I've lost count of persons I've kidnapped — Suspect

Okwudili Nnagbo, a kidnap suspect fleeing to South Africa, arrested after boarding his escape aircraft to South Africa at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, last month was yesterday paraded at the headquarters of the State Anti-robbery Squad, Awka, Anambra State, alongside 13 other suspects caught for various offences.

Nnagbo, from Nri in Anaocha Local Government Area of the state, said he had been in the business of kidnapping for many years, adding that he had lost count of the number of persons he had kidnapped in the past.

He said he decided to quit kidnapping when one of his relations in South Africa invited him over, noting that he thought he had covered his tracks only to be arrested at the point of departing the country.

Also paraded were Chukwudi Chinedu from Okija, and Kevin Obi from Umuzu who allegedly raped the pregnant wife of a man they robbed of N66,000 and Uba Christian Chukwuemeka from Oji River in Enugu State who had been involved in the kidnap of female students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka where he enrolled for a diploma programme few years ago.

Chinedu said he was living in Lagos and was looking for money to transport himself back to Lagos and blamed the devil for his action.

President Jonathan, set us free; Chibok girls plead in new video

President Goodluck Jonathan has reportedly seen a new video released by Boko Haram, where the abducted school girls of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, spoke about their ordeal in the hands of the insurgents for the first time and pleaded with him to secure their release.

The girls were reportedly ill and are in camps located in Chad, Niger and Cameroon, with one of them nursing a broken wrist.

The footage, not released publicly but seen by the London-based The Mail on Sunday was taken in a jungle clearing a month after their abduction.
More than 250 girls were taken in a raid on their school in Chibok on April 14 by Boko Haram terrorists.

Adamawa explosion: Two suspects arrested – Olukolade

The Adamawa Police Command has confirmed 14 people dead and 12 others injured in a bomb explosion which rocked Mubi town on Sunday evening.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Usman Abubakar, confirmed the incident in Yola.

Meanwhile, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, Director, Defence Information, said that two suspects had been arrested inconnection with the blast.

He, however, said that one of them later died in the hospital following an injury he sustained during the attack.

A resident of the town, who simply identified himself as Solomon, said that the explosion occurred in Kabang area of the town in Mubi South Local Government Area.

“The explosion occurred at about 6 p.m. in Kabang area where there is concentration of beer palour operators.

“Security personnel are taking affected people to hospital. I can’t say whether there is death or not”, Solomon said.

For three successive months, the military has imposed 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew on Mubi town following incessant attacks by the insurgents.

Davido graduates from Babcock

David Adedeji Adeleke, popularly known as Davido was among over 500 students who graduated today from Babcock University in Ilisan Remo, Ogun State. His dad was present at the ceremony. 

Davido, one of the emerging musical talents from Africa, born November 21, 1992.
 

‘Chibok girls may return with strange orientation’

50 days after the seizure of the over 200 girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram, civil rights activist, Shehu Sani, yesterday, raised the alarm on the fate of the victims.

Sani, who was at the forefront of two failed bids to broker peace between  Boko Haram and government, told Sunday Vanguard that the prolonged abduction of the girls by the Islamist group could dramatically alter the fate and orientation of the girls.
According to Sani, the longer the girls were  kept   by their captors, the higher the potential of their being hypnotised and brainwashed to accept radicalism and terrorism.

”But the danger of keeping these girls, without either using negotiation or force to free them, is that, everyday these girls are being brainwashed by the insurgents,” the former negotiator said.
” If we are not careful, the Chibok girls that would come out of captivity would not be the same girls that went into captivity. They would be indoctrinated, they would be hypnotised and brainwashed to the point that they would be transformed into insurgents themselves. And of what use will they be then?

Emefiele resumes as CBN governor

Godwin Emefiele assumes office today as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor after the expiration of the tenure of Lamido Sanusi on May 31. Mr. Emefiele was still on duty at Zenith as at last Friday.

Mr. Emefiele, during his confirmation hearing at the Senate said CBN, under him shall vigorously pursue a development banking model, DBM, in addition to working hard to achieve the core mandate of monetary and price stability.

Emefiele had told the senators that DBM is a model that has been tried and tested in different jurisdictions in the world.

Give amnesty to Boko Haram, Yayale tells Jonathan

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmad, said yesterday that the Federal Government should grant general amnesty to the members of the Boko Haram sect if they meet the conditions that gave rise to pardoning Niger Delta militants in 2009.

Ahmad, however, expressed doubts whe-ther the sect members would ever come out and establish real contacts with the government with a view to facilitating genuine dialogue.

Ahmad, who was part of late President Yar’Adua’s team that midwifed the Niger Delta amnesty package in 2009, pointed out that unlike the Niger Delta militants who had a clear and definite demand, the sect's agenda was unclear and confusing.

The former defence minister pointed out that the way Boko Haram members were operating had also made it difficult to establish contact with its leadership for any meaningful dialogue.

The former Head of Service of the Federation said: “In the case of the Niger Delta, it was possible for the government to establish contacts with their leaders, who were not in the creeks. They had a definite demand and territory, which made it easy for us to know that they wanted.

“But in the case of Boko Haram, they say they are in the Northeast but they are invisible. They are so invisible that you can hardly trace them even though they may be in your household.

“Secondly, the Boko Haram demand is not economically-based or a call for economic emancipation. Their demand is a religious one, which even the constituency of Boko Haram actors, Islam, is uncomfortable with.

The former SGF, who described the current security challenge in the nation as a dilemma, pointed out that it would be very difficult for the Federal Government to acquiesce to the demands of Boko Haram since the constitution does not authorise it to dabble into the religion of any Nigerian.

On how to stem to spate of insurgency across the country, Ahmad called on government at all levels to give more attention to gathering for the people instead of promoting personal interest at the expense of the majority of the citizens.

“The government must do more to cater for the youths in order to entice them to keep off evil ways and embrace what is right for the society. The only way to do that is through job creation, poverty alleviation and massive education of the people,” the former government scribe said.

On how President Jonathan can succeed and move the nation forward, Ahmad said that the President should learn to be a statesman and a father to the nation by being bold enough to look critically at his team and get advisers who can advise him patriotically.