The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Maiduguri

  • We can crush Boko Haram, says Air Chief

    We can crush Boko Haram, says Air Chief

    The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Adesola Amosu has assured that the Nigerian Armed Forces have the capacity to crush the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeastern part of the country as soon as possible.
    Amosu gave the assurance yesterday while receiving the Commandant of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Air Vice Marshal John Ifemeje who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
    The Amosu said there is a synergy between his office and that of the Chief of Army Staff, with the view to designing the appropriate approach to effectively counter the onslaught by the rampaging insurgents.
    The insurgents have killed dozens of innocent Nigerians, including school children, in a string of attacks launched on soft targets in communities in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States in the last two weeks.
    A statement yesterday by the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Air Force, Air Commodore Yususf Anas, said the Air and Army Chiefs are in constant touch with troops stationed at the troubled states.
    The statement added that the troops are in high spirits and inspired to crush the insurgents in record time, adding that the officers and men in the front lines are being motivated to achieve results.
    The Air Chief hinted of renewed collaboration with other security agencies with the aim of effectively tackling the festering insurgency and restoring normalcy to the affected areas.
    The statement quoted Amosu to have said that the Armed Forces were already thinking of post insurgency plans and strategising on how to “keep the place clean”, to avoid a relapse to the killing spree.
    He was also quoted to have posited that the task in the envisaged post insurgency era would require more technology-based platforms.
    The Air Chief called for commitment of and sacrifice from members of the Armed Forces, as the Federal Government continued to provide funding and support for the campaign.

  • Don wants more soldiers for Borno

    A Don and Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU), University of Maiduguri branch, Dr Musa Abdulahi has called for the increase of the military presence in Borno to enable the government get to the bottom of the insurgency plague.

    He told The Nation in Maiduguri that the management of the war by the 7th division was cosmetic and was hardly getting to the roots of the matter which he said seems to be getting out of hand.

    He warned that fishing out Borno and changing the political leadership of the state will not take care of the sympathy of the masses being killed or exposed to insurgences when the military has not been able to address a quarter of the fundamental problem of slaughter of our people in cold blood.

    The Academic noted that bringing a military Administrator will rather worsen the situation as he would be more protective of his soldiers than the people he is sent to look over as is now manifest on the sambisa battle field.

    Dr Abdullahi regretted that it is sycophancy that will make anybody to suggest that a solely military solution will end this insurgency when it has been clear that the soldiers are not well equipped and are more protective of themselves which is why they run away at sighting the weapons of the insurgents leaving them to slaughter the civilians like chicken.

    “What I think is important now that they are deploying military, is that they should make it full scale and if they are willing to use the political angle we should see it in a holistic thing and not piece meal and which is what we are seeing. They should stop all this piecemeal deployment and declare a full scale operation and get to the root of this thing if they have the capacity to do so. from what we are seeing, after the sacking of Bama town, killing some of our people for hours without the intervention of the military barracks in the town, it is clear they are yet to give us something new.

    “The president who is there commander in chief should not be deterred by any form of sentiment to operate as the real commander in chief because the people being killed are Nigerians not foreigners and the killers are surely not Muslims because no matter how useless a Muslim is you do not assemble people inside a place of worship as a mosque and kill them in the name of religion, it is not permissible” he maintained.

    The Asuu boss regretted that President, Goodluck Jonathan have not exercised the necessary will power to indicate that he can handle this thing either militarily or politically which s why the killing with impunity continues almost five year after.

    “We believe the will power has to be there before he consults or take any step of progress. If he eschews political, ethnic differences and look at Nigeria as one entity, he will surely succeed and no power anywhere can stop him, but if he looks at it as brothers killing brothers. so what is my business? so be it. These insurgents are killing our people on a daily basis, targeting businesses, shops, markets, farms, and all forms of commercial sectors to impoverish the people and this has gone on for four years plus yet they release the soldiers on a piecemeal basis.

    “If a minimum of 5,000 soldiers should be released to surround this people and what they stand for, they cannot tell us they cannot route them off from the Nigerian soil. I mean a proper cordon from Maiduguri to Dambua and then to Barma, Gwaza and the border, there is no way they will not be able to get the people. But this annoying piecemeal release as if we do not have enough military personnel is worrisome” the sociologist noted.

    “Look, the government through its intelligence is saying that the insurgents have sophisticated weapons, which weapons are they talking about? Is it that the Nigerian military does not have sophisticated weapons to match this people? I think, it is high time the federal government wakes up from its slumber and begin to realize that they are the earthly custodian of the people in terms of security and do what it takes to route these people out.

