Alex Iwobi to play for Nigeria Super Eagles

Alex Iwobi has been called up by the Nigerian national team – ten days after Jordon Ibe committed himself to England.

Iwobi, who was on the bench for Arsenal’s clash against Spurs last night, has been selected by manager Sunday Oliseh for friendlies against DR Congo and Cameroon next month.

The 19-year-old was born in Nigeria but has represented England at under-16, 17 and 18 levels.

But Iwobi, who is the nephew of former Nigeria star Jay-Jay Okocha, has committed to the country of his birth.

He said in January: “My dad has told me a lot of things about the honour and pride that goes with playing for Nigeria.

“So I thought a lot about this and decided to play for Nigeria.”

Iwobi’s call up follows Jordon Ibe’s decision to commit his international future to England.

Manager Roy Hodgson revealed his admiration for the 19-year-old after being given information by former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.

“It was my choice and it feels the right choice for me,” Ibe told Liverpoolfc.com.

“I was born here and have played in the younger age groups. I want to take it up to the first team one day.”


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Nigeria military rescues 241 women and children from Boko Haram camps

The Nigerian military rescued 241 women and children in a raid on two camps controlled by the Boko Haram terrorist group, the country's military said Wednesday.

The Tuesday operation unfolded in the villages of Jangurori and Bulatori, the statement said.

The operations also netted the arrests of 43 militants belonging to the Islamist group, including a local leader, Bulama Modu, who the Nigerian military says was acting as the "emir" of the village of Bulakuri.

The raids destroyed both camps, army spokesman Col. Sani Usman told Punch, a Nigerian newspaper. The military also confiscated weapons, some of which were buried by militants who appeared to be abandoning their posts during the raid, he told the paper.

"Apart from arms and ammunitions, bows and arrows recovered from Bulama Modu, the kingpin, he confirmed that the terrorists also gave him a horse to enhance his deadly pursuits," Usman told Punch.

Troops also arrested a suspected militant in Wudla village who provided the names of terrorists who helped stage an attack in northern Cameroon this month, Usman said. They hailed from Dara Jamel, where the insurgents operate a bomb factory, he told Punch.



CNN

Nigeria bans vehicles in Borno state

Nigeria has banned all cars, public transport, horses, donkeys and camels in Borno state to prevent an attack by militant group Boko Haram over the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday.

The ban came into effect on Wednesday evening and lasts until Friday.

Borno is where the Boko Haram insurgency began and on Sunday at least 54 people died in a triple bombing in the state capital Maiduguri.

Some 17,000 people are said to have been killed in the six-year insurgency.

Attacks by the Islamist group have intensified since Muhammadu Buhari became president in May, after winning elections.

The Nigerian military has previously banned all horses and donkeys in Borno, following a wave of attacks by Boko Haram fighters using such animals.

Military spokesman Col Tukur Gusau added that "all vehicular movements into and out of Maiduguri town will also be restricted" until further notice.

The security forces have in recent months reclaimed territory captured by Boko Haram fighters.

The army has also freed a number of people kidnapped by the militant group and this week announced that 241 women and children had been rescued near the border with Cameroon.


BBC

Nigeria military dismisses Boko Haram leader

The Nigerian military said it was not considering the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, or any other particular person in the terror group to be relevant in the ongoing onslaught against insurgency in the North East.

“Shekau or any of his cohorts would not deter the spate of the military operations to rid the country of criminals hiding under strange religious ideology to kill innocent Nigerians,” the military said in a statement Tuesday.

The statement came days after the release of an audio clip online dismissing recent gains by the military in the war against the insurgents. The speaker claimed to be Shekau, whom the Nigerian military claimed it killed months ago.

The military said it viewed the new audio as “irrelevant and fruitless”.

“The Armed Forces is using this medium to appeal to the good citizens of Nigeria not to lose sleep over the concocted audio rhetoric of the waning terrorist sect which is a usual antic of a drowning person struggling to hold on to anything to remain afloat,” the statement signed by spokesperson for the armed forces, Rabe Abubakar, a Colonel.

“The Armed Forces wishes to reiterate that it is a well-known fact that the terrorists have been seriously decimated and the tremendous effort and achievement recorded in the recent time by combined forces of the Nigerian Army and the Air Force is commendable.

“The Armed Forces did not lie about the successes recorded so far in its counterinsurgency operations and for avoidance of doubt, the liberated communities in the North East, which were hitherto under the throes of Boko Haram terrorists, are free for interested person or body to explore.

“The military does re-state that in the recent time a number of Boko Haram members have been surrendering and denouncing radicalization. Our candid advice to Shekau or his ghost; cohorts or impersonators is to toll the line of their fellow comrades and surrender now as no more hidden place for him or his criminal gang to operate freely any longer.

“It is also necessary to tell those that are still masquerading as leadership of Boko Haram in whatsoever guise to quickly come to term with the fact that era of cheap propaganda is over and in no distance time Nigerians and the whole world will know who is saying the truth.

“Therefore, while urging Nigerians and the nation’s well-wishers to disregard the audio clip purportedly released by Shekau in its entirely, the Armed Forces is calling on peace-loving people of our dear nation to go about their normal businesses as the military is working round the clock to rid the country of this devilish and anti-human group.

“Our compatriots too are called upon to report any suspicious person or object to law enforcement agencies for prompt action. It is in doing this that we would jointly restore the dignity of our dear country from the claw of terrorists,” the statement said.

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