Boko Haram: African diplomats vow to support Nigeria

The African Diplomatic Group has condemned the terror attacks carried out by the Boko Haram sect in parts of the country.

The diplomats also called on the Federal Government to expedite action for the rescue or release of the abducted Chibok school girls even as they commiserated with the government of Nigeria, the families of the kidnapped girls and other victims of the terrorists’ attacks.

The ambassador of Shaharawi Arab Republic to Nigeria and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Oubi Bachir said this on Friday during the Africa and Mandela Day celebrations in Abuja.

Bachir said, “The Africa Diplomatic Group condemns all threats to the progress of Africa, including Boko Haram terror attacks that have taken the lives of hundreds of innocent Nigerians, and families of the victims for loss of their loved ones.

“The group calls for the unconditional release of the over 200 girls, who were kidnapped in chibok, Borno State, on April 14, 2014.

“Africa is committed to garner all the necessary resources to support Nigeria in its quest to combat terrorism.”

The envoy noted that Africa had come a long way since the formation of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, which later changed to African Union in 2002, adding that the continent, despite its challenges had made tremendous strides in peace and development.

He said the United Nations General Assembly on July 18, 2009 launched Nelson Mandela International Day in recognition of the birth anniversary of the iconic late President of the Republic of South Africa for his immense contribution to the liberation of his country and humanity in general.

The High Commissioner of South Africa to Nigeria, Lulu Mnguni, who paid tributes to Mandela, called on all well-meaning individuals to emulate the iconic virtues of the late former South African president.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Bulus Lolo called on Africa to unite and collaborate in the fight against terror and insurgency.

Culled from: Punch News

JAMB backs down, says candidates can write post-UTME in their first choice institutions

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board on Wednesday said candidates are allowed to do the post-UTME in their first choice institutions.

JAMB’s Public Relations officer, Fabian Benjamin, said in a statement that candidates can do the post-UTME exercise in the institutions, particularly universities to which they were posted by JAMB.

“Following the various public opinions, we have taken two approaches to ease the problems of our candidates,” Mr. Benjamin said.

The universities will soon get the soft copies of the list of candidates that applied to various institutions as first choice.

“We hope this will help the candidates in their endeavour,” Mr. Benjamin said.

He said the voice of the people is the voice of God, adding that this action would go a long way to show that the Board is a responsive organisation which has concern over the feeling of Nigerians.

“The Board will not relent in its efforts to see that our education is one of the best in the world,” said Mr. Benjamin.

Controversial New Policy

Earlier on, at a combined policy meeting, JAMB announced the adoption of a policy where applicants are reassigned to other universities with lower number of candidates.

The JAMB Registrar, Dibu Ojerinde, explained that the benefit of the new policy would help needy universities with lower number of candidates.

Mr. Ojerinde said the policy would also assist JAMB candidates have better chances of admission in universities they are reassigned to.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/

Children and mentally ill lead new wave of suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers

By Peter Foster, telegraph.co.uk

A 12-year-old girl and a “mentally handicapped” woman were among those who carried a weekend wave of suicide bombings by suspected Islamic militants in northern Nigeria and Cameroon that left more than 60 people dead and hundreds fleeing their homes.

The attacks were widely blamed on Boko Haram, the Islamic State-affiliated terror group that has carried out widespread atrocities in the region since 2009.

The most recent bombing came on Sunday morning in a crowded market in north-eastern Nigerian town of Damaturu when a “mentally handicapped” bomber struck, killing 15 and injuring 47 others.

That attack came just hours after a 12-year-old girl killed 20 people in a Saturday night attack on a bar in the Cameroonian city of Maroua, a commercial hub of the extreme north of Cameroon close to the Nigerian and Chadian borders.

It came a day after Boko Haram were blamed for a series of attacks on villages across the border in north-eastern Nigeria that left at least 25 dead and forced hundreds more to flee their burning homes.

Over the past two years Boko Haram fighters have carried out several cross-border raids and abductions in northern Cameroon but the country, which is engaged in a regional fightback against the jihadists, had previously been spared from suicide attacks.

A new, five-nation force – from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin – is due to deploy by July 30 to take on the militants, whose six-year insurgency has left at least 15,000 dead and increasingly threatens regional security.

Earlier this month the new Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari visited Washington and received pledges for greater US assistance, however the US continues to refuse to provide arms shipments to Nigeria citing its poor record on corruption and human rights.

