Boko Haram destroys 500 houses in Adamawa

No fewer   than 500 houses were destroyed in the Kubi and Watu villages in Michika Local Government Areas of Adamawa State as the suspected Boko Haram insurgents operated unchallenged in one of its recent attacks.
Members of the community, who spoke on the telephone from their hideouts told Vanguard that the absence of military personnel in Michika and its environs was responsible for the heavy damage inflicted on them.

“Since the complete take-over of Michika and Madagali by the insurgents on September 7, 2014, no single soldier has been noticed in the area. The only thing we see are jet fighters which come from Yola, the state capital to drop bombs and go back. Our people are helpless as the insurgents control everything in our local government,” they lamented.
According to them, the insurgents were having a field day maiming and killing people and leaving their dead bodies at the mercy of vultures and pigs.
They further alleged that only Vimtim, the hometown of the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Air marshal Alex Badeh was fortified by the military in the area.

They then urged the Federal Government, to as a matter of urgency deploy military personnel to the affected areas to give the people a sense of belonging.
The people Michika faulted the actions of the political class in the state, whom they accused of abandoning them at their trying periods.
Source: Vanguard

Electricity consumers condemn rising estimated bills

The hope of most electricity consumers in the country is that some of the anomalies in the previous arrangement will be eradicated post-privatisation, but STANLEY OPARA and ‘FEMI ASU report that they are still grappling with the issue of estimated and arbitrary billing, among others
Electricity consumers in the country have raised the alarm over the outrageously high bills being served them by the electricity distribution companies despite the privatisation of the power sector.

The consumers, who expressed their concerns in separate interviews with our correspondents, questioned the rationale behind the sudden spike in their monthly bills, with some claiming that power supply to their areas had not significantly improved to warrant such high bills, while others maintained that the distribution companies had no moral justification for the act.
However, this return of estimated billing is coming after the Federal Government announced that it had reviewed upwards the price of gas from $1.50 to $3.30 per metric cubic feet.
There are speculations that the Discos are capitalising on the new gas arrangement to exploit unsuspecting electricity consumers.
Investigations by our correspondents revealed that the marketers of the electricity distribution firms, who distribute bills to customers, especially those using analogue meters, attributed the high billing to the rising gas price.

Mrs. Odichi Nwaugo, a resident of Alagbole in Ogun State, who lives in a three-bedroom bungalow, told one of our correspondents that the most recent bill she received showed an increase of about N2,600 over the previous month’s, as it rose from N3,700 to N6,300.
It was also learnt that some officials of the Disco in charge of Ajuwon in Ogun State, were recently confronted by residents when moves were made to disconnect their lines.
The residents, it was learnt, demanded an explanation for the sudden rise in their monthly bills, an action which they described as “wickedness.”
With most electricity consumers without prepaid meters, complaints over arbitrary billing have continued to confront the privatised electricity distribution companies carved out of the now defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

While the power companies were said to be experiencing revenue shortfalls, not a few consumers had complained of being exploited by the distribution companies through estimated billing.
The bill paid by a consumer is made up of the fixed charge and the energy charge. The fixed charge recovers the capital cost and fixed operational cost of poles, cables and transformers, among others, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The energy charge, which is a function of consumption, is paid by consumers only when electricity is consumed and is intended to recover the costs of the power.
Residents of Itire-Ikate community in Ijeshatedo area of Lagos had last weekend protested against estimated billing and improper or non-reading of meters by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company.

The community, which comprises 12 streets, marched to the power firm’s office in the area with a protest letter jointly signed by representatives of the various streets as well as the chairman and secretary of the Itire-Ikate Community Development Association.
Funmi Ogunsola, who lives in a bungalow at Ogba, Ikeja, said she had been paying over N15,000 monthly since the beginning of the year.

