Friday, February 13, 2015
Video - President Goodluck Jonathan says Nigeria wasn't ready for elections
Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan has defended the 6-week delay imposed on the country's elections. He's denied pushing for the postponement and says Nigeria's election commission was just not ready to run the vote.
Seven confirmed dead from Boko Haram suicide bomber in North Eastern Nigeria
At least seven people have been killed by a female suicide bomber who blew herself up at a crowded market in northeast Nigeria, according to witnesses and officials.
The mid-afternoon attack on Thursday in Biu, 180km south of the Borno state capital Maiduguri, is the latest in a spate of similar attacks in the region.
This was the first bombing in the area, which came before a visit by the former governor to Biu, according to a witness who is a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF).
Biu is the biggest town in southern Borno, and Boko Haram fighters have made repeated attempts to bomb the market, which is open on Mondays and Thursdays.
The JTF was formed by residents to combat Boko Haram, the Nigerian armed group.
Boko Haram has been blamed for using women and young girls as human bombs as part of its deadly campaign to create an Islamic state in the country's far northeast.
A senior security source in Maiduguri confirmed the deadly suicide blast but had no immediate details on casualties.
But multiple witnesses and a nurse at the Biu general hospital said that at least seven people were killed by the explosion.
Al Jazeera
The mid-afternoon attack on Thursday in Biu, 180km south of the Borno state capital Maiduguri, is the latest in a spate of similar attacks in the region.
This was the first bombing in the area, which came before a visit by the former governor to Biu, according to a witness who is a member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF).
Biu is the biggest town in southern Borno, and Boko Haram fighters have made repeated attempts to bomb the market, which is open on Mondays and Thursdays.
The JTF was formed by residents to combat Boko Haram, the Nigerian armed group.
Boko Haram has been blamed for using women and young girls as human bombs as part of its deadly campaign to create an Islamic state in the country's far northeast.
A senior security source in Maiduguri confirmed the deadly suicide blast but had no immediate details on casualties.
But multiple witnesses and a nurse at the Biu general hospital said that at least seven people were killed by the explosion.
Al Jazeera
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Video - Nigeria to investigate reports of child rape and trafficking in refugee camps
Officials are investigating claims of widespread abuse in the camps set up for people who've fled Boko Haram. There've been allegations of rape and child-trafficking.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Video - Boko Haram leader releases video promising to take on African Union troops
Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has mocked plans by the African Union to send a regional force into north-east Nigeria. The group's released a video welcoming the AU force and vowing to seize the soldiers, one by one.
Related stories: Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau apparently alive - releases new video
Military of Nigeria confirm Boko Haram leader dead
Nigeria military pledges neutrality in Presidential campaign
Nigeria's military pledged not to get involved in party politics on Wednesday, after concerns grew about its role in pushing for the country's presidential election to be delayed by six weeks.
Defence spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade noted "the palpable tension being generated ... with regards to the roles of the Nigerian military in the ongoing political activities and recent developments, especially in relation to electioneering."
"It is important to reassure Nigerians that the military will remain professional, apolitical and non-partisan in all operations ... related to (elections)," he said in a statement.
The military faced accusations of interference when chairman of the electoral commission Attahiru Jega revealed that the office of the National Security Advisor had written a letter to him saying that unless he delayed the Feb. 14 election, it could not guarantee his security.
It urged a six week delay to enable them to contain the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency.
There have also been reports in the local press that the military colluded with the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) to try to influence the election in Ekiti state in May, a claim the military has not directly commented on.
Nigeria's decision to delay the poll on the advice of security forces was a worrying echo for some of the annulment of 1993's democratic vote by a military government.
President Goodluck Jonathan's PDP had pushed for a delay, while his main opponent Muhammadu Buhari of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) had urged the vote go ahead on time, arguing that a six-year old insurgency was hardly going to be solved in six weeks.
But the PDP also argued that the commission was not ready because millions of voters had not picked up their ID cards.
Reuters
Defence spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade noted "the palpable tension being generated ... with regards to the roles of the Nigerian military in the ongoing political activities and recent developments, especially in relation to electioneering."
"It is important to reassure Nigerians that the military will remain professional, apolitical and non-partisan in all operations ... related to (elections)," he said in a statement.
The military faced accusations of interference when chairman of the electoral commission Attahiru Jega revealed that the office of the National Security Advisor had written a letter to him saying that unless he delayed the Feb. 14 election, it could not guarantee his security.
It urged a six week delay to enable them to contain the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency.
There have also been reports in the local press that the military colluded with the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) to try to influence the election in Ekiti state in May, a claim the military has not directly commented on.
Nigeria's decision to delay the poll on the advice of security forces was a worrying echo for some of the annulment of 1993's democratic vote by a military government.
President Goodluck Jonathan's PDP had pushed for a delay, while his main opponent Muhammadu Buhari of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) had urged the vote go ahead on time, arguing that a six-year old insurgency was hardly going to be solved in six weeks.
But the PDP also argued that the commission was not ready because millions of voters had not picked up their ID cards.
Reuters
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