2016

 

In the wake of a string of prison breaks that have unfolded across Nigeria, 23 Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) officers have been sacked while 11 others are facing suspension.
This was announced to the public on Monday in a press release issued by NPS Public Relations Officer Francis Enobore. The decision to dismiss the officers was made at an emergency meeting called by the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Service Board (CDFIPB) and held on August 11, 2016.
In the letters of dismissal issued to the affected staff, the CDFIPB cited “negligence of duty” as the cause for dismissal, stating that CDFIPB’s disciplinary actions are in line with the provision of Public Service Rule 030402 (O).
Among the dismissed officers are 3 senior officers and 7 junior staff from Kuje Medium Security Prison and 3 senior officers and 10 junior staff from Koton Karfe Prison. Meanwhile, Nsukka Prison Deputy Controller for Prisons (DCP) Okonkwo Lawrence and 10 of his colleagues were suspended.
Nigeria has endured three separate prison breaks throughout the summer. The first occurred in June at Kuje Prison in Abuja, in which two inmates escaped only to be recaptured less than a week later. In July, 13 prisoners escaped Koton Karfe Prison in Kogi State. Just last week, 15 inmates escaped from Nsukka Prison, but 6 were recaptured shortly thereafter.
Source: Saharareporters
SaharaReporters has discovered that the police have yet to prosecute any of the Department of State Service (DSS) agents arrested for their role in last November’s robbery of a foreign exchange haulage truck containing over N310 million in Abuja.
The agents were attached to Senate President Bukola Saraki’s security detail at the time they executed the dastardly heist on November 20.
SaharaReporters first broke the news regarding the five DSS agents: Abdulrasheed Ahmadu Maigari, Solomon Inusa, Peter Okoye, Patrick Ishaya, and George Mwatapwa Ibbi.
Mr. Saraki, in a press release circulated only to select editors and newspapers, confirmed at the time that DSS agents attached to him were involved in the heist, but denied the money they stole was for him.
DSS spokesman, Tony Opuiyo confirmed the names of the agents involved in the heist in a press release.
He stated that “the sum of three hundred and ten million naira (N310m) belonging to a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator in Abuja” was being shared. In the statement, Mr. Opuiyo also confirmed that Mr. Magari “conspired with his four other colleagues.”
Shortly after SaharaReporters revealed the full details of the heist, the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Wilson Inalegwo, said investigation had commenced but claimed the money that was stolen did not belong to the Senate President.
According to police sources which spoke with SaharaReporters, the robbery, which took place only about five minutes from Mr. Saraki’s Abuja residence, has now been moved to the Police Force headquarters.  One Okon Okon, an Assistant Police Commissioner of Police in charge of the criminal investigation at the FCT police command, told SaharaReporters that the case had to be "moved' to Force CID for better and further investigation because those involved are national security agents.
It remains baffling why officials engaging in crime at the local level cannot be charged considering the FCT Commissioner's position in December that investigation had already been concluded and that the FCT would charge the DSS officers involved, who include a military officer. A lawyer speaking anonymously with our reporter describe as "utter rubbish" the position of the FCT police saying that FCT police command has some of the best prosecutors and investigator as well as courts that are frequently used to prosecute federal government officials involved in criminal activities.
A phone call to the Force Public Relations Officer, Adebisi Kolawole, regarding the status of the case at the Force HQ, was not returned.
While it is clear that no charges or prosecutions have been filed for any crime associated with the heist, our investigation has revealed that top aides of Mr. Saraki and Lawal Daura, the Director-General of DSS, along with Mr. Saraki himself, have been trying to cover up the crime.
SaharaReporters revealed in December 2015 that Mr. Saraki's DSS aides orchestrated the heist to grab some of the money the Senate President was using to bribe judges to quash his impending trial for false asset declaration and corruption.
Saraki had called on a BDC owner, who a relative of former Head of State, Abdusalam Abubakar, to bring to his house the sum of N1billion from a nearby bank.  The BDC owner was instructed to use his own security as Saraki couldn't trust that President Muhammadu Buhari and his agents were not spying on him.
Things took a different turn when Saraki’s DSS detail, who had monitored the cash transfer conversations over some days, decided to hijack the money.  They reportedly took a part of the cash and let the BDC agent take the rest to Saraki.
Israeli bulldozers
Israeli bulldozers yesterday demolished the village of Al-Araqeeb in the Negev for the 95th times.
Local sources reported that Israel destroyed the village last month and returned to flatten it once again and uproot the villagers’ crops leaving them without shelter.
The Israeli government does not recognise about 51 Arab villages in the Negev and targets them constantly by demolition and the displacement of their people. It goes on to build settlements for Jews in the area instead.
In recent times, the villages of Negev have been subjected to wide demolition campaigns, which affected hundreds of homes. Israel claims the buildings were constructed without the necessary permits.
Iran test-fires ballistic missiles during large-scale drills, March 9, 2016. (Photo by IRNA)
Iran test-fires ballistic missiles during large-scale drills, March 9, 2016. (Photo by IRNA)
Iran says its latest launch of ballistic missiles does not violate the nuclear agreement it reached with the P5+1 group of countries and is not in contravention of a United Nations Security Council resolution.
The missile launch is “neither inconsistent with Iran’s commitments under the JCPOA, nor is it against the Security Council Resolution 2231,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi-Ansari said on Thursday
He was referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed between Tehran and the P5+1 group –  Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany – last year.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully test-fired two more ballistic missiles on Wednesday as part of military drills to assess their capabilities.
The missiles dubbed Qadr-H and Qadr-F were fired during large-scale drills, code-named Eqtedar-e-Velayat.
Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said Qadr-H missile has a range of 1,700 kilometers while Qadr-F missile can hit targets some 2,000 kilometers away.
On Tuesday, Iran fired another ballistic missile called Qiam from silo-based launchers in different locations across the country.
Jaberi-Ansari said none of Iran’s missiles are designed to carry nuclear warheads and thus, their production and test “are not in contravention of Resolution 2231 and its appendices.”
The resolution, adopted by the Security Council on July 20, 2015, bars Iran from developing missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran will not compromise over its security and defensive power," said Jaberi-Ansari.
Iran, he said, "will continue its completely defensive and legitimate missile program with the framework of its legitimate defense requirements."
Tehran will observe "its international commitments without entering into the fields of either nuclear warheads or designing missiles capable of carrying such warheads," he added.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday the missile launch did not constitute a breach of the JCPOA.
Iran has repeatedly assured other countries that its military might poses no threat to other states, insisting that its defense doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.
A ballistic missile is launched during large-scale drills in northern Iran, March 9, 2016. (Photo by IRNA)
Zarif-Kerry conversation untrue
Also on Thursday, an informed source at Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed reports that US Secretary of State John Kerry had phoned Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to discuss the tests.
A US State Department spokesman claimed on Wednesday that the two sides had discussed the issue earlier in the day.
The Iranian source said Kerry had sent an email to Zarif a week ago, asking for a phone conversation, but the minister has not responded yet because of his current busy tour of six Southeastern Asian and Pacific nations.
 