“It used to be around N8,000 but recently, the bills we received in our compound had been upwards of N15,000. We have made several complaints, but nothing has been done,” she lamented.
Uche Chukwu, who resides in a three-bedroom flat in Oshodi, complained that he had been paying an average of N11,000 monthly for the past few months, as against N5,000 previously.
“It is very bad that one has to pay that much even when the power supply has not really improved,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer, Shield Creations Limited, Mr. Caleb Fagade, said, “I use prepaid meter and by virtue of that, I am not experiencing estimated billing. But I believe people who are not using prepaid meters are paying more than what those using prepaid meters are paying.
“When I was using the analogue meter, I was paying about N2,000 in a month on my flat. But when we started using prepaid meter, we spend less than N1,000. I think prepaid meter is the ultimate solution to the issue of overbilling in the name of estimation.”

The spokesperson for the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Pekun Adeyanju, told one of our correspondents that power had been stable in recent times as the country had been generating above 4,000 megawatts, adding that disruption was only experienced during the recent four-day strike by some workers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
“We got increased allocation of power from the grid, which we distributed to Nigerians. This was consumed and should be paid for,” he explained.
The Managing Director, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Oladele Amoda, told one of our correspondents in a telephone interview that some of the meters being used by consumers were non-functional and could not be read.

He said, “If the meters are working, of course, they have to be read. But there are some meters that are no more functional. They may be on the customers’ premises, but they are not functional maybe because they are old. Those are the meters that we want to change first.”
“But if customers have any complaints, they should come to us. We are coming with a call centre number by next week, which a customer can call to complain. That is not to say that we don’t have customer care centres.
“Each of our customer care centres has telephone lines that customers can call; but we want to make it central such that we will have one line that customers can call and it will get to the desired destination.”

Amoda said the company had plans to make prepaid meters available to every customer free.
“Every customer will get the meter free, but it will be in phases. We have done our feasibility plan and we will start with the commercial consumers, the high-consuming customers and then we will move to residential customers,” he added.

Amoda further said that a willing customer could get a prepaid meter now by paying for it, adding, “There is a stop-gap arrangement by the electricity regulator. It is just an intervention whereby willing customers who cannot wait for our own metering plan can pay for meters; we will install the meters within 45 days and we will refund the money to the customers.”
Source:Punch

After 5 Agonising Years: How I became the mother of ‘test tube baby’— Francesca Onwudijo

Speaks on the challenges of childless couples and IVF
COUPLES often face hard decisions when experiencing infertility and harder choices when going through fertility treatments, and yet if they are successful, they face many other decisions as well. Thirty six years ago, on July 25, 1978, Lesley and John Brown faced such decisions prior to successfully undergoing a complicated and at that time, relatively unknown assisted reproductive procedure known as In Vitro Fertilisation, IVF.

The birth of their famous daughter, Louise Joy, at Oldham General Hospital, in the UK, ensured that the Browns will be forever remembered as the world’s pioneering IVF parents.
It is thanks to efforts of English scientist Robert Edwards, and his medical colleague Patrick Steptoe, that Louise, technically the world’s first “test tube baby” baby was created through the procedure of introducing fertilised eggs into a woman’s womb for a successful IVF pregnancy.
Millions of couples all over the world challenged by infertility have since been inspired to toe the path of the Browns by adopting the revolutionary IVF intervention to become parents of their own biological children. To date more than five million IVF babies have been born.

On September 14, 2004, in Lagos, Nigeria, precisely 23 years after the historic birth of the world’s first IVF baby, Emmanuel and Francesca Onwudijo, joined the growing list of happy parents of perfectly healthy IVF children with the birth of their son, Julian Oluchukwu (God’s work).
Nobody knew for certain that Julian, who was conceived through a combined Assisted Reproduction Technique, ART, of IVF and Intracytosplasmic Sperm Injection, ICSI, was going to be the first IVF baby at Nordica fertility Centre, Lagos, until after his mother got pregnant at the first attempt.
Although separated by space and time, in several ways, the Browns and the Onwudijos had a lot in common. While the Browns had been trying to have a baby for the better part of a decade, the Onwudijos had been searching for the fruit of the womb for five agonising years.
Like all IVF babies, at birth, Louise and Julian were miracles to their parents. Louise, who is now a mother of two, marked her 36th birthday earlier in July, while Julian clocked 10 Sunday last week.
Like Lesley, he was successfully delivered through a Caesarean Section.

