Baton Rouge killing: Black Lives Matter protest photo hailed as 'legendary'

Protests have continued in the United States, after violent incidents involving African American people and the police last week.

On Sunday, dozens of protesters were arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where a black man was killed by police last Tuesday.

In an atmosphere of heightened racial tension, and amid growing debate over the seeming militarization of American police, one photo has stood out.

It was taken by Jonathan Bachman, a New Orleans-based photographer who has been working for Reuters in the past few days.

The image shows a young woman in a dress standing calmly in front of two police officers wearing layers of armour, and appearing to approach her in a hurry.


The demonstration, organised by the civil rights group Black Lives Matter, took place days after police killed Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. A video showed two white police officers holding him down and shooting him. Police said they had received a report an armed man was making threats.

Reuters said the woman in the photo, which was taken on Saturday, was later detained, but little more is known about her and she has not yet been named.

Other notable figures online to share the image include Calestous Juma, a Kenyan-born professor at the John F Kennedy School of Government, who was once named among the 100 most influential Africans.

British-Indian novelist Hari Kunzru praised the "grace under pressure" shown by the woman in the photo.

Another angle of the incident was captured by Associated Press photographer Max Becherer.
AP reported that the woman in the photograph was grabbed by officers after refusing to move off the public highway.

The protests were not entirely peaceful - Louisiana's The Advocate newspaper said 102 people were arrested, with eight guns seized. One police officer lost several teeth after being hit by a projectile, it said
SOURCE: BBCNEWS

Looters must be punished, don’t fall for their crocodile tears – MURIC warns US, others

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has stated that allegations of vendetta and bias in the ongoing war against corruption were an attempt to blackmail President Muhammadu Buhari.

A statement on Sunday by its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, said the current probe was about sanitizing the military as an institution and compelling politicians to adopt transparency.

It reads: “We of the Muslim Rights Concern dismiss these allegations as attempts to blackmail the President. The aim is to force him to soft-pedal or halt the ongoing trials of powerful politicians thereby giving corruption undeserved victory. We insist that the trials must continue to a logical conclusion. The law must be allowed to take its due course. Any goat that desires freedom or peace must keep the people’s yam at arm’s length.

“Alleging vendetta or lopsidedness is just like ignoring the tangential to address the phenomenal. The question Nigerians should be asking is: were the offences committed? The offender’s political party, his religion or tribe should be ignored once this has been established. What we need to face is the substance in the allegation and not shadows or primordial sentiments.

“There is an urgent need to learn from other countries. How were they able to stem the tide of corruption? Did they revert to claims of vendetta, partisanship, ethnicity or religion? Did they defend the thief because he comes from their city or state? Did they defend the indefensible? Let us look at a few examples.

“In the United States, Robert McDonnell, former Governor of Virginia, was indicted on charges of accepting illegal gifts and convicted in 2014. John Rowland, former governor of Connecticut, spent ten months in jail in 2004 for diverting public funds to pay for his vacations and other extravagances. Alabama governor, Don Siegleman, bagged an 88-month jail term for mail fraud and obstruction of justice in 2006. Ex-Congressman Frank Balance was sentenced to four years in prison on October 12, 2005 for conspiring to defraud taxpayers.

“In Britain, David Chaitor, former member of the British parliament, got 18 months in 2011 for false accounting. In Greece, former defence minister, Akis Tsochatzopoulos was jailed for 20 years in 2001for receiving bribe. The court also jailed his wife, Vicky, and daughter, Areti, for 12 years each. His former wife, Gudrun, was sent to prison for six years. In Ukraine, former president Yulia Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2011. In China, former security chief Zhou Yongkang, was recently sentenced to life in prison for bribery and abuse of power.

“In all the above examples from the United States, Britain, Greece, Ukraine and China, nobody raised the issue of vendetta, vindictiveness, ethnicity or religion. The concern of all was whether or not the crime was committed. The focus was to safeguard the national treasury. The offenders were punished. Other public office holders and the rest of the citizens learnt the rules of probity and accountability and the countries moved on to greatness.

