African leaders are thinking of establishing a special, continental fund to be used in fighting terrorism. The idea has been scehduled for the next African Union Summit to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Fielding questions from journalists today, after the closing of the 455th African Union Peace and Security Council meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, Chairperson of the Council, President Idris Debby of Chad, flanked by President Jonathan, said that it remained the responsibility of Africa to raise funds to solve its own problems and stop the over- reliance on foreign aids. This position had earlier been canvassed by the host, President Uhuru Kenyatta during the opening ceremony. He had argued that African governments should take the issue of anti- terrorism funding seriously to complement the support coming from partners and friends outside the continent. Debby said that Kenyatta’s proposal would be tabled for discussion in the next AU Summit. He emphasized the need for African leaders to give adequate attention to the issue, saying: “We are looking for African solution. We have the means and capacity to face any given situation, even terrorism. We are not refusing support from abroad, but it is supposed to be an African problem and we should stop disturbing our friends and partners. We should stop the vicious circle.” In a communique issued after the Summit, the leaders warned African countries against payment of ransom and encouragement of financial terrorism. The Council also urged member states to ensure that their territories are not used as recruitment grounds for terrorists. The leader insisted that the fundamental human rights of civilians must be upheld at all times while fighting terrorism. The communique requested member states to submit annual reports to the Council on the steps they are taking to combat terrorism within their respective territories.
The Director General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Guy Ryder has said that about 2.3 million workers worldwide die annually as a result of occupational illnesses and accidents at work.
According to him, 860,000 occupational accidents occur every day with direct or indirect costs of occupational illnesses and accidents at work, estimated at $2.8 trillion worldwide.
Guy Ryder, who spoke at the Triennial World Congress on Safety and Health at Work (2014) co organised by ILO and the International Social Security Association (ISSA) in Frankfurt, Germany remarked: “These figures are unacceptable and yet these daily tragedies often fail to show up on the global radar. Clearly, there is still much to be done. Serious occupational accidents are, firstly, human tragedies but economies and society also pay a high price.”
The Director-General called for what he described as “culture of intolerance towards risks at work,” saying that safety and health are integral part of all ILO’s work, including a spotlight on invisible and vulnerable categories of workers in the informal economy, rural economy and migrant workers.
Speaking to occupational safety experts, politicians and scientists from 141 countries at the world’s largest occupational safety event, Ryder said the ILO would focus on producing a greater impact on the global culture related to safety and health at work and on the ground in workplaces. “Ebola and the tragedies it is causing are in the daily headlines, which is right. But work-related deaths are not. So, the task ahead is to establish a permanent culture of consciousness,” Ryder said. He said the failure to ensure a safe and healthy workplace constitute unacceptable form of work. “This puts safety and health alongside forced labour, child labour, freedom of association and discrimination, which were recognised in the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
“The challenge we face is a daunting one. Work claims more victims around the globe than war. An estimated 2.3 million workers die every year from occupational accidents and diseases.”
He pointed out that investing in occupational safety and health is good business adding that “every dollar that is invested pays in.” Ryder also underlined the critical need for good data stressing: “We live in the Information Age where policy-makers have access to data on most issues. But in relation to occupational safety and health we lack data to design and implement evidence-based policies and programmes. That’s a failure – also of political will.” [myad]
Saudi Arabia has announced the arrest of 88 people suspected to be plotting to launch attacks both inside the country and outside, even as there are rumoured plans by terrorists to destroy the tomb of Prophet Muhammad with the intention of removing his body to an anonymous grave. These are plans that threaten to spark discord across the Muslim world.
The Saudi Arabian interior ministry said today that the suspected terrorists have been monitored for several months before their arrest and “were on the verge of carrying out operations.”
Police say three of the men are from Yemen and others, except one that is still being identified, are Saudi Arabian citizens.
Interior ministry spokesman, Mansour al-Turki did not give any details about the plots but said 59 of the men had previously served prison sentences for similar offences.
He told reporters that the arrests were made over the past few days, and that this has shown that Saudi forces were “serious in tracking down” anyone who joined extremist groups.
“It is unfortunate that some of those who had completed their sentences and were released by court orders returned to their previous ways.”
This is coming on the heels of the growing concerns thatthe tomb of the Prophet Mohamed could be destroyed and his body removed to an anonymous grave under plans which threaten to spark discord across the Muslim world.
