Ebola outbreak: UN worker dies in Germany hospital

UN employee infected with Ebola has died at a hospital in Germany.

Doctors at the hospital in Leipzig said the man, 56, died in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The outbreak has killed more than 4,000 people since March - mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.

The World Health Organization described it as the "the most severe, acute health emergency seen in modern times". The US and UK are among countries to have introduced scanning at airports.

The man had been working as a UN medical official in Liberia - one of the worst affected countries by the outbreak - when he caught Ebola. He arrived in Germany last Thursday for treatment.

"Despite intensive medical measures and maximum efforts by the medical team, the 56-year-old UN employee succumbed to the serious infectious disease," a statement from St Georg hospital said.

He was the third Ebola patient to be treated for the deadly virus in Germany, Der Spiegel newspaper reports.

One patient is still receiving treatment in a hospital in Frankfurt, while a third was released from a hospital in Hamburg after five weeks of treatment, it adds.

BBC News

Nigeria Not Implicated In the $15 m seized by South Africa!

Within the past three weeks the Asset Forfeiture Unit in the office of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in South Africa seized two tranches of fund totaling $15million being payment for the alleged purchase of arms by the Federal Government. Initially, the sum of $9.3 million smuggled into South Africa by an Israeli and two Nigerians was seized last month. The suspicion surrounding the transaction was fueled by the disclosure that the South African company involved in the deal is not a licensed arms dealer and that the jet used to ferry the money belongs to Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, who is very close to the Presidency. The CAN has since said the plane which was bought for evangelism was converted and leased to another company to raise some money!

Since the Federal Government could not justify the brazen violation of the money laundering law of South Africa by the three suspects it decided to engaged in the diplomatic resolution of the embarrassing incident. However, while the " diplomatic 
row" was yet to be resolved another sum of $5.7 million wired by a Nigerian company to South Africa from Abuja for the purchase more arms was also seized  last week. Convinced that the latest seizure could not be justified the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd)  lambasted the South African Government and the fifth columnists in Nigeria who are bent on frustrating the Federal Government in prosecuting the war on terror. According to Mr. Karounwi Adekunle, the spokesperson for the office of the NSA, "a business transaction actually took place between a legitimate company in Nigeria and another legitimate company in South Africa through the bank. In the course of events the South African company could not perform and decided to refund the 
money. What is illegitimate in this transaction done through the bank?"

 It is interesting to note that the NSA has not said that it was the Federal Government that transferred the controversial fund to South Africa. Neither has the NPA indicted the Federal Government for the alleged criminality associated with the transaction. In fact, the NPA has not questioned the legal status of both companies. What is being investigated by the NPA is the legitimacy of the receipt of $5.7 million by Cerberus Risk Solutions of South Africa whose license to deal in arms had expired before it entered into the contract. In actuality, it was the Standard Bank through which the fund was transferred which reported the "suspicious transaction". And the NPA promptly applied for and obtained an order of the High Court 
for the seizure of the fund. Both companies-Cerberus Risk Solutions of South Africa and it's Nigerian counterpart, Societe D'Equipments Internationale are yet to challenge the interim order for the confiscation of the fund. 
 

Therefore, contrary to the mismanagement of information traceable to the office of the NSA the Federal Government did not place any direct order for the importation of arms from South Africa. The fact that the NSA signed the End User certificate for the arms importation is not a license for the companies involved in the deal to breach the laws of South Africa. In other words, the Israeli and two Nigerians who were arrested last month for smuggling the sum of $9.3 million and the Nigerian company involved in the transfer of the $5.7 million to South Africa are not public officers.  As independent contractors they were awarded contracts for the supply of arms by the Federal Government and paid accordingly. It is indubitably clear that the suspects were negligent for failing to conduct due diligence.

Hence, they were dealing with companies that are not authorized to trade in arms in South Africa. By the way when was the responsibility of purchasing weapons for the armed forces of Nigeria  transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the office of the NSA?

However, since the Federal Government cannot be held vicariously liable for the alleged criminal activities of the suspects the office of the NSA ought not to have embarrassed the nation by giving the erroneous impression that Nigeria had breached the law of another country. As a sovereign entity the Federal Government can place orders for the purchase of arms either from another government or from independent arms dealers. But when the office of the NSA decided to award contracts to private corporate bodies for the supply of arms it could not have clothed them with immunity or license to breach local or foreign laws.  Instead of exposing Nigeria to further ridicule the Federal Government should stop accepting responsibility for the alleged criminal actions of the suspects indicted in the alleged laundering of the sum of $15 million. 
 Having regard to the facts and circumstances of this shameful episode  there is substantial evidence to prove that the suspects breached the terms of the deal for the supply of the arms. To that extent the Federal Government is perfectly entitled to sue them with a view to recovering the entire contract sum of $15 million. Notwithstanding their inexplicable negligence the suspects should be advised to contest the order of  the High Court which authorised the seizure of the fund. To show that there was no mens rea to breach the law of that country the NSA may wish to testify for the suspects.

By threatening to deal with the South African government over the breach of the law by the private businessmen and corporate bodies involved in the suspicious transactions the office of the NSA has called to question the moral integrity of the Federal Government. By asking South Africa to reciprocate the gesture of allowing  MTN and DSTV to operate  in Nigeria is the Federal Government saying that both South African companies are allowed to breach the law of the land? Regrettably, the National Assembly treated this matter of urgent national importance so cavalierly and in the process left many questions unanswered. Otherwise how could both chambers have failed to examine the statement of the NPA that the official explanations for the suspicious transactions are riddled with contradictions. Instead of grandstanding over the criminal enterprise the Federal Government should apologize to Nigerians and call the NSA to order for dragging the name of Nigeria through the mud.

-Femi Falana SAN.