Mr Buhari recently criticised that decision as tantamount to “aiding and abetting” the terrorists, but is under mounting pressure to tackle the militants after a fresh outbreak of violence left 800 people dead since he came to power in May.

But despite repeated promises from Nigerian leaders that the militants would be crushed, the attacks keep coming on both sides of the Nigerian-Cameroon border.

Last Wednesday 13 people were killed in twin bombings in Maroua carried out by two girls said to be "under 15" years of age. That assault was the second of its kind in the area in the past 10 days.

Meanwhile Damaturu, the capital of Nigeria’s Yobe state that has been worst-hit by Boko Haram, was the scene of a triple suicide bombing on July 18 when three girls blew themselves up killing at least 13 people as residents prepared for the Eid festival marking the end of Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Bobbi Kristina Brown Dies at 22

Bobbi Kristina Brown, 22, the only daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, died Sunday, nearly six months after she was found unresponsive in a bathtub of her home, her family said.

Brown has been unresponsive in hospitals and hospice care since she was found in her Roswell, Georgia, home on Jan. 31. Her family said she suffered irreversible brain damage.

"She is finally at peace in the arms of God," her family told NBC News in a statement. "We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months."

Bobbi Kristina was music royalty as the daughter of two superstars — and the granddaughter of another, Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney, who died in February 2012.

Police have said that they investigated the case as a medical emergency and that no foul play is suspected. No criminal charges have ever been brought.She became even better known at age 10 when she was featured on her father's reality TV series, "Being Bobby Brown."

But late last month, Brown's conservator sued Nick Gordon — who has been described as Brown's boyfriend and husband, an attachment her family denies — for $10 million, accusing him of having physically abused Brown and having improperly withdrawn $11,000 from her bank account after she was in a coma.

Whitney Houston brought Gordon into her household as an orphan at the age of 12, raising him with her daughter after divorcing Bobby Brown in 2007. Gordon wore a large tattoo of Houston's face on his arm and called the singer "mom," but she never adopted him or included him in her will.

http://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/bobbi-kristina-brown-dies-22-family-confirms-n398756

SUPPORT OTHERS WITH YOUR PRESENCE

"The purpose of therapy is not to remove suffering but TO MOVE THROUGH IT to an enlarged consciousness that can sustain the polarity of painful opposites."
-- James Hollis

Because it matters...Be inspired!!!: How David Mark doubled National Assembly budget

Because it matters...Be inspired!!!: How David Mark doubled National Assembly budget: By the time the curtain fell on the 7th session of Nigeria’s National Assembly in June, one of the most prominent characters of that era, w...

How David Mark doubled National Assembly budget

By the time the curtain fell on the 7th session of Nigeria’s National Assembly in June, one of the most prominent characters of that era, who retreated backstage as a member of the 8th session (after his party became a minority), is former Senate President, David Mark.

Mr. Mark, a retired army general, would be remembered for his ignoble role in deepening and institutionalising the culture of secrecy at Nigeria’s federal legislative body.

In 2003, total National Assembly budget was about N23.347 billion.

The next year, the figure rose to about N32.229 billion (2004) and then N55.422 billion in 2005.

Although the figure dropped to N39.810 billion in 2006, the allocations have remained on the upswing ever after.

Immediately Mr. Mark became Senate President in 2007, the National Assembly’s budget rose from N66.488 billion to a shocking N104.825 billion in 2008, before dropping marginally to N96.052 billion in 2009.

By 2010, while he was still in charge, the allocation had a geometric jump, skyrocketing to unprecedented levels to a peak of about N154.2 billion.

With the Nigerian public increasingly scrutinizing the spiraling annual allocations to the National Assembly, questions about why the lawmakers got so much, amid rising overheads in the national budget, became inevitable.

To block Nigerians from knowing details of how the National Assembly’s jumbo allocations are spent, and how much lawmaker’s earn in allowances, Mr. Mark’s leadership wrapped up the federal legislator’s finances in utmost secrecy.

In one master stroke of legislative brinkmanship, the National Assembly budget, hitherto open to public scrutiny, like those of all ministries, departments and agencies, suddenly became secret.

Details of the allocation were never made known, and Mr. Mark and his team resisted all efforts to pry it open.

By 2010, the National Assembly legislated to make itself member of an exclusive club of agencies whose budget details are never disclosed but whose finances are deducted en-bloc (first-line charge) via statutory transfers.

