INEC to deploy 12,000 more machines

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is planning to deploy extra 12,000 Direct Data Capture machines to help deal with queues of prospective voters as it battles to meet the January 29 deadline for the voter's registration.

The commission seems to be gradually easing the fingerprinting failure that hit the exercise in its first four days, but massive files of registrants across the nation which rose as the electoral body struggled to fix the scanning problem now threaten the two-week deadline.

At many booths in the Federal Capital Territory, for instance, more number of registrants and field officials confirmed to NEXT yesterday that for the first time, people spent averagely 10 minutes at the polling units at the commission earlier billed.

However, the feat was achieved at the cost of arriving polling units as early as 5a.m in the hope of beating queues that, at some places, are in several hundreds of persons, they said.

"I came yesterday and wrote my number, 136, and today I came here 5.30am, but as others wrote their names, the list got missing and we had to form a new line and I became number 2," Jimoh Adejoh, a resident of Kubwa, said early Wednesday.

Although the commission targeted an average of 48 persons at eight working hours a day, it mandated its Registration Officers to attend to those who arrive at the line until 5pm each day, according to officials.

Improved process

But residents say the order is hardly carried out as some of the officers turn them back once the list for the day exceeds 100, at times as early as 8am. But those who have eventually registered say the process has sped up, allowing people to spend averagely 10 minutes at the points.

The commission acknowledging the reports, said the difference, although with some lingering technical challenges, point to a determination to get all qualified Nigerians registered.

"The mere fact that there is an improvement is a testimony to the commitment of INEC to getting every Nigerian who wants to be registered, registered," said Kayode Idowu, the media assistant to the chairman, Attahiru Jega.

Mr. Idowu dispelled the fear that the commission may fail to meet its 70 million voter's target with the slow start and the overwhelming queues nationwide.

He said the electoral body is preparing an emergency plan that may involve the deployment of the 10% redundant machines ordered, amounting to 12,000 to the areas that will be of utmost demand.

"We have 120,000 polling units across the country, but we ordered 132,000 machines, with a 10% extra which we can now use for this kind of challenge," he further said.

The commission said it is still confident to meet the two weeks allotted to the exercise, maintaining an earlier position that it is too early to consider an extension.

S’East govs may dump PDP chairmanship slot – The Guardian

Major stakeholders in the race to producing the successor of Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman from the South-East geo-political appear set to change the goal post and game plan.

Unlike their earlier insistence that the office remains in the zone after Nwodo’s resignation on Tuesday, governors from the region reportedly developed cold feet towards the office.

And if they carry the day, the PDP’s balance of power at the national level may be altered as another office may be allotted to the zone.

But all this will wait till after the general elections and if President Goodluck Jonathan wins the presidential election, another zone outside the South-South and South-East will produce the new PDP chairman.

However, a leader of the PDP in Imo State, Oliver Enwerem alluded to this yesterday when he told The Guardian that the seven-man committee set up to screen candidates for the chairmanship post is no longer necessary as election is fast approaching.

Source: Guardian Newspaper Nigeria

Nigeria's ruling party to decide Jonathan's fate

ABUJA, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Thousands of Nigerian ruling party delegates flocked to a main square in the capital Abuja on Thursday to decide whether to back President Goodluck Jonathan as their candidate in April elections.

Such is the dominance of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigerian politics that whoever wins its primaries has in the past gone on to be the country's next ruler.

Historical precedent is on Jonathan's side. Should he be defeated in Thursday's vote, he would be the first sitting president to lose an election bid in Africa's most populous nation since independence from Britain in 1960.

"He's very confident. He was up all night visiting all the delegates ... He only finished about 9 a.m. this morning," Jonathan's campaign spokesman Sully Abu told Reuters.

But Jonathan's accidental route to power -- assuming the country's highest office when his predecessor, Umaru Yar'Adua, died last year -- means Nigeria is in uncharted waters.

His candidacy interrupts an agreement in the PDP that power should rotate between the mostly Muslim north and largely Christian south every two terms.

As a southerner, he faces stiff opposition standing for what would have been the second term of Yar'Adua -- a northerner.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a wealthy businessman from the northern Hausa ethnic group, is hoping to garner support from northern factions in the ruling party who fear their influence will wane should Jonathan win a four-year term.

