to recognize him as the ‘authentic President’ of Nigeria.

The agencies are already on the trail of members of the Atiku Deservation Group behind the printing and distribution of Atiku Abubakar’s posters in some parts of the country aimed at confusing the polity.

The posters bore the inscription PUKKA, which in Hindi and Urda figuratively means” fully formed,” “solid,” “permanent,” “for real” or “sure, authentic, genuine, solid and excellent.”

It was gathered that the security agencies are working on a theory that some groups loyal to Atiku Abubakar were out for subversive activities against President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The whole script is about a subversive plot against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Security agencies picked up some intelligence, and they are already investigating individuals and groups connected with it.

Another fact that lends credence to the plot by Atiku Abubakar to truncate the swearing in of President Muhammadu Buhari come May 29th, 2019 is how he paid $30,000 to Fein & DelValle PLLC, a US firm in March.

“In its terms and conditions for representation, Fein & DelValle PLLC had said it would establish and operate a situation room located in its Capitol Hill offices in the US and enlist the services of Lloyd Ukwu, a Nigerian barrister and trusted confidant of Atiku Abubakar, to assist in the operation of the situation room.

“The firm also proposed to execute strategies to secure the US endorsement of Atiku’s efforts to defeat what it called “flagrant violence and irregularities orchestrated” by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Buhari to compromise the presidential election.

This report from all indication points to the covert role played by Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in inciting and instigating insecurity in Nigeria. It was established beyond a reasonable doubt through credible sources that Atiku Abubakar had also compromised some elements with the security apparatus in Nigeria to leak security strategies for tackling the menace of kidnappings, armed banditry, and killer herdsmen.

The overarching objective was to pitch the populace against the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and cast questions on the competence of President Muhammadu Buhari to lead Nigeria.

The statement credited to Atiku Abubakar that killings would continue should President Muhammadu Buhari be re-elected has seen a rise in the wave of insecurity in Nigeria, so much so that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party issues a press statement immediately there is a security breach anywhere in the country.

The report further revealed that Atiku Abubakar had exhibited a desperate attempt at truncating the presidential inauguration coming up in the coming weeks. Unless urgent counter steps are taken, the activities of sponsored armed bandits, kidnappers and killer herdsmen will reach an alarming level.

Source:  Metro Daily Nigeria.

UN Security Council Reform Most Complex, Contentious, Divisive, UN Boss Confesses

UN General Assembly President, Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces

The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés has confessed that the UN Security Council reform has been one of the most complex, divisive and contentious negotiations processes at the UN.

María Fernanda Espinosa, who answered reporters’ questions today, Tuesday, shortly after conferring officially with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Nigeria, said that the process the process of reforms was started 25 years ago and that the mandate to negotiate the reform came 10 years ago when she was the ambassador of Ecuador at the UN.

“As you know, the reform of the security council is under the responsibility of the UN General Assembly and I have appointed two co-chairs to lead the works of the inter-governmental negotiations that have been taking place for 10 years now.”

She said that at the time she thought the body had a resolution to start the negotiations and with a great naivety, “I thought this is going to be a process that will perhaps be for two or three years. “Ten years later, I have to say  that there is no consensus; there are very different views and positions regarding the reform process.  As we know, we need consensus to advance reforms. “This is one of the issues where my work as the president is to lead to make sure that we agree on the fundamentals to ensure that the process is inclusive and transparent.

“That the outcome of the reform is going to depend very much on the political will of member states themselves. Then of course, the African position is well known and there are also different groups that have different positions. We are trying to bring them together and find a common denominator.

“And the common denominator is that the security council has to deliver more and better because they have the main responsibility to deliver on peace and security agenda of the organization.

“On the humanitarian needs in the Lake Chad area, that is the role of the UN. We are deploying all our capacities not only our office of humanitarian affairs but all our development apparatus of the UN, working in all the Chad Basin, supporting governments, countries and the leader to improve humanitarian aid according to people’s needs in the regions and micro regions.

“I have specific numbers on how much, specific coverage and people but everything we do is in strict and close coordination with the governments of the Lake Chad Basin.

“As you know, the UN has signed five-year UN cooperation framework with Nigeria whereby $4.5 million that will channeled according to the Nigerian government’s priorities.”

