Kaduna (Nigeria) – President of the Haddiyar Ekklesiya Kristi a Nigeria (HEKAN) also known as United Church of Christ in Nigeria, Reverend Amos Kiri, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari and troops of the Nigerian Army for defeating Boko Haram and reclaiming Sambisa Forest, saying their courage, determination and sacrifice made this achievement possible.
Rev. Kiri made the commendation during a unity combine New Year worship at the HEKAN Headquarters in Kaduna to pray for God’s guidance, protection, peaceful co-existence and the unity of the country in 2017 and beyond.
He said the success so far is a demonstration of good leadership, and Nigerians owe sincere gratitude to the President for fulfilling his promise of restoring security and defending the territorial integrity of the nation.
While urging Nigerians to support the president on the fight against corruption, he called on leaders at all level to be faithful in the course of discharging their constitutional responsibilities, adding that, the federal government should explore all avenues for the sustenance of peace and restoration of law and order all over the country.
Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa
As 20 killed in 2016…
Nigeria has condemned the killing of its citizen, Tochukwu Nnadi in South Africa on December 29, last year, describing the act as “worrying and condemnable.”
The Senior Special Assistant to Nigerian President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on Monday said the latest gruesome killing of Tochukwu Nnadi by the South African police was unacceptable to the people and government of Nigeria.
While calling on Nigerians to avoid crimes like drug peddling, which attracts stiff penalties and sometimes death, urged them to be good ambassadors of the country. She urged the South African government to also ensure that justice prevails by carrying out investigation and bringing culprits to book.
Eyewitnesses accounted that the man (deceased), otherwise known as King Kingsley, did not resist arrest and handcuffed by the police. But one of the officers held onto his neck and squeezed until blood started gushing out.
“My heart goes out to the families of the deceased and pray God to grant the departed soul eternal rest,” Dabiri-Erewa noted in a statement signed by her media aide, Abdur-Rahman Balogun.
Guardian reported that, the Secretary of the Nigeria Union in Pretoria, Adetola Olubajo, who confirmed the killing, said: “The Nigeria Union calls on the Nigerian Mission to demand results of investigations of all murder cases involving Nigerian victims from the South African government.”
According to him, the union was not happy that past murders of Nigerians in South Africa were never resolved. “It has brought to twenty (20) in 2016 alone, the number of Nigerians killed in South Africa under cruel circumstances.”
Among such victims were Ikejiaku Chinedu, Monday Okorie, Gideon Ogalaonye, Nnamdi Michael, Adeniyi Olumoko, Christian Onwukaike and the latest, Tochukwu Nnadi.
He said Nigerians were perennial victims of the xenophobia in South Africa, losing more than 4.6 million rand or N90 million during the last attacks.
President Uhuru Kenyatta led Kenyans in ushering in the New Year with a pledge to ensure a free and fair General Election in August.
In a televised message delivered from State House, Mombasa, on New Year’s Eve, President Kenyatta said he wanted to complete pending government projects after the next elections.
Daily nation reported that President Kenyatta said, “We have an election in a few months.
“It will be my great privilege to run as a candidate to remain your President for another term.
“My reason for running is to complete the works that we have started with great energy and to ensure that this nation can continue to rise in the world.
“Let me tell you what I see in my mind’s eye whenever I think of what we are trying to build: A Kenya that is industrialised and where a decent job is available to anyone qualified and seeking it.
“We will be a Kenya whose people have the education to innovate, invent and deliver world class goods and services. We shall sustain our economic growth so that we rise to Africa’s leading destination for investment in manufacturing, logistics, tourism and education.
“We will be secure and an anchor for stability in a region that will have overcome its destructive conflicts.
“None of this will come overnight. But considering how far we have come in the past four years, I know that we will make giant strides in the next few years.
“I will travel to every corner of this country in the coming months. I will listen to your concerns and work with you to make things better for you and your family. I invite all of you, and especially those in the Opposition, to join me in the work of making our country continue to reach for its destiny of greatness.”