Ebola: Liberian health workers plan strike

Liberian health officials are appealing to nurses and medical assistants not to go ahead with a national strike, as the Ebola epidemic continues.

The National Health Workers Association wants an increase in the monthly risk fee paid to those treating Ebola cases.

In the US, President Barack Obama has directed more steps to be taken to ensure high safety procedures when dealing with suspected Ebola patients.

A health worker treating an Ebola victim has herself caught the virus.

Liberia's Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah said a strike would have negative consequences on those suffering from Ebola and would adversely affect progress made so far in the fight against the disease.

The government says the scale of the epidemic means it now cannot afford the risk fee originally agreed.

The risk fee is currently less than $500 a month, on top of basic salaries of between $200-$300. Staff are now seeking a risk fee of $700 a month.
The health workers also want personal protective equipment and insurance.

Ninety-five of their colleagues have so far died from Ebola. Liberia is one of the countries worst affected by the epidemic.

More than 4,000 people have so far died in the outbreak.

A new UN centre to co-ordinate the fight against the epidemic is being set up in Ghana.

UN aid workers and logisticians are being flown in to Accra, the BBC's Mark Doyle reports. Ghana itself has not so far seen any Ebola cases.

Six months after the epidemic began in west Africa there are still only about a quarter of the treatment beds required to tackle it.

Food is now in short supply as markets are disrupted in some parts of the three countries worst affected: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

In Liberia, elections have been postponed because the gathering of people

US ENQUIRY

How Fayemi lost to Fayose remains a big mystery – Wole Soyinka

Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has described as a ‘mystery’ the loss of incumbent governor of Ekiti, Kayode Fayemi, to governor-elect, Ayo Fayose.

Fayemi of the All Progressives Congress party, lost the Ekiti governorship election of Saturday, 21 June to Fayose, who contested under the Peoples Democratic party.

Soyinka, who is usually outspoken in his beliefs, commented on the outcome of the Ekiti polls, on Sunday, 12 October, at the inauguration of the new Government House, “Ayoba Villa” in Ado Ekiti.

According to the Nobel laureate, “Somewhere, something went wrong and it has to be corrected. That is the message I have for all of you. Be patient but at the same time be watchful.”

“Many people within and outside Ekiti were mystified. There is a clarity in my mind. That clarity has been demonstrated today and has been manifested in the four years of Fayemi,” he added.

He also advised the people of the state to get past the mysterious outcome of the elections, and build on the foundation put in place by the outgoing governor.

He said, “My own message is that, put the mystery aside and the emotional attachment. Continue to build on the foundation that has been laid by him. The state has been resurrected in a way that all of us should be proud of. I’m glad that there is no sadness on the face of anybody. I’m happy I do not perceive any iota of regret on the face of anyone. That is the way it should be.”

Fayemi, while responding, stated that the legacy projects inaugurated in his last days in office was in service to the people of Ekiti, adding that it was done so that the incoming governor could build on them.

“For us, everything that has happened is about the service to our people. It is about putting our people forward. It is about making the fundamental differences in the lives of our people and making their lives more abundant. The Ekiti we are leaving is far better than the Ekiti we met. Those who are coming behind us can build on this in a sustainable manner,” Fayemi said.

He also went philosophical, saying that Nigerians were on a journey to get the best out of the nation.

“We are on a journey, we are not in a destination yet. That journey would have remarkable progress, undulating lines, we would go into valleys, we would face challenges, and the triumph of it is to see opportunities in those challenges and to keep moving on until a better and greater Nigeria of our dream comes to fruition in our country,” he added.

Source: Ynaija

Doctor cleared of Ebola virus feeling better

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A doctor admitted to a Massachusetts hospital this weekend for an apparent respiratory infection after surviving the Ebola virus was in stable condition and feeling better Sunday, but still has a fever and cough, hospital officials said as they awaited Ebola testing results.

Officials at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester said Dr. Richard Sacra remained in isolation as a precaution. He was admitted Saturday and is being treated for an upper respiratory infection that doctors believe is not related to Ebola he contracted in Africa.Dr. Robert Finberg, who is leading Sacra's medical team, said at a news conference Sunday that doctors are confident Sacra's symptoms are not related to the Ebola he contracted in Africa.

Finberg and hospital President Patrick Muldoon stressed that there is no threat to the public and that the hospital is operating under normal conditions.Finberg said results of Ebola testing by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should be available within the next two days."

People are very concerned, that's why we're being extremely cautious," Finberg said. "We're not taking risks with Dr. Sacra and his caregivers."Asked why doctors believe Sacra's symptoms are not related to Ebola, Finberg said he was not aware of any case of Ebola recurring in surviving patients, and Sacra is feeling better and eating."People with Ebola don't feel like eating. They feel like throwing up," Finberg said. "

The fact that he's eating and he feels pretty good, I think is a very good sign."Finberg said Sacra was just being responsible when he decided to go a hospital.Sacra, of Holden, returned to Massachusetts on Sept. 25 after weeks of treatment at an Omaha, Nebraska, hospital.He spent much of the last two decades in Liberia, working with a missionary group.

He also works at Family Health Center of Worcester.Bruce Johnson, president of the SIM USA missionary group, said in a news release that Sacra first visited a Boston-area hospital emergency room Saturday morning because of a persistent cough and low-grade fever and concern that he might be getting pneumonia.

Johnson said Sacra was transferred to UMass Memorial for observation as a precaution under CDC guidelines.Muldoon said the CDC advised hospital officials to keep Sacra in isolation until the Ebola testing results come in. Muldoon said UMass Memorial is well-quipped to handle infectious diseases.