    “This is also the time for them to overhaul the military weaponry completely because we live in a sophisticated world and these insurgents have people who bring weapons to them in the bush with helicopters or can they deny knowledge of this? The Americans now use rifles which enables them to see in the night for instance in handling theirs, why cant the government upgrade what our boys are using because most of them have lost the morale boast to fight and i don’t blame them.

    “You want to know why? It is because they do not see their commanders fighting alongside them as a result of crimogenic tendencies. Crime inducing tendencies by operation, conception and vision. this is why the Nigerian security cant fight crime because it is part of the crime infested society. A society that celebrates political personalities after their corrupt tendencies. The second reason is due to political economy. Billions or rather trillions have been spent managing security but nobody can say he has actually seen the iimpact of the funds and that is the reality.

    “Those in the centre are enjoying the situation because they have billions to play with and loot what they can, making money you would say at the expense of the common people.

    “The military has a culture in which the subordinate cannot question their authority yet the subordinates are watching the life styles of these same superiors who are supposed to be fighting along side them but are holed up in five star hotels in Maiduguri, you know what i am talking about.

    “How then do you expect the boys to be loyal? Go to town and check out the best hotels in GRA like Desert and Pinnacle, they are holed up with their girl friends spending their time indoors as if they were sent here on holiday instead of actually checking out on the sufferings of their boys who see all these going on. They only use telephones to know what is going on and life contiues for the masses who are waiting to be slaughtered in the next village.”

    According to the Sociologist, this psychological suffering by the lower ranks brings about a lot of dis-balance thereby questioning loyalty in the brain of the military personnel on the field.

    He alleged that the crop of soldiers that have been managing the insurgency in the north east have not shown much loyalty to the service like their counterparts most of whom paid the supreme price in other countries where they were sent to fight.

    “This is why the contemporary soldier is not 100 percent loyal to his work here or even ready to die for his country so that others will live in peace. Gone are the days when soldiers were being loyal to the common cause through discipline. What we see now are fragmented soldiers and officers over protective of themselves first before the people they are supposed to protect”

    The former joint task force JTF which handed over to the 7th division, which is a new creation by the President has been seen as more effective than the division which is supposed to take charge of command duties and which is he sole custodian of security when the Government of Borno state lost that function to them as a result of the declaration of a state of emergency last May.

  • Group urges First Lady to promote peace

    Group urges First Lady to promote peace

    A Non-Governmental Organisation, I-Nigerian Renaissance Initiative has urged First Lady Patience Jonathan to be a vanguard for peace in the country.

    National Coordinator of the I-Nigerian Ada Stella Apiafi, said the First Lady’s many Peace-oriented projects which led her to declare herself as “Mama Peace” would remain an illusion if she could not intervene in the crisis bedevilled her home state Rivers and other parts of the country.

    The I-Nigerian in a statement said so much had been going on since the new year. “It would be difficult to ignore the fact that violence has been rearing its head among us, threatening our national security, costing us many lives and property and denting the image of our country more and more each day. Rivers State, Borno, Maiduguri, Ilorin, have witnessed spates of violence that have kept our security apparatus working round the clock.

    The group said with her influence and position, the First Lady could bring about peace in Rivers State. “It is no longer a matter of who is wrong, or who is right, nor even whether these eruptions are politically-motivated, or nor – it is now a matter of moving to save the State from absolute collapse and destruction, where the people will suffer greatly.

    The group added: “Whilst the final analysis is left for history to tell, and posterity hangs in the shadows, perhaps it’s a good time to also look at certain burning issues stirring the First Lady in the face. The position of First Lady also confers the status – and huge responsibility, I daresay – of being the “Mother of the Nation,” a position which requires a clear understanding, articulation, objectivity, and even temperament, in order to perform excellently in that role.

     

  • Time to redeploy Mbu to Maiduguri

    Time to redeploy Mbu to Maiduguri

    My dear IGP MD Abubakar,

    It is with great pleasure that I write you this letter. I am also writing with the hope that you will not see me as one of those medddlesome interlopers who will not mind their own business.

    Really, the issue at hand is my business. It is the business of all of us who wish this country well.

    Not a few told me not to bother writing you on this matter, because, as they say, your hands are tied. They say if you have you way things will not be the way they are, but that you are being controlled by powers you dare not challenge despite being the number one cop.