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, said on Wednesday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission would soon embark on a massive prosecution of suspects found to be responsible for the instability of the naira against some foreign currencies.
The AGF said this while addressing journalists on the issues affecting the foreign exchange market in the country, at his office in Abuja.
Malami restated the resolve of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to resist the call for the devaluation of the naira.
“In the exercise of the powers of my office and in consonance with the policy thrust of this administration, I have, therefore, directed the EFCC and other relevant security agencies to further investigate and confirm the information already available,” Malami said.
Responding to a question, Malami said investigations of the suspected foreign exchange suspects had been completed, adding that that the EFCC would embark on ‘massive prosecution’ soon.
“We have passed the stage of warning. We have passed the stage of investigation. We have gone far in terms of gathering the evidence. We are at the stage of embarking on massive prosecution,” Malami said.
Though the minister did not give the exact identities of the suspects, he said they included ‘regulators that are responsible for giving protection to the naira but have failed in their responsibilities and ended up protecting businessmen and other culprits involved in shady forex business’.
He said some of the ongoing sharp practices causing the instability of the naira included round-tripping of foreign exchange sourced from the inter-bank market, rendition of false foreign exchange utilisation data, non-repatriation of proceeds and use of foreign exchange for ineligible purposes.
He also linked the forex crisis to ‘consumption of foreign exchange transactions with inadequate, expired and or forged documents; and failure to report foreign exchange end users who default in the submission of required documents’.
He said the applicable law to prosecute the suspects included Banks and other Financial Institutions Act 1991 (as amended in 1997, 1998 and 2002); the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 and the Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1995.
He said the priority of the Buhari administration included efforts aimed at diversification of the economy and promotion of ‘greater accountability within the system through the blocking of all revenue loopholes’ and ‘a robust asset-recovery process’.
He said, “In the light of the current economic realities, it clear to all objective and discerning observers that there is an urgent need to review our foreign market from the perspective of the degree of compliance with extant laws and regulations due to certain disturbing developments which increasingly are confirming the initial suspicion of government that the current state of the naira is not the result of neutral factors.
“On the contrary, and indeed on a very sad not, it is apparent that our national currency is being deliberately undermined by carefully-orchestrated criminal conspiracies and manipulation by unscrupulous elements hiding under the cloak of so-called ‘market forces’.”
The minister said while the crash of the naira against the dollar and other key foreign currencies could be ‘directly traceable to declining crude oil prices arising from a supply glut in the global oil market’, the nefarious speculative activities had exerted further pressure on naira exchange.
He said the speculative activities had ‘created a very wide artificial differential between the aforesaid two rates which are now being exploited by unscrupulous individuals and institutions’.
He said, “Accordingly, the differential has given rise to sharp practices and rent- seeking activities by these entities that run contrary to the various provisions of the laws governing the conduct of the foreign exchange market and our money-laundering regime.”
By Ade Adesomoju, Punch Newspaper
 
