President Muhammadu Buhari extends medical leave in the Uk

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the parliament to extend his medical leave in the UK, amid concerns that his health may be worse than officials are publicly saying.

The 74-year-old leader, who has been out of the country for two weeks, was expected to return to Abuja on Sunday.

An official statement said he had been advised by doctors to await the results of a series of tests.

However, it did not say how much extra time would be needed.

There was also no mention of what the medical checks were for.

Analysts say that Mr Buhari's extended absence could further erode confidence in his administration which is already under pressure due to a weak economy and the conflict with Boko Haram Islamist militants in the north-east of the country.

The country is currently suffering from its worst economic crisis in years, following a sharp in the price of oil, its major export.

Businesses and investors complain that the government's handling of the currency exchange rate has made a bad situation even worse, and there have been demonstrations against the lack of jobs and high inflation.

Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo is taking on presidential responsibilities while the president is abroad.

'Medical tourism'

It is the second time in less than a year that Mr Buhari has sought medical assistance overseas. Last June, he spent nearly two weeks, again in London, for treatment for an ear infection.

The trip to the UK appears to roll back on the commitment to tighten up on government officials seeking medical attention abroad.

Speaking on the president's behalf at last year's Nigeria Medical Association General Conference (NMA) in Sokoto, Health Minister Isaac ‎Adewole said the Buhari administration would not encourage spending Nigeria's hard earned resources on any government official seeking medical care abroad, especially when there was evidence of expertise in Nigeria.

The president has been heavily criticised for seeming to renege on his promise to restrict "medical tourism".

After the first visit to London, leading Nigerian doctor Osahon Enabulele, vice-president of the Commonwealth Medical Association, said it was a "national shame" that Mr Buhari went to the UK for treatment when Nigeria had more than 250 ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists, as well as a National Ear Centre.

He said also that Mr Buhari should lead by example in using Nigerian doctors and facilities, and ensure government officials do not go abroad on "frivolous" medical trips.

In the past, President Buhari has said that Nigeria loses about $1bn a year to medical tourism.

BBC

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Gunmen kill UN members in Nigeria

Gunmen have attacked a United Nations monitoring team at the Nigeria-Cameroon border, killing five people.

Three Nigerians were among those killed, a UN statement said Wednesday.

“According to preliminary reports, at around 14:00 hours, yesterday (Tuesday), an unknown armed group attacked a UN Technical Monitoring Team, killing five individuals – a UN independent contractor, three Nigerians nationals and one Cameroonian national – and injuring several others,” the UN envoy for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Chambas, said in a statement.

“The team was conducting a field mission in the vicinity of Hosere Jongbi, near Kontcha, Cameroon, about 700 kilometres north of the capital Yaoundé, as part of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission mandate,” he said.

The UN “strongly condemned” the attack and called on Nigeria and Cameroon to take swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Taraba State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Silas Sanga, announced that one of those killed was the Assistant Surveyor-General of the state, Zakari Bakari.

He said the deceased included a Kenyan and another Nigerian from Jigawa.

Mr. Sanga said Mr. Bakari together alongside a UN official and some staff of National Boundary Commission were killed in Koncha village in Cameroun, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

He said the deceased were killed on Tuesday while in the process of demarcating and delineating the Nigeria-Cameroon border in line with the judgement of the International Court of Justice.

He said the deceased entered Cameroun through Toungo Local Government Area of Adamawa to conduct the exercise.

Mr. Sanga added that the deceased were members of International Committee set up by the UN to conduct the exercise.

“The Cameroonian authorities have released their corpses and the corpses have just arrived Adamawa as I am talking to you,” Mr. Sanga told NAN.

The spokesman of Adamawa Police Command, Othman Abubakar, who confirmed the killing, said he had not received full details.

The UN offered his condolences to the families of those killed in the attack and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

The Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission was established by the UN Secretary-General at the request of Presidents of Cameroon and Nigeria in 2002, to settle border disputes between the two West African neighbours.

The Mixed Commission’s mandate includes demarcation of the land boundary and delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two countries.

It also includes the withdrawal of troops and transfer of authority in the Lake Chad area, along the land boundary and in the Bakassi Peninsula.

Addressing the situation of populations affected by the demarcation activities and development of recommendations on confidence-building measures aiming at promoting peaceful cross-border cooperation, is also one of the mandates of the commission.

Premium Times

Nigerian soldier given 7 years jail sentence for killing unarmed civilian

The Nigeria Army general court martial sitting in Maiduguri, Borno State, on Wednesday sentenced a soldier to seven years in prison for shooting and killing an unarmed civilian two years ago.

The convicted soldier, Hassan Adamu, a lance corporal, had told the court that he shot the deceased on December 23, 2015 in self defence.

He said the victim attempted to disarm him while he was on guard duty at the popular Monday market, Maiduguri.

He narrated that the deceased came from nowhere screaming Allahu Akbar, and running towards his duty post. The jailed soldier said he was able to dislodge the attacker whom he said continued to hold on to the nozzle of his rifle. He said he had to shoot even though other soldiers came to back him up.

But the testimonies of various non-military prosecution witnesses at the court martial were in conflict with that of the soldier.

Most of them said the shooting was unprovoked, even though some said they actually heard the victim shouting Allahu Akbar in the manner most Boko Haram terrorists do before carrying out attacks.

The court said the convicted soldier could have exercised more restraint in overpowering the victim who was found to be unarmed.

Besides, the court said, the action of the soldier, though carried out while on lawful duty, was against relevant laws of the Nigeria Armed Forces.

The court martial also jailed a private soldier, Egbechi Oze, for 14 months for absconding from his duty post for about 270 days, while taking refuge somewhere in southeast Nigeria.

The soldier was counted among those missing when Boko Haram attacked a military base in Gwoza. The soldier, according to the court, continued to enjoy his emoluments while staying away from his duty post for nearly one year.

He was also charged for not accounting for his rifle and cache of ammunitions he signed to be in his possession during the attack on Gwoza.

He was however acquitted for the missing rifle and ammunition on the grounds that he lost possession of them when he was abducted by Boko Haram insurgents before soldiers attacked the place.

The court explained that a soldier that is jailed by the court marshal, stands dismissed as such soldier cannot be reabsorbed into the Nigeria Army.

Premium Times

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