Asari Dokubo issues fresh threat to attack Buhari

Yenogoa - Ex Niger- Delta militant and leader of the Niger Delta Volunteers Force, Asari Dokubo, has issued a fresh threat to attack the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari.

In a new video obtained by Sahara Reporters, Dokubo also threatened Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and former governor of Bayelsa State Timi Sylva.

Dokubo, who issued the fresh threat in Bayelsa state while mobilizing voters for President Jonathan in the upcoming February 14 presidential election, also warned voters from the Niger Delta region against voting for anybody except Jonathan.

200 Boko Haram fighters, nine Chadian soldiers killed in clashes: military

2015-02-04 12:41
N'Djamena - Clashes between Chadian troops and Boko Haram fighters during a raid in Gamboru have killed 200 Islamists and nine soldiers, Chad's military said Wednesday.

"We regret nine dead and 21 wounded. On the enemy side: more than 200 deaths...," a statement said in reference to clashes on Tuesday, adding that the toll could rise since clean-up operations were continuing.

- AFP

Buhari commences town hall meetings as an alternative to TV debate

Abuja - The presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Muhammadu Buhari has opted to interact with Nigerians directly by organizing town hall meetings across the country, reports Premium Times.

The strategy would enable him and his running mate, Yemi Osinbajo explain directly to citizens the policy thrust of their envisaged administration and how the set objectives will be achieved.

Buhari in statement by the Director of Media and Publicity of his campaign organisation, Garba Shehu, said he was compelled to chart this course because of the compelling need to have a person-to-person interactive sessions during which pertinent questions will be posed to him and Osinbajo and responses provided.

The first of such town hall meetings started on Monday in Lagos with a public interaction between Buhari and representatives of Organised Private Sector.

On Tuesday, the town hall meeting will hold in Kano with traders and market associations.

Thereafter, the meeting will hold in Benin with labour and civil society leaders.

Read more at Premium Times.

Over 100 drugged and raped in Japan fake clinical study

2015-02-03 13:12 Tokyo - Japanese police have arrested a man for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting more than 100 women who believed they were taking part in a medical study, detectives and local media said Tuesday.
Detectives say scores of women responded to adverts seeking volunteers for "clinical research measuring blood pressure during sleep" over two years to November 2013.

They believe Hideyuki Noguchi, 54, gave the women sedatives after luring them to hotels and hot spring resorts.

Once the women were unconscious, he raped them and filmed each assault, police said.
Footage of the attacks was posted on the Internet or sold to producers of porn films, allegedly netting Noguchi more than 10 million yen ($85,000), TBS and other broadcasters said.
Noguchi is not know to have any medical training or expertise.

A spokesman for police in Chiba, east of Tokyo, said officers had confirmed at least 39 victims, aged from their teens to their 40s in Tokyo, Chiba, Osaka, Tochigi and Shizuoka.
Detectives believe they are just a fraction of the total number of women whom Noguchi attacked, thought to number well over 100, media reports said.

- AFP

Over 100 drugged and raped in Japan fake clinical study

2015-02-03 13:12 Tokyo - Japanese police have arrested a man for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting more than 100 women who believed they were taking part in a medical study, detectives and local media said Tuesday.
Detectives say scores of women responded to adverts seeking volunteers for "clinical research measuring blood pressure during sleep" over two years to November 2013.

They believe Hideyuki Noguchi, 54, gave the women sedatives after luring them to hotels and hot spring resorts.

Once the women were unconscious, he raped them and filmed each assault, police said.
Footage of the attacks was posted on the Internet or sold to producers of porn films, allegedly netting Noguchi more than 10 million yen ($85,000), TBS and other broadcasters said.
Noguchi is not know to have any medical training or expertise.

A spokesman for police in Chiba, east of Tokyo, said officers had confirmed at least 39 victims, aged from their teens to their 40s in Tokyo, Chiba, Osaka, Tochigi and Shizuoka.
Detectives believe they are just a fraction of the total number of women whom Noguchi attacked, thought to number well over 100, media reports said.

- AFP

Religion a huge issue in upcoming polls

Lagos – Ethnicity, regionalism and religion are going to be very prominent factors in the upcoming elections, Academic Abubakar Kari of the University of Abuja has said.

Speaking in a video posted on YouTube, Kari said religion and ethnicity would be on the minds of voters when they go to cast their ballot.
The country is set to vote in a crucial election on 14 February.

The elections are expected to be the most closely contested since the end of military rule in 1999.
Kari said it was clear that the two leading candidates, President Goodluck Jonathan and his rival Muhammadu Buhari, were going to perform "very well" in their immediate homelands.

The reason for this, according to political analyst Chris Ngwodo could be explained in a psychological and material sense.

"What we have is a situation where identity is the access key to social and economic opportunities. So it matters in a psychological and material sense when someone looks to the presidency and sees someone of his faith or someone of his ethnicity there," said Ngwodo.

The elections come at a time when it is widely feared that Boko Haram insurgents will disrupt the voting process, as the Islamist group continues with its assaults in the north east.

INEC distributes millions of PVC's in Niger

Minna - The Independent National Electoral Commission in Niger on Tuesday said it had distributed more than 1.4 million out of the 2.1 million Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) meant for registered voters in the state.

INEC’s spokesman in the state, Alhaji Mohammad Wase, made this known in Minna.

Wase said that 34, 000 PVCs were distributed to the electorate in Suleja on Monday, adding that 24, 000 more would be distributed to complete the needed number of cards for registered voters in the area.

He said that the commission would ensure that the remaining 700, 000 PVC's for the state was shared before the end of the exercise next week.

''We are having large turnout from people and our staff are ready and fully mobilized to attend to people at all times. We shall continue with the distribution until the last day of the exercise,'' he said.

NAN reports that the state government has declared Thursday and Friday work-free days to allow registered voters, especially workers, who had not collected their PVCs to do so.

- NAN