Yahoonews

Nigerian government wants EU to invest in proposed Development Bank

The Federal Government has urged the European Union, EU, to invest in the proposed Wholesale Development bank through the union’s development financing outfit, the European Development Bank, EIB.The Minister of State for Finance, Bashir Yuguda, made the call while receiving a delegation of the European Union led by the EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Michel Arrion.Mr. Yuguda said the bid to set up a Wholesale Development bank has raised significant interest among global funding agencies.According to him, the World Bank has pledged about $500 million to the proposal, while other development-oriented financial institutions like the African Development Bank, ADB, have also committed some funds for the take-off of the bank.The minister explained that the aim was to boost the growth of the real sector by ensuring long term financing and drastically cutting down interest rate, adding that the federal government would soon be embarking on a road-show to some specific countries to raise more capital.“We are developing a whole sale development bank in Nigeria,” he said. “The idea of the bank is to give long term financing to SMEs and increase their source of borrowing. We did a study of the informal sector, which showed that the sector constituted 45 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP).The federal government, he said, has a firm belief that if it was able to increase their access to funds, especially long term, that would go a long way in increasing the GDP of this country and integrating them into the formal sector of the economy.The EU envoy had earlier hinted that EIB is already well established in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal as a development financier would like to boost their activities in Nigeria by funding long term projects.Consequently, Mr. Yuguda urged the bank to take advantage of the investment opportunities open in the proposed bank and thanked the bank for its rigorous procedure in ensuring that the facilities they grant Nigerian banks were aligned to the nation’s development priorities.“We know that EIB has been helping Nigeria banks. We are also aware that before they grant any facility to any bank in Nigeria they would normally seek for authorisation through your office (EU envoy) from the National Planning Commission, and I went through many of them while serving as the supervising Minister of National Planning.”Mr. Yuguda, who earlier in 2014, brokered the deal for the EU’s grant of 512 million Euros (about N112 billion) towards supporting agriculture and rural development in the north as well as electricity and governance nationwide further welcomed Arrion’s request for EU to boost its support to the presidential Initiative for the North-East, PINE, in the rebuilding of the North East zone.He said, “For Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Finance, we are handling the safe school initiative which is a very big programme. We appreciate your concern in this regard and will be prepared to provide the necessary support to ensure that your efforts were in tandem with the Presidential intervention programme.”

Florida Man Convicted of Murder in Dispute Over Rap Music

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Florida man was convicted Wednesday in the 2012 fatal shooting of an unarmed teenager amid a dispute over loud rap music blaring from a car.Jurors in the racially tinged retrial deliberated for about five hours before finding Michael Dunn guilty of first-degree murder.It was the second time that Mr. Dunn, 47, a software developer who claimed self-defense in the death of Jordan Davis, 17, faced a jury.

In February, a jury convicted Mr. Dunn of three counts of second-degree attempted murder – one for each of the surviving teenagers in the Dodge Durango — a crime for which he could receive a 60-year prison sentence.But that jury could not unanimously agree whether Mr. Dunn killed

Mr. Davis in self-defense or in a fit of rage on Nov. 23, 2012. The mistrial prompted the county’s top prosecutor to retry Mr. Dunn for first-degree murder.From the start, the case was infused with racial overtones and stirred the nation’s debate about racial profiling and its possible consequences.

Mr. Dunn is white and the teenagers black.With Mr. Davis’s death coming months after the killing of another unarmed black teenager, Trayvon Martin, the shooting brought renewed focus to Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” laws, which in 2005 made it easier for people to claim self-defense if they had a reasonable belief their lives where threatened, whether the threat proved real or not.George Zimmerman was ultimately acquitted of Mr. Martin’s murder.

Ferdinand: Moyes is a great man

The QPR defender called the Scot's tactics while Manchester United boss "embarrassing" in his autobiography but insists that he would be happy to talk his arguments over in person

Rio Ferdinand says that he would like to meet with David Moyes to discuss his Manchester United reign and claimed the Scot is a "great man", despite his criticism of the manager in his autobiography.

The QPR defender claims that Moyes had him "doubting everything" that he knew due to his preference to train United to stop the opposition, while slamming his "embarrassing" tactics of resorting to a long-ball game.

Moyes was sacked by the Red Devils in April, to be succeeded by Louis van Gaal, having failed to guide the club into Europe, yet Ferdinand insists that he has no problem with the Scot and would welcome the chance to speak with him.When asked if he would like to talk with Moyes, Ferdinand told CNN World Sport: "Yes, of course, I've got nothing against him as a person."I'm saying that he's a gentleman, a great man.

I've never had any bad words to say about him at all in that respect as a person."Ferdinand rejects claims that Moyes inherited a squad in decline when he took over from Sir Alex Ferguson, insisting that the players at his disposal were good enough to replicate their title success of 2012-13."I don't understand how people can say [that]," he remarked. "You've got some great players throughout the squad. You win the league by 11 points.

You've got to be a top team to do that."So [Ferguson] goes and then it all falls apart? So that's his fault? How can people say that? I don't think the buck stops with Sir Alex Ferguson at all. I think you leave and you win a trophy. There's not many better ways to go out than that."

Goal.com

JAIL ESCAPE IN WASHINGTON NOT DETECTED FOR 2 DAYS

MARYSVILLE, Wash. (AP) -- An inmate's escape from a jail in Washington state went undetected for two days last week until the man's defense lawyer stopped for a visit and he couldn't be found.

Rhyan Vasquez, 19, was back in custody in Marysville City Jail, north of Seattle, facing a possible escape charge along with a previous robbery allegation, The Daily Herald reported (http://bit.ly/1rqrM8S ).

His absence wasn't noticed until last Wednesday when his lawyer asked to see him, court papers said.Jail staff checked surveillance video and saw that Vasquez had backed out a door and into a hallway on Sept. 22 while a group of inmates was returning from a Bible study class held in a visitation area.Vasquez was booked back into jail Friday.