"This election is one of the most important in Nigeria's struggle to consolidate its fledgling democracy," said Dapo Oyewole, director of the Centre for African Policy and Peace Strategy (CAPPS).

"It sees a highly contentious shift of power from the north to the south, breaking the informal zoning rotational agreement between these two regions that have competed for power since independence," he said.

Twenty of the 27 PDP state governors have publicly said they will back Jonathan. Many of the delegates arriving for the convention said the same, but they were reluctant to go on the record and there is no way of telling whether they will ultimately do so at a secret ballot.

Should Abubakar lose, he could form an alliance with a rival party and take northern support with him, going on to challenge Jonathan at the general elections.

SECURITY TIGHT

There was a carnival atmosphere -- albeit amid tight security -- as an estimated 5,000 delegates arrived at Eagle Square, a parade ground which has hosted national events in the two decades since the capital moved to Abuja from Lagos.

A band played and acrobats did cartwheels as helicopters buzzed overhead and the secret service, military and anti-riot police sealed off streets in a wide radius around the venue.

Africa's most populous nation is a patchwork of more than 200 ethnic groups, roughly equally divided between Christians and Muslims, who generally live peacefully side by side.

But regional and ethnic rivalries bubble under the surface and can easily be exploited by power-hungry politicians. The country has been rocked by violence in recent weeks.

Delegations from each of the 36 states will vote in turn in the middle of the open square, choosing between Jonathan, Abubakar, and veteran politician Sarah Jibril, the only female candidate and seen as a rank outsider.

A simple majority wins and results are expected in the early hours of Friday.

Nigeria has been rocked by violence as the election season gets underway, unrest which Jonathan's supporters suspect has been orchestrated to undermine his credibility.

A New Year's Eve bomb in Abuja killed four people. A series of blasts and subsequent clashes have killed more than 80 in the central city of Jos, the scene of frequent bursts of ethnic and religious unrest.

There has also been violence at political rallies in the Niger Delta, the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry. Jonathan is the first head of state from the restive region and some fear a backlash there if he loses.

The stakes in Thursday's vote are high and the outcome far from certain. But few expect the country to tumble into chaos.

"Nigeria has this inexplicable capacity to totter on the tip of anarchy, but fall back into an unexpected order of sorts," said Oyewole from CAPPS.

Delta rerun: 67 arrested over electoral malpractices

Sixty-seven suspected hoodlums were arrested in Delta State in connection with last Thursday’s rerun election that threw up Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan as the new governor of the state.

The Nigerian Tribune gathered from security circles that the suspects were apprehended in different parts of the state for electoral malpractices.

It was learnt that their offences ranged from ballot box snatching to willful disruption of electoral process in some polling units.

“So far, 67 suspects were arrested during the rerun election in the state last Thursday. They were picked up in different parts of the state by policemen for electoral malpractices. Some of them were arrested for ballot snatching. Others for attempt to disrupt elections,” a security source said.

At the moment, the Nigerian Tribune learnt that most of the suspects were scattered in various police divisions in the state, while some had been moved to the state police headquarters in Asaba.

Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Charles Muka, confirmed the arrest of some suspects but said he was yet to confirm their actual number.

He, however, disclosed that information available to him at the time of filing this report was that 13 persons were arrested with six in Sapele, five at Ubiarukwu and two at Ozoro.

Get voter card or be sacked from church - Bauchi CAN warns members

Bauchi State Chapter of the Christians Association of Nigeria, (CAN) has warned that any of its members, who refuses to be registered in the forthcoming voters registration exercise will not only be excommunicated from the church, but will be dismissed and strip of all privileges of a Christian.

Oyelese, Adeojo move to stop Oyo governorship primaries

OYO State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant Elder Wole Oyelese Tuesday filed a suit at the Federal High Court to stop the primaries scheduled for today.

The other applicants are former PDP Deputy National Chairman, Yekini Adeojo, former Deputy to Governor Adebayo Alao- Akala, Hazeem Gbolarunmi, Senator Lekan Balogun and 33 others.

They are pleading with the court to restrain the PDP from presenting any candidate for the governorship election pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The hearing in the suit has been fixed for today.

Oyelese said the suit was to stop the governorship primaries scheduled to hold at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, adding that it was wrong for the party’s National Working Committee to have recognised the list of executive members submitted to it by the Akala faction.

He said the national headquarters ought to have harmonised the list rather than recognise a faction.

