Soldiers kill 8 in Anglophone Cameroon protests

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October 2, 2017

Soldiers kill 8 in Anglophone Cameroon protests

Soldiers shot dead at least eight people and wounded others in Cameroon’s restless Anglophone region on Sunday during protests by activists calling for its independence from the majority Francophone nation, an official and witnesses said.

The demonstrations – timed to take place on the anniversary of Anglophone Cameroon’s independence from Britain – came as a months-old movement against perceived marginalization by the Francophone-dominated government gathered pace.

The protests, which began late last year, have become a lightning rod for opposition to President Paul Biya’s 35-year rule.

Donatus Njong Fonyuy, mayor of the town of Kumbo, said five prisoners were killed at around 6 a.m. (0500 GMT) after the jail where they were being held caught fire.

*File photo.. Anglophone Cameroonians protest*

“We don’t know what caused the fire in the prison … But five prisoners were killed by soldiers. Two were wounded by bullets and are at the hospital,” he told Reuters, adding that another two civilians were also injured.

In other incidents in Kumbo, soldiers shot and killed a demonstrator and wounded two others who had raised the blue and white flag of the Ambazonia separatist movement in the town. Another woman was killed inside her home, Fonyuy said, without giving further details.

Police and army officials were not immediately available to comment on the shootings.

“We won’t use violence unless there is major cause. There are numerous risks, even terrorist risks. We’re keeping calm,” a security source, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, said earlier in the day.

Writing on his official Facebook account, President Biya condemned the violence.

“Let me make this very clear: it is not forbidden to voice any concerns in the Republic. However, nothing great can be achieved by using verbal excesses, street violence, and defying authority,” he said.

Cameroon’s divide has its roots in the end of World War One, when the League of Nations divided the former German colony of Kamerun between the allied French and British victors.

Authorities had banned all gatherings of more than four people, ordered bus stations, eateries and shops to shut and forbade movement between different parts of the English-speaking regions ahead of the protests. The government also ordered Cameroon’s border with Nigeria closed for the weekend.

Access to popular social media and messaging apps, including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, was disrupted from Friday.

Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary on Sunday threatened to shut any media outlets giving a voice to separatists, saying they “must not encourage those who advocate division, who want to destroy and destabilize our country”.

Businesses were shuttered in the regions’ main cities, Buea and Bamenda, where military helicopters circled overhead. The security deployment included troops from the Cameroonian army’s Rapid Intervention Brigade, a unit that typically fights Islamist Boko Haram militants in the country’s north.

One protester was killed on the edge of Buea as security forces attempted to block pro-independence marchers from entering the city, three witnesses said.

Hundreds nevertheless slipped through the countryside to get around the blockade and into the city, where security forces used teargas to try to stop them from marching on the regional governor’s office.

A Reuters witness also heard gunfire, though it was not clear whether the shots were targeting protesters or being fired in the air.

“The military, which is supposed to protect lives and property, has turned into our greatest nightmare,” said one Buea resident, who asked not to be identified out of fear of reprisal.

In Bamenda, where a bomb attack blamed on separatists wounded three policemen last week, young men brandishing improvised secessionist flags clashed with security forces who attempted to disperse them with teargas.

Thousands of government supporters meanwhile marched in Douala, Cameroon’s main port city and its commercial hub, voicing their opposition to calls for independence or more autonomy for the Anglophone regions.

“We are here … to reject sectarianism, to condemn all kinds of hate, all forms of violence carried out under any pretext whatsoever,” Justice Minister Laurent Esso told the pro-government crowd.

Puigdemont says Catalonia won right to independence , Deputy Prime Minister calls referendum activities “farce”

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October 1, 2017

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Puigdemont says Catalonia won right to independence , Deputy Prime Minister calls referendum activities “farce”

Catalonia’s leader Carles Puigdemont said on Sunday the region won the right to break away from Spain after “millions” turned out to vote in an independence referendum banned by Madrid and marred by clashes.

However Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the plebiscite had been blocked, saying “today there has not been a self-determination referendum in Catalonia.”

At least 92 people were confirmed injured out of a total of 844 who needed medical attention, Catalan authorities said, as police cracked down on a vote Spain’s central government branded a “farce”.

The interior ministry said 33 police required treatment as a result of the clashes,

The violence raised alarm abroad and further heightened tensions between Rajoy’s government and the authorities in Catalonia in the worst political crisis in Spain in decades.

Rajoy called the vote a process that “only served to sow division, push citizens to confrontation and the streets to revolt”, but left the door potentially open to negotiations on greater autonomy for the region.

The referendum was organised under the threat of reprisals and criminal charges but thousands of Catalans stood in defiance of the central government crying “Votarem” — “We will vote”.

Puigdemont, who governs Catalonia, said in an address after polls closed: “With this day of hope and suffering, the citizens of Catalonia have won the right to an independent state in the form of a republic.”

He added that “millions” had turned out to vote and urged the European Union stop looking “the other way” following a police crackdown.

– Camped inside overnight –

From early in the day, helmeted police armed with batons moved in en masse to seal off polling stations and seize ballot boxes, sparking clashes.

Videos posted on social media show police dragging voters from polling stations by their hair, throwing people down stairs and attacking Catalan firefighters who were protecting polling stations.

“They took the ballot boxes by force… and they literally yanked them from us as we continued to sing ‘Els Segadors’, the Catalan hymn, and shouting “long live democracy’,” said Marc Carrasco, in charge at one Barcelona polling station.

In the second such vote in three years, more than 5.3 million people were called on to have their say on independence from Spain in the wealthy northeastern region which has its own distinct language and culture.

They were asked: “Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?”

The referendum law foresees a declaration of independence within 48 hours of a ‘Yes’ vote but it remains unclear if the regional government will actually do so.

More than 40 unions and Catalan associations called a region-wide strike on Tuesday after the police crackdown on the vote.

Even before the vote, judicial officials ordered police to seize ballot papers, detain key organisers and shut down websites promoting the referendum after Madrid and the courts deemed it unconstitutional.

Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria called on the Catalan authorities to call off what she dismissed as a “farce”.

Thousands of people had gathered outside polling stations before dawn, joining those who had spent the night camped inside to ensure they would be open on the day.

President Buhari Condemns Biafran Separatists

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October 1, 2017

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President Buhari Condemns Biafran Separatists

AFP President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday railed against separatists seeking Nigeria’s “dismemberment” and called for “proper” dialogue after clashes between pro-Biafra activists and security forces in the restive southeast.

Speaking as Nigeria marked its 1960 independence from Britain, Buhari also said that corruption remained the African oil giant’s “number one enemy”.

The 74-year-old former general later flew out of the capital for a lightning surprise visit to Maiduguri, the city in northeastern Nigeria that is the epicentre of the bloody insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists.

He paid tribute to troops on the frontline of the battle against jihadists linked to the Islamic State group on his first visit to the city since taking office in 2015.

“I assure you under this leadership there will be resources available, as much as the country can afford it, to support your operations,” Buhari told the troops in Maiduguri.

Buhari, who fought in the 1967-70 Biafran war, said in his Abuja speech that those seeking to carve up the country had no idea of the havoc they could potentially wreak.

“Those who are agitating for a rerun were not born by 1967 and have no idea of the horrendous consequences of the civil conflict which we went through,” he said.

He said the war had cost about two million lives, resulting in “fearful destruction and untold suffering”.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement wants an independent state for the Igbo people who dominate the southeast region.

Tension has been building since October 2015 when the group’s leader Nnamdi Kanu was arrested and held in custody until he was released on bail in April.

His trial on charges of treasonable felony is expected to resume this month.

The army flooded the southeastern state of Abia with troops this month, ostensibly as part of an operation against violent crime, but the IPOB suspected it was an attempt to curb its activities.

Supporters clashed in Abia and neighbouring Rivers state, while the violence threatened to take on a wider ethnic dimension when unrest flared in the central city of Jos.

Nigeria’s government has since formally proscribed the IPOB as a terrorist organisation and accused it of stoking tensions by making false claims online of genocide against Igbos.

Buhari called for “proper dialogue” in the provincial and national legislatures to defuse the tensions, saying: “These are the proper and legal fora for national debate, not some lopsided, un-democratic body with pre-determined set of objectives.”

Buhari, who was elected in 2015 on an anti-corruption platform, also said endemic graft remained a major scourge, recalling the period from 1999 to 2015, when Nigeria reverted from military to democratic rule.

“In spite of oil prices being an average of $100 per barrel and about 2.1 million barrels a day, that great piece of luck was squandered and the country’s social and physical infrastructure neglected,” he said.

Nigeria is ranked by Transparency International as one of the world’s most corrupt countries. Last year it was placed 136 in a list of 176 nations.

“The economy must be rebalanced so that we do not depend on oil alone. We must fight corruption which is Nigeria’s number one enemy. Our administration is tackling these tasks in earnest,” Buhari said.

Nearly 850 Injured in Catalonia Independence Referendum as Spanish Police Violently Clashed with people

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October 1, 2017

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Nearly 850 Injured in Catalonia Independence Referendum as Spanish Police Violently Clashed with people

According to the regional government, some 844 people have been injured in disturbances across Catalonia

Spanish riot police have violently clashed with people who had gathered for a banned referendum on the region’s independence from Spain, injuring nearly 850 people.

According to the regional government, some 844 people have been injured in disturbances across Catalonia on Sunday.

Catalan representative said that two people are in a critical condition, one of which is likely to not survive their injuries, reported RPP.

Shocking images and videos of police repression have been shared across social media platforms with users condemning the excessive use of force.

*Members of the Spanish civil guard break into a building where people are voting on Catalan’s independence. | Photo: EFE*

The hashtag #NoEnMiNombre, or Not In My Name, has been used to denounce the violence.

The president of Catalan, Carles Puigdemont, has also condemned the violence.

“Today, the Spanish state has written a shameful page in its history with Catalonia,” he said at a press conference.

In Madrid, people have gathered in the Plaza del Sol to show their solidarity with the people of Catalan.

“The Plaza de Sol in Madrid is filled with people against Rajoy’s repression, who made a grave error in trying to isolate Catalonia on its referendum day.”

As Spanish police wielded batons and fired rubber bullets at crowds attempting to vote in Catalonia’s banned independence referendum, the region’s own police force gave many voters a much gentler reception.

In Catalonia’s pro-independence heartland, among the farming towns of Osona county north of Barcelona, the Catalan force made little attempt to remove people from polling stations despite being tasked with the same court order to shut them down.

Local courts received several complaints on Sunday against the Catalan police accusing them of inactivity and failing to close polling stations, despite the court order, the region’s High Court said in a statement. Source: 24online.news

O.j. Simpson plans relocating to Florida after release from jail on parole

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October 1, 2017

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AFP O.j. Simpson plans relocating to Florida after release from jail on parole

Disgraced American football star O.J. Simpson, whose racially charged 1995 murder trial riveted the nation, was released from jail on parole early Sunday after nine years behind bars for armed robbery.

Simpson, 70, left the Lovelock Correctional Center in the western state of Nevada just after midnight, prison spokesperson Brooke Keast said. “I don’t know where he was headed,” Keast told AFP.

Simpson was granted parole at a hearing in July and his earliest release date was set for October 1, but he had widely been expected to be freed no earlier than Monday.

Why the early release? “To ensure public safety and avoid possible incident,” Keast said, commenting on Simpson’s release at eight minutes past midnight local time (0708 GMT Sunday).

Simpson plans to relocate to Florida following his release from the medium-security prison where he has been serving his sentence, his lawyer, Malcolm LaVergne said earlier.

Simpson was famously found not guilty in 1995 of the grisly murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and a male friend, Ron Goldman, in a case that transfixed the country and became known as the “Trial of the Century.”

But the former National Football League running back and actor was sent to prison in 2008 for his role in an armed robbery the previous year of two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas resort.

