The Nation Newspaper

Tag: borno

  • Gov. Shettima donates house to Boko Haram victim

    Gov. Shettima donates house to Boko Haram victim

    Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno on Friday donated a two-bedroom flat to a nursing Internally Displaced Person (IDP), Halima Algoni.

    Algoni lost her husband and parents in an attack by the Boko Haram at Bulabulin Ngaura, Damboa Local Government Area in 2015.

    The donation was in fulfilment of Gov. Shettima’s promise to Amina in January, after she had narrated her ordeal in the hands of the Boko Haram insurgents.

    The IDP was spotted by Gov. Shettima during a presentation of relief materials donated by a Kano-based group of Ulamas at the El-Miskin IDPs centre, Maiduguri in January.

    Hajiya Fanta Babashehu, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, presented the keys to the house to Algoni on behalf of the governor.

    Babashehu said the gesture was aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the IDP who lost virtually all she had with no one to cater for her livelihood.

    ‘‘We are glad to know that Halima had given birth to a bouncing baby boy named Muhammad Kadu.

    ‘‘This house is donated to her by Governor Kashim Shettima, the key and all the document of the house are hereby given to her,’’ she said.

    In her remarks, Algoni thanked Gov. Shettima for fulfilling the promise he earlier made to her.

    ‘‘May Allah give Kashim Shettima the keys to Janna (Paradise),” she prayed.

    In his remark, Malam Zannah Laisu, the Chief Imam of Borno, commended the governor for fulfilling the pledge he made to his citizen.

    Zannah called on philanthropists and wealthy individuals to complement the government’s effort toward assisting the under-privileged victims of the insurgency.

     

  • Borno: Muslim clerics begin 10-day prayer, fasting for Buhari’s health

    Borno: Muslim clerics begin 10-day prayer, fasting for Buhari’s health

     

    Some Muslims clerics in Maiduguri, Borno, on Friday said they had commenced a 10-day prayer and fasting for the health of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Malam Uma Bolori, who spoke on behalf of the clerics said, “Our prayer is what President Buhari needs from Nigerians rather than rumours.

    “President Buhari deserves prayers from the people of North-East, for not allowing Borno to go on extinction when almost all the territories in the state were taken over by Boko Haram.

    ” We are going to fast, supplicate and recite Holy Qur’an 50 times for improved health condition of our President.

    “Nigerians must rally round their leaders and pray for them, to enable them succeed in steering the affairs of this country.

    ” No citizen should wish his or her president death, he or she should rather wish him wisdom, sound health and political will to enable him fulfill his campaign promises to the people.”

    Umar Bolori said that since the coming of the president to power, Boko Haram insurgency had reduced to the barest minimum in the North-East.

     

  • Borno Gov shocked as teachers abandon classes

    Borno Gov shocked as teachers abandon classes

    Governor Kashim Shettima of  Borno has expressed shock at the abandonment of classes by public school teachers in spite of efforts to revive the education sector ravaged by the Boko Haram sect.

    Shettima made the observation when he paid an unscheduled visit to Lamisula Primary and Junior Secondary School located in Maiduguri, the Borno capital.

    The governor,  who observed that most teachers were absent at the school,  decided to conduct a roll call of the teaching staff at the end of which only 43 out of the 87 teachers were present.

    Shettima expressed sadness over the development, promising to take action against those found absent.

    “It is sad to note that more than 40 percent of the teachers were absent.

    “Those absent will face punishment to serve as a deterrent to other teachers and workers,” he said.

    empty-classroom

    Shettima, who went round the classrooms and interacted with the pupils, also expressed dismay at the conditions of some classrooms as pupils were made to sit on the bare floor in spite of the availability of furniture in government stores.

    The governor ordered the state mechanical workshop to supply enough furniture to the school to address the problem.

    “It is really disturbing that in the heart of Maiduguri, our children are sitting on the floor to learn in spite of thousands of school desks we have distributed.

    “We have desks here that are bad and kept in one class;  no one brought this to my attention and children who are desirous of learning are now seating on the floor, “he said.

    Thegovernor spent about an hour at the school, visiting each of the 17 classrooms at the Primary and Junior Secondary sections.

    He also interacted with no fewer than  1,000 pupils and gave each a gift before his departure.

