I will lead protest to Chibok, says Patience Jonathan

The first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has promised to stage a protest march to Chibok, Borno State, if the abducted schoolgirls were not released.



Jonathan said this in Abuja after a meeting with governors’ and ministers’ wives, female senators, commissioners and more than 200 women from various groups at the State House in Abuja.‎

The meeting was to seek the actual whereabouts of the kidnapped girls.

According to her, a committee will be inaugurated to include wives of all relevant stakeholders at a meeting scheduled for May 4.
She said that refusal of any of such relevant stakeholders to be contacted for the meeting would also lead to a mass protest.

“I cannot perpetuate hearsay and rumour; I must have facts to tell the international community.
“We will set up a committee to seek the truth as women.

“If any of those we call refuse to come, we will take the protest to Chibok.
“I do not mind being shot as long as they return our girls to us safely, we are tired of the kidnapping,” she said.

Jonathan said that the first ladies of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and various other countries had called to ask questions and offer assistance on the matter.

“They intimated me of their readiness to help, they also asked me questions that I could not answer ‎and as women we are the last hope of this nation. We cannot fail our fellow women and the nation.

“‎If need be, we will call on the northern elders to help us so that our children and husbands will not die,” Jonathan said.‎‎ ‎

The ‎Head of WAEC, National Office, Mr Charles Eguridu, at the meeting gave a clarification over the number of students enrolled for the examination in the school.

Eguridu said that those registered in the Government Girls School, Chibok include a total of 530 made up of 395 girls and 135 boys.
“The school had been reverted to a mixed school but the name remained Government Girls School.

“We were able to relocate 189 of the total number to write their exams at another village called Uba‎,” Eguridu said.‎
Others who spoke at the meeting included Mrs Yemisi Suswan, Sen. Nenadi Usman and Prof. Sarah Jibril.

Nigerian Govt. Blocks Lamido Sanusi From Travelling Abroad_Passport Seized Again

Nigerian govt. blocks Lamido Sanusi from travelling abroad; seizes his passport again.......

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Premium Times

Kano
May 4, 2014

Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services, alias SSS, on Saturday night blocked the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, from boarding a Turkish airline flight for a planned trip to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj, a witness and a spokesperson for Mr. Sanusi have told PREMIUM TIMES.

Operatives of the SSS based at the Aminu Kano International Airport also seized Mr. Sanusi’s passport and told him they would not allow him to travel abroad unless they received clearance from their Abuja headquarters, this newspaper learnt. The SSS’ action however appears a contravention of the April 3 judgment of a Federal High Court in Lagos, which restrained the agency and the Nigeria Police from arresting or harassing the CBN Governor or seizing his passport.

A spokesperson for Mr. Sanusi, Muyiwa Adekeye, told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday night that the governor had arrived the Kano airport for the 11: 10p.m. Turkish Airlines flight to Turkey where he would have connected another flight to Saudi Arabia.

But after the CBN governor had been checked in by the airline and was about to complete immigration formalities, his passport was confiscated by the SSS operatives at the immigration cubicle and told he could not travel. “The SSS officials were shown the certified true copies of the court order which barred them from harassing or arresting him,” Mr. Adekeye said. “But the officers said they have no choice in the matter and that they were only acting on instruction from above that they should not allow the governor to travel.”

Mr. Adekeye said when Mr. Sanusi insisted on reading the court order to the operatives, the officers simply disappeared with his passport and failed to return.

The development caused confusion at the airport and delayed the Turkish Airline flight. Mr. Sanusi’s luggage was however later unloaded to allow the flight proceed on its journey without the embattled CBN Governor. Contacted for comments Saturday night, the spokesperson for the SSS, Marilyn Ogar, said she was not aware of the matter. “I don’t know about that please,” Ms. Ogar told PREMIUM TIMES on telephone.

Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos had on April 3 restrained the federal government, the Nigerian police, and the SSS from arresting Mr. Sanusi and specifically ordered the SSS to immediately release his international passport, unlawfully seized from him in February.

Justice Buba also ordered the trio to issue public apology as well as pay ₦50million in damages to the CBN Governor. Delivering a judgment in a suit filed by Mr. Sanusi seeking an order restraining the police and the SSS from infringing on his fundamental rights, the judge dismissed the SSS’ allegations that the suspended CBN boss was financing terrorism.

Joined in the suit were the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF; Inspector General of Police; and the SSS as first, second, and third respondents respectively.

The SSS had hinged its decision to arrest Mr. Sanusi and confiscate his passport on allegations that he was aiding terrorism.

While the judge accused the Nigerian government and the SSS of presenting conflicting statement in their argument, showing that they had “acted in bad faith;” he noted that the Nigerian police were frugal by stating that they had not been briefed by anyone to investigate or arrest Mr. Sanusi.

The judge, however, turned down Mr. Sanusi’s prayer for an injunction perpetually restraining the law enforcement agencies from arresting him, noting that the CBN governor could always return to court when the need arises.

President Goodluck Jonathan had on February 20 suspended Mr. Sanusi from office citing alleged financial recklessness as reason.