In a chat, Julian who loves Jollof rice and chicken, is currently in Basic 6, and  would like to be an engineer,  told Sunday Vanguard  that his mother told him about the origins of hid conception a long time ago and how, she and his father didn’t really have an option after going public to let other couples know how he was conceived and born.

Journey to motherhood
In a trip down memory lane, Julian’s mother, Francesca, recalled the long journey to motherhood. Unlike Louise’s mother, Lesley, whose fallopian tubes were blocked, Francesca recalled that she had no such impediment.
“I got married in July 1999 and had Julian in 2004 – that was five years interval.  I was taking treatment at Lagoon Hospital, but went to the internet to search for solution. You know when a woman is looking for the fruit of the womb, she would do anything and go anywhere. I was in the office and was just going through the internet when I saw the website of Nordica Fertility Centre, I took the address, at that time the clinic was at VGC, in Lekki. I went there and made enquires. That was how I met Dr. Abayomi Ajayi who I had known at Lagoon Hospital. I tried the first time and and to God be the glory, it was successful. There is never any harm trying.”
Francesca who said she has never had had to defend the fact that she gave birth to an IVF baby, had no problems about the issue of stigma.

“We went through the normal tests, there was nothing wrong, I was 24 or 25 then I could not wait to carry my baby rather than waiting and doing nothing. I was not intimidated by the cost. I had no fears or reservations at that time.
“I read a lot found out what the process was about. It was a kind of assisted process. I knew that. It wasn’t as if the baby was going to fall from heaven, it is a natural process, I made enquires and was satisfied. Julian wasn’t the first IVF baby in Nigeria. He was a normal baby and has grown into a normal child. He was perfect at birth and has been perfect in every way a baby should be. Julian has grown to be very intelligent, normal and smart just as babies from normal conception. I have not observed any abnormality whatsoever.”

Nothing to hide
Francesca, who had to rely on her trust in the church and has stood before congregations to talk about her experience, said she has never had to defend what she did or hidden it from anybody. “I had no problems about the issue of stigma. I have never hidden the fact that I did assisted reproduction. There is nothing to hide because he is my blood. It was my egg that was taken as well as my husband’s sperm. So there is nothing to hide. For those that are hiding, it is ignorance. They need to be better educated about the process”, she stated.

“The church I attend does not preach against IVF. I recall a few years ago, a doctor was invited from Abuja to lecture women on the IVF. He did with his team and educated women and asked the church to bring out three women to be given free IVF cycles. They did. Out of them, one was 54 years old; now she has two kids, twins – a boy and a girl. The husband was 69 last year. Another is carrying her baby now.

“If I were to be in a church that preaches against IVF, since I have gone through the process, I would try to educate women and let them know that it is not as if the baby is coming from another planet. It is an assisted procedure just to aid you to conceive. I can even go to the Pastor and use myself as example. My faith always works for me, I believe in God and so far he has not failed me. Why would you suffer in silence when you know there is an alternative? Why are you dying in pains? Children come from God. You just try the best you can”.

IVF and controversy
Almost since its inception, IVF has been a subject of ethical and controversy. Today some arguments once made against the process have fallen by the wayside, while others remain unchanged. Arguments in favour of IVF have remained fairly consistent over the years, notably the potential of allowing previously infertile couples to finally have children of their own. Prior to IVF, it was more or less the end of the line for infertile patients, but today, IVF is almost like the rule than the option for infertile couples.
Daily, babies are conceived and born throughout the world, but the percentage of those born with the help of assisted reproductive technologies doesn’t appear to matter. Rather, what matters is that the techniques available to infertile couples work.
It matters that wonderful doctors are helping people have a child, but it doesn’t matter how those children were conceived or born. What matters is that they are coming into the world at all. However, people ask if there is need to get wrapped up in the ethics of reproductive medicines, when the bottom line is to be helping a couple bring a normal, healthy child into the world.