WARNED AGAINST VIOLENCE
The President warned against election violence and criticised opposition politicians for resorting to protest to push their political agenda, adding that echoes of the 2007-2008 post-election chaos should be wiped out.
“I want to also say to all Kenyans: We will not allow our efforts and those of Kenyans to be destroyed by politicians who seem to have embraced the lesson that confrontation and provocation are the only way for them to operate politically,” the President said.
He said threats by the Opposition to call for mass action if the government did not drop controversial amendments introduced in the election laws were a recipe for unnecessary political tension.
“They have announced demonstrations and even the so-called ‘mass action’ in the coming days,” said the President. “Let us be honest with one another when assessing what they mean by mass action. In the past, when the same politicians have used this phrase, they have meant violence is on the way.
“I tell our young people: Do not allow yourselves to be used so badly. These people care nothing for you. Their way is the way of division and agitation, not development and nation building.”
The President said the Opposition refused to accept the results of the last General Election and had tried to portray themselves as the victims of rigging although no credible poll observer had corroborated their claim.
“They have threatened to make Kenya ungovernable,” he said. “They have shouted insults in rallies and held the Presidency — which belongs to all Kenyans — in contempt.
“They have even in the past threatened to march to the Seat of Government and overthrow the government of the people. This is not opposition politics; this is disruption and undermining of a country.”
YEAR OF HONESTY
The President added that 2017 will be a year of honesty, sobriety and firmness, adding: “Elections come and go but Kenya and our families remain. Together, we are strong.”
The Head of State said his government was making efforts to fight corruption, which had led to the loss of billions of shillings of public funds during his tenure.
“We continue to make every available legal effort to prevent and deal with corruption in the public service,” he said. “The multi-agency approach has continued to bring more cases against senior officials suspected of fraud and theft.”
The President asked the Judiciary to play a major role in ensuring graft was eliminated. He warned against politicising issues touching on corruption, saying it was disruptive and unnecessary.
“One pending matter from 2016 concerns the management of our team at the Rio Olympics,” he said, adding that the Director of Public Prosecutions was reviewing the file to decide whether or not there was evidence on which to base action against the Sports ministry’s top leadership.
On security, President Kenyatta said: “Kenya is unique in Africa, and much of the world, for being a country that can fight global terrorism while strengthening democracy.”
He noted that there are more than 60 major global companies based in Nairobi, which had offered job opportunities to Kenyan professionals.
The President also talked of significant growth in infrastructural development in Kenya and praised devolution as a major stride in the country’s growth plans.
BRIGHT FUTURE
“We have urgent business with a bright future for our people,” he said. “The countries of the world that have gotten rich in the past 50 years that we have been independent are countries that value stability and economic performance.”
He reiterated that countries that had achieved sufficient development in the West and in the East worked on their infrastructure, made their education systems world class and gave security to their people.
In his New Year message, opposition leader Raila Odinga said he was optimistic the President and his government will be kicked out of office this year.
“The Jubilee government is essentially the one Kenyans rejected in 2002,” said Mr Odinga, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader.
“What we have gone through from 2013, compared to the period from 2003, proves that we were right to reject this team when it first attempted to seize power.”
The Cord co-principal blamed corruption on individuals who he said had the support of the government. He further claimed the public service was plagued by negative ethnicity and that many people had lost their jobs under President Kenyatta.
Delving on the government’s competence, The former Prime Minister said the country lacked well-thought out policies to drive its growth agenda.
Wiper Democratic Movement (WDM) leader and Cord co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka called for free and fair elections and warned the government against playing tricks with the polls.
“To our Jubilee competitors, I urge you to avoid placing any bottlenecks against a free and fair General Election,” said the former Vice-President as he called on the Opposition to register as voters in large numbers to defeat Jubilee.
The Senator representing Southern Kaduna in northern Nigeria, Danjuma Laah, has asked Nigerian government to introduce supplementary budget to address challenges faced by displaced people of the area, who suffered attacks from fulani herdsmen.
Southern Kaduna people have experienced series of attacks from fulani herdsmen, who raided communities, rendering hundreds homeless.