“But in Nigeria political parties allege vendetta and lopsidedness. Agents of corrupt politicians, members of their families, people from their states and those who benefit from stolen funds are allowed to have a field day. A socio-economic scenario whereby 1% of the Nigerian population has arrogated 85% of the resources to themselves leaving a paltry 15% to the remaining 99% of the population is unacceptable. It has caused acute poverty. Corrupt politicians have siphoned away all the milk and honey in the land. We must stop defending them.

“How can a single military officer store billions of naira in a water tank in his private house? How do we explain a single woman using stolen public funds to purchase a whole ship (an oil tanker for that matter)? Where is the conscience of a state governor who siphoned about N1.6 billion within six months of getting into office and uses this fund to amass personal properties via fronts.

“How can any civilized citizenry overlook the crime of army generals who allowed the massacre of thousands by Boko Haram by pocketing billions of naira meant for fighting the insurgency? So what is there to defend in the face of indubitable evidence and admissions of guilt in many cases?

“As we round up, we charge the international community to ignore the false alarm being raised by the opposition party in Nigeria. The claim of vendetta and lopsidedness in the war against corruption in Nigeria is baseless. It is a war against ‘fantastically’ corrupt leaders.

“We call on Nigerians to learn from other countries and to eschew partisanship, ethnicity and religion in the war against corruption. This is the time to renew support for the war against corruption. There lies the survival of future generations of Nigerians. This country is doomed if we allow corruption to defeat transparency.

“Finally, we appeal to the press, columnists, civil society and opinion leaders to remain focused and avoid the company of corrupt politicians. Looters are influential people and they are capable of exploiting the widespread poverty (caused by them ab initio) to buy publications, sponsor articles and influence opinions. The masses are watching and the integrity of the press is at stake here. For the sake of Nigeria, therefore, let us resist the ephemeral temptations offered by these heartless plunderers. Let us unite against the monster called corruption and speak with one voice. A people united can never be defeated.”
SOURCE: Dailypostng

Police: Dallas gunman ID'd as Micah Johnson; said he wanted to 'kill white officers’

DALLAS — The sniper who participated in an attack that killed five officers and wounded seven others during a demonstration in downtown Dallas was hell-bent on killing white people, especially white police officers, police said Friday.

“The suspect said he was upset about Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about the recent police shootings,” Dallas Police Chief David Brown said at a news conference.

Police have not named the sniper, but a Texas law enforcement official told the Associated Press the suspect, who was killed last night in a standoff with officers, is 25-year-oldMicah Johnson.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Johnson was a Dallas resident with family in the nearby suburb of Mesquite. The military-focused publication Stars and Stripes reported that an Army spokesperson confirmed that Johnson was an Army veteran.

Public records show no known criminal record for Johnson and his most recent address is listed as a home belonging to his mother, located 20 miles outside downtown Dallas.

A Facebook photo dated April 30 of this year shows Johnson pictured with Professor Griff of the hip-hop grop Public Enemy, known for its politically charged music and critique of police treatment of the African American community.  A 1989 single title “Fight The Power” is the group’s best known song.

October 2010 photos on Johnson’s mother’s Facebook page show a young man dressed in U.S. Army fatigues posing with a pistol. It could not be immediately confirmed if the soldier is Johnson.

In a morning press conference, Brown detailed the tense moments with the suspect as police engaged him in an hours-long standoff in a downtown Dallas parking garage. The suspect told officers “the end is near” and vowed to kill more officers. After negotiations with the suspect failed, police deployed a robot to deliver a bomb that killed the suspect.

Robotics expert Peter W. Singer told the Associated Press this is the first instance of a robot being used to kill a suspect. Brown said he say no other way to ensure the safety of his officers.

The suspect, who had continued to fire at officers even after they cornered him in the parking garage, died about 2 a.m. Friday. He told officers he was acting alone, but police said investigators are still trying to identify other potential assailants. The chief declined to provide specifics.

