One of the masterminds of April's Nyanya Motor Park bombing that killed 71 people has been arrested, Nigerian police said.
About 130 people were hurt when a parked vehicle exploded in the bus station that was crowded with early morning commuters.
Aminu Ogwuche was extradited to Nigeria from Sudan, where he had taken refuge, police said.
Boko Haram's leader claimed responsibility for the April 14 bombing.
The Islamist militant group -- whose name means "Western education is sin" in the local Hausa language -- has bombed schools, churches and mosques; kidnapped women and children; and assassinated politicians and religious leaders.
CNN
Related story: Video - Bomb blast in Abuja kills 71
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Video - Sahara Reporters founder Omoyele Sowore says President Goodluck Jonathan is the worst Nigerian President
Omoyele Sowore is the publisher of New York-based Sahara Reporters, known for its hard-hitting reporting that is keeping Nigeria's government officials, individuals and corporations on their toes.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger gives opinion on why Nigeria under achieved in the 2014 FIFA World Cup
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has said lack of solidarity and poor administration, are the reasons why Nigeria and other African teams performed below par at the 2014 World Cup.The Super Eagles began their tournament with a drab goalless draw against Iran, before narrowly beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 in the second. Although they lost 3-2 to Argentina in their final Group F game, the African champions squeezed through to the second round, where they were eliminated by France.
Wenger argued it was never a matter of the quality of the Nigerian players, but off-field problems worked against them.
“I don’t think it’s purely down to quality. I think it comes down to organizational problems before the World Cup and during the World Cup,” Wenger told Daily Mirror.
“I think what hurts football fans both in Cameroon and Nigeria – two big footballing nations – was not that their countries did not reach the quarter-finals, it was the fact that both teams had no solidarity and they had problems that were exposed all over the world before the competition and that’s the main reason,” the Arsenal manager said in probable reference to the bonus crisis that rocked both the Super Eagles and the Indomitable Lions.
“Football is difficult enough when you are united but if you are not united at that stage then you have no chance.”
The Frenchman however singled out the Desert Warriors of Algeria for praise, despite the fact they were eliminated in the second round by eventual winners Germany.
He said: “I would still like to give some credit to Algeria. They played so well and at some points they even made Germany look average, and they were the only country who could do that. I would have liked to have seen more from the African countries.”
Daily Post
Related stories: Nigeria Super Eagles refuse to train due to unpaid FIFA World Cup 2014 appearance fees
FIFA suspends Nigeria from all international football
Video - Boko Haram release video mocking plea for kidnapped schoolgirls release
Boko Haram issued a new video Sunday mocking the social media campaign that highlighted the plight of the 223 schoolgirls kidnapped by the Islamists in north-east Nigeria.
In a broadcast apparently marking the girls’ third month in captivity, Abubakar Shekau, the Boko Haram leader, said they would not be freed until the government released the “army” of the group’s fighters held in Nigerian jails.
Shekau also claimed responsibility for three bombings last month and voiced support for Islamic State, the extremists who have seized much of northern Iraq.
The video served as a direct snub to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl and women’s rights campaigner who arrived in Nigerian capital, Abuja, over the weekend to voice support for the #BringBackOurGirls campaign.
Ms Yousafzai, 17, who moved to Britain after being shot by the Taliban, met parents of the missing girls yesterday and was also expected to hold talks with Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s president.
As she did so, serious doubts emerged about the girls’ chances of ever being rescued. In briefings with The Daily Telegraph over the weekend, Western diplomats said that, despite international publicity, the efforts to find the hostages were little further on than they were in May, when Britain, America and France began to help. With neither a prisoner swap or a rescue considered likely, there was little real prospect of any “breakthrough” in the foreseeable future, they said.
One diplomat said: “It is hard to see this being resolved either by a rescue or a prisoner swap deal, although that is also true for a lot of other girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in recent months and years, who are now bush wives. What may happen is that from time to time, some may seize a chance to escape, or a deal may be done with one particular local faction that is holding some of the hostages. Over the course of a few months or years they may begin to reappear.”
The diplomats’ gloomy assessment is likely to dismay the girls’ families, whose hopes of being reunited with them have been sustained largely by the scale of the international response. On Sunday, Malala, described the girls as “sisters” and said she was going to “speak up for them until they are released”.
Diplomats say the reality is that even if the girls could be located – which is hard, given that the area being searched is “twice the size of Belgium” – it would be impossible to mount a rescue without Boko Haram killing a large number first.
National Post
Related stories: Malala Yousafzai travels to Nigeria to plea for the release of kidnapped schoolgirls
Boko Haram claim bomb blast in Lagos, Nigeria
Malala Yousafzai travels to Nigeria to plea for the release of kidnapped schoolgirls
Twelve of them were the parents of girls who were kidnapped three months ago by militant group Boko Haram.
The two others were Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakistani woman just turned 17, and her father Ziauddin.
Malala, thoughtful and self-possessed, explained that she had made the journey to Nigeria from Birmingham in England, where she lives at present, because she regarded the kidnapped girls as her sisters.
"I am going to stand up for them," she said.
Monday has been designated by the United Nations as Malala Day. She has just turned 17, and she decided that she must mark it by coming to Nigeria and appealing for the release of the kidnapped girls and the right of all children here to an education.
'Because we're poor?'
Nigeria, though it recently became the leading economy in Africa, has one of the world's worst records for education. More than 10 million children aged between 6 and 11 - 42% - are not in school. There is a shortage of more than 200,000 primary school teachers.
Malala believes that there is a clear link between poor education and the political violence which the extreme Islamist Boko Haram movement has brought to Nigeria. "If you improve the one, you discourage the other," she has said.
Ziauddin Yousafzai started to explain to the parents how Malala had been shot in the head by a Taliban hitman in Pakistan two years ago, and almost killed. But he couldn't get the words out, and broke down in tears. The 12 Nigerian parents, as they listened to him, wept openly too.
The parents share a powerful feeling that in spite of their loss, they have been shut out and ignored. The government hasn't talked to them at any stage. It hasn't even shown them much sign of sympathy.
Rebecca Samwell, a Christian, said they had heard rumours that some of the girls had been rescued; her missing daughter Sarah is 17, like Malala. "We simply aren't told what the truth is."
One of the fathers, Malla Abu, asked: "Is it because we're poor country people that the government isn't doing anything? Suppose these were the daughters of someone important; would they still be in the forest after 90 days?"
Deadlock and despair
In the hotel grounds, Malala met five girls who were kidnapped with the others in the town of Chibok, but managed to escape by jumping out of the trucks which were taking them to captivity in the Sambisa forest, more than 200 miles (320km) away.
Had any of the five girls been interviewed by the Nigerian army for information they might have about their Boko Haram captors? No, they said.
Government officials deny they have been lackadaisical about investigating the kidnappings, and insist that everything is being done to trace the girls and get them back.
But after 90 days it is hard to see what success the authorities have had.
Mike Omeri, the co-ordinator of the government's anti-terror campaign, insists that they know where the girls are and that they are safe.
But the families are deeply worried by Boko Haram threats to marry the girls off to the movement's fighters, against their will. Some are afraid their daughters have been raped.
There seems to be a total stalemate. Boko Haram says it will free the girls in exchange for the release of Boko Haram prisoners from Nigerian jails.
At different times, various figures in the Nigerian government seem to have considered an exchange, but the army, and perhaps Western governments, are opposed to the idea.
The weakness of the Nigerian army in the country's north-east makes it hard to think that the girls can be rescued.
Faced with this deadlock, the parents are close to despair.
In the hotel in Abuja, Malala's father Ziauddin ended the meeting with the parents by saying a prayer:
"O God, accept our tears, accept the tears of these fathers and mothers. O God, empower us to bring the girls back."
And the parents, Christian and Muslim, joined together in saying "Amen".
BBC
Related stories: About 60 of the 200 schoolgirls kidnapped escape from Boko Haram
Nigerian military arrest bussiness man connected to Boko Hram adbuction of over 200 schoolgirls
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Wole Soyinka turns 80 today
Nigeria's literary icon Wole Soyinka turned 80 on Sunday, with friends and foes alike paying tribute to the first African to win the Nobel literature prize.
Dozens of literary and artistic events have been staged across the country over 80 days leading up to the birthday of the poet, novelist, playwright and social activist, whose works often satirised Nigeria's society and harshly criticised corrupt and inept leaders.
But such is Soyinka's popularity and stature that many of the targets of his criticism put aside past differences to honour the man who, with his trademark white afro and matching bushy goatee, is a beloved figure in Africa's most populous nation.
President Goodluck Jonathan praised his ardent critic in a statement on Saturday, hailing Soyinka's "life-long dedication and indefatigable commitment to using his acclaimed genius and talents, not only in the service of the arts, but also for the promotion of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights in Nigeria, Africa and beyond".
Former dictator General Yakubu Gowon, who jailed Soyinka for some two years during Nigeria's 1967-70 civil war, paid respect by attending a lecture in Soyinka's hometown of Abeokuta on Friday.
Soyinka, who looks several decades younger than his age, sprang to his feet and warmly embraced his former jailer as soon as he entered the lecture hall, sparking applause from the audience.
"I have come to Abeokuta for the sake of this particular man, to honour him," said Gowon, who imprisoned the writer on suspicion of support for his rival in the 1967 standoff that eventually led Nigeria to a 30-month civil war in which an estimated one million people died, mostly of disease and starvation.
The birthday events honouring Soyinka are due to culminate on Monday with a visit to his secluded forest residence in Abeokuta, the capital of southwestern Ogun State, and a presentation of one of his plays.
- 'God's gift' -
Born into an Anglican family on July 13, 1934, in Abeokuta, Soyinka cut his literary teeth in the 1950s at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria's premier university, where he studied English literature. He also studied literature at the University of Leeds.
The poet, novelist and playwright has around 30 published works to his name, most of which satirise Nigerian society and which have made him a darling of the critics.
"Soyinka, a literary giant, is God's gift to Nigeria in particular, Africa and the world at large. His style is inimitable," Dare Ademola, a literary critic, told AFP.
Chima Anyadike, head of the English department at the Obafemi Awolowo University where Soyinka last taught in Nigeria, said: "Soyinka is a great writer of his time."
In announcing his Nobel in 1986, the Swedish Academy praised Soyinka for "your versatile writings (in which) you have been able to synthesise a very rich heritage from your own country, ancient myths and old traditions, with literary legacies and traditions of European culture".
It also hailed him for "your own genuine and impressive creativity as an artist, a master of language, and your commitment as a dramatist and writer of poetry and prose to problems of general and deep significance for man, modern or ancient".
A harsh critic of military, corrupt or inept governments, Soyinka fled Nigeria during the regime of General Sani Abacha in the 1990s when the government hounded critics including journalists and academics.
A hunter, connoisseur of wines and notoriously private, Soyinka hasn't let his advanced age dull his social activism. In January 2012, he joined activists in street protests against President Jonathan after the government hiked the pump price of fuel.
AFP
Related stories: Video - Nigeria's Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka speaks to Aljazeera about Boko Haram and Nigeria today
Video - Wole Soyinka on CNN discussing state of Nigeria, Boko Haram and the kidnapped school girls
The Canonisation Of Terror
Boko Haram claim bomb blast in Lagos, Nigeria
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has claimed responsibility for two explosions on June 25 at a fuel depot in Lagos, Nigeria's commercial hub, AFP reported on Sunday, which, if true, would be the first recorded attack on the city by the militants.
"A bomb went off in Lagos. I ordered (the bomber) who went and detonated it," Shekau said, according to the French news agency, which is usually the first to get hold of Shekau's videos before they are distributed online.
The two blasts minutes apart last month in the country's main port, Apapa, were almost certainly caused by bombs, three senior security sources and the manager of a major container company told Reuters. One was most likely the work of a female suicide bomber, they said.
Authorities said the blasts on Creek road were an accident caused by a gas canister, but the security sources told Reuters that was a coverup meant to avoid panic in the southwestern city of 21 million people. At least two people were killed.