In a New Year message, the Senator said, only a support aimed at addressing food and shelter will be meaningful to the displaced people.
“I want to call on the Federal and Kaduna State governments to initiate a supplementary budget specifically to help the thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Southern Kaduna to cushion the harsh conditions which murderers have forced them to live under. I believe that any other funds appropriated for these communities outside assisting them to feed, rebuilding and providing them enduring security means very little to them,” the statement says.
He noted the current drive by government to arrest the situation, especially the presence of security agents, “After a flurry of activities, I have observed that both the state and the Federal government have begun to make concerted efforts, as more federal troops and the number of armed policemen has increased by many folds in the past few days.
The Press Statement
Gentlemen of the Press,
Our Almighty Creator has once again ushered us into another brand new year (2017) after very eventful last year which came and went with its blessings and challenges.
I welcome you all, especially members of my constituency, with fervent wishes of more peace, security and prosperity under a condition that is conducive for everyone to pursue his livelihood without fear and intimidation.
Last year was indeed a trying time for scores of communities in Southern Kaduna who, for no faults of theirs, have become victims of unhindered mass slaughter and the tearing down of their communities by predatory armed herdsmen on a scale never experienced in the history of Kaduna state.
I hereby express my empathy and condolence to all affected families and communities that I may not have visited during these dark periods. I share in your grief and pray that God heals your heart.
As you can all recall, I have tried alongside with my colleagues at the National Assembly to seek intervention of both the State and the Federal government to arrest the situation. Unfortunately, these actions were met with lukewarm reactions.
I had to speak strongly on the matter as against the backdrop of lingering lethargy exhibited in some of Government’s actions and utterances. I am indeed very grateful that you stood by me to affirm that I spoke for you all.
After a flurry of activities, I have observed that both the state and the Federal government have begun to make concerted efforts, as more federal troops and the number of armed policemen has increased by many folds in the past few days.
We welcome this development very earnestly and hope that it will not only lead to securing our remaining communities, but that all villages presently under occupation of herdsmen after the villagers have been chased away, will be retaken and the owners returned home to start rebuilding their lives.
I also hope, that the presence of these large contingents of soldier, Police and Directorate of State Services (DSS) will lead to the arrest of culprits so that they can be brought to justice. These kinds of horrendous crimes must not go unpunished.
Next, I want to call on the Federal and Kaduna State governments to initiate a supplementary budget specifically to help the thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Southern Kaduna to cushion the harsh conditions which murderers have forced them to live under. I believe that any other funds appropriated for these communities outside assisting them to feed, rebuilding and providing them enduring security means very little to them.
I have also observed that the 24-hours curfew clamped on Jema’a, Kaura and Zango Kataf LGAs, is more punitive on the people than a security measure. It was under the cover of this curfew that innocent law-abiding natives of Goska was murdered and the town totally razed. Governor Nasir el-Rufai should lift this curfew in the face of the influx of help from the federal government by way of more soldiers and police.
I hereby call on all residents of Southern Kaduna to give maximum cooperation to our troops and security personnel in the discharge of their duties. I also call on our people to give Governor Nasir el-Rufai the cooperation and encouragement he needs to bring peace to Southern Kaduna. I am ever ready on my part to partner with Government so that we can complement efforts for the best results. The governor should in turn not regard everyone whose opinion and ideas towards solving the menace as “politicking with deaths” or as an enemy of peace.
This is the time for the governor to guide his utterances, especially the ones directed at the already traumatized people of Southern Kaduna. His words over the massacre had not been comforting to our people, thus creating more disaffection and anger. He must restrain his tongue from creating more division.
However, we must always remember that we the people of Southern Kaduna are known for our tolerance, civility and respect to constituted authority. This is the time to express these values even as we remain ever vigilante over our communities.
With this development in 2017, I hope we can start sincere and genuine dialogue with those, who for no just cause, have chosen to become our adversaries.
I hope that the Government will initiate avenues for building bridges and seeking true reconciliation for enduring and sustained peace in Southern Kaduna through the right policies.
I have no doubt that we shall overcome this problem, no matter how daunting it may seem today.