“We’re going to keep these suspects guessing,” Brown said.

Fourteen people in all were wounded in Thursday night’s ambush, which sent hundreds of demonstrators running for cover near City Hall. The victims included two civilians.

“Working together with rifles, [they] triangulated at elevated positions in different points in the downtown area where the march ended up going,” Brown said.

This was all planned ! Those who organized will be brought to justice. Another officer down

— Dallas Police Assoc (@DPA_PoliceAssoc) July 8, 2016

Members of the police department had met with protest organizers several times before the event, Brown said at an earlier, overnight news conference. The event had been peaceful with Black Lives Matter and police on site before shots rang.

“We have yet to determine whether or not there was some complicity with the planning of this, but we will be pursuing that,” Brown said.

Earlier in the evening, police published on Twitter a photo of a gun-toting man, with the message, “This is one of our suspects. Please help us find him!” The man, later identified as Mark Hughes, turned himself into police when he realized he had been identified as a person of interest and was released after being questioned for about 30 minutes, CBS News reported.

“I could easily have been shot,” Hughes told the network. He was interviewed in Dallas with his brother Cory Hughes. Both were downtown to participate in the protest.

Mark Hughes was carrying an AR-15-like gun on a shoulder holster, which is legal in Texas. After shots rang out downtown, Corey Hughes said, “I told my brother, give your gun to [police] because we don’t want an accident.”

Bystanders reported hearing dozens of shots fired near City Hall about 9 p.m. local time. The gunfire terrified hundreds of demonstrators, sending them running for cover.

Witnesses agreed that the shooter or shooters ambushed officers from a multi-story parking garage.

“The cops had no idea who was shooting at them,” Jamal Johnson told KTVT-TV in Dallas. “Everyone knew it wasn’t a firework — it was an actual shot.”

The shooting broke out just hours after President Obama — reacting to the shootings deaths of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana this week — posted an emphatic message on Facebook calling upon all Americans to confront persistent racial disparities between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

“To admit we’ve got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day,” he wrote. “It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.”

“They’re shooting right now and there’s an officer down,” Michael Bautista says during this Facebook live stream video. Rapid gunfire can be heard in the background.

The causality count as of 7 a.m. local time:

4 — Dallas police officers deceased
1 — Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer deceased
7 — Officers wounded
2 — Civilians wounded

It is believed to be the deadliest day in Dallas Police Department history.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said the White House and Texas governor’s office both called to offer support.

“It is a heartbreaking morning to lose these four officers,” a visibly shaken Rawlings said prior to the fifth fatality. “To say police officers put their life on the line every day is no hyperbole ladies and gentlemen, it’s a reality. We as a city, we as a country must come together and lock arms and heal the wounds we all feel from time to time.”

Police were requesting that all citizens clear downtown streets in the aftermath of the shooting, but pockets of citizens continued to confront officers on city streets during the wee hours of the morning. The Omni Dallas Hotel, located a few blocks from the mayhem, displayed “Back The Blue” in gigantic neon letters around its building.

SOURCE: YahooNews

No president has developed Niger Delta like Buhari – Minister

Usani Uguru, minister of Niger Delta affairs, says the region is benefiting more from the government of President Muhammadu Buhari than any other administration.

Uguru said while the previous administrations failed to act on the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) report, the Buhari-led government gave attention to it within its first year in office.

However, he expressed regret that rather than support Buhari, some people in the region were busy compiling the woes of the Niger Delta.

He said the continued destruction of oil pipelines by militants was counterproductive and harmful to the environment.

“I can say that the Niger Delta region is benefiting more under the APC regime led by President Buhari than it benefited from any other regime,” he told journalists at his Abuja residence on Thursday.

He added that “Rather than support President Muhammadu Buhari to do more, we are adding to the destruction of the environment, our ecosystem, fresh water and aquatic lives.

“I must say that the environment is ours and destroying it will not do us any good. Imagine the Ogoni reclamation is going to take 30 years, yet we have not learnt.”

