Category: News Update

  • Suicide bombers hit church in Jaji

    Suicide bombers hit church in Jaji

    …Eleven die

    Suicide bombers have attacked a church inside a military barracks in Kaduna State, killing 11 people and injuring 30, officials say.

    A military spokesman told the BBC that two vehicles were driven into the barracks in Jaji in what he described as “surprising and an embarrassment.”

    It is not clear who was responsible for the attack.

    But the army suspects Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has recently targeted churches in the state.

    The group is fighting to overthrow the government and impose an extreme form of Sharia, or Islamic law.

    The BBC says that while Christians and churches are frequently targeted, this incident looks more like a direct attack on the military.

    On Friday, the Joint Task Force offered a reward of 50m naira ($317,000; £197,709) for help in tracking down suspected Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, and 10m each for other suspected leaders of the group.

    The military said a bus entered the barracks and was driven into the wall of the church where it exploded.

    Ten minutes later, a car blew up outside the church.

    “The first blast caused no casualties and curious worshippers gathered around the scene looking at the debris… and that was when the second blast happened,” the military spokesman said.

    Eyewitnesses reported seeing bodies at the scene, and people being carried away on stretchers.

    At least 50 people were killed in bombings in Kaduna in June and the reprisals that followed.

    And almost a month ago seven people died in a suicide bombing at a Roman Catholic Church in the state.

     

     

  • Factory fire kills more than 100 in Bangladesh

    More than 100 people are now known to have died in a fire that swept through a clothes factory in Bangladesh, local officials said.

    BBC says the blaze broke out late on Saturday in the multi-floor Tazreen Fashion factory in the Ashulia district on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.

    Some people died after jumping from the building to escape the flames.

    It is unclear what caused the fire, which started on the ground floor trapping many victims in the factory.

    Officials suspect that an electrical short circuit might have started the blaze.

    Initial reports said eight people had been killed, but the scale of the disaster became clear when rescue workers entered the building on Sunday.

    “We resumed our search this morning and found the bodies lying on different floors of the factory building,” Brigadier General Abu Nayeem Mohammad Shahidullah of the Dhaka fire brigade told AFP news agency.

    Later reports said that 120 people had died, but the number of fatalities was then lowered to at least 112. A number of people are believed to be missing.

    The fire started on the ground floor – which was reportedly used as a warehouse – and quickly spread through the building.

     

  • NMA calls for community-based NHIS

    NMA calls for community-based NHIS

     

    The Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Kogi chapter, Dr. Kassim Oluwamayowa, has called on state and local governments to key into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for effective healthcare.

    Oluwamayowa told the News Agency of Nigeria on Saturday in Lokoja, that the scheme had achieved tremendous success at the federal level but not at the local government level.

    The NMA chairman commended former President Olusegun Obasanjo for introducing the scheme and urged successive governments to improve on it and ensure that the people at the grassroots level benefited from it.

    “The states and local governments have to get up and key into the scheme for us to have community-based NHIS.

    “If we have a well-functioning NHIS at all levels, our healthcare delivery in this country will definitely improve.

    “At present, the scheme has not achieved the full benefits which we hoped to derive from it because of its absence at the grassroots level,” he told NAN.

    On remuneration of doctors in the country, Oluwamayowa said statistics had shown that a lot of doctors trained in Nigeria had moved to other countries, in search of greener pastures.

    He pointed out that while their counterparts in the United Kingdom earned between N18 million and N25 million, doctors in Nigeria earned less than N5 million per annum.

    The NMA chairman said many general hospitals, clinics and comprehensive health centres in the state lacked adequate medical and health personnel.

     

  • Jonathan hails Koroma’s re-election as Sierra Leone’s president

    President Goodluck  Jonathan has congratulated President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone on his re-election and swearing-in  for another five-year term.

    In a congratulatory message signed by presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati, President Jonathan welcomed President Koroma’s victory with close to 60 per cent of the votes cast in the November 17 presidential elections which was keenly contested by eight other candidates as an affirmation of the trust and confidence the people of Sierra Leone have in his capable leadership.

    He urged  Sierra Leoneans to join hands with President Koroma in moving their country forward to an era of democratic consolidation, peace, political stability and rapid socio-economic development.

    President Jonathan assured President Koroma and the brotherly people of Sierra Leone that they can continue to count on the support, assistance and solidarity of Nigeria as they go on with the urgent task of rebuilding their nation after years of avoidable conflict.

    He wished President Koroma a very successful second term in office and prays that God Almighty will grant him continued good health and divine guidance to lead his nation forward to a brighter future for all of its people.

     

  • ‘Security challenges will disappear if economy improves’

     

    The Director-General, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Prof. Tijani Bande, said the country’s current security challenges will disappear if the economy improves.

    Bande made this known at an annual press briefing to herald the 2012 graduation of Senior Executive Course 34 in Kuru on Friday.

    According to him, the poor economy is responsible for the high rate of unemployment in the country.

    “The problems the country is experiencing are connected to unemployment as youths are losing hope of getting jobs after years of graduation.

    “ Having a robust and diversify economy is one sure way for peace in the country,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Prof. Bande as saying at the graduation ceremony.

    The director-general said the participants of the course had “deeply reflected’’ on the situation and had understudied other countries with similar experiences.

    “They have submitted a proposal to the president on the ways to improve the economy.

    “ The proposal specifically hinged on the diversification of the economy to shift focus from total dependence on oil to agriculture.’’

    The other recommendations included solid minerals development, education, training as well as peace and culture.

