Bakassi does not belong to Nigeria —Surveyor-General

THE Surveyor-General of the Federation, Professor Peter Nwilo, has said Bakassi Peninsula does not belong to Nigeria but Cameroon.
Nwilo made the clarification when he featured as a guest on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum, in Abuja, on Monday, saying that based on available facts, the disputed territory actually belonged to Cameroon.
Nigeria lost the territory to Cameroon based on a judgment of International Court of Justice in The Hague, in October 2002.
Nigeria ceded Bakassi to Cameroon on August 14, 2008, following the Greentree Agreement and thus ended the dispute over the 1,000sq/km territory.
“I know that the available facts did not weigh in favour of Nigeria...the facts they (Cameroon) had at their disposal did not favour Nigeria and that was why we lost it (Bakassi).
“Though at times, we think it is in Nigeria, but the evidences didn’t seem to favour us,” he said.
Nwilo said Nigeria had 10 years to bring up new facts to support its claim and for the judgment to be reviewed, but it did not have any new information.

Infected Nurse in Spain Shows Defense Faults

Barcelona, Spain:  A nurse in Spain has become the first health worker to be infected with the Ebola virus outside of West Africa, raising serious concerns about how prepared Western nations are to safely treat people with the deadly illness.

The nurse contracted the illness while treating a Spanish missionary who was infected in Sierra Leone and flown to Madrid's Carlos III hospital, where he died on Sept. 25, Spain's Health Ministry said. The priest, Manuel Garcia Viejo, died three days after being flown back to Spain, and the nurse entered his room only twice, including once after his death, according to Antonio Alemany, a health official from the regional government of Madrid.

The case is particularly worrisome to health experts because Spain is a developed country that is considered to possess the kind of rigorous infection control measures that should prevent disease transmission in the hospital. Although the Ebola epidemic has killed hundreds of doctors and nurses in West Africa, health officials in Europe and the United States have reassured the public repeatedly that if the disease reached their shores, their health care systems would be able to treat patients safely, without endangering health workers or the public.

While the risk to hospital workers is thought to be far lower in developed countries, the infection of the Spanish nurse, along with the missteps in dealing with Ebola in Dallas, exposes weak spots in highly praised defense systems.

Ana Mato, Spain's health minister, said in a televised news conference that the nurse, who has not been identified publicly, tested positive for Ebola twice, and that the rest of the 30-person team that looked after the missionary would be monitored to see if any of its members develop symptoms of Ebola. She said it was not clear how the nurse became infected.

Fire For Fire! Scores killed as soldiers liberate Michika and Gulak

There are strong indications that the Nigerian Military have over-run the Boko Haram sect and liberated Michika and Gulak in Madagali Local Government of Adamawa State.

The two towns had been under the control of Boko Haram insurgents since September 7, this year.

A source, said following the fierce fighting between the military and the insurgents, the soldiers crushed the sect and took control of the towns.

According to the source, “I can confirm to you authoritatively that the military are advancing towards Madagali after taking over Michika and Gulak.”

The source, who spoke from Michika, on Monday, noted that despite the military bombardment, the insurgents tried to regroup at the Government Technical College, Michika on Sunday night but they were dislodged by the soldiers.

Though efforts to get the reaction of the Army Public Relations Officer of the 23rd Army Brigade Yola, Capt. Nuhu Jabaru, proved abortive as his GSM line was not reachable, the Adamawa State Acting Governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, confirmed the development.

Fintiri, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Solomon Kumangar, commended the military for liberating the two local government areas overran by the militants in the past one month.

He said the liberation of Michika and the other towns was a welcome development.

Reports indicated that about 200 insurgents had been killed in the latest offensive as Boko Haram insurgents were forced to beat a retreat when troops routed them from Michika town.

“The Nigerian troops have gained entry into Michika and Gulak and are now fully in control of the towns after they dealt a severe blow to the insurgents, who lost about 200 members while some escaped with gunshot injuries,” the source said.

South Africa seizes another $5.7m Nigeria’s arms deal

Report say South African authorities have seized Another five point seven million dollars arms money from Nigeria, just three weeks after the nine point three million dollars cash transported by two Nigerians and an Israeli for arms purchase, South Africa-based City Express reported Monday.
As with the first deal, South Africa’s Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority seized the five point seven million dollars about nine hundred and fifty two million naira for allegedly being the proceeds of illegal transactions.
The news came more than two weeks after two Nigerians and an Israeli national were arrested in South Africa after they attempted to smuggle nine point three million dollars apparently meant for buying arms for the Nigerian intelligence service.
The men landed at Lanseria International Airport, Johannesburg, on September 5 in a private jet from Abuja with the money stashed in three suitcases.
At the time, the South Africa Revenue Service, SARS, said customs officers became suspicious when the passengers’ luggage were unloaded and put through the scanners.
The National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, in South Africa said there was an invoice for helicopters and armaments intended to be used in Nigeria.