This group includes the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Public Complaints Commission (PCC).

Agencies in this group receive their annual budgetary allocations in bulk without providing breakdown of expenditure details.

Under Mr. Mark’s leadership, details of the National Assembly’s N150 billion allocations remained secret, despite public outcry against it.

For the first time in several years, the federal lawmakers agreed to cut their jumbo allocation by 23.3 percent to N115 billion in 2015.

Yet, details of how the fund would be spent remained secret.

Disturbed by the trend, the Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice (CENSOJ), Eze Onyekpere, citing the Freedom of Information Act and Section 48 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, demanded budgetary and expenditure details from both the National Assembly and the Federal Ministry of Finance.

When Mr. Mark failed to grant the request, Mr. Onyekpere went to court.

After several adjournments, the court, on February 25, 2014, ordered the Minister of Finance to oblige the civil society group with details of all statutory transfers.

But Mr. Mark and the finance ministry ignored the order.

The closest anyone got to knowing how lawmakers spend Nigeria’s hard-earned money was the indication given by Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and current Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi.

Mr. Sanusi had said expenses by the National Assembly accounted for about 25 percent of the total overhead cost by the federal government.

Apart from allocations for salaries and allowances, Mr. Sanusi said all other items packed under different sub-heads in the appropriation bill consist mainly of expenses on the personal benefits of lawmakers.

According to the former CBN boss, the National Assembly under Mr. Mark perfected a curious system of “retiring” the huge allocation.

“There is an entire structure within the National Assembly whose job is to prepare different receipts and vouchers to cover every item in the budget,” Mr. Sanusi had said.

A review of the details of the National Assembly budget for 2009 highlights some items the lawmakers spend their huge annual budget on.

Out of a total appropriation of N106.64 billion for that year, recurrent expenditure was N101.39 billion, or 95 percent, allowing just N5.25 billion for capital projects.

Under the recurrent, overheads accounted for N87.69 billion, or 86.48 percent, with personnel cost allocated N13.69 billion, or 13.52 percent.

Apart from payment of salaries and other fringe benefits, which takes an average of about N10 billion, Mr. Sanusi said the bulk of the allocations were shared among members according to pre-agreed formula after allocations for such items as constituency projects, budget tracking, software, hardware, implementation and monitoring; NASS equipment; judgment debt; renovation projects; general goods and non-personal services; general travels and transport (local and international) as well as general training.

Other provisions include general utilities; general materials and supplies; general maintenance services; security vote, consultancy and professional services; insurance premium charges; fuel and lubricants; contingency; NASS programmed activities, NASS law magazine; media and Public Relations as well as miscellaneous expenses.

Mr. Mark stepped down from the leadership of the National Assembly in June. He would most likely be remembered more for the lack of accountability under his watch.

From: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/

NEMA confirms 29 deaths in Gombe explosions

The National Emergency Management Agency on Thursday confirmed that 29 persons were killed in Wednesday’s attacks at two motor parks in Gombe.

The information officer of the agency in Gombe State, Umar Madigawa, in a message to our correspondent, said the explosion at Dadin Kowa motor park occurred at 7:15pm on Wednesday and that of Dukku motor park happened shortly after that, at 8:30pm.

He said 17 of the bodies recovered from the explosion sites were deposited at Federal Medical Centre, Gombe, and 67 injured persons taken for treatment.

At the Specialists Hospital in Gombe, according to him, 12 other corpses were deposited with 38 persons taken there to be treated.

He said 29 persons were killed in the explosions that left 105 injured.

No fewer than 40 persons were feared killed on Wednesday evening in Gombe State following three-bomb explosions at two bus station in the state.

Eyewitnesses told AFP that the first two explosions occurred at about 7pm at Dadin-Kowa Motor Park, the busiest bus station in the state.

The blasts suspected to be from Improvised Explosive Devices were said to have occurred minutes apart.

The third blast occurred about two hours later at Tashan Dukku Motor Park.

Sources said there was pandemonium as residents went searching in hospitals for their loved ones.

The Police Public Relations in the Gombe State, Fwaje Atajiri, confirmed the attack to The Cable but said the fatality figure had yet to be confirmed.

He added that the police had cordoned off the areas to prevent hoodlums from looting in the areas.

Atajiri “It is true that there were bomb attacks in the motor park but the casualty figure is not yet known. The injured have been taken to the hospital and the area has been cordoned off to prevent hoodlums from taking advantage of the situation to loot people’s property.”

