Police alert public on possible Boko Haram attacks

Police in Borno said on Monday that they had received information about an impending attack by some suspected Boko Haram members in the state. A statement signed by the Police spokesman, Malam Lawal Abdullahi, in Maiduguri said: ``We wish to inform the public that we have received an intelligence report on possible attacks. Some fundamentalists have decided to launch an attack on the good people of Borno State.

``The group and other social miscreants have decided to team up with some politicians to terrorise the good people of the state, using the leadership of a dangerous sect from neighbouring Yobe State.’’

The statement added that the Police Command had already mapped out strategies to counter the attacks.

``The command has set modalities and mechanisms in motion to track down these miscreants for immediate arrest and prosecution,’’ the statement added.

It urged traditional and religious leaders to help to fish out the culprits. (NAN)

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10bn loan: Bankole for EFCC, Tuesday

THE outgoing Speaker of House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole, will be the guest of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday over the controversial N10billion loan allegedly taken by the leadership of the House.

This is coming just as the commission reportedly sent an invitation letter to the clerk of the house, Mr Sanni Omolori, to appear on Tuesday with Bankole.

The Speaker was to be quizzed last week Thursday over the N10billion loan owing to two petitions against him from a Non Governmental Organisation, the Socio- Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).

But, Bankole had, through the clerk of the House, begged for more time to appear before the commission and was given tomorrow (Tuesday) to appear and defend himself on the allegations against him.

Nigerian Tribune gathered on Sunday that Mr Omolori was, on Friday, sent an invitation letter to appear before the anti- graft agency.

It was gathered that the letter of invitation by the EFCC was delivered to Mr Omolori by two operatives of the commission

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Join hands with me, Dakingari urges

THE Kebbi State governor, Alhaji Saidu Dakingari, has said the new era for the collective and unity of purpose for the growth and development of the state and Nigeria in general has come.

Governor Dakingari said this at the Haliru Abdul Stadium, Birnin Kebbi, venue of the inauguration ceremony, adding that “let us forget our differences for the collective progress of our state. We must come together to move the state forward.”

According to him, “Kebbi State remains the same, with the same people and tradition,” adding that “we must put sentiment apart, so as to advance the collectiveness of the state.

Governor Dakingari said the electorate had spoken through the ballot box, adding that “the time has come to set aside things that separated us and join hands and our hearts together for the good of our state. Now is the time to work together for Kebbi State to reach its full potentials.”

He lauded his supporters, leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as well as the the entire electorate for believing in him.

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Windstorm causes havoc in Kirfi community

The entire settlements in Kirfi Local Government Area of Bauchi State are now in complete darkness following the destruction of four electric poles while, hundreds of houses were destroyed in the area following a windstorm that occurred recently.

It was gathered that the destruction, which occurred late in the evening, started from Badara village and spread to the headquarters of the Alkaleri Local Government Council.

Confirming the incident to Community News at the state secretariat Bauchi, the Chairman of Kirfi Local Government, Alhaji Galadima Barada, said as a result of the incident, the local government had been cut off from electricity supply, while many people had been rendered homeless.

The chairman, who revealed that it was not the first time that such incident would occur in the community, added that about a month ago, a windstorm destroyed over twenty-seven poles, but were repaired by his council.

“In this local government, we have been having reoccurring incidences of this nature and we don’t want to be the one to be always taking responsibility of the repairs.

We are aware that the raining season normally comes with destruction, especially when it comes with windstorm, but we want the state government and Power Holding Company, always come to our aid, when we call on them, especially to those who have been rendered homeless, as a result of the destruction”, he said.

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Flood: Gov Wamakko Directs Early Completion Of Houses

Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State has directed for the early completion of 1,000 houses worth more than N3.6 billion being built by the state government for flood victims in Goronyo, Gada and Silame local governments.

“These houses should be completed on time to enable the beneficiaries who were the victims of last year’s flood disaster to move into them.

“This should be done before the current rainy season picks tempo so as not to defeat the objective of the project,’’ Wamakko added.

Reports say that the governor spoke on May 26 when he paid an unscheduled visit to the project site in Goronyo where three hundred of the houses were being built.

Wamakko threatened to review the Goronyo contract if the tempo of the execution of the project did not increase in the next one month.

