Nigeria tops in school enrolment in US

Nigeria still leads other Sub Saharan African countries, whose citizens are studying in the United States, a statement by the US embassy in Abuja said yesterday.

According to the statement, a total of 6,568 Nigerians were enrolled in regionally accredited institutions in the US for the 2009/2010 session. The statement, which attributed its source to the Institute for International Education (IIE) annual Open Doors report on the flow of international students to the US said, “Nigeria has maintained its position as the number one country in Sub Saharan Africa for sending the largest number of students to the U.S.

“Nigeria’s increase contributed to the worldwide increase of 2.9% to 690,923 international students in the United States, and helped minimize sub-Saharan Africa’s decrease of 1% over the past year. A total of 6,568 Nigerian students were enrolled in regionally accredited institutions in 2009/10.”

The US Mission’s EducationUSA Advising Centres (EAC) in Lagos and Abuja, according to the statement, celebrated International Education Week (IEW) between November 15 and 19, 2010. The embassy said that, as part of its contribution, the Abuja centre will host several activities, including undergraduate and graduate essay writing workshops and session with selected secondary school students, parents, and teachers.

IEW is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to promote programmes to prepare Americans for a global environment, and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.

The U.S. Mission’s EducationUSA Advising Centre (EAC) promotes U.S. education by providing students and parents in Nigeria with unbiased information and counsel for study in U.S. universities and colleges.

Some of the services provided include guidance on the U.S. college application process, standardised testing, student visa requirements, and pre-departure orientation.

SSS recovers car bomb in hotel

Officials of the State Security Service (SSS) yesterday displayed a car that they said Henry Okah, purchased and wired with a bomb for use in the twin bombings in Abuja on October 1st.

Marilyn Ogar, a spokesperson for the agency, said the car, a Mazda 626 saloon with a Lagos license plate, was discovered parked in a hotel in Port Harcourt. The hotel’s management had discovered that it had been parked there for a long time. A sister of one of the suspects in custody assisted the service in recovering the fully-wired vehicle, which was towed to Abuja.

Other items recovered

Ms. Ogar also revealed that military items, including 10 bulletproof jackets, a large number of camouflage vests, boots, water bottles, and camp tents were intercepted from “a popular transport company which runs cargo courier services from Lagos to Port Harcourt.”

“The military items were sent by Charles Okah to one of the suspects for onward movement to militants in the creeks,” said Ms. Ogar. “In view of these discoveries, the service seizes this opportunity to warn transport and courier companies to be more circumspect in handling goods for customers, as they will be held responsible for conveying prohibited items.” The SSS said the new suspects, including those caught with military items will be charged to court on 25th of November.

Reps to sanction members opposed to Electoral Act

House of Representatives members in staunch support of the heavily-criticised amendment to the Electoral Act that gives lawmakers automatic membership of their parties’ National Executive Committee have demanded that members opposed to the amendment be sanctioned, NEXT learnt yesterday.

Their target are lawmakers who have gone public to state their opposition to the contentious amendments. The renewed determination to ensure the passage of the bill comes as a second member of the House viciously condemned the bill on a Television programme yesterday.

Ita Enang, the chairman House committee on Business and Rules, criticized his colleagues on a TV show on Thursday for introducing and seeking the passage of the proposed sections. He described the bill as “toxic” and called on Nigerians to press for its rejection.

“Certain provision in the bill to amend the Electoral Act is toxic,” he said. “We only allow it come to the floor and passed second reading so that the public will have the opportunity to contribute to it, it does not mean that the bill enjoys the support of the House.

“At the public hearing, the public will be able to make contribution and reject it because the 1999 Constitution had already empowered the political parties to run their affairs, it is not the responsibilities of the National Assembly to make such laws and it must be rejected”.

In his capacity as the chairman of the Rules and Business committee, Mr. Enang approved the bill for listing on the Order Paper for debate during the second reading of the bill.

He however urged his colleagues to reject the contentious clause in the bill at the final reading, saying it will not stand the test of time.

Growing opposition

Mr. Enang said the lawmakers should be more concerned with resolving the uncertainty caused by the court ruling which declared the amendment of the 1999 constitution as incomplete without the assent of the president.

He appeared with Patrick Obahiagbon, the Edo state lawmaker who staged the first public opposition to the bill’s passage at a press conference last Monday. Mr. Obahiagbon had said the attempt to introduce the controversial law, amounts to “legislative rascality”.

