FG open to negotiate with boko haram

Mr. Femi Adesina

The Federal Government has said that it is open to negotiations with the Boko Haram sect in order to find a lasting solution to the security crisis in the country, if the group is willing.

This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Friday, in an interview with the BBC.

In the interview, which was monitored by our correspondent, Adesina said the Federal Government was not ruling out negotiations with the sect if it would put an end to the activities of the group. He lamented that the insurgents had attacked so many villages and killed scores of people.

“These were very vicious attacks. People were killed in scores and it’s so sad,” he said.

The President had during his inauguration speech said he had launched a strategy to deal with the sect by relocating the military headquarters to Maiduguri, Borno State.

When asked whether this would work, Adesina replied, “This is going to work. There are machineries being put in place. It’s going to work. The recent killings by the sect were meant to break our resolve, to weaken it, but that will stop. It remains a priority to him (Buhari) to deal with the group.

“You will notice that his first two weeks of administration were dedicated to tackling the insurgency. He visited Chad and Niger Republics and the following week, the Presidents of those countries also visited him in Abuja.

“The President of Benin Republic and the Defence Minister of Cameroon visited him; machinery is being put in place and once we’re through, we will see the end of the group. The target time for the deployment of the multinational force is July ending; that is in a couple of weeks.”

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When the BBC also asked if the Federal Government was considering negotiations with the insurgent group, Adesina replied in the affirmative.

He said, “If they are willing, why not? You know attempts have been made for negotiations in the past and they didn’t work. Every reasonable person would want to see the end to this insurgency. So if they are willing, why not? You can’t rule that out.”

Mexico nabs Beltran Leyva cartel leader

 

The alleged co-leader of the once-mighty Beltran Leyva drug cartel, who is wanted in the United States, was arrested in Mexico City where he had gone to celebrate his birthday, authorities said.
Martin Villegas Navarrete, 38, was detained “without a shot fired” in a trendy district of the capital, where he had traveled to from the Pacific resort of Acapulco, the National Security Commission said on Friday.
A US court issued an extradition request for Villegas in 2011 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges, the commission said in a statement.
In 2008, he was responsible for the smuggling of cocaine to the southern US states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, the commission said.
US authorities seized $13 million and 150 kilos of cocaine between 2008 and 2009.
The commission said Villegas and Arnoldo Villa Sanchez shared the cartel’s leadership in October following the capture of Hector Beltran Leyva, whose brothers founded the criminal organization.

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Selfie danger during solar eclipse, eye experts warn

Courtesy BBC

Taking pictures of Friday's solar eclipse on a smartphone could put people at risk of blindness, eye experts warn.

The College of Optometrists says the danger comes should people look directly at the Sun as they position themselves for selfies or other shots.
Inadvertently glancing at the Sun - even briefly while setting up a shot - can lead to burns at the back of eye.
Experts advise indirect viewing, using pinholes and facing away from the Sun.

This could potentially be very dangerous because people might be tempted to look at the Sun as they try to get the perfect shot or clip”

Daniel Hardiman-Mc Cartney College of Optometrists

Sun safety

On Friday, the UK will experience a partial solar eclipse - the Moon will pass in front of the Sun, blotting out up to 98% of its disc and putting much of the UK into a morning twilight.

People in Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to experience the darkest conditions.
For many, this will be the first time they have witnessed the phenomenon in 15 years, but eye specialists say people should not use their camera phones to capture the event.
Daniel Hardiman-McCartney, a clinical adviser at the College of Optometrists, said: "In 1999, when there was the last major eclipse, no-one really had smartphones or took selfies.
"This could potentially be very dangerous because people might be tempted to look at the Sun as they try to get the perfect shot or clip.
"And as the eclipse is a relatively slow process, people might end up accidentally looking at the Sun for minutes."
He said though an image of an eclipse on a screen was not dangerous in itself, people might look around the edges of a phone when framing the photo.
"And when taking selfies, it would be easy to keep glancing back over your shoulder to make sure everything is aligned."
He plans to view the event indirectly on a television screen.

