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