The Federal Government is currently working to expose another 11,000 ghost workers on its payroll in its second batch of staff audit.
This is coming shortly after the government deleted 23,000 ghost workers from its payroll and saving the nation N2.29bn per month.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Wednesday at the end of a meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
She was joined at the post-FEC briefing by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal.
The minister said her ministry was using what she called computer techniques to investigate the 11,000 affected cases.
She said as soon as the cases were resolved, Nigerians would be informed of the amount saved and the number of names removed again from the payroll.
Adeosun said, “On the issue of the ghost workers, of the 23,000 that we had removed, our payroll has reduced by N2.29bn per month.
“The update on that is that we are now investigating another potential 11,000.
“Again, we are using computer techniques to identify those who we need to investigate.
“So we are now looking at the second batch and as we resolve those cases, we will inform you of the amount saved and the number of people removed.”
The minister added that the FEC had approved what he called the presidential initiative on continuous audit of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Adeosun said the initiative would allow government to extend the work beyond payroll to other areas of expenditure.
According to her, the World Bank has indicated its readiness to support Nigeria in this initiative, noting that it would take about six months to get the required legislation through.
She added, “The FEC deliberated extensively on the need for this and agreed that the control framework over finance and spending of government’s money needed to be strengthened especially in anticipation of the approval of the budget, which is an extended expenditure.
“If we don’t strengthen our controls, then there is a risk that money would leak or be applied to the wrong things and therefore, the ability to go into various agencies without notice and check and do audits and updates to make sure that public money is being spent in accordance with our expectations and objectives.
“FEC approved the setting up of this initiative effectively using an executive order to create internal audit to enable us to continue this work and to extend it to everywhere that federal money is being spent or received so that we can have better oversight.”
Adeosun said the government would not carry out additional recruitment for the exercise.
She said it would use existing members of staff and qualified accountants within the Office of the Accountant General as well as the federal civil service and redeploy them to carry out this function.
By Olalekan Adetayo, Punch Newspaper

