The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Terrorism

  • Saraki seeks global action against terrorism, illegal migration

    Saraki seeks global action against terrorism, illegal migration

    Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki Wednesday asked for a concerted international effort to tackle terrorism, poverty and illegal migration.

    He described the menace of terrorism, poverty and illegal migration as a global challenge.

    Saraki spoke when a delegation of students of the Royal College of Defence Studies, United Kingdom, led by Major General Lawrence Craig visited him at the National Assembly in Abuja.

    A statement by the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Print Media, Chuks Okocha, quoted Saraki as saying that the rising incidence of terrorism, poverty and illegal migration across the world, constitute a threat to the peace, stability and wellbeing of humanity irrespective of their countries of residence.

    It said that Saraki spoke in response to the address of the leader of the delegation.

    The Senate President also called for international support to enable Nigeria overcome its present economic challenges, and noted that if Africa has to grow, then Nigeria has to grow as the most populous in the continent.

    Saraki said, “When we talk about terrorism, poverty and migration, these are issues of great importance to us,” he said, asking “how do we address them? How do we secure our people from the ravages of terrorism, illegal migration and biting poverty?”

    He noted that the manner terrorism, poverty and migration are tackled will go a long way in deterring the fate of  Africa even though it is the obvious destination where tremendous economic growth is expected to take place in the next 30 years.

    “Whether you talk about economic growth, security challenges, humanitarian issues, health and education, all these are in Africa. I think for every other part of the world, we have to come together to make Africa work. And for Africa to work, Nigeria must work as well,” he said.

    He added: “I still believe that a lot can be done in the fight against terrorism. I think more can be done to support what we have achieved.

    “Illegal migration is another challenge we have. This is closer to your doorsteps. Many are looking for greener pastures, and that is the reason why we need to work together more closely,” he said.

    Leader of the delegation, Major General Craig, said that they were in Nigeria as part of their study tour of West Africa, to learn at first hand the efforts being made by the various governments to ensure stability, security and prosperity in their countries.

     

  • Boko Haram: We need injection of fresh ideas in the military –Minister

    Boko Haram: We need injection of fresh ideas in the military –Minister

    A fresh injection of new ideas and strategy is needed in the Nigerian Armed Forces in order to fully win the war on terrorism in the northeast and defeat other acts of criminalities in troubled areas of the country, Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali has said.
    The Minister, who spoke at the maiden graduation ceremony of Air War Course 1 of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air War College in Makurdi said the threat of terrorism and insurgency demands new skills in the development of a new containment measure.
    Represented by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Olonishakin, the minister said the injection of new ideas and strategy has been a priority for the three Services as it is the only way to effectively defeat terrorism in the country.
    He praised the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for the establishment of the Air War College and successfully graduating its first set of students six months after the establishment.
    He said the NAF has played a critical role not only in defending the territorial integrity of the country but also playing crucial roles in maintaining internal security.
    Dan-Ali said: “The Air War College came on board at a challenging time of our national security when we are battling a myriad of internal security issues particularly terrorism by the Boko Haram set in the northeast. The threat posed by the insurgents has impacted negatively on human capital and resources of the nation.
    “As the Air arm of the armed forces, the NAF has been playing crucial role in the counterinsurgency operations in the northeast where our officers, airmen and women have performed gallantly. We are proud that in less than two years, we have revitalized the armed forces for the full restoration of Nigeria’s territorial integrity that was once violated by Boko Haram insurgents.”

  • Terrorism: Osinbajo renews call for international collaborations

    Terrorism: Osinbajo renews call for international collaborations

    Vice President hosts Bangladeshi Army chief

    VICE President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday renewed the call for international collaboration at tackling the menace of terrorism, stating that Nigeria will continue to cooperate in the global fight.

    He made the call while hosting the Bangladeshi Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Abu Belal at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

    He described as unfortunate that networking among terrorists groups across the world has increased, hence the need for countries to close ranks and unite against threats posed by their activities.

    Prof Osinbajo said: “We are concerned about terrorism not just within our borders, we have also seen the influence of terrorists across borders and how terrorist organisations have cooperated with each other

    “We are aware for instance that some within our own borders are cooperating with ISIL and we think that this sorts of evil collaborations must have a response from countries that share similar experiences and can present a credible force against terrorists.’’

    Speaking about the urgency required to tackle the menace, the vice president warned: “Terrorism is a major problem and perhaps the most significant problem that the free world will face in the coming years.’’

