Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau apparently alive - releases new video

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau dismissed Nigerian military claims of his death in a new video obtained by AFP on Thursday and said the militants had implemented strict Islamic law in captured towns.

“Here I am, alive. I will only die the day Allah takes my breath,” Shekau said, adding that his group was “running our… Islamic caliphate” and administering strict sharia punishments.

Nigeria’s military said last week that Shekau was dead and that a man who had been posing as the group’s leader in the videos had been killed after fighting with troops in the far northeast.
Security analysts and the United States questioned the credibility of the military’s claim.

The new 36-minute video showed Shekau, in combat fatigues and black rubber boots, standing on the back of a pick-up truck and firing an anti-aircraft gun into the air.

Standing in front of three camouflaged vans and flanked by four heavily armed, masked fighters, he then speaks for 16 minutes in Arabic and the Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria.
There was no indication of where or when the video was shot.

The heavily bearded Shekau, who appeared to be the same as those in previous clips, said the military’s claim that he was dead was propaganda.

“Nothing will kill me until my days are over… I’m still alive. Some people asked you if Shekau has two souls. No, I have one soul, by Allah,” he said, apparently reading from a script.

“It is propaganda that is prevalent. I have one soul. I’m an Islamic student".

“I’m the Islamic student whose seminary you burnt… I’m not dead,” he added, apparently referring to the destruction of the group’s mosque in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, in 2009.

There have been two previous claims by Nigeria’s security forces that Shekau was dead — once in 2009 during unrest in Maiduguri — and again in 2013.

Following each previous claim Boko Haram has issued denials in video messages.

Elsewhere in the new video, the militant leader said the group had implemented strict Islamic law in the towns that it had captured in recent weeks.

“We are running our caliphate, our Islamic caliphate. We follow the Koran… We now practise the injunctions of the Koran in the land of Allah,” he said.

The group also claimed to have shot down a Nigerian air force jet that went missing nearly three weeks ago.
An air force spokesman said the jet was missing. “For any group to claim they shot it down is mere propaganda and rubbish,” Air Commodore Dele Alonge told AFP.


Vanguard

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Ghana to export electricity to Nigeria

Ghana is planning to export thousands of megawatts of electricity to Nigeria, Ivory Coast and other neighbouring countries that have power deficit, sources say here.

Nigeria's Punch newspaper on Thursday quotes Ghanaian President, Mr. John Mahama, saying at the Africa Global Business and Economic Forum in Dubai, UAE on Wednesday, that his government had made huge investments in power generation that would enable the country to export excess electricity to Nigeria and other countries in the sub-region.

We have given priority to electricity generation in our country. We have prioritised energy in such a way that we want to become the hub for power production in West Africa. We want to generate electricity to the point that excess power can be exported to Nigeria, Ivory Coast and other countries that have power deficit, he said.

To achieve this dream, Mahama said that his country had secured export-import financing from China as well as special funds from Abu Dhabi to commence a series of power generation projects and that a third hydropower dam project was already at an advanced stage.

The Ghanaian leader, who spoke in a panel discussion along with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and President Mulatu Wirtu of Ethiopia, added: Where Africa faces some of its challenges lies its biggest opportunities.

We are leveraging on public-private sector partnership to build infrastructure. Be it roads, electricity, ports or communication systems; if we create the right environment, investors will come.

Creating the right environment that will attract foreign direct investment is the key.

In achieving this, the Ghanaian leader joined Kagame and Wirtu to emphasise the need for African governments to strengthen anti-corruption agencies in their various countries.

“Issues of accountability and transparency are very important. There must be a mechanism to fight corruption. We all have institutions, but the major thing is resourcing them to effectively fight corruption and perform effectively, he noted


APA

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Video - Aljazeera covers Nigeria's steps to improve its poor electricity supply

Video - President Goodluck Jonathan's full speech to mark Nigeria's 54th Independence Anniversary

President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday addressed the nation, on the occasion of Nigeria’s 54th Independence Day Anniversary.

In his speech, the President recounted Nigeria’s experiences in it’s first 100 years as a sovereign nation, adding that “far reaching advances in building a strong, united and prosperous nation” had been made. However, he noted that the country is still in a sober mood, following the activities of terrorists.

He addressed issues concerning the economy, terrorism, Ebola, while espousing his administration’s achievements.

