The British Broadcasting Cooperation has apologised for wrongly publishing a story about a restaurant in Anambra State, Nigeria, where human flesh is served as meat.
In the report, BBC had said suspicious residents in Anambra told police about rumours that the restaurant was cooking human meat for customers.
It also said when police raided the restaurant, fresh human heads, still bleeding were discovered.
The BBC said the blood found in the restaurant by the police were in the process of being drained into a plastic bag.
The BBC has, however, published an apology, saying the story was false and inappropriate.
BBC said it had already begun investigations to confirm what led to such publication and will take necessary steps to ensure the mistake does not occur again.
“The story about the Nigerian restaurant which we published here frame a mistake and we apologise. It was incorrect and BBC published without the proper checks. We have removed the story and have launched an urgent investigation into how this happened,” BBC said.
It added that the BBC Burmese service’s reputation for accuracy and balance remains important.
Premium Times
Thursday, May 21, 2015
579 Nigerian soldiers facing court martial
Nigeria's military said Wednesday that 579 officers and soldiers were facing two separate trials over indiscipline, after 66 troops were sentenced to death last year for mutiny.
"We have about 473 officers and soldiers being tried at the Army Headquarters Garrison and 106 in 81 Division," said army spokesman Sani Usman.
He did not specify the charges against those currently facing court martial but Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer working on the case, said some had been accused of mutiny.
Many Nigerian troops based in the northeast have defied orders to battle Boko Haram Islamists, citing a lack of adequate weapons and other essential equipment.
"The essence of all these trials is just to emphasise on discipline, professionalism and some other things," Usman told reporters in Abuja, without giving further details.
Falana, who defended the 54 soldiers sentenced to death last year and was familiar with the fresh cases, told AFP the charges included "cowardice, mutiny and disobedience to authorities".
The military and independent sources have said conditions for soldiers in the northeast have improved over the last six to eight months, with Nigeria securing additional weaponry needed to tackle the rebels.
Experts say the new hardware has helped troops liberate a series of Boko Haram strongholds in an operation launched in February with backing from neighbouring armies.
Despite the reported improvements, complaints of soldiers being underpaid or poorly equipped persist.
Last year, soldiers based in the northeastern city of Maiduguri set up a protest camp after being ordered to deploy to a remote part of the region to fight Boko Haram.
Wives of soldiers launched a separate protest outside a barracks, claiming their husbands were being used as cannon fodder and were being sent to battle insurgents who had vastly superior weapons.
A military court last December sentenced 54 soldiers to death for refusing to deploy and take on Boko Haram in the northeast.
Twelve received the same sentence in September last year for mutiny after shots were fired at their commanding officer.
Falana said the death sentences had not yet been approved by military top brass and there was still hope of a reprieve.
AFP
"We have about 473 officers and soldiers being tried at the Army Headquarters Garrison and 106 in 81 Division," said army spokesman Sani Usman.
He did not specify the charges against those currently facing court martial but Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer working on the case, said some had been accused of mutiny.
Many Nigerian troops based in the northeast have defied orders to battle Boko Haram Islamists, citing a lack of adequate weapons and other essential equipment.
"The essence of all these trials is just to emphasise on discipline, professionalism and some other things," Usman told reporters in Abuja, without giving further details.
Falana, who defended the 54 soldiers sentenced to death last year and was familiar with the fresh cases, told AFP the charges included "cowardice, mutiny and disobedience to authorities".
The military and independent sources have said conditions for soldiers in the northeast have improved over the last six to eight months, with Nigeria securing additional weaponry needed to tackle the rebels.
Experts say the new hardware has helped troops liberate a series of Boko Haram strongholds in an operation launched in February with backing from neighbouring armies.
Despite the reported improvements, complaints of soldiers being underpaid or poorly equipped persist.
Last year, soldiers based in the northeastern city of Maiduguri set up a protest camp after being ordered to deploy to a remote part of the region to fight Boko Haram.
Wives of soldiers launched a separate protest outside a barracks, claiming their husbands were being used as cannon fodder and were being sent to battle insurgents who had vastly superior weapons.
A military court last December sentenced 54 soldiers to death for refusing to deploy and take on Boko Haram in the northeast.
Twelve received the same sentence in September last year for mutiny after shots were fired at their commanding officer.
Falana said the death sentences had not yet been approved by military top brass and there was still hope of a reprieve.
AFP
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Video - Black market worsens Nigeria's fuel crisis
With motorists still wasting hours in queues waiting for fuel, Nigeria's fuel shortage is far from over. This latest supply crunch was brought about by a stalemate over the government's failure to pay fuel subsidy claims to fuel retailers.
Suicide bomber kill 9 in Nigeria
A suspected male suicide bomber yesterday afternoon attacked the Garkida Cattle Market in Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, killing no fewer than nine persons and wounding several others.
Reports from the area indicated that the incident occurred in the afternoon when the suspect who posed as a cattle dealer detonated the explosives on entry into the market.
Another version of the story however, had it that the bomb had earlier been planted within the area of vegetable sellers in the market from where the explosive went off. Garkida town shares borders with Borno State and the Sambisa forest, the dreaded base of the Boko Haram insurgents.
The member representing Gombi constituency in the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Jerry Kumdisi confirmed the incident even as the police authorities could not confirm or deny the attack, saying that the incident fell within the purview of the military.
Garkida, where the early missionaries settled in Adamawa State and had witnessed series of Boko Haram attacks in the past.
Vanguard
Reports from the area indicated that the incident occurred in the afternoon when the suspect who posed as a cattle dealer detonated the explosives on entry into the market.
Another version of the story however, had it that the bomb had earlier been planted within the area of vegetable sellers in the market from where the explosive went off. Garkida town shares borders with Borno State and the Sambisa forest, the dreaded base of the Boko Haram insurgents.
The member representing Gombi constituency in the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Jerry Kumdisi confirmed the incident even as the police authorities could not confirm or deny the attack, saying that the incident fell within the purview of the military.
Garkida, where the early missionaries settled in Adamawa State and had witnessed series of Boko Haram attacks in the past.
Vanguard
Video - Nigeria Super Falcons determined to win the FIFA Women's World Cup
In under three weeks this year's women's football world cup will begin in Canada. African champions Nigeria's Super Falcons have wrapped up their training in Abuja as they head off to Canada.
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