"You said it was a fire incident. Well, if you hide it from people you can't hide it from Allah," Shekau says in the video, which according to AFP shows him next to at least 10 gunmen in front of two armoured personnel carriers and two pickup trucks.
A confirmed attack by Boko Haram would be a cause for concern. Lagos is both an international business hub and a usually peaceful but at times uneasy melting pot of ethnicities from the mostly Christian south and Muslim north that have fought street battles in the past.
The target of the Lagos bombs was a fuel depot. Had it gone up, it could have caused a massive chain explosion and disrupted Nigeria's mostly imported fuel supply.
Security sources say it may have been the work of a group or individual inspired by Boko Haram. Shekau has been known to claim attacks suspected to be the work of another Islamist group or a criminal gang.
Shekau gets the Governor of Lagos State wrong, taunting Adams Oshiomole, who is in fact the Governor the southern Edo State, the agency reported.
Reuters
Related stories: Nigeria police uncover Boko Haram plot to bomb Abuja transport network
Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
"A bomb went off in Lagos. I ordered (the bomber) who went and detonated it," Shekau said, according to the French news agency, which is usually the first to get hold of Shekau's videos before they are distributed online.
The two blasts minutes apart last month in the country's main port, Apapa, were almost certainly caused by bombs, three senior security sources and the manager of a major container company told Reuters. One was most likely the work of a female suicide bomber, they said.
Authorities said the blasts on Creek road were an accident caused by a gas canister, but the security sources told Reuters that was a coverup meant to avoid panic in the southwestern city of 21 million people. At least two people were killed.
"You said it was a fire incident. Well, if you hide it from people you can't hide it from Allah," Shekau says in the video, which according to AFP shows him next to at least 10 gunmen in front of two armoured personnel carriers and two pickup trucks.
A confirmed attack by Boko Haram would be a cause for concern. Lagos is both an international business hub and a usually peaceful but at times uneasy melting pot of ethnicities from the mostly Christian south and Muslim north that have fought street battles in the past.
The target of the Lagos bombs was a fuel depot. Had it gone up, it could have caused a massive chain explosion and disrupted Nigeria's mostly imported fuel supply.
Security sources say it may have been the work of a group or individual inspired by Boko Haram. Shekau has been known to claim attacks suspected to be the work of another Islamist group or a criminal gang.
Shekau gets the Governor of Lagos State wrong, taunting Adams Oshiomole, who is in fact the Governor the southern Edo State, the agency reported.
Reuters
Related stories: Nigeria police uncover Boko Haram plot to bomb Abuja transport network
Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
Video - Nigeria's Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka speaks to Aljazeera about Boko Haram and Nigeria today
He is often called Nigeria's national conscience and Africa's most compelling literary force - Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian poet, playwright and activist. He was the first black African to be honoured with the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986.
Soyinka turns 80 this week and continues to express his views as one of the most controversial writers of his generation. Deeply committed to social justice and the arts, Soyinka has been a thorn in the side of many Nigerian dictators - his outspoken activism landing him in jail and eventually forcing him into exile.
Many of Soyinka's writings have been concerned with the tensions between tradition and progress, his disillusionment with African authoritarian leadership and with Nigerian society as a whole.
In a time when Nigeria is facing its toughest security crisis in decades, he discusses the issues surrounding Boko Haram:
"Those who unleashed Boko Haram on the nation are not poverty stricken. They are politicians .... desperate for power, intelligent enough or perceptive enough to recognise that the cocktail of politics and religious fundamentalism can only yield them dividends. They think they have nothing to lose. But the foot soldiers have been indoctrinated for years, from childhood. And they believe that their religion [Islam] is in danger ... But Islam is not in danger. It is the pervert followers who are being used and who use others and proclaim that they are fighting for Islam ....
"Look at the histories of the world: Boko Haram, if not contained and eradicated, will be found in the heart of Lagos before you know it."
Talk to Al Jazeera speaks to Professor Wole Soyinka, one of Nigeria's most prominent voices, about Boko Haram, religion, politics and the state of Nigeria today.
Aljazeera
Related stories: Video - Wole Soyinka on CNN discussing state of Nigeria, Boko Haram and the kidnapped school girls
Nigerian Laureate Wole Soyinka says Boko Haram worse than Nigerian's Civil War
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Nigeria police uncover Boko Haram plot to bomb Abuja transport network
Nigerian police have uncovered a plot to bomb the Abuja transport network, they said on Saturday, using suicide bombers and devices concealed in luggage at major bus stations.
Abuja has increasingly been targeted by Islamist group Boko Haram, with three deadly bombings since April, including one in a bus park on its outskirts that killed at least 75 people.
"Credible intelligence ... indicates that terrorists have perfected a plot to carry out attacks on the Abuja transport sector ... intended to cause panic amongst Abuja residents and visitors," police spokesman Frank Mba said in a statement.
Boko Haram militants, fighting for an Islamic state in religiously-mixed Nigeria, have killed thousands of people since 2009 and made world headlines with the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in the northeast village of Chibok on April 14.
On the same day, the bus park attack - which took place less than a month before Nigeria was due to host the World Economic Forum - killed 75 in what was the first bomb in Abuja for nearly two years.
There have been two deadly attacks in Abuja since then, including one in the upmarket shopping district of Wuse II.
"The Police High Command has called on the management of motorparks to ... constantly conduct regular and routine scanning of their environments while insisting on carrying out a thorough search on passengers and their bags as well as vehicles," the statement said.
The Islamist insurgency had been largely confined to the north until a suicide bomber attacked Abuja's police headquarters in June 2011, killing several people.
Two months later a suicide truck bomb targeting the U.N. headquarters in Abuja killed 25 people.
Reuters
Related story: About 60 of the 200 schoolgirls kidnapped escape from Boko Haram
Abuja has increasingly been targeted by Islamist group Boko Haram, with three deadly bombings since April, including one in a bus park on its outskirts that killed at least 75 people.
"Credible intelligence ... indicates that terrorists have perfected a plot to carry out attacks on the Abuja transport sector ... intended to cause panic amongst Abuja residents and visitors," police spokesman Frank Mba said in a statement.
Boko Haram militants, fighting for an Islamic state in religiously-mixed Nigeria, have killed thousands of people since 2009 and made world headlines with the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in the northeast village of Chibok on April 14.
On the same day, the bus park attack - which took place less than a month before Nigeria was due to host the World Economic Forum - killed 75 in what was the first bomb in Abuja for nearly two years.
There have been two deadly attacks in Abuja since then, including one in the upmarket shopping district of Wuse II.
"The Police High Command has called on the management of motorparks to ... constantly conduct regular and routine scanning of their environments while insisting on carrying out a thorough search on passengers and their bags as well as vehicles," the statement said.
The Islamist insurgency had been largely confined to the north until a suicide bomber attacked Abuja's police headquarters in June 2011, killing several people.
Two months later a suicide truck bomb targeting the U.N. headquarters in Abuja killed 25 people.
Reuters
Related story: About 60 of the 200 schoolgirls kidnapped escape from Boko Haram
Thursday, July 10, 2014
FIFA suspends Nigeria from all international football
Nigeria has been suspended from all international football amid allegations of government interference in its football federation.Fifa announced the ban, which means no Nigerian team - including club sides - can play internationally, on Wednesday evening.
It was the world governing body's response to a court order which compelled the Nigerian Minister of Sports to appoint a senior member of the civil service to take over the running of the Nigeria Football Federation.
A statement from Fifa's emergency committee said: "The Fifa Emergency Committee has decided today, 9 July 2014, to suspend the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) with immediate effect, on account of government interference."
The statement continued: "The decision follows a letter sent by Fifa to the NFF on 4 July 2014, in which it expressed its great concern after the NFF was served with court proceedings and consequently an order preventing the president of the NFF, the NFF Executive Committee members and the NFF Congress from running the affairs of Nigerian football was granted by a High Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"The said court order compelled the Nigerian Minister of Sports to appoint a senior member of the civil service to manage the NFF until the matter was heard in court, without giving any date for such a hearing.
"The authorities then appointed a person who decided to convene an extraordinary general assembly on 5 July 2014. This extraordinary general assembly was convened in violation of the NFF statutes.
"Originally, an elective congress had been planned by the NFF to take place on 26 August 2014.
"The suspension will be lifted once the court actions have been withdrawn and the properly elected NFF Executive Committee, the NFF general assembly and the NFF administration are able to work without any interference in their affairs."
The first impact of Fifa's move will be felt by Nigeria's women, who will be prevented from taking part in the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Canada next month - should the suspension not be lifted by July 15.
The statement added: "As a result of this decision, no team from Nigeria of any sort (including clubs) can have any international sporting contact (art. 14 par. 3 of the Fifa Statutes).
"During the period of suspension, the NFF may not be represented in any regional, continental or international competitions, including at club level, or in friendly matches.
"In addition, neither the NFF nor any of its members or officials may benefit from any Fifa or CAF development programmes, courses or training during the suspension period."
Nigeria's men reached the second round of the World Cup finals in Brazil after finishing second in Group F behind semi-finalists Argentina, but bowed out after a 2-0 defeat by France in the last 16.
The Telegraph
Related stories: FIFA threaten to sanction Nigeria over sacked NFF board
Monday, July 7, 2014
Half of a Yellow Sun finally approved by Nigerian censors after edits
Nigerian censors on Friday approved the release of the civil war film "Half of a Yellow Sun" after a more than two-month delay during which the producers agreed to edit certain scenes.
The film, based on the best-selling novel of the same name and starring Oscar-nominated British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, is about the 1967-1970 Biafra War which killed more than a million people, many from starvation.
Already showing in Britain and the United States, the film's Nigeria release had been set for April, but hours before its first scheduled public screening, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) blocked the release citing "regulatory issues".
Writing for the New Yorker magazine's website in May, the novel's author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said the authorities were concerned about a scene in the film adaptation depicting the massacre of Christians from the Igbo ethnic group by Muslim Hausa tribesman at a northern Nigeria airport.
The southeast, which is dominated by Igbos, cited such massacres as a key reason for their region's unilateral declaration of independence, a move the sparked the civil war.
The NVFCB has never clearly spelt out its opposition to the film, but said in a statement on Friday that "Half of a Yellow Sun" had been approved for release.
Censors board spokesman Caesar Kagho told AFP he could not go into detail about what was removed from the film and why.
Kene Mkparu of Filmhouse Cinemas, which is distributing the film in Nigeria, told AFP changes were made from the version shown in the West, but declined to be specific.
"We didn't have to change the essence of the film, but we complied with what they asked us to do," he said.
Ejiofor, who was nominated for Best Actor at this year's Academy Awards for his role in "12 Years a Slave", which picked up Best Picture, stars opposite British actress Thandie Newton in "Half of a Yellow Sun".
The southeast's attempt to create an independent Igbo-led nation, which they called Biafra, was crushed by British-backed federal forces which had military superiority and used scorched earth tactics, including the blockage of all food imports to the breakaway region.
More than four decades on, the Biafra War remains a highly contentious subject in Nigeria, with some marginal Igbo groups still calling for independence.
AFP
Related stories: Nigerian censors delaying Half of a Yellow Sun premiere
Chiwetel Ejiofor on shooting Half of a Yellow Sun in rural Nigeria
The film, based on the best-selling novel of the same name and starring Oscar-nominated British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, is about the 1967-1970 Biafra War which killed more than a million people, many from starvation.
Already showing in Britain and the United States, the film's Nigeria release had been set for April, but hours before its first scheduled public screening, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) blocked the release citing "regulatory issues".
Writing for the New Yorker magazine's website in May, the novel's author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said the authorities were concerned about a scene in the film adaptation depicting the massacre of Christians from the Igbo ethnic group by Muslim Hausa tribesman at a northern Nigeria airport.
The southeast, which is dominated by Igbos, cited such massacres as a key reason for their region's unilateral declaration of independence, a move the sparked the civil war.
The NVFCB has never clearly spelt out its opposition to the film, but said in a statement on Friday that "Half of a Yellow Sun" had been approved for release.
Censors board spokesman Caesar Kagho told AFP he could not go into detail about what was removed from the film and why.