He was tracked down by two detectives who questioned his associates, said Robert Lamoureux, a police spokesman.Defense lawyer James Feldman says another attorney from his office was representing Vasquez in the municipal case.

That lawyer wasn't available Tuesday.Feldman said all he knew was the lawyer went to the jail and Vasquez wasn't there."We obviously weren't involved in the planning," Feldman said.---I

Information from: The Daily Herald,http://www.heraldnet.com

U.S. military: Air strikes disrupted ISIS abilities

The U.S.-led airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have disrupted the group’s infrastructure, its command and control and logistical abilities, said General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Friday.Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Dempsey said he expected a “persistent and sustained” campaign against ISIS, which has seized swathes of land in Iraq and Syria.On Friday, airstrikes targeted the militant group’s oil facilities for a second day, a monitoring group said Friday.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported new air strikes in eastern Deir Ezzor province and north-eastern Hasakeh province, both of which were targeted a day earlier by the coalition.Additional strikes hit an area in Hasakeh, where the target was not immediately clear, the group’s director Rami Abdel Rahman said. There were no immediate details of any casualties from the strikes.Oil sale has been a major source of funding for ISIS since it captured several oil fields across the country.The group reportedly stopped oil extraction from fields in Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria after the U.S.-led strikes.“Oil extraction has been halted because of the security situation,” said Leith al-Deiri, an activist in Deir Ezzor who spoke to AFP via the Internet.“People... would wait four days to get oil, because there was so much demand. But now there are no customers... There are no traders or clients going to the fields, fearing the strikes,” he said via the Internet.Deir Ezzor is home to six major oil fields and the Coneco gas field. Experts say the group could be earning between $1 million and $3 million a day from oil sales alone.All the fields have fallen into the hands of ISIS since the militant group took over the majority of Deir Ezzor province. While speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on Friday, Dempsey said a Western-backed opposition force of around 12,000 to 15,000 would be required to retake areas of eastern Syria now controlled by ISIS. “Five thousand has never been the end state ... Twelve to 15,000 is what we believe they would need to recapture lost territory in eastern Syria,” Dempsey said.Last week, Congress gave temporary approval to a plan for the United States to train members of Syria's moderate opposition to combat the Islamic State, which is seeking to expand its hardline rule from a base in eastern Syria. The initial number of opposition fighters to be trained by the United States is expected to be around 5,000.

Arabiya News

Leading Iraqi Human Rights Activist Killed After Anti-ISIS Posts

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A prominent female Iraqi human rights lawyer and campaigner has been publicly executed days after posting anti-ISIS messages on her Facebook page, the U.N. said Thursday. Samira Salih al-Nuaimi was killed by a masked firing squad in a public square in the city of Mosul, an act described as "horrifying" by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. She was tortured before her death on Monday, the U.N. said.Al-Nuaimi, a well-known figure in Mosul, was remembered for her courageous work promoting the rights of women and helping the poor. "She used to stand before courts in order to defend those who were detained by U.S. forces, and she did that for free," a Mosul resident told NBC News. Al-Nuaimy was detained Sept. 17 after she posted messages on Facebook describing ISIS' bombing and destruction of mosques and shrines in Mosul as "barbaric." She was accused by the self-styled Islamic court of apostasy and sentenced to death by ISIS fighters. Her body will be handed to family who have been warned against conducting a funeral ceremony, a local journalist told NBC.
Source: NBC News

Fayose beats up Ekiti court judge

Temperamental Ekiti state Governor elect, Ayodele Fayose, slapped a court judge today for being rude to him and then ordered his thugs to beat him further.The victim is Justice John Adeyeye of the Ekiti High Court, Ado Ekiti.The action of Fayose and his thugs triggered some pandemonium in the court, with judicial workers and others running into safety. The sitting of the Ekiti State Governorship Election petition Tribunal could also not hold.Premium Times quoting witnesses said that PDP thugs had besieged the court premises as early as 6am, while a detachment of policemen from the police headquarters were also seen on major streets and around the court.
Justice Adeyeye of High Court 3, who was miffed by the huge number of the thugs as they surged towards the court premises had approached Mr Fayose and urged him to prevail on “his supporters” to keep a safe distance from the court premises.“An enraged Mr. Fayose was said to have shouted the judge down, slapped him and ordered his men to beat him up.Immediately, thugs numbering about 20 pounced on Justice Adeyeye, beat him up and tore his clothes, while his co workers scampered and shouted for help.Following the development, judicial workers hurriedly shut down the court premises thereby preventing any court proceeding for hours before the police fired tear gas canisters to disperse the hoodlums.Justice Adeyeye is presently receiving treatment at a private hospital in Ado-Ekiti.On Monday, PDP thugs had also attacked Justice Adeyeye, adjudicating in a case filed by Ekiti 11 to determine Fayose’s eligibility for the June 21 governorship election.At a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday, Fayose had accused the state judiciary of working in cahoots with the ruling All Progressives Congress to disqualify him and dispossess him of his governorship mandate.The governor-elect said this was the primary reason a socio-political group, Ekiti-11, went to court to ensure that it could achieve this through the back door.He said it was through what he called a ‘dubious’ court judgement that a former governor, Segun Oni, was ousted, paving the way for Governor Kayode Fayemi of the APC in 2010.Fayose, however, vowed that the people of the state would not allow his mandate to be stolen, as they were now more enlightened than before.He said, “The whole scheming in Ekiti State is just about the APC obtaining judgement through the back door after losing elections on June 21, 2014. You will recall that Segun Oni’s tenure was truncated through this back door judgement by some judicial officers who have been compromised.“They can go as far as losing their career if and when politicians pay them well. The Ekiti people have spoken and they have spoken well. I came back into the country on Tuesday night and I have been briefed on the developments in the state. I want to state clearly that we will not allow any back door judgement to stall my inauguration.“Their target is to install the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, who is an APC member, claiming that Fayose is not qualified to contest. I want to state that the people of Ekiti State are interested and they are equally more enlightened than before where someone will just come and obtain a judgement through the back door to stall a process and steal the people’s mandate.”He said there was the need for the judiciary in the state to be objective and fair, alleging that the judges in the state had been compromised because some of them were members of the Ekiti-11