Meanwhile, the governors of the Peoples Democratic Party under the aegis of PDP Governors’ Forum on Wednesday night in Abuja expressed concerns over the current spate of Boko Haram attacks in the North-East and asked the military to wake up.

The governors, after their meeting, expressed concerns that in spite of the security measures by the Armed Forces, the sect seems to be intensifying its attacks.

The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said even as they met, the Governor of Gombe State, Ibrahim Dankwambo, received a call over another attack in his state.

Emmanuel, while calling on the country’s Armed Forces to step up their operations, also lamented the state of the Internally Displaced Persons.

He said, “We actually call on the Armed Forces to step up their security measures to see how they can stem the tide of this menace.

“It’s really a thing of concern to the PDP government that in spite of all the efforts in the Armed Forces these guys are still proving to be more formidable.”

http://www.punchng.com/news/multiple-explosions-kill-40-in-gombe/

Buhari says will name cabinet in September

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's new President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday that he will not appoint cabinet ministers until September, having taken office on May 29.

"Nigeria must first put new rules of conduct and good governance in place," Buhari wrote in an article published in the Washington Post on Monday. In the article, he outlined his plan for defeating the militant Islamist group Boko Haram and rooting out corruption.

Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in a six-year insurgency, during which it has attempted to set up a state adhering to strict sharia law in the northeast of Nigeria, Africa's largest economy.

Buhari held talks with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday as part of a four-day visit to Washington. Obama said Nigeria's president had a "clear agenda" for defeating the insurgents.

Since taking office, Buhari has replaced his defence chiefs and dissolved the board of the state oil company but is yet to appoint a cabinet, prompting questions from some in the Nigerian media.

"When cabinet ministers are appointed in September, it will be some months after I took the oath of office," wrote Buhari.

"It would neither be prudent nor serve the interests of sound government to have made these appointments immediately on my elevation to the presidency," he said.

EXPLORE YOUR FEARS

"What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it."
-- Jiddu Krishnamurti

Sokoto Suspends Headmaster, 20 Teachers for Asenteeism

The Kware Local Education Authority in Sokoto State has suspended the headmaster and all 20 teachers of Rugar-Liman Primary School in the area for absenteeism.

Also suspended was the Area Education Officer, for gross negligence of duty.

Alhaji Sada Haidara, the Education Secretary for the area, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Sokoto that the affected officers were suspended for one month and would forfeit their salaries for the period.

Haidara said, “I took the action on July 14 sequel to repeated unscheduled inspection visits to the school. In all the visits, I did not meet the headmaster, teachers or any pupil.

“There was nobody in the school, it was a security guard of a neigbhouring state government water project who informed me that lessons had not been going on in the school.

“The head master is always putting his telephone off, while the AEO was also suspended as he had failed in his duty to monitor the school.”

The education secretary said the local area supervisor and some teachers have been drafted to run the school on a temporary basis.

He warned that the LEA would take similar action against any staff found wanting.

http://www.punchng.com/news/sokoto-suspends-headmaster-20-teachers-for-absenteeism/

Okonjo-Iweala used $1bn for Jonathan’s re-election — Oshiomhole

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has accused a former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, of illegally withdrawing $1 billion from the federation account to prosecute the re-election bid of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Speaking at a Seminar organized by the Edo state government for Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Directors entitled “enhancing IGR in Edo, issues, prospects and challenges”, the governor said the former minister also needs to tell Nigerians how the Excess Crude Account was drawn down to $4.1 billion from the peak of $10 billion when no approval was given by the National Economic Council for any withdrawals.

The governor who said Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala would have been declared a pathological liar if she were a witness in court due to the inconsistencies in her statements.

He said a forensic audit would truly determine how much was illegally spent from the federation account under her watch as Minister.

He said the state government would now hold Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Directors responsible for any fraud detected in their departments saying the government has trimmed down the cost of running government.

He said: “the truth is, many things went wrong even at the federal level. As you might have read in the papers, while the federal government, under Goodluck Jonathan, with the then Coordinating Minister of the Economy liked to blame “Governors” for wasteful spending, for not saving for the rainy day, for not investing properly, the truth is the real weakness in the Nigerian federal chain has been the Federal Government.

“Our hope is that with the new President, given his pedigree, we will break from the past.

“As I’m sure you will soon begin to hear when all the numbers are published, last week, I complained aloud that Edo State lost about N10 billion over a four year period from only one source: the NLNG remittance to the federation account.

