Terrorism: UN Security Council To Multinational Joint Task Force - Prevent Boko Haram From Regrouping

---Calls on International Mommunity to Provide Urgent Humanitarian Assistance for the People Affected by the Crisis

The UN Security Council has tasked the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to prevent the destructive Boko Haram insurgents, recently dislodged from its safe haven in Sambisa Forest, from regrouping.

The task force was set up by Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and the Republic of Benin to tackle Boko Haram insurgents. The Security Council, in a Presidential Statement, reiterated that terrorism should be combated in all forms to prevent its spread.

“The Council urged the Multinational Joint Task Force participating countries to further enhance regional military cooperation and coordination. The Force should deny safe haven to Boko Haram, and facilitate the restoration of civilian security and the rule of law in areas liberated from the militant group.”

END OF BOKO HARAM IN SIGHT – PRESIDENT BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal assured the international community that the end of Boko Haram terrorists was in sight, even as he hailed the increased cooperation between Nigeria and its neighbours in the fight against terrorism.

Speaking at a Panel of Heads of State at the 3rd Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa, the President also assured the international community that the security situation in Nigeria had improved significantly.

‘‘About a month ago, I spoke with the President of Chad and I was pleased that a number of Chadians and Nigerians that were Boko Haram members are surrendering to him en-masse. The good news I have is that the end of the raining season has come in the North eastern region of Nigeria.

BUHARI CONGRATULATES VICTORIOUS SUPER FALCONS

President Muhammadu Buhari congratulates the Nigeria’s Super Falcons on their victory over the senior female football team of Cameroon on Saturday at the final game of the women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Yaounde.

The President, who described the hard-earned victory over the Indomitable Lionesses as “very sweet and well-deserved,” particularly commends the Nigerian women for their “indomitable spirit, resilience and team work” which spurred them to victory in spite of a vociferous home crowd.

President Buhari notes that the Nigerian team achieved “this feat of being African champions for the 8th time,” a development he says has lifted the spirits of sports-loving Nigerians.

He enjoins other Nigerian sports men and women to emulate the exemplary attitude of the Super Falcons who placed the interest of the nation above personal interests, while assuring that the Federal Government will not relent in doing its best to promote sports within available resources.

FG DELEGATION VISITS LIBERATED COMMUNITIES NOW IN IDP CAMP IN BAMA

*TEAM SENT FROM PRESIDENCY TO ASSESS CURRENT SITUATION OF RESCUED PERSONS AMID CONCERNS ABOUT MALNUTRITION

*NUTRITIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARED IN BORNO STATE

Determined to bring relief to recently rescued Boko Haram captives and to ensure their well-being in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in the Northeast, the Federal Government has conducted an on-the spot assessment at the camp in Bama .

At the visit, the delegation led by the Presidential Special Adviser on Social Investments, Mrs. Maryam Uwais restated government's firm commitment to bringing relief to the thousands of recently rescued Boko Haram captives currently hosted in the IDP camp in Bama, Borno State.

“We're here to see for ourselves the situation on the ground here,” she said.

The delegation, which included senior officials of the Borno State Government, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, the State Emergency Management Agency, and representatives from the United Nations, was taken around the camp, home to 25,000 adults and children, by the Brigade Commander of the 21 Armoured Brigade, Bama, Colonel Adamu Garba Laka.

How Boko Haram kills seven police officers in Niger

The terrorist group Boko Haram has killed seven police officers in Niger Republic, the Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum said on Saturday.

The terrorists attacked the village of N’Gagam near the Nigerian border on Friday evening, Bazoum said.

Urgence Diffa, which monitors the security and humanitarian situation in the area, reported that the attackers arrived in vehicles and opened fire on the police officers in the village.

Climate Change: FG raises alarm as River Niger drying up

THE Federal Government, yesterday, raised talarm over imminent drying up of River Niger due to climate change and dumping of industrial waste. 

The Auditor General of the Federation, AGoF, Mr. Samuel Tyonongo Ukura, raised the alarm during a meeting with the Edo State Auditor-General and members of the Edo State Public Accounts Committee in his office in Abuja. Ukura, however, assured that Nigeria was in the process of conducting an environmental audit of the River Niger to determine its level of dryness.

