22 Persons Dead In Rivers State After Drinking Local Gin, Eating Dog Meat

Over 22 persons have been confirmed dead in Bonny Island, Bonny, and Woji in Obio Akpor local government areas of Rivers after consuming local gin popularly called ‘Kai-Kai’ or Ogogoro and eating ‘Dog Meat’ believed to contain poisonous ethanol.

A Nigerian Drug Trafficker Dies Trying to Smuggle Drugs in Indonesia

The Nigerian died when his intestines spilled out of his body on the Sedyatmo toll road near the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, after he allegedly tore open his own abdomen to remove capsules of drugs. 

Two ​Nigerian Women Caught on China-bound Flight Smuggling Cocaine in Their Private Parts — NDLEA

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency said it ha​s​ arrested two women attempting to smuggle cocaine aboard a Qatar Airways flight to China.

US Airport Security To Be Overhauled After Secret Tests Reveal Lapses

A top US official has pledged reforms after tests found that airport screeners allowed mock explosives and weapons through security checkpoints 95% of the time. Only three US airports out of 70 evaluated passed the undercover testing

Boko Haram Releases New Video, Shekau Fails To Appear in Video

The militant had in his hand what he said were ID cards of killed soldiers

Militant Islamists in Nigeria have released a new video and, unusually, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau fails to appear in it.

Boko Haram: President Buhari Meets With NSA, Set To Visit Chad, Niger For Talks

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met with the out-going National Security Adviser, retired Colonel Sambo Dasuki at the Defence House in Abuja on issues pertaining to security and the activities of the Boko Haram sect in the North-eastern part of the country.

The meeting lasted for about two hours and when Sambo came out he turned down questions posed to him, entered a waiting black Range Rover jeep and drove off.

Although the details of their discussions were not made known to Journalists, THISDAY gathered that it may not be unconnected with the resurgent wave of suicide bombings and attacks by the Boko Haram sect in Maidugiri, the Borno state capital.

It was also learnt that Buhari and Sambo may have discussed some of the immediate measures put in place to contain the insurgents as well as the collaborative engagement with Nigeria's neighbours.

This came just as the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said that Buhari will be embarking on a trip to Niger and Chad to explore ways of curtailing the activities of the Boko Haram sect.

"Buhari will go to the Niger Republic on Wednesday and will spend a night there before proceeding to Chad the next day," he said.

According to Shehu, the president's first official visit outside the country will be used to explore collaborative measures that could fast-track the fight against insurgency which has had negative impact on the social and economic lives of Nigerians, especially those living in the North-east.

Meanwhile, the media aide has said that the President  may not release his list of ministerial nominees until after inauguration of  the next National Assembly on Friday, June 6.

While speaking with Journalists on Monday at the Defence House in Abuja, Shehu said the President have no reason the beat the gun by bringing out a ministerial list even when the approving body was yet to convene.

Source:
ThisDay Newspaper

68 MASSOB Members Arrested in Imo for Alleged Illegal Procession

Sixty-eight members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) have been arrested by the Imo State Police Command for alleged unlawful assembly and procession.

Commissioner of Police, Mr. Austin Evbakhavbokun, who disclosed this to journalists in his office yesterday, said  62 out of the 68 arrested had been charged to court for conspiracy, belonging to unlawful society and conduct likely to cause breach of the peace.
Evbakhavbokun said the self-styled freedom fighters had stormed Owerri, the state capital in buses from all directions to celebrate the Biafra day and remembrance of their fallen heroes without previous notice to the police.

“They were clad in MASSOB/Biafra uniforms with insignia such as Biafra/MASSOB flags, marched towards the Port Harcourt/Owerri federal highways, chanting war songs in such a tumultuous manner as to cause breach of the peace but were later dispersed by the state Police Command,” he added.

The CP, who listed exhibits recovered from the suspects as Biafra uniforms, Biafra ID cards, Biafra flags and some buses, regretted that most of those involved in the act never knew when and how the civil war was fought in the country even as he advised parents and guardians to always keep a tab on the activities of their children and wards to discourage them from acts and conducts capable of jeopardising peace and security in society.

“We have just one country called Nigeria and as such cannot have two flags for the same country and those arrested would be made to face the full weight of the law to serve as a deterrent to others because the law says that any procession without police approval is illegal, null and void and therefore of no effect,” stressing “it is the responsibility of the citizenry to ensure the continued corporate existence of the country, hence such movement as MASSOB cannot be tolerated.”

