Tension has gripped the village of Kantoma
in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau
State as gunmen, suspected to be Fulani
herdsmen, beheaded a young man in the
early hours of Wednesday.
The gunmen were also said to have shot
another person dead within the same time.
The villagers were said to have woken up to
behold the gory body of the victim along the
road.
Executive Director of Stefanos Foundation,
Mr. Mark Lipdo, said in a text message to
our correspondent that sporadic gunshots
were heard all through the morning and the
locals stayed indoors to avoid being caught
up in the crossfire.
He said he received distress calls from the
villagers, asking that security men be
drafted to the area to avoid further
bloodshed.
Spokesman for the state police command,
Emmanuel Abuh, confirmed the incident.
He said two people were killed, adding that
the command had deployed more men to
ensure law and order and stop the
escalation of violence.
Defense attorneys in Pakistan have alleged
the government rearrested the suspected
leader of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on “fake”
charges to appease India. Authorities in
Pakistan appear to have a problem because
the release of the man could further raise
tensions with India and attempting to
influence the judiciary could draw massive
criticism at home.
The accused, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, is one
of seven suspects being tried in Pakistan
on charges of planning the Mumbai attacks
that killed 166 people.
The men were arrested shortly after the
deadly 2008 militant raid in the Indian
commercial capital, and New Delhi has since
been demanding Islamabad prosecute and
punish them.
However, earlier this month the anti-
terrorism court trying the suspects ordered
Lakhvi be released on bail, citing a “lack of
evidence” and “flaws in the prosecution’s
case. The ruling outraged India but tensions
eased after Pakistani authorities ordered
Lakhvi to remain in custody under a public
order law.
Defense attorneys successfully contested
the detention order in a higher court that
ruled on Monday that the suspected
militant leader could be freed on bail. But
hours after Lakhvi won the appeal, police
rearrested him on new kidnapping charges.
Defense lawyer Rizwan Abbasi said he has
launched new challenges against what he
criticized as “fake” charges and the “ghost”
complainant. Abassi said his client has been
in jail for more than six years so how could
someone in custody have kidnapped
anybody.
“It is alleged against my client that he has
abducted one person who is in custody since
more than six-and-a-half year. How is it
possible that a person who was in jail since
last six years he can retain someone in his
custody? From the face of it this allegation
is ridiculous,” he said.
Attorney Abbasi said that Pakistani
authorities were reluctant to release his
client because they did not want to upset
India.
“It is very clear that on Indian pressure my
client has been put in custody just to
deprive him from the right of liberty,” he
said.
India summoned the Pakistani envoy in New
Delhi to the foreign ministry to protest
Monday’s first ruling that appeared to free
Lakhvi.
He is expected to appear before the court
on Thursday when a report detailing the
police investigation into the kidnapping
charges is submitted.
The suspects on trial in Pakistan are
allegedly members of the outlawed militant
group Lashkar-e-Taiba that India accuses of
being behind the 2008 Mumbai carnage.
The latest “back and forth” in the high
profile case comes as relations between
Pakistan and India have plunged to new
lows in the wake of recent border clashes.
However, Pakistani officials maintain the
country’s judiciary is independent and the
government cannot interfere in the legal
proceedings.
Both the rival countries reported fresh
clashes on Wednesday along the disputed
border in Kashmir. The cross-border firing is
said to have killed two Pakistani soldiers
and an India soldier. It is unclear who
initiated the fire.
AusX the new kid in the block has blessed fans with a nice free beat 'Epic Vibe'. He's working on a free beats mixtape titled 2015 Xtreme Beats with beats ranging from Techno to dubstep, dancehall, afropop nd more. A compilation of 20 tracks in all.
Till then, check out epicvibe below
Download: Aus- EpicVibe
The outgoing Resident Electoral
Commissioner in Osun State, Ambassador
Rufus Akeju, has said that all the
allegations of bias leveled against him are
spurious.
According to a statement made available to
our correspondent in Osogbo on Tuesday by
the media aide to the governor, Akeju said
this when he paid a farewell visit to
Governor Rauf Aregbesola.
