Boko Haram told us not to send our daughters to school - Dapchi parents

√ They said the terrorists told them not to send their children to school

√ The parents thanked President Buhari for the return of their daughters Parents of abducted Dapchi girls who were released by Boko Haram have said the terrorists told them not to send their children back to western education.

NAIJ.com had reported that the girls were released by the terrorists on Wednesday, March 21. Security operatives were not available as the terrorists reportedly drove into Dapchi town were residents celebrated the return of their children and praised President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Premium Times, the terrorists took their time to preach to the residents.
One Ibrahim Husseini who is a Dapchi resident said: “It was a thing of joy for us in Dapchi when suddenly we began to see trucks moving into the town at about 8:00 a.m in the morning.
“They brought the girls and then they were telling the general public that they should not go back to Western education schools; that what they did was not terrorism but rather the propagation of Islamic knowledge.”

Kachalla Bukar, who is the secretary of the abducted Dapchi schoolgirls’ parents’ group, said he was on hand to receive the girls and even took pictures with the terrorists.
He said: “But we, the parents of the missing girls, did not run as other villagers did, because we cannot run and leave our girls in the hands of the Boko Haram.

“When they came, they told us that they were returning the girls not because somebody gave them money, but out of their freewill. We thanked them. Then they told us that we must never return our girls to western school again; we said we will do as said. They preached to us for some time, and we said we will heed to their sermons.

“They shook our hands and asked us to forgive them for whatever pains that they might have caused us; then we shook hands and they asked us to snap photos with them using their mobile phone which we all did.”

Haruna Driver who is a father of one of the abducted girls said he was happy for his daughter’s return. He said: “When the news came to me, it was like a dream. But when I saw my daughter, I and her mother shed tears of joy.

“Sadly, we could not spend much time with her before she was taken to the hospital and then to Abuja. We thank God for His kindness and mercy on us. We thank the president and all those that worked hard to see that our daughters return to us safely."

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government has been accused by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of allegedly staging the abduction of the schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State, for ‘political purposes’, Leadership reports.

In a chat with newsmen, the party’s national publicity secretary, Kola Olagbondiyan, referred to the abduction as a crime against humanity, and called on the United Nations to launch investigations into the matter.

Dapchi protests abduction of their daughters by Boko Haram - on

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EX-President Olusegun Obasanjo says, only zero hunger can completely defeat Boko Haram

√ Former president Obasanjo recommended strategies to successfully defeat Boko Haram insurgency

√ He said governments must tackle the issue of hunger and joblessness to end the insurgency- The former president said research had proven that the insurgency started as a means of fighting hunger, not for religion’s sake Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former president, has said that Boko Haram insurgency can only be defeated if governments tackle the issue of hunger and joblessness. Obasanjo made this statement in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, where he presided over a meeting of the Zero Hunger Forum, a social development goal program of both the Nigerian government and international development partners, Premium Times reports.

The meeting was attended by the host governor, Kashim Shettima, and officials from the federal ministry of agriculture, as well as others from Borno, Benue, Sokoto, Ogun and Ebonyi states.

NAIJ.com gathered that the former president said research had proven that most Boko Haram fighters picked up arms against the state, not for the advancement of any religious conviction but as a means of fighting hunger and lack of jobs.

Obasanjo is the chairman of the SDG program on zero hunger in Nigeria where he is currently leading the campaign against hunger across select states in the country.

He explained that of the 17 SDG agenda of the international community,“zero hunger is number two”.He said:“Zero hunger, or ending hunger has ramification, on 14 other goals. Infant mortality, alleviation of poverty, maternal mortality and all of them have things to do with food security and nutrition.“So when the world food program asked me to lead a committee to work out and implement zero hunger in Nigeria, I was more than delighted to do so. And I want to say, that we are not trying to reinvent the wheel. We are not trying to bring new policy; we have enough policies that have been neglected by non-implementation, and if we can implement the policy that we have there will be no doubt that we will beat hunger by the year 2025”.

The former president explained that the program does not directly give money to feed Nigerians but create an enabling environment for food production and job creation for the people.“This is what we are doing; we are trying to help those who need help. In one of the states, someone asked that how much does the Zero Hunger Forum has to combat hunger and I said the truth is that we have no money; but we have what we can do to help by making sure certain policies are implemented. We have things we can do to make sure we put hunger at bay in Nigeria and particularly in the North-eastern part of Nigeria,"Obasanjo said.

