President Jonathan Cuts Short Foreign Visit Sequel to Abuja Bomb Blast

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has cut short a trip to Equatorial Guinea following Wednesday's bomb attack in the capital, Abuja, his spokesman has said.

Security has been tightened in the city following the blast which killed 21 people and wounded 52 others.

Mr Jonathan's decision to return follows strong criticism that he is not doing enough to curb violence.

Militant Islamist group Boko Haram has stepped up attacks in Nigeria.

In April, it killed more than 70 people in a bomb blast at a bus stop on the outskirts of Abuja.

The group also said it was behind a car bomb attack near a bus station in the city's Nyanya suburb in May, which killed at least 19 people and injured 60 others.

It has not commented on the latest explosion, which ripped though a busy shopping district.

Police say a suspect has been arrested, but have not released details about him.

Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati said Mr Jonathan received news of the blast as he was arriving at his hotel in Equatorial Guinea's capital, Malabo, for an African Union (AU) summit, Nigeria's privately owned Premium Times newspaper reports.

He decided to fly back to Abuja to deal with the crisis, Mr Abati said.

The BBC's Mansur Liman in the capital says the security forces have cordoned off the area around the blast.

Police have ordered an increase in security and surveillance operations in and around Abuja to prevent further attacks, he says.

Mr Jonathan's decision to return appears to be an attempt to address a growing public perception that he is not concerned about the plight of victims, our correspondent adds.

BBC

Mysterious Snakes, Bees Attack Boko Haram in Sambisa Forest

Some members of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, arrested yesterday at Mairi ward behind University of Maiduguri by members of the Civilian JTF vigilante group, have confessed that most of them are fleeing the Sambisa Forest to areas across Borno State owing to what they believe is spiritual attacks from mysterious snakes and bees, which had killed many of their leaders.

According to Kolo Mustapha, one of the arrested insurgents, “most of us are fleeing because there are too many snakes and bees now in the forest. Once they bite, they disappear and the victims do not last for 24 hours.
“We were told that the aggrieved people who had suffered from our deadly mission, including the ghosts of some of those we killed, are the ones turning into the snake and bees.”

‘Our leaders fled, too’
He said some of their leaders have escaped to Cameroon because they are known to the Nigerian authorities and could be easily identified. According to him, those of them who lived all their lives in Maiduguri have nowhere to run to. So they returned and tried to sneak into town.
He said they came in last night and were trying to hide in some uncompleted buildings, when some members of the Civilian JTF saw them.
He said: “We are pleading with them to spare our lives. We were forced into the sect. But we know that it is not the right way. I personally have never killed anyone, but I have my friend here who had killed many people.”
Umar Abor, the other arrested sect member said Kolo Mustapha was lying as they had participated in all heinous acts of the sect.
He said: “We have fought together since 2010. We have fought in Marte, Bama, Buni Yadima and Gwoza. We were not in Chibok. We have not seen the girls, but we heard about the issue.

“Our leaders have been talking about it and we have been following all news from the radio. We decided to flee when almost all our comrades are leaving the Sambisa because of constant attacks by snakes and bees, which we were told was as a result of Chibok abducted schoolgirls.
“They (our leaders) told us that it was our enemies and aggrieved people that are hunting us through diabolical means. We were in the forest in 2010 and 2011. We left and came back last year but we have never experienced such attacks.
“That is why they believe the Chibok people are using juju to pursue us because of their children said to have been taken by our leaders.”

Courtesy:
Vanguard Newspaper

Boko Haram Gets Funding From Outside Nigeria —Ethiopian Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, on Wednesday, observed that funding for terror organisations operating in Africa, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Shabab in East Africa, come from outside the continent.

Speaking at a joint press conference with President Goodluck Jonathan in State House, Abuja, to round off his two-day visit to the country, he also said the resort to suicide bombing by terrorists was an indication that the war on terror was succeeding.

The Ethiopian leader noted that the East African region had been fighting terrorism for the past 10 years, while stressing the need for cooperation by leaders of worst hit countries in the effort to drive the process of the war on terror on the African continent.

'You know terrorism is not African agenda only. There has been terror attack in Boston, United States and many parts of the globe. So, it is not something that is new to Nigeria, Ethiopia and other African countries. It is a global phenomenon and you see that there was terror attack in Iraq recently and is expanding.

'We have to see it as a global phenomenon that has to be tackled together in unison. It should not be left to this or that region or this or that country. We have to bear in mind the genesis of this terrorism,' he said.

Desalegn said Nigeria and Ethiopia had reached an agreement on the fight against terror with the countries' chiefs of staff working on the modalities adding that 'we are working as one with Kenya to fight this terrorism and the chiefs of staff are in Nairobi, discussing how to fight this issue as we speak.'

