Boko Haram: Soldiers kill 100 terrorists, rescue 1200 villagers

After a fierce gun battle, Nigerian troops on Monday destroyed over 100 Boko Haram fighters and rescued about 1200 villagers held captive by the insurgents.

Abujacitynews learnt that the soldiers confronted the insurgents at a local market in Boboshe village where they usually gathered on Mondays to trade.

Acting on a tip-off, the troops stormed the market where they engaged in a ferocious firefight with the insurgents who usually came there armed.

After they subdued the insurgents in Boboshe, the soldiers moved into Garindawaji and Mamawarhi communities where over one thousand captives were set free.

Some of the freed villagers said that they had been held captive for over two years.

Among them was Fatima whose husband was killed before her very eyes after which the terrorists dragged her away. She doesn't know what has become of the two children she left behind, but now has a baby for the terrorists.

The Deputy Governor of Borno State, Usman Mamman Durkwa visited the village yesterday and after a brief meeting with the soldiers ordered the evacuation of the freed villagers to the IDP camps in Maiduguri.

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WHO warns zika virus could spread to Africa, Asia, Europe.

The World Health Organization, WHO, has warned that Africa, Asia and parts of Southern Europe are susceptible to the spread of the zika virus.

Anthony Costello, WHO Director for Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, said on Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland that if it was confirmed that the mosquitoes that carried Zika virus were present in Africa, parts of southern Europe and Asia, particularly South Asia, then there could be a problem.

He said that as a precautionary measure, WHO has declared an international public health emergency due to Zika’s link to thousands of recent birth defects in Brazil.

Costello said that the WHO has set up a global response team to harness the experiences learned from the ebola crisis to fashion a solution to the zika problem.

He said that the organization was concerned that zika could spread to other areas of the world where the populations have not developed immunity to the virus.

He disclosed that the WHO was working on guidelines for pregnant women and a definition of microcephaly including a standardised measurement of baby heads.

He advised that mass community engagement in areas with the mosquitoes and their breeding grounds, and rapid development of diagnostic tools are essential to containing the virus, since the development of a vaccine could still be years away.

NAN

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Man dies in church celebrating own survival thanksgiving

A thanksgiving service celebrating a retired school principal's survival of an automobile accident ended in an anti climax when the celebrant died inside the church after a session of vigorous dancing.

The incident happened around 11am on Sunday during church service at Redeemed People’s Mission Church in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.

A member of the congregation said that the celebrant had been involved in a road accident which confined him to the hospital for one year and had come to the church on the fateful day to formally appreciate the mercy of God in healing him.

“It was indeed a strange incident. When he had an accident and spent a year in the hospital he didn’t die, but after recovering and deciding to come and appreciate God, he died.

“That fateful day, it was as if he knew he was going to die. The way he  danced that day,we had never seen him dance like that. He even read his biography to the congregation  and after that, returned to his seat, and after a while he died while seated.

“When members of the church were not convinced of his death, they quickly rushed  him to the Federal Medical Center, Jalingo where the doctor later certified  him dead. But the church members dissatisfied with the doctor’s confirmation, insisted that he was only sleeping and that he would wake up at the right time, but after they prayed for hours and he didn’t wakeup they gave up hope,” he said.

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Zika virus: Brazil warns pregnant women against coming to Rio 2016

The government of Brazil has explained that female athletes and spectators coming to the country for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games have no risk if they are not pregnant.

President Dilma Rousseff’s chief of staff, Jacques Wagner was quoted by Reuters as saying that women who are not pregnant have zero risk from zika virus after the World Health Organization declared the virus a global public health emergency.

“We have to explain to those coming to Brazil, the athletes, that there is zero risk if you are not a pregnant woman,” Wagner said.

Cases of zika virus, which is spread by aedes aegypti mosquitoes, have been on the rise in Brazil and the rest of Southern America ahead of Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Following the establishment of a link between the virus and microcephaly – a condition which can lead to babies being born with small heads and under-developed brains, pregnant women have been advised against traveling to zika infested countries.

Other symptoms associated with the virus are fever, rashes, joint pain and conjunctivitis.

Notwithstanding the WHO declaration, President of the International Olympic Committee, IOC, Thomas Bach is confident that athletes will feel safe travelling to Brazil for the games.

I“We welcome this decision by the World Health Organization because it helps raise even more awareness and to provide even more resources to fight the virus.