P.M News

The Wages of Impunity, By Wole Soyinka

The dancing obscenity of Shekau and his gang of psychopaths and child abductors, taunting
the world, mocking the BRING BACK OUR GIRLS campaign on internet, finally met its match in
Nigeria to inaugurate the week of September 11 – most appropriately. Shekau’s danse macabre
was surpassed by the unfurling of a political campaign banner that defiled an entry point into
Nigeria’s capital of Abuja. That banner read: BRING BACK JONATHAN 2015.
President Jonathan has since disowned all knowledge or complicity in the outrage but, the
damage has been done, the rot in a nation’s collective soul bared to the world. The very
possibility of such a desecration took the Nigerian nation several notches down in human
regard. It confirmed the very worst of what external observers have concluded and despaired
of – a culture of civic callousness, a coarsening of sensibilities and, a general human
disregard. It affirmed the acceptance, even domination of lurid practices where children are
often victims of unconscionable abuses including ritual sacrifices, sexual enslavement, and
worse. Spurred by electoral desperation, a bunch of self-seeking morons and sycophants
chose to plumb the abyss of self-degradation and drag the nation down to their level. It took
us to a hitherto unprecedented low in ethical degeneration. The bets were placed on whose
turn would it be to take the next potshots at innocent youths in captivity whose society and
governance have failed them and blighted their existence? Would the Chibok girls now
provide standup comic material for the latest staple of Nigerian escapist diet? Would we now
move to a new export commodity in the entertainment industry named perhaps “Taunt the
Victims”?
As if to confirm all the such surmises, an ex-governor, Sheriff, notorious throughout the
nation – including within security circles as affirmed in their formal dossiers – as prime
suspect in the sponsorship league of the scourge named Boko Haram, was presented to the
world as a presidential traveling companion. And the speculation became: was the culture of
impunity finally receiving endorsement as a governance yardstick? Again, Goodluck Jonathan
swung into a plausible explanation: it was Mr. Sheriff who, as friend of the host President
Idris Deby, had traveled ahead to Chad to receive Jonathan as part of President Deby’s
welcome entourage. What, however does this say of any president? How came it that a
suspected affiliate of a deadly criminal gang, publicly under such ominous cloud, had the
confidence to smuggle himself into the welcoming committee of another nation, and even
appear in audience, to all appearance a co-host with the president of that nation? Where does
the confidence arise in him that Jonathan would not snub him openly or, after the initial
shock, pull his counterpart, his official host aside and say to him, “Listen, it’s him, or me.”?
So impunity now transcends boundaries, no matter how heinous the alleged offence?
The Nigerian president however appeared totally at ease. What the nation witnessed in the
photo-op was an affirmation of a governance principle, the revelation of a decided frame of
mind – with precedents galore. Goodluck Jonathan has brought back into limelight more
political reprobates – thus attested in criminal courts of law and/or police investigations –
than any other Head of State since the nation’s independence. It has become a reflex. Those
who stuck up the obscene banner in Abuja had accurately read Jonathan right as a Bring-back
president. They have deduced perhaps that he sees “bringing back” as a virtue, even an
ideology, as the corner stone of governance, irrespective of what is being brought back. No
one quarrels about bringing back whatever the nation once had and now sorely needs – for
instance, electricity and other elusive items like security, the rule of law etc. etc. The list is
interminable. The nature of what is being brought back is thus what raises the disquieting
questions. It is time to ask the question: if Ebola were to be eradicated tomorrow, would this
government attempt to bring it back?
Well, while awaiting the Chibok girls, and in that very connection, there is at least an
individual whom the nation needs to bring back, and urgently. His name is Stephen Davis, the
erstwhile negotiator in the oft aborted efforts to actually bring back the girls. Nigeria needs
him back – no, not back to the physical nation space itself, but to a Nigerian induced forum,
convoked anywhere that will guarantee his safety and can bring others to join him. I know
Stephen Davis, I worked in the background with him during efforts to resolve the
insurrection in the Delta region under President Shehu Yar’Adua. I have not been involved in
his recent labours for a number of reasons. The most basic is that my threshold for
confronting evil across a table is not as high as his – thanks, perhaps, to his priestly calling.
From the very outset, in several lectures and other public statements, I have advocated one
response and one response only to the earliest, still putative depredations of Boko Haram and
have decried any proceeding that smacked of appeasement. There was a time to act – several
times when firm, decisive action, was indicated. There are certain steps which, when taken,
place an aggressor beyond the pale of humanity, when we must learn to accept that not all
who walk on two legs belong to the community of humans – I view Boko Haram in that light.
It is no comfort to watch events demonstrate again and again that one is proved to be right.
Thus, it would be inaccurate to say that I have been detached from the Boko Haram affliction –
very much the contrary. As I revealed in earlier statements, I have interacted with the late
National Security Adviser, General Azazi, on occasion – among others. I am therefore
compelled to warn that anything that Stephen Davis claims to have uncovered cannot be
dismissed out of hand. It cannot be wished away by foul-mouthed abuse and cheap attempts
to impugn his integrity – that is an absolute waste of time and effort. Of the complicity of ex-
Governor Sheriff in the parturition of Boko Haram, I have no doubt whatsoever, and I believe
that the evidence is overwhelming. Femi Falana can safely assume that he has my full backing
– and that of a number of civic organizations – if he is compelled to go ahead and invoke the
legal recourses available to him to force Sheriff’s prosecution. The evidence in possession of
Security Agencies – plus a number of diplomats in Nigeria – is overwhelming, and all that is
left is to let the man face criminal persecution. It is certain he will also take many others
down with him.
Regarding General Ihejirika, I have my own theories regarding how he may have come under
Stephen Davis’ searchlight in the first place, ending up on his list of the inculpated. All I shall
propose at this stage is that an international panel be set up to examine all allegations,
irrespective of status or office of any accused. The unleashing of a viperous cult like Boko
Haram on peaceful citizens qualifies as a crime against humanity, and deserves that very
dimension in its resolution. If a people must survive, the reign of impunity must end. Truth –
in all available detail – is in the interest, not only of Nigeria, the sub-region and the continent,
but of the international community whose aid we so belatedly moved to seek. From very early
beginnings, we warned against the mouthing of empty pride to stem a tide that was assuredly
moving to inundate the nation but were dismissed as alarmists. We warned that the nation
had moved into a state of war, and that its people must be mobilized accordingly – the
warnings were disregarded, even as slaughter surmounted slaughter, entire communities
wiped out, and the battle began to strike into the very heart of governance, but all we
obtained in return was moaning, whining and hand-wringing up and down the rungs of
leadership and governance.But enough of recriminations – at least for now. Later, there must
be full accounting.
Finally, Stephen Davis also mentions a Boko Haram financier within the Nigerian Central
Bank. Independently we are able to give backing to that claim, even to the extent of naming
the individual. In the process of our enquiries, we solicited the help of a foreign embassy
whose government, we learnt, was actually on the same trail, thanks to its independent
investigation into some money laundering that involved the Central Bank. That name, we
confidently learnt, has also been passed on to President Jonathan. When he is ready to
abandon his accommodating policy towards the implicated, even the criminalized, an attitude
that owes so much to re-election desperation, when he moves from a passive “letting the law
to take its course” to galvanizing the law to take its course, we shall gladly supply that name.
In the meantime however, as we twiddle our thumbs, wondering when and how this
nightmare will end, and time rapidly runs out, I have only one admonition for the man to
whom so much has been given, but who is now caught in the depressing spiral of diminishing
returns: “Bring Back Our Honour.”