Alao-Akala said the primary election would go on. In a statement by his Special Adviser on Public Communications, Mr. Dotun Oyelade, the governor said: “Against the background of the injunction allegedly secured by Wole Oyelese at a Federal High Court, stopping the governorship primaries, Section 87,11 of the Electoral Act 2010 says ‘nothing in this section shall empower courts to stop holding of primaries or general elections under this Act, pending the determination of the suit”.

He accused Oyelese and others of being out to cause tension. He urged the 1,300 delegates to report at the venue of the governorship primaries and perform their civic responsibility.

Wali panel clears Jonathan, Atiku – IBB emerges as delegate – Daily Trust

The stage was set yesterday for a titanic battle at the Peoples Democratic Party’s national convention in Abuja tomorrow when the ruling party’s Presidential Screening Panel led by Ambassador Aminu Wali cleared both President Goodluck Jonathan and his main challenger, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to contest for the presidential ticket. Mrs Sarah Jibril, who appeared before the screening panel alongside the two men, was also cleared to contest.

Briefing newsmen last night, Wali said all the three aspirants that appeared before the committee were cleared having been satisfied with their performance and having met the requirements set out in the guidelines approved for the exercise by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

The former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, who displayed the certificates of clearance issued to the three presidential aspirants, said they would receive their certificates late last night. While describing the exercise as enjoyable and historic, he wished the aspirants good luck and success at the National Convention.

On the case of the last presidential aspirant Alhaji Aminu Dutsinma who decided not to appear before the panel, Wali said there was nothing they could do since he had made a written presentation to the PDP National Chairman Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo on why he was not prepared to face the screening panel.

Gays want Atiku

With less than 48hours to the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday received anunusual endorsement when a gay group, the National Gay Forum, declaredtheir support for his bid to rule the country. Addressing journalistsyesterday at the Agura Hotel in Abuja, the spokespersons for the group,Victor Labelle and Freedom Awuke, urged Nigerians to provide supportfor Mr Atiku, whom they said was “committed to turning the fortunes ofthe country around for the better.”

“In view of themeaningful contributions of Atiku to national development, it hasbecome imperative for PDP delegates to cast their votes for him attomorrow’s party primary election as well as in the April elections,”Mr Labelle said.

He said that his group was “exercising its fundamental human right of freedom of association.”

“Not too long ago,in the United States, gays made their voices heard,” he said. “It wasthe same in Germany, France and other parts of the world. We affirm ourposition and have decided to identify with our own dear former vicepresident of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as our own presidentialcandidate. We derive our consent from our constitutional right andobligation and urge well-meaning Nigerians, delegates and our fellowgays to throw their support behind Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Let us joinhands and make good things happen.”

He stated that thegay movement had decided to take an interest in political developmentsin the country and would henceforth make significant contributions tothe political development of the country.

“In an attempt tomake meaningful political, social and cultural transformation, we havechosen to air our political views so as not to be left in a moribundcondition,” he said.

Unwanted endorsement

Garba Shehu,spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, howeverexpressed his surprise and dismay at the endorsement.

“Honestly, we don’t want to get involved in this kind of story...”he said. “However, we believe that lesbianism and sodomy are unlawfulacts in this country, so we are surprised that law and order have sobroken down in this country that gays will organise freely, address thepress and the police did not arrest them. Law and order has broken downcompletely and the next thing we will be hearing now is that of armedrobbers and the kidnappers that will organise — then bombers will alsoorganise their press conference tomorrow. So one, we detest this kindof journalism; two, we say this is an illegal society organising freelyin this country. Then that tells us the kind of government that wehave.”

13 Dead in Jos after Early Morning Attack

JOS, Nigeria — Soldiers rushed to restore calm to parts of central Nigeria on Tuesday after 13 people were reported killed in an attack on a village and unrest flared in other areas, authorities said.

Central Nigeria has seen a wave of violence in recent weeks, including Christmas Eve bomb blasts and reprisal attacks that killed at least 80 people as well as clashes between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups.

The surge in killings has occurred ahead of elections set for April.

"I am told that 13 people died in the dawn attack," said Plateau state police commissioner Abdulrahman Akano, adding that officers had been sent to the mainly Christian village of Wareng to verify.

Details of the attack were not immediately clear. The commander of a military task force in the region said unrest had occurred in other areas of the region as well and soldiers had been deployed to restore calm.

