Former military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, a retired General, has urged Nigerians to utilize the power of prayers to defeat the Boko Haram insurgents.

He made this plea during a prayer conference which held on Sunday at the Olive Tree Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The prayers held under the auspices of Nigeria Prays, a
nongovernmental organization, NGO, headed by the retired General, who led Nigeria between 1966 and 1975.

Gowon said Nigerians should endeavor to change their orientation on the issue of prayers as a means of getting divine attention in the affairs of men, adding that it was what the nation needed at present to tackle the menace of insurgency and its attendant security challenges.

He said the incessant suicide bombings in the country were worrisome.

“It is sad that some people willfully take their lives and the lives of others. This is a great concern. There is no longer respect for lives. There is no regard for human dignity. This is worrisome. That is why I really want to appeal to Nigerians to raise an altar of prayer for Nigeria. We should consistently pray and constantly ask that God will cause his mercy to flow in our nation,” he observed.

Gowon said the case of the Biblical Saul, whom God transformed from a violent rebel to a minister of the gospel, shows that there was hope of redemption for the misguided insurgents.

The committee of the Nigerian Army charged with the review of disciplinary cases against over 2,000 soldiers will begin sitting at the Nigerian Defence Academy today.

The committee, which is expected to sit for about three weeks, will review all disciplinary cases from the ongoing counter -insurgency operation in the North-East.

The committee is expected to submit its recommendations for the approval of the Army Council as soon as it concludes its assignment.

It would be recalled that the army authorities had on August 2, 2015, said that it would constitute a panel to review all of its recent disciplinary cases.

The acting director, Army Public Relations, Sani Usman, a Colonel, had stated in a press release that all disciplinary cases were to be reviewed because of litigations and petitions embarked upon by aggrieved military personnel.

Usman also noted that the cases would be treated on merit, adding that the directive for a review should not be seen as a total recall of dismissed and deserter soldiers.

By Jefferson Ibiwale, Benin

Some 112 internally displaced children quartered at the International Christian Centre in Edo State were reunited with their families over the weekend.

The reunion was held during an emotionally laden luncheon hosted by the state governor, Adams Oshiomhole.

After the meal, the children were handed over to the heads of 49 different families to which they belonged.

At the event, Oshiomhole urged the security agencies to intensify efforts to end the insurgency that had led to the fracturing of many family units in the North east.

The governor, who expressed confidence that the Buhari – led administration would tackle the Boko Haram menace, urged Nigerians to be more accommodating irrespective of tribal or religious differences.

The governor, it would be recalled, recently waded into the planned eviction of IDPs in the state by security agencies.

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At the reunion, one of the parents, Ali Yakubu, from Gwoza local government area of Borno State, who was reunited with four of his children, said he was happy to be alive to see his children.

He, however, lamented that all his siblings were killed by the sect members.

Another parent, Justina Ali, thanked the governor and founder of the camp, Solomon Folunrunsho, for taking care of the kids while at the camp.

President Muhammadu Buhari recently directed relevant agencies in the country to initiate moves to reunite families that had been separated due to the devastating effects of the Boko Haram insurgency.

By Tosin Omoniyi

The All Progressive Congress, APC, has said that the ongoing crusade against corruption being carried out by Muhammadu Buhari led – administration was justified considering the massive looting that characterized the immediate past government.

The party said no worthy leader will ignore such cases of impunity.

It described as mind-boggling the massive looting of the nation’s treasury by public officials, saying nothing but the total recovery of the funds will be acceptable to all Nigerians.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said anyone who attempted to sabotage the recovery efforts of the government should be regarded as an enemy of the state.

It added that the task of bringing corrupt persons to justice was one that needed the support of all.

”It is absolutely gratifying that Nigerians are vehemently opposed to the few who would rather have the government of the day turn a blind eye to the looted funds and, in their words, carry on with the process of governance,” the APC stated.