Since then, condemnations against the bill have grown with several opposition parties threatening mass protest against its passage.

Source said yesterday that majority of the members who have supported for the bill, view the remarks of the colleagues as contemptuous, and are already making calls for sanctions against them when the House resumes next week.

Eseme Eyiboh, the House spokesperson could not be reached yesterday.

Senate denies doing secret work on state creation

The Senate yesterday denied doing any selective work in favour of certain proposals for state creation submitted to it by people agitating for new states.

The senate spokesman, Ayogu Eze, on Thursday in Abuja, denied allegations that the senators have shortlisted a list of new states which they intend to rubber-stamp during the state creation exercise.

“There is no list of states to be created that has been drawn by the national assembly,” he said. “That matter is not being considered right now but we hope that we will consider it in the life of this sixth national assembly.” He added that currently, the lawmakers are only receiving requests and collating such requests and that the issue of state creation has been relegated until the constitution review exercise is finished.

“We don’t have any reason whatsoever at this stage to eliminate any request or to include any request because we have not started the consideration of any request,” he said.

Mr Eze said all the requests for creation of states are with the senate’s 44-member ad hoc committee on the alteration of the constitution, which would bring out criteria for selection of the states to be created - in accordance with section 9 of the constitution - “when the time comes.”

“All the requests that have been received are with us, we have not drawn up any list, we have not thrown away any request, and we have not taken any request onboard. All of them are intact as they have been made,” he said.

He insisted that the state creation exercise will follow the same pattern with that of the constitution alteration, as outlined in section 8 and 9 of the constitution. He added that it is through such a process that the lawmakers will determine which states would be created, depending on the mood of the public.

Altruistic lawmakers

He also added that the insistence of the lawmakers that the president need not sign an amendment to the constitution before it becomes effective is not an “ego trip,” but a necessary argument that will benefit the constitution in the end.

He also defended the ongoing amendment to the 2010 electoral act, part of which seeks to make the lawmakers members of the National Executive Committees (NEC) of their various parties.

“We are not making laws for ourselves because we are not going to stay in the national assembly forever,” he argued. “We think that if you pull in the representatives of the people into the decision making bodies of the parties, we are making it more democratic; we are bringing in more voices, and views; we are enlarging the political space within the parties and increasing the participation.” He added that the amendment is not strange, considering that only a few parties in Nigeria do not have all their national assembly lawmakers as members of the NEC.

Jonathan warns militants to desist or face fire

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday warned criminals who continue to hide under acronyms to engage in criminal acts of self-enrichment that they no longer have a hiding place, as orders have been given to law enforcement agencies to hunt them down. The President also affirmed that government will continue to pursue its programmes for the re-orientation, rehabilitation and reintegration of all genuine militants who had laid down their arms under the amnesty programme.

He commended the military high command and officers and men of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta for the safe rescue of the seven foreign and 12 Nigerian oil workers held by kidnappers in the region, yesterday.“While the Federal Government will continue to take all necessary steps to guarantee the safety of lives and property, as well as the security of oil workers and installation in the Niger Delta, all law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear,” the president said.

The security forces yesterday handed the freed hostages to their employers on Thursday.The release of the hostages is seen as a victory for Mr Jonathan’s administration.

Charles Omoregie, commander of a military taskforce in the Niger Delta, said the military had taken over several suspected militant camps in the region’s three main states, including those run by a newly emerging kingpin, known as Obese.“Two camps have been taken over in Delta, two in Bayelsa and three in Rivers ... (The hostages) were all rescued from Obese’s camp here in Rivers state after a sustained military operation.” He said the raids started on Monday and that Obese, thought to be a newfield commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)militant group, had contacted the security forces via former militant leaderswho accepted amnesty last year to tell them he was ready to surrender.

Mr Omoregie praised the role that former MEND field commanders, including Boyloaf and Farah Dagogo, who acceptedlast year’s amnesty, played in ensuring the release of the hostages.

Shocking Experience

The seven expatriates were taken from an offshore oil rig operated by exploration firm Afren on November 7. Eight of the Nigerians were abducted from an Exxon Mobil platform a week later, while the remaining four were employees oflocal construction firm Julius Berger.