PRESIDENT BUHARI, HOLLANDE, BIYA, USA, BRITAIN, EU, ECOWAS, OTHERS FOR SECURITY SUMMIT IN ABUJA

In furtherance of ongoing efforts by his administration to enhance the security of lives, properties and investments in Nigeria and neighbouring countries, President Muhammadu will host the second Regional Security Summit in Abuja on Saturday, May 14, 2016.

Participants in the summit will include President Francois Hollande of France who hosted the first Regional Security Summit in Paris on May 17, 2014.

President Buhari and the French President who is scheduled to arrive Abuja on Friday on an official visit to Nigeria will be joined at the summit by the Presidents of Cameroon, Niger Republic, Chad and Benin Republic.

PHOTONEWS: Vice President Yemi Osibanjo Received President Paul Biya of Cameroon

Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo (SAN) Received President Paul Biya of Cameroon; arrives Abuja on a state visit:

PRESIDENT PAUL BIYA OF CAMEROON ARRIVES FOR STATE VISIT TO NIGERIA TOMORROW

President Paul Biya of Cameroon, will at the invitation of President Muhammadu Buhari, begin a two-day state visit to Nigeria tomorrow, Tuesday, May 3, 2016.

In a statement issued today by the Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media & Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina said President Biya, who will be accompanied by his wife, Chantal and senior Cameroonian government officials, will be received tomorrow afternoon at the Presidential Villa, Abuja by the Nigerian President.

Both leaders and their officials will confer on issues of common interest to Nigeria and Cameroon, including ongoing bilateral and regional cooperation against terrorism, violent extremism and cross-border crimes.

BOKO HARAM: US Claims to have Locate Clusters of Chibok Girls

The American and African forces sent to Cameroon to fight Boko Haram have, on several occasions, located clusters of the schoolgirls kidnapped by the militant group two years ago, United States officials said.

Rescue operations have not been carried out, the officials said, because of fears that any ensuing battle with Boko Haram fighters would put the captives at risk, or incite some form of retaliation against hostages still being held in other areas.

Cameroonian Ntiokam Translats SDGs into indigenous African languages

As Ntiokam Divine from Cameroon sees it, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are high-sounding concepts crafted in the specialized parlance of development experts.

To make the concepts comprehensible to a wider audience, especially among the grassroots population, 33-year old Divine is on a mission to translate the SDGs into Africa’s many local languages using terminology understandable to all.

His strategy involves training influential community members, particularly young people, who will in turn educate their communities using translated texts.

Boko Haram: UN ambassador Samantha Power's motorcade kills child in Cameroon

UN ambassador Samantha Power’s trip to Cameroon’s frontlines in the war against Boko Haram started horrifically on Monday as an armored Jeep in her motorcade struck and killed a young boy who darted into the road.

The incident occurred near the small city of Mokolo, in northern Cameroon, where Power, her aides and accompanying journalists were headed to meet refugees and others displaced by the years of brutal attacks across West Africa.

All those meetings included small children.

Power said she learned of the death with “great sorrow”.

Operation to recover the Chibok girls is alive and ongoing

The Nigerian Military says operation to recover the Chibok girls is alive and still ongoing but added that it will not be in a hurry to rescue the secondary schoolgirls in Chibok who were abducted in April 2014.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, Military Headquarters, Abuja, Col. Rabe Abubakar, who said this at a press conference in Lagos on Thursday, noted that while it was of utmost concern to the military to rescue the girls, the operation required demanded adequate patience and planning.

Col. Rabe Abubakar added that recent efforts by the military in the rescue of over 200 women and children held captive by Boko Haram proved that the military was on course in recovering the girls.

He said, “The issue of the low morale of the Nigerian military men has now become a thing of the past. The operation to recover the Chibok girls is alive and still ongoing. We have continued to make rescue efforts, and we will do all within our powers to bring the girls.

MUHAMMADU BUHARI URGES WORLD LEADERS TO DISMANTLE SAFE HAVENS FOR PROCEEDS OF CORRUPTION

President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in New York called on the international community to urgently redouble its efforts to strengthen mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption.


Addressing world leaders at the 70th General Assembly of the United Nations, President Buhari also urged his counterparts to do more to return stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin.


Observing that corruption, cross-border financial crimes, cyber crimes and human trafficking are major challenges of the 21st century which the international community must work collectively to overcome, President Buhari reaffirmed his administration's determination to frontally confront the twin evils of corruption and illicit financial outflows.