The controversial proposals are said to be part of a consultation document by a leading Saudi academic which has been circulated among the supervisors of al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque in Medina, where the remains of the Prophet are housed under the Green Dome, visited by millions of pilgrims and venerated as Islam’s second-holiest site. The formal custodian of the mosque is Saudi Arabia’s ageing monarch King Abdullah.
The plans, brought to light by another Saudi academic who has exposed and criticised the destruction of holy places and artefacts in Mecca – the holiest site in the Muslim world – call for the destruction of chambers around the Prophet’s grave which are particularly venerated by Shia Muslims.
The 61-page document also calls for the removal of Mohamed’s remains to the nearby al-Baqi cemetery, where they would be interred anonymously.
There is no suggestion that any decision has been taken to act upon the plans. The Saudi government has in the past insisted that it treats any changes to Islam’s holiest sites with “the utmost seriousness”.
But such is the importance of the mosque to both Sunni and Shia Muslims that Dr. Irfan al-Alawi warned that any attempt to carry out the work could spark unrest. It also runs the risk of inflaming sectarian tensions between the two branches of Islam, already running perilously high due to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
Hardline Saudi clerics have long preached that the country’s strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam – an offshoot of the Sunni tradition – prohibits the worship of any object or “saint,” a practice considered “shirq” or idolatrous.
Dr. Alawi, director of the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation said: “People visit the chambers, which are the rooms where the Prophet’s family lived, and turn towards the burial chamber to pray.
“Now they want to prevent pilgrims from attending and venerating the tomb because they believe this is shirq, or idolatry. But the only way they can stop people visiting the Prophet is to get him out and into the cemetery.”
For centuries, Muslim pilgrims have made their way to Mecca in order to visit the Kaaba – a black granite cubed building said to be built by Abraham, around which al-Masjid al-Haram, or the Grand Mosque, is built, and towards which every Muslim faces when they pray.
This pilgrimage, or hajj, is a religious duty that has to be carried out at least once in a lifetime.
Many go on to make their way to the nearby city of Medina to pay their respects at the Prophet’s tomb.
Al-Nabawi mosque around the tomb has been expanded by generations of Arabian rulers, particularly the Ottomans. It includes hand-painted calligraphy documenting details of the Prophet’s life and his family. Dr Alawi said the plans also call for these to be destroyed as well as the Green Dome which covers the Prophet’s tomb.
The Prophet is venerated by both branches of Islam, Sunni and Shia. The strict Wahhabi sect is a branch of the Sunni faith, however, and removing the Prophet could further inflame tensions between the two groups .
The current crisis in Iraq has been blamed on the Shia former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s sectarianism, which alienated the Sunni, leading to the uprising. Isis, also known as Islamic State, which holds swathes of Iraq and Syria, and which murdered the American journalist James Foley, is a Sunni organisation.
Mainstream Sunni Muslims would be just as aghast at any desecration of the tomb as the Shia, Dr Alawi said.
Dr. Alawi says the consultation document for the al-Nabawi mosque in Medina, by the leading Saudi academic, Dr. Ali bin Abdulaziz al-Shabal of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, has been circulated to the Committee of the Presidency of the Two Mosques.
Several pages of the consultation document have just been published in the presidency’s journal. They call for the destruction of the rooms surrounding the tomb – used by the Prophet’s wives and daughters, and venerated by the Shia because of their association with his youngest daughter, Fatima.
The document also calls for the Green Dome, which covers the tomb and these living quarters, to be removed, and the ultimate removal of the Prophet’s body to a nearby cemetery.
The al-Baqi cemetery already contains the bodies of many of the Prophet’s family, including his father who was removed there in the 1970s, Dr. Alawi said. In 1924 all the grave markers were removed, so pilgrims would not know who was buried there, and so be unable to pray to them.
“The Prophet would be anonymous,” Dr. Alawi said, adding: “Everything around the Prophet’s mosque has already been destroyed. It is surrounded by bulldozers. Once they’ve removed everything they can move towards the mosque. The imam is likely to say there is a need to expand the mosque and do it that way, while the world’s eyes are on Iraq and Syria. The Prophet Mohamed’s grave is venerated by the mainstream Sunni, who would never do it. It is just as important for the Shia too, who venerate the Prophet’s daughter, Fatima.