 Image result for electricity
The highly pronounced power failures across the country in the past few days may worsen following a partial system collapse that occurred on Tuesday, and the continuous drop in electricity generation due to what the government says is the vandalism of pipelines that supply gas to the power plants.
As a result, power generation dropped to 1,580.6 megawatts on Wednesday.
Data from the Nigeria Electricity System Operator as well as information from senior officials of the different electricity distribution companies confirmed that power generation plummeted massively on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The officials noted that this resulted in the reduction of the electricity load allocated to the Discos, stressing that this was why many parts of the country had been recording blackouts in the past few days.
It was learnt that the partial system collapse that occurred on Tuesday happened at the Shiroro Power Plant and dragged down electricity generation to as low as 1,233.4MW from a peak of 3,207.7MW recorded on the same day.
Data from NESO showed that by 9.48am on Wednesday, power generation was 1,580.6MW, with the Ikeja Electric getting 237.09MW; Abuja, 181.77MW; Eko, 173.87MW; Benin, 142.25MW; and Enugu, 142.25MW.
Others are Ibadan, 205.48MW; Jos, 86.93MW; Kano, 126.45MW; Kaduna, 126.45MW; Port Harcourt, 102.74MW; and Yola, 55.32MW.
One of our correspondents gathered that prior to the partial collapse of the system, the Abuja, Ikeja and Eko distribution firms were getting over 350MW each to meet the power needs of a considerable number of their customers.
In fact, it was learnt that the normal baseline allocation for the Abuja Disco was 450MW, but on Wednesday, the firm got 181.77MW around 9.48am, according to data from NESO, and this further dropped to 131.77MW by 1.25pm.
On reason for the slump in electricity generation, officials at the power arm of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing told one of our correspondents that the same old issue of gas pipeline vandalism had continued to pose challenge to adequate electricity generation and distribution.
An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Gas is vital for power generation and most of the electricity being generated in Nigeria is produced by gas-fired power plants. Both the ministers of power and petroleum have often called on Nigerians to help safeguard these infrastructure, but we keep recording explosions of gas pipelines.
“Currently, repairs are ongoing on some of the ruptured pipelines and once they are completed, we believe generation will pick up again.”
Last week, the acting Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Anthony Akah, lamented the incidences of vandalism that led to the reduction in peak power generation and supply from the national grid.
Akah, who spoke in Abuja, solicited the support of members of the public and the Consumer Protection Council to collaborate with electricity service providers and security agencies in ensuring adequate protection of power installations across the country.
Similarly, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that vandalism had been a serious challenge to not just the oil and gas sector, but also the power sector.
Meanwhile, the management of Ikeja Electric has apologised to its customers for the epileptic power supply across its network in the past three days.
The Head of Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Mr. Felix Ofulue, made the apology through a statement on Wednesday.
Ofulue attributed the poor service to the ongoing activities by labour unions picketing the facilities of the company over the purported sacking of 400 workers.
He said the company’s employees were not on strike, but that they had been prevented by the protesting labour unions from gaining access to its facilities and “are, therefore, not in a position to provide any consistent service to our valued customers.”
Ofulue noted that the situation had impacted negatively on power supply as well as the purchase of recharge units because all the substations, business units and undertakings had been taken over by members of the protesting unions.
He said, “Ikeja Electric regrets all inconveniences this action may have caused its customers and appeals to all its customers to please bear with us.
“We assure our customers that the company is doing its best to normalise the situation within the shortest possible time. We thank all our customers for their patience and understanding.”
Power sector workers under the aegis of National Union of Electricity Employees and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies had on Monday picketed the head office of the Ikeja Electric over the sacking of 400 workers of the company.
The union had issued a seven-day ultimatum to the management of the company last week Tuesday to recall the disengaged workers or face industrial action.
By Okechukwu Nnodim and ’Femi Asu...punch Newspaper

The file photo of an underground IRGC missile facility (Fars News Agency)
The file photo of an underground IRGC missile facility (Fars News Agency)
The Aerospace Division of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) is holding the final stage of large-scale missile drills.
The final phase of the exercises, codenamed Eqtedar-e-Velayat, saw ballistic missiles fired from silo-based launchers in different locations across the country on Tuesday.
The maneuvers are aimed at displaying Iran’s “deterrence power” and the country’s “full readiness to confront all kinds of threats against the Revolution, establishment and territorial integrity,” the IRGC said.
IRGC commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari and commander of the IRGC Aerospace Division Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh oversaw parts of the drills.
Last October, Iran successfully test-fired its precision-guided long-range Emad missile, sparking an uproar among US politicians.
The file photo shows the test-firing of the long-range Emad missile (Fars News Agency)
In January, the US Department of the Treasury imposed new sanctions against Iranian citizens and companies over the country’s ballistic missile program.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan has asserted that the Emad missile is a conventional weapon.
Last December, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif defended Iran’s right to carry out missile tests, saying none of Iranian missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly said that its military might poses no threat to other countries, reiterating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.
 Heavy fighting breaks out between military and Boko Haram
There is a heavy fighting going on at strategic  Bita towmn near Gwoza in Borno state  between Boko Haram and the Military.
The fighting that started last night when insurgents in an attemtp to capture Gwoza attacked a military facility at Bita where they met a stiff resistatnce from the army, went on throughout Monday night and continued Tuesday morning.
The fight was said to have forced the military to deploy fighter jets from Yola to support ground troops who were being overwhelmed.
 A source  close to the ongoing war said the quick response by the jets was a big relief to the troops.
Gwoza is one of the Borno twons recaptured from the militants, and some of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the area returned there recently on the assurance that normalcy has been restored to the area

Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/heavy-fighting-breaks-out-between-military-and-boko-haram/137013.html#EWEPrIiSj1pAI5RK.99
 War crimes of foreign invaders and their internal stooge forces (February 2016)

