Disaster averted as 40,000 football fans occupy 16,000 capacity stadium in Nigeria

A major disaster was avoided on Friday as an estimated 40,000 supporters packed into the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna to watch Nigeria’s 1-1 draw with Egypt.

Listed as a 16,000 capacity venue, the stadium in the north west of the country was subject to a heavy military presence after a pitch invasion marred the last international there in June.

But a decision by the Kaduna State government to open the gates to fans to attend the crucial 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier for free created a frenzied atmosphere.

Hours before kick-off supporters started arriving, with some scaling fences to find their way in. Some were even pictured clambering up floodlight scaffolding to gain a vantage point.

“I felt the game was not going to take place because I thought the number of people on the pitch side was going to cause encroachment,” Rotimi Akindele, a reporter for Beat FM, told Goal.com.

In the end the match passed without major incident off the pitch, although Nigeria’s captain, John Obi Mikel, accused Egypt’s players of “cheating” after Mohamed Salah’s late equaliser kept the Pharaohs on top of Group G.

Oghenekaro Etebo had put the Super Eagles in front on the hour and looked like claiming a crucial win as the match entered the dying minutes. But with Godfrey Oboabona having limped off injured, Egypt’s players refused to kick the ball out and Salah was able to score after being played in by Ramadan Sobhy.

“I think we played very well but we lost a lot of chances that we created that could have fetched us total victory in today’s match against Egypt,” Mikel said.

“Everybody is saying we lost the game in the last three minutes but all I can say is that fair play is fair play, it doesn’t matter, fair play is fair play.

“OK, you can say we should have concentrated a little more but Fair Play is Fair Play. This is cheating, that is all I can say. It happens in Egypt, it happens everywhere. It doesn’t matter how many minutes it is, you have to allow it. It is the referee that controls the game.”

The Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi was brought on as a late substitute by the Nigeria coach, Samson Siasia – an appearance that means he can no longer represent England on the international stage.

Elsewhere there were victories for Tunisia, Mali and Ivory Coast over Togo, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan respectively, while Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez started for Algeria as they thrashed Ethiopia 7-1 in Blida.

Guardian

Related story: Video - Nigeria draw with Egypt 1-1 in Africa Cupf of Nations qualification match

Video - Nigeria draw with Egypt 1-1 in Africa Cup of Nations qualification match

Video - Parents of kidnapped schoolgirls being used to identify suicide bomber

The Nigerian government is sending parents from the Chibok community of northeast Nigeria to neighbouring Cameroon to verify whether a suspected female suicide bomber is one of the schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram nearly two years ago. Garba Shehu, spokesperson for Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, said the Nigerian High Commissioner in Cameroon, Hadiza Mustapha, has been in contact with Cameroonian authorities who have shown a willingness to assist the Nigerian government.

The abduction of about 270 school girls by Islamic militants from a school in Chibok on 14 April 2014, sparked international outrage and a campaign #bringbackourgirls. While about 50 of the girls managed to escape, 219 of these girls remain missing.

Military and local government sources on Friday reported that one of two girls arrested in northern Cameroon carrying explosives claimed to be one of the missing Chibok schoolgirls.

The girls were arrested after being stopped by local self-defence forces in Limani near the border with Nigeria that has been the target of frequent suicide bombings in recent months.

"We hope that the Chibok parents will be able to identify the girl and determine whether she is indeed one of their missing students," Shehu told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview in Abuja on Saturday.

Shehu said the government was keen to ascertain the girl's identity so she can be brought back to Nigeria and possibly assist the government in investigations regarding the fate and whereabouts of the other missing Chibok girls.

He said the two parents from Chibok selected to embark on the trip to Cameroon are Yakubu Nkeki, chairman of the Chibok Abducted Girls Movement, and Yana Galang, the group's women leader, whose 16-year-old daughter Rifkatu is among the missing.

The trip is being arranged by the government in partnership with the Murtala Muhammed Foundation in Nigeria, a non-government organisation which has been supporting the parents association and has offered to partly sponsor the trip to avoid any delays.

"If it is true, we are very happy about it. If we see her with our eyes, we will know where our girls are," Galang told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Shehu said the two girls will be brought by the Cameroonian government to Douala, the country's largest city, on Monday for further checks into their identities.

Former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan was criticized for his slow reaction to the Chibok abductions, seen by many as indicative of his response to Boko Haram, which at its strongest held large swathes of northeastern Nigeria.

Muhammadu Buhari, who defeated Jonathan in a 2015 election, ordered a new investigation into the kidnappings in January.

Joint operations between Nigeria and neighbouring countries succeeded in driving Boko Haram from many of its strongholds last year but the Islamists have stepped up cross-border attacks and suicide bombings, many of them carried out by young girls.

EWN

Nigerian soldiers fighting Boko Haram promised houses

Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai has said that the army has a housing scheme for its officers and men, including those fighting Boko Haram war in the North-East zone of Nigeria.

He assured that as soon as those soldiers disengage from service, they will occupy their own houses.

Lt Gen Buratai who said this in Enugu while answering questions from journalists during his one-day familiarization tour of the 82 Division of Nigerian Army, Enugu said that beside their various insurance entitlements, the soldiers are also entitled to loan from the federal government loan board through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

"So that as soon as they are retiring, they will be occupying their own houses," he emphasized.

He said, "Also, in the army, we have quite a number of housing projects which the Post-Housing Development Directorate of the army is working on; officers and soldiers subscribe to such schemes where they will choose anywhere they want to settle after retirement to get houses built for them.

Daily Trust

Uber launches in Abuja, Nigeria

A growing technology company, Uber on Wednesday added Abuja to the list of smart transportation hubs in Africa where riders are conveniently connected to drivers in real time at the touch of a button on the Uber app that will be configured on a smart phone.

This happened at the launch of the innovative service that took place at the Transcorp Hilton where the Nigerian federal capital became the 400th city to be added across the globe about 18 months after the same service was launched in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the General Manager for Uber Lagos, Ebi Atawodi said: “We’re really excited to be launching Uber in Abuja. Uber gives the people of Abuja an affordable, easy and flexible choice to move around the city safely and reliably.

“For those who don’t know, Uber moves around millions of global citizens every day, offering affordable and reliable rides at the touch of a button. By offering a friendly and reliable complement to existing transport options, we can help improve urban mobility in Abuja, reduce traffic congestion and the environmental impact of vehicles at the same time.”


Daily Post


Related story: Video - Uber eases transportation in Nigeria