Bomb Blast Kills 20 in Sabon Gari Area, Zaria town, Kaduna state

The reign of terror by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect continued Tuesday with a deadly bomb blast killing at least 20 people in the Sabon  Gari area of Zaria town, Kaduna state.

Boko Haram Crisis: Twin Bomb Blast Kill Scores in Jos, North Central, Nigeria

Two bomb attacks on the central Nigerian city of Jos have left at least 44 people dead, the authorities say.

A restaurant and a mosque were targeted on Sunday night.

Police Confirms killing of Six Worshippers in Redeemed Christian Church of God,Yobe By A Suicide Bomber

The Police in Yobe on Sunday confirmed the killing of six persons in a suicide bomb attack on a church in Potiskum.

President Buhari Open To Negotiation With Boko Haram

President Buhari's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, on Friday, hinted in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, that the current administration has said that it is open to negotiations with the Boko Haram sect in order to find a lasting solution to the security crisis in the country, if the group is willing.

In the said interview, Mr. Adesina opined that the Buhari administration is not ruling out negotiations with the sect if it would put an end to the activities of the group, stating that the insurgents had attacked so many villages and killed scores of people.

BBC:  Is the Nigerian Government  considering negotiations with the insurgent group?

Adesina replied:

“If they are willing, why not? You know attempts have been made for negotiations in the past and they didn’t work. Every reasonable person would want to see the end to this insurgency. So if they are willing, why not? You can’t rule that out.”

"These were very vicious attacks. People were killed in scores and it’s so sad,” he said.

Recall President Buhari had during his inauguration speech said he had launched a strategy to deal with the sect by relocating the military headquarters to Maiduguri, Borno State.

When Mr Adesina was asked if the planned negotiation would work, he said:

“This is going to work. There are machineries being put in place. It’s going to work. The recent killings by the sect were meant to break our resolve, to weaken it, but that will stop. It remains a priority to him (Buhari) to deal with the group.

“You will notice that his first two weeks of administration were dedicated to tackling the insurgency. He visited Chad and Niger Republics and the following week, the Presidents of those countries also visited him in Abuja.

“The President of Benin Republic and the Defence Minister of Cameroon visited him; machinery is being put in place and once we’re through, we will see the end of the group. The target time for the deployment of the multinational force is July ending; that is in a couple of weeks.”

Two Female Suicide Bombers Kill 10, Injure Scores in Borno

Two suicide explosions along a highway in Borno State killed at least 10 people on Thursday afternoon, state police said, the latest in a string of almost daily attacks by suspected insurgents.

A female suicide bomber killed seven and injured 13 at a village called Malari on the main road from Bama to Konduga while a second suicide bomber killed three in blast along the same road, the state police chief, Aderemi Opadokun, said.

A military source told Reuters that in both cases the suicide bombers targeted crowded areas where locals sell fruit along the highway, which runs southeast of the state capital Maiduguri.

Thousands of people have been killed and about 1.5 million displaced during Boko Haram’s six-year fight to create an Islamic caliphate in the northeast Nigeria.

Source:
The Nation Newspaper

Housewife Kidnapped From Her Home in Ikorodu, Lagos State

A 38-year-old housewife, Mrs Gbemisola Basorun has been reportedly abducted from her residence in Ikorodu, southwest Nigeria.
Gbemisola, mother of two and an HND graduate of Secretarial Administration, was abducted in front of her apartment at 5, Basorun Abimbola Street, Agodo-Alara via Odogunyan/Ikorodu on her way from an evening service on Tuesday.

According to eye witness accounts, the victim was returning from church in her private car, a Pathfinder SUV with registration number plate KTU 476 CM in company of her children when four unidentified men riding on a motorcycle blocked her car at the entrance of the building.

Gbemisola’s first child, seven-year-old Olamide, was about opening the gate for her mother when the gunmen alighted from the motorcycle and one of them pointed a gun at her and ordered her to the back seat where her five-year-old brother was seated.
The boy and his sister were later thrown out of the car by their assailants while two of the men sat with the woman and the other one took over the driver’s seat.

The motorcyclist and the car were said to have driven off together, leaving the children to their fate.
Abimbola Basorun, Gbemisola’s husband said one of his neighbours put a distress call across to him around 8pm and he quickly alerted the police both at Sagamu road, Ikorodu and Ogijo Police Divisions, Ogun State who later recovered the car the following day but his wife’s whereabouts remain unknown.

“I was not around when the incident occurred but the police are aware about the development and they have swung into action,” he said.
Pastor of Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, Pentecostal Chapel where Gbemisola is a Prayer Warrior, Pastor I.T, Ariyo said she is a committed member of the church.

