Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Niger To Transfer 500 Boko Haram Prisoners To Nigeria

Niger has agreed to transfer hundreds of prisoners from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram back to their home country of Nigeria to reduce pressure on its crammed prisons, judicial sources said on Tuesday.
Boko Haram militants mostly operate in northeastern Nigeria but have also stepped up their insurgency within Niger’s southern region
of Diffa in recent months, carrying out dozens of attacks.
Niger has declared a state of emergency there in an effort to improve security and has made hundreds of arrests.

How I Will Solve Power, Roads, Housing Problems – Fashola


Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing has outlined how he intends to tackle the problem of power, roads and housing in Nigeria.
The former Lagos governor, who recognised the Permanent Secretaries under his ministry as key players to the success of his plans, urged Nigerians to support him in achieving his goals.
Read his full statement below:

“SETTING THE AGENDA FOR DELIVERING CHANGE” BEING TEXT OF THE INAUGURAL MEDIA BRIEFING OF THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF POWER, WORKS AND HOUSING.

It is no longer news that the Federal Executive Council, the highest executive decision making organ of the Federal Government of Nigeria has now been inaugurated.

Lai: Military Has ‘Largely’ Crushed Boko Haram.


The federal government says the military has “largely” met the December deadline fixed by President Muhammadu Buhari for the annihilation of Boko Haram.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, said that the “military had sufficiently degraded the capacity of Boko Haram to launch spectacular attacks while also retaking most of the territories seized by the terrorists”.

‘PDP Needs To Change Its Name’

What do you make of the Kogi State governorship election logjam?
It is purely lack of political understanding with respect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) stand. On the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I don't think I have much to say because they played their role well. Now that the issue has come, it is an unfortunate situation because of the death of Prince Abubakar Audu. Even the law has not envisaged something like this.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is insisting that its governorship candidate in Kogi, Captain Idris Wada is the winner of the election, arguing that Yahaya Bello of the APC can’t be winner. Will you say the PDP has a case?

Yoruba Leaders Calls For Restructuring Of Nigeria


Prominent Yoruba leaders yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently consider restructuring of the country as a way out of its lingering national crisis.
The leaders also urged the president to roll out a comprehensive economic plan to rebuild the country infrastructure, reflate the economy,create massive jobs and raise the standard of education in the country.

Troops Intercept Fleeing Boko Haram Members, Kill 100 In Pulka


Scores of Boko Haram fighters, who were on the run after the bombardment of their hideouts in Sambisa forest, were yesterday gunned down by soldiers manning their secret escape route in Pulka village near Gwoza town, army officials said.
After three weeks of strategic mapping of the areas occupied by Boko Haram fighters, the military had, on Sunday night, embarked on rapid bombardment of the insurgents’ enclaves by attacking, simultaneously, from air and ground.

Syrian High Command Confirms Western Coalition Attacking Government Forces

The Syrian General Staff has provided information revealing Western coalition strikes against Syrian troop positions in Deir ez-Zor on December 6, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Syrian General Staff information shows strikes against Syrian troop positions in Deir ez-Zor on December 6 were carried out by western coalition, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.     

video: Russia Releases Video of First-Ever Submarine Launch of Kalibr Missiles



The Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don fired a salvo of Kalibr cruise missiles from the Mediterranean Sea against Daesh targets in Syria.

Ahead of the Game: Russia Moving  pretty Faster in Syria Than US Media Can Report 


While trying to foresee Russia’s further moves in Syria, US strategy master Robert Farley has advanced what he considers “Russia’s five next big moves in Syria”,Syria”, which are set to come in the closest days or weeks; then again, for reasons unknown, the initial four are now already very active on the ground.


See the top five list after the jump break.



1.The Arrival of the Su-25 Grach (NATO Reporting Name “Frogfoot”)


“The shootdown of the Su-24 Fencer near Turkish territory demonstrated the vulnerability of the unescorted attack aircraft to modern jet fighters,” reads Farley’s article for The National Interest magazine.



  ​​The best way to protect the Russian air fleet in Syria, the author says, is to bring in “a tough, heavy attack plane like the Su-25 Frogfoot, which can have an immediate impact on the battlefield. “





​“With some indication that Russia is about to massively step up its air campaign in Syria, we can be sure that additional attack aircraft, like the Frogfoot, will soon appear in the skies over rebel held territory,” the author says.






Su-25 jets of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the Hmeymim airbase, Syria


In any case, Russia as of now has as much as 12 of the most recent Su-25 ground assault planes in Syria, 12 considerably all the more capable Su-34 (NATO reporting name Flanker-C) strike contenders and up to 16 Su-30 (NATO reporting name Flanker-C) supermaneuverable fighter aircraft, aside from its current arrangement of Su-24s and Su-27s.


From November 20, the size of the Russian air armada in Syria was expanded to 69 airplane.



2) Deployment of S-400 Surface-to-Air Missile System

“[…] in political terms the S-400 offers the Assad regime insurance against either a Western no-fly zone or an anti-Assad air campaign. This means, in effect, that ISIS (also known as ISIL and Daesh) and other Syrian rebels will need to defeat Assad (and Russia) on their own, without the direct kinetic support of any of their allies,” the article reads.




