'Islamic State' Second-in-command Al-Afari 'Killed in US Coalition Air Raid'

 

The second-in-command of Islamic State (IS) has been killed in a US-led coalition air strike in northern Iraq, the Iraqi ministry of defence says.

Military Coup in Burundi: Army General Topples President Pierre Nkurunziza After He Traveled ToTanzania for Summit

The Burundian army has declared it is taking control of Burundi in a radio announcement.

The coup d'etat was announced on a private radio, with senior army generals saying they were deposing the embattled President Pierre Nkurunziza, who is travelling to Tanzania to meet East Africa Community leaders to discuss the recent violence that has rocked his country.

"Forces Vives de the Nation have decided to take charge of the nation," Godefroid Niyombareh, who was fired by Nkurunziza as intelligence chief in February, said in the radio announcement.

"President Pierre Nkurunziza is removed from office."

Niyombareh announced that a national salvation committee had been set up to run the country, and said he is working with civil society and other groups on forming transitional government.

"All people are asked to respect the lives and property of others," Niyombare added.

Fighting to take over state broadcaster

Military officers have been reported to be closing on the Radio-Télévision nationale du Burundi (RTNB), the country's state broadcaster, as loyalists fire back to protect the building - still under loyalist control.

As at 12.30 GMT, the loyalists were still holding the building

Burundi opposition not behind coup

Burundi's opposition leaders have denied being behind the coup. Former rebel militia leader and presidential hopeful Agathon Rwasa told IBTimes UK he did not know about the coup.

"I am discovering it now on the radio, just like you," he told IBTimes UK from the capital Bujumbura. "Now, we will have to see what happens next."

International reaction

A South African foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters that "it's way too early to say" whether a coup had taken place in Burundi but added that the situation is being closely monitored.

More to follow...

Source:
International Business Times

Police Council Confirms Arase Substantive Inspector General of Police

IGP Solomon Arase

The Police Council presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday confirmed the appointment of Solomon Arase as the substantive inspector general of police (IGP).

Terrorism: Trial Of Nyanya Bombing Suspects Stalled Again

The trial of Aminu Ogwuche and five others suspected to have masterminded a bomb blast at Nyanya Motor Park in the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on April 14, 2014, has again failed to commence.

Over 70 people were killed in the attack and several others were injured.

7 Doctors Get Kidnap Threat in Ekiti State

The kidnap saga in Ekiti may have worsened as seven other doctors have allegedly received threat messages that they would be kidnapped.

Police Arrest Four Members Involved In Lekki Robbery

Four suspected members of the gang that robbed a new generation bank in Lekki, Lagos State, in March have been arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Lagos Command.

30 Charged With 'Terrorism' Over Deadly Macedonia Shooting

Kumanovo (Macedonia) (AFP) - Thirty alleged gunmen were charged Monday with terror offences after a bloody shootout with Macedonian police which left 22 dead, including eight police officers, and dozens of homes destroyed in a town close to the border with Kosovo.

Experts: Terrorists Can Be Their Own Worst Enemies

Are Islamic State, Other Extremist Groups Doomed to Fail? Many anti-terrorism experts contend that modern terrorism is evolving at such speed that counterterrorism strategies are falling behind. But others note that the newly morphed terrorists can be their own worst enemies.

Cybersecurity: 72% of Companies Are Not Prepared For A Data Breach

EiQ Networks conducted a survey on information security priorities and challenges. Based on responses from 168 IT decision makers across industries, results point to lack of confidence in their security technologies and lack of the people, processes to implement it.

Researchers Create Searchable Database of Intelligence Operators

The researchers behind Transparency Toolkit, a venture whose goal is to develop source software to collect and analyze publicly available data on surveillance and human rights abuses, have released ICWATCH, a collection of 27,094 resumes of people working in the intelligence community.

Boko Haram: Displaced Women Deliver Of 5 Babies In 3 Days

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has said that displaced women have been delivered of five babies at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp at Kalambaina, Sokoto, between May 7 and 9.

The NEMA assistant head, Sokoto Zonal Operations Office, Thickman Tanimu, made this known to newsmen in Sokoto, saying amongst the five new babies, three were girls, while two were boys.

He said two were delivered on May 7 while on transit to Sokoto, two on May 8 and one on May 9, adding the mothers and children were hale and hearty.