    On the Nigeria-Bangladesh relations, he said that an improved cooperation between the Bangladeshi and Nigerian military would go a long way in curbing threats posed by terrorist groups within and around borders of the two countries.

    Osinbajo said: “We have benefitted a lot from some of your experiences in fighting insurgency in Bangladesh and we hope that we benefit even more from those experiences.

    “We have had similar problems with Boko Haram and I know that you have also had problems of some sort with terrorist groups within the borders of Bangladesh.’’

    He listed defence and economy among others as the area requiring the cooperation of the two countries.

    The vice president hoped for collaboration in some other areas like the Bangladesh Ordinance Factory, saying: “We also have an ordinance factory here at DICON which we are hoping to do a lot with very soon. We hope that there might be ways that we could cooperate especially in the manufacture of ordinances, arms generally and other forms of weaponry.’’

    The Bangladeshi Chief of Army Staff Gen. Abu Belal Muhammad expressed gratitude at the reception accorded to his delegation since arriving in Nigeria.

    He said the long-standing relations between Nigeria and Bangladesh has helped in the career development of many officers of the armed forces of both countries.

    Gen. Muhammad added that there was however a need to strengthen relations on the defence and economic fronts to tackle challenges that are peculiar to both countries.

    The Bangladeshi Army chief is in Nigeria on a working visit to improve military relations between both countries.

  • Osinbajo renews call for int’l collaboration against terrorism

    Osinbajo renews call for int’l collaboration against terrorism

    …Receives Bangladeshi Army Chief


    
 
    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday renewed call for international collaboration towards checking the menace of terrorism.

    According to him, Nigeria will continue to cooperate in the global fight against terrorism.

    Osinbajo spoke at the State House while receiving the Bangladeshi Chief of Army Staff, General Abu Belal Muhammad.

    He said that the networking among terrorists groups has increased the need for countries to close ranks to counter the threats posed by their activities.

    In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on media and publicity, Laolu Akande, he said “We are concerned about terrorism not just within our borders, we have also seen the influence of terrorists across borders and how terrorist organizations have cooperated with each other.

    “We are aware for instance that some within our own borders are cooperating with ISIL and we think that this sorts of evil collaborations must have a response from countries that share similar experiences and can present a credible force against terrorists’’.

    Speaking about the urgency required to tackle the menace, Prof. Osinbajo warned that “terrorism is a major problem and perhaps the most significant problem that the free world will face in the coming years’’.

    On the Nigeria-Bangladesh relations, he said improved cooperation between the Bangladeshi and Nigerian military would go a long way in curbing threats posed by terrorist groups within and around borders of the two countries.

    He said “We have benefitted a lot from some of your experiences in fighting insurgency in Bangladesh and we hope that we benefit even more from those experiences.

    “We have had similar problems with Boko Haram and I know that you have also had problems of some sort with terrorist groups within the borders of Bangladesh.’’ he said
    According to him, Nigeria is looking forward to cooperating with the Bangladeshi government in different sectors including defence and the economy.

    The Vice President hoped for collaboration in some other respect like with the Bangladesh Ordinance Factory, saying “we also have an ordinance factory here at DICON which we are hoping to do a lot with very soon. We hope that there might be ways that we could cooperate especially in the manufacture of ordinances, arms generally and other forms of weaponry.’’

    Speaking earlier, the Bangladeshi Chief of Army Staff, General Abu Belal Muhammad expressed gratitude at the reception accorded to his delegation since arriving Nigeria.
    He said the long standing relations between Nigeria and Bangladesh has helped in the career development of many officers of the armed forces of both countries.

    General Muhammad said that there was however a need to strengthen relations on the defence and economic fronts to tackle challenges that are peculiar to both countries.
    The Bangladeshi Army chief is in Nigeria on a working visit to improve military relations between both countries.
      

       

  • ‘US endorsement of terrorism strategy will boost Nigeria’s image’

    ‘US endorsement of terrorism strategy will boost Nigeria’s image’

    A group, the Concerned Professionals’ Congress (CPC), has lauded an endorsement recently by the United States of America of Nigeria-terrorism strategy, describing the move as capable of enhancing and consolidating the nation’s image as a leading figure in the global coalition against terrorism and violent extremism.

    It also said that it will ultimately boost the morale of troops currently engaged in the final operations to rid the North East of the scourge of Boko Haram.