A statement signed by Alhaji Abubakar Dangusau, the Special Assistant to Wamakko on Press Affairs, said in Sokoto Wamakko vowed to review the contract to involve other contractors if the deadline was not met.

The secretary to the state government, who is overseeing the construction of the 1000 houses, told Wamakko that efforts were being intensified to complete them on schedule.

Reports also say that all the three sites of the projects would have clinics, boreholes, schools, cemeteries and mosques, among other social infrastructure.

Goronyo Local Government will benefit with 400 of the houses while Silame and Gada will have 300 each.

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Blasts kill 15 after presidential inauguration in Nigeria

Multiple blasts rocked Nigeria's restive Muslim north and a city near the capital following the inauguration of the country's southern Christian president, officials said Monday.

The most powerful of the blasts tore through a bar in a military barracks in the northern city of Bauchi on Sunday, killing 15 people just hours after the swearing-in ceremony, said an official who participated in the rescue efforts.

Bauchi state police chief Mohammed Indabawa said Sunday's blast in the city of Bauchi hit an outdoor bar at about 8 p.m., just hours after the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria's capital of Abuja.

Mr. Indabawa said 10 people were killed, but the official who helped emergency workers take victims to the hospital and to the mortuary said 15 people were killed and 35 injured. He said he didn't want his name used because the military has said that this is a military affair.

An Associated Press writer who was about 400 metres from the Shadawanka Barracks when the blasts went off said he heard three consecutive loud noises at two-to-five-minute intervals.

The multiple blasts illustrate the challenges facing Jonathan. The southerner was sworn in Sunday for a full four-year term and is now faced with the task of uniting a country that saw deadly postelection violence despite what observers called the fairest vote in more than a decade.

A spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, Yushau Shuaib, said stringent security measures had been taken to prevent such attacks on inauguration day.

“Telecommunications operators blocked service in Abuja yesterday and government took so many other measures to prevent this, but it is unfortunate that this still happened,” he said. “The Agency moved in quickly, otherwise this would have been even worse.”

One bomb went off Sunday at a beer garden in Zuba, near Nigeria's capital, killing two people and wounding at least 11, Mr. Shuaib said.

Another explosion in the northern city of Zaria on Sunday also targeted a bar hours after the inauguration, police spokesman Aminu Lawal said. He said police were still looking into how many may have been wounded in that blast.

And on Monday, two teenagers were injured after stepping on explosives in Zaria, Mr. Lawal said.

In the northeast city of Maiduguri, a bomb targeted on Monday an army patrol vehicle, Lt. Abubakar Abdullahi said, adding that there were no casualties and five arrests were made after the incident.

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http://www.forexmt4.com/_MT4_Systems%20Documentation/heikin-ashi.pdf

THE founder of the Living Faith Ministries (a.k.a Winners Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo, has described the demise of Prophet Elijah Oluwafemi Akinade, who passed unto glory on April 30 at the age of 55, as a sign that he had accomplished his task on earth.

Oyedepo said this through Bishop Taiwo Adelakun of Victory Chapel International at the national headquarters of Christ Apostolic Church (Lion of Judah), Iyana Church, Monatan, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday afternoon, where the body of the late prophet was committed to mother earth.

According to him, “Christians do not die, but only sleep; flesh and blood may die, but the call of God never dies; the messenger may die, but the message remains forever.” He added that the wife and children of the deceased should not grieve like the heathen do and that members of the church should brace up for better days ahead.

Making reference to the personality of Job and reading from Hebrews chapter 4 in his sermon entitled “The end of a matter is better than the beginning,” chairman of CAC Agbala Itura, Pastor D. A. Olaiya, stated that the late Akinade lived a quality life that impacted on his generation, adding that although he did not own a house of his own, his contributions to better the lives of many people, especially widows while alive, would remain memorable till eternity.

Ministers of God who witnessed the occasion included Pastor Femi Emmanuel of Living Spring International Church, Prophet Oladipupo Joel (a.k.a Sekunderin), Prophet Olabode Odunayo (JP) (Baba Love), Evangelist Tope Alabi and Yinka Ayefele amongst others.

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Police beef up security in FCT ahead inauguration

Security operatives have taken over the Eagle Square, Abuja, in readiness for Sunday’s inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Other strategic areas in and around the city centre have also witnessed massive security deployment. Major roads leading to the Eagle Square venue of the inauguration have been closed to traffic. Jimoh Moshood, FCT police public relations officer, said on Saturday that a perfect security arrangement had been put in place for the event. ``We have massive deployment of police personnel there at the Eagle Square; they have cordoned the area,’’ he said.

