Showing posts with label terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terrorism. Show all posts

Monday, July 25, 2011

Nigerian Joint Military Task Force in random killing in Maiduguri



25 Jul 2011 16:18 Africa/Lagos

Nigeria security forces in random killing following bomb blast

LONDON, July 25, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Nigerian authorities must immediately put a stop to unlawful killings by security forces, Amnesty International said today after at least 23 people were killed by police following a bomb blast on Saturday in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri.


The bomb, allegedly set off by the Islamist group Boko Haram, went off in the Budum market in central Maiduguri and injured three soldiers. According to reports received by Amnesty International, the Nigerian Joint Military Task Force (JTF) responded by shooting and killing a number of people, apparently at random, before burning down the market.


“President Goodluck Jonathan must get a grip on the Nigerian armed forces and immediately prevent them from carrying out further human rights violations and unlawful killings,” said Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Africa.


“The government must now investigate these heinous crimes and put on trial those found to be responsible for the killings. Allowing troops to go on the rampage will not bring to justice those who carry out these terrible bomb attacks on civilians,” he said.


“While staying within the law, the government must step up efforts to bring to justice members of Boko Haram who wreck untold suffering on people in the middle belt.”


One wing of Boko Haram has reportedly disowned the bomb blast, saying it may have been carried out by a splinter group.


The JTF was set up by the federal government in June 2011 to restore order in Borno state. In recent months, Amnesty International has received numerous reports that security forces in Borno state have resorted to unlawful killings, dragnet arrests, arbitrary and unlawful detentions, extortion, and intimidation.


One human rights defender told Amnesty International “Soldiers went on the rampage. They shot several people and burned all their shops and properties and burned their cars.”



Following a bombing in Maiduguri two weeks ago, members of the JTF reportedly threatened to shoot residents if they failed to report planned attacks.


“House to house searches, brutalisation, unlawful arrests, killings and disappearances have been the operating practice in Maiduguri for some months now. Unless steps are taken to ensure security forces operate within the law and respect human rights at all times, the next time Boko Haram attacks or kills a soldier, we are likely to see the same thing happen again,” said Tawanda Hondora.


Thousands of people living in Maiduguri have already left the city; and many more continue to do so.


The JTF have also been accused of raping women during their operations in recent months.


“Allegations of rape of women by members of the JTF have to be investigated and perpetrators brought to justice, “Tawanda Hondora said.


“Survivors of rape and sexual violence must be provided with appropriate support and aftercare,” he added.


Since July 2010, attacks by people believed to be members of the religious sect Boko Haram have increased. More than 250 people have been killed in such attacks, many of which have targeted police officers and government officials.


Several religious leaders have been killed and churches have also been targeted.


Since June 2011, Boko Haram has also attacked bars and beer-gardens, killing scores of people.


Source: Amnesty International


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Nigerian Pastor Flees from Boko Haram


Boko Haram terrorism threats chased away Nigerian Christian preacher Pastor Sunday Igbaloju Peters from his home and church in northern Nigeria.

NEWS REPORT


Boko Haram terrorism threats has chased away a Christian Nigerian preacher, Pastor Sunday Igbaloju Peters from his base in Bauchi, Bauchi State on the basis of assassination crusade and threats by Boko Haram sect to eliminate him anywhere in the country according to the police investigation report.

Barrister Chima Obinna in Bauchi stated that the said pastor is currently seeking asylum in a European country. Boko Haram a terrorist organization has carried out series of attacks and bombings in the country including Abuja, Nigeria's capital city in the recent months. Nigerians are said to now be living in perpetual fear of falling victim to the spate of bombings, assassinations, kidnappings and other acts of terrorism in the country.

According to the preliminary police report, pastor peters' problem with the sect started on 8th February 2009 when he reported what he perceived to be dangerous to the peace of the state to the police. Boko Haram marked him for assassination as seen as police informant. Police further said that Boko Haram targeted him for four major reasons:

a) For informing the police on 8th February 2009 about their intention to over turned Bauchi state. The sect sees him as police informant.

b) For criticising against their mission to Islamize the entire nation with the force of Jihad.

c) For discouraging youths from allowing anybody or sect to use them as an instrument of violence and to pursue education because, it's the best heritage any man can get.

d) To revenge the death of their leader, Mallam Mohammed Yusuf. The sect sees him as an infidel that deserves to die. No wonder they declared many people wanted including the vice president.

The Boko Haram menace has taken a new and deadly twist, with the dreaded group issuing threats to eliminate all Christians and even Muslims currently serving in the Federal government. In the statement released by the group last week, it said: “This is a government that is not Islamic. Therefore, all its employees-Muslims and non-Muslims are Infidels.

Boko Haram is more dangerous than rabid dogs and should be destroyed. The
members should be crushed and not cuddled. They should not be understood; there is no method in their madness.

The sect’s campaign of violence, at once indiscriminate and selective, has dislocated normal life in many parts of the country. Maiduguri is like a city under siege. There is fear and there may soon be a shortage of food.

Bomb exploded by Boko Haram have killed close to 100 people in the last few weeks. Many members of the uniformed forces have been shot dead in targeted killings. Boko Haram members have also enjoyed a turkey shoot in Bauchi.

Boko Haram attacked the headquarters of the Nigeria Police in Abuja in June. About eight people were reportedly killed in the bomb blast and dozens of cars were burnt.

It was gathered that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was thrown at a moving military patrol van near Fannah Dori Filling Station along Baga road in Maiduguri. The atmosphere of insecurity currently inflicted on the nation by the Boko Haram crises points to poor use of pre-emptive intelligence and a coherent strategy in the management of the security issues arising.

The group is not easy to monitor, according to Human Rights Watch researcher Eric Guttschuss. “Since 2009 the leadership has gone underground. It’s now unclear what the exact command structure is.”

A spokesperson for Boko Haram told reporters in June that members had received training in Somalia. Okechukwu Nwanguma, programme coordinator with non-profit Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), said this could indicate Boko Haram has “a link with the global terror movement”.

Other reports have suggested the same thing, saying Boko Haram already has links to international terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, and has the potential to link with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which operates in nearby regions.



~ By Chima Emmaneul

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time

20 Jul 2011












Wednesday, June 29, 2011

A Catalog of Pastors Deaths by Boko Haram Militants

A Catalog of Pastors Deaths by Boko Haram Militants

As anxiety is mounting over the activities of Boko Haram group, some Muslims are defusing the fear as misplaced. They see the group as only a new breed of young Muslim activists who have aggressively embraced a stricter version of Islam, rejecting anything Western and Christian. Boko Haram began life as a peaceful group focused on the study of the Koran, according to Abdulmumin Sa’ad, a Muslim scholar and professor of Sociology at the University of Maiduguri.

“The idea was that there is a lot of sin in the larger society and their parents had amassed a lot of ill-gotten wealth,” says Sa’ad, who taught some of the militants. “There is widespread immorality, and so the best thing to do is to remove themselves and camp elsewhere, where they can concentrate on their religion, mediate, reach out and begin to form a fellowship.” Sa’ad claims that group turned violent when authorities harassed it.