Kene Mkparu of Filmhouse Cinemas, which is distributing the film in Nigeria, told AFP changes were made from the version shown in the West, but declined to be specific.
"We didn't have to change the essence of the film, but we complied with what they asked us to do," he said.
Ejiofor, who was nominated for Best Actor at this year's Academy Awards for his role in "12 Years a Slave", which picked up Best Picture, stars opposite British actress Thandie Newton in "Half of a Yellow Sun".
The southeast's attempt to create an independent Igbo-led nation, which they called Biafra, was crushed by British-backed federal forces which had military superiority and used scorched earth tactics, including the blockage of all food imports to the breakaway region.
More than four decades on, the Biafra War remains a highly contentious subject in Nigeria, with some marginal Igbo groups still calling for independence.
AFP
Related stories: Nigerian censors delaying Half of a Yellow Sun premiere
Chiwetel Ejiofor on shooting Half of a Yellow Sun in rural Nigeria
FIFA threaten to sanction Nigeria over sacked NFF board
Fifa has given the Nigerian govenment until Tuesday to reinstate the sacked Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board, or it says it will impose sanctions on the country.
The NFF, led by Aminu Maigari, was sacked by a Nigerian court on Saturday after it was found guilty of misappropriating funds, manipulating its own regulations and handling the Super Eagles' bonus row in Brazil in an unacceptable way. Maigari has since been detained by the Nigerian authorities.
After the hearing, a statement - signed by NFF vice president Obinna Ogba - was released which confirmed the drastic actions and alleged that the previous administration had brought embarrassment to the nation.
"The extraordinary congress unanimously endorsed the dissolution of the Aminu Maigari-led NFF executive committee, and immediate termination of the employment of all management staff," the statement read.
"The congress also endorsed the dissolution of the boards of the Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women League ans the Nigeria Nationwide League.
"Congress bemoaned the unfortunate incident of the international embarrassment suffered by the Nigeria nation at the 2014 Fifa World Cup, by failure of the Aminu Maigari-led NFF to fully and firmly resolve issues of finance with the Super Eagles ahead of the championship.
"Congress accused the Maigari administration of abuse of NFF statues in its constitution of the NFF electoral committee, by altering the list of persons approved by the congress at the 2013 general assembly."
Fifa, however, has criticised the move, claiming it goes against the organisation's principle of country's football associations being independent bodies and expressing concern over the outside interference.
"Fifa has sent a letter to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) expressing its great concern over different actions taken by Nigerian public authorities that affect the NFF," its statement read.
"Fifa has learnt from various sources that the NFF has been served with court processes and that consequently an order restraining the President of the NFF, his executive committee members and the NFF congress from running the affairs of Nigerian football has been granted by a High Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"Fifa has also taken note of the detention of NFF President Aminu Maigari, carried out by representatives of the department of the State Security Service. Furthermore, Fifa is also aware that the Minister of Sport has appointed an assistant director to take charge of the NFF.
"Fifa has reminded the NFF that all Fifa member associations have to manage their affairs independently and without influence of any third parties.
"The NFF has been asked to relay Fifa’s position to the relevant authorities and inform them that if the aforementioned NFF officials are not fully reinstated by Tuesday 8 July 2014 the case will be referred to the appropriate Fifa bodies for sanctions, including the potential suspension of the NFF.
"Fifa will not recognize any person or organ not elected in compliance with the NFF statutes... and therefore it will not consider the appointment made by the minister of sports. An elective congress has been duly convened by the NFF for 26 August 2014 and only decisions and persons elected then will be considered legitimate," Fifa concluded.
However, Nigeria's sports minister Tammy Danagogo has defended the government's actions.
"We will do our best to make Fifa know that there has been no government interference. We have no such intention," he said.
"And I can assure you that we will not interfere beyond doing what is legally required by Fifa rules, and that we will ensure that there is a peaceful atmosphere.
GOAL
The NFF, led by Aminu Maigari, was sacked by a Nigerian court on Saturday after it was found guilty of misappropriating funds, manipulating its own regulations and handling the Super Eagles' bonus row in Brazil in an unacceptable way. Maigari has since been detained by the Nigerian authorities.
After the hearing, a statement - signed by NFF vice president Obinna Ogba - was released which confirmed the drastic actions and alleged that the previous administration had brought embarrassment to the nation.
"The extraordinary congress unanimously endorsed the dissolution of the Aminu Maigari-led NFF executive committee, and immediate termination of the employment of all management staff," the statement read.
"The congress also endorsed the dissolution of the boards of the Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women League ans the Nigeria Nationwide League.
"Congress bemoaned the unfortunate incident of the international embarrassment suffered by the Nigeria nation at the 2014 Fifa World Cup, by failure of the Aminu Maigari-led NFF to fully and firmly resolve issues of finance with the Super Eagles ahead of the championship.
"Congress accused the Maigari administration of abuse of NFF statues in its constitution of the NFF electoral committee, by altering the list of persons approved by the congress at the 2013 general assembly."
Fifa, however, has criticised the move, claiming it goes against the organisation's principle of country's football associations being independent bodies and expressing concern over the outside interference.
"Fifa has sent a letter to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) expressing its great concern over different actions taken by Nigerian public authorities that affect the NFF," its statement read.
"Fifa has learnt from various sources that the NFF has been served with court processes and that consequently an order restraining the President of the NFF, his executive committee members and the NFF congress from running the affairs of Nigerian football has been granted by a High Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"Fifa has also taken note of the detention of NFF President Aminu Maigari, carried out by representatives of the department of the State Security Service. Furthermore, Fifa is also aware that the Minister of Sport has appointed an assistant director to take charge of the NFF.
"Fifa has reminded the NFF that all Fifa member associations have to manage their affairs independently and without influence of any third parties.
"The NFF has been asked to relay Fifa’s position to the relevant authorities and inform them that if the aforementioned NFF officials are not fully reinstated by Tuesday 8 July 2014 the case will be referred to the appropriate Fifa bodies for sanctions, including the potential suspension of the NFF.
"Fifa will not recognize any person or organ not elected in compliance with the NFF statutes... and therefore it will not consider the appointment made by the minister of sports. An elective congress has been duly convened by the NFF for 26 August 2014 and only decisions and persons elected then will be considered legitimate," Fifa concluded.
However, Nigeria's sports minister Tammy Danagogo has defended the government's actions.
"We will do our best to make Fifa know that there has been no government interference. We have no such intention," he said.
"And I can assure you that we will not interfere beyond doing what is legally required by Fifa rules, and that we will ensure that there is a peaceful atmosphere.
GOAL
About 60 of the 200 schoolgirls kidnapped escape from Boko Haram
More than 60 women and girls are reported to have escaped from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, security sources say.
They were among 68 abducted last month near the town of Damboa in north-eastern Borno state.
Reports say the women escaped when the militants went to attack a military base near Damboa on Friday.
The Nigerian military said it killed more than 50 rebels in a clash that night.
Boko Haram is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls abducted in April.
Local vigilante Abbas Gava told journalists he had "received an alert from my colleagues... that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home".
"They took the bold step when their abductors moved out to carry out an operation," he said.
A high-level security source in the state capital Maiduguri confirmed the escape, AFP news agency reported.
Exchange rejected
The BBC's Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says the insecurity is so rife in Borno state and the access so poor that it is not yet clear exactly how many of the young women managed to escape from Boko Haram.
Relatives of three of the women told the BBC they were safe.
Boko Haram triggered an international outcry when it captured 200 girls in Borno's Chibok town on 14 April.
It is demanding the release of its fighters and their relatives in exchange for the girls but the government has rejected this.
Last week three women were arrested for recruiting female members for the militant group, the country's military said.
They were said to have targeted widows and young girls, promising them marriage to Boko Haram members.
A state of emergency is in force in northern Nigeria because of the group's increasingly violent campaign to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
Maiduguri was the headquarters of Boko Haram until it was forced out by the military and vigilante groups.
BBC
Related stories: Nigerian Laureate Wole Soyinka says Boko Haram worse than Nigerian's Civil War
Nigerian military arrest bussiness man connected to Boko Hram adbuction of over 200 schoolgirls
They were among 68 abducted last month near the town of Damboa in north-eastern Borno state.
Reports say the women escaped when the militants went to attack a military base near Damboa on Friday.
The Nigerian military said it killed more than 50 rebels in a clash that night.
Boko Haram is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls abducted in April.
Local vigilante Abbas Gava told journalists he had "received an alert from my colleagues... that about 63 of the abducted women and girls had made it back home".
"They took the bold step when their abductors moved out to carry out an operation," he said.
A high-level security source in the state capital Maiduguri confirmed the escape, AFP news agency reported.
Exchange rejected
The BBC's Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says the insecurity is so rife in Borno state and the access so poor that it is not yet clear exactly how many of the young women managed to escape from Boko Haram.
Relatives of three of the women told the BBC they were safe.
Boko Haram triggered an international outcry when it captured 200 girls in Borno's Chibok town on 14 April.
It is demanding the release of its fighters and their relatives in exchange for the girls but the government has rejected this.
Last week three women were arrested for recruiting female members for the militant group, the country's military said.
They were said to have targeted widows and young girls, promising them marriage to Boko Haram members.
A state of emergency is in force in northern Nigeria because of the group's increasingly violent campaign to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
Maiduguri was the headquarters of Boko Haram until it was forced out by the military and vigilante groups.
BBC
Related stories: Nigerian Laureate Wole Soyinka says Boko Haram worse than Nigerian's Civil War
Nigerian military arrest bussiness man connected to Boko Hram adbuction of over 200 schoolgirls
Friday, July 4, 2014
Patients dying as Nigeria's doctors strike continues
Three days into the ongoing strike by public sector doctors, patients abandoned in hospitals nationwide, yesterday, cried out that they were dying slowly, and prayed for God's intervention to settle the rift between the government and the striking doctors.
While Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State appealed to the doctors to stop using strike as a means of fighting for their demands in the interest of innocent Nigerians, the doctors on their part accussed government of playing hide-and-seek with them.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Health to urgently engage the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, and Ministry of Health with a view to bringing the ongoing industrial action to an end.
Vanguard visited public hospitals in Lagos. From Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH; General Hospital, Gbagada; Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, to Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, were lamentations as patients, who refused to relocate, have been abandoned to their fate.
New patients were denied admission, while elderly ones who refused to leave were offered skeletal services by nurses and other health workers not affected by the strike.
Seeking divine intervention
Some of the patients were seen praying for God's intervention.
At the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, patients stood in front of Accident and Emergency Unit, praying to God to touch the heart of both government and the striking doctors.
One said: "Our God in heaven, listen to our cry and come to our aid. Arrest the heart of doctors and government to end the strike. We are dying slowly on daily basis."
At other wards, some patients that spoke to Vanguard insisted that whether the strike continued or not, they had nowhere else to seek medical attention.
They claimed their medical needs were peculiar and could not easily be handled at private hospitals.
One of them, who identified himself as Clement Odia, and had been on admission since January, said he was not in a hurry to relocate to any private hospital for financial reason.
'Am going nowhere'
He said: "I came here since January because of my broken hand. You do not expect me to leave now because I am almost healed. If I have to go to private clinic, where is the money? Also, they may not be able to take care of my situation, so I am staying here."
Another patient, who spoke on condition of anonymity, accused doctors of aggravating his pain.
He said: "I know if government answers them, in another six months same doctors will ask for more allowances. No doctor has attended to me since yesterday."
Lagos NMA speaks
State chairman of NMA Lagos, Dr. Francis Faduyile, blamed government for the ongoing strike, accusing government of destabilising already established health system.
He queried why government should agree to make other professionals, who are not doctors, as consultants?
"Everyone knows what consultant stands for in medicine. What will a nurse or pharmacist be consulting? Do they own patients in the hospitals?"
Also speaking, Public Relation Officer, NMA Lagos, Dr. Peters Ogunjobi, accused government of playing hide-and-seek with doctors, saying the strike would continue since the government had decided not to listen to the doctors.
Fashola begs
Meanwhile, Governor Fashola has appealed to the doctors in the country to stop using strike to fight for their demands in the interest of innocent Nigerians.