“I’m sure there will be shock across the Muslim world at these revelations. It will cause outrage.”
However the Saudi Arabian embassy, had, in a statement last year said: “The development of the Holy Mosque of Makkah al-Mukarramah (Mecca) is an extremely important subject and one which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in its capacity as custodian of the two holy mosques, takes with the utmost seriousness. This role is at the heart of the principles upon which Saudi Arabia is founded.” [myad]
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana(SAN) has called on the federal government to arrest and prosecute those behind the nefarious civilities of the dreaded Boko Haran insurgence in the country.
Falana, in a statement issued in Lagos advised the government not to delay in the prosecution of those named in connection with the insurgence to the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying that the allegations against them are too weighty to be ignored or gloss over. “In view of the gravity of the allegations of crimes against humanity committed by the sponsors of the Boko Haram sect, President Jonathan should refer the suspects to the Special Prosecutor of the international Criminal Court. “Any local investigation conducted by the Federal Governnent in the circumstance may be manipulated by vested political interests.”
The lawyer recalled that the international negotiator, Rev. Stephen Davies, engaged by President Jonathan to enter into dialogue with the Boko Haram sect with a view to securing the release of the abducted 275 Chibok school girls revealed the identities of the sponsors of the terrorist organisation.
He wondered why the government is foot-dragging in taking proactive measure by prosecuting those named in criminal court.
“In a well publicised televised interview in London last week, the international negotiator disclosed that a former governor of Borno state, a former chief of army staff and a former top official of the Central Bank of Nigeria have provided funds and other logistics to the nihilist body for the terrorist attacks which had claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people in the country.”
According to him, the disclosure was backed with some detailed accounts which confirmed some information in the domain of the security forces in the country.
Falana also recalled that the Ambassador Usman Galtimari Committeee on insurgency in the north east zone set up in 2011 by President Jonathan had recommended the prosecution of “some politicians, who sponsored, funded and used the militia groups that later metamorphosed into Boko Haram. ” In a White Paper issued on the report of the Committee the Federal Government accepted the recommendation and ditrected “the National Security Adviser to coordinate the investigation of the kingpins and sponsors to unravel the individuals and groups that are involved.
“Although the White Paper was published in May 2012 the directive of the federal government has not been carried out up till now because the individuals involved are said to be connected to the Presidency.
“However, the special envoy of the Federal Government has just named one of the “kingpins and sponsors of the terrorist sect.
“Having regard to the report of the Oputa Panel on human rights abuse in Nigeria from 1966-1999 which indicted the Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha juntas for bombing certain “subversive” individuals and extra-judicial killing of others for phantom coup de tat the alleged involvement of military officers in the terrorist activities of the Boko Haram sect cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand.” [myad]
The Federal Government of Nigeria has not come out to reject the incriminating statements made by its employed Chief Boko Haram negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, from Australia, who three days ago named former Chief of army staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika and a former governor of Borno state, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, both ruling party members, as the top sponsors of the Boko Haram deadly sect that has killed more than a hundred thousand Nigerians and displaced over four million, mostly farmers in the nation’s north.
For some reason I bet the Jonathan government will never discredit him because they know he knows much more he is not yet saying and they will not want to risk him getting bitter and telling Nigerians much more of the truth they are dying, literally dying to know.
It can be concluded that the ex-military chief is a top sponsor of Boko Haram. The inefficiency and gross sabotage of the military and military operations over the past four years of his reign are living and dead testimony of his membership role in the organization. Well noted military abandonments of post prior to Boko Haram attacks, the facilitated transfer of Nigeria’s best weapons, armored tanks and APC’s (taken up north to “combat the terrorists) by the military to Boko Haram throughout his tenure and continuing today are further evidence of his support of the group.
The question Nigerians now ask is, why? Why will a Christian army general from the southeast sponsor a group that is promoted as being radical “islamist?”
The answer must lie between or be a combination of the following:
Retired general Azubuike Ihejirika is likely a loony Biafra Zionist fanatic. His interests lie in the destruction of the north of the nation which he blames for the defeat of Ojukwu’s Biafra secessionist attempt. This will explain why the Nigerian military men drafted to protect a well respected former general, who fought valiantly on the Nigerian side against Biafra, late General Muhammed Shuwa, were described to have withdrawn and looked on as the general was assassinated at his home. Of course General Ihejirika not court-martialing these men proves his involvement.