​“The S-400 gives Russia a practical veto over any Western action against Assad.”


russian s-400




  Russia deploys S-400 air defence missile system in Syria


The writer however recognized that the S-400 Triumf (NATO codename SA-21 Growler), a hostile to flying machine and against rocket framework, which is equipped for capturing a wide range of cutting edge air weaponry, including fifth-era warplanes, and also ballistic and cruise  missiles at a most extreme scope of about 250 miles, has as of now been “delivered, deployed and put on air defense combat duty at Russia’s Hmeymim airbase in Syria.”





3. Diplomacy


“The most important weapon that Russia can use to save the Assad regime is its diplomatic corps,” the author claims neglecting to mention that Russia has been using this “tool” since the very start of the conflict in Syria.




Among its most recent proposition is a Russia-started counter-terrorism revelation effectively received by the foreign ministers of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Belgrade earlier in December.


Russian President Vladimir Putin has since a long time ago called for the creation of a international coalition in the battle against terrorism, especially targeted on Daesh. Putin global on the requirement for global anti-terrorism endeavors, led withinf a legitimate system, at the UN General Assembly in September.





4.Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance


The author somewhat laments that “Russia does not now, and has never had the kinds of ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) assets that the United States takes for granted.”



However “Russian assets in this regard include not only recon aircraft and drones, but also electronic warfare units that can analyze rebel communications,” he acknowledges.


Earlier in October the very same magazine made a special report on “Russia’s electronic spies which have become a key part of Moscow’s surge into Syria.”



5.Spetsnaz (Russian Special Forces)


“Russia has a lot of war left to fight in Syria,” the author predicts. “The first weeks of US intervention in Afghanistan, and of NATO intervention in Libya, showed few obvious fruits of progress. In both cases air attacks had weakened and fragmented the resistance, however, eventually allowing major ground offensives to roll up the country.”


“Two or three months from now, the international community could be celebrating the successful efforts of the Russian military to defeat ISIS, and the Assad regime could be cheering the destruction of rebel factions in the west of the country.,” he therefore suggests.


However he fails to mention that Russian authorities, including President Putin, repeatedly ruled out any possible military presence on the ground in Syria.


 



#Russia, #Syria

Erdogan: the Trojan Horse of Terror

by Ghassan Kadi

Love him or hate him, Erdogan has been a survivor; a hero for some, and a stick in the mud that would not go away for many more others. He has thus far managed to dodge many serious decisive moments, the last of which was the recent parliamentary elections that he won with flying colours despite the predictions of many analysts, including myself, that he was destined to lose abysmally.

Even though the November elections did not give Erdogan the 66% majority that would enable him to change the constitution, after being in power for more than a decade, his initial domestic financial successes, one would imagine, became plagued by his failed regional gambles in Syria, however, the November elections came to give Erdogan a new lifeline that he himself perhaps did not believe he was going to achieve.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Is Turkish Sudden Battle Tank Attack On S-400 A Possibility ?

The conflict in Syria is evolving into a more dangerous form.

Originally appeared at Interpolit, translated by James Cooksey exclusively for SouthFront
“Turkish troops could make a rapid rush with the tanks to the area of Russian S-400 air defense systems and overtake it,” said a former Russian journalist Yevgeny Kiselyov on the of radio station “UkrLife”, who’s been working in recent years in Ukraine.

Conductor kills man a week before his travel date to the US over N50



Babatunde Omoyeni, a web designer who planned to travel on the 10th of December to spend his Christmas and New Year holidays  in the United States of America, has been killed in Lagos over N50.

EFCC drags man to court, accused of swallowing $115,000 at the airport


One Onwuasonya Augustine was charged to court on Tuesday by the EFCC for purportedly gulping $115,000 to avoid declaring it to authorities of the Nigeria Customs Service at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.


He was charged alongside five other asserted associates, Christian Okoli, Kingsley Nwokenta, otherwise known as Buchito, Nwokenta Emmanuel, Ezenwa Ikenna and Ezenwa Uzoma for the offense of money laundering

The six were accused of four counts before Justice C.J. Aneke of a Federal High Court in Lagos. The agency claimed that Onwuasonya and the 5 others committed the offense on August 25, 2015, and were caught at Room 303 of a five-star inn in Lagos. The 6th accused, Uzoma, was uniquely accused of the offense of obstructing a NDLEA official, Bello Tsanya, in the release of his duty.


Be that as it may, when the charges were perused to the six accused in court, they all pleaded not guilty.


The prosecutor said:



Be that as it may, the counsel for the first to fifth denounced, Mr. Victor Opara, told the court that he had filled bail applications on their behalf expressing that the second litigant had wellbeing issues, which were being dealt with while he was in the authority of the EFCC.


He requested that the court remand all the charged in EFCC care with the goal that they could have simple access to treatment and lawyers.


Justice Aneke adjourned till December 11, 2015, to take the bail applications of the charged and ordered their remand at the Ikoyi Prison.


 



#Efcc

Fayose plans to pay ₦5,000 to ₦10,000 residents monthly allowance.