The REC said that he was accused of being
a card-carrying member of a particular party
but he said that those accusing him had
failed to provide evidence to back up their
claims.
The Peoples Democratic Party in Osun State
had, on many occasions, accused Akeju of
being a member of the APC but the INEC
redeployed the REC in Kogi State to conduct
the August 9 governorship poll in the state
about a month to the election date.
Akeju stated that it took divine
intervention and his forthrightness to have
stayed on the job than expected due to
attempt by some alleged desperate
politicians who wanted to discredit him at all
cost.
He said, “There was nothing that they did
not say to make sure that our image and
reputation were tarnished. But I thank God
for his mercies. They alleged that I am a
card-carrying member of a particular party.
“We thank God that at the end of the day,
all their allegations were unfounded and
false. We are happy that we have come and
served meritoriously. We wish Osun the best
among the committee of states, and long
live Nigeria.”
Aregbesola had used the opportunity to
task the Independent National Electoral
Commission to ensure that the next year’s
general election was credible.
The governor admonished the electoral
umpire not to be biased and fall short of the
expectations of the teeming masses of the
country who are looking forward to an
election where the majority of votes will
count.
The governor also urged the electoral
commission to use electronic card reader for
the conduct of the 2015 elections. He said
this would further enhance the credibility of
the poll.
Chairman of the Nigeria Social Insurance
Trust Fund, Dr. Ngozi Olejeme, on Tuesday
advised authorities of the three tiers of
government in Nigeria to fashion out a blue
print on how to diversify the economy.
She said, looking for an alternative means of
boosting the revenue base, instead of
depending solely on the prevailing dwindling
fortunes of oil revenue, remained the best
way to avoid unnecessary hardships for
Nigerians in the new year.
Olejeme, who stated this in a statement in
Abuja, explained that such proactive
strategy, would help create jobs for the
unemployed Nigerians and ultimately
salvage the economic crisis.
Olejeme believed that Nigeria was endowed
with enough human and natural resources to
tackle whatever challenges “if we harness
our potentials for good.”
She therefore asked all tiers of government
to as of a necessity, put on their thinking
caps in order to ensure smooth running of
the economy without oil revenue next year.
She also urged Nigerians to face the new
year with renewed hope and faith in Nigeria
in spite of the economic and security
challenges .
Olejeme, who was a governorship aspirant in
the just concluded Peoples Democratic
Party primary in Delta State, said the
economic downturn notwithstanding, Nigeria
could over come her difficulties “if only we
face the challenges with a common mission
and purpose.”
The police in Delta State on Tuesday said
their men killed two armed robbery suspects
in Warri during a shootout.
The state Police Public Relations Officer,
Celestina Kalu, who confirmed the incident,
said two other suspects were arrested
during the operation.
She said, “The patrol team from Quick
Response Squad, Warri, on a stop-and-
search duty along Ogunu road, by Zenith
Bank, Warri, had an encounter with four
armed robbers, operating in a tricycle
marked AK 027 QB.
“In the process, two of the armed robbers
were fatally wounded while the rest two,
one Oghenero Eghagbere and Michael
Aguwaneshe, were arrested.
“Items recovered from them included one cut-
to-size locally made barrel gun, one live
cartridge, one battle axe and one tricycle.”
She said the suspects were undergoing
investigation at the Area Commander’s
Office, Warri, while the corpses of the
suspected bandits had been deposited in
the morgue.”
Defender Mathieu Debuchy believes Arsenal
must keep calm and remain focused if they are
to drag themselves back into the top four of
the Premier League.
The Gunners survived the sending off of striker
Olivier Giroud for a rash headbutt on Nedum
Onuoha to beat QPR 2-1 at the Emirates
Stadium on Boxing Day.
There is little time for the squad to regroup
ahead of the trip to West Ham on Sunday,
where another victory would see them leapfrog
the fifth-placed Irons and possibly
Southampton, who are at home to leaders
Chelsea.
Wenger confirmed Giroud has already
apologised for his moment of red mist at the
start of the second half, which will now see the
France striker serve a three-match suspension
for violent conduct.
