The Joint Task Force, JTF, in Borno State, says it has killed  Momodu Bama, the second top leader of the deadly Boko Haram sect.

JFT spokesman, Sagir Musa, said Bama was killed alongside his father, Abatcha Flatari, a spiritual leader of the sect in charge of indoctrinating child foot soldiers who were in most cases abducted.

He said the incident took place during an counter on August 4, when members of the sect attacked the Mobile police base in the state.

Musa said that before this time, a bounty of N25 million had been placed on Bama.

The JTF explained that the delay in breaking the news about the deaths was because they wanted to be sure they had got the right targets in order not to misinform the public.

Momodu Bama was an indigene of Bama town in Bama local government area of Borno State and a member of the Boko Haram Shurra committee, the decision making or highest body of the sect.

The JTF also described Bama was one of the most vicious and heartless killers in the group with penchant for slaughtering his victims.

Egypt’s interim Vice President and Nobel Peace Laureate, Mohamed ElBaradei, has resigned from his post after deadly clashes Wednesday that killed an estimated150 people across the country.

In a resignation letter to Interim President Adly Mansour, ElBaradei said that “the beneficiaries of what happened today are those who call for violence, terrorism and the most extreme groups,” he said.

He added: “It has become difficult for me to continue bearing responsibility for decisions that I do not agree with and whose consequences I fear. I cannot bear the responsibility for one drop of blood.”

Sources have said that Egypt’s two deputy prime ministers, Hossam Eissa  Ziad Bahaa El-Din, might also both offer their resignations as well.

The country’s security forces stormed two protest camps occupied by supporters of deposed President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, killing dozens of them.

Armoured bulldozers moved deep into the main camp outside the eastern Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque and another protest camp at Nahda Square, pulling down all the tents used as shelter by the protesters.

The leftist group, the Egyptian Popular Current, led by ex-presidential candidate, Hamdeen Sabbahi, holds the Muslim Brotherhood responsible for Wednesday’s violence on the grounds that the Islamist group has “chosen a standoff scenario with the state.”

“We reject the Brotherhood’s attempt to enlarge the circle of violence in Cairo and thegovernorates, as well as their targeting of churches and police stations,” said the group’s statement, released on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s army-backed government has declared a state of emergency and clamped a curfew on large parts of the country.

The curfew has been imposed on 12 out of 27 governorates – Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Suez,Ismailia, Assiut, Sohag, Beni Suef, Minya, Beheira, South Sinai, and North Sinai.

It will last for a month and those who do not abide by the curfew will be imprisoned, according to a government statement.

Cairo’s underground metro will be closed from 7pm Wednesday due to the curfew, an official told Egyptian television. It will reopen Thursday morning at 6am when the curfew is lifted.

The US has condemned the violent crackdown on protesters and strongly opposed the declaration of a state of emergency.

White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, urged Egypt’s military leaders to respect the basic human rights of the Egyptian people.

Earnest said the violence will only make it more difficult for the parties involved to return to the path of peace and democracy.

The Coptic Orthodox Church has also condemned the continued attacks on churches  and Christian properties on Wednesday.

In a statement, the church called on the Egyptian armed forces to help the police in maintaining security.

Unknown gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents have killed at least 60 people after attacking three communities in BornoState.

The offence of these communities, it was gathered, is divulging information about the Boko Haram sect to security agencies which has led to the arrest and death of some sect members.

The gunmen chose Saturday and Sunday to carry out a bloody “revenge” on residents of Ngom, Maisarmari and Mailari communities in Konduga and Mafa local government areas of the state.

The attack was both massive and gruesome as the attackers used less of bullets and more of knives with which they slashed the throats of their victims after tying their hands to their backs.

Residents believe that the new tactics was employed so as not to attract the attention of security agents.

A politician from the area, who confirmed the death of 12 villagers in Ngom, a village 20 kilometres east of Maiduguri the state capital, said he learnt of another attack in Konduga were 40 persons were shot dead.