One hostage, Canadian Robert Croke, described the ordeal.“It was a shocking experience. They gave us mattresses to sleep on,virtually nothing else. We were begging for food and water because what we were exhausted,” he told reporters. “We were not maltreated, they were not hostile to us, it was just that we lacked the basic necessities.”

Nigeria's Amos Adamu banned for three years

Nigeria's Amos Adamu has been suspended from all footballing activity by Fifa's Ethics Committee for three years and fined $10,000.
Tahiti's Reynald Temarii was suspended for one year and fined $5,000 by the committee.
The move follows allegations that the pair asked for money in return for voting on World Cup hosting rights.
It means they will not be able to vote on which countries will host the 2018 and 2022 World Cup.
Adamu released a statement protesting his innocence and vowing to fight the ruling.
"I am profoundly disappointed with the Ethics Committee's findings and had honestly believed I would be exonerated of any charges by now," he said.
"I am innocent of all the charges levelled against me by the Ethics Committee and I completely refute the decision they have made.
"I will be lodging a full appeal against it with immediate effect."
Four former executive members - Slim Aloulou of Tunisia, Mali's Amadu Diakite, Ahongalu Fusimalohi of Tonga and Botswana's Ismael Bhamjee - all received sanctions from Fifa.
Bhamjee was banned for four years, Diakite and Fusimalohi for three and Aloulou for two and all four were fined $10,000.
But the committee dismissed accusations of collusion between Spain/Portugal and Qatar, who are bidding to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively.

Blair: World anxious about Nigeria’s 2011 elections

The international community is expecting a lot from Nigeria’s general elections next year, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.

“Everyone, including the international community, is expressing a great deal of interest, a great deal of excitement for the elections and everyone is anxious for the elections to be conducted in the best possible way,” Blair told journalists at the Presidential Villa in Abuja after a visit to President Goodluck Jonathan.

“I think the preparations are going on and expectations are high around Nigeria, which is a great thing. Back in the West, things are pretty difficult politically, difficult economically. There is a hugely enhanced interest in Africa and in Nigeria. There is a lot of hope and excitement,” Blair said.

The former British leader told President Jonathan during their meeting that the Nigerian government is enjoying the support of the international community.

Nigeria denies pressure from the West on Iran

Foreign Affairs Minister Odein Ajumogobia has denied that there were pressures from Western nations on Nigeria to report its seizure of arms shipment from Iran to the United Nation’s Security Council.

Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Joy Ogwu, on Monday formally notified the UN’s Security Council sanctions committee about the seizure of the arms by the State Security Services (SSS) which intercepted 13 containers labelled as building materials but which were actually rocket launchers, grenades and other explosives in October.

Mr Ajumogobia told reporters at the UN before leaving New York that “I feel we have international obligations to carry them out as responsible members of the UN and it is as simple as that, and I made that very clear to the Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki when I met him in Abuja last week’’ he said.

He said most senior foreign diplomats told him at the UN that they were impressed with Nigeria’s handling of the issue but declined to mention the specific countries that made the commendation. Mr Ajumogobia further explained that the next step for Nigeria was to continue with the ongoing investigation on the issue and submit a detailed report to the UN committee later.

Friendly match controversy

Another angle to the row was the cancellation of a friendly football match between Iran and Nigeria, less than 48 hours to the kick-off. Mr Ajumogobia however denied that the cancellation by the Nigeria Football Federation had anything to do with the row over the illegal arms shipment.

“My understanding is that they had some technical problems. There were some players who were supposed to play in the friendly match that were not available” he noted adding that “I think it was just a mere coincidence; it wasn’t connected as far as I am concerned.”

A France-based shipping company CMA CGM which transported the shipment said it was hidden in containers labelled as building materials and attempts were made to send it to Gambia before the Nigerian police seized them.

The foreign envoy however said that “my view is that if a third party is laying claim to a cargo in Nigeria then they will do so properly and through the proper channels. I haven’t had such claim brought to my attention. When it is, I will deal with it appropriately. In the meantime, the security agencies are still investigating that aspect of the claim on their own. But as a Foreign Minister, I will not speculate as to who or what is claiming to anything, because under the Resolution 1929, we have clear obligation to report any arms contravention to the UN,’’ he said.

Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki during a press briefing in Tehran on Monday also hinted that investigations had revealed that the arms shipment was destined for The Gambia.

