Buhari will not discriminate against any media organization, including AIT – APC •Says TV station free to cover president-elect’s activities

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has clarified that all accredited media organizations in the country, including the African Independent Television (AIT), which was highly critical of its candidate in the run-up to the presidential elections are free to cover the activities of the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

The clarification came on the heels of reports that Mr. Buhari had barred the AIT, owned by PDP chieftain, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, from covering his activities pending when he resolves some issues relating to standard and ethics with the private TV station.

The APC Presidential Campaign spokesperson, Garba Shehu, had while confirming the development on Monday evening said: “AIT has been asked to stay aside based on security and family concerns. In addition, Buhari has decided that they will have to resolve some issues relating to issues of standard and ethics”.

However, in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC said the incoming Buhari Administration will not discriminate against any media organization, irrespective of its role during the electioneering campaign leading up to the recent polls.

It, however, enjoined all media organizations to observe the highest level of professional standards in carrying out their duties.

“There is a Code of Ethics guiding the practice of journalism in Nigeria, and this demands every journalist to ensure a strict adherence to the highest levels of ethics and professionalism in carrying out their duties.

“There must be repercussions, within the realms of the law, for media organizations which have wantonly breached the Code of Ethics of the journalism profession and turned themselves to partisans instead of professionals. But such repercussions will not include barring any accredited media organization from covering the activities of the President-elect”, APC said.

ISIS - Ex-member confirms Jihadi John's identity, describes group's modus operandi

The ISIS defector revealed that Emwazi is employed as the chief killer of foreign hostages for Islamic State's media wing.

An ISIS defector has confirmed the identity of Jihadi John to be Mohammed Emwazi. This is according to Sky News.

Sky news reports that the ISIS defector who is a former news translator told the news channel that he witnessed the man known as Jihadi John murder Japanese hostage Kenji Goto.

He further said that Emwazi is employed as the chief killer of foreign hostages for Islamic State's media wing and that his murderous influence among the group is feared and respected.

Speaking from his Turkey hideout, where he fled to escape IS, the ex-ISIS member explained in broken English how Kenji was murdered and also gave some insight as to why Emwazi has come to be so influential within the group.

"When he killed Kenji Goto I live showed this [saw this] but not near, from a little [distance]. After he was killed him, three or four person come and take over the body and put in a car. After that, John went on a different road. The big boss was there with them. Turkish man say 'put this camera there, change place there' but John [was] the big boss. All time, all time say to all 'fastly, fastly, fastly, we should finish'. So respect him. Only he talks orders – others do."

He said further:
"Maybe because he use the knife, I cannot understand why he is so strong. One man can kill and all people will respect. A Syrian man anyone [in IS] can kill. But strangers [foreigners], only John."

He is the only person to admit seeing Emwazi kill.

Hundreds killed as Chad forces seize northeast Nigerian town

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Chadian troops have seized a strategically located northeast Nigerian town from Boko Haram, but not before the defeated Islamic extremists killed hundreds of civilians, Chad's military said.

The Chadian forces regained control Monday of Dikwa, a town occupied by the militants for weeks, said Chad's military spokesman Col. Azem Bermandoua.

 

One soldier was killed and 34 were wounded, most by a suicide car bomber, Bermandoua said on national television. Dikwa is at a crossroads to two border crossings with Chad and a route north to Lake Chad.

Separately, southwest of Dikwa, Nigerian troops Monday repelled an attack by Boko Haram on Konduga, killing more than 70 insurgents, according to a Nigerian corporal who helped defend the town. A security official confirmed the attack. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to reporters.

Boko Haram invaded the town between herds of cattle and a suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden car, the corporal said. But the military had been warned and were well prepared to drive back the insurgents, he said.

Konduga has been attacked many times in recent months because it is a final defense for Maiduguri, the biggest northeastern city 35 kilometers (25 miles) away that is the birthplace of Boko Haram.

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan said Tuesday that "utmost care was being taken by the federal government to avoid collateral damage to the lives and properties of civilians as the military intensifies its ongoing offensive against Boko Haram." The military has been accused of gross abuses including indiscriminate killings of civilians. Jonathan claimed his government has investigated previous reports of abuse which "were mostly blown out of proportion for political reasons."

The United Nations said Tuesday that fighting in the northeast forced 16,000 Nigerians to flee across the border into Cameroon over the weekend. Some 1.6 million Nigerians have been forced from their homes and unknown hundreds of girls and young men have been kidnapped in the 6-year-old Islamic uprising by Nigeria's home-grown Boko Haram group.

 

The Islamic extremists' attacks have spread across borders into Cameroon, Chad and Niger, which are forming a multinational force to fight the militants.

International concern has risen along with fatalities in the uprising: Some 10,000 people were killed last year compared to 2,000 in the four previous years, according to the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations.