    The group said this in a joint statement issued on Monday in Abuja by its National Coordinator, Musa Tukur Tilde and the Chief Media Strategist, Emeka Nwapa while reacting to remarks in Washington D.C by the U.S Secretary of State, Mr Rex Tillerson who spoke at a World Conference on Global Coalition Against Terrorism.

    Tillerson, in his opening remarks, while emphasising the need for intelligence and information-sharing in combating terror averred that Nigeria and West Africa have done very well using synergy, intelligence and information sharing to halt terrorists’ attacks thereby defeating Boko Haram.boko haram victim

    He urged countries with challenges of domestic terrorist groups to build and adopt the excellent examples of synergy, intelligence and information sharing system which Nigeria employed to win the war against Boko Haram.

    The CPC, an advocacy group that is in the vanguard of mobilising public support for the military’s counter-terrorism war as well as promoting democracy, good governance and citizen engagement in the country maintained that the United States’ public praise of President Muhammadu Buhari’s strategy to defeat Boko Haram is highly commendable.

    “To President Muhammadu Buhari whose uncommon zeal, sincerity, commitment and clear-headedness about how to defeat Boko Haram within 18 months in office, we say a big thank you.

    “To the Nigerian delegation to the Washington counter-terrorism summit led the CDS, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin whose purpose-driven leadership of the Armed Forces anchored on synergy and doggedness in actualizing Mr President’s objectives, we say big kudos.

    “To our courageous and gallant troops and the commanders of Operation Lafiya Dole, either fallen or standing, may God bless you all for doing us very proud,’’ the group said, pointing out however that it was the entire Nigerian people that the United States singled out at the World Conference for recognition and commendation.

    Recalling that not too long ago, President Buhari had received a phone call in London from the new U.S President Donald Trump who commended Nigeria for her giant counter-terrorism strides, the group noted that at the last 71st United Nations General Assembly in New York late last year came an unprecedented endorsement from former U.S President Barack Obama who openly praised President Muhammadu Buhari and the gallant Nigerian military for defeating Boko Haram.

    •President Buhari (middle) with United States President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle during a visit in 2015
    •President Buhari (middle) with United States President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle during a visit in 2015

    “It is worth noting that these endorsements of President Muhammadu Buhari’s successful counter-terrorism strategy by two successive bi-partisan political dispensations in the U.S in a space of three months is perhaps Nigeria’s greatest achievement now. It is our greatest feat as a nation of hope and promise against threats to our national unity, security, stability and prosperity‘’, the group said.  

    The group observed that such endorsement by the United States is not cheap, pointing out that the U.S has the strongest fighting force in the world apart from being the champion and leader of this free world where violent extremism and terrorism pose great dangers.

    “With all the intelligence and information at his disposal, any President of the United States says what he means and means what he says. Therefore, when he says Nigeria’s counter-terrorism strategy is good enough for adoption by other countries, it is the best endorsement by the world’s acclaimed counter-terrorism leader. As an affiliate to ISIS, Boko Haram is the world’s most deadly terrorist group after ISIS and al-Queda. The U.S is, therefore, convinced about our military’s gallantry over Boko Haram,’’ it said.

    “The United States is at the forefront of the global coalition against terrorism. Al Qaeda attacked the twin towers in New York 16 years ago. September 2017 is the 16th anniversary of 9/11 so the memory is still fresh in the average American. When they cite their experience with terrorists, the world should listen. For President Obama and President Donald Trump to single out our military for special commendation is a headliner. It is a vote of international confidence on our Armed Forces under the Chief of Defence Staff,” the group said.

  • Political culture, legality and terrorism

    The    spirit   and  practice of the laws governing  various  political  systems  as well  as the reaction of constitutional  institutions to  each other  in the interplay  of politics,  arrest  our  attention today. Whether  it is in the refusal of the  Nigerian Customs  boss to appear  before the  nation’s law  makers  or the judge stopping US President  Donald  Trump  from  carrying out his executive  orders on the ban on Muslim  majority  nation’s  citizens  entering the US   I   state  categorically  that the two  issues  are birds of the same feather even though they  occur  in different locations  but  are tempered  by the political  culture  of such environment. The  same  can  be said  of the very  British  approach  in terms of law  and order in the handling of this  week’s  lone terrorist crushing  of pedestrians on Westminster  Bridge and the stabbing of  a police  officer  on the premises of the oldest  Parliament of Democracy in the world in London. As well  as the testimony of the FBI  boss  James  Comey  in the US  Congress  that the  Russians  were loud  about  their cyber  hacking to influence  the  US  2016  presidential  elections  because  the Russian  president  hated Hillary Clinton  so much  and wanted her opponent  to  win  that election.