Chibok girls may never return-Obasanjo

Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has dashed the hope of families of the abducted Chibok girls saying many of the girls may never be reunited with their families.
Obasanjo told The Hausa service of the British Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday that many of the girls may also give birth to children belong to members of the Boko Haram insurgents.
He also said that insurgents may have separated the girls and not keeping them in the same place, pointing out that even though he had a way of communicating with the insurgents, the government has not given him permission to speak with them.
The former Nigerian President said that succeeding generations would continue to remember the girls who were abducted from the hostel in April by the Boko Haram members who have held the captive since then.
Chief Obasanjo said that only some of the girls who would later get pregnant and find it difficult to cater for the babies while being held captive might be released by the group in future.
“I believe that some of them will never return.  We will still be hearing about them many years from now, some will  give birth to children of the Boko Haram members, but if they cannot take care of them in the forest,they may release them,”he said.
The former President had said in June that he could negotiate the release of the girls if the government gives him the permission to do so.

A new twist in Christ Embassy Crisis; Pastor Chris removed as trustee of Church’s U.K. branch

The face-off between the Founder of Believers Love World (aka Christ Embassy) Chris Oyakhilome, and his wife, Anita, has taken a new dimension with Mr. Oyakhilome now removed as a trustee of a United Kingdom’s branch of the church.
With Mr. Oyakhilome’s removal, his wife, Anita, now presides over a seven-man Board of Trustees of the N8.2 billion rich branch, church documents reviewed.
The six other members of the board are Obi Chiemeka, Ifeoma Onubogu, Nkem Odiakah, Raymond Okocha, Tony Obi and Uche Onubogu, all pastors believed to be loyal to Mrs. Oyakhilome.
Mrs. Oyakhilome has for long headed the U.K branch of the church but her husband, before what appears his sudden removal, had since inception presided over the Board of Trustees of the charity.
The new development suggests that in addition to the matrimonial squabble the couples are having, an intense power struggle and battle for the soul of the U.K. branch of the church might be going on between the estranged lovers and partners as well.
In fact, Mr. Oyakhilome had dropped the first hint that there might be a hierarchical row in the church when he reportedly accused his wife of acting like an equal and wanting to overpower the authorities of the elders she met in the church.
Review of the documents filed by the church’s UK branch to the Charity Commission of England and Wales has now shown that Mr. Oyakhilome is no longer a registered trustee of a branch of his church with total asset worth over N8.2 billion (£31 million).
Until his recent but abrupt removal, Mr. Oyakhilome was consistently listed as a prominent trustee, since 1996, when the branch was established.
Contrary to the church’s practice of stating reasons for removal of trustees in the past, no reason has been given for the removal of Pastor Oyakhilome.
It is unclear whether explanation for the action would be given in the church’s annual report for 2013 which is yet to made public by the charity commission.

Six mass graves discovered in Mexico

Authorities have found mass graves with the charred remains of up to 20 people in the restive southern Mexican state of Guerrero, at a time when police are scouring the area for nearly four dozen missing students after a rash of violence.
The remains were buried on a hillside up a rocky dirt track on the outskirts of Iguala in six suspected graves, which were still fresh, a local official said. Investigators discovered the burned remains, which were put into bags, two officials said, asking to remain anonymous. It was unclear who the remains belonged to, they added.
Guerrero Attorney General Inaky Blanco told reporters in Iguala on Saturday that the remains would be sent to Mexico’s forensic service to determine whether or not the corpses match those of the missing students. He declined to say how many graves or corpses had been found.
The grisly discovery was made on the northwestern outskirts of Iguala. Local and state police cordoned off the entrance to road leading up a hill where multiple police vehicles had entered.
Iguala is located about 193 kilometres south of Mexico City in the increasingly violent state of Guerrero, the site of clashes involving students, police and armed men last week. At least six people were killed in a spate of incidents.
Local government officials criticised the police for showing an excessive use of force with the students in Guerrero, where gangs have evolved from a fragmented drug cartel and are fighting turf wars. Thirteen of an original group of 57 missing people re-emerged this week. Some had hidden, others had gone home.
Many mass graves have been found across Mexico in recent years and months, the legacy of drug gang violence that has killed around 100,000 people since 2007.

Ebola fears rise in US after missed diagnosis

THE first person to develop Ebola in the US was struggling to survive at a Dallas hospital on Sunday after his condition worsened to critical, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said.
Thomas Eric Duncan became ill after arriving in Dallas from Liberia two weeks ago heightening concerns that the worst Ebola epidemic on record could spread from West Africa, where it began in March and has killed more than 3,400 people.
"The man in Dallas, who is fighting for his life, is the only patient to develop Ebola in the US," CDC director Thomas Frieden said on CNN’s "State of the Union".
Mr Duncan’s case has highlighted problems that US public health officials are trying furiously to address: The Dallas hospital that admitted him initially did not recognise the disease and sent him home, only for him to return two days later in an ambulance.
"The issue of the missed diagnosis initially is concerning," Dr Frieden said, adding that public health officials had redoubled their efforts to raise awareness of the disease.
"We’re seeing more people calling us, considering the possibility of Ebola — that’s what we want to see," he said on CNN. "We don’t want people not to be diagnosed." Dr Frieden said he was confident the disease would not spread widely within the US. US officials are also scaling up their response in West Africa, where Ebola is an enormous challenge, he said. "But it’s going to take time," Dr Frieden said. "The virus is spreading so fast that it’s hard to keep up." In Dallas, a spokesman for Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Wendell Watson, said Mr Duncan remained critical on Sunday. He would not elaborate.