    I, however, told them that I will write before it is too late.

    I write about one of your officers, Joseph Mbu, who is the Rivers State Police Commissioner. Mbu is wasting away in Rivers. Sincerely, his services are not needed there. They are needed in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, where Boko Haram insurgents are giving the people and the government a hell of a time.

    Like Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka said last week, an officer like Mbu should not be in a peaceful environment in Rivers. He is needed where the action is and where else is action better than Maiduguri, which is the capital of insurgency in Nigeria.

    Hardly does a day pass without bombs being thrown in Borno. Life means nothing to the insurgents. An average life in the area does not look more than a chicken’s life to the insurgents. Blood looks like water and can be spilled anyhow. This is where Mbu can dsiplay his dexterity. Here he will prove his brilliance. He will show us that his training was First Class and we will all bow for his intellect. Keeping him in a place like Rivers is like asking him to separate two chickens fighting. Mbu is more than this, IGP Abubakar.

    Since he got to Rivers, Mbu has been in the news. It is either he is complaining that someone did not get a permit before holding a rally or that a permit was issue for one reason only for it to be used for another. He looks the other way when groups loyal to the Presidency hold political events and send out his attack dogs when those oppose to the Presidency hold events.

    One wonders how many cartons of tear gas carnisters have been expended in Rivers since Mbu join. There is hardly a day that his men do not have to use tear gas carnisters to disperse anti-presidency elements. Teachers who were undergoing an orientation programme were even tear-gassed and accused of attending a rally without police permit. It is believed that rubber bullets are also being deployed by Mbu to deal with the enemies. Mbu said his men fired no rubber bullets at anyone. But Senator Magnus Abe, who Mbu said he saw only once and cannot recognise, is a life example that rubber bullets were fired.

    At this juncture, I must point your attention to the fact that the situation in Rivers is a very funny one. Governor Rotimi Amaechi is called the Chief Security Officer. But the truth is Mbu is the Chief Security Officer. Or better still he performs that function on your behalf. I must also let you know what is being said about you in regard to what Mbu is doing in Rivers. They say he is acting a script you gave him on behalf of some forces in the Presidency.

    With due respect to your office, you made a mistake in posting Mbu to Rivers. Like I noted earlier that is not where he is needed. For a man who is ‘foul-mouthed’ like Mbu, he will be able to instil fear in Boko Haram insurgents. They will so fear him that they will turn in their weapons without him lifting a finger.

    Rivers does not need him and now is the time to end his reign there and take him to where his services will best be appreciated.

    Failure to rid Rivers of Mbu will be like a confirmation of the belief that this administration has no respect for the rule of law and that you are a spineless IGP, who is ready to do the biddings of the Presidency just to keep his job. But let me remind you sir, no matter what you tenure will expire one day, just like the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan too. Nothing can best confirm this to you than the pictures of former occupants of your office which occupy a prime spot in the police headquaters. If they did not leave, there will be no IGP Abubakar.

    This is a time to tell the truth about the illegal conduct of the Police in Rivers; it is uniformed gangsters, ambushing democracy. The rights and the protection guaranteed to Nigerians by the Constitution should not be taken away by the police. Any attempt to do this must be resisted. The Constitution gives Nigerians the power to associate freely without any need for police permit.

    The police in Rivers under Mbu are redefining what ‘minimum’ force means. If using rubber bullets amount to ‘minimum’ force, then IGP, I ask: what is maximum force? I guess, the use of life bullets.

    If minimum force landed Abe in hospital, maximum force would have sent him or any other person who dare query Mbu’s men to early grave?

    IGP , the police must watch it as the next general elections draw near so as not to burn the country and kill democracy. If things continue the way they are, then this country is in danger. People must be free to associate. The fact that they belong to a party opposing the president should not affect their rights to associate, discuss and advance their positions. Rights should have no affiliation.

    On behalf of CP Mbu, I end this letter with a plea: the people of Maiduguri or Bama or Damaturu in Yobe State will be glad to have this fine officer who is being wasted away in Rivers, where he is clearly not needed. He told a Senate delegation he has done so much (damage?) in Rivers. I assure him he will do better in Borno or Yobe.

    And a quick one for you sir: softly, softly.

     

     

  • Military kills 24 as Boko Haram attacks bases, airport

    Military kills 24 as Boko Haram attacks bases, airport

    Residents of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, were jolted yesterday from sleep by heavy gunfire.

