Boko Haram leader, Shekau feared killed in Konduga

• Overwhelmed Boko Haram terrorists surrender to Nigerian troops

Indications emerged last night that Nigerian troops may have scored a strategic victory in the current battle against terrorists operating in the North East on September 17.

Military sources said yesterday that during a desperate attempt to capture Konduga in their delusion to eventually marching on and capturing Maiduguri, the man who had been mimicking Late Abubakar Shekau in recent videos might have been finally killed.

According to senior military and intelligence sources, “it is getting more certain that the terrorists’ Commander who has been mimicking Shekau in those videos is the one killed in Konduga on September 17, 2014.”

Affirming the development, PRNigeria sources said the suspected demise of the Boko Haram leader is responsible for the scattering of the sect members in different independent locations in the neighbouring countries, especially in Cameroon noticed in recent days.

The security sources noted further that “the process of confirming that the dead body we have is the same as that character who has been posing as Shekau is ongoing” adding “He is definitely a prominent terrorist commander. I don’t want to say anything about this yet please.”

Another high ranking military source insisted that the resemblance is too striking to be a coincidence.

“They cited his facial marks, beards and teeth apart from the recovery by the Nigerian troops of some of the Armoured Vehicles and Hilux jeeps that had featured in previous videos of the prime suspect.

“The officers assured that the Defence Headquarters will soon address the nation after full investigation of their latest discovery.

Following the several defeats Boko Haram terrorists suffered in the hands of Special Forces of the Nigerian military, some of the insurgents have surrendered to the Nigerian armed forces even as some of them who were captured during encounters were said to be giving useful information to the troops.

The Defence headquarters which disclosed this yesterday also said the fresh attempt by Boko Haram to attack Konduga town was frustrated by the troops that inflicted a heavy defeat on them.

The terrorists were said to have attempted to infiltrate the town to avenge the deaths of hundreds of their members and to also retrieve their bodies Vanguard gathered that the renewed determination with which troops of the Nigerian military were now confronting the terrorists, had so much taken many of the insurgents aback that they now prefer to surrender when they are overwhelmed rather than get killed.

As at the early hours of Sunday, about 11 terrorists were said to have surrendered while many of those arrested, are now cooperating with the military and volunteering information about their plans and activities. Several dangerous weapons including Anti-Aircraft guns and Rocket Propelled Grenades, General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), AK 47 and ammunitions, were recovered during the confrontation.

Confirming the incident in its twitter handle, Defence Headquarters said, “An attempt by another set of terrorists to gain entry to Konduga was yesterday foiled by troops.

It is believed that the terrorists’ move was aimed at recovering the bodies of their prominent fighters who had died in previous encounters in the area”.

“And as the heat on terrorists continues, five terrorists yesterday surrendered with all their weapons to troops at Konduga pleading for mercy”. “Other captured terrorists have also been giving useful information on the subsequent plans of the group in an apparent offer to co-operate”

As the news of the killing of their leader in Konduga begin to spread among Boko Haram insurgents, more of the terrorists believing their planned attack on Maiduguri would no longer be feasible, have continued to surrender to Nigerian soldiers.

On Sunday night another set of terrorists surrendered to troops in Kawuri, the town a bloody battle raged between troops and the terrorists a fortnight ago leaving over 50 terrorists dead.

In a tweet on the incident posted its handle yesterday, the Defence headquarters said, “Another Set of 10 Terrorists yesterday surrendered to Troops at Kawuri. In custody for necessary security debriefing”

Vanguard gathered that with this number from Kawuri; about 40 terrorists including those from Konduga have so far surrender.

Only on Saturday, 5 terrorists surrendered with all their weapons to troops at Konduga pleading for mercy
Recall that over fifty terrorists were killed in a recent shootout as troops raided their hideout in Kawuri before setting out on a planned attack on Konduga.

One Fabricated Artillery Gun, Two Anti – Aircraft gun, an armoured vehicle and assorted types of ammunition were captured in the process.

Some hardware, weapons, food items and personal belongings were also destroyed in the Raid.
One Officer and Two Soldiers were seriously wounded in the confrontation.