Wole Soyinka, writer, Nobel laureate, and inveterate campaigner for human freedom,
who turned 80 last July, sent in this article from his country home in Abeokuta

“He Caught me on our Matrimonial Bed…”

My name is Susan (real name disclosed) and I have been living in utter misery because my sins have caught up with me and the guilt alone is killing me.It would have been better if it was my guilt alone, but my husband has refused to utter a word after he caught me with my ex 3 weeks ago on our matrimonial bed.We have been married for over 3 years now, getting to 4 and he has been an amazing man to me, despite the fact that I have not been able to conceive for him yet. He has been patient and his family in return encourages us to be strong as they join us in prayer, as we wait for God’s timing. Most times I feel I do not deserve a man like him but tell me, which woman on earth will refuse a good man? The answer is NONE!!!I started sneaking out with my ex a year after our marriage because my husband’s business takes him away from home very often. Prior to our wedding, my ex and I have dated for like 2 years but he suddenly asked me to move on because he was leaving for a training abroad and will not be able to commit to distance relationship. I was heartbroken because he promised to marry me but eventually left me like the others did.I found myself living in a teary world and begging God to ease the pain. Barely 4 months after the break up I met my husband who helped me get over the hurt and he loved me like I’v never been loved before. He eventually proposed and we got married.A year after our wedding, my ex came back from his training and we became friends because my husband had helped me erase all the bitterness I felt towards him. My husband was not comfortable with the friendship and warned me not to become very close to him.However, my ex invited me to a private party while my husband was on a business trip. The boredom was unbearable, so I went. Spending the night with him in the party brought back memories and he eventually convinced me to sleep in  a room within the house because it was very late and we were both tipsy, so he could not risk driving me home or let me drive. To cut the story short, he came to the room I was and cuddled me and we began sleeping with each other from that day.I knew what I was doing was wrong but I could not control it, talk less of stopping it. It got to the point where my ex would secretly sneak into my matrimonial home and I eventually started asking the security guard to leave anytime my husband was out of town.Unfortunately, my husband walked in on us while my ex was on top of me. I still don’t know why he came back home that night because he left home that morning on another business trip. Maybe the trip was cancelled or something happened, which I still haven’t been able to figure out because he has refused to utter a word to me. He still eats my food and still wakes me for morning prayer but he hasn’t said anything regarding the incident in 3 weeks.Just like he walked away when he caught us, he does same when I approach him for a conversation.Please someone tell me what to do because this feeling is tearing me apart. The shame and filth I feel is heavy even though I have asked God to forgive me, but God knows that his silence is what I cannot live with. Please I need helpful suggestions on what to do because I love my husband and my home.

Source: omojuwa.com

US Ambassador To Nigeria Reveals How Ex-Army Boss Ihejirika Diverted Military Funds Abroad

A former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika is in the cross hairs of the United States as that nation is insisting that the former army top gun be probed for alleged diversion of funds meant for the procurement of weapons and other warfare equipment meant for the army.

Local sources hinted that Ihejirika who arguably one of the wealthiest retired Generals allegedly pocketed billions of naira meant for the Army.According to a source, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle raised the issue when he met recently with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja.Ambassador Entwisle at the meeting at the Presidential Villa, said the U.S is particularly concerned about the sudden riches of Ihejirika.Ihejirika, who was fingered as one of the sponsors of Boko Haram by the Australian hostage negotiator, Davies, is the front-runner for the Abia state Gover‎norship seat.Investigations revealed that the US Ambassador told Jonathan that the Americans who were in Nigeria to assist in the fight against insurgents were shocked to find out that what was on ground did not match the billions allocated under Ihejirika’s watch.

