Report: 12 more Nigerians on death row in Indonesia

Two days after two Nigerian convicted drug traffickers were executed, it's revealed that 12 more are currently on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking offenses.

Revealing this to news men in Abuja yesterday January 19th, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign affairs, Amb. Danjuma Sheni, said the Federal government has appealed to the government of Indonesia to show clemency to the 12 Nigerians who are on death roll so they will not be executed like the two Nigerians Daniel Emenuo and Okafor Solomon, who were executed last Sunday January 18th 2015 in the country for drug trafficking.

The Permanent secretary spoke to newsmen after a meeting with the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Eko Indiarto, yesterday in Abuja to protest the execution of the Nigerians even after much plea made by President Jonathan and the National assembly

“Every country determines for itself the kind of action it takes. In the case of Nigerians and as you have just seen, we have protested very vehemently the execution and we are still looking at other options. That (recalling Ambassador) may be along the line, but we are looking at other options. I have just appealed to the government and people of Indonesia to show some clemency as we move forward with regards to the 12 other Nigerians still on death row in that country. We hope at the end of the day, there will be some form of clemency for our people and we do not hope, as of now, that it will have any significant impact on our relationship.” he said

Amb. Sheni said the Federal government is in talks with the Indonesian government to agree on a Prisoner Transfer Agreement so that those on Death row would be sent back to Nigeria to serve their prison time.

Islamic State threatens to kill two Japanese hostages

The Islamic State militant group threatened to kill two Japanese hostages unless it receives a US$200 million ransom within 72 hours, but Tokyo vowed yesterday it would not give in to “terrorism.”
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was in Jerusalem on the latest leg of a Middle East tour, demanded that the militants immediately free the two hostages unharmed.
He was to fly home after an early afternoon summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to take charge of the crisis, cutting short the rest of his tour.
Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, has murdered five Western hostages since August last year, but it is the first time that the extremist group — which has seized swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq — has threatened Japanese captives.
In footage posted on jihadist Web sites, a black-clad militant brandishing a knife addresses the camera in English, standing between hostages Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, who are wearing orange jumpsuits.
“You now have 72 hours to pressure your government into making a wise decision by paying the US$200 million to save the lives of your citizens,” he says.
The militant says that the ransom demand is to compensate for non-military aid that the Japanese prime minister pledged to support countries affected by Islamic State violence at the start of his Middle East tour, but Abe said Japan would not bow to extremism and pledged to honor his promise of aid.

Photos: Buhari, Osinbajo, Tinubu, Party Officials visit IBB at his home in Minna, Niger State

The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.),and his Vice Prof Osinbajo, APC chieftain Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi and other top party officials paid a courtesy visit to IBB at his Minna, Niger state home this afternoon after the party presidential campaign in the State today.

Buhari: Cancer report about me is fake, addresses debate on educational qualification

The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), says the cancer medical report that surfaced online yesterday January 18th 2015 is fake and has also been refuted by the authorities of the Ahmadu Bello Teaching hospital who purportedly issued the medical report.

Buhari addressed the issue while speaking to journalist yesterday

"The Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital said the documents are forged. This desperation is beyond my comprehension. The issue we are letting Nigerians know is that there has been much corruption in this country in the last 16 years. The Peoples Democratic Party has literally destroyed this country. There were reports that I was to jet out for medical check-up yesterday (Saturday) but here I am. I was in Nasarawa and Benue states yesterday (Saturday) and tomorrow January 19^th, I will be in two states. The day after tomorrow, Tuesday January 20th, I will be in two more states. I sincerely don’t know how they got the impression that I was sick. I had a cold but it did not stop me from going through my schedule' he said

He also addressed the debate on his educational qualification

“I have contested three times under the same rules set by the INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) where there is a basic educational qualification you must have. I was allowed to contest all these elections because my certificate was in order and there were individuals that wrote to the United States War College and the college answered them and they were published in the newspapers. So, I really don’t understand this desperation or misinformation that is being passed around. They will do nobody any good because our minds are being taken away from the serious issues of corruption and incompetence by the PDP.” he said

Nigeria Summoned Indonesian ambassador over the execution of two Nigerians yesterday

The Federal government through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, has summoned the Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria to protest the execution of two Nigerians by firing squad in Indonesian.

In a statement signed by the Foreign Affairs ministry’s Director of Public Communication, Ogbole Amedu-Ode yesterday January 18th, FG alleged that 2 Nigerians instead of one earlier made known to them by the Indonesian government were killed at Sunday's execution.

According to the statement, the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, approved the execution of only one Nigerian identified as Daniel Emenuo in the list of six condemned drugs convicts in December 2014.

However another Nigerian Solomon Okafor who was mistaken for a Malawian named Namaona Denis was also killed during the execution. The federal government says the Indonesian government executed both men despite pleas for clemency

"The executions were carried out despite persistent pleas for clemency made by the federal government, including the National Assembly. The executions had taken place against the grain of the excellent relations that subsist between Nigeria and Indonesia. Thus, the foreign minister has summoned the Indonesian Ambassador to register Nigeria’s protest" the statement read.

The Federal government expressed their condolence to the families of the two men executed and also warned Nigerians to desist from drug trafficking.