VANGUARD

In UNGA, Jonathan, Obama Meet, May Fix Nigeria, US Ties

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday departed Abuja for New York to participate in the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), during which Jonathan would attend receptions hosted by United States President Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon.

He would also have a private audience with Obama in a bid to fix cooling relations between Nigeria and the US over America’s apparent reluctance to extend genuine assistance to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency, which has grown in magnitude in recent months.
Presidency sources told THISDAY that relations between both countries had cooled off so much so, to the extent that Nigeria did not get the right recognition she deserves during the US-African Leaders Summit in Washington DC last month.

According to the sources, Jonathan will table Nigeria’s position on critical issues and assure Obama of improved governance with the aim of restoring the cordial relationship that has existed between both countries for decades.
The meeting, the sources explained, will be a follow up to the back channels Nigeria had already opened up to reach out to the White House preparatory to the meeting on improving ties between both countries.

One source in the presidency further disclosed that the meeting had become imperative for Jonathan, as it would provide him the opportunity to neutralise powerful US lobbies used by the leadership of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) to project his administration in the worst possible bad light.
The meeting would also provide Jonathan the opportunity to get the commitment of the US government to provide proper and genuine support in the war against terrorism; shared intelligence between the US and Nigeria to counter the insurgency in the North-east; and the supply of arms, equipment and training for the Nigerian military.

In return, Obama will ask for respect for human rights in Nigeria’s prosecution of the war against terrorism, stronger commitment to the fight against corruption, and free and fair elections in 2015.
During the General Assembly, however, Jonathan would address the United Nations Security Council high-level session on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, and Nigeria’s containment of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

In a statement yesterday by the president’s spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, Jonathan who would stop over in London for a brief private visit before proceeding to New York, will also be expected to participate at the Climate Summit 2014.
The president will join visiting Heads of State and Government for a dinner reception and is expected to pay a private visit to both UN General Assembly President, Sam Kutesa, and later attend a luncheon to be hosted by UN Secretary-General.

On Wednesday, the president will address the General Assembly and take part in the UN Security Council Summit on foreign terrorist fighters, chaired by Obama.
He will also attend the meeting on Open Government Partnership.
Proving more insight into Nigeria’s participation at the General Assembly, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the US, Professor Ade Adefuye, told THISDAY that it was unlikely Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, would be accompanying her husband to New York but Michelle Obama who will be in attendance on Wednesday will deliver the special keynote address at the UN’s Global Education First Initiative’s (GEFI) high-level event at the UN headquarters.

The US Secretary-General launched this initiative in September 2012, with the UN Special Envoy on Education and former British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
GEFI aims to accelerate progress towards quality education for all children and young people.

With the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaching and discussions on the next set of development goals underway, this event is an important opportunity for leaders around the world to advocate their ambitious visions for quality education for all.
The event will feature a conversation among world leaders, highlighting why quality education should be at the heart of global discussion.
On Thursday, Adefuye said Jonathan will speak at a United Nations meeting on the Ebola virus.
Jonathan is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Moon and the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron.

THISDAY

SAYELBA LIVE ON IJAW DREAM TV : The Revolution Will Be Televised

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Nasarawa, Enyimba Keep Pressure on Kano Pillars with Big Wins

GLO PREMIER LEAGUE

Nasarawa United and Enyimba both won big at home yesterday to keep up the pressure on Glo Premier League leaders, Kano Pillars.

Champions Pillars won 1-0 against visiting Akwa United, but second-placed Nasarawa United beat Sharks 2-0 and Enyimba dumped Bayelsa United 4-0 to sustain the pressure on the league leaders.
Pillars remain top of the standings on 47 points from 27 matches, while Nasarawa have 44 points and Enyimba are third with 43 points.

