Returning officer dissociates self from Abia North result

Umuahia -  Dr Ihekwaba Chukwugoziem, Returning Officer for Abia North Senatorial District in the March 28 National Assembly elections, has disassociated himself from  results emanating from the election.
Chukwugoziem said in an interview with newsmen in Umuahia on Friday, that he could not announce the results because of ''irregularities and massive fraud.''

He claimed that the irregularities and fraud were perpetrated in all the five local government areas of the constituency comprised of Ohafia, Arochukwu, Bende, Isuikwuato and Umunneochi.
The returning officer said that it was discovered from the field that fake documents were used to record the results and later transferred into the original result sheets.

He also said that hoodlums later besieged the collation centre in Ohafia local government headquarters and threatened to kill him, if the verdict was not in their favour.

Chukwugoziem claimed that the attack by the hoodlums and sporadic shootings made him to become apprehensive as to which result to announce.

 "My concern was how we will escape from the place alive,’’ he said, adding that they were later rescued by security operatives.

According to him, he had made recommendations in a report to the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Selina Oko for the conduct of a re-run in the area.

Chukwugoziem said that Oko had constituted a committee to review the results.
He also told reporters that he refused to sign the result document because ‘’those who were the collating officers at a point were not sure of what they were doing.''

"As the returning officer, it is my duty to announce the results but I have not done so,’’ he said.
The returning officer called for a re-run to be strictly supervised by security operatives from the polling units to the collation centres.

He said that he had been receiving threat calls and messages in his cell phone since the end of the elections.

- NAN

Weeping families await bodies of slain Kenyan students

2015-04-04 12:03
Nairobi - Quietly weeping, families desperate for news of sons and daughters feared killed at the Kenya university massacre by Islamist gunmen wait for hours at a morgue in the capital Nairobi.
Cargo planes carrying corpses flew on Friday afternoon from the northeastern town of Garissa to Nairobi after the day-long killing spree on Thursday by Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab insurgents.
"I cannot talk," were the last whispered words from Salome, a 20-year-old economics student, to her father Peter Wainaina, about an hour into the attack. Then she hung up.
Wainaina, 72, called her after receiving a terrible text message: "Al-Shabaab is killing us. Goodbye. If we don't make it, I loved you all.
"After that I tried later, but her phone was off," he said sadly. "Since then I have no news - I called the registrar of the university, but he could not give any information."
He waits beside around a hundred others, sitting in tents erected on the morgue car park, waiting in sombre, dignified silence, some quietly weeping.
Inside, 20 bodies lie on on stretchers on the ground, in front of the doors of refrigerated cabinets.
Draped with a sheet, their faces are revealed: 11 men on one side, nine women on the other.
'I still have hope' The attack on Thursday at the university in Garissa was Kenya's deadliest attack since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi, and the bloodiest ever by the al-Shabaab.
"I tried to call him, but the phone was out of contact. I tried to contact him all day," said John Nyang'au Masiria, a 36-year old casual labourer, describing his desperate hope that he may still find his younger brother Josh alive.
Josh was a mathematics student at Garissa University.
In small groups, families enter a room, looking at images of the faces of the bodies, screened on a television, to see if they recognise the dead.
For some, the long wait ends in screams and tears, breaking the heavy silence outside.
In small tents, Kenya Red Cross workers and church groups try to comfort those relatives who collapse.
Felix Barasa, 49, an accountant, waits for news of his 21-year old daughter Diane, who was studying to be a teacher.
He rushed to the morgue after a relative thought she saw the body of Diane - but Barasa said they had made a mistake, and still remains hopeful.
"I talked to her the night before the attack... when I woke up in the morning, I tried to call her but it was not ringing," he said.
"I'm still having hope - she may be in the hospital or somewhere in the bush."

- AFP

Nigeria bus station bombed

2015-04-04 12:04
Kano - The death toll from an explosion near a bus station in Gombe, northeast Nigeria, has risen to 10, a doctor and nurse at the hospital treating the injured said on Friday.