Thousands of Nigerian flee to Cameroon after Boko Haram attack

A Boko Haram attack on a border town in northeast Nigeria forced thousands of people to flee on Monday, in a fresh assault indicating the militants' growing ability to strike at will.

The attack on Gamboru Ngala comes after the town was almost entirely destroyed in May in a devastating assault that also left more than 300 people killed and prompted outrage at the lack of military response.

Many local residents sought refuge across the border in the north Cameroon town of Fotokol, where troop reinforcements were being sent, a security service source told AFP.

Boko Haram, which has been blamed for more than 10 000 deaths in a five-year-old uprising, has in recent weeks sought to take over a number of towns in Borno state, shifting from hit-and-run tactics to an apparent holding strategy.

The group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, declared in a video obtained by AFP on Sunday that the town of Gwoza, southwest of Gamboru Ngala, was now under an Islamic caliphate.

Brazil 2014: Stephen Keshi blasts Nigerian fans

           Local World Cup viewers tune out after opener

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has lashed out at the country’s fans, saying it is a shame they have abused his person for the team’s showing at Brazil 2014. The Super Eagles and coach Keshi came under heavy fire from angry fans after they could only manage a 0-0 draw with Iran in their opening group game at the World Cup in Brazil.

But Keshi has taken serious exception to the fans’ rage, saying there was no justification for them to insult his person. “I am disappointed, totally disappointed (by the personal attacks), but it’s their thing, no wahala (no problem),” blasted Keshi in Brazil.

ANOTHER MISSING PLANE: Plane flying from Nigeria to Gabon missing!

A four-seater plane flying from Nigeria to Gabon via Cameroon has gone missing. The plane, owned by US company, Global Aviation, took off from Kano Airport around 6pm yesterday Monday June 23rd and was billed to make a stop over at Doula Cameroon before continuing to Gabon to arrive at 11pm but it never arrived at Doula, Cameroonian Aviation authorities have said. Only an American pilot was on-board.

The Gabon Aviation authorities say the last contact they had with the plane was when it was in Mongo which is a 2-hour flight from the Cameroonian economic capital. 

Search & Rescue operation has so far not yielded any result but the search operation still continues.

Boko Haram and Refugee situations of the Displaced Persons

As the Islamist Boko Haram terrorists ceaselessly continue their jihadise attacks, killing and kidnapping of the innocent Nigerians living in the North Eastern parts of the country, many have been displaced and their conditions worrisome.

Nigerian government is neither committed to fighting the insurgents to any stand still nor ready to put an end to the kidnapping and rescue the kidnapped by the sect nor pay any attention to those displaced.


Photos: NIGERIAN REFUGEES that escaped from Northern Terror to Niger and Cameroon:

BRAZIL 2014 WORLD CUP - Keshi's Outburst - Before Tomorrow Come!

As it is currently difficult to get direct communication with Nigeria's Football coach, Stephen Keshi, am using this medium to communicate with him, hoping that he, or someone with quicker access to him, may read this and get across to him, ''before it is too late''!

We read with great disappointment Keshi's unwarranted attack on Osaze Odemwingie after the 0-0 result with Iran. Keshi in a press briefing, had pointedly blamed Odemwingie for not adhering to his instructions in the match against Iran. This is ridiculous and uncalled for!! When Cameroon woefully lost 4-0 to Croatia, their German coach blamed the team, not an individual. When he was pressed to blame red-carded Song, and Benoit Assou-Ekotto, who almost headbutted his teammate Benjamin Moukandjo - the coach refused, saying that “I don’t want to launch into great explanations, we have to keep calm.” This is what we call maturity! But in Keshi's case, he publicly lambasted Odemwingie, who was among 3 or 4 players that did well against Iran.

Brazil 2014; Spain, Cameroon out of world Cup

Champions Spain crashed humiliatingly out of the World Cup on Wednesday after a second shock defeat, along with Cameroon that lost 4-0 to Croatia, while 2010 runners-up the Netherlands continued their perfect start with another high-scoring win.

Thrashed 5-1 by the Dutch in their opening game, Spain’s normally composed and incisive team again looked a spent force, allowing Chile to score twice in the first half then hold firm for a totally deserved, glorious win.

“It is difficult to explain,” bemoaned Spain captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who was at fault on both goals and is likely to be among an old guard jettisoned for fresh faces.

“We ask people’s forgiveness. We are responsible but also the first ones to feel the pain.”