"We have quite a number of people killed," Brigadier General Hassan Umaru told AFP. "We are trying to contain each of these crises."

He could not immediately provide details on the unrest. Umaru first reported incidents in "several villages," but later said two villages had been hit.

A local politician also told AFP that 13 people were believed killed in Wareng, alleging Fulani Muslims had attacked Christian Beroms in the village.

Emmanuel Danboyi Jugul also accused soldiers of being involved in the attack, though Umaru strongly denied the claim.

Plateau state, including its capital Jos, has long been on edge, but unprecedented Christmas Eve bomb blasts added a frightening new dimension to the unrest.

An Islamist sect blamed for a series of attacks in the country's north claimed responsibility for the Christmas Eve explosions, but authorities cast doubt on the claim and attributed it to political motives with elections set for April.

Plateau state lies in the so-called middle belt between Nigeria's mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south.

Scores of people have been killed in clashes in the region in unrest many attribute to the struggle for economic and political power between Christian and Muslim ethnic groups.

Christians from the Berom ethnic group are typically referred to as the indigenes in the region, while Hausa-Fulani Muslims are seen as more recent arrivals.

Tensions over the weekend in the region left a number of houses burnt, while two buses carrying Muslim passengers were attacked in a Christian village on Friday.

Nigerian journalist arrested at airport

The Nigerian-born novelist, academic and journalist, Okey Ndibe, was arrested when he flew into Lagos on Saturday. He was questioned for several hours before being released. His passports - both Nigerian and US - were confiscated.

Press freedom bodies have called on the Nigerian authorities to explain why Ndibe was held by the internal intelligence agency, the State Security Service (SSS).

Professor Ndibe, who has lived in the US since 1988, teaches English literature at Trinity College, Connecticut and at Brown University, Rhode Island.

He writes a weekly political column for Nigeria's Daily Sun and contributes regularly to Nigerian publications.

In 2007, Ndibe condemned the election of President Umaru Yar'Adua, arguing that it was fraudulent. Now a general election is due in April this year.

Writing of Ndibe's arrest, Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka wrote:"Election neurosis has clearly gripped a most insensitive and inept security apparatus."

Reporters Without Borders recorded at least 40 press freedom violations in Nigeria in 2010. Four journalists were murdered during the year. The country was ranked 145th out of 178, in the organisation's 2010 world press freedom index.

Sources: Reporters Without Borders/Sahara Reporters/Daily Sun

PDP primaries: Court refuses to stop Jonathan, Atiku

THE President got Monday the legal green light to run in the April election.

But the Abuja High Court ruling on a suit seeking to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from Thursday’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary has thrown the party into more confusion.

Mr Justice Ishaq Bello dismissed the case for lacking “reasonable cause of action”.

The judge, who delivered three marathon judgments in separate cases bordering on the eligibility of the two top aspirants for the party’s nomination -Jonathan and ex-Vice-President Abubakar Atiku -however, cautioned the party on the need to respect its constitution.

Although he agreed that the way a party conducts its internal affairs is its business, Justice Bello disagreed that Courts could not dabble in it when the occasion arises.

According to him, courts can intervene when a party fails to obey its constitution.

Citing Article 7.2(c) of PDP’s Constitution, Justice Bello said zoning exists in the party, and its implementation is binding on it, adding that any party which refuses to obey its statutory laws is breeding disunity in the nation.

He, however, said the court could not at this time make any pronouncement on the suitability of the President or any candidate to contest in the party’s primary as it was yet to be conducted.

Besides, he said, by virtue of Section 87 of the Electoral Act, only aspirants in the said primary could come back to court to challenge its outcome and not any member of the party.

“There is no allegation of breach and that is understandable since no primary has held. I hereby agree that there is no sufficient cause of action. The Originating Summons is dismissed as prayed,” Justice Bello said.

Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, Hon. Dubem Onyia and Alhaji Lawal Kaita, who are loyalists of ex-Vice President Abubakar Atiku, urged the court to stop Jonathan from contesting in Thursday’s presidential primary of the party.

Atiku is challenging Jonathan for the party’s nomination.

The plaintiffs wanted the Court to restrain PDP from presenting him as its candidate for the April election.

According to them, President Jonathan’s decision to contest will make nonsense of the federal character principle and the party’s zoning arrangement.