In his remarks, President Jonathan observed that Ethiopia had a longer history of terrorism than Nigeria, adding that the country had a lot to learn from the East African country's experience.

The two leaders commended the exchange of high level visits between their countries and resolved to maintain this in order to promote and deepen mutual understanding and cooperation.

Courtesy:
The Nigerian Voice

Boko Haram Attacks Military Checkpoint in Bornu, Kills 12 Soldiers, Loses 25 Members

Suspected Boko Haram militants yesterday attacked a military checkpoint Bulamburin village in Borno State killing at least 12 soldiers and losing 25 of their members in a fierce exchange of gunfire.

Bulamburin village, the scene of the deadly encounter, is about 50 kilometers south of Dambua in the southern part of the violence-plagued state.

A military source, who survived the siege, disclosed that the armed men who attacked the military contingent arrived in the village on motorcycles and in several sports utility vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft weapons.

Speaking to reporters in Maiduguri, the source said 12 soldiers had lost their lives, but that the military inflicted heavier casualties on the members of the dreaded Islamist group.

“Some soldiers escaped with bullet wounds,” said the source. He added, “I was at the checkpoint when the terrorists came. We fired at them and tried our best, but they had advantage over us. They had better weapons and we had AK-47 rifles that were not fully loaded. When we realized that they had taken over the place, some of us escaped to Maiduguri and other places, but many could not make it.”

Boko Haram terrorists have recently intensified their violent activities in the southern part of Borno State where hundreds of people have been killed, numerous homes razed, and many people kidnapped.

Courtesy:
Sahara Reporters

Deadly Bomb Blast Hits Banex Plaza, Wuse II, Abuja, 21 People Feared Dead

A bomb attack on a busy shopping district in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, has killed at least 21 people and injured 52 more.

The blast, near the popular Banex plaza shopping complex in Wuse district, could be heard from miles away and sent plumes of smoke into the air.

Government spokesman Mike Omeri confirmed the blast was the result of a bomb.

No claims of responsibility have been reported.

Islamist militant group Boko Haram has bombed targets across northern Nigeria in recent years.

Plumes of smoke could be seen miles away from the site of the blast.

Windows in nearby buildings were shattered by the strength of the explosion

At the scene: Mustapha Mohammed, BBC Hausa Service, Abuja

I counted 12 bodies of men and women at the mortuary at the Maimata District Hospital, which is a few kilometres from the site of the blast.

Doctors and nurses were treating dozens of wounded - many of them for burns on their faces, hands and legs. The security forces were trying to keep order as relatives and friends rushed to the hospital to find out about the fate of their loved ones.

I saw one little boy, with bloodstains on his forehead. He was sobbing and looking for his mother.

A stranger brought him to the hospital after finding him, alone and disoriented, near the blast site. He got separated from his mother when the explosion ripped through the area. The boy did not know whether she was alive or dead, but the man looking after him feared the worst.

'Covered in blood'

Chiamaka Oham, who was near the site of the blast, told the BBC: "We heard a really loud noise and the building shook, and people started screaming and running out.

"We saw the smoke and people covered in blood. It was just chaos."

The area was packed with shoppers at the time of the blast, the BBC's Hausa service editor Mansur Liman reports.

Many cars outside the shopping complex were burnt out and many windows were shattered, he adds.

One man told the BBC his driver was killed in the blast: "I was in the complex when I saw that the ground was shaking. I saw my driver dead and a lot of casualties."

The blast hit a busy shopping district at 16:00 local time (15:00 GMT)

Many of the injured were taken to Maitama General Hospital

Boko Haram has staged previous attacks in Abuja, but most of its targets have been in the north-east of the country.

BBC

More than 50 Suspected Boko Haram Insurgents Arrested in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Reports reaching DailyPost show that no less than 50 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect have been arrested at Obollo-Afor in Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Obollo-Afor is the gateway between the South-East and the Northern part of the country.

A police source said the suspects would be fully interrogated at the Enugu State Police Command to ascertain their true mission.

Details shortly…

Daily Post

Boko Haram ready to Swap 219 Chibok Girls With 70 Detainees

 Haram has demanded the release of 70 of its members in detention as a condition to free the Chibok girls, it emerged yesterday.
The sect is also asking the government to give amnesty to its members.

A lawyer close to the armed group, Hajiya Aisha Wakil,  told AlJazeera English that the sect said only when these conditions are met would it release the abducted girls.
No fewer  than 276 girls were abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State on April 15.