In retaliation, the group had killed about 16,000 policemen and was responsible for the death of pastors in Christian circle. Worried about the safety of Christians and pastors in Nigeria, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, asked the federal government to curb the growing trend of terrorism in parts of the country. “We can no longer allow this group of disgruntled elements to get away with these acts of terrorism in Nigeria,” he said.

The catalogue of death of pastors by Boko Haram militants is raising alarm immediate change. Pastor David Usman, 45, and church secretary Hamman Andrew of the 'Church of Christ in Nigeria' in the troubled city of Maiduguri on the 7 June and Pastor Solomon Uzor of Trinity Chapel in Bauchi on the 10 May were among the latest casualties in what local Christians called "an upsurge of Islamic militancy" in these states.

Evangelical Christians said the two men were shot and killed by members of the Boko Haram sect near an area of Maiduguri, known as Railway Quarters, where their church is based. Hours earlier the gunmen also participated in blasts and attacks that left at least ten people dead, police said. A Catholic church, which was also targeted in the attacks, has been badly shattered, according to witnesses.

The same incident was reported in Lagos where Boko Haram members allegedly killed Pastor Daniel Okolu with two other people in November 2010. Pastor Michael Madugu, had just returned to his medicine store when his assailants pounced on him. Eyewitnesses said: “Two motorcyclists just stopped in front of the shop around 7.00pm and started shooting into the air to scare away people before they opened fire on Madugu. His assailants then moved immediately to the next medicine store where one Obinna and his brother were also shot to death. Unlucky James, another victim, who was about to enter Obinna’s store to buy medicine was also shot dead .

It was gathered that Michael Madugu, a district pastor in charge of Hausa church, was killed by a gang of four fundamentalists in his pharmaceutical shop while dispensing drugs to customers at about 7.05 p.m., leaving his wife and seven children to mourn him.

On December 24, armed men suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect stormed some churches including the Victory Baptist Church at Dala-Alamderi and shot to death the resident pastor, Rev. Bulus Marwa (37), Christopher Balami, a lecturer in the state-owned polytechnic, Paul Mathew, Philip Luka and a tea hawker, Yohana Adamu. The rampaging gunmen also set the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in Ruwan Safi ablaze. A Deeper Life pastor, 3 others were killed in Maiduguri by suspected members of Boko Haram Jan 20, 2011.

Danjuma Akawu, who survived the attack on the Baptist church, said “they hacked the two choir members using knives and petrol bomb before heading to the pastor’s residence, where he was killed.”

On 26 July, 2009 the girl identified by CSW only as Mary was in church with her pastor, his brother and an older Christian woman when a group of fifty militants broke in. She and her pastor hid as the group killed the pastor’s brother and dragged the older woman out of the room. On discovering their hiding place, the militants cut off her pastor’s hand to stop him holding on to her, then hacked him to death with machetes before setting him on fire.

The girl and the woman were dragged to Boko Haram's compound in Maiduguri's Railway district, and were placed in a room with around 100 other Christian women and girls. They were all asked to renounce their faith or face continued imprisonment, while Christian men were given the choice of renouncing their faith or dying.

Mary vividly describes how she was forced to wash the blood stained clothing of Boko Haram fighters. She was in the camp for four days, but managed to escape with a few others when military forces intensified their attack on the compound.

Mary's pastor was one of three Christian ministers targeted and killed by Boko Haram during that week's violence. "Local Christians have also expressed disappointment that some western media have disregarded the targeted nature of attacks on their community, and the brutal murders of Christian pastors. "Unless this aspect of the violence is recognised by all and dealt with effectively, people in Northern Nigeria will continue to suffer because of their religious beliefs.”

One of the victims of that week’s attack by the Yusufiya sect in Borno State has given a shocking account of how the Islamic extremists killed three pastors who were captured along with other victims on the second day of the insurgence 28 July 2009. The victim was among those held hostage in Yusuf’s enclave.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Sun in Maiduguri, the eye witness who preferred anonymity disclosed that the three pastors were beheaded on the instruction of the sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf shortly after bringing them out of his inner chamber.

“The pastors alongside one Ibo man were asked to change their faith to Islam like they did to other people taken as hostages. And there was an argument by one of the pastors which gave the others some level of confidence to also resist accepting Islam.

“The Yusufiya men who were armed on that Tuesday afternoon were not comfortable with the pastors and they took one of them to the sect leader in his inner chamber. They came out later to the courtyard within the compound and cut their heads one after the other and thereafter, shouted allah akbar in wild celebration accompanied with several gun shots,” the eye witness disclosed.

Corroborating the account of the killing, a Senior pastor with Good News Church, Wulari Maiduguri Rev. Baba Gata Ibrahim told Daily Sun in an interview that a pastor in his church, Pastor George Orjih was beheaded on the instruction of the Boko Haram leader because the clergy man refused to accept Islam.

The late Pastor George Orjih was said to have arrived Maiduguri last week from Jos where he was doing his Masters programme in Theology. Described as a fearless, hardworking, and intellectually sound, his care for the welfare and well being of his family allegedly contributed to his capture and eventual death. “He was mindful of his family and their welfare. He was really out of the house but thought to go back again. That was how he was captured by the Boko Haram before he was killed,’’ the senior pastor added.

“An eye witness who was also captured by the Islamic militants gave us details of how the pastor was killed. He told us they were persuading him to accept Islam and he said over his dead body. He was even said to have preached Christ to Mohammed Yusuf and that reportedly angered the sect leader who then as he ordered that the pastor and others be killed immediately,” he disclosed.

He said the hostages numbering about 50 within the area of the execution of the pastors and another fair complexioned man which he could not identify, were gripped with fear as non could foretell the outcome of their stay at the enclave of the fundamentalists. He was however lucky to escape as he was freed in the night with others with a warning not to mix with kafrici (infidels).

Late Rev. Sabo Yakubu, slain COCIN Church pastor, was assassinated in Bauchi by Boko Haram militants March 2011. The late pastor had once complained about the activities of Boko Haram, saying that unless the Nigerian government faced up to the challenge of its attacks, the extremist group would consume the lives of innocent persons, according to Gongchi. But Reverend Titus Dama Pona of the Evangelical Church Winning All in Maiduguri said local Christians remain concerned about their future. He told reporters that Christians can no longer worship freely for "fear of becoming targets of these unprovoked attacks" by Muslim militants.

A statement was issued by pastor Ladi Thompson, the founder of the Living Water Church, Anthony Lagos that the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Ogun State is an obvious target of the Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram. This is not just a possibility but one of the deadly plans of the fundamentalist group, according to a Christian cleric, Pastor Ladi Thompson.

He particularly advised the leadership of the RCCG to beef up security as the fundamentalists are angry that in the build-up to the last election, President Goodluck Jonathan who visited the camp knelt down for prayer before the General Overseer of the church, Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye.