But many Nigerians suspect the CBN governor was targeted because he blew the whistle on state oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, saying the corporation failed to account for $20billion oil revenue.

Tiwa Savage Takes A Swipe At Etcetera For Saying She Married A 2nd-Hand Husband

esterday, singer Etcetera, wrote an article on Saturday Punch about female celebrities marrying 2nd hand husbands.



In the article he cited Tiwa Savage and Teebillz as examples, though he didn’t mention names, it was obvious he was referring to them. From the look of things, Tiwa is irked by the offensive article.




Read her reply to Etcetera below:

'How We Jumped Out Of Boko Haram Truck' - Girls Who Escaped Speak

Punch interviews two of the girls who jumped out of the truck they were being transported in by Boko Haram men after the men stormed their school and kidnapped over 250 girls. Interview below

What is your name?
Sawok: My name is Amina Sawok.
Walse: My name is Thabita Walse.

Can you describe the attack on your school?
Sawok: We were in the hostel. One of the men dressed in military camouflage asked us where our dining hall was. From our hostels, they took us to the dining hall and from there, we were moved into the waiting vehicles and they headed towards Damboa town. The incident happened around 11pm.
Walse: It is a long story. They came to our school and deceived us into believing they were soldiers. They were dressed in military uniform and made us believe they were about rescuing us only for us to later find out that they were insurgents. When we discovered, it was already too late and there was little we could do. Continue...


At what point did you know they were not real soldiers but insurgents?
Sawok: They were shouting and rude. That was when it became clear to us that they were insurgents, then they started shooting and set our school on fire. They even shot the security men guarding the school.

How did you escape?
Sawok: I jumped out of the vehicle that looked like a truck.
Walse: Our vehicle developed a problem and they were forced to stop. I took the opportunity with some girls to run into a dark bush.

What gave you the courage to jump out of the vehicle?
Sawok: I have heard a lot about Boko Haram, the bad things they do and how they have killed many people in the state. I was afraid and I became desperate. I felt getting to their camp could be dangerous for me and it would be better if I escaped.  That gave me the courage to jump out.  I believed that I would only get injured since it was dark and they may not know how to look for me in the bush.

Did all the girls that escaped plan it?
Sawok: No, I believe the same thing was running through our minds. Immediately one of us jumped out, the rest of us just started following her.

Do you have any injury?
Sawok: No, I am very fine.

How do you feel about the others that were not able to escape?
Sawok: I would have loved all of us to escape.  I can’t celebrate my escape because some of my friends and classmates are still in the hands of the insurgents and I don’t know what they are facing. It is my prayer that they should be freed.
Walse: I have no problem, I am okay and very strong physically. The only problem I have is that some of my friends are still held hostage by terrorists.

Lupita Nyong’O Stuns With Mum At The White House [PHOTOS]

Lupita Nyong’O and mother Dorothy attended the 2014 Annual Garden Brunch at the Beall-Washington House

The Kenyan actress stunned more than once as she attended three different events including the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, May 3, 2014, looking like a million bucks!

‘The 12 Years and a Slave’ OSCAR-winning actress also brought along her mother, Dorothy as they both attended the 2014 ‘Annual Garden Brunch’ at the Beall-Washington House.








 

BREAKING: Justice Chukwudife Oputa (Charley Boy's Father) Dies At 96

 Former Supreme Court of Nigerian Judge and Charley Boy's father, Justice Chukwudife Oputa id dead!




A statement released by the family reads;

"The familyof Justice Chukwudife Oputa wishes to announce the passing to glory of the eminent jurist and retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria at the age of 96 years. He passed on peacefully on Sunday afternoon May 4th, 2014 after recovering from a brief illness. Funeral announcements will soon be released by the family.

Signed
Charles Oputa for the family"

May his soul rest in peace

#BringBackOurGirls - kidnapped girls were molested up to 15 times a day - Survivor

When 100 armed men turned up at a girls’ boarding school they claimed to be Nigerian gov­ern­ment troops sent to protect the pupils from marauding terrorists.



Staff took them at their word and it was only when 329 terrified teenagers were ordered out of their beds in the dead of night and herded into Toyota Hilux jeeps that they knew something was wrong.

In fact the soldiers were themselves terrorists from the radical Muslim jihadist group Boko Haram – and they were there to carry out one of worst mass kidnappings in modern history.

According to reports in UK’s Daily Mirror, families of the schoolgirls, aged from 15 to 18, are certain their daughters are now being used as sex slaves by an extreme sect that has killed 1,500 people since the start of this year alone.



They are captives in the wild Sambisa Forest in north-east Nigeria where Boko Haram has a heavily armed camp of bunkers, tunnels, ramshackle buildings and tents.

One girl who recently escaped following an earlier kidnapping told the newspaper that she was prized as a terror leader’s wife because she had been a virgin. She said young female captives were molested up to 15 times a day, forced to convert to Islam and had their throats cut if they refused.

Since the school abductions on April 14, news has filtered back of mass marriages with girls forcibly shared out as brides. Boko Haram has warned that any attempt to find them will lead to their execution.