Mr Ajumogobia noted that the seizure had brought to the fore the need for government agencies to be vigilant on resolutions and international conventions and that his ministry would ensure that other government agencies are notified about the need to enforce international sanctions.

Iran is currently under series of UN sanctions which cut across military equipment, financial transactions, business interests and travel ban on individuals associated with the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme. The country is banned from supplying, selling or transferring arms. The country however has good diplomatic relationship with Nigeria with the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting Nigeria in July where he pledged his nation’s support to help Nigeria with its nuclear technology for power generation.

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Party alleges plot to cause chaos in Ekiti

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday claimed there are plots to instigate chaos and instability in Ekiti State to force the federal government to impose a state of emergency in the state.

It said that the plans involve using the recent dissolution of local government councils in the state as a pretext to foment trouble throughout the state.

The party’s candidate, Kayode Fayemi, last month became governor of the state after the court ruled that the former PDP government has been illegally occupying the office since 2007. The two parties, which are evenly matched at the state assembly, have been at each other’s throat since.

Mr Fayemi recently dissolved the executive councils of all the local governments in the state and on Monday inaugurated a new care taker committee to take over the running of the councils. The sacked council bosses are all members of the PDP because the ACN, which was then in the opposition, boycotted the local government election that brought them in.

The state’s chapter of the PDP has, however, ordered the ousted local government chairmen and councillors to resume their office in open challenge to their sack.

This order, a statement issued by the ACN National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed said, is part of the plot by the opposition to trigger trouble that will be used “as an excuse to prevail on the President to impose a state of emergency on the state.’’ He warned that “any attempt to foment trouble will be resisted by the peace-loving but courageous and indefatigable people of the state. If the government has not deemed it fit to slam emergency rule on states like Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Abia where militancy and kidnapping are thriving, or states like Ogun and Oyo which have become hotbeds of political thuggery, why would anyone even brood such for a peaceful state like Ekiti,” he said.

The party said whoever thinks the law has been broken with the dissolution of the Ekiti councils and the appointment of caretaker committees should head to court rather than take to the streets.

It advised the PDP to emulate it (the ACN), which has always resorted to the courts to resolve any political logjam.

Lawmakers boycott

On the controversy over the decision of 12 members of the 26 member state house of assembly to ratify the dissolution of the assembly, Mr Mohammed said the blame should go to the PDP lawmakers.

“The decision by the PDP members of the Ekiti House of Assembly to boycott that sitting is in line with what the PDP has been doing in Edo State, where lawmakers have been boycotting assembly sessions for the past six months, hoping this will grind the machinery of state. If any member of the house anywhere refuses to attend sessions, he or she should be recalled, and possibly charged with treason,” he said.

The party also pointed out that it is out-numbered in Osun State House of Assembly, the National Assembly and many other states, but that its members have always ensured that “we will have our say, even if we can’t have our way.”

Iran says Nigeria arms "misunderstanding" settled

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it has resolved a "misunderstanding" over an arms shipment seized in Lagos which Nigeria is likely to report to the United Nations Security Council as a possible breach of sanctions.

"The seized cargo belonged to a private company and it was for sale legitimately to a West African country," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters, without naming the country. "I think the misunderstanding has been resolved."

Diplomatic and security sources outside Iran said the intended destination of the weapons had not been clarified yet, but they added that investigations have focused on two Iranians believed to be senior members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards.

"One of the Iranian citizens ... provided all the necessary explanations to Nigerian officials," said Mottaki, who visited Nigeria last week. He also criticised suggestions which "are aimed at harming our relationship with Nigeria", but did not elaborate.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia said on Friday that Lagos would report Iran to the Security Council if it found any evidence that the shipment broke U.N. sanctions imposed over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear activities.

The United States and its allies fear Iran's nuclear programme is a cover to build bombs. Tehran denies this, saying its nuclear work is aimed at generating electricity.

Ajumogobia added that he did not currently believe Iran had broken the sanctions. However, a Nigerian diplomat in New York told Reuters that the Security Council's Iran sanctions committee would definitely be informed.

A Security Council resolution bans Iran from "supplying, selling or transferring directly or indirectly from its territory or by its nationals ... any arms or related material".

Buhari’s party raises alarm over blackmail

CONTRARY to claims, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) on Sunday said its alliance talks with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and other parties was fully on course.