"We received 10 dead bodies from the blast at the Bauchi motor park [bus station]," a doctor at the Gombe Specialist Hospital said, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

"Five of the dead were claimed by relatives. We still have five others in the morgue. Eight people are now in the emergency ward being treated for wounds sustained during the blast."

The blast happened at about 18:30 on Thursday after a woman enquired about the destination of a bus leaving for the central city of Jos at the terminus, witnesses said.

It bore the hallmarks of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, who have hit a number of bus stations and crowded markets in recent weeks, including with suicide bombers.

A nurse at the Gombe Specialist Hospital, who also asked to remain anonymous, confirmed the death toll and said of the injured: "Eight people are now responding to treatment.

"The wounds are mostly cuts and burns."

- AFP

Jonathan moves personal effects from Aso Rock

Abuja - President Goodluck Jonathan and his family members have started moving their personal belongings out of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, few days after the President lost his re-election bid, Punch reports.
Some buses loaded with travel bags were seen moving out of the President’s official residence at about midday on Friday.

A source said the early removal of the personal effects of the first family might have been necessitated by the need for the renovation of the residence ahead of the May 29 handover date.
For renovation work to commence on time, the President may have to be operating from outside the residence in the days ahead.
Read more at Punch

Jonathan, Buhari meet after election

Abuja - President Goodluck Jonathan and the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, have met for the first time after last week’s presidential election, Premium Times reports.

The two leaders met behind closed-doors at the Aso Rock presidential villa Friday.
Also read: Ex-President Shagari congratulates Buhari

Both sides are expected to commence transitional processes ahead of the May 29 date for the transfer of power.

Jonathan lost Saturday’s election ?to Mr. Buhari, ?and conceded defeat, the first time an incumbent Nigerian leader would do so.

In a telephone call to Mr. Buhari ahead of his official declaration as winner, President Jonathan urged the incoming president to make time for their teams to meet and? commence transitional processes.
Read more at Premium Times

Mimiko, Fayose shun meeting with Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan. (File: AFP)

 

Abuja -  Gov. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, his Ekiti state counterpart, Ayodele Fayose have boycotted a meeting between President Goodluck Jonathan and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors in Abuja, reports PM News

Other PDP governors that shunned the meeting which took place at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday were Governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Gabriel Suswam (Benue) and Ibrahim Shema (Katsina).

The meeting was attended by chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio, Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe) and Ramalan Yero (Kaduna).

Other governors in attendance were Lyel Imoke (Cross River), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Martin Elechi (Eboyin) and Idris Wada (Kogi).

Of all the governors who shunned the meeting, only Fayose delivered his state to Jonathan in the Saturday’s presidential poll.
Read more at PM News.
Read more on: 2015 elections

Boko Haram uses children as human bombs

By: Magdalena Mis  
2015-04-02 07:20
London - Boko Haram Islamist militants in northern Nigeria are using children as human bombs and targeting women and girls for particularly horrific abuse, including sexual slavery, the UN human rights chief said on Wednesday.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein told a special session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that his office had received reports of Boko Haram using children as its first line of attack, as "expendable cannon fodder".

"Bodies of children around 12 years old have been found strewn across such battlefields," Zeid said. Boko Haram has been attacking towns and villages in northern Nigeria and border regions of neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

"The group has also repeatedly used young children as human bombs, including a case of a 14-year-old girl carrying a baby on her back who detonated a bomb in a marketplace," Zeid said.

The council condemned "the heinous terrorist activities of Boko Haram", including the abduction of more than 200 girls from a school in Chibok, northeast Nigeria, a year ago, and called for "drying up all possible sources of financing" for the group.

It called for those who have committed crimes on behalf of Boko Haram to be brought before competent courts of the affected states and held accountable.

Boko Haram has killed thousands and displaced about1.5 million people during a six-year campaign to carve out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

A joint offensive by Nigeria and its neighbours has succeeded in driving the group from most of the positions they controlled earlier this year, reversing militants' gains that forced Nigeria to delay its February presidential election.