I can’t guarantee March 28 date, Jega says

Jega stated this on Wednesday, February 18, while appearing before the Senate to explain INEC’s readiness to conduct the polls.

 

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega has said that he can’t guarantee the conduct of the general elections on March 28 and April 11.

Jega stated this on Wednesday, February 18, while appearing before the Senate to explain INEC’s readiness to conduct the polls.

The INEC chairman added that only the military could determine if the elections would hold on the scheduled dates.

When asked to give a clear assurance on the dates, Jega said:

“I think it is a very difficult question to answer. I have said consistently that there are things under the control of electoral commission and there are things that are not under the control of electoral commission. For things that are under our control, I can give definite and categorical assurances.”

“On what is not under our control, it is futile, it is fruitless and useless to give a definite guarantee on them. I think that question should be directed appropriately. The questions of security, I will leave it, I don’t think I am competent to answer it sufficiently,” he added.

Jega however stated that any further demand for postponement of the polls would be unconstitutional.

“Every Nigerian knows we want elections to hold… within a constitutional time frame.  The security agencies are (made up of) patriotic Nigerians. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. We should be fair also to the military. Soldiers are also patriotic Nigerians.   I don’t see how anybody will contemplate any extension beyond these six weeks. There is no constitutional grounds upon which you can do that. For us, we work by the constitution, by the law. That is what is guiding us and we should all put the interest of the nation at heart,” Jega said.

“I kept saying consistently that INEC is not a security organisation. We are an election management body; so we rely a lot on security to be able to ensure that things are done well and that there is no disruption of the electoral process. We have been working very closely with the inter agencies consultative committee on election security and that is why for us, if the service chiefs say that we can’t guarantee security, give us more time, what is the alternative security arrangements?” he continued.

The INEC chairman also added that the commission has a duty to protect its staff and as such can’t proceed with the polls without adequate security.

“If we consulted with the stakeholders and we cannot find an answer, what happens? We are going to use close to 700, 000 ad hoc staff. We can’t send people to the field in that kind of a situation. Our prayer is that in the next six weeks, there will be significant improvement in the security situation for us to hold the   elections all over this country in a very secure environment,” he said.

“There are certain questions that we are not really competent to answer. Certain questions should be directed to the military; they can answer them better,” he added.

Jega announced the postponement of the elections on Saturday, February 7, citing security concerns.

Flying Eagles Beat Hosts Ghana 2-0

Nigeria Under-20 national team defeated hosts Ghana 2-0 in a friendly rematch on Wednesday.

Skipper Musa Muhammed broke the deadlock for the Flying Eagles and substitute Ifeanyi Matthew doubled the advantage in stoppage time of the match played in Tema, outskirts of Accra.

The win follows another friendly draw with the Black Satellites on Monday. Both Nations are preparing for next month’s African Youth Championship (AYC) in Senegal.
 
Ghana dominated the first half on Wednesday but Nigeria closed it out with a second half revival. Muhammed converted from 12 yards in the 70th minute after a home team defender handled the ball in the area.
 
Matthew grabbed Nigeria’s second after a swift attack with a superb shot from the edge of the box.
Bernard Bulbwa could have placed the Eagles in the lead five minutes after the hour mark, when he beat the offside trap but shot straight at goalkeeper Muntawakilu Seidu in a one-on-one situation.

Ifeanyi Ifeanyi’s shot also came off the woodwork two minutes after Bulbwa’s squandered attempt.

Paris racist attack victim makes official complaint

Paris (AFP) - A black French man pushed off a Paris metro train and racially abused by Chelsea supporters on Thursday made an official complaint to police and demanded that the fans be punished.

"These people, these English supporters, must be found, punished and locked up," the victim of the widely condemned assault told Le Parisien newspaper.

 

The man, who has not been officially identified but was named as 33-year-old Souleymane S by Le Parisien, had been unaware of the row caused by Tuesday night's incident until found by the newspaper.

He went to a police station on Thursday to make his complaint. 

French and British police have already launched a hunt for the self-proclaimed racist fans after the episode in a central Paris metro station before Chelsea's 1-1 Champions League draw against Paris Saint-Germain.

Amateur video footage showed Chelsea fans repeatedly pushing Souleymane S. back off the train as he tried to board and then chanting: "We're racist, we're racist, and that's the way we like it!"

French prosecutors have opened an investigation into "deliberate racial violence on public tran …

 

"I didn't know I was being filmed. The fact that it's being talked about has given me the courage to go and file a complaint with the police," Souleymane S, said.

The man recounted: "I wanted to get into the carriage but a group of English fans were blocking me and pushing me off.

"They were saying to me things in English but I didn't really understand the meaning of their words.