On Tuesday 2nd February, a woman and a child were martyred and another woman and a man were injured in the indiscriminate artillery fires of the internal mercenary forces in ‘Umar Khail’ and ‘Shair Mohammad’ areas of ‘Ali Abad’ district in ‘Kunduz’ province.
On Friday 5th February, an ordinary villager (named ‘Haji Mubeen’) was brutally beaten and martyred by the local unrestrained Arbaki militiamen in ‘Kanava’ area of ‘Yahya Khail’ district in ‘Paktika’ province.
On Friday 5th February, houses of civilian people were searched during a raid of internal stooge soldiers in ‘Tore’ village of ‘Nakka’ district in ‘Paktika’ province, in which, several people were badly beaten and four ordinary persons were incarcerated too.
On Saturday 6th February, a boy and two Mulla Imams (the one who leads congregational prayers) were taken away as prisoners during a raid of internal mercenary forces in ‘Navaqil’ area of ‘Batikot’ district of ‘Nangarhar’ province.
On Sunday 7th February, two children were martyred and a woman was injured in the indiscriminate mortar shelling of internal amateurish soldiers in ‘Band’ village of ‘Sarobi’ district in ‘Kabul’ province.
On Monday 8th February, houses of ordinary countrymen were heavily fired during a raid of foreign occupying forces collaborated by their internal stooge soldiers, the latest in the sting of their night operations, in ‘Chinar’ and Tambail’ villages in ‘Khakraize’ district of ‘Kandahar’ province. When the people left their houses in panic and fear, they were indiscriminately targeted by drone strikes, in which, at least, thirteen people were martyred and eight others were injured.
On Thursday 11th February, four innocent civilians were detained and taken away as prisoners by foreign occupying forces during their night operations in ‘Shna Jama’ area of ‘Nad Ali’ district in ‘Helmand’ province.
On Thursday 11th February, the chieftains of embattled ‘Baghlan’ province revealed, in a meeting held in Kabul, the immensity of losses and casualties suffered by the civilian people in ‘central Baghlan’, ‘Dand-i-Ghori’ and ‘Dand-i-Shihabuddin’ areas in the wake of those military operations which were launched by the mercenary forces of puppet regime in the closing days of last January. They said that at least 125 civilian countrymen were martyred in the military operations of stooge government forces, including 40 women and children. 650 people were injured too.
These chieftains added that mercenary forces of this puppet regime deliberately demolished their orchards and destroyed their crops, justifying that their armed opponent might take shelter there.
It was also revealed in this meeting that nearly 17,000 families had left their houses and villages in the wake of these indiscriminate military operations and had settled in various other areas. Distressing pictures of destroyed houses, mosques, public places and vast demolition of several villages were exhibited in this gathering, while demanding the earliest possible end of these brutal military operations; but their demands and slogans fell flat on the puppet regime and the operations are incessant in the area, in which, the ordinary people are still suffering and complaining.
On Tuesday 16th February, the internal mercenary forces broke the gates of civilian houses in ‘Abdullah Khail’, ‘Navi Kala’ and ‘Zara Kala’ villages of ‘Najrab’ district in ‘Kapisa’ province, in which, several people were beaten and four of them were taken away as prisoners.
On Wednesday 17th February, the only hospital in ‘Tangi Bazaar’ of ‘Jalga’ district in ‘Maidan Wardak’ province, funded by Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, was attacked by brutal foreign occupying forces collaborated by their internal mercenary forces, in which, four patient under treatment were martyred on the spot; doctors and other medical staff were tortured and threatened. Moreover, medical supplies and equipment of this hospital were looted and its building was severely damaged.
On Thursday 18th February, a 12-year-old boy (named Yasir s/o Fazl-i-Rabbi) was relentlessly martyred by the internal stooge soldiers in ‘Mamlo’ area of ‘Said Abad’ district in ‘Maidan Wardak’ province.
On Thursday 18th February, two ordinary people were martyred and another one was injured in the indiscriminate artillery shelling of internal amateurish soldiers in ‘Adisa’ area of ‘Dasht-i-Archi’ district in ‘Kunduz’ province.
On Friday 19th February, a private health clinic and a civilian vehicle were blasted and three ordinary people were taken away as prisoners by the internal stooge soldiers in ‘Sara Baghal’ area of ‘Maiwand’ district in ‘Kandahar’ province.
On Saturday 20th February, hundreds of civilian dwellers of ‘Shilgar’ district in ‘Ghazni’ province protested against the indecencies of local unrestrained Arbaki militiamen in the central Ghazni city. The demonstrators told that ordinary people are beaten and threatened; people are abducted for ransom; their cash money is looted and innocent people are beaten to death for various lame excuses by these notorious militiamen. They told that a teacher and another villager were beaten to death by these Arbakis in ‘Kajir’ area of this district. ‘These unrestrained militiamen will no longer be tolerable for them’, they added while demanding the puppet regime to remove them from their area as soon as possible, otherwise it will be responsible for the bitter consequences.
On Friday 26th February, five ordinary villagers were detained and taken away as prisoners by the brutal foreign occupying forces during a raid in the string of their night operations in the suburbs of ‘Asmat Bazaar’ area in ‘Nad Ali’ district of ‘Helmand’ province.
On Saturday 27th February, the foreign occupying forces raided ‘Laam’ area in ‘Khakraize’ district in ‘Kandahar’ province in the series of their brutal night operations, in which, five innocent civilians were incarcerated.
On Saturday 27th February, two ordinary shopkeepers were relentlessly martyred by the unrestrained Arbaki militiamen to avenge the killing of their two commanders in ‘Angoat’ area in the suburbs of central city of ‘Saripul’ province. This incident resulted in severe clashes between civilian people and these Arbaki militiamen, in which, twenty innocent people, including women and children, were martyred in the indiscriminate firing of Arbakis. It is reported that later, several houses of these civilian people were first looted and then put on fire by these vicious Arbaki militiamen.
On Sunday 28th February, four children belonging to one family were injured and another one was martyred in the random mortar shelling of internal incompetent soldiers in ‘Siri’ village of ‘Marawara’ district in ‘Kunar’ province.
Sources: (BBC, Radio Liberty, Afghan Islamic News Agency, Pajhwok, Khabaryal, Larawbar, nunn.asia and Benawa websites.)
With his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal scheduled for Friday, March 11, 2016, Senate President Bukola Saraki’s aides have given bribes to judiciary numerous reporters based in Abuja in order to shape the reporting of the trial, two reliable sources have confirmed to SaharaReporters. 
An undercover investigator for SaharaReporters was present when Mr. Saraki’s aides met with Judiciary reporters inside an Abuja garden called Nelson Nuek Gardens, and handed each of the reporters the sum of N50,000. The garden is located in the Central Business District of Abuja, quite close to the International Conference Center.
Our major source, who was present at the parley, disclosed that all the judiciary reporters covering Mr. Saraki's case attended the meeting where bribes were handed out.