It said further that the massive funds looted during the past few years would go a long way in assisting the nation’s development drive.

The ruling party added also that allowing those who stole from the nation’s treasury go away with their loot was dangerous as they could use same to destabilize the government.

”Also, allowing those who privatized the commonwealth to get away is offering a thumbs-up for looting. No responsible government will do that,” the APC said.

The party said it would not be dissuaded by the antics of the enemies of state who had resorted to blackmail to frustrate its efforts at stabilizing the economy.

In the press statement, the party listed some disturbing instances of looting that characterised the past government.

These include the stealing of N3.8 trillion out of the N8.1 trillion earned from crude oil between 2012 and 2015 withheld by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, the $2.1 billion from Excess Crude Account unaccounted for, the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR’s unremitted N109.7 billion royalty from oil firms and the $6 billion allegedly looted by some ministers of the last administration.

Other corrupt incidents it listed are the 160 million barrels of crude worth $13.9 billion lost between 2009 and 2012, the $15 million US from botched arms deal yet to be returned to Nigeria, $13 billion in NLNG dividends mostly unaccounted for, the N30 billion rice waiver and the N183 billion unaccounted for at the Niger Delta Development Corporation, NDDC.

It said these were just a few of the corrupt acts in the last administration, adding that more would soon be discovered as soon as forensic audit is carried out in other sectors of the economy.

”The level of looting that went on in other sectors is better imagined, hence the need for all Nigerians to rally around the Buhari administration to recover the loots, bring the looters to justice and to put in place measures to prevent such looting in the future,” it said.

Former Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Timi Alaibe, and the current Bayelsa State chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Sam Inokoba, a retired Colonel, are among over 1,00 members and leaders of the ruling party who decamped to the All Progressives Congress, APC on Saturday.

The move by many highly placed PDP chieftains in the state to the opposition party is clearly indicative of a division in the party as the December governorship election approaches.

Saturday’s political realignment of forces is also possibly a sign of opposition to governor Seriake Dickson’d second term in office.

Addressing a political rally at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex, Inokoba gave ten reasons for leaving the party, adding that many members could not remain because the PDP government has derailed from its original objectives.

Inokoba took some time to assess the Dickson – led administration said that his dictatorial style had stifled internal democracy in the PDP and disenchanted mmany members, forcing them to leave.

He said the governor’s dictatorial tendencies and manipulative style of leadership had divided the ruling party said that PDP, leading to endless intra – party squabbles.

The former PDP chairman said that he was decamping to the APC with his followers from 105 wards in the state and urged Bayelsa people to shun sentiments to embrace change.

Addressing the rally, Alaibe, who served as former President Goodluck Jonathan’s special adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, regretted that the resources in the state had not been properly harnessed for the benefit of the citizens, many of whom he said are still afflicted by poverty.

Touted to have been lured into the APC to contest the governorship election on the party’s platform, Alaibe promised that he would work to install an APC government in the state.

Also addressing the crowd of supporters and members of the party, former governor of the state and APC leader, Timpre Sylva, decried level of insecurity and piracy in the state which he noted had crippled economic activities in the coastal parts of the state.

Silva predicted victory for the APC in Bayelsa State in the governorship election, adding that the new government would join hands with the ruling party at the federal level to bring rapid development to the people.

The national chairman of the APC who received the decampees, John Oyegun, handed over brooms to all of them.

Oyegun paid credit to Sylva for mobilising support for the APC and attracting politically relevant person into the party in the state.

He also assured the people that the APC government would ensure the speedy completion of the East West road which has been under construction for many years.

Oyegun said that the South south region which is the economic base of the nation was the economic base of the nation cannot afford to play opposition politics and said that all would be done to win the whole zone to the APC.

The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Friday evening said that the government would not relent until corruption was curbed even as he assured that the campaign would not be selective in nature.
He said only those who had corrupt tendencies had anything to fear from the current government.