Pastor Ladi advised authorities of the church not to allow worshipers come into its worship hall with more than their Bibles. He also cautioned the church against allowing people to enter the camp with paper bags or other suspicious containers.
When the group launched its attacks in July 2009, Pastor Ladi had alerted the government that what happened then was just a tip of the iceberg and revealed that the Islamic fundamentalists had been at plan since early 1990s, fully backed by some northern former military leaders, Emirs, intellectuals and Imams.

According to Umaru’s declaration the acting leader of the sect in 2009 said: For the first time since the killing of Mallam Mohammed Yusuf, our leader, we hereby make the following statements-

*That the Boko Haram is an Islamic Revolution which impact is not limited to Northern Nigeria, in fact, we are spread across all the 36 states in Nigeria, and Boko Haram is just a version of the Al Qaeda which we align with and respect. We support Osama bin Laden, we shall carry out his command in Nigeria until the country is totally Islamised which is according to the wish of Allah.

It must be recalled that the Islamic group that goes by such names as Boko Haram and Jama’atu ahlus-Sunnah Lidda’awati wal Jihad had made an open declaration of war on the 28th of December 2010 after several bombs were exploded in the city of Jos, along with various Islamic killings in Kano, Bauchi and Maiduguri on the Christmas Eve. Abu Mohammed also known as Abubakar bin Mohammad Shekau the leader and spokesperson for the group said;

“I want to tell the Muslims in this country and the whole world that they need to know that this is a war between Muslims and non-Muslims… this is not a tribal war, nor is it similar to the wars of the pre-Islamic era, it is not a war for financial gains, it is solely a religious war. We did not start this war so it would not end in one week, or one month or one year. Only when we are completely annihilated and nobody chooses to continue with our struggle may be that could be the end. Or we establish a system where [Islamic] religion has the final say or [Islamic] religion determines everything, that will be the end of this war…” He went further to boast that “We are ready for anyone willing to face us, whether it is a group of people or even the government because we know who supports us, God the Creator of the universe, Allahu Akbar. Therefore, we are warning every Muslim who believes in the religion of Islam that he should never help a non-Muslim in this war. If he helps any non-Muslim and in so doing, a fellow Muslim suffers due to that, he should know that he is a dead person.”

The Police Commissioner Mohammed Abubakar admitted a security lapse on the part of his divisional police officers, whom he said had been told to watch out for Boko Haram members. The activities of the Islamic extremist Boko Haram, whose names means “Western education is sin,” were crushed by police in 2009 with the arrest of many of its members and the killing of its leader.

Lagos Police command beef up security to prevent the dastardly incident happening in Lagos, the state command yesterday beefed up security around its environs. Anti-bomb operatives from the Bomb Disposal Squad unit, Ikeja, were spotted at the entrance of the Lagos State Police Headquarters, the force Annex headquarters in Moloney, the Special Anti-robbery squad, Adeniji-Adele and the Special Fraud Unit, Milverton, Ikoyi, screening vehicles that were entering the premises. Even people on foot were not spared as they were thoroughly frisked.

The general superintendent of Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, demanded the arrest and prosecution of the Boko Haram members and others to serve as a deterrent.

“A situation in which feuds easily lead to the burning of churches and the endless killings of church ministers and innocent citizens is an abhorrent trend which must not be allowed to continue,” Pastor Kumuyi said. “The initiative rests on the doorsteps of the security agencies to bring this unfortunate trend to an end.”
The attack on the National Police Headquarters in Abuja last week was a slap and insult on the part of the security forces. Ndigwe said the attack on the Force Headquarters "is a very strong signal that nobody is safe in this country because if the seat of the nation's Police Force could be easily attacked without any resistance, then there is serious danger for the nation.

According to the report from the sect spokesman Abu Zaid: The man who bombed the Nigeria Police Force headquarters in Abuja on June 16 was a fairly well-to-do businessman who was actually on a suicide mission on behalf of the Islamic sect the Boko Haram, Blueprint can authoritatively report.

Mohammed Manga was a 35-year-old married man with five children who drove overnight from Maiduguri to Abuja in order to carry out the morning attack which left about five people dead, including a police officer, and many cars incinerated in the blast. He had left N4 million in his will for his five children – two girls and three boys – before embarking on the fateful journey to the nation’s capital.

There was proof also that Manga was accompanied on the deadly mission by at least a collaborator in the plot, who took his last photograph alive as he drove through the streets of Abuja. The collaborator(s) might have disembarked from the car before Manga reached the Louis Edet House headquarters of the Nigerian Police.

Blueprint can also authoritatively report that, contrary to a claim by the police authorities that the bomber had used a Mercedez Benz ‘V Boot’ car in his terror mission; he actually used a Honda 86 model.

These shocking details and others were made exclusively available to this newspaper by the leadership of the Islamist sect, Jama’atu Ahl-Sunnati Lil Da’awati wal Jihad, popularly called the Boko Haram, in a telephone interview in the Hausa language, fielded by the group’s spokesman who goes by the name Abu Zaid.

The group also e-mailed to our Borno State correspondent startling photographs of a grinning Manga as he undertook the revenge mission. It was the first time it was giving a glimpse into its operations.One of the most startling information given by Abu Zaid was that the attacker was one Mohammed Manga, who was better known and addressed by his friends and business associates as Alhaji Manga.“He is originally from Adamawa State but he was born and brought up in Maiduguri, where he embraced the teachings of the late Mohammed Yusuf,” the spokesman said.

Mohammed Yusuf was the leader of the group and was killed by the police in 2009 following the bloodiest clash involving the Boko Haram in which thousands of the sect’s members and other people died.Blueprint was also told by the sect that Manga was Fulani by tribe and that he started both as a commercial and private driver at different times in his adult life. A few years before the July 2009 Boko Haram uprising, Manga began to travel to Cotonou in Benin Republic and later Dubai frequently in order to buy all kinds of goods.He was a major contributor to the Boko Haram’s arms build-up.

Abu Zaid also confided in this newspaper that Manga left a will of over N4 million to his two daughters and three sons and urged fellow believers to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Allah. This, the group said, is evident in the last-minute pictures of Manga, believed to have been taken at a camp somewhere in Borno State.The man’s last will and the photographs are proof that Manga was on a suicide mission and that his death at the Louis Edet House headquarters of the police was not an accident.
“He was calm and never hesitated or showed fear,” Abu Zaid recalled, adding that everyone at the scene that night on the eve of the attack was envious, wishing it was their chance to act and gain entry into paradise.

According to him, the planning of the attack targeting the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Hafiz Ringim, was not in any way different from the way and manner they plan other attacks around the country, insisting that the only difference was that this mission was abruptly brought closer in response to the remarks made by Ringim that he would eradicate the Boko Haram within weeks.The IGP had on June 15 boasted, while receiving10 armoured personnel carriers donated to the police by the Borno State government, that the Boko Haram’s days were numbered.

“Now that the (general) elections are over, our attention would be concentrated and I want to assure you that the days of the Boko Haram are numbered,” Ringim had told a gathering at the Government House in Maiduguri, with the state governor Kashim Shettima present.