A Joint Task Force, JTF, source confirmed that 12 persons were killed at Ngom, while 19 others had their throats slit in surrounding villages on Sunday by unknown gunmen clad in military uniform.

The JTF source said the killing made the task force condone off the road leading to Dikwa for several hours.

As a result of the absence of telephone network for over two months, the villagers could not get across to security agents early enough and by the time the JTF arrived the village, the gunmen had fled in their vehicles and motorcycles.

Many others were injured in the attack.

An official at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, who spoke anonymously to journalists, confirmed that 26 persons who were brought to the hospital on Sunday are currently at the hospital receiving treatment from gunshots and other kinds of wounds.

Nigeria’s minister of power, Chinedu Nebo said on Monday that thevandalisation of gas pipelines responsible for the loss of about 1,600 megawatts of electricity, has political undertone.

Nebo said this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of joint meeting of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC and National Council on Privatisation, NCP.

“It is important to note that with regard to the busting of gas pipelines and vandalism of the pipelines that bring gas to the generating plants, it is not any significant in commercial value…and may be essentially politically motivated just to cause damage to the entire country and to Nigerians,” the minister stated.

He said the total value of copper stolen by the vandals did not amount up to N10,000 but that the action knocked off about one million people from power supply and cost N27 million to repair.

Nebo also noted that water level in Kainji, Shiroro and Jebba hydro power plants “are quiet low right now”, which is partly responsible for the power drop.

He said the low water level of the dams was responsible for a loss of about 460 megawatts of electricity from the total 1,600 loss.

“We are hoping with the help of nature, it will come on board very shortly so that the 460 Mega Watts already lost because of water level will be recovered,” he said.

READ ALSO:

• ASUU, FG Meeting Deadlocked, No Money To Meet Demands
• Egypt’s Security Kill Over 30 Protesters In Forced Eviction
• JTF Kills Top Boko Haram Commander, Father
• Egypt’s Vice President Resigns, As Govt. Imposes Curfew
• Gunmen Kill 60 In Borno

Speaking in same vein, Gabriel Suswam, governor of Benue State said the consistent vandalism of the gas pipelines was an act of sabotage and urged government to intensify efforts to ensuring that those responsible for the act are brought to book.

“The efforts and the huge amount of money being expended  by government to ensure Nigerians enjoy constant supply of electricity is being sabotaged by some unknown individuals whose motivation is actually not known to anybody,” he said.

The meeting, presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo and had in attendance governors Suswam, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and Theodore Orji of AbiaState.

The Lagos State government has challenged the acquittal of HamzaAl-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan over the murder of KudiratAbiola at the Supreme Court.

The Lagos State attorney general and commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, told newsmen on Tuesday that the appeals against the judgments were filed on Aug. 12.

He said he believes that there are good grounds of appeals against the judgment of the appellate court which should be considered by the apex court.

“I can report that we have appealed the judgments; one in respect of Al-Mustapha and the other in respect of Shofolahan. Both have been studied closely and we came to the conclusion that there are good grounds for appeals and we have since filed all the necessary papers,” he said.

He added that the contest of the judgments at the Supreme Court will end all speculations on the matter.

Al-Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha and Shofolahan, an aide to the lateKudirat, were set free by the Court of Appeal in Lagos on July 12 in two separate judgments, upturning the judgment of Justice MojisolaDada of a Lagos High Court which sentenced them to death by hanging on January 30, 2012.

A total of 76 former child soldiers who had been enrolled by armed groups have reunited with their family members in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC in the second half of 2013.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, said that it had supported the reunification of former child soldiers with their families in both South Kivu and North Kivu.

During the same period, ICRC also visited over 120 former child soldiers who reunited with their families to ensure that they had been well integrated into their communities.

Annick Bouvier, a communication officer for ICRC in DR Congo, said the organisation was holding talks with armed groups to help save the children serving in their ranks.

“In spite of our message, the recruitment of children by the armed groups still remains a phenomenon that we witness in DR Congo,” she said, noting that there is still much work to do.