Besides, they pleaded with the court to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting Jonathan as the party’s flag-bearer.

The defendants are PDP, Nwodo, Jonathan and INEC, which maintained a neutral stance in the suit.

Justice Bello discountenanced the defendants’ submissions that parties in this case were the same with parties in an earlier suit filed against PDP by another member, Sani Dutsinma who was also touted to be Atiku’s loyalist.

According to him, the plaintiffs in this case are different from the plaintiffs in Dutsinma’s case, which was determined by the FCT Chief Judge, Justice Lawal Gummi.

Delivering Judgment in Dutsinma’s case, Justice Gummi agreed that zoning exists and is binding on the PDP, but held that the issue raised by the plaintiff is an intra-party affair in which the court could not dabble.

According to him, Art 7.2 (c) which recognises zoning “has not stated that any part of the country would hold the position of the president or any other party or public elective office for any specified period of time.

“For the court to, therefore, insist or order that only candidates from a particular zone should be sponsored when the constitution of the first defendant has not so defined terms and conditions is an invitation for the court to enter into the political thicket. Self-restraint in matters such as this is a virtue the court must cultivate.

Justice Bello also yesterday dismissed another suit filed against Atiku by two-time gubernatorial aspirants in Adamawa and Taraba states, Mr Bala Takaya and Senator Abdullahi Kirim for being premature.

According to him, the plaintiffs did not explore the internal mechanism of the party to seek redress before rushing to Court.

“The entire suit is premature. No reasonable cause of action has arisen. A suit without cause of action is un-prosecutable. The suit is hereby dismissed as premature and abuse of court process”.

The Judge also dismissed a suit filed against PDP by another aggrieved member, Alh. Sadiq Jada, for granting a waiver to Atiku, to prepare his return to the party after defecting to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on which platform he contested the presidential election in 2007.

He said: ‘’I have examined the written submissions of counsel in the matter. The complaint must relate to the plaintiff’s right, otherwise, the plaintiff will be seen as a busybody. The plaintiff must have a special interest that would adversely be affected.

‘’The plaintiff had said that he is a card carrying member of the party. What is his interest that is above that of other members of the party? What injury will he suffer if the defendant runs as candidate?

‘’This suit portrays the applicant as a busybody since his right has not been directly violated. His right and that of his family has not also been infringed upon.

‘’The plaintiff constitutes himself as a litigation nuisance. The objection is upheld as the suit which constitutes abuse of court process is hereby dismissed,’’ the Judge said.

Jega says closure of schools is to ensure safety

Attahiru Jega, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission says INEC’s request for the closure of schools during voter registration is to ensure greater security for students. Mr Jega told journalists in Abuja on Monday that there was a likelihood of complications if schools were allowed to be on during the exercise.

“Initially, we thought we could manage under the circumstances but it became very clear that the way we are mobilising for the voter registration and the way people are responding, we need to take extra measures in order to secure the pupils,” he said.

Mr Jega added that the move was also to ensure that there was no breach in terms of security and movement of INEC personnel and equipment for the conduct of the exercise. According to him, 70 per cent of primary and secondary schools to be used across the country for the exercise will also serve as stores for the equipment and camps for INEC personnel. He explained that with about three to 10 polling units in each school, where the exercise would take place, “there may be possible disruption of school activities because thousands of people will be going in to be registered. So we felt that in order to avoid this disruption, it is better that schools are closed during this period,” he said.

The INEC boss pleaded with state governors and parents to see reasons with the commission’s request, adding that it was in the interest of the nation and the security of the students.

“We have written to all state governors explaining reasons for the request and urging them to facilitate compliance,” Mr Jega said.

He further explained that there would be a difference if private schools were allowed to remain open and “it does not allow for equity.” He also said that “closing the school system does not mean that the students will lose the period. That is why we think it is easier to close all the schools the same time and re-open them about the same time so that they can all catch up in terms of the curriculum and the syllabus.”

He added that in order to ensure that there was no disequilibrium, it stood to reason that if INEC was advising for the closure of 70 per cent of the schools, “we may as well close all the schools for the duration.”

The INEC boss, however, noted that the commission was working closely with security agencies to ensure that the exercise was successful. The minister of state for education, Kenneth Gbagi, said that the move was taken as a preemptive measure to safeguard pupils and ensure that none of them were involved in any accident.