    Let  me  now usurp  as it were the much  respected powers of any  Supreme  Court  to announce judgments and give reasons or  whys  and wherefores  later,    by    stating   my stand  on these   issues   and    minimizing    your  suspense,   by   giving my reasons    later.

    Starting with  the Nigerian  Customs  boss I  postulate   that   it is  unthinkable  to  have a    boss  of a para military  establishment    like    the  Customs unwilling  to appear anywhere,  not even  before the Senate, without  his  uniform.  Next, the  legal  obstacles  that the new US president  faces are more  political than legal  and  cannot  stand in the face of unpredictable and unexpected security threats   such   as the US  lap  top ban  on    some  airways, joined  by the  UK where the latest  macabre terrorist attack  took place this week. That   attack  which  closed  the House  of Commons albeit  for  one day showed  the  clear   difference between the cool and calculating  way  the British  handle terrorism in sharp contrast to the noisy way  the Americans  do  similar  things   on  the excuse  of transparency  and freedom  of expression  at  the expense of security . Lastly   I  think  the  US FBI  boss  Comey   has spoken inadvertently  from  both  sides  of  his  mouth   and  in  the process  shaken  the credibility  of the US intelligence community and  made  it a laughing stock for  the Russian  president  Vladmir   Putin ,who was a spy, a  career KBG agent  in the former  USSR  before he became President  of  Russia. Let  me  now  proceed  with my analysis  of these events regardless  of how welcome or  annoying  my verdicts  on them  appear  to you  for  now.

    Starting  with  the refusal  of the Nigerian  Customs boss  to  appear in  uniform before the Nigerian  Senate, I  see  a clear  case of  abuse  of  office on the part of the Custom  boss  and a clean case of lack  of  respect for  revenue  collection  and border  monitoring  on the part  of government that  appointed  him. Customs  job  has always  been a uniform wearing profession that is paramilitary  because the personnel  bear arms  to desist  and arrest smugglers,  real and potential.  Such  a para military  force should not be led by a man with disdain and contempt  for their uniform  which  should be a source of pride for such men under  arms. To  seek  refuge now in a court  case is not only  funny  and   handy  for   not appearing in uniform   before  constituted   authority    and  indeed  as a matter  of courtesy  for the highest  office  in the Customs    profession,    it is also a clear case  of making not only an  ass of the law  but a   very  mischievous   and dubious monkey  of it. It  is very serious  breach  of public  discipline and mode of public  appointments and government should  find a way    to  regain   public respect and trust which  this event  has shaken  very  badly.  I recall  that  even in  the military regime when  M D Yusuf    was appointed the Inspector  General  of  Police  from  being head of the CID  where  he dressed in  mufti, a police  uniform  was found for him at  Dodan  Barracks  before  he  was sworn in  as the   new IGP   then  . How  come then that the head  of  Customs does  not only not have a uniform  but  is refusing to don one to appear  before an institution of the same state  with the requisite authority  to  make that very  warranted  request ? It  is quite unbelievable.

    We  go now  to  the legal  battles  to prevent the new US president  from carrying out his executive  orders on  the migrants  ban on some majority  Muslim  nations. It  is my  contention that the US president  is best placed to make a decision on  such  matters based on intelligence reports  as   he cannot operate in a vacuum. To use the law to stop him is to prevent him from carrying out his official  responsibility  on American  security. His  opponents should know  that the buck  stops on his table with regard to security  of  all Americans  and such  opponents should know that  their  freedom ends where  his nose  begins   on US  security  and  they should  know  where  politics ends  and  security  of their  nation begins.  The  fact  that both  the US  and  UK  are  collaborating on the lap top ban shows  that security   is a collective  responsibility  amongst  even  nations  not to talk of  citizens within  the  same nation  like the US .The  British  government, the people  and the news  media  showed  the Americans the way  to  deal  with  terrorism in the way the MPs  in Parliament,  and    the   British  government allowed  the Police to deal  with the latest  act of terror on  Westminster in Bridge  and Parliament ground  by  following Police statements  and directives  to  the letter  and  not allowing any speculation on the name and identity  of the culprit  until  the  Police officially  did so. All  the way the  British  government right  up to the PM  and  even the Queen,   a ceremonial  head of state ,  were full  of praises  for the capacity, real  or potential,  of the Metropolitan  Police  to handle  the situation. This   lone wolf  terrorist  action  brought out  the trust  and confidence the Britons   have  in their  security  apparatus   and is a far  cry  from  the way  the US opposition  establishment  is doing its utmost legally  to thwart  even  the capacity  or will  of  their new president to make laws  to protect  Americans as  he promised  before  he was elected  on the basis of such promise  to make  America  safe  again.