"I realised they were targeting me because of the colour of my skin. You know I live with racism, I wasn't totally surprised at what happened even if this was the first time it'd happened in the metro.

"I returned home without saying anything about it to anyone, not my wife, nor my children. What can I tell my kids? That papa was shoved in the metro because he's black? That wouldn't help things at all."

The incident took place on the Paris metro when Chelsea supporters pushed a black man to prevent him …

The man was born in Paris to Mauritanian parents.

The newspaper reported that Souleymane S. lives north of Paris and works near the Richelieu-Drouot metro station where Tuesday's incident took place.

It was at the station that Le Parisien say they came across him on Wednesday.

According to the paper, he was unaware of the furore the story had stirred up.

French prosecutors have opened an investigation into "deliberate racial violence on public transport". London police said they would assist the French investigation.

 

In the match before the incident, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea drew 1-1 in their Champions League …

In a statement, Chelsea called the incident "abhorrent". The club has called on its fans to help identify the supporters involved in the abuse.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron called the incident "extremely disturbing".
Activist groups have already called on football's leadership to do more to combat racism in the game.

Former England defender Rio Ferdinand called the incident "disgraceful behaviour" but questioned whether the football powers want to do more.

"Does football want to change this? Do the people in the game that hold the power really want to put the hard yards in to eradicate racism?" Ferdinand said in a Twitter comment.

Photos: Floating Corpse at 81 Division Jetty, Lagos

There’s a floating corpse at the 81 Division Jetty in Victoria Island (officers mess). It is behind the MLB Saratu vessel in the midst of dirt and floating bottles. Here’s hoping the appropriate agency will go retrieve the corpse before it is pushed away or redirected.

Brothers' Keepers!!! Police frame up tortured couple, free power-drunk cop.

The Lagos couple who was tortured and molested by a police officer are now treated as victims while the officer is a free man.

The Lagos couple allegedly tortured and brutalized by a power-drunk police officer on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014, around the Lekki axis of the state, Ejeh and Grace Smith, have now been made the culprits in the case as the police authorities have freed the officer, Dada Ogunsanya, while Smith has been put in detention.

A newspaper gather that Smith who is being detained at the Ikoyi Police Division, has been put under pressure to admit that he was a criminal who was resisting arrest at the time of the incident.

The report has it that Smith was initially arrested by the Lion Building Police Division for allegedly receiving stolen diesel. When the Ikoyi division heard about the case after Ejeh had been granted bail, he was rearrested and brought before some selected journalists.

The action, it was learnt, was targeted at rubbishing earlier reports indicting Ogunsanya and the then Ikoyi Divisional Police Officer, Aisha Haruna.

While Ejeh is currently languishing in the police cell, Ogunsanya is a free man as the police panel set up to investigate him say he is innocent of the allegations against him.

Ejeh’s wife, Grace, narrated her husband's plight so far:

"Last week, I returned from work and I saw a 25-litre keg of diesel in the house. My husband said a security man in the next compound wanted to sell it to him. He explained that the security man said he did not have money on him.

My husband told the man that he would help him sell the fuel, as he had no use of the product."

It was gathered that the security man had stolen the fuel from his employer, which was later detected through a CCTV camera.

Policemen from the Lion Building division were said to have arrested Smith after the suspect mentioned his name.

Grace continued:

"After we paid N15, 000 for Smith’s bail in the Lion Building Division, the police said he should be taken to the Ikoyi Police Division, that the owner of the case wanted it transferred there.

The lawyer representing the complainant wanted to withdraw the case, but the police said the case should go on.

The police then asked my husband to accept that he is a criminal, so that they can rubbish whatever we said they did to us. They also invited some journalists to interview him."

Son of late Police Commissioner caught with ammunition

The son of a late senior police officer has been arrested with a cache of arms large enough to start a war.

A young man, Momoh Ogirimah, who claims to be the son of a late Assistant Commissioner of Police, has been arrested for being in possession of a cache of arms including rifles, cartridges and magazines.

 

Ogirimah, who says he is a graduate of Industrial Engineering from the Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo State, told the police that his late father was the Commissioner of Police in charge of operations and led the police team which was ambushed and killed by the Ombatse cult members in Nassarawa State, in 2014.

He also claimed that he discovered the cache of arms after his father’s death and has been keeping them for self defence as well as using the guns to harass anyone who gets in his way. 

Ogririmah expressed regrets that he did not inform the police about the cache of arms in his house, confessing that he used one the guns to harass someone who had a misunderstanding with his younger brother over money.

It was the victim that reported the incident to the police who thereafter discovered the cache of arms.

The arms and ammunition recovered from Ogirimah include one Baretta pistol with number A07078Z said to belong to the Ondo State Command, one revolver pistol with number RUHMRG799ABL said not to be on the record of any command in the country and one locally-made pistol. 