  • Borno dissolves 27 council caretaker committees

    Borno State yesterday announced the dissolution of its 27 Local Government Caretaker Committees.
    Alhaji Usman Zannah, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, said in a statement in Maiduguri that their tenure had expired.
    He said the dissolution was approved by Gov. Kashim Shettima after the expiration of the six months tenure approved for the committees.
    “Gov. Kashim Shettima has approved the dissolution of the Caretaker Committees for all the 27 LGs in the state.
    “The dissolution takes immediate effect,” the statement said.
    Zannah said that the action was in line with the LG Laws of the state, 2000 as amended.
    He urged all the affected officials to hand over the affairs of the councils to their secretaries pending the appointment of new committees.

  • Femi Kuti visits Borno IDP camp

    Femi Kuti visits Borno IDP camp

    Living up to his family’s love for the common man, Afrobeat musician, Femi Kuti, on Monday, visited an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Maiduguri, Borno State.

    Femi, a multiple award-winning musician and son of Afrobeat legend and political activist, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was on a national assignment, according to the Facebook handle of his club, Afrika Shrine.

    The post which also showed a picture of the artiste sitting in a place that looks like an airport lounge, reads: ‘On the march again: Femi Kuti departs to Maiduguri for an international rescue committee assignment at the IDP camp.’

    Also posted were pictures showing Femi, talking with health workers at the IDP camp and another one in which he is surrounded by children in the camp.

    A lot of fans have been praising the Grammy nominee and KORA award winner for his humanitarian work while also wishing him a safe return.

    Among those who reacted to the posts are Latoya Aduke Ekemode who wrote, ‘Safe Journey Femi’ and Jojo Bodybeats who said, ‘I wish you journey mercy shoki baba.’

    Also, Renault Véronique wrote, ‘thanks for what you’re doing for peace and respect’ while a poster, Fela Broadway, wrote: ‘For the benefit of us that take Femi Anikulapo-Kuti for granted. It’s fair to state that he was birthed by Nigeria’s greatest show of compassion; “The Fela Legacy”.’

    As a result of terrorism activities carried out by Boko Haram insurgents, thousands of Nigerians in the northeast states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa have been sacked from their homes and sources of livelihood.

     

  • NAF accidental bombing: 234 persons buried

    The Chairman Kalabalge local government Babagana Malaria has said he was informed that over 200 people have been buried in the recent Airforce operational error in Rann, Borno State.
    The Chairman while briefing the Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai also demanded adequate compensation for survivors of the unfortunate mishap.
    “This unwarranted volume of destruction of lives and property calls for federal government intervention by compensation of survivors,” Babagana said.
    “Our problem since this local government was created about twenty years now; we need a road to link this headquarters to other parts of the state. The second thing is with what happened now we are begging Mr president to compensate us. Many people have lost their loved ones, most of them are the bread winners.
    ” About two hundred and thirty four people, it’s not a small number; we need to compensate these people. Yes! Two hundred and thirty four buried by the community. And it’s even more than this the report I received from Maiduguri this morning is that two who are in the hospital have also died therefore we need to be compensated seriously.
    ” It was the market day yesterday, it was not like the normal market day afterall this is a place were our activities was on a skeletal basis, but it was at the lowest ebb yesterday,” the chairman complained.
    Buratai who was in Rann to assess first hand the level of the attack assured the locals not to lose hope in the army, stressing that the incident will not reoccur again.

  • 18-yr-old Borno girl tops AUN scholarship exam

    Eighteen-YEAR-OLD Maryam Habila Usman, a former student of Air Force Girls Secondary School, Jos, is the overall winner of the nationwide scholarship examination into the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola.

    Maryam, who is from Borno State, applied to study Natural and Environmental Sciences at AUN.

    She had the highest score in the scholarship examination held in six centres in all the geopolitical zones of the country, last December.

    She is one of 34 recipients of the scholarship for spring 2017.

    As overall winner, Ms. Usman’s award will cover tuition, board, meals and other fees at AUN.

    Welcoming her and other spring scholarship awardees, President Maggie Ensign said: “I would like to congratulate all of our scholarship winners, and to welcome them to the AUN community. Ms. Usman and her fellow AUN students represent the brightest hope for a better future for Nigeria and for Africa.  We shall all do our very best to ensure that their time with us is as rewarding and fruitful as they clearly deserve. Congratulations all.”

    Maryam made all ‘A’s in her Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and scored 253 in the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    In an essay that accompanied her admission application, Maryam said: “I have chosen AUN because I consider it [to be] one of the [most] prestigious universities in Africa and a place where I can fulfill my dream.”