    Finally  the  revelation by the  FBI boss  Comey  that  Russian  President Vladmir  Putin hated Hillary  Clinton so  much  he wanted her  opponent  to  win is  so  trifle    and   laughable. That  is casting aspersion on the  victory  and legitimacy  of the newly  elected  US president. That   surely  is not the role of an intelligence outfit  like  the FBI.  For  now the FBI  boss  has  done more havoc to  US politics  and political  stability  than any  past  FBI  boss including  the  first   FBI   boss J Edgar   Hoover  who was  said  to use intelligence  to blackmail politicians  and top  government  officials including  the  Kennedys in  those  days.  To  most  democrats in the US the timing of the announcement on  Hillary ‘s emails’  fresh investigation   by  the  FBI    boss  cost  her the last US  presidential  elections . Now the same FBI boss  who  is to be seen and not heard  has  turned  himself  to an oracle  on  US  elections and  has used state intelligence publicly to  show  he is transparent  when  the protocol  and laws  governing his office are  those    of secrecy  and respect  for state  security. Now  the   FBI  boss  in the US has turned his office into  that of a political and security  clown and entertainer such  that the Russian  president  described the US intelligence  apparatus as amateurish nowadays  in spite of its deep  history of brilliance during the Cold War  when  even  the  Russian KGB  played  second  fiddle to it  on all  fronts. Surely  one  can say  or  lament   on  the state    of US intelligence  and  leadership   today  by  saying – How are  the mighty  fallen!. Once  again  long live  the Federal   Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Terrorism: NAF jets destroy Boko Haram base

    Terrorism: NAF jets destroy Boko Haram base

    A concealed logistics base used by Boko Haram Terrorists have been destroyed by a formation of the  Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Alpha and F-7Ni jets.
    The logistics base was concealed by fleeing Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) in Sambisa who were tracked by NAF Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft to the  location where they had gone to retrieve some items before fighter aircraft were called-in for strike.
    According to the Director,Public Relations and Information, Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa, the coordinated attack was carried out by a formation of two Alpha Jet and an F-7Ni fighter aircraft while the ISR aircraft remained overhead the target location to guide the attacking aircraft as well as provide battle damage assessment.
    “The huge inferno generated by the attack suggests that the target location was either a fuel or ammunition dump as can be seen from the declassified footage of the air strike.
    The latest air strike is another major feat in the renewed air effort by the NAF to neutralise the fleeing terrorists as well as decimate their capability to regroup for attack on own surface forces and people within the nearby communities,” he said.
  • Police arraign Apostle Suleman’s ex-lover for terrorism, fraud

