Friday, April 14, 2017
Video - Former Nigerian president implicated in controversial exploration permit
Staying with Nigeria, former president Goodluck Jonathan could soon appear before Parliament to explain his role in the alleged fraudulent sale of an offshore oil block to Shell and Eni. The former president and other high-ranking government officials allegedly accepted over 1 billion dollars in bribes to push through the controversial sale.
Nigeria secret service prevents bomb attack in US, UK embassies
Nigeria's secret service says it foiled a planned attack by Boko Haram militants on the US and UK embassies in the country's capital, Abuja.
Six ISIS-linked Boko Haram members were arrested for the planned attack last month, the Department of State Services (DSS) said.
"The group had perfected plans to attack the UK and American Embassies and other western interests in Abuja," DSS official Tony Opuiyo said in a statement.
The men were arrested March 25 and 26 in Abuja and central Benue state, Opuiyo added. Another man was previously arrested, on March 22, in north-eastern Yobe state, the DSS said. That man confessed to being part of the group, officials said.
In 2011, Boko Haram killed at least 21 people in a car bomb explosion at the UN headquarters in Abuja.
A UK Foreign office spokeswoman said the UK is "grateful for the support we receive from the Nigerian security authorities in protecting UK diplomatic staff and premises in Nigeria."
"We are in regular contact with the Nigerian security authorities concerning potential threats to UK interests in Nigeria," the spokeswoman said.
The United States "appreciates the work of Nigerian security forces in fighting terrorism and keeping citizens and residents safe," a spokesman for the US Embassy said.
"Nigeria and the United States continue to have a strong partnership in combating terrorism."
Six ISIS-linked Boko Haram members were arrested for the planned attack last month, the Department of State Services (DSS) said.
"The group had perfected plans to attack the UK and American Embassies and other western interests in Abuja," DSS official Tony Opuiyo said in a statement.
The men were arrested March 25 and 26 in Abuja and central Benue state, Opuiyo added. Another man was previously arrested, on March 22, in north-eastern Yobe state, the DSS said. That man confessed to being part of the group, officials said.
In 2011, Boko Haram killed at least 21 people in a car bomb explosion at the UN headquarters in Abuja.
A UK Foreign office spokeswoman said the UK is "grateful for the support we receive from the Nigerian security authorities in protecting UK diplomatic staff and premises in Nigeria."
"We are in regular contact with the Nigerian security authorities concerning potential threats to UK interests in Nigeria," the spokeswoman said.
The United States "appreciates the work of Nigerian security forces in fighting terrorism and keeping citizens and residents safe," a spokesman for the US Embassy said.
"Nigeria and the United States continue to have a strong partnership in combating terrorism."
$43 million found in apartment in Lagos, Nigeria
The anti-graft agency said in a statement it raided the apartment Tuesday after a tipoff about a "haggard" woman in "dirty clothes" taking bags in and out of the apartment.
The agency said it also found 23.2 million naira (Nigerian currency worth $75,000) and £27,800 (UK currency, worth $35,000 US) "neatly arranged" inside cabinets hidden behind wooden panels of a bedroom wardrobe.
The commission said the funds are "suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity" but no arrests have been made yet.
Nigeria has struggled with corruption and looted funds for decades, but the watchdog unit has been on a lucky streak.
Earlier in the week, the agency discovered around 250 million naira in cash ($817,000) in a Lagos market and a further 448 million naira cash ($1.5 million) at a shopping plaza.
These gains have been credited to a whistleblowing policies launched in December by Nigeria's finance minister.
Whistleblowers can now anonymously provide information through a secure portal, if the information leads to the recovery of stolen public funds, the whistleblower is entitled to between 2.5%-5% of the total money recovered.
In February, the minister of information, Lai Muhammad, said the policy has led to the recovery of over $180 billion.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Video - U.S. deal to sell war planes to Nigeria still needs Congress approval
The US Government is set to sell high tech military planes to Nigeria to help it fight ISIL affiliate in West Africa-Boko Haram. The deal will however need congress's approval.
