Friday, June 30, 2017

Video - Nigerian university builds trench to stop Boko Haram attacks



In Nigeria there has been a spike in Boko Haram attacks in the Northern eastern state of Borno. State authorities have started digging trenches, running several kilometres, around the university of Maiduguri to deter the insurgents from launching attacks. Maiduguri university has lately been repeatedly targeted by Boko Haram.

Freed Chibok girls meet Donald Trump

The U.S. President, Donald Trump, and his daughter, Ivanka, met with two Chibok girls, Joy Bishara and Lydia Pogu on June 27 at the White House.

Bishara, 20, and Pogu, 19 were among 57 girls who escaped from Boko Haram in Borno by jumping off the back of a truck in 2014. The 57 were among over 270 kidnapped from their secondarily school in Chibok, Borno State on April 14, 2014.

The incident sparked global outrage with a campaign hashtag of #bringbackourgirls calling for rescue of the girls.

Majority of the girls have since been freed by the terror group in prisoner swaps with the Nigerian government, although dozens still remain with the Boko Haram.

With the assistance of the Jubilee Campaign, a human rights group in Virginia, the pair relocated to the United States in August 2014. They then transferred to Canyonville Christian Academy in the state of Oregon, where they graduated.

"It's a wonderful school, I enjoyed my senior year because of the wonderful combination of different countries," said Bishara on her Facebook page.

The pair will attend Southeastern University on a full scholarship at the beginning of the upcoming school year.

40 football players sacked at once in Nigeria

Nigerian second-tier side Mighty Jets FC, from the city of Jos, have sacked 40 players from their 65-man squad for performing below the club's expectations.

Struggling Jets, currently seventh in the 13-team Northern Conference of the Nigeria National League (NNL) - Nigeria's second tier - have also snapped up a further 10 new players to increase competitions and "separate wheat from chaff."

"We had a big squad of 65 players, too crowded and unproductive, so we had to release 40 players," the club's sporting director Benedict Akwuegbu told BBC Sport.

"We only need 35 players for the season and some players were not even registered but training with the club. It was just too much.

"What we've done is retain the ones who have something to offer and bring in ten new players as well. It's like separating wheat from the chaff.

"The atmosphere has changed now and we now have a squad capable of fighting in our tough quest for promotion."

One of the players affected told BBC Sport that he was not given enough opportunity to prove himself.

"I understand that the team was struggling but I didn't really get a chance," said the defender, who requested anonymity.

Another player, also speaking on condition he is not named, said, "I believe the club made their own decisions, but I will hopefully come back and play against Jets someday and prove they were wrong to let me go."

Former Nigeria international striker Akwuegbu insists the club will still release some players at the end of the season.

"Right now our chances of promotion is very slim this season but we are still going to release some players," he said.

"There's no sentiment and you only need the best players to achieve your goals and not a big squad."

Mighty Jets will host highflying Adamawa United FC of Yola later on Thursday in an NNL fixture.

Mighty Jets won the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) league title in 1972.

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Nigeria to supply Walmart $7 billion worth of cashew nuts

Nigeria is set to supply 130,000 tonnes of roasted cashew nuts valued at $7 billion to Walmart Super Market chain in the United States of America, USA.

This was revealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbe, on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the State House Presidential Villa Abuja.

“But the other good news is cashew nuts. These things look small, but we are in conversations with Walmart, the biggest supermarket chain in the U.S., they came here and asked us to roast cashew nuts for them

“Their demand is a 130,000 tonnes of cashew nuts per annum, the total value is $7 billion,” he said.

Mr. Ogbe said what Nigeria currently does is ship the nuts to Vietnam, who in turn roast and sell to the U.S.

“This year we are going to create six cashew processing factories in Nigeria, one each to be cited in Enugu, Imo, Benue, Kogi, Kwara and Oyo states. These are the cashew belt for now,” he said.

The minister said these options are coming now because Nigeria is beginning to focus on non-oil export.

“Once you can diversify your economy, if something goes wrong in one sector you can hang on to the other,” he said.

Mr. Ogbe had earlier said Nigeria will formally flag off the export of yam to the UK on Thursday.

He said the government is also looking to use yam for industrial starch for the textile industry and for export to China.

He added that India is also asking Nigeria for the supply of beans. He said the beans market in India alone is about $100 billion.

“When the Indian Vice President came here, he asked me to visit so we could talk, so the market in Agric is huge, the prospects are large; it’s about improving on our strategies at home and getting all our states to get involved, not all of them are doing what they ought to be doing now,” the minister said.

Kidnapper sues Nigerian police

Notorious kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, otherwise known as Evans, on Wednesday dragged the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and three others before the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged illegal detention.

In the suit filed on his behalf by his lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, Evans is praying for the order of court to direct the respondents to immediately charge him to court if there is any case against him in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Joined as respondents with Mr. Idris in the suit are the Nigeria Police Force, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Lagos State Police Command.

In the alternative, Evans is praying the court to compel the respondents to immediately release him unconditionally in the absence of any offence that will warrant his being charged to court.

According to the rights enforcement suit, Evans is challenging his continued detention by the respondents since he was arrested in June.

According to him, his continued detention without being charged to court or released on bail is an infringement on his fundamental human rights, saying that the respondents ought to have charged him to court in accordance with the provisions of Sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution.

Furthermore, the suit argued that the alleged offences he committed are intertwined with the constitutional safeguards as provided under Sections 35 and 36 of the Constitution.

To support Evans’ case, his father, Stephen Onwuamadike, also deposed to an affidavit in support of the suit.

In his 27-paragraph affidavit, Mr. Onwuamadike averred that his son (applicant) has been subjected to media trial without any court order by the respondents.

He argued that the media trial has continued to generate reactions in both print and electronic media without his son being given the option of fair hearing and trial before a court of law.

According to him, since Evans was arrested, his family members have been denied access to him while journalists and other media personnel have however been granted unchecked access.

PREMIUM TIMES findings however revealed that the matter has not been assigned to any judge and no date has been fixed for the hearing.

But in his reaction, Jimoh Moshood, spokesperson to the Nigeria Police, said that the force had obtained a court order from a Federal High Court, Abuja, to detain the suspect for three months, for proper investigation.

The investigation, the police said, will take operatives to Ghana, South Africa and other places before he (Evans) would be arraigned.

Evans and six of his co-conspirators were arrested and paraded at the Lagos State Police Command earlier in June.

According to Mr. Moshood, the suspects were arrested after officers stormed the kidnappers’ den and engaged in a gun battle which lasted several hours.

Evans was first declared wanted in August 2013 for the attempted kidnap of Vincent Obianudo, the owner of a Lagos-based transportation company. Mr. Obianudo survived the attempt, as police officers foiled the scheme, killing three of his gang members in the process.

According to the police, the gang primarily kidnapped victims in Lagos State but have also kidnapped prominent Nigerians from Northern states.