It said some opponents of the alliance were jittery thereby resorting to blackmail.

Raising the alarm in a statement on Sunday, CPC National Publicity Secretary, Mr Dennis Aghanya, said no amount of blackmail or propaganda could stall or derail the ongoing alliance discussions.

The party said, “The insinuation or assumption, that our talks with the ACN have collapsed, is not only false but was done in bad faith.

“For now, our discussions are centered on the nature of our alliance and not who becomes what. You must get to the bridge before you cross it. You cannot start sharing positions when you have not agreed on the terms of the relationship.

The CPC stated that it was not surprised that opponents of the alliance were resorting to propaganda because they were afraid that its success would break their stranglehold on the citizens.

Because it appreciated the importance of the 2011 elections, it said it was determined to establish a wider platform with other progressives, adding that Senator Bola Tinubu, who is the arrowhead of ACN, remained a major political force that should be carried along.

“We are also happy to have him as a political friend. The more the oppositions can come together, the better our chances to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] government in 2011,” the CPC stated.

Nigeria interrogates Iranian over Lagos arms shipment

Investigators are holding an Iranian in custody in connection with the shipment of arms discovered last Month at the Apapa Port in Lagos. Security sources told NEXT at the weekend that the man, who had taken refuge at the Iranian embassy, has been with officials of the State Security Service for about three days now and is already providing useful information.

“He is expected to throw more light on the involvement of the Nigerian consignee, who is also involved in the shipment of the arms,” the source said.

Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajumogobia had, last Friday after talks with the Iranian Foreign Affairs minister, Manouchehr Mottak, told journalists in Abuja that security agencies had been granted access to the Iranian embassy to interrogate the Iranian in their probe of the incident.

Mr Ajumogobia, who travelled to New York at the weekend, is also expected to brief the United Nations on the incident. The Nigerian official is in the United States for a Security Council discussion on Sudan where participants will be briefed on the preparations for the January 2011 referendum in south Sudan, the situation in Darfur and progress of the Doha peace talks.

UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon is expected to do the briefing along with the Head of the AU High-Level Implementation Monitoring Panel, Thabo Mbeki; the Head of UN Mission in Sudan, Haile Menkerios and the Head of UN/AU Mission in Darfur, Ibrahim Gambari.

UN arms sanction

But Mr Ajumogobia is also expected to raise the issue of the arms export, especially as Iran is under a UN conventional arms ban. The resolution affirming the ban also empowers states to seize and dispose the prohibited items when they are found.

On Oct. 26, Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) discovered 13 containers of illegal weapons at the port. A French-based shipping company, CNA CGM, said the shipment originated from the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and was delivered to Lagos in July. The shipping company said labels on the crates indicated they contained stone and glass wool.

The shipment was subsequently taken to a depot where it was left untouched. The cargo was later opened and found to contain artillery rockets and shells, mortars and hand grenades, among others.

Lawmakers oppose N6b plan to register SIM cards

The controversial registration of phone users by the Nigeria Communication Commission breaches sections of the Advance Fee Fraud Act, lawmakers argued on Thursday, in support of their opposition to attempts by the NCC to conduct the N6.1bn exercise.

The prolonged debate between majority of the House of Representatives members opposed to the plan, and the House communication committee which supports it, reached new heights yesterday with lawmakers citing the anti-419 Act to defeat the plan, and also naming an Ad hoc committee on the matter.

Within 10 days, the House ruled, the new committee comprising of heads of three other related committees, would meet with Dave Salako, the communication chairman, and resolve how the planned registration infringes on section 12 and 13 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act.

The committees involved are Ethics and Privileges, Drugs, Narcotics and Anti-Corruption and the committee on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Against the proposed registration which Mr. Salako has come to be identified with, the sections of the 2006 law puts the responsibility of registration on the telephone operators, which a majority of the House members have argued for more than three months now.

The section says “Any person or entity providing an electronic communication service or remote computing service either by e-mail or any other form shall be required to obtain from the customer or subscriber full names; residential address.”

Further details of the section outlines penalties for a defaulting user or provider. According to the edict, the defaults are to be administered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The Act stood central to the lawmakers’ opposition to the NCC’s plan yesterday, as the budget of the commission came up for discussions again.

Although the entire budget is meant for 2010, it has yet to be finalised by the House, barely two months to the end of the year, solely on account of the contentious registration plan which members have faulted.

