Nigerian defence chief: Military base in hands of extremists

2015-01-07 08:48

Abuja - Nigeria's chief of defence staff acknowledged on Tuesday that the headquarters of a multinational military force on Nigeria's border with Chad has been seized by Islamic extremists.

Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh told reporters that only Nigerian troops were at the key base at Baga, on the shores of Lake Chad, when insurgents attacked on Saturday because Niger and Chad had withdrawn their fighters from the base.

"Chad had people on their own side but I believe they have withdrawn. Niger had people with us. They too withdrew, and left Nigeria only at the Multinational Joint Task Force headquarters," Badeh said at a briefing after a security meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.

A senior military officer in northeast Nigeria said troops from Niger, Chad and Cameroon withdrew from Nigeria months ago. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Growing terrorism arms
The countries are all part of the Multinational Joint Task Force that was created a year ago by countries bordering Lake Chad to combat growing terrorism arms trafficking and cross-border attacks.

Badeh denied rumors that Chad and Niger had also pulled out of the task force.
He refused to say what happened during the attack, admitting only that there was one.
Witnesses said troops fought valiantly for several hours before running out of ammunition, when they fled alongside civilians.

Asked if the military would retake the base, Badeh said "Why not?" but refused to say any more.
Thousands of people have been killed and about 1.6 million driven from their homes in the 5-year-old Islamic uprising in Africa's most populous nation and its biggest oil producer.
AP

4 held for kidnapping mother and baby

2015-01-07 10:33

Johannesburg - Four men have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping a mother and her baby in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg, Gauteng police said on Wednesday.

The woman and the baby girl travelled with the men from Zimbabwe, said spokesperson Warrant Officer Daniel Mavimbela.

"The agreed fare was reportedly R300. It is alleged that before she could reach her intended destination, Brits, where she was going to visit her husband, the fare was inflated to R1 500."

The woman was taken to Diepsloot because she could not afford the amount, Mavimbela said. She was kept in a shack since Thursday and given only soft drinks.

"The alleged kidnappers apparently called the woman's husband and threatened that unless he paid the R1 500 he would never see his wife and daughter."

The husband could not afford the money and alerted the police.
The baby was found to be dehydrated and treatment was sought to nurse her back to health.

"The police officers, out of their own pockets, ensured that the baby and mother were nourished properly as recommended by the medics before transporting the family to their home in Brits," Mavimbela said.

The men, aged between 28 and 43, were expected to appear in the Randburg Magistrate's Court soon on charges of kidnapping.
SAPA

Road closures blamed for card distribution delays in Borno

2015-01-07 08:46
Abuja - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has blamed the recent closure of roads in Borno State by the military for the delay distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in the state.
The roads were closed for four days in December as party of security measures.

The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Tukur Sa'ad, speaking in Maiduguri, said the commission has received a number of PVCs but was unable to distribute them due to the restriction of movement in the festive period.

“We have received some PVCs but some are yet to come hopefully we will receive the balance in due course, before the commission commences distributing them. The closure of entry to Borno state has affected deliveries of PVCs and CVR for internally displaced persons,” he said.

Sa'ad said the distribution of received documents in the state will begin on Friday and will be restricted to 12 Local Government Areas because of Boko Haram insurgency in others.

“Since we cannot guarantee the security of INEC and other ad hoc staff in the continuous voters’ registrations and distribution of PVCs by the commission is restricted Maiduguri Metropolitan Council, Jere, Biu, Monguno, Gubio, Magumeri, Mobbar, Kwaya/Kusar, Bayo, Nganzai, Guzamala and Shani councils,” he added.

- CAJ News

Tail of crashed AirAsia plane found

2015-01-07 08:46
Jakarta - Recovery teams have found the tail of the crashed AirAsia Flight 8501 in the Java Sea, the Indonesian search chief said on Wednesday, the eleventh day of relief operations.

"We have successfully obtained part of the plane that has been our target. The tail portion has been confirmed found," search and rescue agency chief Bambang Soelistyo told reporters in Jakarta.

The discovery on the seabed could mark a breakthrough in the search as the tail of a plane usually houses the "black box" flight data recorders, crucial to determining the cause of a crash.

The plane vanished from radar screens during a storm on 28 December when it was flying from the city of Surabaya to Singapore with 162 people on board, most of them Indonesian.

Despite a huge recovery operation assisted by various countries, progress has been patchy with poor weather conditions hampering the search. So far 39 bodies have been found, all of them floating on the sea.
Search chiefs earlier said five large parts of the plane had been detected but had not confirmed which parts of the aircraft.

Indonesia alleges the plane was flying on an unauthorised schedule when it crashed and AirAsia has since been suspended from flying the Surabaya-Singapore route.

- AFP

Peace will soon return to North East - Borno governor

2015-01-07 10:11
Abuja - Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno said on Tuesday that peace would soon be restored to the troubled North East zone of the country.

Shettima gave the assurance to State House correspondents after a security meeting with Service Chiefs, some Governors and Senators from the North East zone presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The governor, who said that the meeting was convened to strategise on new method and ways of fighting insurgency in the affected states, described the deliberations as very fruitful.

‘‘Well, we had very fruitful deliberations and pollination of ideas on how to find lasting solution to the insurgency bedevilling us in that part of the world.

‘‘I'm an eternal optimist and I am passionate too for that matter that we shall have enduring peace very soon with the very robust frame work on ground.

‘‘I don't want to mention a date or anything but I believe our military is arising to the challenges of the time.’’

According to him, the military will robustly respond to the security challenges, assuring that elections will be conducted in Borno and other states in the zone.

‘‘Elections as I told you was conducted in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and several other war torn places and are even more devastated than the north east.

‘‘Elections can be held in the IDPs camps, human beings that conduct elections not spirit or anything".
The governor also assured that the state government would continue to provide logistics and financial support to the security agencies to enable them carry out their operations.

- NAN

Nine PDP governors shun Jonathan’s campaign inauguration

2015-01-07 10:11
Abuja - Nine governors of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday boycotted the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Organisation of the party in Abuja, reports Punch.

The PDP governors absent at the event were Theodore Orji (Abia), Dr. Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Martin Elechi (Enugu).

The others include Idris Wada (Kogi), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) and Jonah Jang (Plateau).

However, seven governors elected under the platform of the party attended the ceremony. The governors are Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), James Ngilari (Adamawa), Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe State).

Read more at Punch.

Messi misses training as coach spat continues

2015-01-07 06:45
Lionel Messi is upset that the board of Barcelona continue to support coach Luis Enrique and his autocratic methods.

Leading Spanish newspaperMarca report that Lionel Messi is growing increasingly frustrated at the Nou Camp.

Messi was absent from an open training session on Monday intended to showcase the players' skills to young fans.

Enrique reportedly did not understand Messi's absence, who reportedly use an upset stomach as the reason.

"Word has also come out from Messi's cohort that the coach makes decisions without guidance from his colleagues and considers himself to be the bee's knees." reports Marca.

The Argentine is rumoured to be disappointed that the board of the Catalan giants continues to supports the coach