While showing the state spending plan to individuals from the state House of Assembly today December eighth, Ekiti state governor, Ayo Fayose reported that starting from ‎January 2016, N5,000 will be given to 10,000 poor inhabitants of the state as a month to month stipend



#Fayose

Oppostion United Against PDP To Save Nigeria – Buhari


President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said opposition political parties had no choice but to unite to stop the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party to save Nigeria from destruction.
Buhari said this at a public presentation of a book entitled, “From Opposition to Governing Party: Nigeria’s APC Merger Story,” written by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.
Buhari noted that the leaders of major opposition political parties realised that the PDP machine could not be effectively tackled unless they set aside their differences and came together to salvage the nation.
He said, “We realised in 2015 that unless we come together, the PDP will succeed in killing Nigeria, so we had to make sacrifices.”
The President also recalled the genesis of his relationship with the author.
He recalled that his relationship with Onu dated back to his days in protective custody during the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida dictatorship.

$15m Bribery Allegation: Nuhu Ribadu, A Liar – Ibori


Former Delta State Governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, has denounced as horrible, revolting, nasty and totally false, the devilish claim made by Mr. Nuhu Ribadu in several newspapers and on-line publications of Monday 7th December 2015.

Fayose: Everything Under Buhari Is ‘Inconclusive’.


Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, has raised the alarm that Nigeria under President Mohammadu Buhari is fast becoming a “shame” while elections under his watch are ending up “inconclusive”.

According to Fayose, the failed attempt by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate the Bayelsa state governorship election is a “clear invitation to anarchy”.

Buhari Losing Focus, Says Fasehun


The National Chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, says although President Muhammadu Buhari started well, the President has lost focus.
Fasehun said Buhari’s zeal for transforming Nigeria, which restored Nigerians’ hope after his inauguration, has reduced.
The UPN leader, who said this in a statement on Sunday, advised the President to stop his frequent foreign trips and concentrate on improving governance in the country.
According to him, Nigerians want Buhari to remain at home and perform his responsibilities rather than travelling around the world.

$2.1bn Scam: EFCC Arraigns Dasuki, Others This Week


Strong indications emerged on Sunday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is intensifying efforts to take the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), and other high profile suspects arrested in relation to the $2.1bn alleged arms deal to court.
It was gathered that the EFCC 27-man Task Force in charge of the investigation was summoned to the office on Sunday to continue with the process of investigation.

I Helped Ohakim Conceal $2.29m Cash Mansion Purchase – Witness


A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Abu Sule, told a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday how he allegedly helped a former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, to conceal the ownership of a mansion in Asokoro, Abuja, which he said the ex-governor bought with $2.29m in November 2008.
Sule was the Managing Director of Tweenex Consociates H.D Ltd, the company allegedly used by Ohakim to conceal his ownership of the property.

I Won’t Present Myself For Swearing-In As Deputy Governor In Kogi — James Faleke

The deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the recently concluded governorship election in Kogi State, James Faleke, has said he would not present himself for swearing-in with Yahaya Bello, the governorship candidate who was drafted in after the death of Abubakar Audu.
Mr. Faleke is billed to be sworn in on January 27, 2016, alongside Mr. Bello.
Mr. Faleke made his position known on Monday at Kabba at a meeting of APC stakeholders from Kogi West senatorial district.
He said his stance is in furtherance of his earlier letter to the national leadership of the party not to work with Mr. Bello, the governor-elect.

Nigeria Needs Off-Grid Solution To Power Problems - Okonjo- Iweala


Former Minister for Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said the solution to Nigeria’s power problem lies in off-grid initiatives that are climate friendly and also promotes sustainable development.
Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke at the Conference of Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, (UNFCCC) in Paris, Franc, said Nigeria needs to get the private sector involved in the power sector, adding that government must look at renewable and off-grid solutions like the solar power generation.

Foreign Investors Besiege Nigeria At Climate Talks


The determination of President Muhammadu Buhari to put square pegs in square holes in his ministerial appointments may have paid off as Nigeria emerges the sought after bride at the ongoing climate change negotiations in Paris, France.
Contrary to the undesirable and unenviable position of Nigeria in previous climate change talks, Nigeria has emerged as the leading negotiator for Africa and a much sought after party for other countries. This change it was learnt has to do with the international clout of the Minister for the Environment, Amina Mohammed.

Bayelsa Governorship Poll: PDP Activates Structures To Defend Mandate -Metuh


The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has activated its structures across the country to defend the party’s mandate in a democratic manner.
Chief Olisa Metuh, PDP National Publicity Secretary made the statement on Monday in Abuja while reacting to the cancellation and rescheduled governorship election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa.
The PDP he said, was “ready, willing and able to defend the choice of the people’’ during the rescheduled governorship poll in Southern Ijaw LGA.
“Never again will this leadership of the PDP allow our party candidates to be manipulated out of any election at any level.

A Lesson In Democracy For Buharimaniacs - By Femi Aribisala


It will take some time for those Douglas Anele fondly refers to as Buharimaniacs to realize that, in a democracy, there is nothing definitive about the outcome of an election. When an election has been concluded, those who opposed the winner are not required to shut up or go into exile.