Simpson claimed at his trial that he was just seeking to recover personal items from the dealers, and he repeated that explanation at his parole board hearing in July, where the four-member panel voted unanimously for his release.

Nnamdi Kanu Is In London, Went Through Malaysia-Orji Kalu

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October 1, 2017

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Nnamdi Kanu Is In London, Went Through Malaysia -Orji Kalu

Businessman and prominent politician, Orji Uzor Kalu, tells PUNCH why the Federal Government outlawed the activities of the Independent People of Biafra because its leader, Nnamdi Kanu, ignored the elders’ advice

Why did you say that the agitation for a sovereign state of Biafra cannot succeed and that what the Igbo should aim at now is to produce the president of Nigeria?

The Igbo should strive towards producing a president in the Federal Republic of Nigeria instead of agitating for the sovereign state of Biafra. I was the governor (of Abia State) for eight years and the issue of Biafra came up then. It even became a serious issue at a time that I decided to lead (Ralph) Uwazurike to see (former) President (Olusegun) Obasanjo but the former president refused to receive him. I was then surprised that the same Obasanjo was advising President Muhammadu Buhari to dialogue with (Nnamdi) Kanu. That sounds very funny to my ears and I don’t believe that such statement could come from the respected elder statesman who once told me at the Villa that he will never engage in a dialogue with somebody who wanted Nigeria to break up. There are so many federal roads in the eastern part of the country that are in serious dilapidated conditions but President Buhari has been fixing some of them now. If the immediate past government led by my brother and friend, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, had paid a little attention to the terrible infrastructure decay in the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones, there won’t be any form of agitation in the first instance. Some of these people involved in the Biafran agitation are doing so out of frustration. Climate change had really dealt with most communities in the South-East leading to flooding and massive erosion. So, the Igbo should produce a leader that will fix the economic and infrastructural challenges affecting not only the Igbo but the entire Nigeria.

But do you think that the agitation for Biafra will stop even with an Igbo man as president?

Biafra as a concept can never die but I want a situation whereby it will exist in the minds of everybody as an ideological issue and not as a geographical expression. The real Biafra should be a concept for development, and economic growth through planting of more agricultural trees for commercial purposes. The concept of Biafra should be on how to achieve an empowerment strategy for our people. We need a Biafran agitation that will strengthen our industrial base and bring prosperity to Nigerians. It is difficult to talk about Biafra as a republic when the Igbo are living and have investments everywhere in Nigeria. If you go to Birnin Kebbi now, the Igbo are in the majority there after the aborigines; the same is the situation in Ogbomoso, Osogbo, Kafanchan and other major towns across Nigeria. So why are we agitating for a republic? God decided to create us as Nigerians so that we can derive strength from our diversity. The young men who are championing the Biafran republic have never heard the sound of a gun before.

But you met with Nnamdi Kanu in the prison, did you explain all these things to him?

I spoke with Nnamdi Kanu in the prison and gave him quality advice. I counselled him to embrace peace and agree with whatever terms that will set him free. I also warned him against allowing his boys to be displaying Biafra flags, coat of arms, organising parades, establishing secret security service, and mounting a guard of honour. I told him that by doing all these, his group had subdued the sovereignty of Nigeria and are therefore looking for trouble. No government on earth including the United States will allow any group to be championing the cause of dividing their country. I believe most sincerely that with the situation on ground today, majority of the Igbo do not agree on the issue of Biafra as a separate country. I have heard some elite, including professors who are saying that they want Biafra but they should know that there is no way such agitation can be achieved under the law. There is no section of the Nigerian constitution where you have restructuring. There is no section that spells out the process for dividing the country. All those things are alien to the constitution. If willingly, we want to talk about constitutional amendment, then people can bring up various issues. Today, the creation of Biafra Republic is not feasible. The (Indigenous People of Biafra) boys have the right to express themselves but they do not have any right to engage in destruction of property, raping women or setting up a Biafran intelligence service. No country will allow that to happen. I am an Igbo man before being a Nigerian and I have no regrets being an Igbo man. I have lived outside Igbo land so I understand Nigeria. I sincerely want to say and maintain what I have said earlier that Biafra as a country is not an issue now. The issue is for the Nigerian government to give us justice and fairness. When some Igbo people cry of marginalisation, I tell them that if they go to other parts of the country, the people there are also crying because the story is the same. There is a wall between the rich and the poor. We don’t have any war of dialect or language. The rich people should start having a human face so that we can move the nation forward.

What was the response of Nnamdi Kanu to your explanations after your discussion with him in prison?

I will not tell you a lie. Nnamdi Kanu did not agree with me at all on my views about his activities. I did most of the talking throughout the two hours and ten minutes that I stayed with him. I told him many stories about life especially some of the stories that the Ikemba Nnewi (Odimegwu Ojukwu) told me when he was alive and also explained lot of things to him based on my experience in life but didn’t agree with me. I had to cut short my journey when I heard what was happening between his boys and the military. I returned to the country on September 14 and came straight to Abia State on the 15th to make sure that we talked to the IPOB boys so that they would stop what they were doing and allow peace to reign.

But people are saying that the Army aggravated the tension by launching the ‘Operation Python Dance.’

Nobody can say that the Army has no power to do training. Such argument is out of order. The army has the power to do training in any part of the country.

You said that majority of the Igbo do not agree with the agitation for Biafra as being championed by IPOB. Do you think that your position is justified based on the alleged foreign support that the group is receiving?

There is no foreign government that is supporting IPOB. I have consulted all the intelligence agencies in Germany, France, US, UK, China and I have discovered that there is no foreign government that is supporting Biafra. If foreign governments are supporting them, you would have seen the change in their approach and strategies. They are just using that as propaganda to deceive people. It is a lie.

There was apprehension and tension in the South-East following the military show of might in Abia State, and you offered to talk to the federal authorities to see ways of bringing about normalcy, how far have you gone in this regard?