“She is in Prayer band and Welfare departments and I saw her last during the Tuesday service,” Ariyo noted.
Also, Gbemisola was said to be ill and on medical treatment before her abduction.

Source:
PM News

Boko Haram Militants Kill 100 People in Kukawa, Borno State, Nigeria

Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - Suspected Boko Haram militants killed close to 100 people in attacks on homes and mosques in a northeastern Nigerian village, witnesses said Thursday.

"The attackers have killed at least 97 people," a local from Kukawa village, who gave his name as Kolo and who said he had counted the bodies, told AFP.

A fisherman who witnessed Wednesday's attack corroborated the death toll.

"They wiped out the immediate family of my uncle...They killed his children, about five of them, and set his entire house ablaze," Kolo said.

Another witness called Babami Alhaji Kolo who fled to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state where the attack took place, said more than 50 militants stormed the village early Wednesday evening.

"The terrorists first descended on Muslim worshippers in various mosques who were observing the Maghrib prayer shortly after breaking their fast," he said.

"They... opened fire on the worshippers who were mostly men and young children.

"They spared nobody. In fact, while some of the terrorists waited and set most of the corpses on fire, others proceeded to houses and shot indiscriminately at women who were preparing food," he said.

Source:
Yahoo News

BREAKING: Buhari Fires SSS DG, Ita Ekpenyong, Appoints Replacement

Ita Ekpenyong

President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked the Director General of the State Security Service, Ita Ekpenyong.

U.S Formally Seeks Extradition Of Seven FIFA Officials From Switzerland

The US has formally asked Switzerland to extradite the seven FIFA officials arrested in Zurich in May.

Nigerian Government Calls for Vigilance As Ebola Virus Resurfaces in Liberia

Following the resurgence of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Liberia at the weekend, the federal government on Wednesday urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and adhere to hygienic and other preventive measures to guard against the deadly disease.

6 Children Drown, As Boat Capsizes in Lagos

LAGOS —Tragedy struck, yesterday, at Irawe area of Ojo, Lagos State, after a canoe conveying 14 schoolchildren capsized. Six children reportedly drowned, while eight others, including the driver, were rescued.

6 Persons Missing, 3 Soldiers Injured In Ambush In Plateau State

 Six persons have been declared missing in an ambush in Pang village in Heipang, Barkin Local Government of Plateau, according to Capt. Ikedichi Iweha, spokesman for the Special Task Force (STF).

Floods Submerge 20 Houses, Render 1,000 Homeless In Akwa Ibom

No fewer than 20 residential houses have been submerged and over 1,000 people rendered homeless following a three-day downpour in Afaha Ikot-Eyo Edo in Esit Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

Village head of Afaha Ikot Eyo Edo, Chief Samuel Ikene, who gave the account of the damage resulting from the downpour during a chat with journalists in Esit Eket on Tuesday said “since the rains started on Sunday, floods ravaged the community and rendered people homeless.”

“Some people have parked their property to the neighbouring village for shelter. We don’t have a place to sleep and even clothes to wear,’’ the village head lamented.

The monarch lamented that the floods also destroyed property and farmlands worth millions of Naira in the area.

The community, he said, has generally suffered considerable losses from the effect of flooding which he blamed on lack of good drainage system in the area.

He therefore called on the state government and other relevant stakeholders to come to the aid of the people and the community.

A resident of the community, Mr. Bassey Ussoh reported to Daily Independent that the houses were submerged because the flood went beyond window and penetrated the houses before overcoming them.

He lamented that the flood also destroyed his valuables and pleaded with the state government and public spirited individuals and organisations to come to their assistance with relief materials to cushion the effect of the damage.

Another victim, Madam Lovina Etim, complained that the ravaging floods had compounded the sufferings of the people.
She appealed to the government to intervene both with relief materials and good drainage systems.

“As I was in the house, the flood just covered the house and destroyed my property and my personal effects. We shouted and some people came to rescue us from the flood. Now my children and I are taking refuge in the neighbouring village,’’ she lamented.

Source:
Daily Independent Newspaper

Nigerian Military Arrest Man Linked To Boko Haram Abduction of Chibok Schoolgirls

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Nigerian troops have arrested a businessman accused of "participating actively" in Boko Haram's mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls from the northeastern town of Chibok last year, Nigeria's Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

Armed Militants Invade Customs Base in Akwa Ibom; Kill Customs Officer, Cart Away Rifles

Heavily armed men suspected to be Niger Delta militants on Monday invaded the Nigerian Customs Service Base in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, killing an officer and carting away 10 rifles.