Debuchy can sympathise with his team-mate,
but is confident if Arsenal can hold it together,
they can head into 2015 in a strong position.
"Olivier did not speak in the dressing room. It is
a hard moment for him," said Debuchy. "I know
that from before, when I was at Newcastle, I
was sent off, so have been in the same
moment.
"It is difficult, but we are professionals and we
need to keep calm. However, everybody has a
temper, so it is not always easy, but we need
to keep calm."
Arsenal showed good character to dig in and
get the result against QPR, with Tomas Rosicky
adding the cushion of a second goal just after
the hour, although a late penalty from Charlie
Austin led to some desperate defending during
the closing stages.
Debuchy said: "It was a great win for us, so
important for the next game against West Ham.
"The finish to the match was harder, because 10
against 11 is not easy.
"It will be difficult at West Ham, they have a lot
of players with quality and have had a very
good start to the season, but we need to win,
so we have to be 100 percent.
"We need a run of wins, that is what has been
missing so far this season. It is so important to
win against West Ham and then Southampton
[on New Year's Day], in every game now we
need to go on.
"We have great confidence and the belief that
we can do it."
Fernando Torres' Chelsea career is officially
over after the Premier League leaders
announced he will make his loan move to AC
Milan permanent next month.
Torres, 30, won the Champions League, the
Europa League and the FA Cup in three-and-a-
half years at Stamford Bridge, but he never
lived up to expectations after a 50 million-
pound transfer from Liverpool, failing to
replicate his once-prolific scoring record in
London.
He moved to Milan on a two-year loan in
August and, although he has been strongly
linked with a return to his first club Atletico
Madrid in recent days, on Saturday Chelsea
announced a deal had been reached for him to
join Milan permanently from Jan. 5.
A statement said: "Fernando Torres is to join
AC Milan on a permanent basis. The striker
moved to the San Siro on a two-year loan deal
in August and on January 5 he will complete a
permanent transfer to the Serie A side.
"Chelsea Football Club thanks Fernando for his
service during the past four seasons and
wishes him the very best for the future."
The deal does not rule out a return to Atletico
in the upcoming transfer window. The Spanish
champions have indicated they do not have the
funds for a permanent deal themselves, but
may yet sign him on another loan deal from
Milan once he has left Chelsea, or complete a
swap deal with Alessio Cerci going the other
way.
A return home could be what Torres needs to
reignite a once-sparkling career. The World Cup
winner and double European champion scored
46 goals in 172 Chelsea appearances, but only
20 of those came in 110 league outings -- a poor
return when compared with the 65 Premier
League goals he scored in 102 appearances for
Liverpool.
Torres moved to Stamford Bridge late on
January transfer deadline day in 2011 for a
then-record British fee, but initial struggles
soon appeared to be a crisis of confidence as
he managed just one goal in 18 appearances
before the end of the season.
The following season he scored 11 goals,
including a hat trick against QPR and a vital
breakaway goal against Barcelona in the
Champions League semifinal, but still looked a
shadow of himself.
His best season in a Chelsea shirt came in the
following campaign as he scored 22 goals
across seven competitions, including the winner
in the Europa League final against Benfica. Yet
he managed only 11 goals the following season,
after which Jose Mourinho broke up his
misfiring striking trio of Torres, Samuel Eto'o
and Demba Ba, all of whom left the club.
Torres' move to Milan has not exactly seen his
form ignite, with only one goal in 10
appearances, but that has not prevented a
deal being done.
credits: File copy
The Federal Government has described as
untrue the allegation made by the Governor
of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, that the
sum of $30bn (N5.04trn) was missing from
the Excess Crude Account.
The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala, said in a statement issued on
Saturday by her Special Adviser on
Communications, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, that
the allegation was “shocking.”
Oshiomhole had on Thursday accused the
Federal Government of failing to account for
about $30bn that accrued to the ECA in the
last three years.
The governor had said Nigeria’s budgets for
the past three years had been based on an
oil benchmark of $77 and $79, while the
average price of the country’s crude had
been $108 per barrel.