Abu Zaid also claimed that the bomb his group used in the attack was a ready-made one, which the sect acquired from abroad. “And we are going to use several of them in future attacks,” he warned.The group dismissed media reports and commentaries that suggest it might not have planned a suicide attack but that the bomb blast was merely an accident in which the attacker was trapped, insisting that it was really pre-planned.“Everyone had waited patiently for the outcome of that operation,” said Abu Zaid.

According to him, the car that was used was not a Mercedes Benz ‘V-Boot’, but an ash-colour Honda 86 model.“I was surprised when the police said the car was a Mercedes ‘V-Boot’,” he said. “It was never a Mercedes. The car used for the attack was an ash-colour Honda 86. We are surprised over the way the police are confused anytime we strike.”

Meanwhile, the group has discredited the conditions for dialogue ostensibly given by the Boko Haram by one Usman Al-Zawahiri and others, challenging them to give a single proof that they are with the authentic group.

“We don’t know Al-Zawahiri; he is not with us,” Abu Zaid said.
“In fact, our investigation revealed that he is an SSS (State Security Service operative) and was brought in to discredit what we are doing and give an impression that we are divided. There is no faction in our group.”

Giving a reason why the Boko Haram chose Blueprint correspondent for breaking the news, Abu Zaid remarked: “You were the first journalist who repeatedly wrote about us when we were not known to the world; you were the first journalist who reported when our brothers were shot at on their way to a funeral procession by members of a security outfit setup by the Borno State government, known as ‘Operation Flush.’ We see you as an objective writer who is never afraid to say the truth; that is why our leader approved the idea to give you the final evidence that we were solely behind the suicide attack at the police headquarters.”

The Boko Haram is believed to be headed by one Malam Abubakar Shekau, the deputy of the late Mohammed Yusuf.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) calling on President Jonathan to urgently re-strategise and tackle the current security challenges which had become a major threat to his administration, Ndigwe said that the Ohanaeze would soon convene a meeting to discuss the security of the nation and come up with a position because "the bombings in Iran, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East started like this."


Source: Chidi Ahmed, Blueprint Correspondent.

Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time

28 Jun 2011





Saturday, June 25, 2011

Why Boko Haram bombed the Nigeria Police Headquarters in Abuja



Nigeria: Boko Haram Terrorism Threats: Police Headquarters Bombing and our security

I must confess that I am neither surprised by the brazen attack on the headquarters of the Nigeria Police, the almighty Louis Edet House in Abuja, by members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect, nor by the reaction of President Goodluck Jonathan. Why?

I was in Maiduguri and Bauchi August for over a week in 2009 after the Boko Haram attacks that set Borno and Bauchi States ablaze, literally. The level of destruction was unprecedented. I visited the prison and police stations that were sacked. I went to the police college where senior police officers on course were slaughtered while sleeping. I saw churches that were bombed. I went to the sect’s headquarters located at the Maiduguri Railway Terminus Areas (MRTA) that had been destroyed and taken over by security men. I was told of the atrocities committed in that very compound and shown what was alleged to be the killing chamber of the sect’s leader, Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, who was summarily executed by the police after his arrest.

I visited the compound of Yusuf’s father-in-law, the 72-year-old Alhaji Baa Fugu Mohammed, who was alleged to be one of the financiers of the sect. The man was also executed, his compound destroyed. I interviewed two young women – 22-year-old Patricia Ibe, who was an accountancy student then and 14-year-old Chidinma Obigwe. Two of them watched as three of their religious brethren had their throats slit.

They were taken away as spoils of war, only rescued when men of the Borno State special security outfit, Operation Flush, invaded the sect’s headquarters where they and over 1,500 other people, mostly women, were held hostage.

I spoke to Rev. Dr. Daniel Egboka, Assistant General Superintendent of the National Evangelical Mission and Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (Borno State chapter), who was also the Pastor of the National Evangelical Mission Wukari Headquarters, Maiduguri. Not only was his church burnt down, his Assistant Pastor, Sylvester Nseobong, his brother who visited from Akwa Ibom, Patrick James, and the church’s security man, Elijah Gambo, were the three men Patricia and Chidinma watched their gory execution.

Pastor Egboka showed me the bones of his fallen colleagues; still at the very spot they were burnt. As at the time of the interview, his wife had fled Maiduguri, vowing never to set her foot again in the state or any part of the North. I interviewed the then state Governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, whose former Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Buji Fai, resigned his appointment to join the sect. Buji was also summarily executed. There were insinuations then that the Governor ordered the execution of Mohammed and Buji to stop them from spilling the bean. Sheriff denied the allegation vehemently, claiming that he was also a target. The Commander of the Operation Flush 11, Colonel Ben Ahanotu, who I met in the Governor’s office, spoke off record, detailing the enormity of the crisis and the atrocity committed by the sect members.

The Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbal El-Kanemi, who only assumed office on May 31, 2009, barely two months before the mayhem, spoke. He said the irreverent Yusuf embarrassed not only the state but the entire Muslim community.

The University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) was filled to capacity with victims – men, women, children and the aged. I spoke with soldiers and policemen with all manner of wounds. The mortuary was overflowing. As a result, corpses were being dumped at the car park of the Umaru Shehu Ultra Modern Hospital, Bulumkutu.

Police denied me access to the arrested Boko Haram members, who were in detention, but I spoke to members who were not detained and they vowed revenge. I spoke to many other victims of the madness and came out with the impression that the sect’s capacity for violence was almost infinite. Scarier was my perception that they had the capacity to sustain the insurrection. I saw a people whose thirst for blood was insatiable.

In Bauchi, it was the same level of atrocity committed by the sect members. Many young people are now in their early grave as well as religious and political leaders. I interviewed sect members arrested by the police and vowed to wage war on the nation. Both traditional and religious leaders have been displaced. Bishop A.T Moses was mentioned as the enemy to their mission as well as Pastor Sunday I. Peters.

Since 2009, I have watched as they carried out attacks with astounding precision, knocking off high value targets almost effortlessly.

So, when the group issued a statement last Wednesday, boasting that their warriors had “arrived Nigeria from Somalia where they got serious training on warfare,” and vowing that they would “wage jihad on the enemies of God and his Messenger,” I sensed an escalation in the paroxysm of violence that had gripped the
country. The vow was a reaction to the Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim’s boast that the days of Boko Haram were numbered after receiving 10 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) from the Borno State government the previous day.

It is instructive that Ringim’s office was bombed a day after the group made its vow. It is also helpful, but by no means comforting, to note that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, the first time ever in Nigeria, after Boko Haram’s claim that their fighters had returned from Somalia.

I was also not surprised by Jonathan’s response when he visited Louis Edet House on Saturday. “Let me use this opportunity to assure Nigerians that it happens all over the world, no country is safe,” the President said. How the knowledge that terrorism is a global phenomenon can assuage the anxiety of distraught Nigerians, only the President can explain.

But I was not surprised because that was the same answer he gave after the gruesome murder of the Governorship candidate of the Borno State All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Modu Fannami Gubio, who until his death was the Commissioner for Finance. Six other people killed in that brazen attack on January 28 included the Governor’s brother, Alhaji Goni Modu Ngala, who was former chairman of Ngala local government.