Effective but expensive
Speaking on the birth of Julian, Medical Director/CEO, Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos, Asaba and Abuja, Dr Abayomi Ajayi, said it represents a new beginning in the history of Nordica, a new hope for parenthood.
“Julian is like a son to us all here, our greatest achievement indeed. In view of our successes recorded, first with Julian our first baby and all those that came thereafter has necessitated the need for further advocacy by the parents in order to share the good news”, Ajayi said.
“Whilst we have achieved monumental growth in the number of babies conceived, we have equally not neglected our corporate social responsibility. Working in conjunction with the Fertility Treatment Support Foundation, FTSF, free fertility treatments have been made available to over 58 couples with diverse infertility challenges.  We also work with the ESGN, Endometriosis Support Group Nigeria, the only Foundation supporting this cause in West Africa”.

On IVF, he described it more as a necessity than an option for infertile couples.
“It is unfortunate that infertility is seen as a personal problem. We know it is a social problem. In Nigeria, unfortunately, the government is not and probably cannot for now sponsor fertility treatment. But government still needs to look at some of these things, and may be providing more centres that can cater for people who are might not be able to afford IVF.”
Noting that IVF treatment isn’t cheap anywhere in the world, Ajayi remarked that the way out is for government to help put the issue on the front burner.

“An experience I’ve seen i s that IVF treatment is not only taken up by the rich because we place a high premium on child bearing in this part of the world. And what people do is that it is like a family challenge. Once somebody has infertility in the family, I’ve seen people contribute money for people to have treatment. It is like a family challenge. Now that the government cannot measure up now, banks are coming up with initiatives that can make you pay in instalments. We know that there are companies beginning to take fertility treatment as part of their staff welfare. They are very few, but there is light down the tunnel and this is what we need to keep doing.”
The doctor, who maintained that IVF success rate is the same everywhere in the world, however, regrets the lack of nationwide data in Nigeria.

‘Success is age-dependent’
“The success rate is age-dependent. Julian’s mother had age in her side, because life comes primarily from the egg, so the younger the egg, when every other thing is normal, the better the success rate. This is why we tell people not to leave IVF as the last resort, because if you do you are actually compromising on success rate”, he said.
“We want people to report early so that there will be proper assessment and, if you need IVF, do it when chances are best, and the best can be done for you. For people above 35, we still have above 40 percent success rate; the problem in Nigeria is that a lot of people above 37 are doing IVF. But things are getting better.

“When we started 10 years ago, about 80 percent were above 37. The picture is getting better. The younger people should report early so that the success rate can be the best for everybody. It is not on even for us when we have to be doing this 4-5 times and asking people to be using donor eggs when they are not really prepared.
“Do proper assessment on time and if you need IVF, do it. It is age-dependent. If you are below 35, and you have tried for a year, and there is no pregnancy, see a gynaecologist. If you are above 35 and you have tried for a year without success, see a gynaecologist”.

Challenges with couples
According to Ajayi, sometimes there are couples that are seeing the traditional gynaecologist who is doing the assessment on them and everything is ok, but that is not so because the basic test can only identify a certain percentage of the problem.
“For somebody that is 45, the first thing to look at is the age. If we look at it from the point of view, you know we said it is the eggs that become babies. For such woman, even if she is still menstruating regularly, the problem lies with age which cannot be detected by regular tests. We are not going to look at whether she is ovulating or not, we are not looking at the stock ovaries, even then such person has normal function, we know it cannot be true. You have to interpret your tests holistically, so it is like a 60 year old woman now has an ovary function test that says normal, it cannot be. You have to look at the whole person to make your decision”, he stated.