“How did I arrive at the figure? I used my 4-Figure Table and I asked myself at $2.1 billion remitted by NLNG as taxes and Shell, and by the way, Shell is not the only oil operative, we have Chevron and several others. They shared the $2.1 billion based on the revenue allocation formula, Edo State got about N2.27 billion. So I said, thank God this money came after the departure of Okonjo-Iweala and President Jonathan. If the PDP were still in charge in Abuja, this money would have been taken.

“That is not the only money Edo State Government has lost. You have heard of the last instalment of $4.1 billion that was in the Excess Crude Account as of November, 2014, and from that time till today, we have not; when I say we, federal, states and local governments have not touched that money.

“We have not agreed to take anything out of it, and yet it has been drawn down to about $2 billion. Which means $2.1 billion disappeared. If you listened and followed the conversation, when I made this allegation after the National Economic Council meeting that the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister, Dr Okonjo-Iweala took $2.1 billion without approval and spent it in a manner that was never accounted for, she replied that I lied and said that it was the Commissioners and herself who agreed to distribute that money to the three tiers of government and that FAAC is the most visible expression of our true federalism. And that we shouldn’t claim that FAAC is unknown to us. That FAAC is a creation of law and so on and so forth.

“I’m going into this, because, as public servants, you need to understand not just the finances of Edo State but also the finances of Nigeria, particularly as they affect our state.

“Now the Commissioners of Finance met and they looked at themselves and they looked at Okonjo-Iweala and they submitted to Okonjo-Iweala that ‘madam, you lied, not Oshiomhole because in truth, we have no powers to decide withdrawals from the Excess Crude Account and that that power is vested in the State Governors at the level of the National Economic Council.’ But whether vested or not, we never, ever resolved to share money from that account.

“Now the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, confronted with these hard facts now shifted the argument that ‘oh no it is not FAAC that approved it, it was the former President Goodluck Jonathan that approved it.

“President Jonathan as far as the law of Nigeria is concerned, or any President, his approval is limited to funds of the federal government, not funds of the federation. Funds of the federation can only be approved by Governors and representative of the President as reflected in the composition of the National Economic Council, which is made up by Governors and chaired by the Vice President, with the CBN Governor and Minister of Finance and others as members. But there’s so much confusion now that Okonjo-Iweala can say one thing in the morning and tomorrow she will say I never said so. If she were a witness in a court of law, she would be declared a pathological liar whose evidence is of no value.

“So governments have lost a lot of money and the $2.1 billion, Edo State’s share of that, because that would have included derivation we would have made about N2.6 billion. That, we have lost now to Okonjo-Iweala.

“Now that she claimed she used it, between herself and the last President, they agreed to take the money to pay oil marketers. But if you talk to those oil marketers, they will tell you that within that period, they were paid $1 billion not $2.1 billion. So in truth, about $1 billion was taken for election purposes and Edo State’s share of that should have been about N4.6 billion from that $2.1 billion that Dr Ngozi-Okonjo Iweala, the former Minister of Finance illegally took from Excess Crude account.

“For clarity, that is not the only money they have so illegally taken. If you look at the total number at a point, the excess crude account peaked at $10 billion and we now heard it dropped to $4.1 billion. This means at some point, another $6 billion was taken. So we are hopeful that by the time we carry out some forensic analysis, we will be able to show clearly how much of the funds accruing to the three tiers of government were unilaterally and illegally spent by the Federal Government under the former Minister of Finance.”

The former finance minister could not be reached on Monday to comment on the allegations. Her spokesperson, Paul Nwabuikwu, did not respond to our calls.

On the seminar organized for top public servants to enhance the states IGR, Oshiomhole said: “the need for this workshop arose from reports, that virtually every week when we discuss at the level of the state executive council, issues that have to do with Internally Generated Revenue. The truth is; so much money could be paid by those who are supposed to pay, in most cases when this money is paid, in some cases, they never get to the treasury.

“Those responsible for diversion for running all these closed accounts, or pocketing or opening special accounts rather than the one known to Edo State Government or so authorized are by and large civil servants. And on few occasions, they also enlist some political appointees to be part of such rackets.

“We have over the period had cause to interrogate and fire some persons who were involved either in operating illegal accounts or undervaluing certain things that ought to have been properly valued so that correct taxes are paid the government.

