Boko Haram plans to bomb Abuja with petrol tankers

The Department of State Security Services on Wednesday said the Boko Haram sect has devised plans to bomb the nation’s capital with petrol tankers.

The DSS said the information was obtained through intelligence reports on the sect’s activities.

According to the agency, the sect will seize petrol tankers at gunpoint and fill it with improvised devices and that will used to bomb the FCT within the next few days.

The Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mike Omeri, who spoke at the daily briefing in Abuja alongside the Deputy Director of the DSS, Marilyn Ogar, urged the public to be on the alert particularly when they see any tanker driving dangerously.

Omeri said, “the Nigerian Security services had received intelligence report to the effect that insurgents intends seizing petrol tankers and plant improvised devices in the tankers and drive them to crowded places in Abuja.

“Against this backdrop, we hereby call on the Petrol Tankers Association to be on the red alert and advise their members to report any attempt or seizure of their vehices to security agencies.

“In this wise, Nigerians are also advised to report any broken down tanker in any part of the territory to security agencies. Similarly, we are using this opportunity to appeal to the public to be on the alert particularly when they see any tanker driving dangerously.”

Omeri added that the screening of 486 travellers in Abia State on Monday was not targeted at any group of persons or individual but aimed at ensuring the general security of the country.

Pregnant woman commits suicide in Edo

A middle aged woman from Igarra, Akoko-Edo local government council of Edo State identified as Ometere Aduga has reportedly committed suicide on Monday by hanging herself with a rope tied to the ceiling fan in their family apartment for yet unknown reasons.

She was said not to have dropped any note.

The mother of one whose husband is said not be resident in the State was said to be two months pregnant for a yet to be identified person.

A reason some adduced could be responsible for the act owing to possible case of infidelity.

She is the daughter of the principal of a foremost secondary school in Igarra.

Eye witness account said the victim had few days ago visited a private hospital in the town where she was said to have told the hospital personnel of her intention to commit suicide because of the reported pregnancy.

She was said to have been counselled against it and told to report back on Monday for medical examination and more counselling.

But on the said day (Monday), she was said to have dropped her son with a neighbour with the excuse she was going to have her bath but after waiting endlessly.

The neighbour was said to have went into their apartment only for her to see her completely naked body dangling from the rope tied to the ceiling fan.

She was said to have used a stool in the room to tie herself and then kicked the stool with her legs.

A source close to the family told Nation ; “Ometere was a very brilliant girl who was a 300 level medical student at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma but she was advised to withdraw due to health reasons.

“She had some mental disorder. She later recovered and got to married but her husband is not from here and she has been staying with her parents.

“One cannot really say what could have led to her committing suicide whether it was as a result of the pregnancy which is believed may not be her husband’s or a relapse of her mental illness” .

When contacted, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Hilary Udoh confirmed the incident.

“Yes it is true but the parents said it has happened and they have taken it in good faith. They are not suspecting any foul play”

Governor Nyako has been in the bad books of the lawmakers ever since he left the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to join the All Progressives Congress, APC. Details of Wednesday’s proceedings at the Assembly are still foggy but this latest move by the state’s legislature brings to fore the frosty relationship between the executive and the legislature in the Northeastern state.
The political nature in the state was heated up last Wednesday when the Assembly ordered the arrest of four commissioners for their failure to appear before the lawmakers to answer questions on the state’s finances. At plenary that Thursday, the Deputy Speaker, Kwamoti Laori (PDP-Numan), who presided, directed the state Commissioner of Police to arrest commissioners who failed to show up and bring them before the House on Monday by 10 am.
The affected commissioners were that of health, Lilian Stephen; commerce, Ahmed Gorko; agriculture, Lucy Ishaku; and land and survey, Abdulrahman Shuaibu. The Assembly, which acknowledged receipt of a letter from the Secretary to the State Government, Kobis Thimnu, over his inability to honour the Thursday invitation, asked him to appear unfailingly on Monday. The commissioner for Finance, Ibrahim Vokna, his counterpart for Works, Umaru Atiku, and the state Accountant General, Nasir Mohammed, had earlier appeared before the House.
The Assembly had on May 27 given Governor Nyako and his government an ultimatum of three days to pay back an alleged illegal deductions made from workers’ salaries and allowances of May 2014 in the state. The development fueled speculation in the state that the Assembly was bent on sacking the governor.
- See more at: http://aitonline.tv/post-breaking__adamawa_lawmakers_begin_proceedings_of_impeachment_against_governor_nyako#sthash.HbTAXsrX.dpuf

World Cup: Three Chinese fans die

Three Chinese football fans have died after staying up all night to watch World Cup matches broadcast from Brazil, reports said on Tuesday.

The report said a 39-year-old Shanghai man died on Sunday after watching World Cup games for three consecutive nights.

It added that the man, identified only by the surname Zhou, died of a stroke while watching the match between Uruguay and Costa Rica.

It said that he had been in reasonable health but had a history of high blood pressure, the newspaper said.

Another 25-year-old man was found dead at his computer room at 7 a.m. on Saturday in the eastern city of Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

The official provincial news website reported that he died of suspected exhaustion after watching a World Cup group match between Chile and Australia.

Former professional footballer, Li Mingqiang, 51, died from a heart attack in the north-eastern city of Shenyang on Saturday after watching the game between Spain and the Netherlands.

