Army Closes In On Boko Haram's Political Leaders

The General Officer Commanding 1 Division,
Nigerian Army, Maj- Gen. Garba Wahab, yesterday
said that the military was closing in on politicians,
who sponsor terrorism in the country.
He also said the Police alone cannot handle the
security challenges facing the country.
"If we are told by the political leadership of Nigeria
to leave the streets today, it will take me just a few
minutes to order my soldiers back to the barracks.
But the police cannot handle the situation alone;
that is why we were called in the first place.
"My fear is that if we dismantled the roadblocks
and leave the scenes, the situation might take a
turn for the worst. We are enjoying peace and
safety in Kaduna State because of the coordinated
effort of Intelligence and the Nigeria Army," he
said.
Wahab spoke when he received the executive
members of the Correspondents Chapel of the
Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna led by
its chairman, Mr. Luka Binniyat, at the 1 Div
Headquarters. Kaduna. He said the Army would
leave no stone unturned in ensuring that Nigerians
live in peace and are well secured.
"Terrorism is based on fear; the Army would do
whatever it takes to make Nigerians sleep with
their two eyes closed. The Army has a mandate to
do whatever is within the ambit of the law to
provide security for the people and ensure that the
country remains united," he added
Wahab explained that every operation, which had
been carried out by the Army was based on
information provided by the State Security Services
(SSS).
"We are dealing with terrorists, who operate a
complex command chain and understand their turf
very well. Some of them who we have arrested are
just the foot-soldiers, who do not even know one
another. We believe that they have spiritual and
political leaders and we have started getting at
them.
"These people have well -stocked arms but we do
not want to create panic in the public with
revelation of arms we have recovered from them.
In Zaria alone, in the house of the an influential
man, we engaged these terrorists on several hours
of gun battle before we subdued them. We
discovered a pile-up of explosives, maybe about a
tonne. We had to evacuate the entire area before
removing the explosives."

Medical Expert Warns About Self Medication During Pregnancy

medicating during pregnancy could cause serious
complications to the expected baby.
Self-medication is the practice of consuming drugs
not prescribed by a qualified medical expert. It is a
common practice in the Nigerian society.
The experts told NAN in separate interviews that
self-medication by pregnant women could cause
serious side-effects, such as malformation in
children or hindrance in normal growth of the baby.
Dr Akinyemi Olaleye, a consultant obstetrician and
gynaecologist, said that pregnant women should
always choose to see a doctor instead of arbitrarily
purchasing drugs over the counter.
"Pregnant women should never indiscriminately
purchase drugs. Although, ordinarily, self-
medication should be about Over The Counter
drugs (OTC). However, for a pregnant woman there
may be more to just a headache.
"Some drugs which a pregnant woman has been
taking prior to being pregnant can negatively have
an effect on the health of mother and child if taken
this time around.
"Simply put, multivitamin that is taken at this stage
without prescription can be disastrous. We all know
that no pregnant woman completes her gestation
without a cold, cough, fever or any other minor
ailments.
"But, whatever is the case, it is better for the
pregnant woman to consult her doctor before
proceeding to take any medications," Olaleye said.
Dr Olusola Togunde, a medical officer at the
Ikorodu General Hospital, disclosed that so many
pregnant women were involved in self-medication
which has been resulting in many complications.
"It's a common belief that pregnant women can be
helped with home-made remedies. But are we really
sure about its composition, especially with regards
to the peculiar nature of each pregnant woman?" he
asked, while stressing that drinking 'grandma's
concoctions is definitely not safe for a pregnant
woman.
Dr Motunde Ajayi, another obstetrician and
gynaecologist, said by self-medicating, a pregnant
woman puts the foetus at risk.
"Defects in the development of the reproductive
organs are common side-effects of self-medication
by pregnant women ," he said.
Ajayi said genital diseases are also associated with
self-medication in pregnancy. "Cases of urinary
retention and other problems with the urethra have
been linked with self-medicating in pregnancy," he
said.
Another Lagos-based consultant paediatrician, Dr
Sylvaline Nwizu, also said mothers should resist the
urge to indiscriminately self-medicate for their
children.
"Many mothers assume that a child has malaria,
simply because of a fever. But a child can run a
fever as a result of various conditions, such as
bacterial or viral infection, even pneumonia," she
said.
Nwizu advised mothers to maintain the standard of
seeking an expert's advice regarding the health of
their children.
NAN