Since terrorism had become global merchandise, Nigerians have nothing to complain about, the President seemed to have suggested. But that is too simplistic a solution coming from him. No Nigerian is going to be comforted by the fact that bombs are also exploding in other parts of the world including the United States and Europe.

The fact of the matter is that Nigeria has become a haven for terrorists and this should give the President serious concern. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to appreciate the enormity of the crisis because if he does, he would have appreciated the significance of the bombing of the police headquarters. It is an audacious attack executed strategically to send a clear message that if the security of the seemingly impregnable police headquarters could be easily breached, then nowhere, not even Aso Rock is safe.

Leadership is not an easy task. It is only in Nigeria that people grow younger and look more robust when they are elected or appointed into public office. In other climes the reverse is the case because leadership exerts its toll on those who occupy public office. Anyone who is in doubt should look at President Barack Obama; how much he has aged in three years.
Presidency is not a feel good job. Jonathan must roll up his sleeve and work. We have full-blown terrorism on our hands. And the successful attack on the Louis Edet House, where the Inspector General of Police, Ringim, escaped death by the whiskers, is a morale booster. It is disturbing that the President and Commander-in-Chief of the country thinks that terrorism can be wished away which is what his statement that, “Nigeria is also having some ugly incidents lately but surely we will get over it and people should not panic at all,” seems to suggest.
However, it was learnt that preliminary police investigations into the 16/6 bombing showed that the Police High Command and the top leadership of the nation’s security agencies came to that initial conclusion from reading the footages of the incident from the Close Circuit Television at the Louis Edet House. The impact of the bomb, which destroyed about 77 cars in the IG’s parking lot and reduced the Honda to an engine stump, killed the suspected bombers right inside their car.
Journalists who went to the police headquarters shortly after the blast last week observed so much confusion among the police about the particular car that actually carried the device. A good number of the policemen pointed to a mangled car whose two tyres were on a culvert in the car park as the car driven by the bomber. It took a lot of protest from the journalists to get a close photograph of the car when the rescue team comprising men of the Red Cross and National Emergency Management Agency got the human parts from the car into some black cellophane bags.

It took a four-man team of journalists from the PUNCH close to one hour to extract that piece of information from a police officer who lost his car to the blast and two of his junior colleagues to disclose the real car that carried the bomb. However, the police have said that the ongoing investigations would soon unveil the sponsors of Boko Haram.

Boko Haram is a determined foe. It must be fought decisively and even if not totally vanquished, at least defanged or we should all consider ourselves dead.


Source: Emeka Owoniyi (JNCR)


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Majority of Americans want U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan now that Osama bin Laden is dead




8 Jun 2011 11:04 Africa/Lagos


52% - 35% Majority Believes U.S. Should Leave Afghanistan Faster Now That Bin Laden Is Dead

Majority also favors making aid to Pakistan conditional on cooperation on pursuing Al Qaeda and the Taliban

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, June 8, 2011

NEW YORK, June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A new BBC World News America/Harris Poll finds that a majority of Americans (52%) believe that the United States should move to get its troops out of Afghanistan now that Osama bin Laden is dead. However, 35% believe that U.S. troops should stay according to the existing plans. Reasons why most people favor withdrawing U.S. troops may be that a 51% to 14% majority of adults are not confident that U.S. policies in Afghanistan will be successful, and only 19% see the Afghan government as either an ally or a friend to the U.S. and 36% see it as unfriendly and an enemy.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100517/NY06256LOGO )

These are some of the findings of a new BBC World News America/ Harris Poll of 2,027 U.S. adults surveyed online between May 31 and June 2, 2011 by Harris Interactive.

Other interesting findings in the poll include:

* A large 66% to 20% majority of adults believes that it was better to have killed Osama bin Laden than to have captured him;
* An even larger 66% to 18% majority believe that "if the United States has very reliable information that a nationally wanted terrorist or criminal like Osama bin Laden is located in a foreign country.... that we have the right to perform a military operation within that country without notifying the government";
* The public is split on the impact of the killing of bin Laden on world opinion, with 41% thinking that it has made the United States more respected and 41% thinking has made no difference. Only 7% believe that it has made the U.S. less respected;
* Israel continues to enjoy very strong support among Americans, with 41% of adults seeing it as a close ally and a further 30% as a friend;
* The fall of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt have done nothing to improve U.S. attitudes to its government. In fact those who see the government of Egypt as a close ally or friend (43%) are somewhat lower now than when this question was asked in 2009 (52%) and 2010 (49%);
* More people see Pakistan as unfriendly and an enemy (29%) than as a friend or ally (20%); and,
* Many more people see the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan as unfriendly and enemies (38% and 36% respectively) than as friends or allies (22% and 19%). Attitudes to these two countries are only marginally less negative than they are to the government of Syria (16% friend or ally and 38% unfriendly and an enemy).


So What?

The killing of Osama bin Laden has done little to change the generally negative attitudes of Americans to the role of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Only 14% of adults are confident that U.S. policies there will be successful, virtually unchanged since two Harris polls in June and October last year.

Perhaps the most surprising findings in this poll are that many more people regard the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq as unfriendly and an enemy than as friends or allies, even though they were brought to power as a result of the U.S. invasions and have been kept in power by the presence of US troops.


Click here for more details.

Top Headlines

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Political Upheaval Prompts Rethink on Terrorism Risk Management

7 Jun 2011 13:00 Africa/Lagos


Political Upheaval Prompts Rethink on Terrorism Risk Management: Aon Map
Political violence, strikes and war join terrorism as key threats to businesses

PR Newswire

CHICAGO and LONDON, June 7, 2011

CHICAGO and LONDON, June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Political violence, strikes, riots, civil war and war threaten the sustainable growth, continuity and profitability of businesses as much as terrorism, according to Aon Risk Solutions, the risk management business of Aon Corporation (NYSE: AON). Consequently, for the first time in its 10-year history, Aon's annual Terrorism Threat Map now also takes these factors into account in assessing the severity of threats businesses face around the world.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100719/AQ37264LOGO)

The 2011 Aon Terrorism and Political Violence Map shows increased risk of political violence in the Middle East and North Africa, reflecting the significant turbulence of the Arab Spring uprisings in the region. The risk of coup d'etat and rebellions in Africa reflect a continent that presents a significant political violence risk. Civil unrest and labor disputes arising from austerity measures in Western European nations such as Greece, France, Spain and the UK are also reflected on the map. Meanwhile, terrorism continues to severely afflict established conflict zones like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia as well as parts of Nigeria and the Sahel region. The threat of occasional acts of international terrorism remains significant for most Western nations and major powers.

The map, produced by Aon in collaboration with the security consultancy firm Janusian, which is part of The Risk Advisory Group, reflects data recorded by Terrorism Tracker*, which monitors global indicators of terrorism threat, including attacks, plots, communiqués and government countermeasures, Aon WorldAware*, which provides country risk information for business travelers and an expert assessment of the security situation in more than 200 countries. Each country is assigned a threat level, starting at negligible, and rising through low, medium, high and severe.