“If government must continue to provide those basic needs of our people, somebody must pay for it. People have to pay taxes.

“Luckily, Edo is not owing workers’ salaries and we will do everything possible to ensure that the pay day is sacrosanct, because even the Bible says a labourer is entitled to his wages but we must understand that if we do not sustain and improve on where we are, with regards to Internally Generated Revenue, if the money is simply not available, something will have to give.

“We have trimmed down considerably as much as we can on the cost of running government. We have suspended overheads and allowances across the board from Governor’s office to Deputy Governor’s office to Secretary to State Government’s office, to Commissioners so that we can free resources to meet our salary obligation, but remember that the primary purpose of government is not just the payment of salaries. If all that government entails is to pay salaries as at when due, to be honest you do not need any other person except a fairly smart Clerk and a fairly honest Cashier.

“The primary purpose of government is to improve on the quality of lives of the people and provide basic economic and social infrastructure. To think that because we can pay salaries, all is well. All is not. I will not accept a situation where we are only able to pay salaries and nothing else.

“Henceforth, Permanent Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Directors will be held liable for any fraud detected in your department or section except if you are the one who raised the alarm. If a fraud is detected in your department by anyone outside yourself, we will assume that you are all a part of it.

“I need you all to understand that Nigeria, right now, is in serious financial crisis. If public servants pursue their duties the way they pursue their promotions, things will change.”

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/

Buhari Fires Service Chiefs

President Muhammadu Buhari has fired Nigeria’s Chief of Defence, and the heads of Army, Navy and the Air Force.

The service chiefs were relieved of their appointments Monday.

They were appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Their replacements were not immediately announced.

Military officials told PREMIUM TIMES last week that the delay is removing the military commanders was compounding the fight against the jihadist sect, Boko Haram.

The group has intensified its attacks in the last one month, with multiple suicide bombings and gun attacks killing hundreds of people.

Military experts said the service chiefs expected they would be fired any day, as such, they were hardly settled for the complex war against Boko Haram.

@Premiuntimes

Boko Haram Militants Attacked the Northern Nigerian Town of Buni Yadi in Yobe state

By Joe Hemba DAMATURU, Nigeria (Reuters).
Boko Haram militants attacked the northern Nigerian town of Buni Yadi in Yobe state late on Thursday and it was unclear how the fighting had ended, military sources said.

There was no information on any casualties after the attack that started  at around 9 p.m. (4.00 p.m. EDT), the sources said on Friday.

A Reuters correspondent saw a detachment of troops with armoured personnel carriers and a fighter jet heading towards Buni Yadi on Friday morning.

"Those boys (Boko Haram) came to Buni Yadi yesterday and attacked our people. They came in about nine Hilux (pick-up trucks) and opened fire... Our people have mobilized for reinforcement,"one the sources said.

Buni Yadi was one of the towns that was captured by the insurgent group in 2014 and then reclaimed in March this year by Nigeria army. Boko Haram has been trying to carve out a state adhering to strict sharia law in the country's northeast since 2009.

The group took over large swathes of territory last year but were pushed back into their last stronghold in the Sambisa forest reserve with the combined efforts of Nigerian and regional forces.

The militants have since dispersed and reverted to guerrilla tactics and including hitting towns well outside its Borno state heartland such as in Kaduna and Plateau states over the last two weeks.

President Muhammadu Buhari has made quashing the insurgency his number one priority and is building up a base in Chad's capital N'Djamena out of which regional forces can deploy and attack the militants.

Bomb Blast Kills 20 in Zaria

The reign of terror by suspected members of the Boko Haram sect continued Tuesday with a deadly bomb blast killing at least 20 people in the Sabon  Gari area of Zaria town, Kaduna state.

The governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, confirmed the casualty figure via his Twitter handle.

The attack came hours after a suicide bomb attack at a Mosque in Kano on Monday.

Similar explosions killed 44 people in Jos, Plateau State, on Sunday, the same day six persons were killed at a church in Potiskum, Yobe State, by a suicide bomber.

A resident of Zaria, Umar Mohammed, told PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday’s blast occurred at the local government secretariat where civil servants’ screening was taking place.

He said it was unclear who the bomber was, but said the attacker detonated explosives in the middle of the crowd.

“I have seen more than 10 bodies on the ground,” Mr. Mohammed told PREMIUM TIMES.

@http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/186220-breaking-bomb-blast-kills-20-in-zaria.html