Source:
ThisDay Newspaper

Suicide Bomber Kill 16 People in Maiduguri Mosque, 13 Killed by Boko Haram in Separate Attack

A suicide bomber has killed at least 16 people at a mosque in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri, police say. Dozens more were wounded in the attack. It follows an overnight assault on the north-eastern city by Boko Haram, in which at least 13 people were killed before troops were able to push back the militants' advance.

Top 21 Lucrative Business, Investment Opportunities in Nigeria (Part 1)

In a prelude to this essay, I enumerated 12 challenges of doing business in Nigeria. Conversely, an astute entrepreneur/investor will detect that some of the aforesaid infrastructural challenges of doing business in Nigeria are profitable business opportunities in disguise. In this essay, I will highlight about top 21 profitable business or investment opportunities worth exploring in Nigeria.

Heavy Explosions, Gunshots Rock Maiduguri, 4 Killed

The heavy explosions from Rocket Propelled Launchers and grenade with sporadic gunfire that rocked the city of Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, left four residents dead, several others injured and houses destroyed.

The attack, coming barely 12 hours after the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari when he ordered the Army Command Centre to relocate to Maiduguri, was carried out by suspected terrorists at about 12:30am, Saturday in an attempt to invade the town,leading to exchange of fire between them and troops of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army.

Sources said, “the terrorists after realising the heavy fire power from troops, started firing their rocket Launchers into the city, which led to the killing of a taxi driver, Mallam Bukar around Borehole area of Gomari airport of Maiduguri metropolis, while the three other residents died at different locations”.

Source:
Vanguard Newspaper

President Buhari's Inaugural Speech: Promises To Move Command Centre Against Boko Haram To Maiduguri, Rescue Chibok Girls

President Muhammadu Buhari

Inaugural speech by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari following his swearing-in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29th May, 2015.

US Removes Cuba From State Sponsors of Terorism List

Pres Castro & Obama

The United States has removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. The move eliminates a major obstacle toward restoring diplomatic ties. The change allows Cuba to conduct banking in the United States, among other activities.

Boko Haram Clash 'Kills 4 Chad Soldiers, 33 Islamists'

N'Djamena (AFP) - A clash between Chad's army and Boko Haram on a Lake Chad island has killed four soldiers and 33 Islamists, a military spokesman said Friday.

Nigerian Troops Arrest 3 Suspected Boko Haram Bomb Makers in Gombe

The Nigerian defence headquarters has said a cordon and search operation conducted by Nigerian troops in Gombe state has led to the arrest of three bomb making experts. Chris Olukolade, director, defence information, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday. Olukolade said the arrested persons were suspected to be members of Boko Haram, in search of soft targets for attack after being dislodged from the stronghold in Sambisa forest and other enclaves.

He listed the Items recovered from them to include a tricycle and materials for making improvised explosive devices (IEDs). He said the suspects were currently undergoing interrogation. “Cordon and search is continuing in certain localities and will be intensified along with mopping up operations in locations where offensive operations are being conducted,” he said. “The essence is to apprehend the terrorists who have been dislodged from their sanctuaries and are in search of escape routes or resorting to attacking soft targets.”

Olukolade said in line with the development, the public should be extra vigilant and report suspicious movements or activities within their environs. He said the military was poised to ensure the ongoing operations were duly aligned with security arrangements aimed at forestalling attempts by any group to breach security or disrupt the inauguration of a new government in the country.

Source:
thecable.ng

Niger Republic Arrest, Charge Over 600 For Boko Haram Links

Niamey - Niger has detained and charged 643 people since February for their links to the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, Security Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou told parliament.

Niger has deployed 3 000 soldiers to a joint regional force formed with Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria in order to quash the Boko Haram insurgency, in which thousands have been killed.

Several Boko Haram networks and sleeper cells have been dismantled in Niger's southern Diffa region, which is on the border with Nigeria, since a state of emergency was declared there in February and troops deployed, Massaoudou said.

"If this measure had not been taken, we could have had an uprising in the very interior of Diffa," the minister told parliament late on Tuesday.

Those arrested and detained have been charged with acts of terrorism and criminal conspiracy, he said.

Diffa came under heavy attack in February when Boko Haram, which wants to establish an emirate in northern Nigeria carried out attacks in neighbouring countries.

Boko Haram, which loosely translates as "Western education is sinful" in the northern Hausa language, began an insurgency in 2009 to establish a state adhering to strict sharia law.

Source:
news24.com