Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) outside Formal Camps ‘Will Not Vote’ say INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commissions says Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who are not in government camps in the north eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, will not participate in the February elections.
According to the Chairman of the INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, lack of accurate data for the IDPs living in informal camps within and outside those states had made it impossible for INEC to plan for them in the elections.
The INEC chairman made the clarification in Abuja on Tuesday at a meeting with representatives from the states with affected persons.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representative in Nigeria, Angele Dikongue-Atangana, had put the number of Internally Displace Persons in Nigeria’s north-east at  650,000.
Majority of the displaced persons were displaced as a result of insurrections in region by members of the Boko Haram terrorist group. The over five years insurgency has also forced some persons in the region to flee to neighbouring Niger and Chad  for refuge, while others are in camps not under government control.
Professor Jega analysed the commission’s preparedness to conduct elections in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe – stressing that the commission had made provision for only IDPs living in formal camps to participate in the February polls.
Some governors from the affected north-east states insisted that security issues should not be underplayed even if it would mean shifting the elections date.

Boko Haram threatens Nigeria's neighbours

Boko Haram has claimed a massive attack feared to be the worst in its six-year insurgency and threatened Nigeria's neighbours, as talks began for a regional response to the militants and fears grew of further violence.

The confirmation from Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau came as no surprise after multiple eye-witness accounts of the attack on Baga, which is thought to have killed hundreds, if not more.

But Shekau claimed that the January 3 attack, in which large parts of Baga were burnt to the ground and at least 16 surrounding settlements were razed, was only a prelude to further attacks.

"We killed the people of Baga. We indeed killed them, as our Lord instructed us in His Book," Shekau said in the 35-minute message, which was posted on YouTube.

He added: "We will not stop. This is not much. You'll see."

There has been mounting global outrage at the extent of the slaughter, with residents who managed to escape recounting how bodies littered the streets more than two weeks after the initial assault.

One civilian vigilante, who fled after hiding for three days, told AFP that he was "stepping on bodies" for five kilometres (three miles) as he escaped through the bush.

Hundreds of women and children were said to be still being held by the militants at a school and the home of a local lawmaker.

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