Based on our timely intervention, the federal authorities have replaced the soldiers with the police on roads. The military are back to their barracks. Some of these things about tension are mere propaganda. Immediately I returned from the United States, I embarked on consultations. From September 15 to today, I have consulted fully with all institutions of the Federal Government involved and they all responded to my enquiries. I have since discovered that people are blackmailing the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the propaganda cannot stand. We are a nation and we must continue to live in harmony and do things the proper way. All these things are annoying.

But proponents of a Biafran nation have argued that the sovereignty of an Igbo country will bring rapid development to the people better than what they are getting under the Nigerian government.

No, no, no, nobody is talking about that. We are not talking about having a nation as the Igbo people any longer. We are talking about one nation that is one Nigeria. I know that after the war and in the process of punishing those who took active part in it, a lot of injustices have been perpetrated but we have also had opportunities as southerners to correct some of these things when our people were in power at the federal level but they failed to do anything. For example, since 1999 that Nigeria returned to democracy, there is no northern leader that has really ruled this country up to one term. Former president Olusegun Obasanjo did two terms totalling eight years, while Goodluck Jonathan did six years. One would have expected these two leaders to turn the South-East to paradise if truly the problem is between the North and the South. Roads like the Enugu-Umuahia-Okigwe-Aba-Port Harcourt expressway, Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Expressway, Owerri to Port Harcourt, Aba, Ikot Ekpene-Calabar, Imo-Mbadon-Umuahia-Bende-Ohafia-Arochukwu-Cross River and the Okigwe-Nnewi highways. These are the roads that people are complaining about. At the moment, you can see construction work going on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, while work is also ongoing on the Awka-Onitsha Expressway. There is also work going on now on the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road. These are being done by the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Buhari. He once challenged me when I complained about the poor state of our roads. He said, “But we once had the secretary to the government of the federation, the minister of finance, minister of aviation, deputy senate president, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives and many others in powerful positions but that they did nothing about the roads.” Now the minister of works has given marching orders to the contractors handling the road projects to start the jobs. If our sons and daughters who had held influential positions in the recent past had improved on the development of our area, we would not be where we are today. Sometimes, our people are fed with wrong information. We also have governors in the South-East, who didn’t really perform. If Jonathan had done these Roads, nobody would be talking about marginalisation today. If Jonathan had done the East-West road, nobody would be complaining. The problem of Nigeria is that most people who found themselves in the position of leadership were not prepared for it. You must be able to manage yourself before you manage others.

IPOB members are saying that the soldiers took Nnamdi Kanu and his parents away while the military authorities are denying it. As an Igbo leader, what is the position of things?

Kanu was not taken away by the military. Kanu went to Malaysia from where he travelled to the United Kingdom. Nnamdi Kanu is in London right now as we speak. He was not arrested by anybody. He left the country on his own. One of his relations has spoken to me and explained everything because I wanted to see him and talk to him wherever he was and see how I could meet some Federal Government officials on his issue. I also wanted to see ways of talking to the President about him, and find common ground but his family told me that he has left the country, unless they are lying to me. I believe, whether he had left the country or not, he is not with the military because I asked the Commander of the 14 Brigade, Brig.-Gen. A.K Ibrahim, who is a very fine and good soldier, well educated and dedicated, and he told me that they don’t know his whereabouts and I am sure, the Department of State Services have the same information. I also visited the commissioner of police and he said he didn’t know his whereabouts and that they are also looking for him.

What of his parents, where are they?

I don’t know. I visited them in December last year and I was not impressed with the discussion I had with the father and the mother because I expected them to have acted better. Since then, I have not visited them. I feel that they have not impressed me because they ignored my advice to them to talk to their son on the need to stay at home and avoid public outings. I said his people can continue to carry their flags around but that they should not disturb anybody again. They have a right to express themselves but that such rights should be within the limits of our constitution. They have the right to carry Biafran flags but they should do so within the limits of the constitution. Once your activities are within the limits of the law, you are in order. You cannot carry Biafra flags and be stopping vehicles and smashing their windscreens. You cannot carry Biafra (flags) and be raping young girls, you also cannot carry Biafra (flags) and be assembling young men every day. These are people who have no job and after doing that, they will go and engage in kidnapping or they will go and do armed robbery while some will go and do other things to make money. Hunger is a very terrible thing. The traders in the market have warned them to stop the nonsense they are doing. Why should you be extorting money from people in the name of Biafra agitation? They are extorting money from people in the market against their will. If the federal and state governments continue to watch and allow all these things to continue, there will be chaos in the state. If Kanu had not proved stubborn but listened to advice and kept to the rules of the court, we won’t be where we are now.

But some Igbo intellectuals and leaders have argued that Kanu has the fundamental human rights to…

Which fundamental human rights? When a court of law had given an order? It was not Justice Nyako speaking, it was the law of Nigeria speaking. If Kanu was dissatisfied with that ruling, the day he came out, he should have approached the appellate court where five justices would decide on his case. He is destroying business in Igbo land. The GDP of this area is going down every day. The people who used to come to Aba to buy shoes, dresses and all kinds of products and materials are no longer coming. There is no government that will leave a section of his country to be mismanaged this way.

Don’t you think that the decision to proscribe IPOB and tag its members as terrorists will further aggravate the tension in the land?

I really don’t understand why someone should sew uniforms for a group of boys under his control and start to make statements which he is not expected to say claiming that he disagrees with the law of the land. Disobedience to the law of the land itself can make you to be tagged as a terrorist because we have a law, the constitution. I am an Igbo man to the heart, I don’t care what anybody says, I don’t pretend and I have never asked any president to give me a job. Since I left office as governor, two presidents have approached me and offered to give me federal appointments but I rejected their offers. I even told one of them that I have a (court) case with you (your government) and he said, “Oh yes, I know about the case. It is political because I have read every file about the case.” The former president is the late Umaru Yar’Adua, may his soul rest in peace. I don’t want to go into further details because the case is still in court.

