Military Moves to Attack Sambisa
While the battles raged in Chibok and Gwoza, a large number of soldiers were seen in Maiduguri yesterday moving towards the dreaded Sambisa forest, the fortress of the terrorist Boko Haram sect in Borno State, thus signaling the commencement of an operation, which military sources said was aimed at recovering the forest from the insurgents. The push for Sambisa forest started early in the morning with hundreds of soldiers seen on Damboa Road, Maiduguri, in several military trucks driving military equipment towards the forest which has been a no go area for sometime now. Though no military personnel was ready to give information on the deployment which held traffic up for hours within the Maiduguri metropolis, but the looks of the soldiers showed that they were battle ready. It was revealed that following the Mubi debacle, the military had vowed to adopt more aggressive but tactical and effective approach to strike back at the heart of the terrorists. A top intelligence source disclosed that Mubi attack was a total shock to the military, especially as they lost many soldiers including some respected officers with others fatally wounded in the incident.
Buhari’s Supporters Put Pressure on Tambuwal to Quit Race
Since declaring his interest in the presidential race on the platform of All Progressives Congress last week, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal has faced a great deal of pressure from supporters of former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, to shelve his ambition. Buhari is seen as the leading aspirant of the party and his supporters see the entry of fellow North-west man, Tambuwal, into the race as a possible upset that should not be allowed. Bu
t Tambuwal’s declaration of interest in the presidential race has, obviously, upset the campaign strategies of the party’s other main aspirants. Besides Buhari and Tambuwal, the other
aspirants are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwanso and publisher of Leadership Newspapers, Mr. Sam Nda- Isaiah. APC’s presidential contenders have ramped up consultation across the country in the wake of the speaker’s entry. Tambuwal had nursed the intention of running for the 2015 presidency from the beginning, but he was persuaded by some politicians from his state, Sokoto, to go for the governorship seat. But the incumbent governor, already had a favourite whom he wanted to succeed him. When asked if he would be ready to step down for any of the contestants, he said, “I am ready to step down for anyone who is more competent than me”.
Made-in-Nigeria Hyundai Grand i10 is Elegant, Smart, Luxurious
The Hyundai Grand i10 that is made in Nigeria is a quick-pace car with beautiful features that will make it pass for a real luxury vehicle, particularly for an entry level car. The Hyundai Grand i10 is obviously built for the Nigerian environment with its very good ground-clearance, sturdy shock absorbers and compact body for easy maneuverability. These peculiar featur
es came handy during a test-drive of the vasatile car recently in Lagos. The car was taken through the grueling Lagos traffic from the office of Hyundai Nigeria Limited on Ajose Adeogun St reet through Apongbon to Funsho Williams Avenue (former Western Avenue) to Ikorodu Road and to Sheraton through Maryland. At Sheraton, there was a change-over of drivers and the team hit the road to Hyundai office at Adeola Odekun through the Opebi Link Bridge, Billingsway, 7Up-Iyana-Woro and Third Mainland Bridge. The Hyundai Grand i10 showed it is comfortable on and off road, keeping the driver in an advantage position when navigating through the traffic. The test-drive followed an unveiling of the car three weeks ago by Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited, a division of Stallion Group – makers of the vehicle. All things considered, the car proved
that it is designed and made for Nigerian roads. There are two variants of the Hyundai Grand; the 5-speed manual and 4-Speed automatic transmission-powered by 1.25 Kappa Dual VTVT engine respectively for the test drive.
Synagogue Tragedy: South Africa Evacuates 74 Bodies
Following the forensic examination of the 115 bodies recovered under the rubble of the Synagogue for All Nations (SCOAN), the South African government Saturday evacuated its casualties. This is coming more than two months (exactly 65 days) after the building, housing the foreign guest house section of the church collapsed at the Ikotun area of Lagos on September 12. The 80-man team constituted to expedite the evacuation of the bodies had arrived Nigeria on Friday and commenced preparations to evacuate the 74 bodies of their countrymen, including three Zimbabweans and a Congolese. The three Zimbabweans and the Democratic Republic of Congo had entered Nigeria using South African travel papers, as was discovered during the post-mortem examination. The bodies would be airlifted by the two South African aircraft, which had already been secured for the highly-militarised operation. While one of the aircraft conveyed the repatriation team, the second one, an Antonov 124 cargo plane, was used to transport
the eight vehicles and highly specialised equipment used for the operation.
Boko Haram Seizes Another Council Headquarters in Adamawa
In what appears to be a reprisal attack, the Boko Haram terrorists on Saturday seized Hong, which is the administrative headquarters of Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State. This followed closely on the heels of the recent rout of the insurgents in Mub
i by the combined efforts of local hunters and civilian JTF, which resulted in killing several insurgents and chasing them out of Mubi and Mahia. The insurgen ts burnt down a police station and killed an undisclosed number of persons. Confirming the attack on the area, a former minister of state for health and later for foreign affairs, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, an indigene of the area, told journalists in the state capital Yola that the insurgents set a police station ablaze but could not state the exact number of casualties, as the details still remained sketchy. Dr. Hong disclosed that the sect members had attacked two villages in Hong Local Government area a few days earl
ier, killing at least five persons.
Thugs Attack INEC Registration Centre in Ogun
Suspected thugs on Saturday attacked St. Mary African Church Primary School, Oke-Efon area of Abeokuta where the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise was going on. The area was filled with tension, as about ten persons wer
e seriously injured by the thugs who attacked the venue with guns and other dangerous weapons. INEC officials and a policewoman attached to the centre immediately ran for their lives when the situation became uncontrollable. While confirming
the incident, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ogun State, Mr. Sam
Olumekun, confirmed the development. He said skirmishes were rec ord in some areas but added that the situation had been brought under control. The suspected thugs identified by residents as members of the Articulated Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association (AMORAN) were
alleged to have been led during the attack on the centre by one Jamiu. The thugs were also alleged to have dispossessed residents caught in the violence of their mobile phones and cash while the violence lasted. Two people were injured in the attack.
