UNIJOS declares lecture-free day over
students’ death
Authorities of the University of Jos have
declared Friday as a lecture-free day in honour
of students, who lost their lives and those
injured in the Tuesday’s bomb blasts in Jos.
A statement by the Deputy Registrar,
Information and Communication, Mr. Steve
Otowo, stated that the period would also be
used to conduct a headcount of all the
students in the university to ascertain the
number of those involved in the unfortunate
incident..
He said the Vice Chancellor had commiserated
with the families of the victims of the bomb
blast.
Meanwhile, the authorities are still searching
for the corpses of five of the seven students of
Medical Laboratory Science department, who
were caught up in the blast.
Acting President of the Students Union
Government, Williams Lar, told our
correspondent in an interview that out of the
five students, only the corpses of two –
Michael Ogbole and Francisca Nwafor, had
been identified and their parents notified.
He added that the bodies of Wungak Monday,
Millicent Yusuf, Doris Gebunem, Vivian
Chiamka Obilo and Lydia Komolafe, had not
been found.
He said another student, who had graduated
from the university and undergoing clearance,
Joy Mako, was currently on admission at Our
Lady of Apostle Hospital, with Jimlong Dayol
of Architecture Department and Jumai Audu, a
worker in the Consultancy Department of
UNIJOS.
Lar added that another students of Pharmacy
Department, identified as at Tessy, had also
not been seen since the incident happened.
He said, ” By law, we can only declare the two
students as dead and five others missing. But
that is just to satisfy the requirements of the
law because a lot of people were burnt beyond
recognition and since these students moved in
a group, we can simply conclude that they are
dead.”
Lar said the parents of all the affected
students had been notified and they had
arrived Jos to join in the search.
A friend of the seven students described them
as front benchers, who were serious with their
studies.
“They are God fearing and first class materials
and had always moved together. So when we
saw the bodies of two of them, we can
conclude that the rest were burnt beyond
recognition, says the friend, who identified
herself simply as Dinchi.
“They were all brilliant students , Mike is the
class pastor while Dolapo was the assistant
class rep. During lectures, they all sit in the
front row and they read together. The school
and the entire department of Medical
Laboratory Science will miss them. They
didn’t deserve to die in that way.”
Culled from PUNCH
Thursday, 22 May 2014
Thai army chief announces military
coup on live TV
Thailand’s army chief announced in a televised
address to the nation on Thursday that the
armed forces were seizing power after months
of deadly political turmoil.
“In order for the country to return to normal
quickly, the National Peace Keeping Committee
comprised of the army, the Thai armed forces,
the Royal Air Force and the police need to seize
power as of May 22 at 4.30 pm,” army chief
Prayut Chan-O-Cha said.
The commander-in-chief, who invoked martial
law on Tuesday, said the coup was needed to
prevent the conflict escalating. “All Thais must
remain calm and government officials must
work as normal,” he added.
The move came after military-hosted talks
between the kingdom’s political rivals
apparently failed to reach a compromise on
ending nearly seven months of mass protests
on the streets of Bangkok.
Rival protest leaders at the talks — held at a
heavily guarded military facility in the capital —
were seen being taken away by the army
although it was unclear whether they had been
formally detained.
The long-running political crisis broadly pits a
Bangkok-based royalist elite and its backers
against the billionaire family of former premier
Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin, a former tycoon-
turned-populist politician, was ousted by the
military in a coup in 2006 but still enjoys strong
support, particularly in rural northern Thailand.
His sister Yingluck Shinawatra was dismissed
as prime minister earlier this month in a
controversial court ruling after months of
protests seeking her overthrow. Her supporters
have warned of possible civil war if opposition
demonstrators achieve their goal of seeing an
unelected interim premier take power to
oversee vaguely defined reforms widely seen as
a bid to cripple the Thaksin family’s political
power.
Culled from Vanguard
coup on live TV
Thailand’s army chief announced in a televised
address to the nation on Thursday that the
armed forces were seizing power after months
of deadly political turmoil.
“In order for the country to return to normal
quickly, the National Peace Keeping Committee
comprised of the army, the Thai armed forces,
the Royal Air Force and the police need to seize
power as of May 22 at 4.30 pm,” army chief
Prayut Chan-O-Cha said.
The commander-in-chief, who invoked martial
law on Tuesday, said the coup was needed to
prevent the conflict escalating. “All Thais must
remain calm and government officials must
work as normal,” he added.
The move came after military-hosted talks
between the kingdom’s political rivals
apparently failed to reach a compromise on
ending nearly seven months of mass protests
on the streets of Bangkok.
