Yobe residents discouraged from buying PVCs

Abuja - Yobe State Electoral Commissioner of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Habu Zarma, has called on stakeholders to discourage people from buying Permanent Voter's Cards (PVCs).
He made the call during a meeting with stakeholders in Damaturu, the state capital. The stakeholders were drawn from various political parties, NGOs and the media among others.

Zarma insisted such cards would be invalid as technology would disqualify any person who did not own of the card.

Meanwhile, he said the commission had recorded 88 percent  level of distribution of PVCs in the state and they are intensifying efforts to get the remainder distributed.

Zarma said the success recorded so far across the state was a clear indication that people of the state were gearing up for the election.

He however expressed regrets that about 22 000 cards yet to be distributed are for voters from Damaturu.
He said 1,3 million people were initially registered in the state but some were disqualified for multiple registrations.

The resident electoral commissioner said the delay in the election will give more room for refresher training for the stakeholders, election officers among other to increase perfection ahead of the election.
He urged the stakeholders to desist from violence before, during and after the election and to work assiduously for the success of the exercise.

- CAJ News

Niger president urges country to stand up to Boko Haram

2015-02-12 07:00
Niamey - Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou on Wednesday urged the nation to stand up to Boko Haram Islamists from Nigeria who have launched repeated cross-border attacks in recent days.

"Our country will not go down in history as having been cowed by an enemy that wants to cover our country in darkness," Issoufou said in a speech broadcast on national radio, urging Nigeriens to support the country's security forces in their battle against the militants.


Niamey has imposed a state of emergency in the Diffa region along the border with Nigeria over the Boko Haram violence. It also plans to supply troops to a regional force to combat the militants.

- AFP

7 killed as terrorists storm Borno market

By: Augustine Osayande
  2015-02-12 08:01
Abuja - Gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram group have reportedly killed seven people after invading Gajiganna market in Magumeri local government area of Borno State.
Witnessed confirmed the attack to local journalists.

A driver, Muhammadu Isa, said the gunmen came to the market when people were arriving for the daily village market to trade.

Isa added that the terrorists opened fire sporadically on sellers and buyers, killing seven persons.
He said the terrorists carted away food stuffs such as beans, millet and other household material after killing the people.

According to him, one driver and six others were killed.
Meanwhile, Nigerian army and members of the youth vigilante group reported the arrest of  40 members of the Boko Haram terrorist group that disguised as herdsmen near Ngom village of Mafa local government area of Borno State.

- CAJ News

PDP accuses INEC of poor distribution of PVCs

Abuja - The PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, has accused the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC), of poor handling of distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to eligible voters.
Femi Fani-Kayode, Director of Media and Publicity of the organisation, made the accusation at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.
He alleged that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, may be working in consonant with some members of the opposition to favour the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The matter is that INEC has failed in its responsibility to produce and distribute PVCs to about 34 per cent of registered voters who would require the cards to vote in the elections.”
“This brings us to the issue of statistics of PVC distribution and collection, which we believe Prof. Jega, as a person, acting in concert with some forces of retrogression, is playing games with.”
“We express our concerns today that Jega may have decided to aid the APC to rig the forthcoming elections through the manipulation of the production, distribution and collection of PVCs,” he said.
Also Read: Yobe residents discouraged from buying PVCs
According to Fani-Kayode, emerging trends had shown calculated attempts to deprive parts of the country that would vote for President Goodluck Jonathan, of their PVCs.
He said that parts of the country that would vote for the APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, already have their PVCs.
Fanyi-Kayode described as unjustifiable, attacks on the PDP, on the postponement of the scheduled February 14 and 28 general elections to March 28 and April 11 by the INEC.
According to him, the INEC chairman hinged the postponement on the security advice given by the National Security Adviser with respect to the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.
He said Jega deliberately failed to tell Nigerians the whole truth that underpinned the postponement.
This, he added, provided the opposition APC a platform to accuse the PDP of complicity in the decision to postpone the elections.
He stressed that the decision to postpone the elections was INEC’s, since it was constitutionally saddled with that responsibility.
“The commission has done just that and it had hinted that it was having challenges with the distribution and collection of the PVCs.”
He stressed that the PDP had realised “how Jega dishonestly presented the reasons for the postponement of the elections.”
According to Fani-Kayode, the major reason that informed INEC’s decision “was the deliberate attempt by the commission to disenfranchise over 23 million eligible voters who are yet to collect their PVCs.”
He wondered why the collection rates of PVCs in the North Central, South-South, South West and South East regions assumed to be pro-Jonathan, were much lower with the highest being 57 per cent.

He noted that the North West zone which includes Katsina, the home state of Buhari, APC presidential candidate, had the highest collection rate of 80 per cent.
He also wondered how come the North-East also had 75 per cent collection rate when the three states in this zone, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, had been under the attack of Boko Haram insurgents.
This insurgency, Fani-Kayode noted, had led to the displacement of many residents in the zone.
“Pieces of information at our disposal have shown that Jega has had meetings with APC stalwarts in Dubai and other cities in the world to perfect this wanton conspiracy against 23 million eligible voters.”
“Besides, we have information that the PVCs that Nigerians are scrambling for are not in Nigeria and will not arrive before the elections.”