This, according to the governor, gives an
average surplus of $30 per barrel.
“Ideally, we ought to be saving $36 per
barrel on the 2.3 million barrel a day over
the past three years and if you look at
these numbers, you will find that what we
have in our excess crude oil account should
be over $30bn but as we speak, we have
barely $3bn in our excess crude account.
“Over the past 18 months, we have not
shared the excess crude account and yet
the account is empty. Sometimes, we are
told they have taken money from it to fund
subsidies, including subsidy on kerosene,”
he said.
But Okonjo-Iweala described the allegation
as “totally untrue.” saying, “the comments
reflect once again, the unfortunate
tendency of some political players to
politicise the management of the economy
on the basis of half-truths and sundry
distortions.”
The statement read in part, “The widely
published comment by Governor Adams
Oshiomhole alleging that $30bn is missing
from the Excess Crude Account is shocking
and totally untrue.
“This is not good for the country. There
should be a limit to negative politics, even
during an election season such as this.
“Governor Oshiomhole’s sweeping comments
give the impression that the Federal
Government sits alone in secret and doles
out whatever it wishes to the states from
the Federation Account.
“But anyone who is familiar with the
Federation Accounts Allocation Committee
process knows that this is simply not true.
The meetings are held every month and
commissioners of finance and other officials
represent their states and agreements are
reached on issues, including the sharing of
proceeds from the Account.”
The minister wondered why the government
of Edo State did not table the allegation
before the FAAC committee for
investigation before “going public with a
sweeping, political allegation based on
casual, back of the envelop calculations.”
Okonjo-Iweala stated that the Governor of
River State, Rotimi Amaechi, made a similar
allegation in November 2013 when he raised
the alarm that $5bn was missing from the
same account.
The statement added that the ministry
subsequently showed, with facts, that not
only was the money not missing, the Rivers
State Government got N257.6bn from the
account between January and October 2013.
Oshiomhole’s allegation, Okonjo-Iweala
added, “seems to be cut from a similar
political fabric.”
“Governor Oshiomhole correctly observed
that the economy would be in better shape
today if we had saved more for the rainy
day. But he failed to recall that the Federal
Government’s strong advocacy for a low
budget benchmark and greater savings in
the ECA articulated by the Coordinating
Minister was repulsed by some governors.
“There is no doubt that oil theft is a
challenge but this too would have helped.
We do not share Governor Oshiomhole’s
overly bleak view of the country’s economic
prospects,” the statement added.
The ministry added that while the challenges
were great and could not be wished away,
an international rating agency, Moody, and
the International Monetary Fund had
confirmed that the economy was resilient
despite the oil price crash.
A highly sought after al-Shabab leader with
a $3m bounty on his head has surrendered
to government and African Union forces, a
Somali intelligence officer has said.
Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi surrendered to
Somali police in the Geddo region where
Somalia borders Kenya and Ethiopia, the
officer said.
“Zakariya Ahmed was a very senior person
who worked with Godane,” said regional
military official Jama Muse, referring to
former al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane,
who was killed by a US air strike in
September.
“He was in charge of intelligence and
finances. He was one of the senior al-
Shabab commanders who the Americans put
a lot of money on their head,” he added.
An al-Shabab media spokesman told Al
Jazeera that Hersi had left the group two
years ago and that he was then a mid-level
commander – not an intelligence chief as
claimed by Somali officials..
Military official Mohamed Osmail said Hersi
was hiding in a house in a border town, and
made contact with government officials in
order to hand himself in.
Another intelligence source said the
surrender was believed to have been
motivated by a series of recent bloody
splits and purges within the group, with
Godane having ruthlessly eliminated many of
his rivals and his successor, Ahmad Umar
Abu Ubaidah, continuing to maintain strict
internal security.
Hersi was one of eight top al-Shabab
officials whom the US administration offered
a total $33m in rewards for information
leading to their capture in 2012.
Despite suffering major losses such as
losing major cities, al-Shabab remains a
threat in Somalia and Kenya.
While the government offered an amnesty to
al-Shabab members in September, none of
the key leaders of the group has so far
taken up the offer.