General Azubuike Ihejirika would have been enjoying the havoc caused by Boko Haram on the north along with the handful of fellow loony fanatics like himself that always celebrate the deaths and destruction to the north and call it “pay-back,” not mindful of the fact that hundreds of thousands of innocent people who were not even born during the civil war; and millions who did not participate in any way are the majority of victims.
There are hundreds of cases worldwide where people and States act in like fashion with conspiracies to undermine others they hate. In many of these events, these mischief makers even sacrifice their own in false-flags to achieve their ulterior goal.
It is evident that General Ihejirika did not mind as Boko Haram continued to murder Nigerians in the north. He vehemently opposed the request for additional troops made by the then Chief of defense, Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim to curb Boko Haram’s onslaught. It can be recollected that by May last year, Boko Haram had taken over 2/3rds of Borno and the General still rejected the demands for the needed troops and was seen driving in convoy’s in Abuja building his multi-billion hotel.
It was later that May, after we released a high level intelligence report, alerting the world about the permitted occupation of the north by ragtag terrorists, that Nigeria’s President and the General were finally forced, reluctantly, to declare a State of emergency and finally draft the needed troops.
It can also be recollected that as soon as victory was in sight and the first “Shekau” was killed by the then Joint Task Force – in August of 2013 – that the Nigerian president and General Ihejirika stopped the successful coordinated JTF-CivilianJTF assault on Boko Haram and re-deployed all troops with knowhow of the war; and created a docile 7 division army that was now “banned” from cooperating with the CivilianJTF and would leave Boko Haram to recover and re-establish their assault on the farmers of the north.
The ex-general was fulfilling the dream of the handful of fanatics who believe self-determination can only be gotten through murder. Many of us will fight for the liberation of not only the Igbo States if the people so desire, but also every Nigerian zone that wants sovereignty and self-determination; but one must not and need not shed a drop of innocent blood to achieve this and any other goals.
Corruption is also a motive for his actions sponsoring Boko Haram. The alleged war against terror is a great source of wealth for the army chiefs. A quarter of Nigeria’s budget goes to financing this war and yet several reports, some by ENDS and others by SaharaReporters have exposed how the Nigerian army has been severely underfunded. Soldiers sleep and eat in shameful condition. They wear substandard gear and sometimes two army divisions are combined to one unit to half the cost of operations. The billions allocated to the war on terror have been swallowed by Nigeria’s executive government and the top army chiefs. Soldiers complained to us that they are given only two rounds of ammunition to defend barracks’ with instead of 10 times that, the minimum required allocation. Soldiers complained that they had to beg the armory for rounds. The former General was stuffing his mouth with money for the army beyond belief.
He has been reportedly constructing mansions and ultra-modern hotels on the money for Nigeria’s defense. Clearly the preservation and continuation of the war was in his interest and is still in the interest of Nigeria’s army chiefs as it gives them stupendous wealth under in the “democratic” era where they are out of government.
The ex-General made an inadvertent confession of the sabotaging of the needed development of the Nigerian army in his rascally diversionary attack on the person of El-Rufai when these accusations were first published. He admitted and alleged in that statement published in the Vanguard that “it was because money was not spent on the army that Boko Haram was successful.” So #WhereIsOurMoney? Is it money for the Nigerian army that he spends on Boko Haram? What wicked treachery!
If I may add a third reason- the former army Chief is a known as a PDP ruling party potential gubernatorial candidate for Abia State. The ruling PDP party has always utilized Boko Haram as a means of tarnishing the image of their opposition. It can be recollected that the former Party chairman and a best friend of the President, Bamanga Tukur, still on public salary, said, “Boko Haram is fighting for justice, Boko Haram is another name for justice.” General Ihejrika on this basis would have been doing the party’s bidding by destroying the north, most especially opposition States.
We must thank the Chibok grls for their prayers which the Lord is answering by revealing the identities of those doing this to them and their people. Davis said that it was in consideration of the abducted Angels that he decided he must speak out. The Lord Answereth. Amen, Amen, Amen to their prayers. Nigerians can bet on more revelations and more of the Lord’s Wrath to the rascals and oppressors in the coming days and months.
