Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Video - Sunday Oliseh cautions Gabon on Aubameyang's overdependence
Former Nigerian coach Sunday oliseh has cautioned Gabon against solely relying on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at the African cup of nations. The former super eagles player also says Nigeria will overcome the crisis engulfing the football sector.
Video - Nigeria to turn Sambisa forest into training ground for its troops
Nigeria's military is set to turn the Sambisa forest, a former bastion of militant Islamist group Boko Haram, into a training centre for its troops. The new base will also be used as ground for testing acquired equipment before putting them into operation. The move is to prevent the militants from rebuilding a presence in the area. Last Friday, Nigeria's military overran the militants' last camp in the forest. Sambisa had become their main base after they lost control of urban strongholds in north-eastern Borno state in 2015.
MTN issues first payment to Nigeria for $254 million fine
Telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria has paid $254 million of the $1 billion fine imposed on it for failing to deactivate more than five million unregistered sim cards in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu said the company paid the sum as the first installment out of the three years given for the completion of the payment.
MTN was initially fined $5.2 billion but the fine was later reduced to $1 billion after negotiating the fine with the Nigerian government.
The fine, according to the law is $636 for each unregistered sim cards and in this instance, MTN’s violation was to the tune of five million lines.
Shittu said MTN accepted that they were in default, apologised for it, made a commitment never to allow such a thing to happen again and asked for remission.
Should the company had paid the initial sum of over $5 billion dollars, the minister said the mobile operator would have folded up hence the need to reconsider the fine.
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu said the company paid the sum as the first installment out of the three years given for the completion of the payment.
MTN was initially fined $5.2 billion but the fine was later reduced to $1 billion after negotiating the fine with the Nigerian government.
The fine, according to the law is $636 for each unregistered sim cards and in this instance, MTN’s violation was to the tune of five million lines.
Shittu said MTN accepted that they were in default, apologised for it, made a commitment never to allow such a thing to happen again and asked for remission.
Should the company had paid the initial sum of over $5 billion dollars, the minister said the mobile operator would have folded up hence the need to reconsider the fine.
Nigerian army searching for kidnapped Chibok girls
After the Nigerian army claimed victory over Boko Haram in the armed group's forest stronghold, a commander at the forefront of the battle says the search is still on for the missing Chibok girls.
The army captured the Sambisa Forest in the country's east over the weekend.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu, the army commander, said that while his soldiers had made significant gains, they had not been able to track down the missing girls who were captured by Boko Haram in April 2014.
About 200 of the 276 Chibok girls who were taken remain missing. Some were believed to be in the Sambisa Forest.
"We are still searching for our dear daughters," Ezugwu said. "As I speak to you now, we've not been able to make contact with them because the insurgents are running away with the girls. We are still trailing them."
He added that "so far, we have rescued over 1,900 Nigerian citizens [from captivity]".
He said the operation against Boko Haram is ongoing.
"It's not finished business. It's a work in progress. At the end of the day it's a bright light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
While Nigerian authorities say they are working hard to find the missing girls, there are concerns over how those who have been freed are treated.
Kidnapped girls freed from more than two years of captivity were prevented by Nigerian officials from spending Christmas at home with their families and relatives, a lawyer said on Tuesday.
Parents said they were taken to see their daughters, but the girls who were not allowed to go home or go to a church service.
The news raised questions about Nigeria's handling of the 21 girls freed in October by negotiation with the group.
'Final defeat'
Boko Haram's insurgency began in Maiduguri, though it has since spread beyond Nigeria's borders to Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
Nearly 15,000 civilians have been killed since 1999, when Boko Haram launched a campaign to establish an Islamic state.
"We are on top of the situation, all hands are still on deck," Ezugwu said. "This defeat is final and it [Boko Haram] will not spread to other parts of West Africa."
His comments echoed those of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who on Saturday announced the "final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists" in a message posted to his Twitter feed.
Army officials told Al Jazeera that it took around 40 minutes to breach Boko Haram defences in Sambisa Forest.
"Now the biggest task of retaking Sambisa is over, the problem is how to secure the location," said Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, who is embedded with the army in Sambisa. "This whole area is booby trapped and mined."
Elsewhere, 31 Boko Haram fighters surrendered to authorities in Niger's southeast region, the West African country's Interior Minister Bazoum Mohamed announced on Tuesday.
Boko Haram has been carrying out attacks in Niger since February 2015.
"They came one by one and are currently held in a secure centre," a security source based in Diffa told the AFP news agency, adding that they would return to their families after undergoing a "de-radicalisation" programme.