The argument of IPOB members is that tagging them as terrorists is a declaration of war against the Igbo because some armed herdsmen who are unleashing terror on innocent farmers were not tagged terrorists…..

Who tagged IPOB members as terrorists? Was it Buhari who tagged them as terrorists? The answer is no! Was it Buhari who proscribed them? The answer is no! It is only the people who live within the same enclave and area with them that said no, we will no longer collectively tolerate this (activities of IPOB members). The president has not said anything on this issue. The people are fond of attributing everything to Buhari. The governors went to Enugu for a meeting where the group was proscribed. In the first place, some of the governors mismanaged this issue. Go and ask Nwazurike, he is still alive; when he was doing this (Biafran agitation), there was a way we treated him. We gave him guidelines and warned him not do certain things. We told him (as governors then) that his group had the right to carry the (Biafran) flag but anytime they wanted to carry it, I usually invoked the law of the land and made it binding on them because that was the right thing expected of me as governor. You cannot be going to the market women to carry their foods and be eating. You cannot go to a woman selling akara with the little money on her, and carry her akara and eat. The boys would sometimes see a woman selling food by the roadside and decide to eat all her food without paying her. When I was governor, whenever such incident was brought to my attention, I usually applied the law instantly. The law is very clear. People should stop the sentiment, this is about saving this nation, it is about saving our people, it is about bringing back economic prosperity to the South-East.

What is your advice to President Buhari on the issue of the herdsmen attacks?

President Buhari has to come up fully with strong pronouncements on how the herdsmen should manage their cattle. He has scored high points in Boko Haram insurgency, and IPOB crisis. He should also address the herdsmen issue because these are some of the things that are causing dissatisfaction in the land. As the president, he should come out and put up a strategy on how the herdsmen could be put under check

When do you think the Igbo should produce the president of Nigeria, 2019 or 2023?

We have a sitting president in the All Progressives Congress and if he is not running again in 2019, the North should complete their eight-year tenure but I would advise President Buhari to run because he is entitled to a second term under the constitution.

Despite his state of health?

Are you his doctor? The man is very healthy. I told you then that he will come back healthier, you can see him now. He is back and healthy. People should stop spreading rumours about the president’s health. It is only at his will that he can decide not to run. If I was in Buhari’s position, I would contest again for a second term because other presidents before him did so as a right. There is nothing wrong with the man.

So, the Igbo should wait till 2023 to produce a president of Nigeria?

Yes. The Igbo will produce the president in 2023. If Buhari is not running in 2019, another Hausa man should be allowed to complete his second term. When Yar’Adua died, Jonathan came but if he had listened to the people’s advice, this situation will not be there because if I were Jonathan, I would have ruled for six years and allowed other people to run.

How do you think that the Igbo will be able to produce a president when the leaders are not speaking with one voice?

Other tribes have produced a president, so it is the turn of the Igbo too. Obasanjo was elected president in 1999 despite the fact that the Yoruba did not vote for him. He lost in his ward; I was there on the Election Day. So, any Igbo man that is widely accepted can be president of Nigeria. How did Obasanjo and Buhari become president? Are they better than any Igbo man? The answer is no! The issue is that if they know how they made Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Buhari president, they should also make an Igbo man president so that there can be complete unity and we would forget about the civil war because not making an Igbo president will still remind our people that the marginalisation which started after the civil war has not ended.

Do you think that the Igbo presidency will bring about the desired development to the South-East?

There will be massive development in every part of Nigeria not only in Igbo land. The economy will change. The development will be channelled towards the entire country and we will appeal to the Igbo to make personal contributions to the development of their areas too. Make an Igbo man president today, I can assure you that the agitation will go down but first of all, let the Federal Government immediately implement the recommendations contained in the 2014 confab report. If the decisions are implemented and the Igbo have one more state like other regions, even before they produce the president, we will be moving. I call on the federal government to be magnanimous enough to present the 2014 confab report to the National Assembly for immediate implementation.

But is your appeal in line with what your party is doing with the Governor el-Rufai committee on true federalism?

What the el-Rufai committee is doing is very good by trying to get the views of Nigerians but they should also carry along the 2014 confab report. That constitutional conference was chaired by the retired Hon. Justice Kutigi, a very reputable jurist, so they should consider the recommendations in the report.

You were once quoted to have said that the Lagos IGR will drop by 70 per cent if the Igbo should withdraw their investment from the state but some people have faulted your position claiming that Lagos ports actually accounts for its prosperity. Can you clarify your position again?

No, I never said so. I quoted what somebody said when I delivered a lecture in one of the universities. I actually quoted an authority who was a special adviser to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu when he was governor. The special adviser, in a memo he sent to Tinubu said if Igbo should withdraw their investment from the state, the IGR will drop by the figure you quoted. There is no way I can say that the Igbo will withdraw their investment from Lagos. Every component of this country is very important. It is painful when I hear some people saying that they are more important than others. It is also painful to me when I hear people saying that the Hausa have nothing to contribute to the nation’s economy. It is not true. Agriculture is the most important thing that can serve as alternative to the revenue we are getting from oil. Before the oil discovery, the regions were making use of proceeds from the sale of agricultural trees which they produced to finance the Federal Government. So every tribe should see other people as important contributors to the economy too. Some people think that they are superior to others but it is not true. We should love ourselves as a nation without any impediments, respect each other’s religion and everyone should strive to say the truth. Let me tell you that international agencies operating within and outside the country were very happy with the emergence of President Buhari because they knew that the economy of Nigeria would have collapsed if he had not intervened. Look at the people we trusted with power in the past, they opened the Central Bank and looted all the money there. I keep telling the people that I will always stand on the side of truth even at the risk of my life because I am not afraid of death.

Majority of the states are not paying salaries again and Buhari has said that the governors should be held responsible for this. Do you agree with him?

In good conscience, if you are a governor collecting N1bn as security vote, without paying salary, you are a criminal. If you are a governor and you collect security vote before you pay salary, then you are not doing what is expected of you. They should pay the workers first and take the security vote later. As governor, my last security vote was N200m; it was ranging between N120m and N150m before then. So governors should make payments of salaries a priority.