    Police arraign Apostle Suleman’s ex-lover for terrorism, fraud

    •Pastor denies claims by Canada-based lady

    Police operatives attached to the Federal Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID) Alagbon yesterday arraigned a purported lover of the General; Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries Apostle Johnson Suleman.
    The woman, Stephanie Otobo, a Canada-based Nigerian was arraigned before a Chief Magistrates’ Court, Tinubu, Lagos on four counts of terrorism, fraud and blackmail.
    She pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against her under Sections 1(1)(a)(c) (i) (ii) of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 and 301, 303 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2015.
    Chief Magistrate Kikekomo Bukola Ayeye heard that Otobo and her co-defendant, Wisdom Godstime, allegedly planned to extort the founder of Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman and to terrorise him.
    The police alleged that with intent to blackmail a man of God, the defendants unlawfully demanded that Apostle Suleman paid Otobo one million dollars to avoid being accused of committing adultery at a news conference.
    Otobo was accused of threatening to kill the pastor for falling to fulfil his promise of marriage to her.
    The Magistrate admitted Otobo to bail at N100,000 with a surety in like sum.
    She ordered that Otobo be remanded in the court’s holding cell pending the fulfilment of her bail conditions.
    The woman’s lawyers were said to have been denied access to her since her arrest on Friday and had no prior knowledge she would be arraigned today.
    She was arrested by policemen from Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos. Otobo claimed to have being in a relationship with the “Man of God” who is married.
    She accused the cleric of flying her to different parts of the world with a promise to marry her.
    She claimed that the pastor told her his wife no longer satisfed him sexually.
    But Apostle Suleman denied all her claims, saying she approached him purportedly to give her life to Christ, but had other intentions. The pastor added that he had never met her physically.
    But Otobo said trouble started between them when she got pregnant for the pastor but the cleric said he was no longer interested.
    Otobo said: “I have not done anything wrong to Apostle Suleman. The man has been threatening to kill me. He’s been chasing me everywhere. The only thing I did since I came to Nigeria is to get lawyers involved.
    “His agents called me to come and collect money for settlement. But I refused because I don’t want to collect any money. I went to Festus Keyamo’s chamber to complain and they were at the point of sending a petition to him when he got me arrested.
    “Since I got into Nigeria, Suleman has not given me peace. He has been fighting me physically and spiritually.
    “We started having issues in 2015 when I got pregnant.”He showed me the good life. He showered me with money and gifts. I was almost worshiping Apostle Suleman.
    “Because of him, I jettisoned a Canadian man I was seeing. I returned everything the man gave me and I stayed committed with Apostle Suleman. We went on several trips together. He flew me around the world. I met him mid 2015 when he had a programme in Canada.
    “Our first trip was to Napoli in Italy. He flew me from Canada to Napoli because he was having a conference there. After the event, he gave me €8,000 (eight thousand Euros).
    Her lawyer Keyamo has sent a petition to Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris, accusing the cleric of harassment, intimidation and brutality on Otobo, using the police.
    The Marc 4 letter chronicled the relationship between Suleman and Otobo, adding that the cleric told the lady he had divorced his wife.
    He notified the IGP of a previous letter to Suleman dated March 3, demanding N500 million to be paid to Otobo as damages for breach of promise of marriage.
    Keyamo appealed to the IGP to request for the case file, with a view to setting Otobo free and prosecuting Suleman for deliberately giving the police wrong information.
    But the Apostle has denied all her claims. A statemenmt by Communications manager to the pastor, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, said: “The lady was arrested by operatives acting on a tip off that the lady had repeatedly tried to blackmail the fiery preacher, including demanding N500 million from him, failing which she threatened to expose a purported amorous relationship between her and the Senior Pastor.
    The statement of Omega Fire Ministries was in reaction to two letters written by Lagos lawyer,Festus Keyamo demanding the same N500 million on behalf of the said lady and also accusing Apostle Suleiman of procuring policemen to intimidate and detain his client unlawfully, having earlier promised to marry her.
    But Shaibu said the lawyer was misled into believing that there was an amorous relationship between Apostle Suleman and the said Miss Otobo, pointing out that the lady was caught up by her own machinations as she was arrested while trying to withdraw money paid into her account by the Church in a sting operation coordinated by the police.
    “Unknown to Keyamo, the police was alerted following several attempts by the said lady to blackmail Apostle Suleiman. The police also recorded her conversations making the frivolous demand. The highpoint of the drama was her attempt to withdraw money paid into her account at the instance of the police. The lawyer should know that his client was arrested by the police with abundance of evidence confirming that she is indeed a serial blackmailer”, he said.
    The Communications Manager debunked Keyamo’s claim of an amorous relationship, a promise to marry and that the Senior Pastor had actually made the initial move towards marriage by seeing her parents, wondering how such a transaction could have taken place without any iota of evidence.
    “Let me place it on record that, the lady in question is a self-confessed stripper in a nite club in Canada, who like thousands of people that seek help from Apostle Johnson Suleman, called to pretentiously convey her intentions to embrace Christ and also needed financial help to keep body and soul as she no longer had a means of livelihood after quitting as a stripper.”
    “Does Keyamo or his serial blackmailing client have pictures of the visit by Apostle Suleiman or his representatives to her parents? In any case, how could such a relationship have existed when the Apostle and the said lady never met physically? How could he have made a promise of a house and a lifestyle comparable to what she has in Canada when he has never been to her house or seen her physically as to have an idea of her living standards?” he asked.
    Shaibu contented that the Lagos lawyer must have been misled to write the two letters
    The spokesman of the church advised Keyamo to drop the proxy war and focus instead on defending his client in court adding that all attempts to impugn the integrity of the fiery preacher or the Omega Fire Ministries would fall like a pack of cards.