Osinbajo stated this in a chat with the media at the funeral ceremony held for a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, Janet Oladoye, in Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State.

Osinbajo observed that it was sad that rather than support the government in its anti-corruption crusade,
the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was seeking to play politics by attacking government policies.

The VP said the war on corruption was meant to help Nigeria return to a path of dignity and economic empowerment from which it had derailed during the years the PDP held sway.

He insisted that only those found to have corruptly enriched themselves at the detriment of the state would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

The Deputy Governor of Borno State, Zannah Umar Mustapha, has died according to a statement by the state government.

The state government, which expressed shock at the Mustapha’s death, said Mustapha was in Yola to represent the state government at the convocation of the Modibbo Adama University of Science and Technology, Yola, when he passed on.

A statement by the Secretary to the Borno State government, Usman Shuwa, on Saturday said the Deputy Governor was also scheduled to visit indigenes of the state who are being accommodated in the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camps in Yola.

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“It is with deep sense of utter shock and disbelief but with complete submission to the will of the Almighty Allah that the Borno State Government hereby announces the passing away of His Excellency, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, the Deputy Governor of Borno State. He died in his sleep this morning(Saturday) in Yola, Adamawa State, where he was to represent Borno State Government at the convocation ceremony of Modibbo Adama University of Science and Technology, Yola,” the statement said.
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By Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

The National Security Adviser, NSA, Babagana Munguno, a retired Major General, has promised Nigerians that the Boko Haram insurgency that has killed thousand of Nigerians in the North East would soon end with concerted efforts between the military and the citizens.

The NSA, who spoke in Maiduguri on behalf of the four other service chiefs, Chief of Defence, Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin, a General; Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, a Lieutenant General; Chief of Air Staff, Sadiq Baba Abubakar, an Air Marshal and the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, said the military was making a final push to defeat the insurgents.

The military chiefs had paid a courtesy visit to the state governor, Kashim Shettima, aimed at eliciting his support in the new drive to end the six year old insurgency.

Munguno said the recent change of guard in the military as initiated by President Muhammadu Buhari was a tactical move aimed at ending the insurgency as quickly as possible.

“There was a tendency of replacing the service chiefs with a mandate from the President to end Boko Haram insurgency that has claimed a lot of lives and property in the North East. In less than 24 hours after we were sworn in and decorated by the President, we are here in

Maiduguri, the Borno state capital for the reassessment of military operations and to end insurgency in three months,”he said.

While stating that the President had made the right choice, he however insisted that for the war to be won in the next few months, all hands must be on deck.

He said the military chiefs were in Maiduguri to end the insurgency by first assessing the preparedness and operational capabilities of the troops with the aim of fine-tuning it.

“We are here in Maiduguri to end this insurgency, we are here to assess all the military operational details that will facilitate various aerial and ground troops to put an end to Boko Haram,” he said firmly.

He said the restoration of peace was paramount in the military agenda.

“We are not going to work against your interest of restoring peace and unity in the North east. We are here for all of you affected by this terrorism that has claimed the lives of many of your sons, daughters, parents, guardians, including your traditional and religious leaders sacked from towns and villages for over six years. We want you also to help us with credible information to end this insurgency,” the NSA added.

Mongunu said the era of mutual suspicion between the military and the civilian populace was over as both parties were now willing to work together to solve the bloody crisis.

Governor Shettima, in his reaction, promised that the state and its residents would give the new service chiefs their support.

He lamented the results of the crisis which he said has set the state backwards in terms of development.

The governor, however, expressed hope in the capabilities of the new military helmsmen to eradicate the insurgency.
“We will give you all the support to end this insurgency. With the appointment of the service chiefs, we cannot ask for more, all we need is to give them our support. The Boko Haram cannot survive if we the people of Borno say no enough is enough. If this Boko Haram madness comes to an end, your names would be written in gold in the annals of the history of the country, the country and its citizenry will be proud of you all,” Shettima said.