Moshood said the deployment of security operatives was being complemented by aerial surveillance. ``We want to assure Nigerians that there is perfect security arrangement in place in the FCT for the ceremony. We are extending the security measures throughout the FCT,’’ Moshood further said, adding that the police efforts were being complemented by other security agencies on a single operation order. The FCT Police Command had earlier announced the deployment of more than 10,000 security personnel for the inauguration. (NAN)

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Nursing mother, 25 others die in tanker fire in Ibadan

Residents of the Ojoo area of Ibadan , the Oyo State capital, yesterday watched helplessly as an inferno triggered by a spillage from an oil tanker burnt their loved ones into ashes.

About 26 people, including a nursing mother, died in the incident, while several others are battling for survival in different hospitals.

The ugly fire accident occurred at Aduloju community along Iwo-Ojoo Road.

Hundreds of people, who thronged the place to render a helping hand, wept uncontrollably as bodies were being consumed by the raging flames.

About 26 vehicles and equipment worth several millions of naira were burnt.

According to an eyewitness, the fire started when a tanker loaded with the petroleum product, in an attempt to avoid a collision with an 18-seater bus, ran into a pole beside the road, leading to an outbreak of fire following a spillage of its contents.

It was gathered that 18 passengers in the bus were burnt beyond recognition, while seven people who were roadside mechanics were also burnt to death.

Also a nursing mother selling engine oil beside the road was killed while trying to save her baby who was already trapped in the fire.

The fire also affected about eight buildings, including a church.

Many sympathizers could not hide their feelings as they bitterly blamed the incident on the high number of oil tankers plying the road.

They urged the government to bail the citizens out of the danger posed by the trucks on the road.

A lot of damage had been done before the arrival of the officials of the Oyo State Fire Service. They, however, swung into action to put out the fire which was already causing great panic among the residents who thought it would consume the whole area.

As the traffic was disrupted for hours, officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and policemen were around to control the situation.

The state Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Godwin Ogagaoghene, confirmed the incident and said his men were already in control.

The FRSC boss, however, said the spot was dangerous for motorists and residents of the area, adding that the FRSC had made a representation to the state government about the danger posed by the Ojoo end of the expressway.

He enjoined road users to avoid dangerous overtaking, stressing that people should not always be in a hurry.

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Speaker Bankole’s brother, one other in court for N2.8m fraud

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Speaker Dimeji Bankole’s younger brother, Toyin Bankole, was yesterday brought before a magistrate court sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, for allegedly defrauding one Modinat Odunlami of N2.8 million.

The prosecuting police officer, Mr. Paul Etusi, an inspector, had on January 15, 2009, told the court that Bankole alongside one Segun Baruwa, allegedly conspired to commit fraud by collecting money from Odunlami with dubious intent.

Etusi told Chief Magistrate Kolawole Peters that Toyin and his co - accused collected the said amount of money under the pretext of helping their victim and her daughter secure an overseas’ visa and admission abroad respectively.

When the matter was mentioned yesterday by the court officer, Etusi said eight witnesses had been assembled to give evidence in support his claim, but added only six of them were in court.

Etusi said he was forced to re -open the case when efforts by the complainant and the police to get the matter settled out of court failed, as the accused were not ready to refund the money,

According to him, the offence is contrary to and punishable under Sections 516, 419 and 390 (9) of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun, 2006.

But defence counsel, Adedotun Akinmade, who was represented by another counsel, Carol Omobujo, asked for a short adjournment to enable them tidy their work first.

In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Kolawole Peters granted the request for an adjournment till July 13 for further hearing

EFCC recovers $11bn, 459 houses, 593 vehicles/oil vessels

Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mrs. Farida Waziri has called for an unconditional repatriation of over $148 billion annually stolen from African countries and hidden in safe havens in developed economies.

Waziri who made the call while presenting the Nigeria’s paper at the just concluded 1st Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, in Gaborone, Botswana, also challenged her colleagues from other African countries to go beyond bemoaning the slow pace of corruption cases in courts to definite demand for the establishment of special courts that would prosecute only graft cases.

She said until this was done, anti-graft agencies on the continent would continue to complain about the slow pace of trial of corruption cases.