The Aon Terrorism and Political Violence Map acts as a gauge for the intensity of the threat of political violence to international business in each country and three icons indicate the forms of political violence likely to be encountered:

* Terrorism and sabotage
* Strikes, riots, civil commotion and malicious damage to property
* Political insurrection, revolution, rebellion, mutiny, coup d'etat, war and civil war


Neil Henderson , head of terrorism in Aon Risk Solutions' Crisis Management team, commented: "While the attacks of September 11 were the genesis for the Aon Terrorism Threat Map, the issues that should be of most concern to people and businesses have evolved greatly in the nearly 10 years since. While terrorism remains a very real threat around the world, the reality is that threats to business continuity are also coming from political violence in all its many forms. The change in the way the map is scored should not be seen as a decrease in the incidence or severity of terrorist threats, but rather the fact that it provides businesses with a more inclusive view of some of the risk management issues they are facing around the world.

"Businesses should, as a first step, identify the threats they face and implement a comprehensive risk management program to protect their employees, physical assets and ultimately, their bottom line. As the insurance market for terrorism insurance is very mature and can cope with complex international risks, it should be considered as part of a sound risk management program."

Dr. David Claridge , managing director of Janusian , added: "The threat of terrorism remains a daily concern for business risk managers. Islamist terrorist groups continue to pursue a global agenda, illustrated by plots such as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's attempt to bomb cargo planes last October last year as well as internationalizing local grievances by attacking targets like Moscow's Domodedovo airport, which was bombed in January.

"The uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa have highlighted the need for risk managers to take a comprehensive approach by assessing exposure to political violence in all its forms."

Access to Aon's online 2011 Terrorism and Political Violence Threat Map and hard copies can be requested via http://www.aon.com/terrorismmap.

*Notes to editors

A collaboration between Aon and Janusian, Terrorism Tracker is a set of tools to help businesses assess and manage terrorism risk. At its center is the Terrorism Tracker database, which allows subscribers to conduct their own research on terrorist activity around the world and display their results using Google Maps. The database informs Janusian's ratings for the annual Aon map and supports a monthly newsletter available to Aon's clients.

Terrorism threat is defined as an assessment of the intent and capability that terrorist groups will stage attacks and the likelihood that they will succeed.

Aon WorldAware is a country risk information service available online to Aon clients as well as via mobile apps. The information is provided by Janusian and is updated on a daily basis to reflect the ever changing political and security situations around the world.

Follow Aon on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/aoncorp

Sign up for News Alerts: http://aon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=58

About Aon

Aon Corporation (NYSE: AON) is the leading global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing. Through its more than 59,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to deliver distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Aon's industry-leading global resources and technical expertise are delivered locally in over 120 countries. Named the world's best broker by Euromoney magazine's 2008, 2009 and 2010 Insurance Survey, Aon also ranked highest on Business Insurance 's listing of the world's insurance brokers based on commercial retail, wholesale, reinsurance and personal lines brokerage revenues in 2008 and 2009. A.M. Best deemed Aon the number one insurance broker based on revenues in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and Aon was voted best insurance intermediary 2007-2010, best reinsurance intermediary 2006-2010, best captives manager 2009-2010, and best employee benefits consulting firm 2007-2009 by the readers of Business Insurance. Visit http://www.aon.com for more information on Aon and http://www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United.

About Risk Advisory and Janusian

The Risk Advisory Group is an intelligence, investigations and security company. Risk Advisory guides corporations, financial institutions and individuals through an increasingly complex international environment. It operates under two brands: Risk Advisory, specialising in intelligence and investigations services, and Janusian, whose services include security analysis, security operations and political risk analysis. For more information please see www.riskadvisory.net.

David Skapinker


Kelly Drinkwine


+44.(0)20.7505.7478


+312.381.2684


david.skapinker@aon.co.uk


kelly.drinkwine@aon.com




SOURCE Aon Corporation

Web Site: http://www.aon.com



Saturday, June 4, 2011

Yemen is Burning!


Yemen is burning!
But who will save the innocent women and children?


The Yemeni uprising began when over16,000 protesters took to the steets of Sana'a on January 27 and continued in the following month in Aden in the February 3 "Day of Rage" led by Tawakel Karman. The protesters confronted the police and pro-government supporters. They wanted President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign or be toppled. And the mass defections from the military and government offices have worsened the fate of President Saleh. They rejected his pleas that he would not run for reelection in 2013 and that he would not pass power to his son. Then in the "Friday of Anger" on February 18, there were widespread demonstrations in Taiz, Sana'a and Aden and continued on the "Friday of No Return" on 11 March, 2011 and civil war looms as over 350 people have been killed and President Saleh was wounded in rocket attacks on his presidential compound Friday.


The so called Arab Spring is more of a political revolution of indignation as the masses in the Middle East are fed up with their political rulers who have failed to reform and transform their societies since they have become implicated in the terrorist attacks of al-Qa'ida and other Islamic terrorist groups rubbishing and tarnishing the reputation of Arabs. Islamic terrorism has given Arabs a bad name and majority of them are innocent of these crimes and would prefer to live better, healthier, safer and wealthier lives without the stigma and trauma of Islamic terrorism. That is why they have revolted against their totalitarian leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen with echoes in the rest of the Arab world as the masses unite in their common resolution screaming الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام‎, meaning "The people want to bring down the regime".


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima



Monday, May 9, 2011

With An Important Chapter Closed, the Story Of 9/11 Is Not Over




Help Build The Flight 93 National Memorial Honoring The Heroes Of United Flight 93, Visit www.honorflight93.org Or Text “MEMORIAL” To 90999 And Donate $10 Today

Washington, D.C. (May 2, 2011) /PRNewswire/ — In the wake of world events, Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation, charitable partner of the Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign, issued the following statement:

“The death of Osama bin Laden marks an important moment in the history of 9/11, however the story is far from over and our work is not done. As people around the world reflect on recent events, and as the 10th anniversary of September 11th grows near, it is more important than ever that we remember that fateful day, pay homage to the ones we lost, and honor our heroes – including the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93, who sacrificed their own lives so others could live. May their courage, sacrifice and heroism never be forgotten.”

Ten years after the events of September 11th, memorials in New York and at the Pentagon are funded. However, the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA has yet to receive the funds necessary to be complete. An additional $15 million is needed to finish the project. To support the Flight 93 National Memorial, people are invited to visit www.honorflight93.org or text “MEMORIAL” to 90999 from their mobile device to donate $10 immediately.

The Flight 93 National Memorial will be the nation’s permanent memorial to the 40 passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93, and all of those lost on September 11, 2001. United Flight 93, originally destined for San Francisco, was hijacked by terrorists in the skies over Ohio. Once they received word of the attacks in New York and Washington, the passengers and crew took decisive action, choosing to fight their terrorist hijackers. Together they fought, and through their heroic actions, sacrificed their own lives, ultimately causing United Flight 93 to crash in a field outside of Shanksville, PA, where no individuals on the ground were harmed. The most popular conclusion, including that of the 9/11 Commission, is that Flight 93 was headed for the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. The actions of the 40 heroes on United Flight 93 saved countless lives and our nation’s capital.

The Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign is an ambitious $60 million initiative. To date, $45 million has been committed through public and private sources. The National Park Foundation continues to spearhead the campaign, working to raise the final $15 million to complete the Memorial. The memorial site is currently under construction with plans to dedicate the memorial on September 10, 2011. The Flight 93 National Memorial will be the only national memorial dedicated to the events of 9/11. To view the memorial site live, visit www.honorflight93.org/webcam.
About the Flight 93 National Memorial

On September 24, 2002, Congress passed the Flight 93 National Memorial Act. The Act created a new national park unit to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, courageously gave their lives thereby thwarting a planned attack on our nation’s capital. The memorial is outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed with the loss of its 40 passengers and crew. For more information about the Flight 93 National Memorial, please visit www.nps.gov/flni. For information on how to support the building of the memorial, go to www.honorflight93.org.
About the National Park Foundation

The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks. Chartered by Congress, we work hand in hand with the National Park Service to strengthen and connect all Americans to our parks, so they are protected for present and future generations. It is a legacy that began more than a century ago, when private citizens took action to first establish, then protect and endow our national parks. Today, the National Park Foundation carries on that tradition as the only national charitable partner for America’s national parks. To learn more visit www.nationalparks.org.

# # #

Media Contact:
Victoria Tagliabue
202-354-6488
vtagliabue@nationalparks.org



Sunday, May 8, 2011

Is the death of Osama bin Laden FACT or FICTION?


The photo of Osama bin Laden before his death.

Speculations are spreading in the Arab world and among millions of Muslims in Nigeria that President Barack Obama and his administration have lied to the ignorant and innocent citizens of the United States and the rest of the world that they have killed Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the dreaded global militant Islamist group al-Qa'ida.


President Barack Obama

Many cynics, skeptics and conspiracy theorists have been questioning the authenticity of the claim that Osama bin Laden was actually “Killed In Action” (EKIA) by a 24-man U.S. Navy SEALs task force and aircrews from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment -- the "Nightstalkers" in one of the rooms on the third-floor bedroom of a comfortable house in a building in Abbottobad, a suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan on May Day, 2011.

The highly respected Nigerian Islamic scholar Afis Oladosu also raised the issue on The “second death” of Osama bin Laden published on Friday, May 6 2011 of the Friday Worship column in The Guardian newspaper of Nigeria.

Kawther Salam, the notable Palestinian journalist from Hebron is the most outspoken of the cynics, skeptics and conspiracy theorists who are saying that President Obama and his administration should tell their story to the marines!

The following is from Kawther Salam.

"One among many “small problems with this show is, Osama is reportedly dead since 16 December 2001. It was reported in June of 2001 that Osama was hospitalized because of kidney problems and that he received a visit of CIA employees in the hospital. In December 2001 an obituary was published in an Egyptian newspaper. And the holes in the story only become bigger the more one looks. To support the narrative of the US government, the AP agency first published and then retired a picture of the supposedly dead Bin Laden. The picture is below, together with another Osama bin Laden picture. If you look, you can notice that the picture on the left, purported to be a portrait of the dead OBL, is obviously a Photoshop job of the undistorted picture on the right. The picture on the left appears to be a composite of Osama’s head and details from the picture of a cadaver of unknown provenience, probably an Iraqi victim since many pictures of dead Iraqis have been published in the past by US soldiers. It is also obvious that the AP picture has been worked on with a blurring filter.



The photo of Osama bin Laden at death that Kawther Salam said is fake.


The fakery around Osama bin Laden is very interesting before the background that American citizens investigating the 9/11 attack have found that the list of victims of that crime published by CNN appears to be a vast catalog of false, composite identities. They have published a so-called “Vicsim Report” (“Vicsim” = Victim Simulation”) which includes many examples of manipulation of pictures and other personal details of purported victims. Another hole in the story published is the almost immediate DNA identification purported to have been performed. According to this article, it would take about two days to confirm an identification done with help of DNA (if a reader knows otherwise, please post a comment.)

Abottabad (link to Google map), the city in northern Pakistan where Osama was supposedly killed yesterday, lies sprawled along a valley, it has about 300.000 inhabitants. The city appears to be neither remote nor underdeveloped. It has many schools and other educational institutes, several hospitals, paved roads, government offices, a golf course, other modern amenities and several big military compounds. It appears inconceivable that Osama bin Laden could live for “years” in such a place without having come to the attention to the massive intelligence service of Pakistan. Several hundred meters immediately north of one of the probable locations of the house which was raided yesterday lies the campus the “COMSATS Institute of Information Technology”, a professional education institute whose Islamabad branch was visited on April 25 by British Prime Minister David Cameron. Whatever the Prime Minister was doing in Islamabad, it is doubtful that he traveled halfways around the globe to merely give some nice a speech in exactly the school which has a branch next to the raided house. The emissaries of empire always afford their tribute, be it in blood or otherwise."


You can also read Mark Dean's doubts in MADHOUSE: The Obama Omniscience on why Americans are asking their first black President for photos to authenticate his claims! From doubting the authenticity of his birth certificate, they are now doubting his claim of killing Osama bin Laden!

No one should ignore Alex Jones who even produced the YouTube video to expose ("the contrived "victory" in the War on Terror surrounding a man who many experts have said was already dead for years. After nearly a decade of "hunting" for Bin Laden, he is summarily shot in the head and allegedly dumped into the ocean (conveniently making the body unavailable). So goes the official life of Osama bin Laden (aka Tim Osman), one of the CIA's most useful patsies and assets.)



The testimony of Alex Jones supports that of Kawther Salam that the "second death" of Osama bin Laden is a hoax. But on May 6, 2011, "al-Qaeda acknowledged his death and concurrently vowed to retaliate."

Would President Barack Obama lie to the world and risk being impeached and vilified as the most dishonest President in the history of America? Imagine the grave consequences of such a calamity on the United States of America and the black race?


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima



Saturday, May 7, 2011

Al-Qaeda Suspect Arrested in Deadly Marrakesh Bombing


The deadly blomb blast In Marrakesh killed 16 people, many of them foreigners (AFP/File, Abdelhak Senna)


Moroccan Response to Bombing Shows Deep Commitment to Human Rights Protection

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The lead suspect arrested by Morocco in its ongoing investigation of the deadly April 28 terrorist bombing in Marrakesh has been linked to al-Qaeda, according to a report by Morocco's Interior Ministry. The terrorist bombing at Cafe Argana in Marrakesh's central square killed 17 people—most of them Europeans—and injured 20.

World leaders, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have condemned the bombing. Morocco has won praise for its thoroughness and restraint in investigating the bombing.

Three Moroccan suspects were arrested in Safi, 220 miles south of Casablanca. The lead suspect, who was "linked to Al-Qaeda," had "made two explosive devices, which were triggered from a distance" by mobile phone, said the Interior Ministry. He "chose the Argana cafe because it is popular with Moroccan and foreign tourists."