Copyright PUNCH.

Independence Speech: Here is what Buhari told Nigerians (FULL TEXT)

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October 1, 2017

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Independence Speech: Here is what Buhari told Nigerians (FULL TEXT)

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday morning addressed Nigerians on Sunday morning on the celebration of the country’s 57th Independence Anniversary.

The president spoke extensively on several diverse issues which include power, corruption and security

Here is the full text……..

October 1st remains a special date for all Nigerians as this marks the day when we attained one of the most precious of human desires — freedom.

Over the years the country has gone through trials and tribulations, but October 1st is always a day for celebrations.

It is a day for thanks giving, reflection and re-dedication.

It is also a day for remembrance. We should remind ourselves of the recent journey from 1999 – 2015, when our country happily returned to democratic rule.

However, in spite of oil prices being an average of $100 per barrel and about 2.1m barrels a day, that great piece of luck was squandered and the country’s social and physical infrastructure neglected.

We were left with no savings and huge infrastructure deficit.

The APC Government’s Campaign rallying cry to restore security, re-balance the economy and fight corruption was not all rhetoric.

The country must first be secured. The economy must be re-balanced so that we do not depend on oil alone. We must fight corruption which is Nigeria’s Number One Enemy. Our Administration is tackling these tasks in earnest.

In the past two years, Nigeria has recorded appreciable gains in political freedom. A political Party at the Centre losing elections of State Governor, National Assembly seat and even State Assemblies to the opposition parties is new to Nigeria. Added to these are complete freedom to associate, to hold and disseminate opinions. Such developments clearly attest to the country’s growing political development. But like all freedoms, this is open to abuse.

Recent calls on re-structuring, quite proper in a legitimate debate, has let in highly irresponsible groups to call for dismemberment of the country. We can not and we will not allow such advocacy.

As a young Army Officer, I took part from the beginning to the end in our tragic civil war costing about 2m lives, resulting in fearful destruction and untold suffering. Those who are agitating for a re-run were not born by 1967 and have no idea of the horrendous consequences of the civil conflict which we went through.

I am very disappointed that responsible leaders of these communities do not warn their hot-headed youths what the country went through. Those who were there should tell those who were not there, the consequences of such folly.

At all events, proper dialogue and any desired constitutional changes should take place in a rational manner, at the National and State Assemblies. These are the proper and legal fora for National debate, not some lop-sided, un-democratic body with pre-determined set of objectives.

Government is keeping up the momentum of dialogue with stakeholders in the Niger Delta to keep the peace. We intend to address genuine grievances of the communities.

Government is grateful to the responsible leadership of those communities and will pursue lasting peace in the Niger Delta.

SECURITY

On security, Nigerians must be grateful to our gallant Armed Forces for rolling back the frontiers of Boko Haram’s terrorism, defeating them and reducing them to cowardly attacks on soft and vulnerable targets.

Nigeria is grateful to its neighbours and the international community for the collective efforts to defeat this world-wide menace of terrorism.

Not even the most organized and most equipped police and security forces in the world can escape the menace of modern day terrorism, as we have seen in recent years in Europe and other parts of the world.

But we are not letting up. Our Armed Forces in an effort to enhance the operational capability of troops of OPERATION LAFIYA DOLE have established Mobile Strike Teams in the North East. These will ensure the final push to wipe out the remnants of Boko Haram.

In addition, through targeted air strikes most of the leadership and identified logistics bases and routes of the insurgents have been neutralized. The Armed Forces have established a Naval presence in the Lake Chad Basin as part of the coordinated military efforts to curtail the movements or re-emergence of the sect in the area.

Government is working round the clock to ensure release of the remaining Chibok girls, as well as other persons in Boko Haram captivity. Government will continue to support the Armed Forces and other security agencies to fight not only terrorism, but kidnapping, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers violence and to ensure peace, stability and security in our country.

ECONOMY

With respect to the economy, the Government has remained pro-active in its diversification policy. The Federal Government’s agricultural Anchor Borrowers Programme, which I launched in November 2015, has been an outstanding success with:

N43.92 billion released through the CBN and 13 participating institutions,
200,000 small holder farmers from 29 states of the federation benefitting,
233,000 hectares of farmland cultivating eight commodities, namely Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, soya-beans, Poultry, Cassava and Groundnuts, in addition to fish farming.

These initiatives have been undertaken in close collaboration with the states. I wish to commend the efforts of the Governors of Kebbi, Lagos, Ebonyi and Jigawa States for their support to the rice and fertilizer revolutions.

Equally commendable are contributions of the Governors of Ondo, Edo, Delta, Imo, Cross River, Benue, Ogun, Kaduna and Plateau States for their support for the Presidential initiative for palm oil, rubber, cashew, cassava, potatoes and others crops.

With the abundance of rainfall last year and this year, agriculture has enjoyed Divine intervention.

Since December last year, this Administration has produced over 7 million 50Kg bags of fertilizer. Eleven blending plants with a capacity of 2.1 million metric tons have been reactivated. We have saved $150 million in foreign exchange and N60 billion in subsidy. Fertilizer prices have dropped from N13,000 per 50Kg bag to N5,500.

Furthermore, a new presidential initiative is starting with each state of the Federation creating a minimum of 10,000 jobs for unemployed youths, again with the aid of CBN’s development finance initiatives.

Power remains a huge problem. As of September 12th, production of power reached an all — time high of 7,001 Megawatts. Government is increasing its investment, clearing up the operational and financial log jam bedeviling the industry. We hope to reach 10,000 Megawatts by 2020.

Key priorities include better energy mix through solar and Hydro technologies. I am glad to say that after many years of limbo, Mambilla Power Project has taken off.

Elsewhere in the economy the special window created for manufacturers, investors and exporters, foreign exchange requirements has proved very effective. Since April, about $7 billion has come through this window alone. The main effect of these policies is improved confidence in the economy and better investment sentiments.