    Boko Haram militants launched a ferocious attack on the military. The government responded to the peace threat with a 24-hour curfew that shut airspace and cut off roads, the army, state government and eyewitnesses said.

    Residents said hundreds of heavily armed gunmen besieged an Air Force and army base, destroying aircraft, razing buildings and setting shops and petrol stations ablaze in a deadly rampage. The attack is the most devastating in recent time.

    Maiduguri’s airport and major roads were closed.

    “I saw two Air Force helicopters burnt while in the whole of the 79 Composite Group (of the Nigerian Air Force) few buildings are still standing. Most of the structures have been attacked and destroyed,” said one man, who lives nearby, of yesterday’s attacks.

    “At the 33 Artillery (battalion of the Nigerian Army), the terrorists destroyed the barracks and took away an armoured (personnel) carrier but left it along the highway.

    “We heard women and children in the barracks crying and wailing. At the gate, I saw some vehicles destroyed and the checkpoint there in shreds,” said the man, a local government official, who asked to remain anonymous.

    The man, who said he watched the attacks unfurl with his wife from his house, added that two people had been shot dead.

    There was no immediate confirmation of fatalities or other casualties from the authorities.

    “Frankly speaking, if the insurgents had wanted, they could have killed all of us… because they came in large numbers… some with explosives, some with rocket-propelled grenades and some with AK-47 rifles,” he added.

    The state government and the military both confirmed the attack and the curfew.

    But Army spokesman in Maiduguri, Colonel Muhammed Dole, said the Boko Haram fighters had been “successfully repelled” and had suffered “serious casualties”.

    The areas around the airport were “calm and under control”, Col. Dole said, adding: “Our troops supported by the Air Force aircraft are presently pursuing the terrorists towards the Maiduguri-Benisheik road.”

    A state of emergency is in force in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.

    The violence began at around 3:00 am (0200 GMT) and included bomb and gun attacks, said an AFP correspondent in the city, where Boko Haram was founded more than 10 years ago.

    “They entered Maiduguri from the bush, chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great),” said one intelligence officer, adding that some insurgents had been detained, without specifying numbers.

    Ambulances were seen moving out of the Air Force base and the adjoining Ngomari neighbourhood, according to the correspondent. Roads in the city were deserted and the sound of sirens from military vehicles could be heard, he added.

    The insurgents had also ambushed military checkpoints on the outskirts of the city. Shops and petrol stations were also said to have been set on fire, local residents said.

    Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Baba Ahmed Jidda called for calm, saying that only emergency service vehicles were allowed to move during the curfew, which would be lifted “as soon as the situation improves”.

    Boko Haram militants killed 24 people in two strikes in the state last week – attacks that came after a military pledge to tighten security in border regions due to fears of Christmas and New Year attacks.

    Boko Haram (Western education is s sin), wants to impose sharia in the North and has been blamed for thousands of deaths since 2009.

  • El-kanemi ace undergoes successful surgery

    El-kanemi ace undergoes successful surgery

    El-kanemi Warriors midfield dynamo Simon Shehu has gone under surgeon knives at the orthopedic hospital, Maiduguri, Borno State.

    In an operation that lasted for two hours, Dr. Zaptana, a consultant surgeon, stated that the surgery on Shehu the ‘ghost dribbler’ was a success and that the ex-Gombe United and Niger Tornadoes creative man would be on Plaster of Paris (P.O.P) for up to 6 weeks.

    Recall Shehu sustained the injury in Warriors game against now relegated Kwara United of Ilorin.

  • El Kanemi want LMC to monitor key fixtures Rangers: El Kanemi will fall

    From Tunde Liadi,Owerri

    El Kanemi Warriors boss, Alhaji Mala Zannah and Technical Adviser, Zachary Baraje have called on the League Management Company(LMC) to beckon on the match officials detailed for their blockbuster Matchday 38 Glo Premier League clash against Enugu Rangers today to give them a level playing ground.

    The Maiduguri side will win the league if they beat the Flying Antelopes and Lobi Stars and Gombe United stun Kano Pillars and Bayelsa United in Katsina Ala and Gombe respectively.

    Speaking in separate chats with SportingLife on telephone both top officials stated that a good officiating would be augur well for the league than previous seasons.

    “We do not only crave for good officiating, we also pray the LMC to properly monitor the game in case of any underhand tactics. The LMC must also keep a close tab on all the high profile matches and should enforce stiffer sanctions against clubs that err,” Alhaji Zannah told SportingLife.