Adamu Hassan scored his 11th goal of the campaign for Pillars and also what proved to be the match winner against Akwa United on 44 minutes.
Goals from Mfon Udoh, Nzube Anaezemba and Emeka Nwanna saw Enyimba cruise to a convincing home win over a rather poor Bayelsa in Aba.
Dolphins, who lost 2-1 at Enugu Rangers, bounced back to beat 10-man Gombe United 2-0.
Former Nigeria U20 defender Chizoba Amaefule opened scoring from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute and five minutes later, another ex-Flying Eagles star Emem Eduok doubled the lead with a superb solo effort.
Austin Ekpoma of Gombe United was sent off for dissent half way through the second half.
Sunshine Stars recorded their first win under coach Erasmus Onuh when they trounced Abia Warriors 3-1.
Peter Onyekachi pulled a goal back for Abia Warriors a minute to full time.
Abia Warriors were reduced to 10 men in the 80th minute, when Michael Ibe Okoro was dismissed for a second booking.
Heartland lost 2-1 to hosts El Kanemi in Kano.

Heartland have 37 points from 27 games, while El Kanemi have 39 points.
Nafiu Mohammed opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, before Abraham Audu doubled the lead in the 35th minute to take his goals tally to four.
Experienced midfielder Julius Ubido scored Heartland’s consolation goal in the 84th minute.
There were also home wins for Kaduna United, Nembe City, Enugu Rangers and Giwa FC.

RESULTS

Kaduna Utd 4-0 Crown

Enyimba 4-0  Bayelsa

Sunshine  3-1 Abia Warriors

Pillars 1-0  Akwa Utd

Dolphins 2-0 Gombe

El Kanemi 2-1  Heartland

Giwa 3-0  FC Taraba

Nembe 2-1 Lobi

Rangers 1-0 Wolves

Nasarawa 2-0  Sharks

APC Accuses Jonathan of Playing Dirty, European MP Claims Party is Funding Boko Haram

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned against the postponement of the 2015 general election, alleging that the Goodluck Jonathan administration is playing dirty politics with Boko Haram to defer the polls.

APC’s allegation came on the heels of a press statement by a member of the European Parliament, Franz Obermayr (MEP), accusing the main opposition party of channelling the parliament’s financial aid to Boko Haram and called on the European Commission (EC) to investigate alleged concerns over the party’s financial and political allegiance with the terror group.
The party, which reacted to a statement credited to Senate President, David Mark last week that elections under the current state of insecurity caused by the insurgents was not feasible, urged those nursing the plan to postpone the 2015 general election to drop the notion.

In a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said those who are flying the kite of deferring the election, ostensibly because the nation is at war, are trying to imperil the nation’s democracy.
It said Nigerians would not accept, under any guise whatsoever, any scheme by desperate elected officials to get tenure elongation by subterfuge.

“Election is the lifeblood of democracy, the mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates. It is the only way for the citizenry to renew and refresh the governing process so they can get the most benefits out of democracy. Therefore, anyone that tries to sabotage this mechanism is aiming a dagger straight at the heart of democracy,” it said.
APC said the statement credited to Mark, “reflects the thinking in government circles, even though the senate president, having run into a wall of opposition over his unfortunate statement, has tried to step back from the comment”.

The party said it saw this coming, adding: “And we have said it at several fora: That the Jonathan administration has deliberately allowed the insurgency in the North-east, an opposition stronghold, to fester so he can cash in on it to get re-elected.
“Simply put, the administration has been playing dirty politics with Boko Haram, at the expense of the lives and property of the citizenry and the well-being of the nation.

“However, the administration is being too clever by half to think that Nigerians will reward it for its failure in its main reason for existence, which is the protection of the welfare and security of the citizens.
“There is just no way this government will be allowed to profit from its ineptness and conspiracy to prolong an insurgency that should have ended a long time ago.”
It said the statement by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, that the commission had started preparing for elections even in the North-east, represented a ray of hope, but warned the electoral body to remain steadfast and not to cave in to what would be massive pressure from the Jonathan administration and its gong beaters to scuttle the 2015 elections.

APC said just like Jega had said, countries like Afghanistan and Iraq successfully held elections even though they were in a state of war, hence there is no reason why Nigeria could not organise elections because of the insurgency in a part of the country.
“We know the Jonathan administration is mortally afraid to face the electorate, having failed woefully to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people. We know many elected officials are also aware that they will be punished by the electorate because they have failed them. It is therefore easy for them to queue behind any plot to ensure the 2015 general election does not hold as planned, so they can get tenure extension.