The country has recorded 7 consecutive months of lower inflation, Naira rate is beginning to stabilize, appreciating from N525 per $1 in February this year to N360 today. Broad-based economic growth is leading us out of recession.

Furthermore, in order to stabilize the polity, the Federal Government gave additional support to states in the form of:

State Excess Crude Account loans,
Budget Support Facility,
Stabilization Fund Release

to state and local government as follows:

N200 billion in 2015
N441 billion in 2016
N1 trillion in 2017

Altogether totaling N1.642 trillion.

This was done to enable states to pay outstanding salaries, pensions and small business suppliers who had been all but crippled over the years.

In addition, the Government’s current N500 billion Special Intervention Programme is targeting groups through;

Home Grown School Feeding Programme,
N-Power Job creation to provide loans to small-scale traders and artisans,
Conditional Cash Transfer,
Family Homes Fund and
Social Housing Scheme

CORRUPTION

Fellow Nigerians,

We are fully aware that fighting corruption was never going to be a straightforward task. We expected corrupt elements to use any weapon to fight back, mainly judicial obstruction and political diversion. But we are determined to eradicate corruption from our body politic.

In this fight, the Government has:

Empowered teams of prosecutors,
Assembled detailed databases,
Accelerated the recovery of stolen funds

The Administration’s new institutional reforms include:

Enforcing Treasury Single Account,
Whistle-Blowers Policy,
Integrated Payroll Personnel and Information System

We have signed multi-lateral cooperation agreements on criminal matters with friendly countries. There are signs of increasing cooperation from the Judiciary. Recently the Chief Justice of the Federation directed Heads of all our Courts of first instance and Appeal to accelerate hearings of corruption cases and dismiss any judicial officers found to have been compromised.

Justice Salami has just been appointed to chair the Judiciary’s anti-graft committee. Government expects a lot from this Committee.

I commend the National Assembly for refocusing on its oversight committees. They should, in addition, ensure swift passage of enabling corruption laws. But fighting corruption is a bottom to top operation. I call on all Nigerians to combat corruption at every turn. By not asking for and refusing to accept a bribe, by reporting unethical practices or by blowing a whistle, together we can beat corruption. The government for its part will work for accountability at all levels – Federal, State and Local Governments. CHANGE will then be real.

As we enter the second half of our term of office, we intend to accelerate progress and intensify our resolve to fix the country’s challenges and problems.

Thank you and a happy holiday to all of you.

God bless our country

Appointments: Niger Gov. Abubakar Bello under fire for partiality

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September 30, 2017

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Appointments: Niger Gov. Abubakar Bello under fire for partiality

NAN

A member of the Niger State House of Assembly, Mr Malik Madaki, on Saturday faulted the alleged lopsided appointments in the state by Gov. Abubakar Bello.

Madaki, who represents Bosso state constituency, expressed his displeasure over recent appointments while speaking to newsmen in Minna.

According to him, appointments into political offices have been largely tilted in favour of Kontagora, where the governor comes from.

“The Governor’s senatorial district of Niger north, particularly Kontagora is dominating other places in terms of appointments in the state.

“Just yesterday I heard on the news that the DG Project Monitoring and Evaluation, who is from Kontagora, has been appointed DG SDGs to replace the current man who is from Chachanga in Niger East.

“And then the person appointed to now take over as the Head of projecting monitoring and evaluation is also from Kontagora.

“I don’t think my local government, Bosso, for example has produced any DG since this administration came on board,” Malik said.

He stated that aside the spread in the appointments of commissioners, most other appointments have gone to Niger north.

He also accused Bello of abandoning long suffering APC party faithful who put their life on the line to ensure his victory at the polls in 2015.

“I know of people who gave their all before the election and suffered for this government from day one but today they’ve been abandoned by the governor.

“These people have not been rewarded for their efforts in enthroning the present government.

“How do we go back to these people and seek their support in future elections,” he asked.

The lawmaker advised the governor to quickly review appointments to reflect all the sections of the state.

He revealed plans to sponsor a bill for a law to establish a character commission saddled with the responsibility of enforcing compliance with principle of proportional sharing of posts in the state.

“The essence of the bill is to correct all these anomalies in appointments.

“We are in a democratic setting and we need to carry everybody along,” he said.

In a swift reaction, Mr Jide Orintusin, Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media and Publicity, said that Bello had been fair to the three senatorial zones in appointments.

http://www.newsheadline247.com/2017/09/28/revealedniger-state-gov-abubakar-bellos-hidden-assets-uncovered-in-offshore-tax-havens/

“Governor Bello has tried to be guided by the law and his party in appointments.

“If you look at the spread of appointments, all the senatorial zones are being carried along.

“The governor is from Niger north, the Deputy is from Niger South. The speaker is from Niger East while the Chief of Staff is from Niger East and the Secretary to State Government is from Niger North.

“So it is unfair for anyone to accuse the governor of lopsidedness because he is always guided by the law.

“I think the honourable member was simply seeking more appointments for his people which is okay, because in politics everybody is always asking for more,” he added.

Orintunsin stressed that Bello remains conscious of the need to balance political appointments as he secured his vote across the three zones. NAN

Catalonia Referendum: Police seal off 1,300 polling stations, resistance continues

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September 30, 2017

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Catalonia Referendum: Police seal off 1,300 polling stations, resistance continues

Police in Catalonia had already sealed over half of the 2,315 polling stations in the region mid-Saturday to stop an independence referendum from taking place, the Spanish government said, as separatists remained determined to fight for their right to vote.

Teachers, parents, students and activists in this wealthy northeastern region have leapt into action to defend the vote slated for Sunday, defying Madrid’s warnings of repercussions by occupying more than 160 schools designated as polling stations, it said.

Enric Millo, the central government representative in Catalonia, told reporters 1,300 polling stations had already been sealed off.

He said that 163 of those had already been occupied when they were sealed off, which meant those inside were allowed to leave but no one could go in.

AFP reporters, however, visited several schools occupied by parents, students and locals where people could go in and out freely, indicating there may be more occupied buildings that have yet to be sealed off.