“Their safety was the basis of government acceding to INEC’s request that schools be closed for the exercise,” Mr Gbagi added.

Voter registration is to commence on Jan. 15 and end on Jan. 29.

Nigeria ruling party to screen presidential aspirants

A panel from Nigeria's ruling party was due to screen presidential aspirants on Tuesday two days before a primary vote, giving final approval to President Goodluck Jonathon and his challengers to stand.

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) primary on Thursday is set to pit Jonathan against ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Other northern politicians such as Kwara state governor Bukola Saraki may also choose to be screened.

The screening panel, whose make-up has been kept secret, has the power to disqualify candidates on technicalities. Some analysts have suggested it could try to disqualify Atiku because he only recently rejoined the PDP.

A court on Monday threw out a suit brought by three PDP members seeking to stop Jonathan from standing on the grounds that his candidacy would break a party agreement to alternate rule between southerners and northerners every two terms.

Jonathan is from the mainly Christian south.

The PDP has won every election since the end of military rule more than a decade ago, and the winner of the party's primary has in the past been assumed to be nearly certain to become president.

However, Jonathan's controversial bid means the PDP is more divided than in the past, raising the prospect of a split in the party or of a stronger bid in April's election by an opposition candidate from outside the party.

Osun community boils as drunken policeman kills two brothers

(Punch) - A New Year tragedy threw Ikirun community of Osun State into turmoil on Saturday morning when a drunken policeman identified as O. Kelechi, opened fire on two brothers at a checkpoint along Oke-Afo Road in Ikirun.

The names of the brothers were Lukman Adesina and Taiwo Adesina.

It was gathered that the two brothers, whose father is a motorcycle dealer in Ikirun, were on an errand when they were stopped by the policeman.

An irate mob took to the streets and burnt down the Divisional Police Station in Ikirun, damaged several vehicles belonging to police officers as well as the Motor Traffic Division in the community, along with several motorcycles.

The Divisional Police Officer, Ikirun, Mr Abiodun Alabi, was attacked by the mob who stormed the police station while several policemen on duty took to their heels.

A police source said he was rushed to Osun State General Hospital, Osogbo, where he is currently on danger list.

It was gathered that many other policemen were injured in the rage by the angry residents.

The brothers were driven by another relative, who narrowly escaped being killed too in the fracas.

Some residents, who spoke with our correspondent at Oja-Oba area of Ikirun, said Kelechi stopped the motorcycle bearing the brothers and demanded a bribe from them.

But the Commissioner of Police, Osun Command, Mr Solomon Olusegun, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said there was a fatal crisis involving a policeman and a resident, adding that the situation had been brought under control.

Olusegun said only one resident and one policeman died in the fracas.

SSS smashes kidnappers camp, rescues 2

OPERATIVES of the State Security Service in Kogi state on Saturday, smashed a kidnapper’s camp in Kogi state.

The security operatives however released one Mr Reuben Sunday Babatunde, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria who had been held captive for over 10 days.

The State Director of State Security Service, Mr Mike Fubara, who briefed newsmen in his office in lokoja yesterday, said Babatunde, who came home for the celebration of Christmas, was abducted on the 22nd December in his residence in Ottite village near Okene by some masked men.

Fubara said a ransom of N20 million was first demanded from the victim who was moved to their camp located around Marks Farms Ltd, on Abuja - Okene highway before the family of the victim pleaded to pay the sum of N3 million.

The SSS boss explained that as the deal was agreed and sealed by both parties, the mobile phone of the victim which was in possession of the kidnappers gave him away as a bank alert came through the mobile phone which signified that a sum of N3 miilion was just deposited into the account of the victim.

It was learnt that the kidnappers who discovered that not the whole money was paid, threatened to kill Babatunde unless the ransom was increased to N5 million earlier demanded.

But the security boss said that a sum of N600,000 was paid as initial deposit to the kidnappers while the wife of the victim who was gripped with fear was said to have sourced for the sum of N3 million to pay the kidnappers for the release of her husband before operatives from the State Security Service waded into the matter.

The SSS boss said immediately his command got wind of the saga his men moved into action which led to the rescue of Babatunde from a hideout in the thick forest on Abuja – Lokoja- Okene highway.

He said on sighting his men, the kidnappers immediately opened fire which led to about 50 minutes hot exchange of fire leaving two of the kidnappers dead with 12 of them arrested.