“The ultimate goal of our efforts is to ensure that the International Humanitarian Law is respected in eastern DR Congo,” she added.

The Red Cross has expressed concern that children remain the most vulnerable group during the armed conflict in DR Congo.

During the war, children are frequently snatched from their families by rebel groups to become soldiers. Millions of civilians have died to date, roughly half of whom are children under five years old.

The UN believes that 15-30% of all newly-recruited combatants in the DRC army are less than 18 years old.

One of the reasons the army and the rebels use child soldiers is that the enemy hesitates to kill children. Therefore, the number of recruits remains high as fewer of them are lost in battle.

In the DRC, child soldiers are forced to commit the most atrocious acts of murder, acts which mentally scar them for life and female child soldiers are frequently used as sexual slaves by the commanders.

Amnesty International reports that, as a 15-year-old soldier, ‘Kalami’ was made to ‘kill a family, to cut up their bodies and eat them’. He goes on to say “my life is lost. I have nothing to live for’.

The DRC has ratified a number of international treaties which protect the rights of children. In 2001, for example, they ratified UN Security Council Resolution 1341, which called for ‘an end to the recruitment of child soldiers to ensure their … demobilisation, return and rehabilitation’.

However, in spite of the expected protection from the law, the children continue to be recruited by armed forces or rebel groups in eastern parts of the country.

The Borno State government has announced a compensation ofN250,000 to each of the families of those gruesomely murdered by members of the Boko Haram sect over the weekend.

Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, said this when he made a condolence tour to the area on Tuesday.

Shettima also donated N5 million and four vehicles to boost the activities of the youth vigilante group otherwise known as the Civilian JTF.

Those who lost houses in the incident are to get between N100,000 and up to N400,000 donations in cash.

The governor explained that the cash donation was part of measures to cushion the pain and hardship faced by family members of the deceased.

Shettima has also set up a committee headed by the member representing the area in the House of Assembly, Ali Dalori, to assess the situation and advise the government on ways to further strengthen security in the area, as well as properly distribute the compensation sums.

Meanwhile, some survivors of the attack have continued to recount their experiences.

They told journalists during the governor’s visit that they were surrounded by unknown gunmen who opened fire on them during their early morning prayers at various mosques.

The villagers said 52 dead bodies were recovered at the end of the attack of which 47 were identified as members of the village, while the remaining five were members of sect.

Another 26 persons are said to be critically injured and receiving treatment in a Maiduguri hospital.

The villagers also claimed that the gunmen had some women on their team who actively participated in the attack, burning down houses while the men did the brutal job of slaughtering the hapless villagers.

President Goodluck Jonathan has reproved the national chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Bisi Akande, for referring to him as a “kindergarten” leader who treats national issues with levity.

Speaking through his special adviser on media and publicity, ReubenAbati, the President said it was rude for the APC leader to disparage his efforts towards evolving and implementing workable solutions to Nigeria’s problems and counselled Akande to have respect for his age.

“Nothing else but gross ignorance and lack of consideration could have led Chief Akande to refer to a President who, having served as deputy governor, governor, vice president and president, has far more experience of governance at the highest level than him and his preferred “candidates”, as a kindergarten leader,” Abati said.

He also faulted Akande’s assertion that the President Jonathan is statute-barred from contesting in 2015 as it will amount to a “third term”, noting that the 1999 constitution clearly upholds the President’s eligibility to contest for a rerun in 2015.

Section 137(1) of the constitution states that a person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections.

Abati averred that “President Goodluck Jonathan has been elected into office on only one previous occasion and is therefore not statute-barred from running.”

Read the republished statement below:

“We have noted with dismay the continuation of efforts by leaders of the opposition to promote themselves and their party through the irresponsible denigration of President Goodluck Jonathan and the exalted office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The interim National Chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akandesank to a new low in this regard, yesterday, when he rudely and falsely described President Jonathan as a “kindergarten” leader who treats national issues with levity.