He said recent research by World Bank on Boko Haram revealed that most BokoHaram fighters had no clear religious conviction that drives their radical state of mind other than hunger and lack of means of sustenance. He said:“The world Bank said they interviewed 26 former Boko Haram members and 25 of them out of 26 said they were in Boko Haram because they have no job.“Only one of them said he was there because of religious conviction. So zero hunger tends to contribute in bringing an end to insurgency – not only in the North-east, not only in Borno state but also generally in Nigeria.“So in the next two days we will interact,we will find out things, we will listen and share thoughts and by the time we finish we will know that we have all gained something, we have all learned and will be able to move forward in food production, and nutrition in this state and by extension in the whole of Nigeria.”He said the two-day meeting would provide an opportunity for participants to also see the efforts being made by the Borno state government in the area of food production.

He commended the state governor for taking the lead in the area of investment in agricultural tools and equipment which he said surpassed that of any state in the country. He, however, said such multi-billion investment can only make meaning if there is a safe environment to put them to use for the general benefit of the people.“And we have seen your agricultural equipment, and I can say authoritatively that there is no state in Nigeria that has the quantity of the agricultural equipment that Borno state has.

The only thing now is how do we make use of the equipment for maximum production,”he said.Obasanjo added that government must do all that is possible to improve security so that locals could derive immense from the opportunities being made possible through agriculture.

He said:“For that to happen, there must be efficient evidence of security, otherwise, those naughty boys and girls whom we call Boko Haram, will continue to look for soft underbelly, like a farmer working on his farm, an isolated village, where they will make life impossible through threats and intimidation of the life of the people.“I believe what we are doing, zero hunger, would help in fighting the scourge of the insurgency”.Earlier in his remark, the Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima, said his government is very much alive with the challenges before it, which he said has to do with hunger and poverty.

He said:“Prior to the insurgency, Borno used to be the home of wheat, rice, beans and animal production in Nigeria…we believe that we have challenges, no doubt about it. But the challenges are mainly tied to poverty. But agriculture provides us with the platform to fighting poverty, hunger and disease in our society."

He said his government has invested in the whole agricultural value chain and in the fullness of time when peace is won, Borno will roll out its full-scale of its huge investment in the food production section which is said is second to none in the entire country.

Naij.com

[NEWS] 34 year old Doctor killed by Fulani herdsmen in Okada-Benin

Facebook user, Oriago Bongos Akhaine, who shared the story said that the young Doctor, Ehidiamen Oakimena, who is the son of a prominent UNIBEN staff was shot with an automatic rifle by Fulani herdsmen, who blocked the road.

Here’s what he wrote; With deep pain i announce the death of Dr Ehidiamen Oakimena…a senior registrar in Dept of Anaethesia UBTH. Sorry to disturb our peace. I want to inform us that Fulani herdsmen blocked the Okada Benin road and shot this young man with automatic rifle. He died of complications such as Disseminated Intravascular Coagulopathy..made him bleed ceaselessly. Residents in UBTH donated over 30 pints of blood. He is 2nd son to a prominent Christian brother… former UNIBEN staff…a Deeper Life member.

Recall that yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari assured Nigerians that the rising attacks on communities by “herdsmen will soon be brought under control by security forces deployed to the vulnerable areas,” across the country. Buhari lamented that the unfortunate attacks which had resulted in loss of lives and property, had already “brought sorrow and hardship on many Nigerians, with the government deeply affected.”He spoke while receiving the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja and was contained in a statement signed and sent to DAILY POST by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina,

The president also said his administration remains resolute and focused on delivering on the, “three-pronged promises of securing the lives and properties of Nigerians, halting the pillage of the economy by corrupt public officials, and creating employment opportunities for the youths.”Buhari said the initial economic challenge posed by recession was already dwindling, with the “economy smarting out and posting better results on falling inflation rates, higher foreign reserve and better ranking on ease of doing business.“If you look critically into the 2018 budget, we have already taken into account key issues of more stable electricity, construction of roads and rails, and the airport concession’’ he said.

[NEWS] Nigeria Customs Service intercepts 2200 jerry cans of smuggled petrol worth N10m

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Seme Border Command, intercepted 2,200 jerry cans of smuggled of petrol with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) worth over N10 million between Dec. 1, 2017 and date.

The Area Controller, Comptroller Mohammed Aliyu, disclosed this on Monday through the command’s Chief Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Taupyen Selchang.

The controller in a statement by the PRO said that most of the seizures were made at Pashi-Yekeme Community in Owode and the creeks.

The total volume of PMSintercepted was 55,000 litres (2,200 x 25 litres).Aliyu said that the command was determined to combat the smuggling of petroleum products usually done by the smugglers using jerry cans and passing through the creeks and illegal routes.