Pinhole cameras should only be used with your back to the Sun

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists says there is no safe method for most of the public to look at an eclipse directly - even using dark filters such as sunglasses or through equipment such as cameras, binoculars or telescopes.
Astronomers use special solar telescopes or filters to protect them.
But eye doctors have seen patients with permanent and incurable solar burns to their eyes, the college's guidance warns.
Pin holes and colanders The Royal Astronomical Society has issued information on the safest ways to view the eclipse.
They include using a pinhole camera to project an image of the eclipse on to a piece of card.
Other options involve using colanders to make multiple pinholes or using specifically designed eclipse viewing glasses.
Experts warn the glasses must be checked for damage first and should be put on before looking up at the sky.

Boko Haram crisis: At least 70 bodies found in Nigerian town

courtesy BBC.

Chadian and Niger troops liberated Damasak, which is near the border with Niger, on Saturday

At least 70 bodies have been found dumped outside the town of Damasak in north-eastern Nigeria, after it was recaptured from Boko Haram militants.

The victims appear to have been killed some time ago, as the bodies were partially mummified by the desert air.
Troops from Niger and Chad seized Damasak on Saturday, ending months of control by the Islamist militants.
Earlier, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan predicted Boko Haram would lose all territory within a month.
"They are getting weaker and weaker by the day," he told the BBC on Friday.

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President Goodluck Jonathan: "I'm very hopeful that it will not take us more than a month to recover the old territories"

Damasak is a trading town in Borno state near Niger's border and is about 200km (120 miles) from the state's main city of Maiduguri.
It was overrun by the militants, who began their insurgency in 2009 to create an Islamic state, at the end of last year.
Many of those found in Damasak had had their throats slits and some had been decapitated. It is not yet known who the victims were.

Chadian army Col Azem Bermandoa Agouna told AFP news agency that he had seen "about 100 bodies spread under a bridge just outside the town".
Together with the Nigerian army, forces from Chad, Niger and Cameroon are involved in an offensive against the Islamist insurgents who began taking over territory about a year ago - after being pushed out of their base in Maiduguri.
Nigeria is preparing to hold presidential elections on 28 March after security concerns led to a postponement of the original date in mid-February.
'Under-rated external influence' President Jonathan's government has been heavily criticised for its failure to end the six-year insurgency in the north-east.
He admitted that the government has been surprised by the group's progress.

Boko Haram at a glance:

• Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language
• Launched military operations in 2009 to create an Islamic state
• Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - has also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja
• Abducted hundreds, including at least 200 schoolgirls
• Controls several north-eastern towns
• Launched attacks on neighbouring states

"We never expected that [Boko Haram] will build up that kind of capacity. We under-rated their external influence. Since after the civil war we've not fought any war, we don't manufacture weapons, so we had to look for help to re-equip our army and the air force," he told the BBC.
The government has made similar claims in the past about defeating or driving back Boko Haram within a specific period - but these have not been borne out by events.
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.
Earlier this month, the group pledged allegiance to Islamic State militants, who control large parts of Syria and Iraq and are also active in Libya.
The violence in north-eastern Nigeria has killed more than 15,500 people since 2012.

PDP wants court to stop APC, AP, LP

The Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State has filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Asaba seeking to nullify the eligibility of the candidates of the All Progressives Congress, the Labour Party and the Accord Party in the March 28 and April 11 general elections in the state.

In a suit filed by the chambers of Mr. Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), the PDP is asking the court to disqualify the candidates of the three political parties standing for election in the state on the grounds that their parties violated sections 85(1) of the Electoral Acts, 2010 (as amended) which provides that political parties should give the commission at least 21 days’ notice of any convention, congress, conference or meeting convened for the purpose of electing members of its executive committees, other governing bodies or nominating candidates for any of the elective offices specified under this act.”

The presiding judge, Justice Olatunregun Ishola, had however ordered that the defendants be served the notice of appearance and adjourned hearing to March 24.

According to the plaintiffs, APC, Accord and Labour Party breached the requisite statute, having held their primaries less than 21 days after the notices they gave to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the holding of their primaries to choose candidates for the 2015 election.

Joined as defendants in the suit are INEC; APC governorship flag- bearer , Olorogun Ortega Emerhor;   Labour Party governorship candidate, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru ; Accord Party Senatorial Candidate for Delta North , Hon Victor Ochei and 95 others.