Fashola spoke at the second convocation ceremony of the Lagos State College of Health Technology, Yaba, saying fatalities from such industrial actions negated their professional calling.
Fashola argued that those that invented strike in the Nigeria health sector did it for the sake of their patients not themselves.
He said: "Medical workers from the lowest level to the highest in the chain of command and team are like gods on earth. Only sick people know your importance."
Fashola noted that workers in other sub-sectors of the nation's economy were not satisfied with their remuneration, but did not hold government to ransom.
Reps intervene
Also, the House of Representatives yesterday waded into the strike as it mandated its committee on health to urgently engage NMA and the Ministry of Health with a view to bringing the industrial action to an end.
The House, in plenary, gave the committee two weeks to report back.
The House, while appealing to NMA and its members to call off the strike, also urged the Federal Government to do everything possible, as a matter of utmost urgency, to have the crisis resolved in the interest of Nigerians.
Vanguard
Related story: Video - Nigeria's medical sector goes on strike
While Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State appealed to the doctors to stop using strike as a means of fighting for their demands in the interest of innocent Nigerians, the doctors on their part accussed government of playing hide-and-seek with them.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Health to urgently engage the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, and Ministry of Health with a view to bringing the ongoing industrial action to an end.
Vanguard visited public hospitals in Lagos. From Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH; General Hospital, Gbagada; Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, to Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, were lamentations as patients, who refused to relocate, have been abandoned to their fate.
New patients were denied admission, while elderly ones who refused to leave were offered skeletal services by nurses and other health workers not affected by the strike.
Seeking divine intervention
Some of the patients were seen praying for God's intervention.
At the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, patients stood in front of Accident and Emergency Unit, praying to God to touch the heart of both government and the striking doctors.
One said: "Our God in heaven, listen to our cry and come to our aid. Arrest the heart of doctors and government to end the strike. We are dying slowly on daily basis."
At other wards, some patients that spoke to Vanguard insisted that whether the strike continued or not, they had nowhere else to seek medical attention.
They claimed their medical needs were peculiar and could not easily be handled at private hospitals.
One of them, who identified himself as Clement Odia, and had been on admission since January, said he was not in a hurry to relocate to any private hospital for financial reason.
'Am going nowhere'
He said: "I came here since January because of my broken hand. You do not expect me to leave now because I am almost healed. If I have to go to private clinic, where is the money? Also, they may not be able to take care of my situation, so I am staying here."
Another patient, who spoke on condition of anonymity, accused doctors of aggravating his pain.
He said: "I know if government answers them, in another six months same doctors will ask for more allowances. No doctor has attended to me since yesterday."
Lagos NMA speaks
State chairman of NMA Lagos, Dr. Francis Faduyile, blamed government for the ongoing strike, accusing government of destabilising already established health system.
He queried why government should agree to make other professionals, who are not doctors, as consultants?
"Everyone knows what consultant stands for in medicine. What will a nurse or pharmacist be consulting? Do they own patients in the hospitals?"
Also speaking, Public Relation Officer, NMA Lagos, Dr. Peters Ogunjobi, accused government of playing hide-and-seek with doctors, saying the strike would continue since the government had decided not to listen to the doctors.
Fashola begs
Meanwhile, Governor Fashola has appealed to the doctors in the country to stop using strike to fight for their demands in the interest of innocent Nigerians.
Fashola spoke at the second convocation ceremony of the Lagos State College of Health Technology, Yaba, saying fatalities from such industrial actions negated their professional calling.
Fashola argued that those that invented strike in the Nigeria health sector did it for the sake of their patients not themselves.
He said: "Medical workers from the lowest level to the highest in the chain of command and team are like gods on earth. Only sick people know your importance."
Fashola noted that workers in other sub-sectors of the nation's economy were not satisfied with their remuneration, but did not hold government to ransom.
Reps intervene
Also, the House of Representatives yesterday waded into the strike as it mandated its committee on health to urgently engage NMA and the Ministry of Health with a view to bringing the industrial action to an end.
The House, in plenary, gave the committee two weeks to report back.
The House, while appealing to NMA and its members to call off the strike, also urged the Federal Government to do everything possible, as a matter of utmost urgency, to have the crisis resolved in the interest of Nigerians.
Vanguard
Related story: Video - Nigeria's medical sector goes on strike
Nigerian sent to psych ward for being atheist released and now receiving death threats
A Nigerian atheist released from a psychiatric unit to which his Muslim family committed him by force has said he is getting death threats for blaspheming against Islam.
Mubarak Bala, a 29-year-old chemical process engineer, said he is in hiding in predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria where sharia law holds and some interpretations deem blasphemy punishable by death.
"People are threatening me, I mean life-threatening threats," he said on Thursday. He said he was too frightened of drawing attention and wouldn't allow an Associated Press video journalist or photographer to come to his hiding place.
Bala said that since he renounced Islam and declared himself an atheist, he has not only lost the trust of his father and elder brother, but many friends.
"Most of my friends condemn me and tell me I am bound for hell and that in an Islamic state, I would be killed. Blasphemy is a serious thing here," said Bala, who describes himself on his Twitter page as an ex-Muslim.
North-east Nigeria is in the throes of an insurgency by extremists bent on turning all Nigeria into an Islamic state under sharia law, though half of Nigeria's 170 million people are Christian.
The uprising has killed thousands and increased tensions between Muslims and Christians in a country where adherents of both faiths are passionately religious.
Bala said he wants to leave northern Nigeria but first is trying to reconcile with his family, especially the father, two uncles and older brother who beat him up, drugged him and committed him to the psychiatric ward of Kano city's Aminu Kano teaching hospital.
News of his plight came through tweets that he sent on a smuggled telephone from the hospital toilet.
Businessman Bamidele Adeneye, who had been corresponding with Bala about humanism through social media before he was committed, saw one of his desperate SOS messages and mobilised help through the #FreeMubarak Twitter campaign and the London-based International Humanist and Ethical Union.
Adeneye said he has also been getting death threats. "I'm getting calls from people who say 'Where do you live, we are coming to get you.'"
But he said he would continue to help Bala because: "That man is intelligent, his only sin is being honest about what he believes."
He helped organise assistance from Kano lawyer Muhammad Bello Shehu, who said he had been preparing to take Bala's case to court when the doctors discharged all patients because of a strike.
"Currently Mubarak has said he wants to reconcile with the family before he leaves and we have had some family meetings, that is ongoing right now, and they appear apologetic, to a certain extent," Shehu said.
Shehu is seeking an independent psychiatric evaluation of Mubarak's health to counter the claims of hospital doctors that he has psychological problems, and family claims that he suffered a "personality change" that led to his renunciation of Islam, he said.
Bala's father, Muhammad Bala, did not immediately respond to phone calls and text messages.
In a blog, the father describes himself as a journalist and director general of Kano state's Directorate of Societal Reorientation, one of the bodies that enforces Islamic sharia law.
Guardian
Related story: In Northern Nigeria - man sent to mental institute for being atheist
Mubarak Bala, a 29-year-old chemical process engineer, said he is in hiding in predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria where sharia law holds and some interpretations deem blasphemy punishable by death.
"People are threatening me, I mean life-threatening threats," he said on Thursday. He said he was too frightened of drawing attention and wouldn't allow an Associated Press video journalist or photographer to come to his hiding place.
Bala said that since he renounced Islam and declared himself an atheist, he has not only lost the trust of his father and elder brother, but many friends.
"Most of my friends condemn me and tell me I am bound for hell and that in an Islamic state, I would be killed. Blasphemy is a serious thing here," said Bala, who describes himself on his Twitter page as an ex-Muslim.
North-east Nigeria is in the throes of an insurgency by extremists bent on turning all Nigeria into an Islamic state under sharia law, though half of Nigeria's 170 million people are Christian.
The uprising has killed thousands and increased tensions between Muslims and Christians in a country where adherents of both faiths are passionately religious.
Bala said he wants to leave northern Nigeria but first is trying to reconcile with his family, especially the father, two uncles and older brother who beat him up, drugged him and committed him to the psychiatric ward of Kano city's Aminu Kano teaching hospital.
News of his plight came through tweets that he sent on a smuggled telephone from the hospital toilet.
Businessman Bamidele Adeneye, who had been corresponding with Bala about humanism through social media before he was committed, saw one of his desperate SOS messages and mobilised help through the #FreeMubarak Twitter campaign and the London-based International Humanist and Ethical Union.
Adeneye said he has also been getting death threats. "I'm getting calls from people who say 'Where do you live, we are coming to get you.'"
But he said he would continue to help Bala because: "That man is intelligent, his only sin is being honest about what he believes."
He helped organise assistance from Kano lawyer Muhammad Bello Shehu, who said he had been preparing to take Bala's case to court when the doctors discharged all patients because of a strike.
"Currently Mubarak has said he wants to reconcile with the family before he leaves and we have had some family meetings, that is ongoing right now, and they appear apologetic, to a certain extent," Shehu said.
Shehu is seeking an independent psychiatric evaluation of Mubarak's health to counter the claims of hospital doctors that he has psychological problems, and family claims that he suffered a "personality change" that led to his renunciation of Islam, he said.
Bala's father, Muhammad Bala, did not immediately respond to phone calls and text messages.
In a blog, the father describes himself as a journalist and director general of Kano state's Directorate of Societal Reorientation, one of the bodies that enforces Islamic sharia law.
Guardian
Related story: In Northern Nigeria - man sent to mental institute for being atheist
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Africa's richest man Nigerian Aliko Dangote to build Health Centres in Nigeria
According to the Daily Post Nigeria, Dangote, who is the chairman of the Dangote Foundation, made the pledge during a video conference with Bill Gates, co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Governor of Kano. The purpose of the video conference, which was coordinated from the Kano government House, was to hold a 2014 mid-year review of their tripartite partnership on routine immunization
In 2012, the Kano state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Dangote Foundation to support a free routine immunization exercise in the state. The MOU is a 3-year collaboration which aims at eradicating polio and on improving primary health care delivery in Kano. Among other things, the MOU makes for the provision of sufficient supply of routine immunization vaccines and other consumables, supports a free routine immunization exercise in the state and makes provision for the training of health personnel. According to the World Health Organization, Nigeria is one of 3 countries (the other two being Afghanistan and Pakistan) that remain polio-endemic. Kano, which has a significant population of under-immunized children, has historically been one of the most vulnerable places. In June, the Kano government recorded a fresh case of Wild Polio Virus in Sumaila, a small village in the state, making it the third case to be uncovered in the state this year.
Dangote, who is Africa’s wealthiest man with a fortune estimated at $25.9 billion, was born in Kano. He said he was encouraged to build the new centers because of the commitment of the state government towards providing better healthcare services for the people, and he assured Governor Kwankwaso that his foundation will work with the Kano state government to strengthen its immunization programme.
Bill Gates, on the other hand, expressed satisfaction at the level of progress the government had made on Polio eradication, and expressed his hopes that the government would sustain its enthusiasm in that direction even in the face of threats of violence.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been actively involved in funding polio eradication initiatives in Nigeria. Among other things, the Foundation has a $25 million agreement in place with the World Bank to support the purchase of about 100 million doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV) in Nigeria.
Forbes
Related stories: Video - Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote expanding cement business
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Nigerian Laureate Wole Soyinka says Boko Haram worse than Nigerian's Civil War
Nigeria is suffering greater carnage at the hands of Islamist group Boko Haram than it did during a secessionist civil war, yet this has ironically made the country's break-up less likely, Nigerian Nobel Literature Laureate Wole Soyinka said. Speaking to Reuters at his home surrounded by rainforest near the southwestern city of Abeokuta, Soyinka said the horrors inflicted by the militants had shown Nigerians across the mostly Muslim north and Christian south that sticking together might be the only way to avoid even greater sectarian slaughter.
The bloodshed was now worse than during the 1967-70 Biafra war when a secessionist attempt by the eastern Igbo people nearly tore Nigeria up into ethnic regions, he added.
"We have never been confronted with butchery on this scale, even during the civil war," Soyinka said in his front room, surrounding by traditional wooden sculptures of Yoruba deities on Tuesday.