Usani, who said he preferred to work quietly, added that the ministry had swung into action after the signing of the budget.

“I work for all Nigerians. So, honest and people with good intentions can be sure that my doors, both in the office and at home, are open to those with useful contributions to move the affairs of the Niger Delta forward.

“Well, I don’t work to be heard but to achieve results.

“Unfortunately, we assumed office to meet the budgeting process and the budget has just been passed, so you should expect more action now”, he said.

SOURCE: dailypostng

Stakeholders urge support for farmers to boost rice, wheat production

Stakeholders in rice and wheat production in some of the North Eastern states have urged government at all levels to give adequate support to farmers to enable them boost their production.

They said in separate interviews that rice and wheat farmers in the country had the potential to feed the country and export same if given the necessary support.

Malam Aminu Maiwada, a rice farmer in Gashua town of Yobe, said that most states in the country had areas that were suitable for rice production.

“In Yobe State, the Gashua/ Nguru wetlands, Nyakire lowlands, Ngalda plains and Godowoli valley had huge potential for irrigation rice farming that could produce rice to meet the needs of five other states.

“The wetlands are mostly flooded during the rainy season but dry up and become very conducive for irrigation,” he said.

Salisu Ibrahim, who said rice farming had been their family business, attributed poor processing as the reason why Nigerians preferred foreign rice.

Hajiya Hauwa Usman, a food vendor in Damaturu, said Nigerians now patronise local rice because of its natural taste.

The chairman of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in Minari, Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa, Alhaji Saminu Garba, urged government to support farmers to boost their production.

According to him, with adequate support from the Federal and State governments, farmers in the country have the capacity to ensure mass production of rice, wheat and sorghum.

He said that the support could be rendered by way of providing improved seeds, fertiliser and insecticides as part of intervention activities to farmers.

Also speaking, the National Vice Chairman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Alhaji Maiungwa Jaga, appealed to the states and Federal Government to assist rice farmers with soft loans.

In Bauchi State, about 150 farm families had cultivated over 150 hectares of wheat under the Federal Government Wheat Value Chain Programme.

Alhaji Mohammed Yusuf, Director, Federal Ministry for Agriculture in the state, said that the programme was introduced by the Federal Government through its Lake Chad Research Institute, to boost wheat production.

He named Bauchi, Kano, Katsina and Kebbi as the states selected for the programme.

“Gadau, Waya Dam, Gwalaga, Bayera, Konkiyel, Touya, Misau, Warji, Jama’are, Itas Gadau, Zaki, Gamawa and Shira are towns and villages participating in Bauchi State.

“Farmers were supported with 250kg of seed, herbicides, 80 units of water pumps, 150 units of sprayers and 25 Multi-Purpose Threshers,” he said.

According to him, some of the farmers have started harvesting their crops since February.

The director said that over 600 metric tons of the produce was being expected at the end of the harvest considering the high yield per hectares being recorded.

Dr Illiyasu Gital, Programme Manager, Bauchi State Agricultural Programme (BSADP), said the wheat programme was targeted at most of the northern states in Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, the programme started with pilot scheme and Bauchi, known for large scale wheat production, was not included in the first year.

“We had to struggle to get the state included and by the time we succeeded, it was late and only few of our farmers produced wheat.

“We were able to cultivate 3,000 hectares of land and about 1,200 farmers participated in the programme,” he said.

Dr Yahaya Adamu, Chairman, Bauchi State chapter of Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), commended the Federal Government’s dry season inputs support programme, saying about 11,000 dry season rice farmers were registered in the state.

The chairman noted that with the GES scheme, the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) had solved farmers’ problem of accessing quality and affordable farm inputs, a situation that had hampered farmers’ productivity in the past.

He also commended the GES implementation team in Bauchi for ensuring that all the inputs allocated got to the 11,000 registered dry season rice farmers in the state.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Ahmed Ashemi, the Sole Administrator of Borno Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mine and Agriculture, has said that activities of insurgents had crippled all agricultural and commercial activities in the state.