Investigators found the suspects learned how to make the bombs on the Internet and "were absorbed by jihadist ideology," with "allegiance to al-Qaeda, and had already made several attempts to join some of the hotbeds of tension," including Chechnya and Iraq, before deciding to carry out their attack in Morocco.

Immediately following the attack, His Majesty King Mohammed VI called for respect for "the primacy of the rule of law" and vowed that the bombing wouldn't derail Morocco's new program of constitutional reforms, which he outlined in a speech to the nation on March 9.

Earlier this week, Moroccan Islamists said "they felt reassured that authorities acted with restraint and did not carry out mass arrests as they did in the wake of 2003 attacks," reported AFP. A leader of the Islamic opposition noted the contrast with the reaction following the 2003 Casablanca bombings that killed 45 people, when hundreds of Islamists were arrested.

The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. For more, please visit www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org.

This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.

SOURCE Moroccan American Center for Policy

CONTACT: Garth Neuffer, +1-202-470-2055, gneuffer@moroccanamericancenter.com

Web Site: http://www.moroccanamericanpolicy.org



Wednesday, May 4, 2011

American Voters unaffected by President's bin Laden Victory


President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, in this May 1, 2011 handout photo. Pete Souza/The White House

3 May 2011 20:02 Africa/Lagos

Newsweek / Daily Beast Poll Reveals American Voters Unaffected by President's bin Laden Victory

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, May 3, 2011

NEW YORK, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- An exclusive Newsweek / Daily Beast poll using exclusive data conducted immediately before the president's Sunday announcement about the death of the FBI's most wanted terrorist - and immediately after - indicates that President Obama's approval ratings have remained static despite media rhetoric to the contrary.

Polling 1200 voters – 600 on Saturday April 30th and Sunday May 1st, and a further 600 on Monday May 2nd and Tuesday May 3rd - Newsweek and The Daily Beast discovered that in the aftermath of bin Laden's death;

There was no change to President Obama's overall approval rating

BEFORE: 48% APPROVE, 49% DISAPPROVE

AFTER: 48% APPROVE, 49% DISAPPROVE

There was a 10% increase in those who now feel the country is headed in the right direction

BEFORE: Right, 20%, Wrong, 65%

AFTER: Right, 30%, Wrong 55%

27 % feel the economy is headed in the right direction

BEFORE: Right, 31%, Wrong, 56%

AFTER: Right, 27%, Wrong 60%

Further research revealed;

- 55% think President Obama is a strong leader overall

- 63% think President Obama is a strong leader in the war on terrorism

- 38% feel President Obama has made the world more safe

- 45% of American's say President Bush has done a better job at prosecuting the war on terror than President Obama

- 26% of American's feel safer following the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed

- Only 5% of Americans say news that Osama bin Laden has been killed has changed the way they will vote in the 2012 presidential election

Looking ahead to the 2012 election;

In an Obama / Romney 2012 race, 42% would vote for Obama / 36% for Romney

In an Obama / Huckabee 2012 race, 42% would vote for Obama / 38% Huckabee

In an Obama / Palin 2012 race, 50% would vote for Obama / 29% Palin

In an Obama / Trump 2012 race, 53% would vote for Obama / 25% Trump

To review the comprehensive poll findings and full methodology, please visit www.thedailybeast.com

The poll was conducted by Douglas E. Schoen, LLC on behalf of Newsweek/The Daily Beast, and has a margin of sampling error of +/-3 percent.

SOURCE The Daily Beast

CONTACT: Andrew Kirk, +1-212-524-8856

Web Site: http://www.thedailybeast.com































Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
3 May 2011
20:02Newsweek / Daily Beast Poll Reveals American Voters Unaffected by President's bin Laden Victory
19:25Business Lessons Could Hold Clues to How Bin Laden's Death Will Impact Al Qaeda, Economy
18:53The Lonesome Winner: The Obama Triumph From a European Perspective
15:34Week of Programming on the Hunt for Bin Laden and Attacks of 9/11 to Air on National Geographic Channel in the Wake of Bin Laden's Assassination
13:30Osama Bin Laden to Cause U.S. Hyperinflation, Says NIA



Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Former CIA agent reveals details of Osama bin Laden's end




Osama bin Laden raid details emerge

Gene Coyle, a former CIA officer, tells us about the ways this secretive counter-intelligence mission met with success

Copyright (c) CBC 2011



Monday, May 2, 2011

American Muslims are happy that Osama Bin Laden is dead



As news is released that Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, Americans react to the news.


2 May 2011 06:13 Africa/Lagos




CAIR Welcomes Elimination of Osama Bin Laden

PR Newswire

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2011

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today welcomed the announcement of the elimination of Osama bin Laden as a threat to America and the world.

[MEDIA ADVISORY: CAIR will hold a news conference on Monday, May 2nd to offer the American Muslim community's reaction to Osama bin Laden's death. The news conference will take place at 11 a.m. in CAIR's Capitol Hill headquarters, 453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com Other CAIR chapters may hold similar news conferences. Go to: http://www.cair.com/Chapters.aspx ]

In a statement issued following President Obama's announcement of bin Laden's death, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said:

"We join our fellow citizens in welcoming the announcement that Osama bin Laden has been eliminated as a threat to our nation and the world through the actions of American military personnel. As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam. In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide. We also reiterate President Obama's clear statement tonight that the United States is not at war with Islam."

CAIR coordinated one of the first joint American Muslim statements condemning the 9/11 terror attacks, issued just hours after they occurred.

To read about CAIR's anti-terror initiatives, go to:

http://www.cair.com/AmericanMuslims/AntiTerrorism.aspx

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR's E-Mail List

http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe

Subscribe to CAIR's Twitter Feed

http://twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR's YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/cairtv

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

SOURCE CAIR

Web Site: http://www.cair.com/AmericanMuslims/AntiTerrorism.aspx


Releases displayed in Africa/Lagos time
2 May 2011
15:15 Total and Continuing Osama bin Laden Coverage on USPoliticstoday.com
14:50 ACLJ: Osama bin Laden's Death: Victory For War on Terror -- America's Commitment to Justice Never Ending
14:40 Joint Statement by the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, and the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, on the Death of Osama Bin Laden
12:39 Statement by Secretary Tom Ridge on the Death of Osama Bin Laden
06:13 CAIR Welcomes Elimination of Osama Bin Laden
05:51 General Stanley McChrystal Speaks in Colorado Springs on Monday
05:40 AJC Hails Successful U.S. Operation Against Osama Bin Laden
05:38 Fattah Responds to the Death of Osama Bin Laden

Death of Osama Bin Laden

Southeastern Tornadoes

Mothers Day

Quarterly Earnings Reports

Online Labor Demand Dips 123,800 in April, The Conference Board Reports

National Survey Reveals Americans Would Prefer to Spend Their Summer With President Obama Versus Snooki

May is Older Americans Month

Google Ranks Highest on Corporate Reputation in 12th Annual Harris Interactive U.S. Reputation Quotient® (RQ®) Survey