Jonathan Felicitates With Gowon At 90

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has praised
former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon,
for what he observed was his "unflagging
dedication to peace, national unity, good
governance and the well-being of all Nigerians."
He noted in a congratulatory letter to General
Gowon on the occasion of his 78th birthday, that
the former head of state had continued to
"engender bridges of love and harmony across
the country" after leaving office many decades
ago.
A presidency statement issued by Dr Reuben
Abati, Special Adviser to the President (Media &
Publicity) in Abuja, on Thursday, quoted the
president as saying in the letter that: "on behalf
of my family, the government and people of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, I wish to express
warm felicitations to you on your 78th birthday
which comes up on Friday, the 19th of October
2012.
"It is gratifying to note that after decades of
worthy service to our fatherland, you continue
to use your exalted position to engender bridges
of love and harmony across the country;
unwaveringly pursue the cause of good
governance, and work dedicatedly to promote
the welfare and well being of all Nigerians.
"As you celebrate another year of distinguished
service and personal fulfillment, I join your
family and friends to wish you a richly deserved
happy birthday."

NYSC Batch C Members Pass Out Today

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
passes out its Batch C 2011/2012 corps
members today across the country. The day is
usually marked by a passing out parade and
issuance of certificates but the flooding and
security challenges in some parts of the country
will however make P.O.P impossible.
Overall, it has been a tough year but thank
goodness for some, they have successfully
completed the mandatory 1-year of national
service and join the already over-bloated labor
market.
Therefore, as Batch C corps members pass out
today, we want to say a big thank you to them
for service to their fatherland and wish them
success in their future endeavors.

Cameroon Takes Bakassi Peninsula With Heavy Security

BARELY 24 hours to the expiration
of the window of opportunity to appeal against
the International court of Justice, ICJ, ruling that
ceded the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to
Cameroon in October 10, 2002, there are influx
of stern looking men believed to be security
operatives from Cameroon
The increased presence of security operatives
from Cameroon according to Nigerian Sources
at the island was to ensure that the country
takes absolute control of the area following
Nigeria's failure to appeal against the judgment
or call for a review.
The Sources also claimed that in the past few
weeks, Nigerian indigenes resident at the
disputed island have not been able to reach at
their relations in Nigeria through phone calls,
while the Cameroon government had infiltrated
families of Nigerians at the area causing
division among them.
A highly placed Bakassi Local Government
Council official who spoke with Vanguard on
condition of anonymity alleged that some
Nigerians doing business at the Peninsula had
complained of harassment by the Cameroon
security agents.
The official also said that there had been many
strange faces suspected to be security
personnel coming in groups in preparation of
taking complete control of the place.
Meanwhile, President of Academic Staff Union
of Universities, Dr. Nasir Isa has said that
Nigeria made a mistake in handling the matter
and that the federal government also made a
great mistake by committing herself to hand
over Bakassi to Cameroon, adding that children
in Bakassi have the right to decide where to
belong.
Also commenting over the federal government
refusal to appeal against the ICJ ruling, the
governorship candidate on the platform of Hope
Democratic Party, HDP, in the February 25,
2012 elections in Cross River State, Dr. Theo
Onyuku said that the tragedy, the pains and the
subterfuge of the loss of Bakassi Peninsula to
Cameroon following an unenforceable ICJ ruling
will forever hunt the Nigeria nation.
Onyuku who is a medical consultant turned
politician alleged that, "The ignoble,
irresponsible, deceitful and self-serving roles of
former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the
former Cross River State governor, Mr. Donald
Duke and all the elected and appointed leaders
of Cross River extraction will hunt them to their
graves.
"In 2006, before the first phase of hand over of
Bakassi to Cameroon, we warned against the
dire consequences of ceding the territory to
Cameroon without recourse to the national
assembly, the dire security and socio-economic
implications, but the PDP leaders in the state
branded us as faceless opposition group.
"Today they are now shouting. Have we
forgotten that the self-acclaimed Mama Bakassi
was the special adviser President Obasanjo on
national assembly, what did she do for the, she
suddenly became blind, deaf and dumb.
"She was active in the seat of power, she did
nothing and betrayed the Bakassi people to
secure her job and today she is protesting, what
an apostate.
"Ex Governor Duke traded off the island for a
selfish presidential ambition. Why, Obasanjo
ceded Bakassi unconstitutionally in obedience to
a useless Green Tree Agreement because he
wanted international support for his third term
gambit and noble prize for peace," he alleged.