Ashemi said in Maiduguri that the state had lost its position as the second largest commercial city in the North since 2009.

He said that a huge agricultural project worth billions of naira embarked on by the Lake Chad Basin Development Authority to boost farming in the state, had to be abandoned and later destroyed by insurgents.

“There is a great potential in agriculture in Borno; we have the land and human resources to contribute to the efforts toward ensuring food sufficiency in the country but the security challenges remained a major obstacle,” he said.

Adamawa Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Ahmadu Waziri, said the state government had held a stakeholders’ meeting to work out a blue-print that would take the state agriculture to the next level.

He observed that the challenges of food security had been exacerbated by the many years of insurgency in the state and North East sub-region.

Waziri said that access to production resources such as capital, mechanical power and improved seedlings and technologies were some of the major challenges facing farmers.

He said that the current administration has concluded arrangement to import farm machinery while discussions were ongoing with some organisations that would help with value chain addition through enhancing production and processing.

He said that the state government has also taken measures to enable farmers benefit from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Anchor Borrowers programme.

SOURCE: Todayng

It is unprofessional to get aroused on set – Blossom Chukwujekwu

A popular Nollywood actor, Blossom Chukwujekwu, has said he feels sorry for actors who have refused to get married in order to maintain their female fans.

Chukwujekwu who was talking with Sunday Scoop, added that his wife is the most important part of his existence.

In his words, “My wife is more important than any other thing you can think of. The Bible says, ‘He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord’.

“I feel sorry for those who say they don’t want to get married because they are scared of losing their female fans. They do not know that they are postponing their day of favour.

“I think female fans will respect you more when you get married. That is not to say you should get married for the wrong reasons. It is only okay to get married after you might have found the right person.”

The actor, who has featured in several home movies such as Champagne, The Visit and Ghana Must Go, is regarded as a ‘born-again’ Christian in an industry where people believe it’s difficult to balance faith and entertainment.

He maintained, “It’s not impossible to be a born-again Christian and still be an entertainer.

“It is very possible because believing in Christ is sustained by constant study of the word of God.”

He further said it was unprofessional for actors to get aroused on set.

“If you ask other actors, they will tell you that the sex never really happens, so you have to act like a professional.

“I think it’s unprofessional for you get aroused on set. You should be disciplined enough to control yourself and focus on the task at hand.”

SOURCE: DailyPostng

Stella Oduah responds to allegation she stole N2.5billion using maid’s account

Stella Oduah, a former Minister of Aviation and senator (PDP-Anambra North), on Monday denied reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was on her trail for allegedly stashing nearly N2.5 billion in a bank account she set up using the identity of her domestic aide.

Ms. Oduah, who said she received the reports while relaxing in her country home in Anambra State, challenged those who published the allegations to publish proofs that substantiate her guilt.

News website, SaharaReporters, had on Sunday reported EFCC sources as revealing to it how Ms. Oduah used the name and pictures of the unnamed maid to set up the account.

“Senator Oduah apparently opened the account with her housemaid’s name, image, and details without the housemaid knowing about it,” Sahara Reporters quoted one of the EFCC sources as saying.

The account, the report said, was still active as at last week.

But in a rebuttal her office sent to PREMIUM TIMES around 9 a.m. Monday, Ms. Oduah said the reports were “totally false, baseless and at best the imagination of the platform.”

In the statement, signed by Francisca Onyeisi, head of communications, Ms. Oduah said that if the reports were true, she would have been arrested long before now, especially at a time when the EFCC is “freezing accounts and going after opposition governors who enjoy same level of immunity as the president.”

The former minister, therefore, urged her supporters and the general public to ignore the reports, saying she had “made a mark in oil and gas and Agricultural businesses before joining politics.”

Ms. Oduah was removed from office in February 2014 after she was found to have received armoured BMW cars, worth N255million, from an agency she supervised.

SOURCE: Premiumtimesng