Mrs Ranti Ajayi, the Clinic Manager, explains further. “When they come in and they are told they need donor eggs, they do not readily agree. Well it is a normal thing that every woman wants to have her own child biologically but when the reality on ground says it is not feasible, they just have to use donor eggs.
“Some will not accept, even when you give the options – to use donor eggs, adopt a child or buy one as they do now. With donor eggs, most of the time the child looks like the father. We look at the attributes of the mother before choosing a donor egg. Even then, other things are taken into consideration.”

Recalling how, in 2003, the vision of setting up Nordica Fertility Centre, Lagos was conceived, Ajayi said the primary aim was to courageously combat the plague of infertility by providing true “comfort centres” where the pain of childless couples could be soothed both emotionally and medically.
“Our first Centre opened on the 14th of April, 2003 at Victoria Garden City, Lekki Lagos. But owing to our desire to be close to our clients and the fact that we were also rapidly expanding, we moved to Ikoyi, Lagos in January 2008. The Yaba Clinic opened its doors in October 2003 and the our bid to make our clients the centre of their world, another Clinic opened in Asaba in November 2009 and the newest Centre in Asokoro Abuja was commissioned in November 2012.

“The lack of information about fertility options coupled with the stigmatisation associated with childlessness has contributed to the reason why a lot of people do not explore the possibility of assisted conception. This should not be seen as a taboo but seen as a means to an end. “In 11 or so years of existence, God helping us, we have been able to assist in the conception of several hundreds of babies and we are still counting,” Ajayi noted.

In its lifetime, Nordica Lagos has set a number of firsts.  With all modesty, it is the first IVF clinic to have a baby from laser assisted hatching and remains the only fertility clinic currently using the Intracytoplasmic Morphologically selected sperm Injection, IMSI, in addressing male related infertility issues. It is also one of the few clinics in Nigeria to utilise acupuncture for IVF treatment and to carry out Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis and egg freezing”.
Source: Vanguard

Nyanya bombing: DSS,Police fight in court over Ogwuche’s trial

The planned arraignment of  the alleged mastermind of the April 14, bomb blast that killed over 75 persons at a motor park in Nyanya Abuja, Aminu Ogwuche, was stalled yesterday owing to bickering between the Department of State Service, DSS, and the Nigerian Police Force, over which of them should be allowed to conduct the trial.

Sequel to a heated argument that ensued between lawyers from the two security agencies yesterday, the Judge in charge of the case, Justice Ademola Adeniyi, said he was left with no option than to adjourn the matter till November 10, to enable Federal Government to put its house in order.
It will be recalled that  Federal Government had in its bid to expedite the process of extraditing the accused person from Sudan where he escaped to shortly after the terrorist attack, entered a three-count criminal charge before the High Court.

The charge which was endorsed by the Inspector General of Police, was still pending before the High Court when the accused person was successfully returned to the country with the help of the Interpol in Sudan.
Meanwhile, upon taking custody of the accused person, the DSS, promptly approached the high court for an order permitting it to retain him in detention until the conclusion of investigations into the matter.

Following the DSS application which was filed before another judge of the high court, the agency was granted 90 days to conduct and conclude its investigations.
Meantime, at yesterday’s proceeding, Police lawyer,  Mr. Oloye Torugbene, urged the court to okay the accused to take his plea to the subsisting three-count charge.
His application was vehemently opposed by DSS lawyer Mr. Clifford Osagie, who drew the attention of the court to the 90 days order of the sister court, noting that the investigative period had yet to elapse.

Consequently, Osagie urged the Police to withdraw the pending charge which he said was only drafted for the purpose of securing the accused person back to the country.
“My Lord our investigation is still going on. This is a terrorism case that requires holistic a holistic investigation, before the 90 days ordered by the court elapses, we must have completed our investigation and file in our report to the Attorney General of the Federation for further directives”, Osagie submitted.
Though the DSS declined to produce Ogwuche in court yesterday, it told the court that he was safely in custody.
In a short ruling, Justice Ademola, adjourned the case and directed that the accused should be brought to court on November 10.