  • Protecting your child from cyber terrorism   

    Protecting your child from cyber terrorism   

     
    I was at a Parents Teachers Association meeting some time ago, when an argument broke out on the need for e-learning in the school.
    Some parents were against it, as they felt it might expose their children to certain dangers amongst other reasons. But one young mother stood up to defend the need for introduction of e-learning platforms. She said that it is backward mentality to be against the use of e- learning as technology is fast advancing and children need to be in tune with the advancement.
    She said all her children age 9, 11 and 12 have smart phones and she buys enough data for them to use to surf the internet. According to her, this has made her children quite brilliant and internet savvy.  

    At that juncture, I interrupted her and asked her a simple question, Madam did you teach your children internet safety? ‘’erm! erm! not yet” she replied.’’ Did you filter bad sites on their phones” I continued,  ‘’filter kwa! She exclaimed’’ I’m just hearing that for the first time’’ she said scratching her head. ‘’Do you monitor what they do online’’? I further asked, ‘’Hia oh! I’m too busy for that, my children are smart and they know what they shouldn’t do,’’ she said arrogantly. 

    I shook my head slowly and wondered how ignorant some parents can be. Why would a mother buy smart phones for children ages 9, 11 and 12 and give them free access to the internet. How careless can some parents be? She obviously has extra cash to splash on phones and data but doesn’t know the right thing to do. I thought to myself, if something goes wrong as a result of her carelessness, she’ll start blaming her village people.

    We can’t deny the fact that the internet is a great resource for children. They can use it to research school assignments, projects and read a lot of educational e books and articles and play interactive brain boosting games. At the same time, we can’t deny the numerous dangers that are inherent on the internet, such as cyber crime, cyber bullying and cyber terrorism. I read a chilling story of how young boys in UK became victims of cyber bullying. Many of the children got into bad gangs and some got killed in the process.

    It is not advisable to buy smart phones for children below the age of 18 and even if you allow them to go online to do a research or to read, you have to check their activities online.

    Unsupervised access to the internet can pose hazards to your child. You have to be aware of what your child is doing online. You have to know who they chat with and what they share online. Something shocking happened in my neighbourhood last year.  A teenage girl was manipulated by an older man to send her nude pictures to him and she fell for it and sent her nudes with her face showing. The man started threatening to upload the picture online if she doesn’t sleep with him and this girl scared of her pictures surfacing online started sleeping with this man. 

    There are so many sexual predators online looking for children to prey on.  They prod children to send their personal information such as addresses and phone numbers to them thereby putting themselves and family members at risk. Some even convince them to meet with them privately. 

    Aside from sexual predators, there are millions of sexually explicit materials online, so there is need to get softwares that helps block access to certain sites based on a bad list site that your internet service provider creates. Filtering programs also block sites from coming in and restricts personal programs from being sent online. Schools that allow children access to the internet must offer online protection as well.

    The best person to protect your child from the dangers online is you. BY talking to them about the potential online dangers and monitoring how they use the internet, you will help them use the internet safely.

    Njideka Obi, a lawyer, Child Safety Advocate/ Child Safety Expert,

    08060424282, safersmarterchildren@gmail.com

  • Man United to employ counter-terrorism officer

    Man United to employ counter-terrorism officer

     

    Manchester United believe they have become the first sports club in England  to have a full-time counter-terrorism manager.

    The appointment was revealed at a recent fans’ forum, and Press Association Sport reported that the role would be filled by a former inspector from the specialist search unit at Greater Manchester Police.

    The development comes at a time when security at Old Trafford is under increased scrutiny.

    United saw the final match of the 2015-16 season against Bournemouth called off after what turned out to be a fake bomb, left behind following a training exercise, was found in a toilet.

    There was another incident in November when two individuals managed to break off from a stadium tour and stay at Old Trafford overnight ahead of the match with Arsenal.

    On the whole, security has been beefed up around the club since the Paris attacks in November 2015 when the Stade de France was targeted as 130 people were killed throughout the city.

    Vehicles are now routinely checked as they enter the premises, while individuals heading into the stadium are searched.

    More security supervisors have been deployed after fans complained about the time it took for searches at turnstiles.