Source vanguard

JTF Kills Boko Haram's Second In Command

Nigerian military has killed 30 suspected members
of Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, including
its second-in-command, arrested 10 others in
northern Yobe state.
One of those killed was Boko Haram's second-in-
command Bakaka, military spokesman Lt Eli
Lazarus said today.
Nigerian military working as Joint Task Force had
raided a hideout of the Islamic group and killed
Bakaka at the Hotoro while arresting several
others, he said.
Boko Haram wants to establish an Islamic emirate
in northern Nigeria and practice Sharia
government.

EU Condemns Attack On Peacekeepers In Darfur

EU High
Representative Catherine Ashton Thursday
expressed deep concern about the recent increase
in serious security incidents in Darfur.
She strongly condemned the attack on UNAMID
peacekeepers that left four Nigerian peacekeepers
dead and eight others injured in an ambush in El
Geneina, West Darfur, her spokeman Michael Mann
said in a statement.
Ashton called on Government of Sudan to work
closely with UNAMID to bring the perpetrators to
justice.
The High Representative is also deeply alarmed at
reports of a violent incident in Hashaba in North
Darfur, which appears to have cost the lives of
large numbers of civilians, including through aerial
bombardment, noted the statement.
She called for UNAMID to be allowed immediate
access to the area and urged all parties to end the
cycle of violence in Darfur and to pursue a
comprehensive and inclusive peace settlement.

Jega: INEC Is Broke, Can't Pay Staff Salary

Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC, is so broke that it may not be able to pay
staff salaries from next month.
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega,
disclosed this to bewildered members of the
House of Representatives Committee on
Electoral Matters, who visited INEC
headquarters in Abuja, yesterday.
Dr. Abdulkadir Sulaiman, who represented Prof.
Jega, said: "If we don't do anything about it on
time, we may not be able to pay salary by next
month."
Following this development, the chairman called
on the legislators to quickly intervene and save
the situation, else the commission's aspiration
of conducting the 2015 general election in line
with international best practices would be a
mirage.
He also told the visiting legislators, led by the
Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Jerry Manwe,
that the paucity of fund had drastically slowed
down the pace of work on all the capital
projects being executed by the commission.
According to him, no other release has reached
INEC as the second quarter release did not
come directly to the commission.
Jega said: "Of the N35 billion earmarked for the
commission in the 2012 budget, only N10 billion
was released to the commission in March. That
was seven months ago.
"The second quarter of the money was released
to the commission last month, September."
"However, it was not sent directly to the
commission, it was lodged in the Treasury
Savings Account under the office of the
Accountant-General of the Federation. The
commission is yet to access this fund.
"It has sent complaint to the Minister of
Finance, requesting for exemption from the TSA
scheme in view of the autonomy granted this
commission in the 1999 Constitution and the
2010 Electoral Act.
"The commission is still awaiting the Minister's
response. And in view of the fact that the N10
billion released to the commission is quite low,
the commission has to suspend most of its
projects, pending the time the remaining money
is released.
He said the projects include renovation of INEC
offices nationwide, printing of permanent voter
cards, purchase of 100 KVA power generating
sets in INEC offices nationwide, construction of
residences of INEC Resident Commissioners,
and electrification of state offices of INEC.
He commended the House of Representatives
Committee on Electoral Matters for finding time
to visit the commission to find out things for
themselves.
Jega said the commission was ready to
cooperate with relevant bodies in ensuring that
its operations were carried out as spelt out in
the constitution.
Manwe said the revelation about the state of
the commission by its leadership was
worrisome.
He said his committee condemns Federal
Government's handling of the affairs of INEC in
totality, stressing that an urgent letter would be
sent to both the Minister of Finance and
Accountant-General of the Federation to appear
before the House to explain reasons behind the
Federal Government's position.
He said the committee was totally committed to
assisting the commission conduct hitch-free
elections in 2015.

Jonathan Appoints New Service Chiefs

President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday
approved the appointment of new service chiefs
for the Armed Forces.
According to a statement signed by the
president's Special Adviser on Media, Dr
Reuben Abati, the newly appointed chiefs
include the Vice Admiral O.S. Ibrahim (Kwara)
for Chief of Defence Staff; Rear Admiral D.J.
Ezeoba (Delta) as Chief of Naval Staff; and Air
Vice Marshall A.S. Badeh (Adamawa) as Chief
of Air Staff.
The incumbent Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen.
O.A. Ihejirika (Abia) retained his position.
President Jonathan thanked the outgoing
service chiefs for their meritorious and
commendable service to the nation and wishes
them well in their future endeavours.