    He added that most of the recommendations from the institute had found themselves as policies of government and expressed optimism that the recommendations would be treated accordingly.

     

  • Pakistan bomb strikes procession

    Pakistan bomb strikes procession

    …Kills seven

    A roadside bomb has killed at least seven people near a Shia Muslim procession in north-western Pakistan.

    BBC says the attack took place in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, a stronghold of Sunni Muslim militant groups.

    More attacks are feared in the coming days as Shia Muslims mark the climax of the holy month of Muharram.

    Pakistan is suspending mobile phone coverage in several major cities after a series of bomb attacks on Shias, detonated by mobile phones.

    One report said that four children were among those killed by the device on Saturday, set off by a television remote control device due to the mobile phone block.

    A total of 17 people were wounded in the attack, Reuters reports.

    Hardline Sunnis have threatened more attacks as the Shia mourning month comes to a climax.

    More than a dozen people have already been killed this week observing Muharram.

     

  • Brazil sacks Menezes

    Brazil sacks Menezes

    Brazilian Soccer Federation has sacked head coach Mano Menezes as they seek to implement “new methods” ahead of the 2014 World Cup on home soil.

    Menezes, 50, replaced Dunga after the 2010 World Cup, guiding Brazil to the last eight of the Copa America in 2011.

    That defeat against Paraguay, plus Brazil’s failure to win gold at London 2012, put the coach under pressure, BBC reports.

    The decision comes two days after Brazil won the Superclasico de las Americas against Argentina.

    Brazil lost the second leg 2-1 in Buenos Aires, but triumphed on spot-kicks in the tie which featured only players who play in the domestic leagues of the two countries.

    The CBF director, Andres Sanchez said President Jose Maria Marin made the change because he “wants new methods and new planning” ahead of the World Cup.

     

  • What you should know about Dangote

    What you should know about Dangote

    Aliko Dangote was on Wednesday named Africa’s richest man by Forbes Magazine. Here are some facts you should know about him.

    Aliko Dangote was born in Kano on April 10, 1957 into a wealthy Hausa-Muslim family.

    His mother, Mariya Sanusi Dantata was the granddaughter of legendary Hausa businessman Alhassan Dantata.

    His father, Mohammed Dangote was Dantata’s business associate.

    Dangote started business in primary school when he bought cartoons of sweets and sold to make money

    He attended the Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt where he studied business,

    His uncle Sanusi Abdulkadir Dantata who gave him a business loan of =N=500,000 (Naira) when he was just 21 years old to start his business.

    The Dangote Group, originally a small trading firm founded in 1977, is now a multi-trillion naira conglomerate with operations in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo.

    Dangote’s businesses include food processing, cement manufacturing, and freight.

    The Dangote Group dominates the sugar market in Nigeria: it is the major sugar supplier to the country’s soft drink companies, breweries, and confectioners.

    Dangote Group has moved from being a trading company to Nigeria’s largest industrial group including: Dangote Sugar Refinery,, Dangote Cement, and Dangote Flour amongst others

    Dangote Group also has major investments in real estate, banking, transport, textiles and oil and gas. It employs over 11,000 people and is the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.

    Dangote is branching into telecommunications and has started building 14,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables to supply the whole of Nigeria.

    Dangote was awarded Nigeria’s second highest honour, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) by President Goodluck Jonathan

  • FG lost N1.3tr to underpayments, under-assessment – NEITI

    FG lost N1.3tr to underpayments, under-assessment – NEITI

    The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) on Friday said that its previous audit reports revealed revenue losses of N1.3 trillion from under-assessments and underpayments by companies.

    NEITI Board Chairman, Mr. Ledum Mitee, disclosed this in Uyo while addressing journalists at the end of a five-day retreat for members of NEITI National Stakeholders Working Group.

    Mitee said the NEITI Board had resolved to sanction companies found to have tendered false information or failed to provide their statements of accounts.

    He said that public officers, whose actions had caused under-assessment or underpayment of revenue to the Federal Government, would be exposed.

    “We shall invoke the statutory sanctions against relevant government agencies identified to have willingly frustrated the implementation of remedial issues in NEITI Audit Reports.

    “NEITI can no longer sit down and allow these recoverable funds accruable to the Federal Government remain with defaulting companies.

    “It will do good to recover these funds to finance the deficits in our annual budgets,” Mitee said.

    He called for greater support from the media, civil society organisations and law enforcement agencies to the activities of NEITI.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the retreat had the theme “From Transparency to Accountability.”

     

  • Two killed in Bichi crisis

     

    The Kano State Police Command has confirmed the death of two persons in violent protest in Bichi on Thursday.

    This is contained in a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Magaji Majiya, in Kano on Friday.

    “We wish to give update to the general public on the civil disturbance in Bichi town where one man was accused of blasphemy.

    “Based on that, some disgruntled elements, who do not wish the state and the country well, demonstrated,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the command as saying in the statement.

    According to the statement, seven places of worship, eight shops and a house were set ablaze.

    It explained that the two persons, who sustained injuries during the incident, were receiving treatment in the hospital.

    The statement said 12 additional suspects had been arrested bringing the total number of those arrested to 22.

    “Normalcy has already been restored in Bichi town and members of the public are going about their normal businesses without any hindrance as patrol has been intensified.”

    The statement stated the resolve of the command to investigate the root cause of the crisis, saying “whoever is involved will be arrested to face the wrath of the law.’’

    It also urged the people of the state to continue to live in peace and respect one another.