“However, we have got news for these saboteurs: Nigerians have seen through their game and will not allow them to succeed in endangering our democracy. 2015 elections must hold as scheduled. This is not negotiable,” the party warned.
But as the party warned against the postponement of the 2015 elections, a senior member of the European Parliament has accused APC of channelling the parliament’s financial aid to Boko Haram in the North-east of Nigeria.

Obermayr also called on EC to investigate alleged concerns over the party’s financial and political allegiance with the terror group.
Obermayr of Austrian Freedom Party, currently the most popular political party in Austria, made the statements in a press release issued last week and covered widely by the European press.

Obermayr has been working closely with Stand for Peace, a Muslim-Jewish interfaith organisation dedicated to countering extremism and promoting social and religious cohesion.
He has also called on EU election observers to closely scrutinise the links between the APC and Boko Haram in the run up to the 2015 presidential election.

He said: “In Nigeria’s case, a large proportion of the subsidies from Brussels are used in the north of the country. The federal states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa in the extreme North-east of the country are precisely the areas in which Boko Haram’s campaign of terror is largely tolerated by the authorities. The aforementioned sub-republics are governed by the All Progressive Congress (APC).”
In the statement, Obermayr said all further European Parliament cooperation and funding to Nigeria should be subjected to the findings of a report into the close relationship between political parties and terrorist groups in the country, suggesting that all development aid should be immediately suspended if any wrongdoing is exposed.

Turning to individuals in APC, Obermayr raised the United States (US) Embassy memo, which alleged that former vice-president and 2015 presidential hopeful, Atiku Abubukar, received money from Al-Qaeda to “destabilise the south of the country” and the recent defection of Femi Fani-Kayode from the APC because of their “clear Islamist agenda and sympathies with Boko Haram”.
Further in the statement that highlighted widespread concern ahead of the 2015 presidential elections, he said: “Even the most senior man in the APC, former Nigerian head of state and presidential candidate, Mohammadu Buhari, was quoted in the British newspaper The Guardian back in 2001 calling for sharia law to be introduced throughout Nigeria, including the Christian-dominated south.”

The announcement from Obermayr and Stand for Peace follows a similar call from Andrew Rosindell MP of the UK parliament, for an inquiry into the relationship between members of the APC and Boko Haram.
Stand for Peace has long investigated Boko Haram and their international financial and political connections, previously exposing links between the extremist sect and the controversial UK-based charity the “Al-Muntada Trust”.
“Unfortunately, in many cases, a lot of Europe’s political decision-makers are negligent when it comes to contacts and financial aid for associations and political parties, which in reality act as camouflage organisations and as a result often open the doors to European institutions for radical Islamist groups,” was the criticism voiced by Obermayr, who has already called on the EC for greater transparency on this issue in a parliamentary survey.

BAYELSA, LAGOS & RIVERS STATE SHIFT SCHOOLS’ RESUMPTION DATE TO OCTOBER

• Bayelsa State Government is Aware that students sit on bear floor to learn
• The State Government have ordered for desks
• The Government have not constructed the road linking the old and new campuses of NDU

Some states in the Federation such as Bayelsa, Rivers and Lagos have postponed the resumption date for primary and Secondary schools.

The Federal Government had earlier fixed today, September 22 as the resumption date. However, in line with their own realities, some states have postponed theirs.

Consequently, the new resumption date in Bayelsa and Rivers States is October 6th, while that of Lagos State is October 8th.

The Bayelsa State Commissioner of Education Salo Adikumo had earlier hinted at a shift of the resumption date when he speak to Sayelba Times’ Correspondent.

In a related development, the Commissioner noted that the State Government is aware of the fact that School pupils and students in Bayelsa State still sit on bare floor to learn.

He however stated that the Government s taking steps to address this ugly situation. According to Mr Adikumo, the state government has already acquired 2000 desks, which are currently kept in the State Library Complex and has also placed order for an additional 5000 desk.

The Commissioner also pointed out that contrary to reports credited to Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, the State Government have not constructed the road linking the Old and New Campuses of the state owned Niger Delta University.