President Jonathan Cancels Planned Visit To Chibok

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has cancelled his first visit to the village from which more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted by Islamist rebel group Boko Haram a month ago due to security fears, senior government sources said on Friday.

Jonathan will instead fly directly from the capital Abuja to Paris on Friday for a regional summit to discuss the Boko Haram insurgency and wider insecurity and will not now make a stop in the northeastern village of Chibok, said one of the sources.

"The president was planning to go but security advised otherwise on the visit," said the source of the last-minute decision to cancel the Chibok part of the trip.

Some Nigerians have criticized the government's initial response to the plight of the girls, who were abducted on April 14, and U.S. officials this week said the government had done too little to adapt to the threat posed by Boko Haram.

Jonathan asked France last week to arrange a security summit with neighbors Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin, and officials from the United States, Britain and the European Union to discuss a coordinated response. The summit will take place on Saturday.

Source:
Reuters

Boko Haram Attack Chibok (Bornu State), Kill Soldier, Abduct 103 Female Students

Suspected members of the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, have abducted 103 students in a daring raid at the Girls Secondary School in Chibok, a town on the border between Borno and Adamawa States.
The group’s assault on the all-female high school took place on Monday night. A security source disclosed that members of the extremist Islamist group killed a soldier guarding the school and inflicted injuries on several villagers before abducting the students.

The police commissioner in Borno State, Lawan Tanko, confirmed the kidnapping of the students to reporters in the state.
A source who lives near the school said there was complete chaos during the attack, adding that the students could put up no resistance to the heavily armed attackers.

The mass abduction lasted between 9PM -3 AM as sect members made several trips picking and choosing their victims out of the 250 students enrolled in the school.
Residents of the area also said that  the militants  razed 100 homes because some of the residents initially resisted the militants.

Source:
SR

Boko Haram Ambush, Kills Scores of Students Writing University Entrance Exam (UTME) in Borno

Scores of students trreportedly missed writing theiravelling to write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in Borno State have been reportedly killed by the Boko Haram sect. 

They were among several persons that lost their lives in multiple attacks unleashed by the dreaded sect in four communities.

The Senator representing Borno Central in the Senate, Zannah Ahmed, on Friday, accused the military of complicity in Thursday attack on part of troubled Borno State where he claimed that 210 people were killed in attacks on four towns: Dikwa, Kala Balge, Gambulga and Gwoza.

The senator claimed that the attackers were all dressed in military uniforms and spoke English language, a departure from the Hausa and Kanuri language spoken by the Boko Haram insurgents.

He even lamented that authorities of the military post in Gamboru, which purportedly received a distressed call from the people of Kala Balge avoided the town, claiming that it was not in its area of command.

The senator who said he was compelled to speak out because his people were being killed on a daily basis, added “what happened in Borno was beyond understanding.”

He said: “It is a must for me to speak since the people lives are involved and they are my people. All these are happening in my constituency and it will be wrong to keep quiet. I feel so much pained and would not have spoken but definitely my conscience will not let me do that.”

According to him, they attacked a Teachers College in Dikwa and killed seven people, burnt down the school library and administrative block.

He said Kala Balge was the most devastated as 60 people were killed by the armed men who went on the rampage.

He said after they left Kala Balge they attacked three other towns in the area where a total of 150 persons were killed.

A security source, however, said that the insurgents laid ambush for a group of students who were on their way to Biu from Maiduguri to write Senior the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board Examination scheduled for Saturday April, 2014.

It was learnt that the JAMB candidates were riding in eight vehicles when they ran into the insurgents ambush.

Source:

NigerianEye

Boko Haram Kill 8 Teachers in Bornu, Engage Nigerian Military On Several Fronts

In their latest and daring onslaught, Boko Haram Sect members yesterday broadened the theater of conflict in Borno State by freely and simultaneously engaging Nigerian soldiers in several towns in the state. Sources say the Sect invaded Dikwa killing eight teachers.

Also, the Sect members raided Gwoza and Kalahgde engaging in fierce fight to take control of the townships.
The fighting that started yesterday has lasted till the wee hours of today in some of the places that came under attack.

Source:
SR

Boko Haram: North-East governors Appeal to INEC on 2015 Polls

Governors of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, facing the challenges of Boko Haram insurgency on Wednesday urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to postpone the 2015 general elections in the states.

The call was contained in a statement jointly issued in Maiduguri by their spokespersons.

The statement urged INEC to disregard calls by some politicians for the postponement of the elections due to the security situation in the states.

It urged INEC to take a cue from war-ravaged Afghanistan where elections were recently held, in spite of threat of attacks by the Taliban terrorist group.

“INEC should take a cue from Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission which courageously held the country’s presidential and provincial election last Saturday despite strong threats issued by the Taliban.

“Afghanistan was celebrated worldwide for liberating herself from the scourge of fear, thereby sending a strong signal that no threat would prevent them from choosing their leaders through democratic processes,” it said.

The statement further pointed out that the Afghan government provided adequate security for the conduct of the polls, urging the Federal Government to do same.

“INEC should as a matter of counter insurgency approach, ensure that no part of Nigeria is excluded from the election.

Source:
The Nation Newspaper