Zeid said that appalling atrocities committed by the group had created a critical human rights situation not only in Nigeria, but in the whole Lake Chad region.

Girls enslaved
Both children and adults have been abducted by the group on a massive scale, he said.
Women and girls have been enslaved and subjected to sexual violence, forced labour and compulsory conversion, he said, citing reports from witnesses and survivors.

Retreating Boko Haram militants have murdered their so-called "wives" - women and girls they held as slaves - and other captives as military offensives by Nigeria and its neighbours advanced, Zeid said.
He said he had received information suggesting that the security forces of Nigeria and other nations combating the insurgency had also committed human rights violations, and called for a thorough and transparent investigation.

"Such violations intensify the suffering of the people - and [...] this can only create resentment, facilitate recruitment of new insurgents, and foster vicious cycle of greater extremism," he said.

The insurgency has sharply reduced farming activity and many people are facing severe food shortages, Zeid told the Council.

"Because the farms of northern Nigeria provide produce across the Sahel, this also means that the price of several basic foods has risen sharply across the region," he said.

The current dry season has intensified Boko Haram incursions into Cameroon, Chad and Niger, spreading bloodshed and desolation even more widely, the rights chief said.

"What was initially a localised crisis is fast growing to very disturbing regional dimensions," he added.

- Reuters

Herbalist abducted for kidnapping lovers for ritual

2015-04-02 07:20
Abuja - The Kwara State Police Command have arrested a herbalist for allegedly kidnapping two women with the intention of using them to perform a money ritual, PUNCH reports.

The suspect, Akeem Adeniyi, is alleged to have arrested two women, known as Bose and Busayo, who he claimed to have been his girlfriends.

Residents in the Alla-Isin area of Kwara State told police that they heard screams for help coming from an area near the Alla Grammar School on the evening of March 11. Upon investigation, they could not locate the victim but reported Adeniyi as having said that he was attempting to forcefully have sex with his girlfriend at the time. He refused to reveal the whereabouts of the woman.

When another victim, Bose, was declared missing by her father on March 19, Adeniyi was approached on the matter.

The herbalist, who claimed that both women were his girlfriends, led officials to his hideout where both victims were rescued.

The suspect, along with two others, was arraigned before the Ilorin Magistrate's Court for criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and homicide.

The suspects did not plea on the case and have been remanded in prison custody while investigations take place.

The case has been adjourned to April 15.
Read more at PUNCH

"Nigeria lost Jonathan but found stronger nation

Lagos - Rivers State Labour Party gubernatorial candidate, Prince Tonye Princewill, urged Nigerians to cooperate with President Goodluck Jonathan as he completes his tenure.

Jonathan is paving way for Muhammadu Buhari, who defeated him at the just-ended election.

Buhari will assume power on May 29.

“I call on all Nigerians to stand by the President, as he completes his tenure. He promised to ensure the credibility of elections in order to further strengthen the country’s democratic institution; that he has delivered and that is the greatest achievement in Nigeria’s democracy and the legacy he will leave,” said Princewill.

He heaped praise on the outgoing President.

“We lost a good man today but we've found a stronger nation.”

Princewill congratulated Buhari who won on All Progressives Congress ticket.

“I want to on behalf of my supporters, the Rivers State Labour Party and myself, warmly congratulate the President Elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on his victory at the polls. His patience, consistency and courage is worthy of emulation and a message for us all,” he said.

Ahead of the election, the Labour Party had endorsed Jonathan.

“Though we supported President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; Nigeria chose Buhari. We are democrats, glad to accept a President given to us by God and therefore pledge our loyalty to the success of his administration,”
Princewell.

- CAJ News

Chad, Niger troops retake Nigeria border town

2015-04-01 07:00
N'Djamena - Soldiers from Chad and Niger on Tuesday drove Boko Haram militants from a northern border town they have occupied since late last year, Chad's government spokesperson said.