The official said 2,000 displaced persons, including the new babies, were evacuated by the agency from Geidam in Yobe on Wednesday to Sokoto.

He said nearly 80 per cent of the affected people were from Kebbi, while the rest were from Sokoto State.

“They were earlier displaced due to insurgent activities in Doron-Baga in Borno and they fled to Gegeme in Difa state, Niger Republic as refugees.

“However, they were also unfortunately deported back to Geidam in Yobe State after an insurgent attack at their IDPs camp in Niger Republic.

“It was from Geidam that the IDPs were screened by NEMA and security agencies, and the agency evacuated them to Sokoto,’’ Tanimu said.

He said that the affected persons from Sokoto State had almost been evacuated by the state government to their various towns and villages across the 23 local governments of the state.

Rescued Girls, Women Face Taunts, Stigma – UNFPA

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has said that hundreds of girls and women recently rescued from the Boko Haram militants, including dozens who are pregnant and other females among them may now face stigma from their communities.

In a telephone interview with Associated Press (AP), the executive director of the UN agency, Prof Babatunde Osotimehin, said that the most important thing is to restore their dignity. He said, “When you have been in captivity against your will and God knows whatever they have done to them.

Source:
Leadership Newspaper

Ifeanyi Ubah Escapes Assassination, One Aide Killed, Another Kidnapped

The owner of Capital Oil Limited and Founder of Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), Ifeanyi Ubah, has escaped suspected assassins by the whiskers.

Biafra: United Nations Invites Group To Meeting In June

Supreme Council of the Elders of Indigenous People of Biafra has received an invitation from the United Nations (UN) to attend one of its meetings in New York in June, the first invitation to such a meeting since the Biafran pressure group came into existence.

Most Wanted Terrorists In The World: United States Maintain $7m (N1.4bn) Bounty On Abubakar Shekau

Abubakar Shekau

The United States is still maintaining the $7 million (N1.4 billion) bounty it placed on the leader of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

NMA Ekiti Branch Embark On Indefinite Strike To Protest Doctor, Nurse’s kidnap

Nigerian Medical Association has declared an indefinite strike to protest the kidnap of a former Chief Medical Director of Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Patrick Adegun, and a Nurse with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti, Mrs Margaret Aladeneka.

The association declared this in a letter to Governor Ayodele Fayose by the Ekiti NMA Chairman, Dr. John Akinbote, and the Secretary, Dr. A. A. Akinyele, where they frowned on the serial kidnap of health workers in the state.

Adegun and his wife, Kikelomo, were kidnapped at about 8pm near their residence at Oke Ila in the state capital on Thursday.

Their kidnap came five days after Aladeneka was abducted, while a yet-to-be-identified man was killed during the operation. There has yet to be communication from the abductors.

According to a copy of the letter sighted by our correspondent on Saturday, the NMA said it arrived at the decision to withdraw all clinical services in Ekiti State at an Emergency General Meeting held on Friday in Ado Ekiti.

“As a result of the above development, the house unanimously resolved to withdraw all clinical services in Ekiti State until the safety of our members can be guaranteed,” the letter stated.

The NMA had earlier raised the alarm over incessant harassment and attacks of doctors and other health workers in the state calling on the State Government and Law Enforcement Agencies to curtail the incidents.

It also called on the government to expedite action on the implementation of the adjusted revised Consolidated Medical Salary Scale Circular issued by the Federal Government since January 1, 2014.

The Special Assistant to Governor Ayodele Fayose on Information, Mr Lanre Ogunsuyi, has, however, expressed worry about the situation.

He appealed to the doctors to shelve their resolve to suspend work, saying such step wouldn’t be in the interest of the state, particularly for those with critical ailments.

Ogunsuyi said, “Police and State Government will make Ekiti secured for health workers and every worker in the State. We will put in place good measures for people to be able to move without hindrance.

“We urged them to go back to work because suspending work in the hospital will aggravate the problem .But we are going to keep our strategy to ourselves for security reason. We will hold consultations with the doctors to know what their fears are and how to fashion out ways of providing security.

“To us as a government, every kidnap is criminal and condemnable. We are working with the commissioner of Police to tame criminalities in Ekiti State. The governor will hold consultations with all relevant stakeholders to tame all these problems one and for all.”

Source:
Punch Newspaper