    Her choice of course was informed by being born in a perennially flooded neighbourhood in Lagos, hence her desire for environment-related studies.

    The Assistant Vice President of Marketing & Recruitment, Linus Ikyurav, who released details of the awards, said altogether 34 candidates won 45 of the 49 available slots.  Four states—Gombe, Ebonyi, Bayelsa, and Yobe—did not field eligible candidates.

    The university  had also offered 67 scholarships to students across Nigeria during the 2016 Fall semester which began on August 26. This brings to 116 the  number of scholarships offered to fresh students by AUN in this academic year.

    Result of the scholarship exams have been posted on the university’s website.

  • Borno: Minister orders investigation into accidental bombing

    Borno: Minister orders investigation into accidental bombing

    The Minister of Defence has ordered a full-scale investigation into Tuesday`s accidental bombing of the civilian target by the military in Rann, Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno.

    Dan-Ali gave the directive in Maiduguri on Wednesday while speaking at a condolence visit to the Shehu of Dikwa, Alhaji Muhammad Masta, in his residence.

     

    Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari with a victim at ICRC medical facility in Maiduguri.
    Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari with a victim at ICRC medical facility in Maiduguri.

    He said that the objective of the investigation was to prevent future recurrence of the problem.

     

    “As the Honourable Minister of Defence, I have directed the Defence Headquarters to conduct a detailed investigation with a view to making sure that such ugly situation would never happen again in future operations,” Dan-Ali said.

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    He said that the Military had been directed to offer all necessary emergency assistance to the victims of the unfortunate incident.

    “I have authorised the Armed Forces to offer all necessary emergency assistance to the victims of those involved through casualty evacuation and provision of immediate medical care,” he said.

    The minister said that the visit was to condole with the government and the people of the state over the incident.

    “We are here to condole with the government and people of the state over Tuesday`s unfortunate incident that led to the loss of lives and injury to others, as a result of rockets mistakenly dropped by the Nigerian Air Force on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Rann.

    “The incident is heart-troubling, highly regrettable and could have been avoided.

    ‘’However, this incident is an isolated case which happened rarely in a theatre of battle even among more advanced troops in the world.

    “I pray to almighty Allah to grant the souls of those who died a perfect peace and also give the bereaved families the fortitude to bear the loss.

    ‘’I also wish the injured a quick recovery,” Dan-Ali said.

    Responding, Masta thanked the delegation for the visit and prayed for the recovery of the injured people.

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  • NAF regrets accidental bombing of IDP camp

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has described as unfortunate and highly regrettable the accidental bombing of an Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Rann, Borno state on Tuesday.
    In a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, the NAF said it will keep updating the public as soon as investigations are concluded.
    Famuyiwa said: “The NAF is saddened by today’s accidental air strike by its fighter jet at Rann in Kala Balge area of Borno State in which some innocent lives were lost. While available information is sketchy, the Theatre Commander OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE is taking appropriate steps to avail us with details of the incident.
    “The loss occasioned by this unfortunate incident is deeply regretted. The NAF commiserates with those affected and their families and would update the public as soon as detailed facts emerge from the investigation,” NAF stated.
  • NAF Jet bombardment: MSF confirms 52 killed, 120 injured

    NAF Jet bombardment: MSF confirms 52 killed, 120 injured

    Medicine San Frontiers,(MSF), one of the humanitarian aid group said to have been affected in the accidental bombing by  Airforce fighter jet that killed  civilians in Rann, Borno State have condemned in strong terms the action that led to the unfortunate incident.

    MSF have also confirmed that 52 people were killed in the incident with 120 wounded so far.

    In a statement issued by  Dr. Dr Jean-Clément Cabrol, MSF Director of Operations said the bombing hit an IDP camp in Rann, while describing
    the attack as “unacceptable”

    “This large-scale attack on vulnerable people who have already fled from extreme violence is shocking and unacceptable.

    “The safety of civilians must be respected. We are urgently calling on all parties to ensure the facilitation of medical evacuations by air
    or road for survivors who are in need of emergency care,” the statement said.

    Dr. Cabrol said  “MSF medical teams are currently providing first aid to 120 wounded patients in its facility in Rann. 50 people have so far
    been confirmed dead.  The organisation’s medical and surgical teams in the region are preparing to treat evacuated patients”.