Rival protest leaders at the talks — held at a
heavily guarded military facility in the capital —
were seen being taken away by the army
although it was unclear whether they had been
formally detained.
The long-running political crisis broadly pits a
Bangkok-based royalist elite and its backers
against the billionaire family of former premier
Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin, a former tycoon-
turned-populist politician, was ousted by the
military in a coup in 2006 but still enjoys strong
support, particularly in rural northern Thailand.
His sister Yingluck Shinawatra was dismissed
as prime minister earlier this month in a
controversial court ruling after months of
protests seeking her overthrow. Her supporters
have warned of possible civil war if opposition
demonstrators achieve their goal of seeing an
unelected interim premier take power to
oversee vaguely defined reforms widely seen as
a bid to cripple the Thaksin family’s political
power.
Culled from Vanguard
UNIJOS declares lecture-free day over
students’ death
Authorities of the University of Jos have
declared Friday as a lecture-free day in honour
of students, who lost their lives and those
injured in the Tuesday’s bomb blasts in Jos.
A statement by the Deputy Registrar,
Information and Communication, Mr. Steve
Otowo, stated that the period would also be
used to conduct a headcount of all the
students in the university to ascertain the
number of those involved in the unfortunate
incident..
He said the Vice Chancellor had commiserated
with the families of the victims of the bomb
blast.
Meanwhile, the authorities are still searching
for the corpses of five of the seven students of
Medical Laboratory Science department, who
were caught up in the blast.
Acting President of the Students Union
Government, Williams Lar, told our
correspondent in an interview that out of the
five students, only the corpses of two –
Michael Ogbole and Francisca Nwafor, had
been identified and their parents notified.
He added that the bodies of Wungak Monday,
Millicent Yusuf, Doris Gebunem, Vivian
Chiamka Obilo and Lydia Komolafe, had not
been found.
He said another student, who had graduated
from the university and undergoing clearance,
Joy Mako, was currently on admission at Our
Lady of Apostle Hospital, with Jimlong Dayol
of Architecture Department and Jumai Audu, a
worker in the Consultancy Department of
UNIJOS.
Lar added that another students of Pharmacy
Department, identified as at Tessy, had also
not been seen since the incident happened.
He said, ” By law, we can only declare the two
students as dead and five others missing. But
that is just to satisfy the requirements of the
law because a lot of people were burnt beyond
recognition and since these students moved in
a group, we can simply conclude that they are
dead.”
Lar said the parents of all the affected
students had been notified and they had
arrived Jos to join in the search.
A friend of the seven students described them
as front benchers, who were serious with their
studies.
“They are God fearing and first class materials
and had always moved together. So when we
saw the bodies of two of them, we can
conclude that the rest were burnt beyond
recognition, says the friend, who identified
herself simply as Dinchi.
“They were all brilliant students , Mike is the
class pastor while Dolapo was the assistant
class rep. During lectures, they all sit in the
front row and they read together. The school
and the entire department of Medical
Laboratory Science will miss them. They
didn’t deserve to die in that way.”
Culled from PUNCH
students’ death
Authorities of the University of Jos have
declared Friday as a lecture-free day in honour
of students, who lost their lives and those
injured in the Tuesday’s bomb blasts in Jos.
A statement by the Deputy Registrar,
Information and Communication, Mr. Steve
Otowo, stated that the period would also be
used to conduct a headcount of all the
students in the university to ascertain the
number of those involved in the unfortunate
incident..
He said the Vice Chancellor had commiserated
with the families of the victims of the bomb
blast.
Meanwhile, the authorities are still searching
for the corpses of five of the seven students of
Medical Laboratory Science department, who
were caught up in the blast.
Acting President of the Students Union
Government, Williams Lar, told our
correspondent in an interview that out of the
five students, only the corpses of two –
Michael Ogbole and Francisca Nwafor, had
been identified and their parents notified.
He added that the bodies of Wungak Monday,
Millicent Yusuf, Doris Gebunem, Vivian
Chiamka Obilo and Lydia Komolafe, had not
been found.
He said another student, who had graduated
from the university and undergoing clearance,
Joy Mako, was currently on admission at Our
Lady of Apostle Hospital, with Jimlong Dayol
of Architecture Department and Jumai Audu, a
worker in the Consultancy Department of
UNIJOS.
Lar added that another students of Pharmacy
Department, identified as at Tessy, had also
not been seen since the incident happened.