The army captured the Sambisa Forest in the country's east over the weekend.
Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu, the army commander, said that while his soldiers had made significant gains, they had not been able to track down the missing girls who were captured by Boko Haram in April 2014.
About 200 of the 276 Chibok girls who were taken remain missing. Some were believed to be in the Sambisa Forest.
"We are still searching for our dear daughters," Ezugwu said. "As I speak to you now, we've not been able to make contact with them because the insurgents are running away with the girls. We are still trailing them."
He added that "so far, we have rescued over 1,900 Nigerian citizens [from captivity]".
He said the operation against Boko Haram is ongoing.
"It's not finished business. It's a work in progress. At the end of the day it's a bright light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
While Nigerian authorities say they are working hard to find the missing girls, there are concerns over how those who have been freed are treated.
Kidnapped girls freed from more than two years of captivity were prevented by Nigerian officials from spending Christmas at home with their families and relatives, a lawyer said on Tuesday.
Parents said they were taken to see their daughters, but the girls who were not allowed to go home or go to a church service.
The news raised questions about Nigeria's handling of the 21 girls freed in October by negotiation with the group.
'Final defeat'
Boko Haram's insurgency began in Maiduguri, though it has since spread beyond Nigeria's borders to Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
Nearly 15,000 civilians have been killed since 1999, when Boko Haram launched a campaign to establish an Islamic state.
"We are on top of the situation, all hands are still on deck," Ezugwu said. "This defeat is final and it [Boko Haram] will not spread to other parts of West Africa."
His comments echoed those of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who on Saturday announced the "final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists" in a message posted to his Twitter feed.
Army officials told Al Jazeera that it took around 40 minutes to breach Boko Haram defences in Sambisa Forest.
"Now the biggest task of retaking Sambisa is over, the problem is how to secure the location," said Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, who is embedded with the army in Sambisa. "This whole area is booby trapped and mined."
Elsewhere, 31 Boko Haram fighters surrendered to authorities in Niger's southeast region, the West African country's Interior Minister Bazoum Mohamed announced on Tuesday.
Boko Haram has been carrying out attacks in Niger since February 2015.
"They came one by one and are currently held in a secure centre," a security source based in Diffa told the AFP news agency, adding that they would return to their families after undergoing a "de-radicalisation" programme.
Video - Toronto sisters accused of blackmailing Nigerian billionaire released on bail
Two sisters in Nigeria with ties to Toronto have been released on bail after being detained for allegedly attempting to blackmail a billionaire with claims he cheated on his wife.
According to the website Politics Nigeria, Jyoti and Kiran Matharoo operated a website called naijagistlive. It’s alleged the sisters cyber-bullied several high-ranking men, including a billionaire named Femi Otedola, and accused them of cheating and seeing prostitutes.
Politics Nigeria said the sisters tried to blackmail Otedola by claiming they had evidence of him having an affair.
“It was also discovered that the girls recorded conversations and s*x (sic) romps with their rich clients which comprise of politicians, club owners and businessmen.”
The report said the sisters contacted the clients through a third party and demanded they pay “thousands of dollars or risk the release of the recordings/pictures/videos online through their website.”
Politics Nigeria said sources told them Otedola contacted police to report the blackmail attempt. It said the sisters made “a confessional statement” saying they were behind the website and made an apology to Otedola.
The article said the sisters were arraigned at the Yaba Megistrate Court on Friday. The case will be heard again on Jan. 26.
The online article contains a picture of a document entitled “Criminal Undertaking” which lists several allegations.
“From time to time, I charged various individuals for the removal of certain content posted on the site, as well as for the posting of certain information about various people,” it also said.
The document has the name Taranjot Matharoo printed at the top with a west-end Toronto address and it is signed by Kiranjot Matharoo at the bottom, along with a Toronto-based phone number.
A spokeswoman from Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that consular services are being provided to Canadian citizens detained in Lagos, Nigeria. However, she said further details couldn’t be released due to privacy issues.
Salem Moussallam, who said he has been friends with the sisters for around five years, described the pair as “socialites” and said he was “very shocked” about what happened.
He said the sisters have been released on bail and the situation has been “blown way too much out of proportion.”
Moussallam said he spoke with Jyoti as recently as Monday.
“They’re saying, ‘We’re all right. We’re fine. We’ll come and see you – back soon. We’re going to be going to (Las) Vegas,’” adding the pair don’t live in Nigeria.
Global News hasn’t been able to independently confirm the allegations contained in the Politics Nigeria article.
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