There have been pockets of grumbling amongst the army rank and file over obsolete and some times lack of top shelf weapons. This boiled over when some soldiers mutinied against a General. Those soldiers were court martialed and sentenced to death.In 2012 alone the defence budget for capital expenditure was N34.36 Billion‎ with a whooping N5.71 Billion earmarked for the acquisition of equipment by the Army.U.S President Barack Obama or the Secretary of state, John Kerry is expected to discuss the issue with Jonathan at some close sessions during the United Nations General Assembly.The alleged rot and high level corruption in the military, sources said, has affected the morale of the Americans who here as technical partners and advisers.

Entwistle, it was learnt told Jonathan, every top military officer should be held accountable if he wants the US to be part of the fight against insurgents.

Pointblanknews.com also gathered that the high level corruption, contract inflation and purchase of obsolete equipment and arms cut across the three services.This rot made Defence minister General Aliyu Gusau to insist that every contract or procurement must pass through his office. Curiously, this move did not go down well with the service chiefs who had hitherto enjoyed autonomy.Said our source ” the Americans want Ihejirika and his cohort probed.

They are insisting that the Government must hold thieving Generals accountable if Nigeria wants them to be part of the fight against Boko Haram”“The Ambassador expressed his nations unhappiness with what Ihejirika did with the billions allocated to the Army. They are insisting he be probed. We all know he is one of the riches retired Generals‎ around. He made billions that is why he wants to be Abia Governor,” said our source.

Source: PointBlankNews

Tony Blair's solution to combat Isis sounds familiar

Tony Blair has called for the UK to consider using ground troops in the war against Isis, saying the fight against Islamic extremism is similar to the ideological and physical battles the West fought against communism and fascism.In an essay for his Faith Foundation the former Prime Minister also says that Britain and America need to ally themselves with Russia and China to defeat extremist groups across the world.But he warns that unless what he calls the “spectrum of Islamism” is taken on as well then similar groups to Isis, which calls itself Islamic State, will continue to form and threaten Western interests.In his essay Mr Blair says while it is “right in the immediate term to concentrate on defeating Isis”, in the longer term “another Isis will quickly arise to take their place unless we go to the root of the issue and deal with this ideology wherever it shows itself on a co-ordinated global basis”.Mr Blair says in military terms he is not advocating new “armies of occupation”. But adds:

We are, in certain situations where it is necessary and subject to all proper limitations, talking about committing ground forces.You cannot uproot this extremism unless you go to where it originates and fight it.And he suggests that Russia and China must be key partners in the fight so it is not seen as the West versus Islam. “This is a challenge which East and West share … So the great powers of the East, without doubt, desire the right outcome to this battle as much as us.

Independent News

At least 8 Ebola aid workers reportedly killed 'in cold blood' by villagers in Guinea

At least eight Ebola aid workers and journalists were reportedly murdered and dumped in a latrine in a remote village in Guinea in a frightening example of the growing distrust locals have of foreigners coming to help stem the mushrooming health crisis.These deaths are believed to be the first resulting from resistance to international efforts to curb the Ebola outbreak in the region, Reuters reported. Other aid teams have been forced to turn back by crowds in several locations, and a treatment center in Monrovia, Liberia was attacked and looted.

Villagers in an area near the city of Nzerekore used machetes and clubs to attack eight members of a team trying to raise awareness about the disease, officials told the BBC."The eight bodies were found in the village latrine," Albert Damantang Camara, a spokesman for Guinea's government, told Reuters on Thursday, adding that they had been "killed in cold blood by the villagers."Prime Minister Fofana reported that the aid mission included "local administrators, two medical officers, a preacher and three accompanying journalists." They were reportedly attacked by a large crowd, throwing stones, from the village of Wome.The delegation had arrived on Tuesday to do disinfection work and educate people about preventing Ebola, but residents pelted them with rocks and beat them, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing Guinean radio reports.  The group fled into the bush. One journalist who escaped said she heard people looking for her while she hid, according to the BBC.On Thursday, the bodies were found in the septic tank of a village school in the village, according to Camara. Six people have been arrested and the village is now reportedly deserted. Although a motive for the murders has not been confirmed, a BBC report says many villagers have accused the health workers of spreading the disease.Ebola first surfaced in March in southeastern Guinea, where the attacks took place. Since then, it has spread through the lower continent despite international efforts to combat it.More than 2,600 people in West Africa have died from the disease.Complicating efforts is the lack of education in remote areas, where some residents don't believe the virus exists. Last month, in the same area where the aid workers were killed, people rioted out of fear that workers disinfecting a market were contaminating people, according to the BBC.Security for aid workers, for clinics and hospitals, remains a concern in the region. All of the governments affected and the international agencies fighting the epidemic are trying to reach out to the rural communities where misinformation and fear have prevented effective measures to control the spread of Ebola. Until all of the areas with infections have been reached and controls implemented, a reservoir of Ebola will remain and continue to spread, say experts.The United Nations Security Council declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa a "threat to international peace and security" Thursday.  Since March, the virus has infected at least 5,357 people, according to World Health Organization (WHO), mostly in Guinea, neighboring Sierra Leone and Liberia. It has also spread to Senegal and Nigeria.It is the world's worst outbreak of Ebola, with officials warning that more than 20,000 people could ultimately be infected.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday he will create a special mission to combat the disease and deployed staff in the worst-affected states.Neighboring Sierra Leone has begun a controversial three-day curfew to try to stop the spread of the disease.