A joint offensive by Nigeria and its neighbours has succeeded in driving the militants from most of the positions they held earlier this year, an advance that forced Nigeria to delay a February election.

The town of Malam Fatori, which was seized by Boko Haram in November, had been the scene of fighting between coalition forces and the militants, and military sources falsely claimed to have retaken it in January.
Chad's Communications Minister Hassan Sylla Bakari said this time there was no doubt who controlled the town.

"We took Malam Fatori this evening. It's an important victory in the fight against Boko Haram," he told Reuters.

Niger military sources just across the border said air strikes began before an offensive by ground troops. They said the nearby village of Abadam was also liberated during the day and several Boko Haram fighters were killed in clashes there.

Nigerian and regional forces have pushed Boko Haram, which has killed thousands in its push to carve out a caliphate in northeastern Nigeria, from all but three of the 20 local government areas it occupied at the beginning of the year.

Following its initial postponement, Nigeria's elections were held on Saturday. Despite a handful of isolated attacks, Boko Haram largely failed to deliver on threats to disrupt the polls in the north.

Former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari became the first Nigerian to oust a president through the ballot box. Results announced on Tuesday showed he had defeated Goodluck Jonathan.

- Reuters

Buhari's victory, bedrock for national rebirth - Atiku

Abuja - Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described Gen. Muhammadu Buhari's victory at the March 28 Presidential election as a bedrock for national rebirth.

A statement released to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday and signed by Paul Ibe, the Deputy Head of Media to Atiku, said that Buhari's victory at the polls bore witness to the his ideology of justice, fair play and zero tolerance for corruption.

''The great Nnamdi Azikiwe once wrote that history will continue to vindicate the just. Your victory in the polls, with votes from across the length and breadth of our country, bears witness to the acceptance of not just our party, the APC, but also your ideology of justice, fair play and zero tolerance for corruption as the bedrock for national rebirth.

''You have led our party to an unprecedented victory within two years of its official formation, and in so doing, written the most important chapter of our democracy,'' the statement said.

The statement reminded the general not to relent on his promises to Nigerians.
It said that Abubakar pledged to support him in whatever he intended to do in the interest of the nation.
It further quoted Atiku as saying: ''Dear Buhari, the journey has just begun. Millions of Nigerians have put their trust in you, because they were not satisfied with the status quo.

''You represent the hope of a new generation of Nigerians, and you cannot afford to fail them.
''Our party has made a promise of change to our young people, to secure and rebuild our country, create jobs and opportunities, and improve citizens’ welfare.

''We will stand behind you to ensure we keep those promises, just like we did during these elections.
''We look up to you to heal the fractures of our country, and truly unite this country like never before.
''The statement commended President Goodluck Jonathan ''for conducting a historic election'', adding:''your party may have lost the elections, but you have won the admiration of the world by not interfering with the wishes of Nigerians.

''History will be kind to you,'' it added.

- NAN

MEND congratulates Buhari

Warri – The  Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, (MEND) have sent congratulatory message to the  President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) on his victory in the 2015 presidential elections, reports Vanguard

The group in a statement by its spokesperson, Jomo Gbomo said that Nigerians made the right choice.
He said that Buhari’s message of hope, freedom and opportunity resonates with MEND and other people in the country.

MEND also lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for his outstanding show of statesmanship.
The militant group  also commended him for being  first ever incumbent Nigerian President to be defeated and concede defeat.
Read more at Vanguard 

Orubebe apologises over 'Show of Shame' at collation centre

Abuja - Former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, has apologised to Nigerians over his infamous conduct at the collation and announcement of the presidential election results at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja, Leadership reports.

He said that his action was sequel to the failure of the Chairman of the Independent Nigeria Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega to treat the petition of the PDP over some results in the North.
Barely minutes after the INEC chairman settled in to commence collation, apologising for commencing late which was due to logistics issues, former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, and the agent of the PDP, accused the INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega of being “very partisan” and compromised.