    Meanwhile, Enugu Rangers’ spokesman, Foster Chime has stated that El Kanemi would be beaten in spite of their threat because the Flying Antelopes’ players have been well motivated ahead of the game.

    El Kanemi are third on the log with 60 points while Rangers are fifth with 55 points from 37 matches.

  • Maiduguri bids to host Super 4

    Maiduguri bids to host Super 4

    El Kanemi Warriors chairman, Alhaji Zanna Mela has hinted that the Borno State government is ready to host the season ending Super 4 if the state is given the nod to do so.

    The Maiduguri side secured a return to the elite division at the beginning of the season and good results at the El Kanemi Stadium and some other inspiring outings at away matches have seen the club’s march to fourth on the log with 57 points from 36 matches.

    Alhaji Zanna in a chat with SportingLife opined that Borno State is safe and ready to host any competition including the Super 4 if the League Management Company (LMC) gives the state the hosting rights.

    The chairman informed that Governor Kashim Shettima has given the nod to bankroll the competition if their bid sees the light of day and also pointed out that the governor has beckoned on El Kanemi Warriors to get a continental ticket and expect his surprises.

    “Borno State government has indicated interest in hosting the Super 4 if we are given the hosting rights. We are ready to host other clubs. I had a discussion with the state governor and he has agreed to host it or any other competition if we get the nod.

    “The government has also thrown its weight behind our quest to play on the continent. Governor Shettima assured us of his support if we are able to qualify for the continent also.

    “The loss at Owerri is just temporal we shall go back home and beat Lobi Stars to get closer our aim of a place on the continent.

    The Maiduguri side lost matchday 36 Glo Premier League 1-0 to Heartland at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri on Saturday.

  • Boko Haram: A Maiduguri resident’s first – hand account

    I had always looked forward to meeting someone from Maiduguri, the epicentre of the activities of Boko Haram in Borno State. What will the person look like? Will he look terrified? Will he bear visible scars (not necessarily from personal attacks) of the Boko Haram insurgency? And most importantly, will he be willing to relive his experience in the sect’s enclave. Yes, whether we like it or not, Maiduguri has become Boko Haram’s enclave because it holds sway there.

    For many of us down South, Maiduguri or any of those places where Boko Haram rules are not where we want to visit even when the opportunity arises to do so, with little or no cost to us. As journalists, we literally run away when we are told to come and go to Maduguri on assignment. With mouths wide open, we look at the person talking to us with eyes that that say : old boy na now I know say you no like me.

    It is as if the person suggesting that we should go to Maiduguri wants us dead. On such occasion, we tend to forget that there are people living, schooling or working in the town. This is why I had been anxious to meet someone from there. The good Lord answered my prayer a few weeks ago when I met a female student from the beleaguered city. If I had not been told that she is from Maiduguri, I wouldn’t have known that she is from there because there were no telltale signs of the trouble over there on her.

    She looked every bit like any of the girls you run into on the streets of Lagos daily. With a shiny, ebony black skin, Jennifer, let’s just call her that, did not carry the burden of coming from a place like Maiduguri on her face at all. Instead, she smiled knowingly as Adeniyi Adesina, the Deputy Editor (News) of this paper, and I chatted with her. She pardoned our benign ignorance as we regaled her with how we believe that Maiduguri must be looking like now with Boko Haram ruling the place.

    Jennifer laughed and laughed, saying in between her laughter that things are not like that at all. Maiduguri, she told us is ‘’peaceful’’. ‘’Peaceful’’, Niyi and I shouted, adding : ‘’With all that we have been hearing that place cannot be peaceful’’. ‘’In fact, the peace of Maiduguri had long been shattered’’, I added for effect. The girl looked at me and laughed, wondering what could be wrong with this man who, as the Yoruba would say, ‘’wants to know a child more than the mother’’

    Our encounter with Jennifer was an eye – opener of sorts for Niyi and I about how little we know of what is really happening in Maiduguri besides the Boko Haram insurgency, which has been dominating reports from there in the past four years. Is Maiduguri that safe for habitation that a girl like Jennifer could come from there and be bold enough to engage Niyi and I in discussion about her much beloved town. Even though, Jennifer says she is from Biu, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, she stays more in the Borno State capital than in her home town.