May the divine guidance and wisdom of our Creator lead us this year as I wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year. Thank You.
Sign: Senator Danjuma Tella Laah (PDP, Kaduna South Senatorial Zone) January 1st, 2017
The UN Security Council has voted to back efforts by Russia and Turkey to end fighting in Syria and plans for fresh peace talks next month.
The resolution, drafted by Russia, also calls for rapid access for humanitarian aid to be delivered across the country.
Turkey and Russia led a ceasefire deal that has mostly held since Thursday.
The resolution helps pave the way for talks in Kazakhstan between the Syrian government and opposition, which have the backing of Russia, Iran and Turkey.
Earlier Syria’s main rebel alliance threatened to abandon the truce by 18:00 GMT if the government continued to attack areas under its control.
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) issued the ultimatum to Russia – Syria’s key ally – amid reports of intense bombardment by government forces on the rebel-held Wadi Barada area of Damascus.
But shelling on the area concerned ceased just minutes before the deadline, the group’s legal adviser, Osama Abu Zeid, said.
The new ceasefire deal applies across Syria but excludes the jihadists of so-called Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (JFS), and the Kurdish YPG militia.
Questions over resolution text
A final text of the UN resolution dropped the word “endorsed”, stating, instead, that the Security Council “welcomes and supports” efforts by Russia and Turkey to end the crisis in Syria.
It said it had taken note of the documents issued by the two countries, but the French Ambassador to the UN later said the council had not seen any documents signed by the rebel groups and the Syrian government.
“In these conditions, the level of commitment of the parties to this truce remains somewhat uncertain and its implementation rather fragile,” Alexis Lamek said.
Some of the rebel signatories have alleged that they were made to sign a version that may differ from that of the Syrian government.
Who backs who at the UN?
The resolution comes against a backdrop of deadlock among the veto-wielding members of the council, with Russia supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the US, UK and France insisting he must step down as part of any deal to end the war.
Russia and Turkey also back opposite sides in the conflict, with Turkey supporting the rebellion against Mr Assad.
Russia’s Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, appealed to council members to give the latest ceasefire efforts a chance, saying: “Don’t just keep repeating outdated cliches.”
“Let us work very seriously on this and ensure that in 2017 we achieve a political settlement of the Syria crisis,” he added.
Why is Wadi Barada so important?
On Thursday, the UN expressed concern about the fighting in the town, saying fighters were deliberately targeting and damaging springs used to supply some four million people in the Damascus area with drinking water.
Wadi Barada is held by opposition forces, including JFS, which was known as al-Nusra Front until it formally broke ties with al-Qaeda in July.
On Saturday, the FSA accused the government and Iranian militias of “brazen violations” in the town and planning a “massacre” which would “lead to an immediate end” of the truce.
“We call on Russia which signed the agreement as a guarantor for the regime and its allies to bear its responsibility,” the rebels said.
The FSA added that it was “fully committed to the ceasefire in accordance with a comprehensive truce which does not exclude any area or faction present in opposition areas”.
Who is included in the truce agreement?
On the one side, Syrian government forces, allied militias and the Russian military.
On the other, the FSA plus several other groups.
The Russian defence ministry named seven “moderate opposition formations” included in the truce as Faylaq al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaysh al-Islam, Thuwwar Ahl al-Sham, Jaysh al-Mujahidin, Jaysh Idlib and Jabhah al-Shamiya.
Ahrar al-Sham, which said it had “reservations” about the deal, and Jaysh al-Islam are Islamist groups that Russia has previously described as terrorist organisations.
Who is not included?
IS and JFS and the groups affiliated to them”, are not part of the agreement, according to the Syrian army.
JFS said on Friday it would continue to fight President Assad, with a spokesman saying the political solution under the truce would “reproduce the criminal regime”.
Members of the group are currently operating as part of a rebel alliance that controls Idlib province.
The FSA also said the deal did not include the Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG).
The militia, which has captured large swathes of north-eastern Syria from IS with US support, is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey.
The truce is nominally nationwide, although that really only covers the areas where the sides who have signed up have a presence – western Syria.