Orubebe, accused Jega of refusing to address PDP’s petition for election to be cancelled in seven states whereas the INEC chairman had sent a team of national commissioners to investigate the calls by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the cancellation of presidential election in Rivers State.
Read more at Leadership

First Lady commences packing out of Aso Rock

 

Nigeria's First Lady Patience Jonathan waves as she leaves a plane upon arrival to Abuja. ~ WOLE EMMANUEL

 

Abuja - The First Lady, Patience Jonathan has begun to pack her belongings from the Presidential Villa, reports Leadership.

Patience Jonathan on Tuesday after it became clear that her husband has lost the election summoned her domestic staff and ordered them to start packing her personal belongings in readiness for the change of guard.

As at Tuesday evening, two trucks have conveyed the First Lady’s belongings out of the Villa.
It is, however, not clear where the belongings were taken to.
Read more at Leadership.
Read more on: 2015 elections

UN chief welcomes poll outcome

Lagos - The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has welcomed the conclusion of the just-ended elections in Nigeria.

According to his office, he has spoken to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and Major General (Rtd) Muhammadu Buhari.

"The Secretary-General congratulates President-elect Buhari. He commends President Jonathan for his leadership throughout the electoral process and his statesmanship in upholding the democratic process," read a statement.

A spokesperson said Ki-Moon also applauded the INEC for having organized and carried out the elections in a professional manner under challenging circumstances.

"He calls on all Nigerians to accept the outcome of the elections. He also appeals to them to address any complaints they may have through existing legal and constitutional channels."

The UN Secretary-General believes the successful conduct of these polls is a testament to the maturity of Nigeria’s democracy.

"He hopes that the same democratic spirit will prevail in the conduct of the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections on 11 April," his spokesperson said.

- CAJ News

APC will be magnanimous in victory - Amaechi

Lagos -  The Rivers State Governor and Director General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation, Rotimi Ameachi, on Tuesday said his party would be magnanimous in victory, Premium Times reports.

He also said the incoming APC government would do all the things the Peoples Democratic Party government failed to do.

The APC candidate won Saturday’s presidential election after the Independent National Electoral Commission announced results from 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Amaechi, who had a brief chat with journalists at the national secretariat of the APC on Tuesday in Abuja, said while victory celebration was in order, the task ahead is more important.
Read more at Premium Times

PDP to challenge Buhari’s victory

Abuja - The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the results of March 28 presidential election, reports Punch.

The party has vowed to challenge the results in court.
Bello Fadile, the agent of the PDP at the National Collation Centre, told journalists shortly after the result was declared that the party was not satisfied with the outcome of the election.

He said the party has decided to challenge the results at the election tribunal.
President Goodluck Jonathan had earlier conceded defeat to Muhammadu Buhari
Read more at Punch.
Read more on: 2015 elections

Obasanjo tells Buhari to be magnanimous in victory

Abeokuta - Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday advised the President-Elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to demostrate magnanimity over his victory in the Saturday's presidential election.
Obasanjo gave the advice in Abeokuta in his congratulatory message to Buhari.
The former president noted that Nigeria's political system was unnecessarily overheated by politicians.
He observed that emphasis of the campaign was more on trivialities and was largely characterised by divisive, undignifying and disrespectful statements.
Obasanjo therefore advised Buhari to be magnanimous by "binding the wounds and bitterness occasioned by the campaigns and the evil disciples".
The elder statesman expressed the belief that such disposition would enable Buhari to focus on pressing issues requiring urgent attention when he eventually assumed office.
Obasanjo urged him to embark on institutional reforms, to improve various sectors including education, healthcare, economy, security, infrastructure, power and agriculture.
He also urged him to step up measures to promote national unity and cohesiveness as well as rid Nigeria of corruption.
While expressing confidence in the ability of Buhari to perform, Obasanjo advised him to recruit people of proven integrity to work with him.
"I am sure that there are men and women of goodwill, character and virtue across the board that you can mobilise to join hands with you in promoting Nigeria to enviable heights," he said.

- NAN