He said, ” By law, we can only declare the two
students as dead and five others missing. But
that is just to satisfy the requirements of the
law because a lot of people were burnt beyond
recognition and since these students moved in
a group, we can simply conclude that they are
dead.”
Lar said the parents of all the affected
students had been notified and they had
arrived Jos to join in the search.
A friend of the seven students described them
as front benchers, who were serious with their
studies.
“They are God fearing and first class materials
and had always moved together. So when we
saw the bodies of two of them, we can
conclude that the rest were burnt beyond
recognition, says the friend, who identified
herself simply as Dinchi.
“They were all brilliant students , Mike is the
class pastor while Dolapo was the assistant
class rep. During lectures, they all sit in the
front row and they read together. The school
and the entire department of Medical
Laboratory Science will miss them. They
didn’t deserve to die in that way.”
Culled from PUNCH
BringBackOurGirls protesters mount
pressure on Aso Rock
Protesters on Thursday were
taking their call for the release of more than 200
schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram to
Nigeria’s president, as US military personnel
headed to Chad as part of the rescue effort.
Demonstrators said they were intending to
march on Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential
villa in the capital, Abuja, to maintain pressure
on the embattled head of state to secure the
girls’ safe release.
“It is the wish of this movement that this
engagement will catalyse positive action
towards (the) quick rescue of our abducted
girls,” the #BringBackOurGirls campaign
coordinator, Hadiza Bala Usman, said in a
statement.
Previous street protests in Abuja have led to
meetings with lawmakers at the national
parliament, Nigeria’s national security adviser
and military top brass.
Thursday’s planned march comes after US
President Barack Obama announced that 80
military personnel had been deployed to Chad
to help find the 223 girls still missing since their
abduction on April 14.
Obama said in a letter to Congress that the
military contingent would stay in Chad until
their support in ending the crisis that has
triggered worldwide outrage “is no longer
required”.
“These personnel will support the operation of
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and
the surrounding area,” he wrote.
- Schools shut -
The deployment marks a significant boost to
an existing US military effort which includes the
use of surveillance drones as well as manned
aircraft over Nigeria.
The Pentagon has criticised Nigeria for failing
to react quickly enough to the rise of Boko
Haram, who have been blamed for thousands
of deaths since 2009.
Jonathan’s administration had previously
resisted close cooperation with the West but
accepted help from US, British, French and
Israeli specialists amid a groundswell of
pressure fuelled by a social media campaign.
Nigeria is hoping to tighten the screws on Boko
Haram and has asked the United Nations
Security Council to proscribe the group, which
is said to have links to Al-Qaeda-linked
militants in north Africa.
President Jonathan has called the extremists
“Al-Qaeda in western and central Africa”,
underlining what Nigeria views as Boko
Haram’s threat to regional stability.
The United States and a number of other
countries have already designated Boko Haram
as a terrorist organisation in an attempt to cut
off any international support and overseas
funding for the group.
The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT)
meanwhile called for schools across the
country to shut to allow a “day of protest”
against the abduction of the girls from Chibok
on April 14.
“We remain resolute in our resolve to continue
the campaign… until our girls are brought back
safe and alive and the perpetrators of the
heinous crime are brought to book,” NUT
president Michael Alogba Olukoya said on
Wednesday.
- No let-up -
In the last five weeks, Boko Haram has stepped
up its campaign of attacks outside the
northeast worst affected by the insurgency,
leading to fears of an escalation of violence
across the country.
Hours before the girls’ kidnapping, the group
bombed a crowded busy station in the Abuja
suburb of Nyanya, killing 75. A copy-cat
bombing at the same location on May 1 left 19
dead.
On Tuesday, two car bombs ripped through a
busy market within 20 minutes of each other in
the central city of Jos, killing at least 118.
There are fears that the death toll could rise
further. The bombing — Nigeria’s deadliest —
was seen by experts as an indication of Boko
Haram’s intent to export violence and
demonstrate their capability to the international
community.
“They have sleeper cells all over the northern
part of the country and they’re activating
them,” said Kyari Mohammed, a Boko Haram
specialist and chairman of the Centre for Peace
Studies at Nigeria’s Modibbo Adama University.
“That’s what they’re going to do. We should
anticipate more attacks, especially if they (the
government and the international community)
are unable to solve the Chibok problem,” he
told AFP.
At the same time, there has been no let-up in
the bloodshed in Borno state, one of three in the
northeast which has been under a state of
emergency since May last year.
More than 50 people were killed in three
separate attacks this week. Two were near
Chibok on Monday and Tuesday, while the third
was near Gamboru Ngala, close to Lake Chad,
where a reported 300 people were killed last
month.