Meanwhile the nation waits as it expects these sponsors to be arrested in the coming days; else the Jonathan government will be again more seriously implicated in Boko Haram sponsorship. [myad]
Jigawa state chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has disassociated itself from the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 Presidential contest as announced by the North-West chapter of the party shortly after its caucus meeting in Kaduna on Sunday.
The state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mahmud told newsmen in Dutse, the state capital today that the government and people of the state (Jigawa) were not in any way in support of the content the of the communiqué read after the Kaduna PDP north west zonal meeting in Kaduna. “We are not part of the decision. We didn’t know the content of the communiqué read after (Sunday) PDP north west zonal meeting at Kaduna. the government (of Jigawa) and the people remain loyal to the party and the federal republic of Nigeria. We are still members and remained loyal to the party and country.”
The deputy governor who represented governor Sule Lamido said said that governor Sule Lamido and Jigawa state government canvassed supports and voted for President Jonathan in 2011 election “but to our greatest dismay, Jonathan never fulfills any of the promises made to the people in the state.” [myad]
The new head of Nigerian football, whose disputed appointment has thrown the domestic game into turmoil, has dismissed the threat of sanctions from world governing body FIFA saying that it is just noise-making.
Giwa boasts: “We call on Nigerians not to panic. The NFF is not intimidated and we do not expect any sanction because we have done the appropriate thing. For us, it is noise-making. We have seen the letter from FIFA and digested the full content of it.
“Nothing has changed as far as we’re concerned. We will present our position to FIFA… and they will be convinced beyond any reasonable doubt.”
Giwa, who spoke to sports writers today, took over the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Tuesday last week, after pushing off Aminu Maigari, who was prevented from attending an executive committee meeting after being arrested by the secret police.
FIFA had on Friday, made it clear to the NFF that it did not recognise Giwa’s appointment and ordered him and his newly “elected” officials to stand down by midnight on Monday or face sanctions, including a possible ban.which would throw into doubt Nigeria’s first 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo on Saturday. Nigeria’s Super Eagles are the defending champions.
Nigerian football has been embroiled in a bitter leadership struggle since the World Cup after Maigari and his executives were first sacked by a court and a government administrator took over.
The court order was later set aside but Maigari was then impeached on corruption charges by his own executive committee but then reinstated.
FIFA said proper procedures had not been followed and ordered fresh elections.
Nigeria’s sports minister, Tammy Danagogo has endorsed Giwa but club owner Bertram Ekenwa described this as “an act of gangsterism”.
“He has failed to understand the dynamics of football in this country and has insisted on imposing an unpopular candidate on us,” said Ekenwa.
“He is behind the crisis. He should either resign or be sacked because his poor handling of the matter has embarrassed everybody including the government he represents.” [myad]
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that the current rate of infant and maternal mortality at 74 and 630 respectively, has made Nigeria to be among the worst in the world.
Atiku who spoke in Owerri at the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Progressive Governance Lecture Series, said that this situation is unacceptable to a nation that is endowed with enough resources to take good care of its citizens,
According to him, health is not a privilege, but a right which “every citizen in a modern society is entitled t.”
He insisted that lack of resources is not responsible for Nigeria’s relative under-development, but the backwardness is as result of lack of vision by leaders, adding that that Nigeria has the resources, but needed “leadership, vision and determination to make things work.”
Atiku Abubakar said the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Nigeria has brought to the fore Nigeria’s emergency management response strategies, saying that the fatal disease calls for urgent need for adequate investments in healthcare, infrastructure and service delivery across the country.
Atiku Abubakar regretted that the statistics are disturbing and that the outbreak of Ebola had only exposed the underbelly of our healthcare system.
According to him, despite the Nigeria’s vast resources and human capital, the doctor-to-patient ratio in Nigeria remains at 1 to 6,400, far below the WHO standard of 1 to 600.
He also lamented that at 50% access to improved water source and 35% adequate sanitation for Nigerians, the country is among the lowest in the world.
He said emphasis on healthcare education even as he considered it embarrassing that in the 21st century, Nigerians would be resorting to crude solution of “soaking ourselves in salty water to fight the virulent Ebola virus.”
The former Vice President also lamented the fact that “highly qualified and experienced medical professionals who were trained at public expense but chose to practice abroad.”
Atiku said there should be creative solutions to deal with this situation of investing heavily in healthcare professionals who end up serving abroad.
He explained that in a federal system, states should introduce policies that would attract doctors to serve their needs.
