General asks Jonathan to sack North-East govs

A former Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry, Brig.-Gen Williams Obene (retd.), has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack governors of states in the North- East mostly affected by Boko Haram insurgency. He said this would pave the way for the military to take full control of the situation.

Obene, in an interview with our correspondent on Friday, stated that the democratic institutions and structures in the affected states had been preventing the military from taking full action against insurgents. He stated that it was necessary to declare a total war on the insurgents.

He said, “We, the experts, feel that we are at war. And when you are at war, you have more power and resources. If there is a state of emergency, there are some limitations. If you declare a total war, those limitations should be removed and the military will fully execute that war and bring it to a speedy conclusion.

“If a war is declared in that place, the civilian government will not be there. The case of over 200 Chibok girls wouldn’t have happened, if we had declared war. That governor wouldn’t have been on that seat to guarantee that the Chibok school was safe for the West African Examination Council examination. And those girls wouldn’t have been abducted.” Obene stated it was possible that the sect had infiltrated the military, owing to reports of ambushes laid by the sect for soldiers.

“Yes, it is possible. Have you not heard the President himself declaring that Boko Haram is in his cabinet? Why will they not infiltrate the Nigerian Army as we also infiltrate their cells? It is an organised army. It is easier for them to infiltrate us than we infiltrate their cells, which is more difficult,” he said. Meanwhile, a security expert and public affairs analyst,

Brig.-Gen. Ayo Ojo (retd.), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Federal Government to prepare for a violent surprise by Boko Haram ahead of the October 11 Adamawa State governorship by-election.

He said the election was a constitutional requirement which could not be ignored because of the ongoing violent attacks on the state by the militants. On Wednesday, the Adamawa Internally Displaced Persons Camp Commandant, Mr. Abdulmumini Jauro, said no fewer than 1,300 Adamawa indigenes had been displaced, with many of them at the Bajabure refugee camp in Girei Local Government Area.

Ojo, a member of the Nigerian Institute for Industrial Security, urged INEC and the Federal Government to provide adequate security to protect the lives and property of the electorate in the state.

He said, “There is a constitutional provision for the time frame within which there must be an election to fill the governorship seat after an impeachment. The election should, therefore, go ahead.
“However, to avoid any violent surprise by Boko Haram, adequate and tight security should be put in place.”

The retired Army officer also called on the Presidency and the Defence Headquarters to improve on their communication with the general public, especially on the military’s current campaign against the terrorist group.

Ojo noted that if the government kept information away from the public, people might end up with harmful information from other sources.

According to him, it is better for citizens to hear news, good or bad, from their own government.

He said, “In terms of improving communication by the Presidency and the DHQ, I will suggest that they should always ensure that Nigerians are carried along in whatever is going on. Otherwise, the citizens might be forced to go out and find out things by themselves.

“In view of the social media networks, much harm could be done if the citizens are kept in the dark. Moreover, enemies of Nigeria could easily step in to fill the gap to dish out falsehood. It is, therefore, very important to keep citizens well informed. It is always comforting to hear from the government.”

Culled from: Punch

Collapse building: Joshua alleges attack on Church. Military plane hovered around prayer ground and building before attack

Head of The Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet T B Joshua, has alleged that the collapse of a section of the church complex last Friday may have been caused by an attack on the Church.

According to him, the collapse goes beyond the allegation of structural defects, as have been variously speculated. Speaking to journalists after a CCTV footage of events
leading to the building collapse was shown to journalists at the church premises on Saturday, Prophet Joshua said a plane, which eyewitness swore was a military jet, had earlier began circling around his prayer ground, where he usually retreats to for spiritual upliftment a few distance from the
church location as early as 10.00am.

Not paying much attention to it, he said he left the site and headed for the church complex to freshen up, only to be notified that the plane had also stopped circulating and headed towards the location of the church.

Not long after, he said he also got a security report from his officials that a plane was sited hovering over one of the buildings in the complex.
He said the plane circulated four times before the building suddenly collapsed at exactly 12.44 pm.

The video footage actually showed the plane hovering above the five-storey building said to be an accommodation facility, first at 11.30, and then four times within three
minutes.
The plane then came back again circled the building again and left. At exactly 12.44 when it looked like it was all over, the building suddenly came down, collapsing all at once.

According to some officials of the church and eye-witnesses, the building collapse looked very much like chemicalised demolition and may yet be a new dimension in the terror
onslaught in the country.

Apologising for the hostile treatment said to have been meted out to the media on the day of the incident by church members and security operatives attached to the church,
Prophet Joshua said he did not make any official statement Friday because he did not want to create any panic or an
impression that terrorists have invaded Lagos.

He also said that the video footage was there to corroborate his point, while also declaring that if indeed it was a terrorist
attack, the perpetrators are not likely to stop with Friday’s
incident.

Asked to comment on the number of casualties, the prophet simply said ‘rescue mission was still ongoing.’
One of the church officials, who craved anonymity however told this reporter that nearly all the people in the building
have been pulled out and that “miraculously, nearly all survived”.

One of the NEMA official on site was however overheard saying that about 17 deaths have been recorded, with about 119 injured.

Culled from: The nation newspaper

Two APC Govs, Federal Lawmakers Set To Defect- PDP

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday disclosed that two All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and federal lawmakers were set to join the ruling party.

PDP, in a statement, lambasting the APC for attempting to deceive Nigerians by presenting former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as one of President Goodluck Jonathan’s entourage to Chad. It

said governors and federal lawmakers intended to move because of APC’s bad image and anti-democratic stance.

The statement signed by National Publicity Secretary of the party, Olisa Metuh, said “Many more of its (APC) members including two state governors and members of the National Assembly are now set to decamp to the PDP due to the bad image and anti-democratic stance of the APC”.

PDP however, described as “repulsive and utterly despicable”, the refusal of the APC to shed its taste for lying, spreading of falsehood and attacks on individuals as means of achieving political control in spite of several counsels by well-meaning Nigerians.