Boko Haram survivor to provide prosthetics for victims in Nigeria
When 29-year-old Member Feese woke up in a London hospital one month after a Boko Haram bomb attack in Nigeria's capital Abuja blew off her left leg, she knew it was a blessing to be alive.
Feese's family flew her to Britain days after the August 2011 bombing. There the postgraduate student received care over a six-month period, and was fitted with a prosthetic limb.
Inspired by the care she was lucky enough to receive, Feese set up Team Member, an advocacy group to aid victims of bombings in Abuja, which has been hit by several blasts bearing the hallmarks of the jihadist group Boko Haram since 2010.
"I was fortunate because of the network I had ... to fly out of Nigeria. But there are many who are not fortunate enough," Feese told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in her home in Abuja.
"Some of the victims are just hawkers and mechanics. They just go to the National Hospital and they can barely afford their hospital bills," she added. "How do they start their lives back? How do they get money to start their businesses again?"
Every time a bomb strikes Abuja, Feese, her parents and volunteers race to hospitals to offer victims food, arrange counseling and start raising money for care and surgeries.
Few Nigerians have health insurance, leaving many patients trapped in hospital by their debts, responsible for feeding themselves and clinging to the hope their bills will be waived by hospital directors or paid off by well-wishers.
"Some of the victims have no family in Abuja, so we support them," Feese said. "We take food, milk, sugar, toiletries ... then we get their contact details and keep in touch with them."
Dozens of bomb blast victims in Abuja have benefited from the group's support, including a man who needed several surgeries to remove a nail lodged in his head, Feese said.
Yet she is concerned about those who need prosthetic limbs, and said Team Member is raising money in the hopes of opening a rehabilitation center for bombing victims in Abuja.
"We've not identified any hospital that specializes in advanced prosthetic limbs ... the technology is not advanced.
"Not everybody can afford to go to the United Kingdom or South Africa. We want to give Nigerians a chance."
The 2011 attack which injured Feese struck the U.N headquarters in the capital Abuja, killing at least 24 people.
While the last bombing to hit Abuja was in late 2015, Boko Haram has continued to target markets, bus stations, places of worship villages in Borno state during its eight-year insurgency to carve out an Islamist state in the northeast of the country.
Feese's family flew her to Britain days after the August 2011 bombing. There the postgraduate student received care over a six-month period, and was fitted with a prosthetic limb.
Inspired by the care she was lucky enough to receive, Feese set up Team Member, an advocacy group to aid victims of bombings in Abuja, which has been hit by several blasts bearing the hallmarks of the jihadist group Boko Haram since 2010.
"I was fortunate because of the network I had ... to fly out of Nigeria. But there are many who are not fortunate enough," Feese told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in her home in Abuja.
"Some of the victims are just hawkers and mechanics. They just go to the National Hospital and they can barely afford their hospital bills," she added. "How do they start their lives back? How do they get money to start their businesses again?"
Every time a bomb strikes Abuja, Feese, her parents and volunteers race to hospitals to offer victims food, arrange counseling and start raising money for care and surgeries.
Few Nigerians have health insurance, leaving many patients trapped in hospital by their debts, responsible for feeding themselves and clinging to the hope their bills will be waived by hospital directors or paid off by well-wishers.
"Some of the victims have no family in Abuja, so we support them," Feese said. "We take food, milk, sugar, toiletries ... then we get their contact details and keep in touch with them."
Dozens of bomb blast victims in Abuja have benefited from the group's support, including a man who needed several surgeries to remove a nail lodged in his head, Feese said.
Yet she is concerned about those who need prosthetic limbs, and said Team Member is raising money in the hopes of opening a rehabilitation center for bombing victims in Abuja.
"We've not identified any hospital that specializes in advanced prosthetic limbs ... the technology is not advanced.
"Not everybody can afford to go to the United Kingdom or South Africa. We want to give Nigerians a chance."
The 2011 attack which injured Feese struck the U.N headquarters in the capital Abuja, killing at least 24 people.
While the last bombing to hit Abuja was in late 2015, Boko Haram has continued to target markets, bus stations, places of worship villages in Borno state during its eight-year insurgency to carve out an Islamist state in the northeast of the country.
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