Nigerian forces kill 30 suspected Boko Haram members in firefight

Nigerian soldiers have killed about 30 suspected members of Boko Haram, including a close associate of the group's leader, during a gun battle in north eastern Yobe state, an army spokesman says.

"About 30 suspected Boko Haram terrorists were killed in the battle which lasted several hours," Lieutenant Eli Lazarus, an army spokesman, said in a statement on Sunday.

Troops of the Joint Task Force (JTF) "engaged in a gun battle with the suspected terrorists" during a search-and-cordon operation on Boko Haram's hideout in Kandahar and around cemetery areas of Damaturu, the state capital, the statement said.

Ten suspected members of the group who were arrested during the raid are helping investigators to track other senior members of the group, added the statement.

Six rifles, 90 rounds of ammunition, several telephone sets were recovered during the raid. Knives, bows, arrows, daggers and three improvised explosive devices, which were detonated, were also confiscated, Lazarus said.



Patrick Egbuniwe, Yobe state police chief, said earlier on Sunday that troops shot dead four suspected members of the armed group following a raid on their hideout in Kandahar.

"We carried out the raid because of the incessant ambush on JTF patrol teams by Boko Haram gunmen in the area," he said.

Islamist extremists have been blamed for more than 1,400 deaths since 2010 as part of their attacks in northern and central Nigeria.

The JTF statement commended the support of Yobe residents and urged to give more information that will lead to the arrest of more suspected Boko Haram members.

"JTF further requests that people should remain calm and go about their lawful activities as efforts are geared towards ensuring the safety of lives and property," added the statement.

Last month in Damaturu, the military said it killed 35 suspected Boko Haram members in fierce gun battles. Some 60 people were also arrested there following a door-to-door sweep in several neighbourhoods.

A number of security personnel have also been arrested over links to Boko Haram.

The arrests came after JTF soldiers in the northeastern city of Maiduguri arrested an immigration officer, Grema Mohammed, for allegedly being an active member of the group, a military spokesman had said.

The JTF is a special unit made up of troops drawn from the armed forces, the police and the state security service.

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60 percent of Nigerians homeless according to MD of Infrastructure Bank

Inadequate infrastructure, poor housing quality and poor implementation strategy has been described as the bane of housing in Nigeria with 60% of the population homeless.

Mr. Adekunle Abdulrazaq Oyinloye, MD/CEO, Infrastructure Bank Plc, made the revelation when he presented a paper on the housing deficit challenge yesterday at the National Conference on Shelter and Urban Renewal, organized by Daily Trust to commemorate the World Habitat Day in Abuja.

His paper titled, "Housing Deficit in Nigeria: Imperative of Social Housing," explored tenets for viable solutions to housing problems through appropriate and enabling government legislation and policies, unflagging goal to construct quality living environments.

Such solutions, according to him, include responsiveness to local demand and needs, underpin by drive for employment creation, and disciplined promotion of best practices and standards in relation to design, delivery and management.

Oyinloye said while development and implementation of housing solutions for a range of income groups, special focus should be on "key workers" while there should be political will to accompany appropriate and enabling government legislation and policies.

He said policy and legislative formulation should be informed by experiences in other jurisdictions while there should be promotion of private sector participation beyond provision of finance adding that technical knowhow and governance are paramount.

The Infrastructure Bank MD said there should be promotion of access (land and financing) / protection of the masses while the focus should be on Land Use Act; Rental Market Act and foreclosure legislation.

Other areas of focus, according to Oyinloye, should be banking and mortgage lending practices, tax incentives, fiscal policy (cost of borrowing, personal income, subsidy programs, attract private sector, building materials, etc),and professional practices (PMI/financial advisors).

Daily Trust

John Mikel Obi starts record label with brother

Chelsea and Nigerian midfielder, John Obi Mikel has made foray into music with the setting up of a label named Matured Money Minds. 