Others include 133 pieces of 7.62mm ammunition, 28 pieces of .9mm ammunition, 22 pieces of 7.6mm ammunition, three bulletproof vests, one respirator, one complete set of body protector, three blasts, one hand grenade, 11 smoke cartridges, 86 life cartridges, 42 pieces of 5.56mm ammunition, two pieces of .36mm ammunition, 27 live rubber cartridges, nine .9mm rubber bullets and one anti-riot helmet.

Dramatic Video Shows TransAsia Airways Plane Moments Before Deadly Crash

Dramatic dashcam footage in Taiwan shows a TransAsia Airways plane scraping past a major highway moments before it careened into a shallow river, killing at least 23 people, with 20 others missing and 15 hospitalized.

The plane, which was carrying 58 people, clipped a bridge shortly after Wednesday’s takeoff from Taipei's downtown Sungshan Airport, state media said. The plane was visible from Taiwan’s busy National Freeway No. 1 just seconds before the crash.

The plane can be seen veering sharply, with the wing striking a vehicle and barrier on the plane's descent.

 https://s1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/mpC6PTEdCFuYqXaDS3bjOQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQxNDtweG9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz03MzY-/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/video/video.abcnewsplus.com/77c1f1daf3b1e594dfcdc246ab13d17f

Parts of the wrecked fuselage of the turboprop ATR 72 jutted out of the Keelung River just a couple dozen yards from the shore. The main section of fuselage was on its side, missing a wing.

Rescuers clustered around the plane in rubber boats more than two hours after the crash, and could be seen pulling carry-on luggage from an open plane door.

The rescue efforts were ongoing.

Four children were among the passengers, authorities said at a news conference. All passengers were Chinese or Taiwanese.

Officials said the plane joined the airline's fleet in September and had completed a safety check on Jan. 26. Authorities also said that the pilot had more than 4,400 hours of flying experience, while the co-pilot had more than 6,000 hours.

The crash marks the second tragedy involving one of TransAsia’s French-made ATR 72 planes in the past year. In July, a flight crashed while attempting to land on the island of Penghu off Taiwan's coast, killing 48 people and injuring another 10. Stormy weather and low visibility were suspected as factors in that crash.

SHOCKING!!!

3 killed in Lagos political war.

Three people were killed after thugs from two gangs in Lagos engaged in a political clash in Lagos. 

Three people lost their lives as thugs from different engaged in a politically motivated war in the Ajegunle and Lagos Island areas of Lagos.

According to Punch, the three persons were killed in separate clashes in the Ajegunle and Lagos Island areas of Lagos.

Raimi was killed at Amukoko, Ajegunle area while another two, a certain Ahmed Igbagbo and a yet to be identified man was killed in Lagos Island incident was identified.

The thugs which reportedly belong to a cult gang known as Campos Boys, caused mayhem at Akindele and Apata Street in Amukoko on Sunday, February 1.

Two factions from the Campos Boys gang clashed over political issues which led to the killing of Raimi who was shot in the chest.

A resident of the area told Punch that 12 other persons were injured during the clash.

 “When they left Akindele, they moved to Apata Street and killed two more persons. A woman who wanted to lock her shop was hit by bullets on the buttocks. The thugs are supporters of both the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party,” the resident told Punch.

It was reported that the upcoming elections have brought tensions among youths in the area.

Another resident, Lukman, said that political activities in the area have pitched the thugs and suspected cultists against one another which led to the mayhem.

Ahmed Igbagbo according the reports was hacked to death on Friday, January 30 while he was returning from the APC presidential rally at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

Lukman also said that  Igbagbo was hacked to death by political thugs on the allegation that he stole a mobile phone.

“We were all returning from the TBS around the Isale Eko area, they began to shoot at people. We all fled in different directions, but Igbagbo was not that lucky. They pursued him to a street and hacked him to death. They claimed he stole a mobile phone and they wanted to punish him,” Lukman revealed.

The spokesperson for the Lagos State Public, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed reports of disorder in the Ajegunle area which resulted in the loss of lives of some persons but added that the police division did not have the report.

Industry Nite 

AKA South African rap-star to perform in Lagos tonight

  AKA to headline Industry Nite

The South African super star will be the main act for tonight's edition of Industry Nite

AKA (South African rapper) who recently featured in Ice Prince's 'N' Word remix and featured Burna Boy on his record, ‘All Eyes On Me’.
AKA will be the main act to this tonight's edition of Industry Nite With Ehiz as the Host and DJ Spinall on the wheels. The Super star will also be at Pulse VIP Night on Friday, January 30, 2015.
Venue: Spice Route, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Date: 28-1-15

Time: 10pm Till fade.