The report said that Li’s friends called emergency services but they were unable to revive him.

World Cup: Senate President David Mark asks Nigeria’s Eagles to step-up against Bosnia

The Senate President, David Mark, on Tuesday urged the Super Eagles to step up their game against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Mr. Mark, the leader of the Federal Government’s delegation to the World Cup in Brazil, who was reacting to the Super Eagles goalless draw against Iran, said that although Nigerian had tried, the team needed to improve on its next matches.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Kola Ologbondiyan, Mr. Mark said every team was important and every match must be taken seriously.

“The Super Eagles must therefore bring their resilience and the indomitable spirit of Nigeria to bear and deliver goals to qualify for the next stage of the competition.

“Nigerians are eagerly waiting for an improved game in your next match, the national image and pride is at stake and you cannot afford to let our people down,’’ the statement quoted him as saying.
He said the senate president enjoined the Super Eagles to put the draw
with Iran behind them and move ahead.

The Super Eagles will tackle Bosnia-Herzegovina in their second Group F match on Saturday.

World Cup: Brazil join Eagles in goalless drama

Hosts, Brazil, and Mexico Tuesday night battled to a goalless draw in their second Group A match s both sides fought to remain in contention for a place in the knockout phase of the ongoing Mundial.

The duo have thus joined Nigeria and Iran who are credited with the first barren outing at the hitherto high scoring world cup tournament in the Samba country.

The inability to record goals in the Brazil-Mexico duel is far from dearth of scoring chances but more for the heroics of the goalkeepers at both ends, especially the Mexican shot stopper, Ochoa, who denied the likes of Neymar, Oscar, and Thiago Silva amongst others from finding the back of the net.
Ochoa with his performance could well have sold himself to top clubs in Europe as he is currently not tied to any club having run out of his contract with relegated French side, Ajaccio.

Amongst other occasions, Neymar, who bagged two goals in his side’s opening game against Croatia, last week, collected a cross in the box from Bernard on the 70-minute mark before seeing his resulting strike kept out by Ochoa.

Bernard was provider once more shortly after when he picked out fellow substitute Jo with a low pass, but his shot failed to test the Mexican stopper.

As the game edged towards full time, Ochoa was called into action for a final time to deny Silva from a close-range header to ensure that the game ended goalless.

Both sides move up to four points in Group A following the draw. This means the loser of Wednesday night’s clash between Croatia and Cameroon will exit the competition.

Brazil’s barren outing on Tuesday is the first time since 1978 that they will not score in a group phase match of the World Cup.

UN appoints first Arab as top human rights official

The United Nations on Tuesday in New York announced the appointment of Jordanian Prince, Zeid al-Hussein, as the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the first Arab to assume the role.

Mr. Zeid, who was replacing outgoing chief, South African Navi Pillay, would begin his four-year term in September, after being elected into the position by the UN General Assembly.

He was born on January 10, 1964 into the Jordanian-Iraqi Hashemite royal family and a cousin of Jordan’s King Abdullah and heir to the monarch that once ruled Iraq until a military coup in 1958.

Mr. Zeid holds a BA from John Hopkins University and a PhD from Cambridge and married with three children.

A Jordanian diplomat, the new UN commissioner served as the kingdom’s envoy to the U.S. and the UN, and was an instrumental player in the early days of the International Criminal Court.

A supporter of international peacekeeping and justice, Mr. Zeid also served as adviser to the UN on sexual abuse, after blue helmet soldiers were found to be involved, including against youths.

He had previously been considered for the job of UN Secretary General but Ban Ki-moon was elected to the position instead.

The prince would replace Ms. Pillay, who was an anti-Apartheid activist in South Africa, broke racial barriers in her home country and later became the president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Atiku defends Oyegun’s election as APC chairman

A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has described the emergence of the new chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, John Odigie-Oyegun as “a product of transparency, democracy and compromise.”

He stated this in a statement by his media office on Tuesday in solidarity with the party’s new national working committee, NWC.

Mr. Oyegun and other members of the NWC were elected at the party’s convention in Abuja last Saturday. However, some members of the party, including a former governor of Borno State, Ali Sheriff, are reportedly not pleased with the choice of some of the new officials.

Mr. Sheriff was reportedly backing the candidature of Tom Ikimi.

The NWC will be inaugurated on Wednesday.

Mr. Abubakar advised the newly elected party officials to sustain the tempo and public enthusiasm, which greeted the birth of the opposition party in the country.

He expressed elation at the peaceful conduct of the elections at the party’s inaugural national convention.

The former vice president said as an APC member, he was proud that the elections were conducted without incidents or rancour and that the level of maturity demonstrated by party followers was evidence of their commitment to decent democratic conduct.

He said despite prediction of chaos and crisis before the convention, the event went off peacefully without any incidents.

Mr. Abubakar appealed to aggrieved members to remain loyal to the party as there is reward for loyalty.

He, however, advised APC leaders and members not to rest on their oars because the challenges ahead were still tough.

According to him, complacency is a dangerous attitude, especially for an opposition party struggling to capture power and bring change.

While expressing apologies for his inability to be present for the inauguration of the new leadership due to previous commitments overseas, the former vice president, however, conveyed his support, loyalty and cooperation to the party at all times.