Whose interest is it?

Representatives have maintained that the responsibility of the exercise is that of phone operators and not the regulator, the NCC. The N6.1 billion is to cater for an exercise estimated at N120 per user within six months.

Defending the plan in an interview with NEXT a fortnight ago, the NCC spokesperson, Reuben Mouka, said the commission is concerned about the exercise, since the operators have protested that they cannot complete the work within the given time.

The operators are said to be arguing for three years, against the six months the commission claims it wants because of the upsurge in kidnapping, supposedly to forestall losing customers that may be disconnected if there is no sufficient time.

“We don’t believe that N6.1bn for millions of users is too much. Security of lives is not comparable to N120 per person,” Mr. Muoka, the NCC head of public affairs, said.

Some members also told NEXT they fear the resolved attempt to pass the bill may point at other interests.

“For me, I would not know what is beyond,” said Sekonte Davies, a member from Rivers State.

“But I don’t care whose ox is gored; I believe there are certain interests who want to use the opportunity to siphon money. I may not know them, but I believe very strongly that it could have political purposes.”

The House spokesperson, Eseme Eyiboh, denied that charge at a news conference yesterday. He said the recurrence of the rejected bill does not imply other motives.

“We are not promoting any interest,” he said.

Colleges Of Education Teachers Mull Strike Over Plan To Scrap NCE

THE standard of education in Nigeria may dip further soon as the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) is perfecting plans to embark on industrial action to protest the planned proscription of National Colleges of Education (NCE).

President of the union, Mohammed Ibrahim disclosed this in Abuja yesterday while reacting to the declaration by the Minister of State for Education, Kenneth Gbagi that government plans to discontinue with the NCE programmes.

He said: “If this trend, which is conspicuously anti-people, is not halted, we will have no option but to mobilize the hapless Nigerian masses who have a future in the college of education system to resist to the last man, this dastardly act of insensitivity to the implication of such an unbecoming executive arrogance.”

He explained that the Certificate in Education being awarded by the Colleges of Education is meant to serve as a benchmark certification for teaching at the basic education level in the country.

Ibrahim argued that despite the award of degrees by some Colleges of Education duly certified by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the colleges have not lost focus on the special role of acting as a midwife in facilitating the academic progress of a fairly good percentage of less privileged Nigerians who cannot afford direct university education for numerous and obvious reasons of poor governance and deliberately imposed poverty on the seemingly helpless masses in this country.

He said: “Considering the critical roles that the Colleges of Education have been playing in the country for several decades now, the recent idea of scrapping out colleges of education from the tertiary education tripod spells grave implications for common Nigerians and the system as a whole.”

Nigerian military warns of action in oil delta

Nigeria's military threatened on Saturday to carry out raids against what it said were camps of criminal gangs in the creeks of the oil-producing Niger Delta, and told civilians in the vicinity to leave.

Any major offensive by the armed forces would be the first in the Niger Delta, the heartland of the OPEC member's energy industry, since an amnesty programme brokered by President Goodluck Jonathan began in August 2009.

Seven expatriate workers were kidnapped from an oil rig off the Niger Delta almost a week ago, while the home of President Goodluck Jonathan's main adviser on the region was attacked with explosives late on Thursday.

"We have observed with concern some criminal acts within the past few days by some people claiming to be militants ... Many of these criminals are known to be hiding in camps within the creeks of the Niger Delta," Chief of Defence Staff Oluseyi Petinrin said in a statement.

"These camps will no longer be tolerated. To avoid any collateral damage, we are seizing this opportunity to instruct all law-abiding citizens who live around the vicinity of these camps to leave immediately," the statement said.

The military taskforce in the Niger Delta (JTF) said one camp in Bayelsa, one of the three main oil-producing states, was raided on Friday. Officials said there was an exchange of gunfire, and weapons and maps of oil facilities were seized.

The Niger Delta had been hit by years of militant attacks on oil infrastructure prior to the amnesty. At its peak, the unrest prevented Nigeria from pumping much above two thirds of its 3 million barrels per day (bpd) oil production capacity and cost it an estimated $1 billion a month in lost revenues.

A resurgence in violence would be an embarrassment for Jonathan, the first Nigerian head of state from the region who faces a tough battle in presidential elections due next April.