Weapons seized from the kidnappers, according to the security operatives, include new Ak 47 guns, assorted rifles and ammunitions, while some other dangerous weapons including military uniforms and knives were recovered.

2011: Borno, Yobe delegates shun Atiku for Jonathan

The meeting of the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar with delegates from Borno and Yobe states suffered a heavy blow at the weekend in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, where the delegates reportedly openly challenged and told the former number two citizen that their loyalty to President Goodluck Jonathan was 100 per cent.

The former vice president was also told that his aspiration to occupy Aso Rock Villa in 2011 was not in the best interest of the generality of the people of the zone.

This came shortly after the Northern youths, under the aegis of Arewa Citizens Action for Change (ACAC), faulted the decision of the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Elders Consensus Committee for not providing an alternative candidate that the North would support should Atiku Abubakar fail to get the PDP ticket.

The Northern youths had, after a joint meeting of its national working committee with the state and local government executives, in Maiduguri, said the process that led to the nomination of the former vice president cannot be called a consensus, because Atiku could not have emerged if the committee had to vote.

Speaking to Sunday Tribune in Maiduguri, one of the delegates from the state, who did not want his name in print, said they have no reason to deceive Atiku who is one of their own, because they know him, and his contributions to the North East zone while he was vice president is not hidden from the people.

According to him,“Atiku was vice president for eight years with all the powers to effect changes that would last in the North East zone but he forgot to leave his footprints for the people of this zone and you know our people are practical people. They can look you in the face and speak their minds, no matter your level in the society, as such, shunning this meeting, like some delegates did, is a feeler for Atiku, because from all indications, the people have already made up their minds on Atiku and their loyalty to President Jonathan Goodluck is unwavering.”

Nigeria police arrest 92 over northern sect attack

KANO, Nigeria — Police have arrested 92 suspected members of a radical Islamist sect in raids after a series of attacks that killed eight people in northern Maiduguri city, a police chief said Thursday.

"We have arrested 92 suspected members of the sect in raids we carried out on many parts of the city Wednesday through Thursday in connection with yesterday's attacks, including a man in his 70s we believe is the sect's major financier," Borno state police commissioner Mohammed Jinjiri Abubakar told AFP on the phone from Maiduguri.

Eight people including three policemen were killed in five separate attacks by gunmen suspected of being Boko Haram members in the city late Wednesday, military and police officials said.

Policemen raided the house of the sect's alleged bankroller where materials linking him to the sect were found.

The materials found included chemicals used in bomb making, audio tapes of the late sect leader's preaching and machetes, Abubakar said.

Abubakar said the suspects had been taken to the police headquarters in Nigeria's capital Abuja for further interrogation.

The sect launched an uprising in Nigeria's north last year that ended with a police and military assault which left hundreds dead.

"The policemen were killed in Ruwan Zafi district of Maiduguri in an attack on a police patrol team by suspected Boko Haram sect members who also burnt down the patrol van," army spokesman lieutenant Abubakar Abdullahi told AFP.

Lawal Abdullahi, the police spokesman in Borno State, of which Maiduguri is the capital, also confirmed that three policemen were killed in the attack.

"We lost three men in a shootout with suspected members of the outlawed Boko Haram," he told AFP. "The suspects launched an attack on one of our patrol vehicles and burnt it. The policemen were outnumbered by the attackers."

Five civilians were killed in four other separate targeted attacks launched by motorcycle-riding gunmen in the volatile northeastern city.

In two separate attacks in the same city, suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed a policeman and retired police officer on Tuesday while three civilians suffered gunshot wounds, the police said.

That attack came barely a day after gunmen suspected to be part of a radical Islamic sect, calling itself on a website Jama?atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda?Awati Wal Jihad, claimed responsibility for Christmas eve attacks that killed dozens of people in the central Nigerian city of Jos.

The sect claimed responsibility for multiple explosions in Jos in which at least 80 people were killed in attacks and in reprisal killings.

The police said 32 people were killed in the Jos attacks.

The group also claimed to be behind the attack on three churches in Maiduguri on the same day in which six people were killed and a church was burnt down.

Boko Haram members have been blamed for a string of attacks in the north of the west African country targeting policemen and community leaders, especially in Maiduguri.