A “leap second” will be added to this year’s New Year’s countdown to compensate for a slowdown in the Earth’s rotation.
The extra second will occur as clocks strike midnight and a time of 23:59:60 will be recorded, delaying 2017 momentarily.
It will only affect countdowns in countries using Greenwich Mean Time, which includes Britain.
The change is required because standard time lags behind atomic clocks.
A leap second last occurred in June 2015 and this will be the 27th time it has occurred.
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) – responsible for the UK’s national time scale – uses the atomic clock to provide a stable and continuous timescale.
Along with other clocks across the globe, it provides the world with its coordinated universal time.
NPL senior research scientist Peter Whibberley said: “Atomic clocks are more than a million times better at keeping time than the rotation of the Earth, which fluctuates unpredictably.
“Leap seconds are needed to prevent civil time drifting away from Earth time.
“Although the drift is small – taking around 1,000 years to accumulate a one-hour difference – if not corrected it would eventually result in clocks showing midday before sunrise.”
Atomic clocks use the change of electron energy levels to tell the time.
The time created by the clocks is used in GPS location devices and is used to control the wave frequency of television broadcasts.
The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service in France tracks the Earth’s rotation and announces the need for a leap second.
Mali has sent back two people who were deported from France on the same planes they arrived on, questioning whether they were even Malian citizens.
The pair were flown to Bamako using European travel permits or “laissez-passer”, not passports or other Malian papers, the government said.
The government said it could not accept people “simply assumed to be Malian”.
Recent reports of a deal with the EU to repatriate failed Malian asylum seekers have sparked protests.
In a statement, the Malian government condemned the use of the European “laissez-passez” in cases of expulsion, describing it as “against international conventions”.
It also warned airlines not to let people using the document fly to Mali.
The French authorities have not yet commented.
Malians are among the sub-Saharan African nationalities most deported from France:
Senegal – 540
Mali – 290
Ivory Coast – 270
Nigeria – 235
Guinea – 165
Mali’s refusal to admit the two migrants comes as Bamako is under fire at home for having signed a ”migrant return agreement” with the European Union.
Many Malians claim the government has betrayed them by accepting €145m ($153m; £124m) for ”measures to deter migration”.
The deal, announced on 11 December, was the first of its kind between the EU and an African country.
The Malian anti-corruption group “mains propres” (clean hands) says the authorities in Bamako were tricked by Brussels, whose own rules require such an agreement before mass expulsions can be triggered..
Bamako and Brussels are now both playing the deal down as ”an agreement with a small A” or ”a communique on deepening migration partnership”.
The EU has since signed a similar document with Niger, which is another major departure country for migrants heading through the Sahara desert on their way to Europe
There is a large Malian community in France, the former colonial power, who support their relatives back home by sending money.
More than 360,000 people have reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean this year.
Many pass through Mali on their way although Malians are not among the 10 nationalities most likely to attempt the journey.
A $1.9bn (£1.2bn) European Union-backed fund to tackle African migration was announced in November 2015, with African leaders agreeing to allow the return of failed asylum seekers in return for development aid.
The Nigerian Navy (NN) with supports from Operation Delta Safe has carried out raid on some illegal refinery sites in continuation of the clampdown on crude oil thieves in the maritime areas.
A statement by Navy’s director of information, Rear Admiral Christian Ezekobe, explained that, the patrol team deployed by NNS PATHFINDER in Rivers State on 28 December 2016 discovered and destroyed 2 barges at Taraba Jetty axis. One of the barges was loaded with estimated 70,000 litres of suspected illegally refined AGO while the second barge had a mixture of AGO and water.
In a related development, the statement also pointed out the patrol team of FOB ESCRAVOS carried out a raid on a newly erected illegal refining site at Asafama village near Jones Creek in Warri South West LGA of Delta State.
The naval operatives who acted on intelligence report took the criminals by surprise and destroyed the site including a large storage pit which has unspecified quantity of illegally refined AGO.
One person was arrested in connection with the site as other suspects fled the scene.