Okah’s Bail Application Suffers Another Hitch

Henry Okah, the alleged Nigerian terror mastermind, will only know, in a week’s time, whether he will be granted bail or not after his case encountered further problems at the Johannesburg Magistrate Court.

The South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reports that Magistrate Hein Louw told the court that he was not yet ready to hand down judgment on Friday, saying that he needed time to finish listening to the court recordings.

Louw said he had had problems accessing the audio transcripts and that he would only be able to do so some time in the following week.

Okah also lost an application to be kept in police custody, pending the outcome of his bail hearing.

He has been accused of being behind Nigeria’s Independence day bombings.

At least, a dozen people were left dead and many others injured.

Nigeria’s state security services have also linked Okah to the bombs attacks that rocked the southern oil city of Warri in March this year.

He is currently facing charges of terrorism.

Ex-Senator’s Mother-In-Law Rescued

The Ebonyi State Police Command has rescued the kidnapped mother-in-law of the former senator representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial zone in the National Assembly, Mr. Julius Ucha, while four suspects have been arrested for their alleged complicity in the abduction of the victim.

Accordingly, 15 suspects have been nabbed by the command for their involvement in various crimes of kidnapping, robbery, child theft and murder in the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Emmanuel Ayeni, disclosed this in Abakaliki, on Friday, while briefing newsmen on the efforts made by the command in combating criminal activities in the state.

According to him, “Mrs. Mary Nwainya, the mother-in-law of Senator Ucha has been rescued unhurt, while four suspects have been arrested, who are at present assisting the command in the investigation, “ he said.

Mr. Ayeni said that four suspects had also been arrested in connection with the death of one Otubo Moses, who was murdered by some hoodlums a fortnight ago.

Kidnapped ex-UBTH CMD regains Freedom

Former Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Professor Eugene Okpere, was in the early hours of Thursday left of the hook after spending four days with his abductors.

Chairman of the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) , Dr. Philip Ugbodaga, who said no ransom was paid for his release, however vowed that his association would continue its protest against incessant kidnap of doctors in the state until there are concrete assurances for their security.

But in a protest march on Thursday to Edo Government House, medical doctors in their hundreds, said government has not done enough to combat crime, especially kidnapping, in the state.

They were received by Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. John Ejale, and a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) in the Economic Management Team of the governor, Taiwo Akerele.

They told the protesting doctors that the state government was doing all it could to stem the rising wave of crimes but that its actions were limited by the fact that security agencies are under the direct control of the Federal Government.

Nigerian security rejects reports that arms were bound for Gaza

Security forces in Nigeria believe a recently-seized arms shipment -- reportedly from Iran -- was bound for the western African nation, not another land.

Marilyn Ogar, spokeswoman for the county's security service, on Friday rejected reports that the material was headed to the Palestinian territory of Gaza, as claimed by some reports in Israel.

In fact, some observers speculate, the weaponry was seized ahead of the 2011 controversial elections which would pit Goodluck Jonathan, the current president from the Christian south, and presidential candidates from the Muslim north.

The country's security service said that it had seized 13 shipping containers in the port of Lagos filled with illegal weapons, including rockets, grenades and bullets.

Each shipping container carried 20 wooden crates, and a leading global shipping company has said that the weaponry came from Iran.

Nigerian officials won't confirm that the materiel originated in Iran, and the country's foreign ministry issued a statement knocking down reports that Nigeria was targeting a particular nation in its investigations and that it was planning to go to the United Nations to lodge a complaint.

This comes as the foreign ministers of Nigeria and Iran met on Thursday.

"If at the end of these investigations, there were breaches of international instruments or conventions to which Nigeria is party, the country would, as a responsible member of the international community, 'do whatever was necessary,' " the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The company, CMA CGM, said it was a victim of a false cargo declaration. The shipper -- who the company identified as an Iranian trader -- had listed the materials inside the containers as "packages of glass wool and pallets of stone."

The containers in question were loaded in Bandar Abbas, a port in southern Iran, and discharged in Lagos in July, the company said.

There has been Christian-Muslim sectarian violence in northern Nigeria, and analysts say the upcoming vote will potentially be one of the most controversial and violent election periods in the country's history.

Liberty Stadium Named After Awo •As Jonathan Visits Ogun

President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday announced the re-naming of the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Oyo State as Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, just as he paid tribute to the visionary leadership the sage offered Nigeria while alive.