The EFCC Chairman said though Nigeria was yet to have special courts, the crusade for its creation which in 2008 had continued to win more support and advocates across the country.

A statement by EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Babafemi, noted that despite the constraints of slow judicial process, the support and independence given to the anti-graft agency by the federal government especially President Goodluck Jonathan had made it to cover a lot of grounds within a space of eight years.

According to Waziri, “If without special courts we can secure over 600 convictions within this short time, you can imagine what we will do if we are to have dedicated judges or courts to hear only corruption cases.

“Today, our record of recovery is in excess of $11 billion. But beyond this, we have seized through both summary and interim forfeiture orders 459 units of real estate, 593 units of vehicles/ oil vessels, 404 units of bank accounts and 183,627 units of other assets within the same period even though we are yet to start operating a non-conviction based assets forfeiture regime which we desire.”

“What it means is that, with special courts and assets forfeiture law, the war against graft would have been taken to a different level.”

Waziri further called on developed countries that have provided safe havens for looted funds to return them unconditionally, noting that the idea of holding on to stolen funds even after they have been traced and established as ill-gotten provides a distortion in global macroeconomic indices.

She stated that, “Our experience with certain countries has not been palatable. Consistently some countries have not been too cooperative in retrieval of stolen funds and it will appear that peculiar national interest guides cooperation with us.

“We must understand that the ill effects of corruption does not only affect the origin of the illicit funds but also the receiving countries in the sense that in both locations, funds that have no bearing on productive ventures has either left the economy or has been injected into it.

“Consequently, there is a major distortion in macroeconomic indices and this should not be accepted.”

The anti-graft boss noted that countries must work better together, pointing out that the United Nations estimates that around $148 billion is annually stolen from Africa by the political leaders, the business elite and civil servants with the collusion and connivance of banking industries in Europe and other developed economies.

“This is staggering; For African nations to win the war against corruption and overcome its developmental challenges, she said certain steps must be taken,” she told the gathering.

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4 policemen, 9 others killed in fresh Boko Haram attacks

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SUSPECTED members of the Yusufiyya sect, popularly known as Boko Haram, yesterday attacked and destroyed the Damboa Divisional police headquarters, police barracks and the First Bank branch in Damboa local government area of Borno state, killing four policemen, one prison warden and eight civilians.

The Islamists sect, it was gathered, came in three vehicles with Kalashnikov rifles and explosives, used in setting the police station ablaze, before attacking the bank and the police barracks that accommodate over 100 policemen in Damboa.

Confirming the incident, the Borno state commissioner of police, Alhaji Mohammed Jinjiri Abubakar, in a briefing at the police headquarters in Maiduguri , said members of the Boko Haram numbering about 70 came in three different vehicles, attacked the police station and threw some explosive devices on the station.

He said members of the sect attacked a church in Mashamari ward of the metropolis but were over powered by the superior gun power of the army, where they abandoned one AK47 riffle, motorcycle and three GSM phones.

The CP said “I think because they know that the security have been beefed up within the metropolis and they could not succeed that is why they moved to Damboa local government area of the state to carry out their dastardly act.”

Alhaji Abubakar noted that he had deployed four units of mobile policemen and the army also deployed one platoon of soldiers to Damba to assist the police in combing Damboa town and its environs, so as to fish out the hoodlums.

The police boss who was visibly disturbed, said that he would personally lead the operations in Damboa town and vowed to track down the culprits no matter how long.

On whether there was casualty or not, the CP said that he could not tell, as he was yet to visit Damboa to find out things for himself, but assured that he would brief newsmen immediately he came back.

He said the police had made some arrests in connection with yesterday’s church attack in Mashamari ward, but that he would properly address the press on any development.

Election tribunal okays Jonathan, Sambo’s inauguration

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, yesterday, declined to stop President Goodluck Jonathan and his deputy, Architect Namadi Sambo, from presenting themselves for the purposes of being sworn into their respective offices tomorrow, just as it equally struck-out the substantive petition filed before it by the Hope Democratic Party, HDP.

HDP had gone before the court with a motion seeking to forestall the planned swearing-in ceremony, insisting that it was the only way the tribunal could effectively protect the ‘Res’ of all the pending petitions challenging the outcome of the April 16 presidential election that favoured the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The party via a petition it lodged before the tribunal on May 6, alleged that Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, failed to comply with either the Electoral Act 2010 or the 1999 Constitution as amended, in conducting the presidential poll on a day different from the originally slated April 9, adding that over 30 million votes that were garnered by its own presidential candidate, Chief Ambrose Owuru, were illegally diverted to the PDP.