“Chief Bisi Akande has every right to embark on a flight of fancy about the APC beating the PDP in the 2015 general elections, but he does no justice to his age and status when he resorts to propagating falsehood, wilfully insulting the President of his country, impugning his integrity and desecrating the very office which his party wishes to take over in 2015 by fair or foul means.  We urge Chief Akande and his fellow-travellers to remember that there are laws against libel and defamation of character in this country even if there are no legal impediments to indecorous, hypocritical and unpatriotic vituperation.

“It is certainly rude, ill-mannered, uncharitable and hypocritical for Chief Akande to falsely and cavalierly allege that a President who toils tirelessly every day of the week, evolving and implementing workable solutions to Nigeria’s problems, is handling national issues with levity.

“Also, nothing else but gross ignorance and lack of consideration could have led Chief Akande to refer to a President who, having served as deputy governor, governor, vice president and president, has far more experience of governance at the highest level than him and his preferred “candidates”, as a kindergarten leader.

“By his very unguarded and intemperate outburst yesterday (Sunday), Chief Akande exhibited not only an unbecoming lack of respect for the person and office of the President of his country, but also a complete disregard for the patriotic feelings of the millions of Nigerians who voted for President Jonathan and who continue to appreciate his sincere efforts to positively transform the nation.

“It is very sad and unfortunate that unbridled ambition for the office they constantly impugn and denigrate has blinded ChiefAkande and his ilk to the visible accomplishments of the Jonathan Presidency.

“Certainly, nothing else but a manic and unscrupulous quest for power could have led them to make such accusations against a President who, among other significant achievements, has been praised for his handling of the insurgency in some parts of Northern Nigeria where he has used a combination of diplomacy and targeted military force to contain the security threat.

“Nothing else but the relentless pursuit of narrow personal and sectional interests could lead them to make such claims about a President under whose leadership Nigeria’s economy has been promoted from a low income economy to a middle income economy by the World Bank and whose leadership has seen the Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria increase at an annual rate of over six per cent since he took office.

“Finally, though President Jonathan has not indicated whether or not he is interested in a second term, Chief Akande, who has taken stock of his party and seen that they have no electable presidential material is already trying to be clever by half by claiming the President is statute-barred from contesting in 2015, saying it will amount to a “third term”.

What the Constitution says
“If this is the winning strategy of the APC,  Chief Akande has every reason to panic because the issue of eligibility for election into the office of the President has been settled by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999,  as amended  which provides as follows;
137. (1) A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if –
(b) he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections;
“President Goodluck Jonathan has been elected into office on only one previous occasion and is therefore not statute-barred from running.

“It is clear that the APC is seeking to bait the Presidency to respond to it to achieve two purposes. The first purpose is to get their name into the press and gain name recognition for their party. How pathetic. The second and more important reason is to divert the attention of the public from the festering feud betweenMuhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu over the overriding ambition of the two men which is threatening to tear the new contraption which is mistakenly referred to by the gullible as a party.

“To the discerning, it is only a matter of time before ambition sinks the APC boat. It is only 2013 and already the big masquerades in the party are using undemocratic words like “must”, “nobody can stop” and other military terms in discussing their presidential ticket.

“Our advice to the APC is this: treat your party like a democratic association and don’t mistake it for the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) that someone used to force his way to power.”

The Jonah Jang-led faction of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, would meet with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo today as part of moves to fix its broken ranks.

On Sunday, 10 governors and five deputy governors graced a factional meeting summoned by Jang, the Plateau State governor.

Governors in attendance include those of Plateau, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Katsina, Benue, Ondo, Bayelsa, Abia, Ebonyi and TarabaStates while the deputy governors of Kaduna, Kogi, Gombe,Anambra and Cross River represented their principals.

The main agenda of the meeting was to discuss the amendment of the Nigerian constitution, especially as it regards local government autonomy which the governors reject.

Spokesman for the governors, Godswill Akpabio, of Akwa Ibom State told journalists at the end of the meeting that efforts were in progress to reconcile both factions of the NGF for the strengthening of the forum.