Central Bank Of Nigeria Injects More $205 Million Into Forex Market

The interbank segment of the Foreign Exchange Market has received a boost of $205 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following the sales concluded today, Tuesday.

Figures obtained from the CBN indicated that authorized dealers in the wholesale segment of the market were offered the sum of $100million, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment received the sum of $55 million. The sum of $50 million was allocated to customers requiring foreign exchange for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others.

The Director in the Corporate Communications Department of the apex bank, Isaac Okorafor, confirmed the transactions and said that the effort of the bank had helped to stem fluctuations in the exchange rate.

This, according to him, had increased the level of confidence investors and the public had in the Naira.

It will be recalled that on Friday, May 3, the bank injected the sum of $271.8million and CNY41.1million into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) segment.

Meanwhile, the Naira today Tuesday, exchanged at an average of N361/$1 in the BDC segment of the market.

Buhari, With Holy Qur’an, At Presidential Villa’s Mosque Tafsir

President Muhammadu Buhari attends Tafsir (interpretations of the meanings of the Holy Qur’an) today, Tuesday, May 7, at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, along with the minister of Interior, retired General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau and top Presidential aides.

14 Die In Plane Crash In Mexico

No fewer than 14 people are dead after a plane which left Las Vegas heading to Monterrey, Mexico, crashed in northern Mexico, late yesterday, Sunday.

Fernando Orta of Coahuila state’s emergency services department said that the plane was located 129 miles northwest of Monclova. It went missing about 90 minutes after departing Vegas on May 5.

“The land is rather mountainous … so they’re going to take a while longer to arrive,” Orta said, adding that officials have not yet arrived on the scene of the crash.

The passengers, who were between the ages of 19 and 57, were reportedly in Las Vegas to watch the boxers Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs fight. It is believed that the victims are Mexican nationals.

Though, the wreckage of the plane has been found, according to a government official where 11 passengers and three crew members died, Coahuila Governor, Miguel Riquelme however said today, May 6 that a search operation for the plane was ordered, even as he admitted: “we still do not know what happened.”

According to CNN Wire reports, the plane model was the Canadair Challenger 600, and it has a total capacity of up to 20 people.

FlightAware said the plane went to 37,000 feet for a while, went up and down before climbing to 40,000 feet and was not tracked any longer. Report confirmed that a strong storm was in the area.

A Radio Centro correspondent stated: “The Secretariat of Public Security of Coahuila and authorities of Nuevo Leon have begun searches for the private Jet Bombardier Challenger 601 plane, registration N601VH, that flew from Las Vegas to Monterrey, with which contact was lost on Sunday afternoon.”

Source: Associated Press.

Israel, Armed Palestinian Groups Declare Ceasefire In Gaza

Israel and armed Palestinian groups have declared ceasefire in Gaza in early hours of today, Monday, halting intense violence that claimed 25 Palestinian lives and four civilians in Israel in just over 48 hours.

Reports said however, that any meaningful change to the status quo in Gaza, under Israeli air, land and sea blockade for 12 years, a resumption of the deadly fighting is only a matter of time.

There have been several bouts of fighting across the Gaza-Israel boundary in recent months, each lasting one to three days, with Israel and armed groups coming to a ceasefire agreement.

Those agreements have brought little relief for Gaza’s two million Palestinians, half of them children, who have been plunged into poverty under Israeli siege and whose reality grows increasingly dire.

A human rights group in the territory, Al Mezan, warned today, Monday that international silence regarding Israel’s military operations against Palestinians in Gaza would result in the collapse of the humanitarian situation in the territory.

International bodies like the United Nations have repeatedly warned that an explosion in the Gaza pressure cooker is imminent.

But instead of using its leverage to change the underlying causes, the UN has played a complicit role in Israeli violations of international law by enforcing the siege and treating Palestinian rights as bargaining chips.

The European Union meanwhile has rewarded Israel’s settlements built in violation of international law and funded its weapons industry that “field tests” its wares on Palestinians in Gaza.

Those bodies and governments allied with Israel performatively condemn Palestinian factions for firing rockets as though they are the cause and not a symptom of the wider human rights and political context.

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