“We are in close contact with the WHO and we see also that so far there is no travel ban being pronounced by the WHO.

“We also see that the Olympic Games will be taking place in the winter time which is not the preferred breeding time for the mosquitoes," he said.

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AFCON 2017 qualifier: NFF rallies Kaduna fans behind Super Eagles

The Nigerian Football Federation, NFF has started mobilizing Kaduna fans to ensure maximum support for the Super Eagles when they clash with the Pharaohs of Egypt in next month's first leg AFCON 2017 qualifier at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.

The president of the NFF, Mr Amaju Pinnick told Daily Sunsports that the match is a must win if the Eagles have to keep hope of qualification for AFCON 2017 soccer championship alive.

“I know the Eagles will get total support in Kaduna when Egypt come calling. The fact that we are playing in Kaduna is a huge advantage. It is a venue that you are sure the fans will get behind you right from the very first blast of the referee’s whistle. As we speak, we have started mobilizing the fans. We want them to double their support for the team on that day. We want a situation where the entire arena will be painted green and white. We want a full house. We are already working towards this. God willing, all will be fine in spite of the CHAN 2016 setback,” he said.

Pinnick declared that the NFF will leave no stone unturned in the preparation for the crucial encounter, urging Kaduna fans to come out in their numbers to support the national team.

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How Dariye shared N1.162b Ecological Fund: Those who benefited and what they got.

A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Gudu, Abuja has been told how a former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye shared N1.162b Ecological Fund belonging to the state to his political associates.

Dariye who was the governor of Plateau State from 1999 to 2007 is now a senator representing Plateau Central Senatorial Zone in the National Assembly.

Detective Musa Sunday of the EFCC led in evidence by prosecution counsel Rotimi Jacobs SAN told the court how Dariye shared the ecological fund to his political associates and officials of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Plateau State.

He said that his team of detectives discovered that Dariye gave N100m to Marine Float Nigeria Ltd, a company owned by the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

“The Ecological Fund Office is under the Presidency but the Office of the Vice-President oversees it and the vice-president chairs the agency’s activities. The vice-president at that time was Alhaji Abubakar Atiku,” he said.

Punch reports that the witness said that N100 million which was received by then Special Duties Minister Yomi Edu was traced to the South-West PDP, N80m to then Permanent Secretary of the Ecological Fund Office in the Presidency, Kingsley Nkoma; N10m to a former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, N6.8m to the PDP Plateau State and N66m to 274 PDP wards in the state.

Detective Musa Sunday testifying as PW1 read out a portion of Dariye's July 2007 statement to the EFCC in which he confirmed the distribution of the money among his political associates.

From page 10 of the statement marked Exhibit P13(A) which highlighted how Dariye gave a breakdown of how he disbursed the N1.162b received from the Ecological Fund Office, the witness read before the court.

“In the course of investigation, Marine Float was found to be a company owned by the former Vice-President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku. As at when the money was paid, the Vice- President was the Chairman of Ecological Fund Office."

The witness further testified that the Permanent Secretary in the ecological fund office was bribed to facilitate the release of the money.

“The N80m paid in favour of Union Savings and Loan, was traced to Kingsley Nkoma, Permanent Secretary of Ecological Fund Office. We recovered the N80m from Nkoma, who said that was his share for facilitating the release of the money. That was the bribe he collected.

“Investigation proved, while he was invited, that the N80m paid to him through Union Savings and Loan was a bribe money paid to him by the defendant. The money was recovered from him. TheN80m recovered from Nkoma is registered as exhibit and it is with the EFCC. When we invited him, Nkoma said that that was his share of the money and he was made to return it.”

The judge, Justice Adebukola Banjoko, adjourned the matter till Wednesday February 3 for further hearing.

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Prime Minister of Italy bags honorary citizenship of Abuja

The Prime Minister of Italy, Mr Matteo Renzi was on Monday conferred with the Honorary Citizenship of Abuja by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello.

Bello presented the key to the city of Abuja to Mr Renzi at the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The Italian Prime Minister was on a one day official visit to Nigeria.

Bello described Abuja as the symbol of Nigeria's unity.

He told Mr Renzi that the key to the City of Abuja which confers on him the Honorary Citizenship of Abuja, with all the rights and privileges is a mark of respect for the strong friendship and cordial relationship between the people of Nigeria and Italy.

Renzi led a delegation of the Italian government to a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.

He called for a strengthening of the longstanding diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and his country.

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