He said that they were not banning the use of trucks to transport the products to the communities along the border where they were legitimately meant to serve as was being wrongly and widely speculated by some people .The controller explained that smuggling of petrol in jerry cans had been a recurring decimal which operatives of the NCS had always tried to suppress.“This has been our modest contribution toward ameliorating the sufferings of Nigerians caused by the current shortage of the product,’’ he said.

Aliyu said that the command had always and would continue to enforce her statutory mandate of revenue generation, suppression of smuggling and facilitation of legitimate trade. He said the command would also continue to protect the international land border against illicit smuggling and trafficking of small and light weapons across the border along the West African sub-region.

Aliyu said that the NCS operational norms did not allow trucks of petroleum products to cross the Nigerian territory either through the Seme main border or its Owode-Apa Outstation. He said that the Owode-Apa Outstation was synonymous to every approved border post manned by all relevant government security agencies (NCS, Police, Immigration, Air Force, Navy, DSS, SON, NAFDAC, Quarantine, Civil Defence, among others).“This is because all loaded trucks with petroleum products meant for Seme axis are strictly monitored and documents provided are carefully scrutinised in order to avoid diversion.“It is also to equally ensure that the products meant for the axis are actually discharged strictly at the approved filling stations along Seme main border or Owode-Apa border communities,’’ the controller said.

Aliyu said that officers of the anti-bunkering unit were always assigned to escort all loaded incoming trucks to ensure strict compliance in discharging the products to the approved filling stations in the border communities.“The surveillance becomes inevitable because Nigerians who reside along the borders have the right to be served with the product for their local economic activities,’’ he said.

The controller said that officers of the command would continue to patrol every nook and cranny of the border to ensure that the products were discharged to where they were legitimately meant for.

He said that officers of the command would continue to apprehend individuals who might attempt to smuggle the product out through the creeks or the illegal routes at night and seize the products.The controller said that the present leadership of the NCS led by Retired Col. Hameed Ali “is ready to bring all erring officers who circumvent government’s efforts, to face the consequences of their actions’’.Aliyu warned all smugglers and perpetrators of the illicit act to desist from it.He said that they would be made to face the full wrath of the law if they were caught, saying others caught were being prosecuted.

Full list of 21 elected officers by PDP during national convention

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has elected 21 officers during its National Convention which took place on Saturday, December 9.

At the keenly contested election, Prince Uche Secondus emerged as chairman of the party amidst claim and allegation of anti-democratic activities.

In his address on Sunday, December 10after being declared winner of the party’s chairmanship election,Secondus expressed delight over his victory.He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of dividing the nation and said the PDP has a task of wrestling power from them.

He vowed that by 2019, the PDP would take over power in Aso Rock from the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

See full list of elected officers below:

1. National Chairman - Prince Uche Secondus

2. National Deputy Chairman South – Elder Yemi Akinwonmi

3. National Deputy Chairman North – Sen. Gamawa Babawo Garba

4. National Secretary – Sen. Ibrahim Tsauri

5. Deputy National Secretary – Dr. Agbo Emmanuel

6. National Treasurer – Hon. Aribisala Adewale

7. Deputy National Treasurer – Alh. Wada Masu

8. Financial Secretary – Ibrahim Husseini Maibasira

9. Dep. Fin. Sec. – Hon. Irona Alphonsus

10. Nat. Org. Sec. – Col (Rtr) Austin Akobundu

11. Dep. Nat. Org. Sec. – Barr. Hassan Yakubu

12. Publicity Secretary – Kola Ologbondiyan

13. Dep. Nat. Pub. Sec. – Hon. Diran Odeyemi

14. Nat. Legal Adviser – Barr. EmmanuelEnoidem

15. Dep. Nat. Legal Adviser – Barr. Ahmed Bello Liman16. Nat. Auditor – Mal. Adamu Mustapha

17. Dep. Nat. Auditor – Miss Divine Amina Arong

18. Nat. Women Leader – Haj. Mariya Waziri

19. Dep. Nat. Women Leader – Umoru Adizet Hadizat

20. Nat. Youth Leader – Rt. Hon. Udeh Okoye

21. Dep. Nat. Youth Leader – Umar Babangida Main a Mean while, former president Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday, December 9, said the PDP has become a reference point as Nigeria moves toward another election. Jonathan made this known while delivering a goodwill message at the party’s national convention.

He said the party had over the years remained focused and resilient in spite of several challenges, adding that he believed the party would remain foremost in leadership.Nigerians want PDP back in 2019 - Goodluck Jonathan declares at PDP Caucus Meeting - on NAIJ.com TV.

Source - Naija.ng