"There were atrocities (during Biafra) but we never had such a near predictable level of carnage and this is what is horrifying," said the writer, who was imprisoned for two years in solitary confinement by the military regime during the war on charges of aiding the Biafrans.
Soyinka, a playwright and one of Africa's leading intellectuals who still wears his distinctive white Afro hairstyle, turns 80 in two weeks. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, the first African writer to receive it.
A million people died during the Biafra war, though mostly through starvation and illness, rather than violence.
Boko Haram's five-year-old struggle to carve out an Islamic state from its bases in the remote northeast has become increasingly bloody, with near daily attacks killing many thousands.
The conflict's growing intensity has led Nigerian commentators to predict it may split the country, 100 years after British colonial rulers cobbled Nigeria together from their northern and southern protectorates.
"I think ironically it's less likely now," Soyinka said. "For the first time, a sense of belonging is predominating. It's either we stick together now or we break up, and we know it would be not in a pleasant way."
GOVERNMENTS LET IN RELIGION
Boko Haram's abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in April drew unprecedented international attention to the insurgency and pledges of aid from Western powers, but violence has worsened.
Boko Haram fighters frequently massacre whole villages, gunning down fleeing residents and burning their homes.
Nigeria, amalgamated by the British in 1914, brought together often historically antagonistic peoples - principally the largely Muslim Fulani, Hausa and Kanuri of the North, and the Yoruba, Igbo and other peoples of the mostly Christian south.
Several regional movements have launched low-level independence campaigns that get little national attention. But Soyinka said fewer people were shrugging off Boko Haram's menace.
"It's almost unthinkable to say: 'well, let's leave them to their devices.' Very few people are thinking that way."
Attacks spreading southwards, including three bombings in the capital since April, showed it was not a just a northern problem.
"The (Boko Haram) forces that would like to see this nation break up are the very forces which will not be satisfied having their enclave," he said. "(We) are confronted with an enemy that will never be satisfied with the space it has."
Soyinka blamed successive governments for allowing religious fanaticism to undermine Nigeria's broadly secular constitution, starting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo allowing some states to declare Sharia law in the early 2000s.
"When the spectre of Sharia first came up, for political reasons, this was allowed to hold, instead of the president defending the constitution," he said.
Soyinka sees both Christianity and Islam as foreign impositions.
"We cannot ignore the negative impact which both have had on African society," he told Reuters. "They are imperialist forces: intervening, arrogant. Modern Africa has been distorted."
He added that while the leadership of Boko Haram needed to be "decapitated completely", little had been done to present an alternative ideological vision to their "deluded" followers, driven largely by economic destitution and despair.
Reuters
Related stories: Video - Wole Soyinka on CNN discussing state of Nigeria, Boko Haram and the kidnapped school girls
New Nigerian leaders needed to tackle Boko Haram - Wole Soyinka
President Goodluck Jonathan signs in pension bill into law
The new law repeals the 2004 Pension Reform Act No. 2 and prescribes a 10-year jail term for pension thieves.
The Senate and the House of representatives had respectively passed the new 2014 Pension Reform Bill which also accommodates employees of private firms in the Contributory Pension Scheme.
On his the Twitter handle, Presidential Media Aide, Reuben Abati on Tuesday, said the new law, which covers private organizations with at least three or more employees, prescribes a 10-year jail term for anyone who misappropriates pension funds.
A working document of the Pensions Commission made available to PREMIUM TIMES shows that the new law also makes it mandatory for a refund three times the amount embezzled by the thief.
“The Pension Reform Act 2014 has consolidated earlier amendments to the 2004 Act, which were passed by the National Assembly. These include the Pension Reform (Amendment) Act 2011 which exempts the personnel of the Military and the Security Agencies from the CPS as well as the Universities (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act 2012, which reviewed the retirement age and benefits of University Professors.
Furthermore, the 2014 Act has incorporated the Third Alteration Act, which amended the 1999 Constitution by vesting jurisdiction on pension
matters in the National Industrial Court.
“Operators who mismanage pension fund will be liable on conviction to not less than 10 years imprisonment or fine of an amount equal to three-times the amount so misappropriated or diverted or both imprisonment and fine” the document read.
The new law repeals that of 2004, as sanctions under the old law were considered no longer sufficient deterrents against infractions of the law.
“Furthermore, there are currently more sophisticated mode of diversion of pension assets, such as diversion and/or non-disclosure of interests and commissions accruable to pension fund assets, which were not addressed by the PRA 2004. Consequently, the Pension Reform Act 2014 has created new offences and provided for stiffer penalties that will serve as deterrence against mismanagement or diversion of pension funds assets under any guise,” the document read.
The 2014 Act also empowers PenCom, subject to the fiat of the Attorney General of the Federation, to institute criminal proceedings against employers who persistently fail to deduct and/or remit pension contributions of their employees within the stipulated time. This was not provided for by the 2004 Act.
The Act also empowers PenCom to take proactive corrective measures on licensed operators whose situations, actions or inactions jeopardize the safety of pension assets, which was the reverse with the 2014 Act.
It also makes provisions for the repositioning of the Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, to ensure greater efficiency and accountability in the administration of the Defined Benefits Scheme in the federal public service such that payment of pensions would be made directly into pensioners’ bank accounts in line with the current policy of the Federal Government.
It makes provisions that will enable the creation of additional permissible investment instruments to accommodate initiatives for national development, such as investment in the real sector, including infrastructure and real estate development. This is provided without compromising the paramount principle of ensuring the safety of pension fund assets.
The Act also expanded the coverage of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, in the private sector organizations with three employees and
above, in line with the drive towards informal sector participation.
The 2014 Pension Reform Act reviewed upwards, the minimum rate of Pension Contribution from 15 per cent to 18 per cent of monthly emolument, where 8 per cent will be contributed by employee and 10 per cent by the employer.
“This will provide additional benefits to workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts and thereby enhance their monthly pension benefits at retirement”.
In the event of loss of jobs, the new Act reduces the waiting period for accessing benefits from six months to four months. This is done in order to identify with the yearning of contributors and labour.
The Pension Reform Act 2014 makes provision that would compel an employer to open a Temporary Retirement Savings Account, TRSA, on behalf of an employee that failed to open an RSA within three months of assumption of duty. This was not required under 2004 Act.
Premium Times
The Senate and the House of representatives had respectively passed the new 2014 Pension Reform Bill which also accommodates employees of private firms in the Contributory Pension Scheme.
On his the Twitter handle, Presidential Media Aide, Reuben Abati on Tuesday, said the new law, which covers private organizations with at least three or more employees, prescribes a 10-year jail term for anyone who misappropriates pension funds.
A working document of the Pensions Commission made available to PREMIUM TIMES shows that the new law also makes it mandatory for a refund three times the amount embezzled by the thief.
“The Pension Reform Act 2014 has consolidated earlier amendments to the 2004 Act, which were passed by the National Assembly. These include the Pension Reform (Amendment) Act 2011 which exempts the personnel of the Military and the Security Agencies from the CPS as well as the Universities (Miscellaneous) Provisions Act 2012, which reviewed the retirement age and benefits of University Professors.
Furthermore, the 2014 Act has incorporated the Third Alteration Act, which amended the 1999 Constitution by vesting jurisdiction on pension
matters in the National Industrial Court.
“Operators who mismanage pension fund will be liable on conviction to not less than 10 years imprisonment or fine of an amount equal to three-times the amount so misappropriated or diverted or both imprisonment and fine” the document read.
The new law repeals that of 2004, as sanctions under the old law were considered no longer sufficient deterrents against infractions of the law.
“Furthermore, there are currently more sophisticated mode of diversion of pension assets, such as diversion and/or non-disclosure of interests and commissions accruable to pension fund assets, which were not addressed by the PRA 2004. Consequently, the Pension Reform Act 2014 has created new offences and provided for stiffer penalties that will serve as deterrence against mismanagement or diversion of pension funds assets under any guise,” the document read.
The 2014 Act also empowers PenCom, subject to the fiat of the Attorney General of the Federation, to institute criminal proceedings against employers who persistently fail to deduct and/or remit pension contributions of their employees within the stipulated time. This was not provided for by the 2004 Act.
The Act also empowers PenCom to take proactive corrective measures on licensed operators whose situations, actions or inactions jeopardize the safety of pension assets, which was the reverse with the 2014 Act.
It also makes provisions for the repositioning of the Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate, PTAD, to ensure greater efficiency and accountability in the administration of the Defined Benefits Scheme in the federal public service such that payment of pensions would be made directly into pensioners’ bank accounts in line with the current policy of the Federal Government.
It makes provisions that will enable the creation of additional permissible investment instruments to accommodate initiatives for national development, such as investment in the real sector, including infrastructure and real estate development. This is provided without compromising the paramount principle of ensuring the safety of pension fund assets.
The Act also expanded the coverage of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, in the private sector organizations with three employees and
above, in line with the drive towards informal sector participation.
The 2014 Pension Reform Act reviewed upwards, the minimum rate of Pension Contribution from 15 per cent to 18 per cent of monthly emolument, where 8 per cent will be contributed by employee and 10 per cent by the employer.
“This will provide additional benefits to workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts and thereby enhance their monthly pension benefits at retirement”.
In the event of loss of jobs, the new Act reduces the waiting period for accessing benefits from six months to four months. This is done in order to identify with the yearning of contributors and labour.
The Pension Reform Act 2014 makes provision that would compel an employer to open a Temporary Retirement Savings Account, TRSA, on behalf of an employee that failed to open an RSA within three months of assumption of duty. This was not required under 2004 Act.
Premium Times
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Car Bomb detonates at market in Maiduguri, Nigeria
A car bomb exploded Tuesday in a market in Maiduguri, the northeast Nigerian city that is the birthplace of Boko Haram Islamic extremists, reducing stalls, goods and vehicles to piles of trash. Dozens of people are feared dead, witnesses said.
Witnesses blamed Boko Haram extremists who are accused of a series of recent bomb attacks in the West African nation.
Tuesday’s explosives were hidden under a load of charcoal in a pickup van, according to witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Trader Daba Musa Yobe, who works near the popular market, said the bomb went off just after the market opened at 8 a.m., before most traders or customers had arrived.
Stalls and goods were reduced to debris as were the burned-out hulks of five cars and some tricycle taxis set ablaze by the explosion.
Yobe said security forces cordoned off the area but had a hard time keeping people out, though they warned there could be secondary explosions timed to target rescue efforts.
Witnesses said they saw about 50 bodies. They said the toll may be worse but fewer than normal traders and customers were around because most people stay up late to eat during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting from sunrise to sunset.
A security official at the scene confirmed the blast, saying many casualties are feared. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press.
Explosions last week targeted the biggest shopping mall in Abuja, Nigeria’s central capital, killing 24 people; a medical college in northern Kano city, killing at least eight; and a hotel brothel in northeast Bauchi city that killed 10. It was the third bomb blast in as many months in Abuja, and the second in two months in Kano. In May, twin car bombs at a marketplace also left more than 130 dead in central Jos city and killed at least 14 people at a World Cup viewing site in Damaturu, another town in the northeast.
Maiduguri, a city of more than 1 million people, has suffered many attacks. In March, twin car bombs killed more than 50 people at a late-night market where people were watching a football match on a big screen.
Boko Haram has attracted international attention and condemnation since its April abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from a northeastern town.
Nigeria’s military announced Monday night that it had busted a terrorist intelligence cell and arrested a businessman who “participated actively” in the mass abduction that caused outrage around the world.
It was unclear if the first arrest of a suspect in the kidnappings could help in rescuing at least 219 girls who remain captive. Boko Haram is threatening to sell the girls into marriage and slavery if Nigeria’s government does not exchange them for detained insurgents.
Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said in a statement that businessman Babuji Ya’ari belonged to a vigilante group fighting Boko Haram and used that membership as cover “while remaining an active terrorist.”
He said information yielded by Ya’ari’s detention had led to the arrests of two women — one who worked as a spy and arms procurer and another described as a paymaster.