To prove his seriousness the Champions League winner with Chelsea last season, has signed on four acts, Splash, Kido, Edgar and Charass.

With the help of his younger brother Patrick Obi, the 25-year-old football star has set up his Matured Money Minds (MMM) entertainment label and has already signed a couple of music acts

Mikel who has a relationship with P-Square, is hoping to take music promotions in Nigeria to another level. Mikel was born in Jos, a City that has produce great acts like P-Square, MI and Ice Prince.

“Mikel had always showed his love for music. Setting up a label is just a confirmation of his desire to contribute to the growth of the industry in Nigeria,” said a source.

It was gathered that the artists on the label have already cut their album and full promotions are in the pipeline to promote and make then rub shoulders with the biggest artistes in the music industry in Nigeria. The acts include: Charass, Kido, Edgar, and Splash. Mikel’s younger brother, Patrick will be in full control of operations.

Vanguard

President Goodluck Jonathan outraged over student massacre

President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, ordered the security agencies to fish out and prosecute those responsible for the massacre of 40 students of Federal Polytechnic, Mubi; Adamawa State University and the School of Health Technology, Mubi last Monday in their hostel in Mubi.

The presidential order came as the Senate condemned the killing and charged the Federal Government to invoke the provision of capital punishment in our statute on perpetrators of the massacre and other terrorists to serve as deterrence to others.

Adamawa Police Command has also announced that some arrests have been made over the killings, which were condemned by Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF and the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC

Jonathan, in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, described it as tragic, sad, barbaric and shocking.

According to the statement, "the President has directed security agencies to investigate the matter and get to the root because this kind of incident, where people are called out and shot is really shocking."


He further disclosed that the Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i, had briefed the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on the killings.

Gunmen, last Monday, stormed the off campus hostel of the students of the higher institutions at Wuro Fatuje, in Mubi, Adamawa State, killing 40 students while many others sustained injuries. The gunmen who were said to be in army uniform reportedly called out the names of the students one after the other and slaughtered them.

While the Federal Polytechnic, Mubi lost 26 students, the other institutions lost 14.
Vanguard


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Four Nigerian UN peacekeepers killed in Sudan

Four Nigerian peacekeepers have been killed and eight others injured in Darfur UNAMID, the joint mission of the United Nations and African Union in this region of western Sudan announced yesterday.

The mission has been underway for over four years and involves about 22,000 men. A patrol by the Nigerian contingent (the largest) walked into an ambush near El-Geneina, the capital of Darfur, just two kilometres from mission headquarters. According to UN figures the conflict in Darfur has cost the lives of over 300,000 people

Thirty-eight UNAMID soldiers were been killed 'in hostile actions' since the mission began. The attackers struck late Tuesday in the West Darfur state capital El-Geneina, the peacekeeping force said.

"The incident, which involved a Nigerian military patrol, occurred approximately two kilometres (just over a mile) from the mission's regional headquarters," the force said. "UNAMID personnel, who were heavily fired upon from several directions, returned fire. UNAMID and local authorities are working at the scene of the incident."

UNAMID Force Commander Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba called on the Khartoum authorities to hunt down those responsible.

"The mission condemns in the strongest terms this criminal attack on our peacekeepers that are here in the service of Darfur's people. I call on the government of Sudan to bring the perpetrators to justice," he said.

Ethnic minority rebels rose against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government in 2003. In response, the government unleashed state-backed Janjaweed Arab militia in a conflict that shocked the world and led to allegations of genocide. The UN estimates at least 300,000 people died but the government puts the toll at 10,000. UNAMID has been in Darfur for more than four years with a mandate to protect civilians in the vast area the size of France.

Although violence is down on its peak, clashes between rebels and government troops, banditry and inter-ethnic fighting continues. Key rebel groups refused to sign a deal reached last year between the Khartoum regime and an alliance of smaller rebel splinter factions. With more than 22,000 international troops and police officers, UNAMID has a budget of about $1.4 billion for 2012-13.

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