Jonathan made the announcement at the Ikenne home of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, when he paid a courtesy call on Yeye Oodua, Chief (Mrs) HID Awolowo, as part of his official tour of the state.

The president was accompanied on the visit by dignitaries, including Ogun State governor, Chief Gbenga Daniel; his counterpart in Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala; Minister of Works, Senator Sanusi Daggash; Minister of Commerce, Senator Jibril Martins- Kuye; Minister of Youth Development, Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi; members of the National and state assemblies, among others.

The renaming of the stadium came shortly after the president inaugurated an expressway in Ikenne town named after the sage and which was constructed by the Ogun State government.

The president, who expressed happiness that he was visiting the Awolowo home for the first time in his life and for him to be received and blessed by Mrs Awolowo, disclosed that the renaming of the Liberty Stadium was a decision reached between him and the affected state governor.

According to him, the Awolowo family’s significance transcends Ikenne and Ogun State where the family took its roots, declaring that the sage remained a national figure.

Dr. Jonathan recalled the struggle made by Chief Awolowo as a young man and through his old age to establish his foot-prints on the evolution of the country’s march towards greatness, noting that his efforts resulted in the building of Cocoa House, the Liberty Stadium and Western Nigerian Television (WNTV) now Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), which was the first of its kind in Africa.

The president, who noted that Awolowo distinguished himself among his contemporaries in his pursuit of an ideal society and life abundant for the masses, promised to pursue the vision of the sage in order to transform the country.

“We will continue with his vision to transform the country into a better place,” President Jonathan promised.

While welcoming the president, Chief (Mrs.) Awolowo assured him of her prayers and support for the success of his administration, just as she recalled the very cordial relationship between her husband Awolowo and the Ijaws, urging the president to feel at home.

Chief (Mrs.) Awolowo noted that there existed enormous challenges in governance of the country, especially at the level of the presidency, but said such challenges were not insurmountable.

“The presence of challenges is not to stop a man from reaching his goal, but to bring out the best in him,” she said, adding: “I equally wish to encourage you to be very strong and focused in your service to over fatherland.”

However, Mrs Awolowo, who recalled that Papa Awolowo, like some of his contemporaries, devoted quality time to analysing these challenges and proffering solutions to them as expressed in some of his various books, later presented the president with a few of them.

“I will not only recommend these books to you, but would rather present you with some copies to help you in discharging your constitutional responsibility. It is my honest belief that Your Excellency will find them very interesting and insightful,” she said.

Speaking further, she paid tribute to the Ogun State governor, Chief Daniel, whom he said had transformed the state into one of the fastest growing states in Nigeria.

“Having commissioned some projects during your short stay, I have no doubt that you have been convinced that Ogun State is one of the fastest developing states in Nigeria,” Mrs Awolowo said.

“On this note, I wish to commend the efforts of our indefatigable governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, for all his achievements,” she further said.

Dignitaries, who also joined her in welcoming President Jonathan to Ikenne include Bishop Michael Olusina Fape, who prayed at the event; Chief Mohammed Jobi-Fele, Reverend Adebajo Olusesan and Chief Kessington Adebutu.

Members of the Awolowo family were also in attendance and they included Reverend (Mrs.) Tola Oyediran, Publisher, Tribune titles, Master Oluwole Awolowo and grandchildren.

It will be recalled that the Liberty Stadium was built and declared opened on September 30, 1959, a development which heralded sporting development in Nigeria.

The sage had built the stadium when he was Premier of Western Region and the stadium was recorded as the first of its kind in Africa.

According to findings, the stadium was so named to commemorate the attainment of regional self-government by Western Nigeria.

The stadium’s construction was handled by a reputable chartered architect, JEK Harrison, in consultation with the then Ministry of Works and Transport of Western Region.

Liberty Stadium was as well known as the only Olympic Standard Stadium in the country until 1972 when the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, was inaugurated in preparation for the All Africa Games, hosted by Nigeria in 1973.

Among the major events that brought glamour to the stadium was the famous world title fight between Nigeria’s Dick Tiger and Gene Fulman in 1963.

The stadium had also hosted world football tourneys, including the group games of the Africa Nation’s Cup held in Nigeria in 1980 and the Group C games of the 1999 World Youth Championship, Nigeria 99.