Boko Haram has adopted a two-pronged strategy this year of bombings in urban areas and scorched-earth attacks in northeastern villages where people are gunned down and their homes burned.
On Sunday, suspected extremists sprayed gunfire on worshippers in four churches in a northeastern village and torched the buildings. At least 30 people were reported killed there.
The extremists have been attacking with more frequency and deadliness in recent months.
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday condemned the recent attacks. A statement said “The president assures all Nigerians once again that the federal government and national security agencies will continue to intensify ongoing efforts to end Boko Haram’s senseless attacks until the terrorists are routed and totally defeated.”
The inability of the military to curb attacks has brought international criticism, with the United Nations noting the government is failing in its duty to protect citizens. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement Monday “reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to support Nigeria as it responds to this challenge in a manner consistent with its international human rights obligations.”
AP
Related stories: Boko Haram attack Christians in Northern Nigeria - At least 40 dead
Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
Witnesses blamed Boko Haram extremists who are accused of a series of recent bomb attacks in the West African nation.
Tuesday’s explosives were hidden under a load of charcoal in a pickup van, according to witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Trader Daba Musa Yobe, who works near the popular market, said the bomb went off just after the market opened at 8 a.m., before most traders or customers had arrived.
Stalls and goods were reduced to debris as were the burned-out hulks of five cars and some tricycle taxis set ablaze by the explosion.
Yobe said security forces cordoned off the area but had a hard time keeping people out, though they warned there could be secondary explosions timed to target rescue efforts.
Witnesses said they saw about 50 bodies. They said the toll may be worse but fewer than normal traders and customers were around because most people stay up late to eat during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting from sunrise to sunset.
A security official at the scene confirmed the blast, saying many casualties are feared. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press.
Explosions last week targeted the biggest shopping mall in Abuja, Nigeria’s central capital, killing 24 people; a medical college in northern Kano city, killing at least eight; and a hotel brothel in northeast Bauchi city that killed 10. It was the third bomb blast in as many months in Abuja, and the second in two months in Kano. In May, twin car bombs at a marketplace also left more than 130 dead in central Jos city and killed at least 14 people at a World Cup viewing site in Damaturu, another town in the northeast.
Maiduguri, a city of more than 1 million people, has suffered many attacks. In March, twin car bombs killed more than 50 people at a late-night market where people were watching a football match on a big screen.
Boko Haram has attracted international attention and condemnation since its April abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from a northeastern town.
Nigeria’s military announced Monday night that it had busted a terrorist intelligence cell and arrested a businessman who “participated actively” in the mass abduction that caused outrage around the world.
It was unclear if the first arrest of a suspect in the kidnappings could help in rescuing at least 219 girls who remain captive. Boko Haram is threatening to sell the girls into marriage and slavery if Nigeria’s government does not exchange them for detained insurgents.
Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said in a statement that businessman Babuji Ya’ari belonged to a vigilante group fighting Boko Haram and used that membership as cover “while remaining an active terrorist.”
He said information yielded by Ya’ari’s detention had led to the arrests of two women — one who worked as a spy and arms procurer and another described as a paymaster.
Boko Haram has adopted a two-pronged strategy this year of bombings in urban areas and scorched-earth attacks in northeastern villages where people are gunned down and their homes burned.
On Sunday, suspected extremists sprayed gunfire on worshippers in four churches in a northeastern village and torched the buildings. At least 30 people were reported killed there.
The extremists have been attacking with more frequency and deadliness in recent months.
Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday condemned the recent attacks. A statement said “The president assures all Nigerians once again that the federal government and national security agencies will continue to intensify ongoing efforts to end Boko Haram’s senseless attacks until the terrorists are routed and totally defeated.”
The inability of the military to curb attacks has brought international criticism, with the United Nations noting the government is failing in its duty to protect citizens. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement Monday “reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to support Nigeria as it responds to this challenge in a manner consistent with its international human rights obligations.”
AP
Related stories: Boko Haram attack Christians in Northern Nigeria - At least 40 dead
Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
Nigerian military arrest bussiness man connected to Boko Hram adbuction of over 200 schoolgirls
Nigeria, June 30 (Reuters) - Nigerian troops have arrested a businessman suspected of being at the head of a Boko Haram intelligence network that helped plan the abduction of more than 200 school girls in the northeast, the military said on Tuesday.
The man had helped the Islamist militant group plan several attacks, including the killing of traditional ruler the Emir of Gwoza, it said in a statement.
Two women were also arrested as part of the investigation, one of whom was accused of coordinating payments to other "operatives".
A year old intensive military operation against Boko Haram has so far failed to crush the rebels, whose struggle for an Islamic state in largely Muslim northern Nigeria has killed thousands since it was launched in 2009.
The insurgency has destabilized much of the northeast of Africa's top oil producer and biggest economy.
The abduction in mid-April of 276 school girls, 219 of which remain in captivity, has become a symbol of the government's powerlessness to protect civilians from attack.
Defense spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade said in a statement that the arrested man used his membership of a pro-government vigilante group "as a cover, while remaining an active terrorist".
Olukolade said the man had coordinated several deadly attacks in Maiduguri since 2011, including on customs and military locations as well as the planting improvised bombs.
Violence has been relentless in northeast Nigeria in particular, with hundreds killed in the past two months. There have also been bombings blamed on the militant group in the capital Abuja.
On Sunday, the Chibok community was attacked again in three places. Militants opened fire on churches and homes, killing dozens and burning houses to the ground. (Reporting by Lanre Ola Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Writing by Tim Cocks Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
Reuters
Related stories: U.S. reduces surveillance flights seeking kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria
Nigerian government denies second mass kidnapping by Boko Haram
The man had helped the Islamist militant group plan several attacks, including the killing of traditional ruler the Emir of Gwoza, it said in a statement.
Two women were also arrested as part of the investigation, one of whom was accused of coordinating payments to other "operatives".
A year old intensive military operation against Boko Haram has so far failed to crush the rebels, whose struggle for an Islamic state in largely Muslim northern Nigeria has killed thousands since it was launched in 2009.
The insurgency has destabilized much of the northeast of Africa's top oil producer and biggest economy.
The abduction in mid-April of 276 school girls, 219 of which remain in captivity, has become a symbol of the government's powerlessness to protect civilians from attack.
Defense spokesman Major-General Chris Olukolade said in a statement that the arrested man used his membership of a pro-government vigilante group "as a cover, while remaining an active terrorist".
Olukolade said the man had coordinated several deadly attacks in Maiduguri since 2011, including on customs and military locations as well as the planting improvised bombs.
Violence has been relentless in northeast Nigeria in particular, with hundreds killed in the past two months. There have also been bombings blamed on the militant group in the capital Abuja.
On Sunday, the Chibok community was attacked again in three places. Militants opened fire on churches and homes, killing dozens and burning houses to the ground. (Reporting by Lanre Ola Additional reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja; Writing by Tim Cocks Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
Reuters
Related stories: U.S. reduces surveillance flights seeking kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria
Nigerian government denies second mass kidnapping by Boko Haram
Nigeria Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi steps down after 2-0 defeat to France in the 2014 FIFA World Cup
The Super Eagles pushed France hard in their last-16 match in Brasilia only for Paul Pogba's late header and a last-gasp own-goal by Yobo to seal a 2-0 win for Les Bleus.
It appears that will be Nigeria's final match under Keshi, who said: "It's time for me to go back to my family and face fresh challenges."
The 52-year-old, who took over in 2011, has been linked with the South Africa job. Keshi has resigned his post once before, a day after winning last year's African Nations Cup, but was persuaded to stay on.
The Former Everton defender Yobo is also on his way out. He became the first Nigerian to win 100 caps during the France game and confirmed soon afterwards he would not be continuing on the international stage.
"This is it. I can look back on my career with great pride," he told BBC Sport. "I wanted to leave on a high for my country. Defeat by France was not the right way to go but I'm happy with all I've done for the national team.
"It's time to give a chance to other people to come through. Our football has a bright future and I am confident this team can achieve success sooner rather than later."
The Guardian
Related stories: Nigeria Super Eagles refuse to train due to unpaid FIFA World Cup 2014 appearance fees
Video - FIFA World Cup 2014 Team Profle: Nigeria Super Eagles
Monday, June 30, 2014
Boko Haram attack Christians in Northern Nigeria - At least 40 dead
Four villages in north-eastern Nigeria have been attacked by suspected Boko Haram militants who targeted at least one church.
The bodies of at least 40 civilians and six militants have been recovered, a local vigilante has told the BBC.
It is the latest assault on villages near Chibok, the town where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted in April.
Hundreds of villagers have been killed in similar attacks in the region by Boko Haram in recent months.
A state of emergency is in force in northern Nigeria because of the group's increasingly violent campaign to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
Attacks in the Chibok area eight days earlier were feared to have left dozens of villagers dead.
The BBC's Will Ross: "We are hearing reports of totally deserted villages"
Bows and arrows
An eyewitness said Kautikari village, a short distance from Chibok, was almost deserted, with bodies of civilians and Boko Haram fighters on the streets.
The insurgents were there for at least four hours, setting fire to homes and shooting sporadically.
Vigilantes armed with bows and arrows and hunting rifles have been trying to defend the village from such attacks.
One of the survivors said some 20 men arrived in a pick-up truck and on motorbikes, Reuters reported.
"Initially I thought they were military but when I came out, they were firing at people. I saw people fleeing and they burned our houses," Samuel Chibok was quoted as saying.
"Smoke was billowing from our town as I left."
The BBC's Will Ross, in the commercial capital Lagos, says a Nigerian air force plane has been seen flying over the area.
However, residents of these extremely vulnerable villages often complain that there are not nearly enough soldiers deployed in the area and they have been calling on the government to arm the vigilante force, our correspondent adds.
AFP news agency named the other villages targeted as Kwada, Ngurojina and Karagau.
According to one account from Kwada, a number of churches there were attacked during Sunday services and worshippers killed before the militants went on to Kautikari.
BBC
Related stories: Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
Video - Bomb blast in Abuja kills 71
The bodies of at least 40 civilians and six militants have been recovered, a local vigilante has told the BBC.
It is the latest assault on villages near Chibok, the town where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted in April.
Hundreds of villagers have been killed in similar attacks in the region by Boko Haram in recent months.
A state of emergency is in force in northern Nigeria because of the group's increasingly violent campaign to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
Attacks in the Chibok area eight days earlier were feared to have left dozens of villagers dead.
The BBC's Will Ross: "We are hearing reports of totally deserted villages"
Bows and arrows
An eyewitness said Kautikari village, a short distance from Chibok, was almost deserted, with bodies of civilians and Boko Haram fighters on the streets.
The insurgents were there for at least four hours, setting fire to homes and shooting sporadically.
Vigilantes armed with bows and arrows and hunting rifles have been trying to defend the village from such attacks.
One of the survivors said some 20 men arrived in a pick-up truck and on motorbikes, Reuters reported.
"Initially I thought they were military but when I came out, they were firing at people. I saw people fleeing and they burned our houses," Samuel Chibok was quoted as saying.
"Smoke was billowing from our town as I left."
The BBC's Will Ross, in the commercial capital Lagos, says a Nigerian air force plane has been seen flying over the area.
However, residents of these extremely vulnerable villages often complain that there are not nearly enough soldiers deployed in the area and they have been calling on the government to arm the vigilante force, our correspondent adds.
AFP news agency named the other villages targeted as Kwada, Ngurojina and Karagau.
According to one account from Kwada, a number of churches there were attacked during Sunday services and worshippers killed before the militants went on to Kautikari.
BBC
Related stories: Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
Video - Bomb blast in Abuja kills 71
Friday, June 27, 2014
U.S. reduces surveillance flights seeking kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria
The United States reduced its surveillance flights to help find more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Islamist militants after building a body of intelligence and after other states ramped up support, a U.S. official said.
Nigeria has committed itself to the hunt for the girls, who were kidnapped in April in one of the violent group's most spectacular attacks, and received help from the United States and other countries, including its neighbors.
The senior U.S. defense official told Reuters that the U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flights, first announced in May, were now flying at an "intermittent" rate.