The Boko Haram leaders deceived the girls that they were soldiers who came to protect them from attack.
There are 219 girls in their custody following the escape of 57 from their enclave.
In spite of the support from an international coalition, including the United States, Britain, France and Australia military personnel and the use of a negotiator, the girls remain in the sect’s custody.

'Radicalisation of Young Muslims on the Rise in Cardiff, United Kingdom'

Cardiff has an ongoing problem with the radicalisation of young Muslims, said an academic who has studied the issue.

Two men from the city have been identified taking part in what appears to be a Jihadist recruiting video, which was posted online last week.

It is thought Reyaad Khan travelled to Syria with friend Nasser Muthana who also appears in the footage.

Khan lived close to the Cardiff men jailed over the London Stock Exchange bombing plot in 2012.

It is believed the two men, both 20, travelled to Syria in November, while Nasser Muthana's younger brother Aseel, 17, travelled to the country in February.

Bomb Explosion Rocks Kano School Of Hygiene, Scores Feared Dead

A blast suspected to be from an explosive device has occurred at the School of Hygiene in Kano, the Kano state capital in northern Nigeria.

The ‎spokesperson of the Kano Police, Magaji Majiya, who confirmed the blast, told reporters that other officers were on their way to the scene of the blast.

He said the area had been cordoned off and that the commissioner would address the media at the scene.

The number of casualties in the Monday attack is not yet known.

Channels Television

Wanted Boko Haram Terror Gang Leader Killed In Shootout

 The Defence headquarters Friday disclosed that a wanted notorious gang leader of the Boko Haram who has led many attacks against the military and the police including the killing of two soldiers along Lokoja Kaduna road in 2013 has been killed.

In its blog of Friday, June 20th, DHQ said, “A notorious terrorist who has led serial attacks on security personnel, Mallam Husaini has died in an encounter between his group and a military convoy along Jos – Bauchi highway”.

“Husaini who leads a cell of the terrorists billed to operate in the Plateau is known to have led an attack on Headquarters, Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Abuja, in November 2012”.

Stephanie L. Kwolek, Inventor of Kevlar (Bullet Proof Fibre), Dies at 90

Stephanie L. Kwolek, a DuPont chemist who invented the technology behind Kevlar, a virtually bulletproof fiber that has saved thousands of lives, died on Wednesday in Wilmington, Del. She was 90.

The chief executive of DuPont, Ellen Kullman, announced the death, calling Ms. Kwolek, who spent 15 years in the laboratory without a promotion before her breakthrough, “a true pioneer for women in science.”

Kevlar is probably best known for use in body armor, particularly bulletproof vests. A DuPont spokeswoman estimated that since the 1970s, 3,000 police officers have been saved from bullet wounds through the use of equipment reinforced with Kevlar, which is far stronger and lighter than steel.

Tracking Syria Fighters Now Main Task for MI5

MI5 are devoting the greatest amount of their casework to tracking jihadists leaving the UK for Syria - and returning, as Frank Gardner reports
Tracking British jihadists fighting in Syria is now the top priority for MI5, the BBC has learned.

It comes after a video appeared to show UK jihadis in Syria trying to recruit people to join them there and in Iraq.

The Home Office said counter-terror police were working to get the video - posted by internet accounts linked to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) militants - taken off line.

United States House of Representatives Backs Limits on NSA Spying

WASHINGTON –  House libertarians and liberals banded together for a surprise win in their fight against the secretive National Security Agency, securing support for new curbs on government spying a year after leaker Edward Snowden's disclosures about the bulk collection of millions of Americans' phone records.

The Republican-led House voted 293-123 late Thursday to add the limits to a $570 billion defense spending bill. The provision, which faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, would bar warrantless collection of personal online information and prohibit access for the NSA and CIA into commercial tech products.

Australia Formally Lists Boko Haram As Terror Group

 Australia has formally listed Nigerian militant group Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation.

The move makes it illegal to fund, train with, recruit for or become a member of the group that became notorious when it kidnapped 250 schoolgirls in April.

Australia has joined with the US, UK, Canada and Nigeria in their decision to list the group.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced plans to list Boko Haram last month, saying the world was transfixed and horrified by the group's hostage taking.

#BringBackOurGirls: Presidential Panel Confirms 219 Chibok Schoolgirls Still Missing

 A total of 219 students of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, are still missing after the mass abduction carried out by members of the Boko Haram sect in the school on April 14.The 219 students were among the 276 girls said to have been snatched from the school during the midnight raid. The Chairman of the Presidential Fact-finding Committee on the Abduction of Chibok Schoolgirls, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo (retd.), disclosed this on Friday while presenting the committee’s report to President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.