Atiku, who is also the Turaki Adamawa stressed that there is no justification for workers everywhere in the country to earn the same salaries.
Less than 48 hours after it was reported that Anita Oyakhilome had filed for divorce against her husband, Chris Oyakhilome in a London court, there are indications that Christ Embassy has deleted her pictures and personal information from its official website, www.christembassy.org.
Many church members are believed to have seen the new development as the beginning of a process to shut Anita out of the church, after she accused her husband of “adultery” and “unreasonable behaviours” in a divorce suit filed in London last April but only made public on Friday.
Christ Embassy’s new website now shows only Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, with a broad smile welcoming his followers to the month of August, and tagging it, ‘Month of Praise.’
Also, on the website of the Rhapsody of Realities, a daily devotional co-authored by the esrtwhile couple, there’s nothing to show that Anita is still recognised as the only visible face on the website among the family members is that of her husband.
In the past, when the going was good, Anita and Chris Oyakhilome held hands on the church website and smiled broadly. They projected the image of a perfect couple.
Information coming from the embassy indicated that there has been confusion in the church following the divorce suit filed by Anita to end her over two 20 years marriage to the founder of Christ Embassy Church.
In the past, Pastor Chris headed the Nigerian branch of the church, though he travelled to other branches occasionally, while Anita headed the branch in London and its environs.
Christ Embassy and its founder have been embroiled in a myriad of controversies in the past. In 2010, Oyakhilome was accused of engineering a money laundering scheme in Nigeria, and questions swirled around his finances because of his glamorous lifestyle.
Many pastors and theologians also excoriated Oyakhilome for his “New Creation” doctrine—a form of gnosticism that says after a person becomes a Christian, any sin they commit is only in the body and will not affect the spirit.
In 2008, Oyakhilome’s reputation as a faith healer was tarnished badly in Johannesburg, South Africa, when a man told a Soweto newspaper that Christ Embassy offered him more than $1,200 to sit in a wheelchair and pretend to be crippled until Oyakhilome prayed for him.
“The man went to the media instead of taking the money, sparking concerns that healings were being faked to impress growing crowds,” said Lee Grady in an article in 2012 published by Charisma Magazine.
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has also been a target of criticism by the Treatment Action Campaign for his support of faith healing to cure HIV.
Allegations that Christ Embassy members are reportedly being forced to give huge sums of money in offerings with the biggest donors receiving the biggest awards have left many people concerned.
Many Nigerians have also alleged that the church operates like a cult and pressures members to marry only within Christ Embassy.
Many people also remember the scandal involving Christ Embassy and Sheraton Hotel some years ago when a member of the church, who worked at the Sheraton Hotel, stole money from his employers and gave it to Christ Embassy. But when Sheraton approached the church for reimbursement, the church allegedly claimed that the money had been given to God and could not be refunded.
Many also excoriated Pastor Chris some years ago when the church began collecting gate fees from members for their New Year Eve’s Service.
More recently, Oyakhilome came under attack after he claimed that Christians were free to masturbate because it was not a sin.
But the latest scandal involving Anita and Chris, who have two daughters, seems to threaten the very existence of one of the biggest churches in Nigeria.
Members of the deadly Boko Haram are fighting to conquer more Nigerian territory after having captured towns such as Gwoza, Dikwa, Marte and Gamboru all in Borno state. The sect is currently fighting the Nigerian troops to capture Bama also in Borno state.
Reports just coming in indicated that heavy fighting is now ongoing between troops of the Nigerian army and suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Bama town which is central part of Borno State.
Fleeing residents said ‘hundreds’ of insurgents, armed with rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), explosives and guns stormed Bama at dawn and are still fighting with Nigerian troops.
“As I am talking to you (9.30am), the war is ongoing and it will be difficult to describe the level of destruction,” Tijjani Bukar, a driver that escaped to Maiduguri, said.
Bama was attacked in May 2013 and February, 2014.
The Army barracks and the emir’s palace were all attacked by the insurgents in the previous attacks.
Bama is nearly 60 kilometers away from Maiduguri.
Of recent, the insurgents are intensifying ‘territorial conquest.’
Eight days ago, leader of the Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau declared Gwoza ‘Islamic Caliphate.’ [myad]
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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that the current rate of infant and maternal mortality at 74 and 630 respectively, has made Nigeria to be among the worst in the world.