The official said overall intelligence-gathering had not diminished, and noted additional operations by Britain and France.
"We had substantial initial coverage for the baseline and we’ve moved into a maintenance mode," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official declined to say how long the period of heightened initial U.S. coverage lasted. Asked whether it was just a week or two, the official said: "No. We were ... building this baseline for a good period of time."
The Pentagon had said on Thursday that there were "around the clock" intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in support of Nigeria's search. U.S. military personnel are in Abuja helping coordinate the effort.
The United States also sent about 80 U.S. military personnel to Chad in May to support the surveillance operation. Chad lies to the northeast of Nigeria, bordering the area in which Boko Haram operates.
In the last month U.S. officials have played down expectations about a swift rescue of the girls and stressed the limitations of intelligence gleaned from surveillance flights.
One U.S. official told Reuters of concerns that Boko Haram may have laid booby traps in areas the girls could be held and there have been reports that the girls may have been split up into small groups.
"ISR alone will not solve this problem. It will take … the Nigerian piece of the equation with their own sources and human intelligence coupled with the other forms to really understand the picture," the defense official said.
In an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Friday Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said his government and security services had "spared no resources, have not stopped and will not stop until the girls are returned home."
The defense official did not discuss specific U.S. intelligence but acknowledged that information gathered from different sources had left only a murky picture of where the girls might be, in how many groups and even in which country.
"What is clear is a sense of dispersion that would contribute to pessimism in terms of the prospects for a successful rescue operation to be mounted by anyone, whether it’s the host nation or supported in any way by external actors," the official said.
Reuters
Related stories: Nigerian government denies second mass kidnapping by Boko Haram
Boko Haram kidnap 60 more girls and 31 boys
Video - Search continues for the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigeria has committed itself to the hunt for the girls, who were kidnapped in April in one of the violent group's most spectacular attacks, and received help from the United States and other countries, including its neighbors.
The senior U.S. defense official told Reuters that the U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flights, first announced in May, were now flying at an "intermittent" rate.
The official said overall intelligence-gathering had not diminished, and noted additional operations by Britain and France.
"We had substantial initial coverage for the baseline and we’ve moved into a maintenance mode," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official declined to say how long the period of heightened initial U.S. coverage lasted. Asked whether it was just a week or two, the official said: "No. We were ... building this baseline for a good period of time."
The Pentagon had said on Thursday that there were "around the clock" intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in support of Nigeria's search. U.S. military personnel are in Abuja helping coordinate the effort.
The United States also sent about 80 U.S. military personnel to Chad in May to support the surveillance operation. Chad lies to the northeast of Nigeria, bordering the area in which Boko Haram operates.
In the last month U.S. officials have played down expectations about a swift rescue of the girls and stressed the limitations of intelligence gleaned from surveillance flights.
One U.S. official told Reuters of concerns that Boko Haram may have laid booby traps in areas the girls could be held and there have been reports that the girls may have been split up into small groups.
"ISR alone will not solve this problem. It will take … the Nigerian piece of the equation with their own sources and human intelligence coupled with the other forms to really understand the picture," the defense official said.
In an opinion piece in the Washington Post on Friday Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said his government and security services had "spared no resources, have not stopped and will not stop until the girls are returned home."
The defense official did not discuss specific U.S. intelligence but acknowledged that information gathered from different sources had left only a murky picture of where the girls might be, in how many groups and even in which country.
"What is clear is a sense of dispersion that would contribute to pessimism in terms of the prospects for a successful rescue operation to be mounted by anyone, whether it’s the host nation or supported in any way by external actors," the official said.
Reuters
Related stories: Nigerian government denies second mass kidnapping by Boko Haram
Boko Haram kidnap 60 more girls and 31 boys
Video - Search continues for the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigeria Intelligence Agency sent warning to Abuja malls for 2 weeks before bombings
Nigeria's intelligence agency said it has been warning shopping complexes in Abuja for two weeks that Islamic extremists might attack them in the capital, where a blast at a mall killed 22 people this week.
The increased security may have prevented even more carnage as witnesses said a security guard stopped a car bomber from entering the mall moments before the massive explosion on Wednesday.
Survivor Donald Chikason told ThisDay newspaper that a security guard argued with the driver of a car who wanted to enter Emab Plaza through the exit gate. When the guard refused, the man bent down and moments later the car exploded, Friday's edition of the newspaper quoted him as saying.
"The man started arguing, behaving as if he was drunk," it quoted him as saying.
Chikason, who works at a bank in the mall, was knocked unconscious by the blast and regained consciousness in the hospital.
The explosion was heard miles (kilometers) away. It set 17 vehicles ablaze and shattered windows throughout the four-story complex.
Body parts lay around the exit gate, other witnesses told The Associated Press. Dozens of wounded survivors were recovering in the hospitals Friday, most suffering burn wounds like Chikason, but at least one victim's leg was amputated, doctors said.
Nigerian intelligence received information that Boko Haram extremists were planning such an attack, said spokeswoman Marilyn Ogar of the Department of State Security.
"About two weeks ago we heard information that they were planning an attack at a busy shopping mall or market ... and so we had to go from one shopping complex to another trying to tell people to be more aware," she told The Associated Press.
Emab Plaza is the biggest and busiest in Abuja, the nation's capital in central Nigeria. The explosion occurred around rush hour as many residents were hurrying to view Nigeria's Super Eagles match against Argentina at the World Cup in Brazil. It was unclear if the bomb was timed to coincide with that, although Boko Haram has bombed several football viewing venues this year, prompting two northeastern states to ban public events to watch the football spectacular.
The state security department did not publish the intelligence about the threat to shopping malls, apparently to avoid a panic. Last week the government warned it had information that Boko Haram planned to hijack petrol tankers in the capital and booby trap them with explosives.
Two separate bombs in Abuja in April killed about 120 people and wounded more than 200 at a busy bus station.
President Goodluck Jonathan returned home Thursday night, cutting short his participation at an African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea.
The capital is in mourning, with speedy burials for Muslims among the victims. They included artist Abba Kura. His friend, Muhammad Khalifa Garba wept at his funeral Thursday, where mourners carried his works. He said Kura told him earlier this week that he no longer wanted to paint on canvas and had started a new work, a landscape on paper.
A relative of another victim, Mohammed Maina Bissala, railed against Boko Haram's indiscriminate tactics: "Allah says you should not take the life of a single person, so why should you claim that you are Boko Haram and you are killing everybody, both Muslims and Christians, everybody. What have they done? They have not done anything, these are innocent souls," he told The Associated Press.
Boko Haram's attacks have been concentrated in its stronghold in the northeast of the country but it has spread its attacks to the capital this year and increased the tempo and deadliness of attacks concentrated around bombings in cities and a scorched-earth policy in rural villages in the northeast.
Boko Haram attracted international condemnation for the April mass abductions of more than 200
schoolgirls who remain captive, and is blamed for this week's kidnappings of another 90 people.
AP
Related stories: Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
Video - Bomb blast in Abuja kills 71
Bomb blast at World Cup screening in Northern Nigeria - 21 confirmed dead
The increased security may have prevented even more carnage as witnesses said a security guard stopped a car bomber from entering the mall moments before the massive explosion on Wednesday.
Survivor Donald Chikason told ThisDay newspaper that a security guard argued with the driver of a car who wanted to enter Emab Plaza through the exit gate. When the guard refused, the man bent down and moments later the car exploded, Friday's edition of the newspaper quoted him as saying.
"The man started arguing, behaving as if he was drunk," it quoted him as saying.
Chikason, who works at a bank in the mall, was knocked unconscious by the blast and regained consciousness in the hospital.
The explosion was heard miles (kilometers) away. It set 17 vehicles ablaze and shattered windows throughout the four-story complex.
Body parts lay around the exit gate, other witnesses told The Associated Press. Dozens of wounded survivors were recovering in the hospitals Friday, most suffering burn wounds like Chikason, but at least one victim's leg was amputated, doctors said.
Nigerian intelligence received information that Boko Haram extremists were planning such an attack, said spokeswoman Marilyn Ogar of the Department of State Security.
"About two weeks ago we heard information that they were planning an attack at a busy shopping mall or market ... and so we had to go from one shopping complex to another trying to tell people to be more aware," she told The Associated Press.
Emab Plaza is the biggest and busiest in Abuja, the nation's capital in central Nigeria. The explosion occurred around rush hour as many residents were hurrying to view Nigeria's Super Eagles match against Argentina at the World Cup in Brazil. It was unclear if the bomb was timed to coincide with that, although Boko Haram has bombed several football viewing venues this year, prompting two northeastern states to ban public events to watch the football spectacular.
The state security department did not publish the intelligence about the threat to shopping malls, apparently to avoid a panic. Last week the government warned it had information that Boko Haram planned to hijack petrol tankers in the capital and booby trap them with explosives.
Two separate bombs in Abuja in April killed about 120 people and wounded more than 200 at a busy bus station.
President Goodluck Jonathan returned home Thursday night, cutting short his participation at an African Union summit in Equatorial Guinea.
The capital is in mourning, with speedy burials for Muslims among the victims. They included artist Abba Kura. His friend, Muhammad Khalifa Garba wept at his funeral Thursday, where mourners carried his works. He said Kura told him earlier this week that he no longer wanted to paint on canvas and had started a new work, a landscape on paper.
A relative of another victim, Mohammed Maina Bissala, railed against Boko Haram's indiscriminate tactics: "Allah says you should not take the life of a single person, so why should you claim that you are Boko Haram and you are killing everybody, both Muslims and Christians, everybody. What have they done? They have not done anything, these are innocent souls," he told The Associated Press.
Boko Haram's attacks have been concentrated in its stronghold in the northeast of the country but it has spread its attacks to the capital this year and increased the tempo and deadliness of attacks concentrated around bombings in cities and a scorched-earth policy in rural villages in the northeast.
Boko Haram attracted international condemnation for the April mass abductions of more than 200
schoolgirls who remain captive, and is blamed for this week's kidnappings of another 90 people.
AP
Related stories: Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
Video - Bomb blast in Abuja kills 71
Bomb blast at World Cup screening in Northern Nigeria - 21 confirmed dead
Nigeria Super Eagles refuse to train due to unpaid FIFA World Cup 2014 appearance fees
The Nigeria squad at the World Cup have missed a scheduled training session in a row over bonus money.
BBC Sport understands the players believe they are each $15,000 (£8,800) short of what they were expecting for reaching the last 16 in Brazil.
They refused to train in Campinas on Thursday and officials later confirmed the session had been cancelled.
Nigeria are scheduled to play France in the knockout stages on Monday having finished as runners-up in Group F.
BBC Sport has learned the problem lies in the interpretation of the bonus structure, with the players believing they will only receive $10,000 for their win 1-0 over Bosnia-Hercegovina and $5,000 for the 0-0 draw with Iran.
The players' understanding was they would receive a $30,000 payment for qualifying from the group.
However, it is believed the Nigerian Football Federation's offer to the players includes the agreed win and draw bonuses plus 30% of the prize money due from Fifa for reaching the knockout stage.
This is understood to rise to 40% of the prize money from Fifa if Nigeria were to win their round of 16 match, 50% for a quarter-final victory, 60% for a win in the semi-final stage and 70% for lifting the trophy.
While all parties work to find a resolution to the misunderstanding, coach Stephen Keshi has insisted it will not affect the team's performance.
And it has been confirmed to the BBC that the players will travel to Brasilia on Friday as scheduled and will train in the evening and over the weekend.
It is not the first time the Super Eagles have made a stance over money - last year they arrived late for the Confederations Cup in Brazil.
BBC
Related stories: Video - FIFA World Cup 2014 Team Profle: Nigeria Super Eagles
Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi says "Messi is from Jupiter" after Super Eagles 3-2 defeat by Argentina in 2014 FIFA World Cup
BBC Sport understands the players believe they are each $15,000 (£8,800) short of what they were expecting for reaching the last 16 in Brazil.
They refused to train in Campinas on Thursday and officials later confirmed the session had been cancelled.
Nigeria are scheduled to play France in the knockout stages on Monday having finished as runners-up in Group F.