    As a reporter, my mind kept going back to that encounter with Jennifer. Is it that Maiduguri is safe and we are painting a different picture of a ravaged town in Lagos? How do we get her to put this in writing? The reporter in me wanted a story as told by her in order to put a human face to the Maiduguri conundrum. But I could not do that without her permission. To use her story without her consent will be a breach of trust and confidence. Because of the confidence Jennifer has in this paper, she has agreed to tell her story herself soon. Niyi and I were able to convince her that it would take people like her to come out and talk for Nigerians to know that things are not as bad as they believe in Maiduguri. ‘’If you don’t talk, we, like most Nigerians, will continue to believe that Maiduguri is a no go area. But you have just come from the place, looking good, well kept and healthy. There cannot be a better poster child for Maiduguri, at least for now, than you’’, we told her. This was all Jennifer needed to open up during our private discussion later. “Before the death of Moham

    med Yusuf, the sect’s

    founder, in 2009, Maiduguri was peaceful’’, she bagan. ‘’There was cordial relationship between Muslims and Christians. Life went on smoothly. People went about their businesses without being molested. There were no fears of any attack. Things changed after the death of Mohammed Yusuf. His followers wanted to avenge his death because they believe that he was killed by security men. That was when this problem started. People started staying away from the streets to avoid being attacked or caught in the crossfire of attacks.

    ‘’In the heat of this, the government imposed curfew on Maiduguri. Even before the curfew, by 6 p.m., you won’t find people on the streets. Many would have returned home. I attend the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), The campus is peaceful. We go for our lectures regularly without any cause for alarm. Students are in school; even those from the South are among us. We relate very well. We don’t have any reason to fear for Boko Haram. You can’t even know a Boko Haram member. You may even be living with a member of Boko Haram without knowing. There is nothing to distinguish a Boko Haram member from other people.

    ‘’Before Mohammed Yusuf’s death, you could know a Boko Haram member by his dressing. Then, they wore long beards and their trousers were not full length. I don’t remember the kind of dress they wore. The university is on Maiduguri – Bama road, but there is no problem on campus. Lectures are going on. It s difficult to know who a Boko Haram member is. Even, they can be among soldiers and policemen. If you inform the police or the army about any Boko Haram member, you may be looking for trouble because you will be found out and killed. Now, they don’t dress like they used to do while Mohammed Yusuf was alive. So, you cannot tell who is a Boko Haram member or not. But the town is generally peaceful. Women go to the market; children go to school. If Boko Haram attacks anywhere there must be reason for it’’.

    ‘’Is it then safe for me to visit Maiduguri?’’ I asked. ‘’Yes’’, she answered, ‘’as long as you don’t go and report any Boko Haram member to the police’’, and we burst into laughter. You will soon meet Jennifer, mind you, not that Jennifer, in this paper.

    Wild, wild Wike

    They call him Nyesom Wike and he is the Minister of State for Education, a position he got, courtesy of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi when the going was good between them. In their party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), nobody can become minister in a state without the governor’s nod. So, it amounts to empty boast, today, by Wike that Amaechi had no input in how he became minister. He can tell that to the Marines. Wike spoke like that because of the rift between him and Amaechi. We can understand that. Shouldn’t he have limited himself to that statement instead of pouring invectives on Amaechi? You don’t address a governor like that no matter your grievances. What reconciliation are we then talking about if Wike can be allowed to shoot his mouth in public like that? His masters had better call him to order.

  • Nembe City storm Maiduguri by air Friday

    Nembe City storm Maiduguri by air Friday

    Players and officials of Nembe City will travel to Maiduguri for their Week 25 Globacom Premier League match against El-Kanemi Warriors by air on Friday, club officials have said.

    The club’s president, Victor Baribote, who disclosed this to SportingLife, said the team will travel aboard Arik Air from Abuja to Maiduguri on Friday.

    Baribote said the club’s management on Monday paid for the team’s ticket to and fro Abuja.

    He added that the team would arrive in Abuja on Thursday from Yenagoa by road boarding a flight to Maiduguri for Saturday’s league match.

    The former Nigeria Premier League boss said the management took the decision to protect the players from suffering fatigue.

    “The management decided to fly the players to avoid fatigue. Their welfare is very important to us at the club. So this is part of the management’s programme for the team.

    “We hope they will reciprocate the gesture with a good result in Maiduguri,” Baribote said.

    Nembe defeated Nasarawa United 1-0 on Sunday to improve their position on the log.

    Jonathan Zikeye’s 44th minute goal from outside the 18-yard box gave the Yenagoa-based side all three points at stake in the match.