Channels

Nigeria Football Association election chief arrested

A vote to choose the new president and executive committee of Nigeria's troubled football association was delayed on Tuesday after the apparent arrest of the election chief, witnesses said.

The uncertainty over Samson Ebomhe's whereabouts is the latest in a series of scandals to hit the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), which could face an eight-month FIFA ban if the vote does not take place.

The 44-member NFF congress was scheduled to meet in the southern city of Warri with voting to elect a new leader set to begin at 10:00 am (0900 GMT).
But one delegate, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Ebomhe, the election chairman, "has not been seen since this morning and so the elections cannot begin".

Multiple witnesses said Ebomhe had been seized in his hotel room by officers from Nigeria's main intelligence agency, the Department of State Services (DSS).

The DSS and police could not immediately be reached for comment.The NFF has been plagued by controversy since the end of the World Cup.

Outgoing NFF President Aminu Maigari was arrested by security agents when he arrived back from Brazil in July and was later impeached by some of his executive committee members on corruption charges.

FIFA then imposed an international ban on the grounds of political interference after a court sacked the NFF high command and the sports minister imposed a civil servant to take temporary charge.
The ban was lifted after nine days and Maigari was reinstated because his dismissal did not follow laid-down procedures.

But in August, the secret police detained him again, preventing him from attending an executive committee meeting where the owner of Nigeria Premier League side Giwa FC, Chris Giwa, took charge.

That prompted Nigerian referees, clubs and players to boycott the domestic leagues and FIFA to threaten to again suspend the African champions if Maigari were not reinstated and fresh elections held.

Football's world governing body has warned that any further breaches of election procedure will see Nigeria banned from international competition until its own annual congress next May.

Maigari has ruled himself out of the election, with businessman Shehu Dikko, who helped arrange a tour by Manchester United in 2008, tipped as the front-runner.
Former NFF general-secretary Taiwo Ogunjobi and Delta FC chairman Amaju Pinnick are seen as his main rivals.

AFP

Evangelist T.B. Joshua to be sued for building collapse that left 115 dead in Lagos, Nigeria

 Two South Africans who lost relatives when a church hostel in Lagos collapsed have told the BBC they intend to sue Nigerian evangelist TB Joshua.

The two men, who both lost sisters in the collapse, are appealing for more families to come together in bringing a case against the preacher.

At least 115 people, including 84 South Africans, died when the multi-storey building fell down earlier this month.

The authorities say it had more floors than its foundation could hold.

'No news'
On Sunday, Mr Joshua, who is one of Nigeria's best-known evangelists and is popular across Africa, announced plans to travel to South Africa to visit the families of the deceased.

Emergency workers allege they were prevented from participating in the rescue, only gaining full access to the site on Sunday afternoon - accusations denied by Pastor Joshua's Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN).

Thanduxolo Doro and Mpho Molebatsi waited at Johannesburg's OR Tambo airport for days after the collapse for news of their sisters, who had been visiting SCOAN.

Both families had last heard from their relatives hours before the collapse, which happened at about 13:50 local time (12.50 GMT) on Friday 12 September.

"It is not that the building collapsed, rather what was done after the collapse - we didn't get any news from the church," Mr Doro, whose sister Vathiswa Madikiza died, told the BBC.

"When I contacted them they wouldn't tell me anything. We saw reports that emergency workers were denied access initially, access that could have saved lives. The actions of the church after the incident are very telling," he said.

In an open letter published in South Africa's Star newspaper, Mr Doro called on more families to sue Mr Joshua.

"I need to do this for her. Even if I stand alone, I am determined to see that something is done," he told the BBC.

"I understand that some families are afraid to take on someone who purports to be God's messenger and I don't blame them but I will do this."

Mr Doro says he was informed by South African officials about his sister's death this week, but has to wait for the results of DNA tests before her body can be repatriated for burial.

He told the BBC that he had spoken to two families who were eager to join him in suing Mr Joshua, but no concrete plans had been made.

He has not been in contact with Mr Molebatsi, whose sister Hlubi Molebatsi was also killed.

Mr Molebatsi says he has contacted his lawyers.

"I have spoken to other families but it has been difficult because this is a time of mourning. I would like to see families get something from the church as some of the people who died were breadwinners," he told the BBC.

Some 25 survivors of the collapse are continuing to receive medical care following their return to South Africa.

Officials say 16 of the wounded are in critical condition, with some having had limbs amputated and other complications.

BBC

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