BBC Sport has learned the problem lies in the interpretation of the bonus structure, with the players believing they will only receive $10,000 for their win 1-0 over Bosnia-Hercegovina and $5,000 for the 0-0 draw with Iran.
The players' understanding was they would receive a $30,000 payment for qualifying from the group.
However, it is believed the Nigerian Football Federation's offer to the players includes the agreed win and draw bonuses plus 30% of the prize money due from Fifa for reaching the knockout stage.
This is understood to rise to 40% of the prize money from Fifa if Nigeria were to win their round of 16 match, 50% for a quarter-final victory, 60% for a win in the semi-final stage and 70% for lifting the trophy.
While all parties work to find a resolution to the misunderstanding, coach Stephen Keshi has insisted it will not affect the team's performance.
And it has been confirmed to the BBC that the players will travel to Brasilia on Friday as scheduled and will train in the evening and over the weekend.
It is not the first time the Super Eagles have made a stance over money - last year they arrived late for the Confederations Cup in Brazil.
BBC
Related stories: Video - FIFA World Cup 2014 Team Profle: Nigeria Super Eagles
Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi says "Messi is from Jupiter" after Super Eagles 3-2 defeat by Argentina in 2014 FIFA World Cup
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Nigerian government denies second mass kidnapping by Boko Haram
Nigeria's government on Wednesday denied claims that Boko Haram militants abducted 60 women and children from the country's restive northeast, saying there was no evidence despite eyewitness testimony.
Government spokesman Mike Omeri told a news conference in Abuja that there was "nothing on the ground to prove any act of abduction, as reported".
A local government official in the Damboa district of Borno, a vigilante leader and an area senator on Monday all said the women and girls, some as young as three, were taken during a raid on Kummabza village in the last week.
Nigeria's military initially did not confirm or deny the abduction and Borno governor Kashim Shettima on Monday ordered an urgent probe, highlighting a recent reported abduction of at least 20 nomadic women from the same area.
Shettima said he was cautious because of subsequent counter-claims that the women had in fact moved elsewhere in the state as part of migration patterns among ethnic Fulani cattle breeders.
Omeri claimed that Shettima had established "that there were no sufficient facts on the alleged abduction", adding: "We hereby wish to state that based on available facts before us there was no abduction of 60 persons in Borno state."
Residents from Kummabza and the surrounding villages attacked over three days from last Thursday, however, said they could not understand the denial.
"This is happening. I can't understand why they would say that. It has been confirmed," one man, who asked for his name to be withheld, told AFP.
Establishing facts on the ground is notoriously difficult in northeast Nigeria, which has been hard hit by five years of violence at the hands of the heavily armed militant group.
Mobile phone networks have been downed and there are few functioning landlines, while travel between towns and villages is fraught with the danger of attack. Often news of attacks takes days to emerge.
Independent corroboration of claims is also hard to come by, with the police and security services also unable to move freely because of dangerous conditions.
Nigeria's government was heavily criticised for its slow response to the mass abduction by Boko Haram militants of more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok, also in Borno, on April 14, that triggered global outrage.
The military claimed in the days after the kidnapping that most of the girls had escaped, while President Goodluck Jonathan's wife, Patience, alleged that the abduction was a fabrication by her husband's political rivals to smear him.
The military's claim was soon retracted.
Police in Borno said that 276 girls were kidnapped and that 53 escaped in the days following the attack. On May 28, the authorities said that four more girls than previously thought had escaped, leaving 219 still held hostage.
The figures were confirmed in a report submitted to the government by a presidential fact-finding committee this week.
AFP
Related stories: Boko Haram kidnap 60 more girls and 31 boys
Video - Search continues for the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls
Government spokesman Mike Omeri told a news conference in Abuja that there was "nothing on the ground to prove any act of abduction, as reported".
A local government official in the Damboa district of Borno, a vigilante leader and an area senator on Monday all said the women and girls, some as young as three, were taken during a raid on Kummabza village in the last week.
Nigeria's military initially did not confirm or deny the abduction and Borno governor Kashim Shettima on Monday ordered an urgent probe, highlighting a recent reported abduction of at least 20 nomadic women from the same area.
Shettima said he was cautious because of subsequent counter-claims that the women had in fact moved elsewhere in the state as part of migration patterns among ethnic Fulani cattle breeders.
Omeri claimed that Shettima had established "that there were no sufficient facts on the alleged abduction", adding: "We hereby wish to state that based on available facts before us there was no abduction of 60 persons in Borno state."
Residents from Kummabza and the surrounding villages attacked over three days from last Thursday, however, said they could not understand the denial.
"This is happening. I can't understand why they would say that. It has been confirmed," one man, who asked for his name to be withheld, told AFP.
Establishing facts on the ground is notoriously difficult in northeast Nigeria, which has been hard hit by five years of violence at the hands of the heavily armed militant group.
Mobile phone networks have been downed and there are few functioning landlines, while travel between towns and villages is fraught with the danger of attack. Often news of attacks takes days to emerge.
Independent corroboration of claims is also hard to come by, with the police and security services also unable to move freely because of dangerous conditions.
Nigeria's government was heavily criticised for its slow response to the mass abduction by Boko Haram militants of more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok, also in Borno, on April 14, that triggered global outrage.
The military claimed in the days after the kidnapping that most of the girls had escaped, while President Goodluck Jonathan's wife, Patience, alleged that the abduction was a fabrication by her husband's political rivals to smear him.
The military's claim was soon retracted.
Police in Borno said that 276 girls were kidnapped and that 53 escaped in the days following the attack. On May 28, the authorities said that four more girls than previously thought had escaped, leaving 219 still held hostage.
The figures were confirmed in a report submitted to the government by a presidential fact-finding committee this week.
AFP
Related stories: Boko Haram kidnap 60 more girls and 31 boys
Video - Search continues for the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi says "Messi is from Jupiter" after Super Eagles 3-2 defeat by Argentina in 2014 FIFA World Cup
The 27-year-old scored a half-volley and a free-kick as Argentina recorded a third win to finish top of Group F."Messi is one of heck of a player. He's blessed. You can't take it away from him," said Keshi, whose Nigeria side still qualified despite the defeat.
"There are good calibre players in the team but Messi is from Jupiter."
Keshi, whose team advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup after Iran lost to Bosnia-Hercegovina, added: "I feel honoured and happy it's going our way, I want to thank the players and the fans and some of the media."
Messi is now joint top scorer at the 2014 tournament with four goals, alongside Brazil's Neymar. Prior to Brazil 2014, he had scored just once in eight World Cup matches.
The Barcelona star paid tribute to Nigeria, who equalised twice through Ahmed Musa before Marcos Roja scored a second-half winner for the two-time champions.
"We played against a team that wanted to play," Messi said. "I think we saw a good Argentina. We need to continue on this path."
Messi had previously only scored one World Cup goal in 571 minutes, but former England striker Gary Lineker believes he is now comparable to Argentine compatriot Diego Maradona.
Maradona inspired Argentina to their 1986 World Cup triumph, scoring twice to eliminate Lineker and his England team-mates in the quarter-finals.
"I don't think since Maradona we've seen anyone quite like Messi on the field," said the Match of the Day presenter.
"They're very similar players in many ways: both have that mercurial left foot, balance, precision, the ability to beat players very easily and make the game look simple.
"And he scores goals as well. Diego was an unbelievable player, certainly the best of my generation, and he was unbelievably creative, he could do all those sort of things, but he wasn't as prolific as Messi is, he didn't score quite as many goals."
The South American side will now play Switzerland in the last 16, while Nigeria will face France.
"As we advance we start improving our structure, in general I saw improvement today," said Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella.
"We've got nine points, but we can always get better."
BBC
Related story: Nigeria progresses to 2nd stage of the FIFA 2014 World Cup
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
An explosion has struck a busy shopping district in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, killing at least 21 people.
The explosion was in the capital's Wuse district, near the popular Banex plaza shopping complex, and could be heard from miles away.
It is not yet clear what was behind the explosion, however police say they are securing a "crime scene".
Islamist militant group Boko Haram has bombed targets across northern Nigeria in recent years.
"After a preliminary investigation we can confirm that 21 people were killed and 17 injured," police spokesman Frank Mba told reporters.
'Covered in blood'
Chiamaka Oham, who was near the site of the blast, told the BBC: "We heard a really loud noise and the building shook, and people started screaming and running out.
"We saw the smoke and people covered in blood. It was just chaos."
Eyewitnesses at the scene described seeing body parts scattered across the area.
The area was packed with shoppers at the time of the blast, the BBC's Hausa service editor Mansur Liman reports.
Many cars outside the shopping complex were burnt out and many windows were shattered, he adds.
One man told the BBC his driver was killed in the blast: "I was in the complex when I saw that the ground was shaking. I saw my driver dead and a lot of casualties."
Manzo Ezekiel, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, told AFP news agency: "You can see smoke billowing from the sky. It's a very crowded place."
Police spokesman Frank Mba said he could not provide details of the nature or extent of the damage.
"Our most important assignment now is to secure lives, secure the crime scene and actually carry out preliminary investigations," he added.
Boko Haram has staged previous attacks in Abuja, but most of its targets have been in the north-east of the country.
In April, more than 70 people were killed in a bomb blast at a bus stop on the outskirts of the capital in an attack claimed by Boko Haram.
The group also said it was behind a car bomb attack near a bus station in the suburbs in May, which killed at least 19 people and injured 60 others.
The group also carried out a deadly car bomb attack on the United Nations building in the Nigerian capital in 2011.
It has become a source of growing international concern since the recent abduction of more than 200 girls from a school in northern Nigeria.
Related stories: Video - Bomb blast in Abuja kills 71
Bomb blast at World Cup screening in Northern Nigeria - 21 confirmed dead
Nigeria progresses to 2nd stage of the FIFA 2014 World Cup
The World Cup Group F final between Argentina and Nigeria finishes with Argentina winning 3-2. The duel between the much-storied Lionel Messi and the relatively little-ballyhooed Vincent Enyeama created an immensely captivating match.
The World Cup exploits of Messi, FC Barcelona’s wunderkind, have been much publicized. His second-half goals in both of Argentina’s previous wins have been praised widely, especially his injury-time strike to beat Iran 1-0 on Saturday.
But with Nigeria scoring one goal in its two previous matches, Enyeama likewise has been carrying the Super Eagles, the only team yet to concede a goal at the World Cup.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper, who plays for Lille in France, reportedly is drawing interest from Arsenal and Sunderland.
Neither Messi nor Argentina needs to duel with Nigeria. They’ve already clinched their place in the last 16 with six points, and need merely a draw to finish atop the group. That would get Argentina a second-round match against the runner-up from Group E, the France-Ecuador-Switzerland-Honduras group.
Nigeria, however, is in a precarious situation. With four points, it sits three ahead of Iran, which plays pointless and eliminated Bosnia-Herzegovina in a simultaneous match.
A draw would get it through without having to worry about the Bosnia-Iran result. But a Nigeria loss and an Iran win could send the “Princes of Persia” through. It will all depend on goal difference, or possibly goals scored. Nigeria has a plus-1 goal difference, Iran a minus-1.
Nigeria has scored once, Iran not at all. A 1-0 victory by Iran and a 1-0 loss by Nigeria would leave them equal – and require the drawing of lots. (The only other tie-breaking criteria after goals scored have to do with head-to-head, and Iran and Nigeria drew 0-0.)
A 2-1 win by Iran combined with a 1-0 loss by Nigeria would send the Iranians through. But a 1-0 win by Iran joined with a 2-1 loss by Nigeria favors the Africans. Of course, Iran has won only one game in 11 tries at the World Cup, in 1998 against the United States.
And for a really interesting scenario, consider this: If Iran prevails and finishes second in Group F, and the United States beats Germany to win Group G, the teams would be one step away (i.e. the quarterfinals) from a rematch of “The Mother of all Games.”
Wall Street Journal
Related stories: Video - FIFA World Cup 2014 Team Profle: Nigeria Super Eagles
Nigeria Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi says Africa can with the World Cup
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