It pleaded with the court to, on the interim, issue an order of mandatory injunction directing INEC to suspend and withdraw the certificate of return already issued to the president and his deputy, pending when the merit in its request for a nullification of the poll, is determined.

Goodluck Jonathan and Namadi Sambo

Meanwhile, a mild drama played out yesterday when the motion seeking the stoppage of the scheduled presidential inauguration was called up for hearing.

Immediately one Mr. Eyare J Ogar, announced his appearance for the petitioner, HDP, expressing his readiness to properly join issues with the team of lawyers who were led by Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, and Mr Damien Dodo, SAN, to enter an appearance for both the 1st and 2nd respondents, Jonathan and Sambo, another lawyer that identified himself as Mr Tochukwu Alozor, stood up to inform the court that the petition pending before it was a fraud.

Tochukwu told the bewildered court that his name and signature was illegally used by the petitioner in preparing the suit, stressing that he neither prepared, signed, no consented to the entire process.

According to him, “my lords, I need to draw the attention of this court to the fact that my name was used in preparing this suit. I didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t sign it neither was my consent sought before it was filed in court”.

His assertions led to lawyers on the side of President Jonathan, to demand a thorough investigation of the alleged scam with a view to identifying and punishing the culprits.

Dr Izinyon contended that the implication of the revelation meant that there was no valid petition before the tribunal upon which the motion that sought to frustrate the swearing-in ceremony was anchored, just as he urged the court to not only strike out the petition in its entirety, but to go ahead and order relevant security agencies in the country to investigate the allegation by Mr Alozor.

Determined to get to the root of the matter, the 5-man panel of jurists headed by the president of the court of appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, stood down the matter for 30 minutes, a period within which the lawyer that ab-initio announced his appearance for the HDP, Ogar, quickly filed an application to withdraw the suit.

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What we expect of the new administration- Jakande, Balarbe Musa

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Twenty four years from now, Nigerians will experience another change in government as President Jonathan would be sworn in for another four years alongside 24 state governors, eight of which are freshmen. Nigerians want the new government to make a world of difference in today’s politics and policy?

In this week’s edition, Saturday Vanguard speaks with a cross section of politicians and other Nigerians on their expectations of Jonathan’s government.

Jakande, Balarabe Musa, Ighodalo, Akinyele, Chima Ibe, Lawrence Omoh and co

Alhaji Balarabe Musa, a politician from the North said he is not expecting anything positive from the incoming administration.
“ I am not expecting anything because, they couldn’t do anything in the past administration. They only loot public funds and that is what we are expecting from the in coming administration. They are the same people.

They are only there to serve themselves. You can see what is happening in the National Assembly. They are the same people, they can only feed people with lies and get away with it.

“People like them have no regard for humanity. There was nothing they were able to achieve while they were in office and when Jonathan became a substantial president of the country for one year. There is nothing he can mention that he has done except for the level of corruption that has continued to increase by the day which is not going to reduce. So, we don’t expect anything good from any of them”.

Alhaji Lateef Jakande, former governor of Lagos State expects honesty from the new administration.

“We are looking forwards to a progressive administration. The president is doing well which is a good beginning. We hope that he will be able to fulfil the promises he made to Nigerians. I’m particular about education, housing, power, health and employment. If he can meet the target he has set for himself, the country will be a better place. I hope he will choose people who will not drag him to the mud but people who will be honest and effective in all they do”.

For Pastor Ituah Ighodalo of Trinity House, this is the time for Jonathan to write his name in gold.

“President Jonathan has an opportunity to write his name in gold and change history. I hope, he doesn’t loose it. He needs to focus on the economy and energy . He should have a plan of providing energy for Nigerians. He needs to focus on infrastructure and building of roads that have gone into deplorable state. He needs to focus on education and health and have a policy for housing.

Nigerian president signs budget, wealth fund bills

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan signed an amended 4.485 trillion naira 2011 budget on Friday, a plan which will keep sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy just within a 3 percent deficit target.