Ogwuche was in the charge before the court, alleged to have conspired with others (at large), to commit an act of terrorism by detonating improvised explosive devices at Nyanya Motor Park, which resulted in the death of 75 persons and injuring over a hundred other persons.
Count two of the charge reads, “That you, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, Male, and others now at large, on the 14th of April, 2014 at Nyanya, FCT, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did facilitate the activities of persons engaged in an act of terrorism; by detonating improvised explosive devices at the Nyanya motor park which resulted in the death of 75 persons and injuring over a hundred other persons.”
The alleged offences were said to be punishable under sections 1 (2) (d) and 17 of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act of 2013.
Source: Vanguard

Girl freed by Boko Haram pregnant, says Bitrus

The abducted “Chibok girl” released on Wednesday is “pregnant and mentally ill,” the National Chairman of Chibok Community Development Association, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, has told TheCable.
Earlier on Thursday, the police revealed that the 20-year-old girl was abandoned by suspected terrorists at Mubi in Adamawa State, from where she was picked up. It also confirmed that she was one of the female pupils of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, abducted in April by Boko Haram.

However, Bitrus said it was still uncertain if the girl was from Chibok because her name did not correspond with any of the names in the records of the girls that were captured by Boko Haram on April 14.
“I was speaking Kibaku to her, but she did not respond; she was incoherent. She may be having mental issues as a result of trauma,” he said.

Bitrus added that preliminary tests – still not definitive – indicated that the girl is pregnant.
He added, “When she was picked up, she was taken to a clinic, not a standard hospital, and tests were carried out on her.
“From the tests, it was said she is pregnant, but that is still in the speculative domain because a qualified medical doctor has not confirmed that she is pregnant.

“However, we are still trying to establish if really she is from Chibok, because from our sources, the last name of the released girl does not tally with the surname of the person bearing the first name of the released girl captured in our records and whose father is a carpenter at Chibok. So, we are still trying to work out every detail.”
Source:Punch

Boko Haram: DHQ warns next Shekau to be ready for justice

ABUJA—Against the backdrop of evidence that Boko Haram commander, Mohammed Bashir, who has been impersonating the late sect leader, Abubakar Shekau in videos was killed on September 17, by Nigerian soldiers, the Defence Headquarters, DHQ,  has warned that any other person or leader who emerges using the name ‘Shekau’ will receive the same treatment.
The warning was made just as 135 members of the terrorist group have surrendered to troops in Biu, Mairiga-Buni Yadi as well as Mubi-Michika towns.

Briefing the media on current developments in the Counter Terrorism Campaign yesterday, Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade said, “Since the name Shekau has become a brand name for the terrorists leader, the Nigerian military remains resolute to serve justice to anyone who assumes that designation or title as well as all terrorists that seek to violate the freedom and territory of Nigeria”.

Disclosing that many of the insurgents have been surrendering to the Nigerian troops, Olukolade said, “A total of 135 terrorists on Tuesday evening surrendered with equipment, to troops around Biu local government area. A group of 88 submitted themselves at Mairiga-BuniYadi while another group of 45 terrorists were taken in, around Mubi-Michika”.
He said they are all being interrogated and processed in conformity with the dictates of standard best practices”.
Explaining how the operation was going on, General Olukolade said, “Nigerian troops have been conducting coordinated air and land operations in furtherance of efforts at containing the terrorists in the North East part of the country”.

“Somehow, it became apparent that the terrorists in continuation of their campaign of terror were determined to take over communities around Maiduguri which is their prime target.  There was therefore the need to ensure that communities such as Konduga were protected”.
“It is noteworthy that the terrorists made not less than four attempts between 12 and 17 September 2014 to violate the security and enter Konduga to perpetrate their atrocities.  Air and land forces were subsequently deployed to handle the situation”.

“The convoy of combat vehicles typical of terrorists’ mission that involves their top commanders were fiercely engaged by the land and air forces.  Several of the terrorists including some of their commanders lost their lives in the encounters which lasted an average of about 5 hours each. The troops captured some of the terrorists and their equipment”.