The standoff between the central government and Catalan leaders over an independence referendum opposed by Madrid has morphed into one of the biggest crises to hit Spain since democracy was restored after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

As such, it has Spaniards the country over worried.

In Spain’s major cities, Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Santander, Alicante, Valencia and Malaga, thousands protested for Spanish unity.

“We shouldn’t have got to this point. We’ve arrived at a point of no return,” said Fernando Cepeda, a 58-year-old engineer, a Spanish flag tied around his waist in front of Madrid’s city hall.

Call to remain peaceful

Catalan separatist leaders and organisers of “committees to protect the referendum” stressed that everyone must remain peaceful.

In one incident, though, someone fired a pellet gun on Friday night at a group of people standing in front of an occupied high school in the Catalan town of Manlleu, lightly injuring three people, police said.

The referendum has sown divisions among Catalans themselves, with the region deeply split on independence, even if a large majority want to be allowed to settle the matter in a legal vote.

Authorities in Madrid have instructed police to ensure no votes are cast in a referendum that the courts have ruled unconstitutional.

For days, they have been seizing electoral items such as ballot papers while prosecutors have ordered the closure of websites linked to the vote and the detention of key members of the team organising the referendum.

But those for the vote have mobilised.

On Friday, tractors paraded through Barcelona, some decked with the “Estelada”, the separatists’ flag of red-and-yellow stripes with a white star on a blue chevron.

They and firefighters have pledged to protect polling stations.

From district to district, people gathered to form “Committees to protect the referendum”, using the Telegram messaging app to get organised and urging everyone to remain peaceful, said an AFP correspondent who saw some of the messages.

The move appeared to be partly coordinated by a platform of “schools open for the referendum.”

– Mobilisation will continue –
Carles Riera, a lawmaker in the regional parliament for the radical CUP party, part of Catalonia’s separatist coalition, vowed that mobilisation would continue after Sunday’s vote — if the “yes” camp won but Madrid opposed the result, as is almost certain.

“We’re in a process of popular mobilisation that is going to last a while,” he told reporters.

“This democratic wave, this level of auto-organisation will have to keep going for a long time to defend the republic.”

On Friday, Spain’s education ministry said in a statement that head teachers in Catalonia “were not exempt from liability” if they cooperated and allowed their schools to remain open for the vote.

Some schools have imagined innovative ways to circumvent an order that public spaces cannot be used for the referendum by organising leisure activities all over the weekend, from pyjama parties for the kids to volleyball games.

**(Photo- Reuters) Pro-independence activists have occupied designated polling stations**

Barcelona’s Joan Brossa high school, for instance, advertised a series of activities for Friday and Saturday, including film screenings, football matches and Zumba dance fitness classes.

It remained unclear though how people would be able to enter sealed-off schools on Sunday to vote, even if they are occupied.

The Mossos d’Esquadra Catalan police have warned about the risk of “disruption of public order” if efforts are made to prevent people from casting ballots.

Madrid has sent thousands of extra police officers from other forces to Catalonia — which accounts for one fifth of Spain’s economy — to stop the referendum from happening.

Catalan Vice-President Oriol Junqueras has said that there are alternatives for citizens to vote, without saying what they are.

AFP

IPOB: Nnamdi Kanu not in our custody, says Military

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September 30, 2017

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IPOB: Nnamdi Kanu not in our custody, says Military

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday declared that the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu was not in any military custody.

It also said the military did not in any way raid the home of Kanu, saying it watched the operation live and can justify that his home was not raided by the military.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, yesterday, Director Defence Information, (DDI) Major Geneneral John Enenche, said the people that came out to attack the military were the Biafra Security Service and the Biafra National Guard, adding that it is not right for them to block the roads and be collecting tolls and intimidating law-abiding citizens of the state.

On the proscription of IPOB by the Federal Government and South East governors, Enenche noted that the statement he issued two weeks ago did not say “proscription” but a “warning” to the parents to warn their children, adding that due process was followed by the government before proscribing them as a terrorist organisation by a competent court.

He said: “It is not the responsibility of DHQ to declare Nnamdi Kanu wanted. Nnamdi Kanu is not in the custody of the military. “Nobody raided Kanu’s home and I stand to be justified not from the information I got. I was watching it live, was monitoring it live, speaking with them on the ground.

“I think I later confirmed that there was nothing to actually justify the legality of IPOB members mounting roadblocks. I saw the militancy, nobody told me and I saw the actions there. We are still investigating.

“The military did not proscribe IPOB. Due process was followed to proscribe them. The job of the military was to diagnose security issues and warned the public of consequences and that is part of our media operations.

“We did our operations very well otherwise that weekend would have been the longest weekend in this country and we are also very careful in choosing our words and we know the law very well.”

On whether DHQ is not alarmed about the militarisation of the country, a state in which the United States of America claimed the country was, the defence spokesman noted that the Armed Forces of Nigeria was not alarmed by what is being analysed by the US, adding that people understand in a different perspective, but the military sees and understands in a different perspective, too.

“So, it is the military that would tell you the signs and symptoms of a security ailment because it is only a doctor that can tell you that somebody has cancer or malaria. Whatever another person is seeing they will not see it in military perspective.

“Other countries have passed through this, if you go into history, before getting to where they are as developed countries today. Like in China you see one policeman inside a car, you hardly see a military man outside and it depends on the developmental process and what you have passed through. That’s why in simple terms I will tell you that we are not alarmed at all,” he said.

Enenche added that the DHQ reaffirms its unalloyed loyalty of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.

Reacting to the military statement, Kanu’s lawyers, Ifeanyi Ejioffor told The Guardian on phone yesterday that the military personnel had the last contact with Kanu, they should therefore produce him.

“We are not moved by the press statement. The military doesn’t need to issue press statement, it is better to come to court and say so. Let them come and tell Nigerians where they kept Kanu. They are the ones that raided his house. Nigerians know the truth,” Ejioffor said.