Fox News

Lady Gaga says wary of pro-ISIS rallies in U.S.

U.S. pop star Lady Gaga said in a recent interview that she is “scared” to hear of rallies held in the United States in support of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).“It makes me scared when I hear that there’s pro-ISIS rallies in America because I think that social media has created this sort of negative undertone in the universe,” she told the Associated Press.The 28-year-old “Paparazzi” singer, who has recently had hip surgery and parted ways with her longtime manager, says things are looking up for her. “I’ve very centered now. I meditate a lot. I’m happy. I am more sober than I’ve ever been,” the singer said interview this week. “It’s a very happy time in my life.”

Parting ways

Last year, Gaga parted ways with longtime manager Troy Carter, who helped the pop star achieve multiplatinum status, dominate the pop charts and win multiple Grammy Awards. She said she was overworked and that greed led to their split.“Part of what was making my sort of artistic experience so unpleasant was that I felt that I was not able to truly freely fly as an artist,” she said. “In some ways my talents were not being used to their full potential.”Gaga says part of her happier state of mind comes from working with Tony Bennett on the album “Cheek to Cheek,” out on Tuesday.Gaga is currently on an international tour that wraps up Nov. 24 in Paris. 

Source: Al Arabiya News

The CBN, ATM Charges, and Regulatory Capture, By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

On 13 August 2014, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a circular announcing the “re-introduction of ‘Remote-on-Us’ ATM cash withdrawal transaction fee, which will now be 65 Naira per transaction to cover the remuneration of switches, ATM monitoring and fit-notes processing by acquiring banks.” The CBN explained that “the new charge shall apply as from the 4th‘Remote-on-Us’ withdrawal (in a month) by a card holder, thereby making the first three ‘Remote-on-Us’ transactions free for the card holder but to be paid by the issuing bank.”This circular was not designed to be understood by even highly educated Nigerians and there’re legitimate questions whether its contents are indeed in the interest of the average Nigerian. The reasons it gave for introducing the charge on Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) transactions addressed the interests of bankers and did not at all advert to the interests of users of financial services or consumers of banking products.To appreciate its implications, the CBN’s new policy on ATM transactions needs to be broken down in terms that mere mortals can understand. The ATM is an essential outlet for retail banking. Deposit money banks issue account holders with ATM cards, with which they can, by keying in their personalized identity numbers (PIN), access their deposits from the ATM.It is not unusual for customers seeking to use ATMs to encounter problems. In many neighborhoods outside the big cities, many banks don’t deploy ATMs. Customers sometimes travel long distances to access them. May times, the ATM has no cash to dispense. At other times, it debits accounts for money not dispensed. Quite often, many of the ATMs are down or suffering some form outage.Because of these not infrequent glitches, the Switch system enables customers to access their funds from ATMs operated by Banks other than the ones with which their accounts are domiciled. Clearly, the biggest single reason why account holders use ATMs operated by banks other than their own is system-wide inefficiency. The choice of sticking with the ATM deployed by your own bank doesn’t exist.To any regulator interested in even-handedness between the industry and the consumer, it would make sense to take measures to progressively minimize these problems with a view, ultimately, to eliminating them. Rather than do this, the CBN chooses to penalize the customer, effectively making inefficiency a revenue stream for banks.Thus, by this new directive, whenever any customer uses more than thrice in a month an ATM other than that operated by the Bank with which they have an account, they will be charged 65 Naira. To those who are rich and comfortable, this may sound like nothing. But in a country in which over 70% live around or below poverty lines, it’s like robbing the poor to make rich bankers even richer. It’s wrong. Even worse, it looks unlawful.The powers of the CBN are not at large. They are established and circumscribed by law. Section 42 of the CBN Act sets up two standards with reference to which regulatory measures by the Bank may be assessed, namely: “high standards of conduct in the banking system” and “in the national interest.” With reference to the former standard, this policy rewards banks for maintaining an abysmal ATM payments system. With reference to the latter, the CBN has manifestly failed to take account of the interests of customers. On both counts, the legality of the new CBN directive can be questioned.The CBN provides no evidence of monitoring or performance of the ATMs. What is the penetration of ATM deployment relative to the footprint of retail banking? What proportion of ATM transactions are failed or frustrated? What are the statistics of down time or outage on ATMs? How many complaints are logged about ATM transactions; how many are resolved satisfactorily and what is the average resolution time? Why now?Yet, these are necessary questions because they help to explain the logics of the decision making and ensure compliance with service quality by the banks. Banks have a legitimate interest to make profit from quality service delivery. But by “re-introducing” charges before guaranteeing service quality, the CBN penalizes customers for industry inefficiencies and offers to the industry that it is supposed to regulate a perverse incentive at the expense of the customer. That’s neither in the interest of higher standards of banking nor of the public.

Dr. Chidi Anslem Odinkalu is the Chairman of Nigeria’s Human Rights Commission Governing Board.

Fans responsible for our quarrel - PSquare

The PSquare duo, Peter and Paul in a recent interview said that their fans were the ones who helped escalate the crisis between them.According to the Square brothers, they are human and have blood running through their veins and as such want their fans to know that brothers and parents do quarrel and reunite.Peter explained that though he was not under pressure when the crisis occurred but as time went by he started feeling pressurised as fans kept challenging him on the whereabouts of his brother, Paul.PSquare noted that though they had issues with each other, it never had any effect on their songs because the group was still together.Peter despite blaming the fans, also attested that they helped make them identify their differences and they were able to come back together as one.They also thanked some top officials in the country who also lent their views and advice towards ensuring that they came back as a team.Speaking on their new album, they revealed that they want to break the record which they set with the ‘Do Me’ video which they say is still their best song.

Culled from Daily Trust