Our two sources disclosed that Chuks Okocha, a special assistant to the Senate President, distributed Mr. Saraki’s cash largesse to the reporters. At the meeting, the senator’s aides struck a deal with the reporters to have only one of the friendly reporters write a report of the trial which would then be syndicated among all the reporters. It was agreed that each reporter would merely retouch the syndicated report and send it to their medium.

Before his appointment as Mr. Saraki’s aide, Mr. Okocha had worked for Thisday newspaper group, owned by Nduka Obaigbena.

One of our sources revealed that Mr. Okocha warned the reporters that the Senate President’s office would not tolerate any negative reports by the reporters who collected the bribe. Saraki's spokesperson Yusuf Olaniyonu was being awaited when our investigator left the meeting.
Senator Saraki is being prosecuted for alleged false declaration of assets. All his attempts to use political contacts and appellate courts to scuttle his trial failed. Last week, he unveiled a new legal team led by a former Attorney General of Nigeria, Kanu Agabi, who once supervised the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danlami Umar, and who while as a minister of justice recruited Rotimi Jacobs, the chief prosecutor against Mr. Saraki.

The media have deliberately refused to inform you that both Ese and Yunusa are less than 20 years old.
The media refused to inform you that both of them have been dating long before now.
The media misinformed you that Ese was "allegedly abducted", whereas it is case of ELOPING.
The media deliberately misinformed you that Ese was FORCEFULLY CONVERTED TO ISLAM .
The question is; did Ese said ?
kindly listen to this audio interview by premium news; just click on this link: http://abiyamo.com/audio-i-was-not-abducted-by-anybody-i-w…/
The media also in their attempt to
blackmail the general muslims and Islam as usual refused to tell you that the parents of Ese are crying foul only because the young man is a Northerner and a muslim, hence they will give out their girl to him.
Note: In Bayelsa, girls as young as 9, 10 and 11 are already mothers even without marriage.
The media also failed to inform you of the effort of Shariah council and the emir of Kano to ensure that Ese is return back to Bayelsa, this is since September last year.
There is no marriage without wali.
Be careful with media, some people are using it to destroy humanity instead building it.