“These PVCs are still in China and Prof Jega has strategically delayed their arrival to suit his electioneering permutations,” he said.
He challenged Jega to show Nigerians proof that the Chinese company printing the PVCs had been paid in full by disclosing the total contract sum and the amount paid to date.
He also charged him to show proof of arrival or expected date of arrival of all PVCs for the elections and tell Nigerians how he could have distributed 23 million PVCs within five days to elections, if not postponed.
“We hereby challenge Jega to be honourable and transparent to publish accurate information on the state of PVCs and how he plans to distribute them before elections.”
“He should respond to allegations of partisanship and ineptitude, and live up to his responsibilities as an independent election umpire. If he refuses to do so, we may end up losing confidence in him,” Fani-Kayode said.

- NAN

Prisoners commit suicide in Taiwan prison siege

2015-02-12 09:01
Taipei - Six armed inmates who held a warden and guards hostage in a failed bid to escape a prison in southern Taiwan committed suicide early on Thursday and all the hostages are free, a top justice official said.
The justice ministry said authorities had rejected the inmates' demands for safe exit from the prison during the hours-long standoff after the inmates seized weapons. By the pre-dawn hours, the inmates had released all hostages except the warden. They then shot themselves, and the warden was able to walk free, deputy justice minister Chen Ming-tang said in a televised interview.
The ministry did not offer any video or other evidence of the reported suicides, but authorities were planning a news conference later on Thursday.
Chen said in the interview that "there was no police raid." He said four of the inmates shot themselves first and that the remaining two had fired additional shots at them to make sure they were dead before shooting themselves.

Five prison staffers were slightly injured during the standoff, Chen said.
The incident started when the inmates — serving long sentences for burglary, murder and drug crimes — took four rifles, six handguns and more than 200 bullets from the prison's armoury, the ministry said.
The ringleader, Cheng Li-te, belonged to the notorious mafia-type organisation Bamboo Union and was serving a 28 ½-year sentence for homicide, the ministry said. The other five inmates were serving sentences ranging from 25 years to life.
They demanded safe passage from the prison while holding Warden Chen Shih-chih and head guard Wang Shih-tsang after the pair offered to swap themselves for earlier hostages.
No injuries had been reported prior to the reported suicides in a standoff that lasted more than six hours, the ministry said.
Witnesses interviewed by private cable news station TVBS said gunshots were heard. Other reports said the shots were fired into the air.
Within hours of the hostage taking, armed police had surrounded the prison in the port city of Kaohsiung. Authorities also called on relatives of the inmates to plea for the release of the hostages.
The ministry said it had rejected demands that the police force be withdrawn and that two vehicles be provided to allow the prisoners to leave in exchange for the safety of the detainees.
The inmates used the need for medical care as a pretense to lure prison guards before kidnapping them, the official Central News Agency said.
The United Daily News said that in a phone call with Cheng he said the incident had been long planned and that he was prepared to die for it. The newspaper said Cheng complained about the tendency of judges to presume guilt, insufficient allowances for inmates and unfairness in granting medical paroles.
The ministry said Deputy Warden Lai Chen-jung and head guard Wang volunteered to swap with the two guards who were initially taken hostage. Later, Chen, the prison warden, offered to exchange with Lai as a hostage.

- AP

Buhari speaks on Obasanjo’s endorsement

Lagos – The All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari says the endorsement by former president Olusegun Obasanjo would boost the party’s support base.

Speaking during an interview on Cable News Network (CNN) Buhari said Obasanjo was highly respected in the country and therefore his endorsement was likely to help APC gain more support from Nigerians.

"It [the endorsement] will certainly bring more supporters to us and more confidence again to us from those who are sitting on the fence because general Obasanjo is highly respected and as far as the Nigerian nation is concerned, there is no serious issue that can be discussed without people seeking for his opinion and listening to it," said Buhari.

Obasanjo, who is a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) publicly declared his support for Buhari on Monday during the launch of his book 'My Watch', in Nairobi, Kenya.

According to Punch, Obasanjo said he was confident that Buhari would be able to effectively deal with issues of corruption and insecurity.

- News24

I'll gladly go home if I lose, says Jonathan

Lagos – President Goodluck Jonathan has vowed to conduct a free and fair election, saying that he will "gladly go home" if doesn't win.

According to The Nation, Jonathan, who was speaking during the Presidential Media Chat monitored by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), rubbished suggestions that he won't handover power if he loses, saying the insinuations were "unnecessary and unfortunate".

The country goes to vote on 28 March after the elections were delayed by six weeks due to security concerns.

Early this week, Jonathan urged Nigerians to see the upcoming elections as a "contest amongst brothers and sisters".

"I want to remind us all that we have no other country other than Nigeria and as we approach the election, it is wise that we speak good and peaceful words over Nigeria," Jonathan wrote of his official Facebook page.

Jonathan said it was essential for the contenders to put the country first as they campaigned in different parts of the country.

- News24