“In the course of those encounters, one Mohammed Bashir who has been acting or posing on videos as the deceased Abubakar Shekau, the eccentric character known as leader of the group died”.
Continuing he said, “Since the name Shekau has become a brand name for the terrorists’ leader, the Nigerian military remains resolute to serve justice to anyone who assumes that designation or title as well as all terrorists that seek to violate the freedom and territory of Nigeria”.

“On restoring normalcy after the encounter, inhabitants of the community who were victims of terrorists activities corroborated information on the identity of Bashir Mohammed alias Abubakar Shekau; alias Abacha Abdullahi Geidam; alias Damasack; etc.  Indeed, the recent devastation on the leadership of the insurgents is attributable to the renewed commitment to the mission of eradicating terrorism in our country”.

“Meanwhile, a total of 135 terrorists have yesterday evening surrendered along with equipment to troops around Biu Local Government Area.  A group of 88 submitted themselves at Mairiga/Bun – Yadi while another group of 45 terrorists were taken in around Mubi – Michika.  They are all being interrogated and processed in conformity with the dictates of standard best practices”.
“The Defence Headquarters applauds the gallantry of the Nigerian troops who have remained undaunted and professional in prosecuting this campaign against terror. The keen interest exhibited by our neighbours and allies is commendable and we appreciate them”.

“All allies in the war against terrorism are hereby assured of the Nigerian military’s resolve to maintain momentum in the efforts to decimate and defeat terrorists. The invaluable efforts toward achieving sustainable peace and victory against the terrorists are highly appreciated”.
“It is nevertheless necessary to alert all citizens that there is still the need for even more vigilance and cooperation with the security forces.  Everybody is required to remain alert to ensure that we are not taken unawares by terrorist elements who might want to carry-out isolated attacks in any part of our country”.

On the true position of the Chibok girls presently, the DDI said all efforts were still ongoing to secure the release of the girls noting that the military will not relent until the girls are secured.
Asked to comment of allegations by Cameroonian military authorities that they were responsible for the death of the imposter Shekau, Olukolade said, “To the best of our knowledge, we can say categorically that no foreign force of any type penetrated our country’s borders up to Konduga which is just about 35 kilometers to Maiduguri”.

On the situation in Bama and Gwoza, the DDI said, “I want to repeat what the Defence headquarters have been saying all along. We have not conceded any part of this country and we won’t do so. All these areas still remain part and parcel of our operational areas and the operation is still ongoing”.
On why Nigerian troops were now having upper hand over the terrorists in the battle, Olukolade said, “Training and more training has been going on; equipment and more equipment has been coming in. It will keep coming in. There is also a new resolve to deal with all these nonsense once and for all”.

Source : Vanguard

Confusion over release of Chibok girls

RUMOURS that the Chibok girls, abducted 162 days ago, had been released  was the trend all over the social media on Tuesday.

 The excitement of Nigerians was,  however, cut short as the Defence Headquarters refuted the story earlier attributed to them by online media, including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
The Defence headquarters, on its Twitter handle, stated that “the story circulating in respect of release of the Chibok girls is untrue. Buses drove into the barracks but conveyed other individuals.”

Few hours later, the BBC, in another story, said, “Nigeria’s military has retracted its statement that some of the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok town in April by Islamist militants had been freed.”
Army spokesman, Major-General Chris Olukolade, told the BBC there were girls in military custody, but not those from Chibok as originally thought.

Earlier, Olukolade had told the BBC that there was an ongoing exercise to release the schoolgirls taken from Chibok and that some of them were safe in a military barracks.
But he later called back to retract his statement, saying the authorities were trying to confirm the identities of the girls  in custody of the army, but they did not come from Chibok.

In recent days, there have been unconfirmed reports that the Nigerian government has been negotiating a deal with Boko Haram to exchange the abducted girls for imprisoned Islamist fighters.

Source: Tribune