Finance Minister Olusegun Aganga said the budget assumed total revenues of 3.348 trillion naira based on a benchmark oil price of $75 a barrel, meaning the budget deficit would stand at 2.96 percent.

Jonathan also signed a bill to create a sovereign wealth fund, paving the way for Africa's biggest oil exporter to improve the management of its often-squandered windfall crude oil earnings.

"I have just signed the 2011 appropriation bill and the sovereign wealth investment fund into law," he told reporters in the presidential villa in the capital Abuja.

Jonathan originally proposed a 4.226 trillion naira budget in December but lawmakers inflated the plans three months later to 4.972 trillion naira, a proposal the president rejected.

Parliament later pruned the spending plans after negotiations with the government and on Wednesday passed the revised version which Jonathan signed.

The government has said the 2011 budget is supposed to mark a period of fiscal consolidation in sub-Saharan Africa's second biggest economy. Aganga had described the lawmakers' first inflated version as "unimplementable".

Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi has also repeatedly warned of the damage loose fiscal policy could do to the economy in Africa's biggest crude oil exporter.

On Tuesday, the central bank unexpectedly raised its key interest rate to 8 percent and doubled lenders' cash reserve requirements in an effort to curb inflation and ease pressure on the local naira currency.

The proposals for high public spending were highlighted as a major factor in the decision to tighten monetary policy again.

Nigeria set a 3 percent deficit threshold in a fiscal responsibility act in 2007 but has struggled to achieve that target in recent years.

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Suspected Nigerian Islamists attack police barracks, bank

Gunmen believed to be members of a radical Islamist sect attacked a police barracks and a bank in north Nigeria Friday, police said.

"There was an attack today on a police barracks and a bank by gunmen believed to be (members of the) Boko Haram sect," Borno State police commissioner Mohammed Jinjiri Abubakar told AFP of the incident in Damboa, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Maiduguri, the state capital.

"They robbed the bank and used explosives on a police barracks," he said.

The police chief could immediately not say if anyone was injured or killed.

"We still don't have details on casualities. I am on my way to ascertain the situation and extent of damage from the attacks," he said.

Police have blamed the sect for a series of bomb attacks and shootings in Maiduguri in recent months.

Most of the attacks have targeted military and police personnel, community and religious leaders, and politicians.

Boko Haram, which means 'western education is sin' in a local dialect, launched a short-lived uprising in parts of the north in 2OO9 in a doomed bid to establish an Islamic state.

The attempt was crushed in a brutal military crackdown that saw hundreds of people, including many sect members, killed and its headquarters and mosque destroyed in Maiduguri, where most of the violence has occurred.

The sect has since staged a low-level insurgency and has been blamed for recent raids on churches and a prison.

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Tinubu charges lawmakers to review 1999 Constitution

The former governor of Lagos State and a leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday called on the incoming National Assembly, especially those elected on the platform of the ACN to ensure that the 1999 Constitution was reviewed.

Speaking at a retreat organised for the ACN National Assembly members-elect in Osogbo, Mr Tinubu said there was a need for the lawmakers to amend the constitution, which he said was a product of the military.

"The constitution is not the best for a democratic society like Nigeria. It is important for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to call a constitutional conference for the review of the constitution," he said.

Mr Tinubu, in his paper titled "The case for True Federalism in Nigeria" said members of the ACN in the National Assembly should ensure that no stone was left unturned until true federalism is achieved, even as he called for a review of the revenue sharing formula.

The former governor noted that the increase of the minimum wage should automatically cause a recalculation in the allocation ratio between federal and the state government because there are more state employees than federal ones.

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‘Kano State owes N110 billion'

he incoming governor of Kano State, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, is inheriting a debt portfolio of about N110 billion.

This was disclosed by the transition committee constituted by Mr Kwankwaso to look into the books of the outgoing government of Ibrahim Shekarau.

Addressing journalists in Kano on Wednesday, the spokesperson of the governor-elect, Jaafar Jaafar, said, based on the documents tendered before the transition committee by the state's accountant general, the outgoing administration incurred liabilities to the tune of N77,418,638,297.02, in addition to a foreign loan of $209,635,334.

The state government, according to the committee, spent about N420 billion within eight years without leaving anything on the ground to justify the expenditure.

"It gives us concern that despite the N420 billion they squandered, the incoming government will inherit N77 billion liabilities," he said.