Jos is in the so-called middle-belt region between the predominantly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south and has long been a hotspot of ethnic and religious friction.

Many attribute the unrest in Jos to the struggle for economic and political power between the Christian Beroms, seen as the indigenous ethnic group in the region, and the Hausa-Fulani Muslims, viewed as the more recent arrivals.

These attacks come ahead of elections set for April

Liverpool 2 - 1 Bolton

Joe Cole came off the bench to score a contested late winner as Liverpool fought back from a goal down to seal a much-needed win over Bolton at Anfield.

Under-fire Reds boss Roy Hodgson cut a dejected figure as Kevin Davies headed Bolton in front just before half-time.

Liverpool replied shortly after the break when Fernando Torres volleyed home from Steven Gerrard's pass.

Cole was introduced on 82 minutes and tapped in at the death from what seemed an offside position to grab the points.

The result sees Liverpool pull six points clear of the relegation zone, rising from 12th to ninth, while Bolton drop to seventh.

It was a dramatic end to a tense encounter and although Bolton may complain bitterly about Cole's strike, Liverpool are sure to toast a crucial three points.

Hodgson's men came into the match under huge pressure following Wednesday's shock defeat by Wolves.

That left the Reds perilously close to the bottom three and confirmed they would enter 2011 on their lowest points tally since the 1953/54 season, which ended in relegation.

606: DEBATE

I hereby offer my virtual handshake to Roy Hodgson! All is forgiven!

Andy1005

The home fans turned on the manager during the Wolves loss and reports on Saturday suggested the Anfield hierarchy were already considering replacements should they decide to sack the 63-year-old.

All of this surely made the game an absolute must-win for Liverpool and, having won 10 of their previous 11 home Premier League meetings with Bolton, the omens were good.

Captain Gerrard dropped to the bench after playing 90 minutes in midweek following six weeks out with a calf injury, but his side got off to an encouraging start - Torres looking particularly lively.

And the Spaniard was at the heart of a move that saw Liverpool threaten to open the scoring, his shot deflecting to the back post where Maxi Rodriguez volleyed across goal and Matt Taylor slid in to avert the danger.

As the half wore on, there was a distinct sense of nervousness around the ground and Bolton, who travelled with a squad of only 15 players, slowly began to grow in confidence.

An injury to Raul Meireles meant Gerrard was introduced on 21 minutes but it was the visitors who appeared more likely to break the deadlock, with Taylor curling a free-kick narrowly wide from 25 yards and Zat Knight heading wide from Johan Elmander's cross.

There seemed a greater urgency about Liverpool with Gerrard on the pitch and they were denied by the woodwork when a Maxi header from Dirk Kuyt's right-wing centre looped on to the crossbar.

Yet Bolton were holding out fairly comfortably and their day got a whole lot better when Kevin Davies pounced shortly before half-time for the Trotters' first goal at Anfield since 2003.

Fabio Aurelio, starting his first league match this season in place of Paul Konchesky, fouled Rodrigo Moreno on the Bolton right and Davies muscled his way ahead of Glen Johnson to power home Taylor's inviting free-kick.

It was a goal that drew anger from the terraces but Liverpool should have been level within a couple of minutes, with Leiva Lucas prodding wide from a Kuyt cross when it looked harder to miss than score.

Fortunately for the hosts, an equaliser was forthcoming just after the break.

David Ngog laid Johnson's chipped pass to Gerrard, who floated a delightful ball over the top for Torres to expertly volley past Jussi Jaaskelainen and send the Kop into raptures.

Liverpool now had the wind in their sails and Torres came close to giving his side the lead. The Spaniard was released by Gerrard and cut in from the left before fizzing a low effort narrowly wide of the far post.

Jaaskelainen then stood tall to deny Gerrard and although the rebound appeared to strike Mark Davies on the arm, referee Kevin Friend waved away Liverpool's appeals for a penalty.

Liverpool continued to probe and Torres volleyed wide from another accurate Gerrard cross, while at the other end Mark Davies shot powerfully at Pepe Reina in a rare Bolton attack.

But the pressure finally told as Gerrard's deep cross from the right was bundled towards goal by Maxi and Cole tapped in for his first league goal since joining Liverpool from Chelsea last summer.

Bolton's protests came to nothing and despite pushing for an even later equaliser - Reina saving well from substitute Ivan Klasnic - their efforts came to nothing.