The spokesperson also noted that there was sharp disparity between the statutory allocation figures tendered before the committee and the one obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Mr Jaafar further revealed that the offices of the head of service and the state accountant general gave conflicting figures of Kano workers' salary bills.

"While certain office puts the figure of the workers at 40,000, the other office puts it at 42,000. This is an indication that something is wrong somewhere," he said.

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Post-election litigation is minimal, says Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday said the post-election litigation this year had reduced by 80 percent when compared to the 2007 elections, and is expected to further reduce by 95 percent in 2015.

Mr Jonathan claimed the reduction was due to some changes made before the election which, he said pointed to a transformation in Nigeria's electoral process.

He revealed this at the presidential inaugural lecture which was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Abuja yesterday.

Mr Jonathan fielded questions from the audience after a lecture by Ladipo Adamolekun, a public administration scholar and former dean of the faculty of Public Administration at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Mr Jonathan said the change came when he advised the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman to make sure results were counted and distributed to the party agents at the polling units.

He added that this might have informed the drop in the number of post-election litigation.

"I think the implementation of this, from what the legal adviser of PDP told me a week ago when we discussed how many cases were in court, he said the numbers of litigations have dropped compared to 2007 by over 80 per cent. That shows that even in terms of electoral processes we are transforming; we are going somewhere," Mr Jonathan said. "In fact, I remember when I was acting president, the vice-president of South Africa came to visit and I asked her the length of time they allowed after election in court, because I was a bit worried that after election, two years into tenure of four years matters are still in court. She was surprised that somebody should go to court after elections; but in Nigeria; you will be surprised that nobody is going to court after elections."

The president also gave indications that he may not be dissolving his cabinet totally, saying that ministers who performed above a 60 percent average should be allowed to continue.

In another response to a question, he said 60 percent of speculations in the dailies on incoming ministers were wrong. He also spoke on the influence of lobbyists in the ministerial selection process.

"There are people lobbying for ministerial positions for what I term as personal reasons, either for themselves, their wives and then those who love the country," he said. "Those who love the country when they come to you for a particular person, if you analyse it you will see that they have no relationship with that person; they don't have any relationship. They are only lobbying because they feel that that person has the background to do the job. Those are those who love this country. Unfortunately, they are less than 10 per cent."

He also decried the short tenure of ministers stating that if a government comes up with a good policy and leaves immediately, there is a tendency that such a policy would die.

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Badagry killings: Injured ASP dies

The only survivor of the Army/Police clash in Badagry, Lagos, is dead.

Taofeek Afolabi (44), an Assistant Superintendent and the Operations Officer of the Police Station died yesterday, 48 hours after the clash, in which the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) , Mr. Salihu Samuel, and Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) Samson Okedusi and two others were killed.

The deceased was in the same vehicle with Samuel and Okedusi when they were allegedly attacked by soldiers in front of the 242 Battalion Barracks on Tuesday on their way to a meeting with the Commanding Officer.

Afolabi died at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, bringing the death toll to five police officers.

Before his death, he narrated how they were attacked to reporters and senior Army officers on Tuesday.

The late Afolabi said he managed to crawl into the bush after he was shot in the lungs.

He said he later crawled to a filling station, where some people recognised him and took him to the hospital.

Deputy Medical Director, Badagry General Hospital, Dr. Tunji Olabuntu confirmed that the deceased was treated in the hospital and later referred to the Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

Until his death, the late Afolabi was the only witness to the attack and the police authorities were hoping to present him to the panel investigating the matter.

Police spokesman Samuel Jinadu also confirmed Afolabi’s death.

Jinadu said: "Medical personnel had been battling to save Afolabi’s life after he was badly injured."

A new DPO has been posted to Badagry. He is Mr. Dakolo Aliko, a Chief Superintendent of Police.

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Akala deproscribes NURTW

Out-going Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala yesterday deprosribed the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).

In a four paragraph statement by his Chief Press Secretary,Abraham Ojo, the governor said he took the decision to ensure “ the return of peace and tranquility to every part of the state”.

The statement reads:” The de-proscription order was given by Governor Alao-Akala following recent peace and tranquility being enjoyed in every part of the state.”

The statement said members of the union were law abiding.

The NURTW was proscribed by the government in August last year following a leadership crisis .

Reacting, NURTW Chairman, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola a.k.a. Tokyo said: “ Modupe lowo Akala.(I thank governor Akala).”

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