Culled from Vanguard
pressure on Aso Rock
Protesters on Thursday were
taking their call for the release of more than 200
schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram to
Nigeria’s president, as US military personnel
headed to Chad as part of the rescue effort.
Demonstrators said they were intending to
march on Goodluck Jonathan’s presidential
villa in the capital, Abuja, to maintain pressure
on the embattled head of state to secure the
girls’ safe release.
“It is the wish of this movement that this
engagement will catalyse positive action
towards (the) quick rescue of our abducted
girls,” the #BringBackOurGirls campaign
coordinator, Hadiza Bala Usman, said in a
statement.
Previous street protests in Abuja have led to
meetings with lawmakers at the national
parliament, Nigeria’s national security adviser
and military top brass.
Thursday’s planned march comes after US
President Barack Obama announced that 80
military personnel had been deployed to Chad
to help find the 223 girls still missing since their
abduction on April 14.
Obama said in a letter to Congress that the
military contingent would stay in Chad until
their support in ending the crisis that has
triggered worldwide outrage “is no longer
required”.
“These personnel will support the operation of
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
aircraft for missions over northern Nigeria and
the surrounding area,” he wrote.
- Schools shut -
The deployment marks a significant boost to
an existing US military effort which includes the
use of surveillance drones as well as manned
aircraft over Nigeria.
The Pentagon has criticised Nigeria for failing
to react quickly enough to the rise of Boko
Haram, who have been blamed for thousands
of deaths since 2009.
Jonathan’s administration had previously
resisted close cooperation with the West but
accepted help from US, British, French and
Israeli specialists amid a groundswell of
pressure fuelled by a social media campaign.
Nigeria is hoping to tighten the screws on Boko
Haram and has asked the United Nations
Security Council to proscribe the group, which
is said to have links to Al-Qaeda-linked
militants in north Africa.
President Jonathan has called the extremists
“Al-Qaeda in western and central Africa”,
underlining what Nigeria views as Boko
Haram’s threat to regional stability.
The United States and a number of other
countries have already designated Boko Haram
as a terrorist organisation in an attempt to cut
off any international support and overseas
funding for the group.
The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT)
meanwhile called for schools across the
country to shut to allow a “day of protest”
against the abduction of the girls from Chibok
on April 14.
“We remain resolute in our resolve to continue
the campaign… until our girls are brought back
safe and alive and the perpetrators of the
heinous crime are brought to book,” NUT
president Michael Alogba Olukoya said on
Wednesday.
- No let-up -
In the last five weeks, Boko Haram has stepped
up its campaign of attacks outside the
northeast worst affected by the insurgency,
leading to fears of an escalation of violence
across the country.
Hours before the girls’ kidnapping, the group
bombed a crowded busy station in the Abuja
suburb of Nyanya, killing 75. A copy-cat
bombing at the same location on May 1 left 19
dead.
On Tuesday, two car bombs ripped through a
busy market within 20 minutes of each other in
the central city of Jos, killing at least 118.
There are fears that the death toll could rise
further. The bombing — Nigeria’s deadliest —
was seen by experts as an indication of Boko
Haram’s intent to export violence and
demonstrate their capability to the international
community.
“They have sleeper cells all over the northern
part of the country and they’re activating
them,” said Kyari Mohammed, a Boko Haram
specialist and chairman of the Centre for Peace
Studies at Nigeria’s Modibbo Adama University.
“That’s what they’re going to do. We should
anticipate more attacks, especially if they (the
government and the international community)
are unable to solve the Chibok problem,” he
told AFP.
At the same time, there has been no let-up in
the bloodshed in Borno state, one of three in the
northeast which has been under a state of
emergency since May last year.
More than 50 people were killed in three
separate attacks this week. Two were near
Chibok on Monday and Tuesday, while the third
was near Gamboru Ngala, close to Lake Chad,
where a reported 300 people were killed last
month.
Culled from Vanguard
UN envoy strongly condemns double
bombings in Jos
UN envoy for West Africa Said Djinnit has
condemned the double bombings in a market
in Jos, which killed 75 people and wounded
more.
In a statement issued in Dakar, a copy of which
was obtained by PANA in New York on
Thursday, Djinnit extended his solidarity and
sympathy to the victims and their bereaved
families as well as to the Government and the
people of Nigeria.
He said the perpetrators of these “heinous and
cowardly attacks’’ against innocent civilians
should be swiftly brought to justice.
“The large-scale and devastating losses of
lives caused by repeated indiscriminate killings
cannot continue,’’ he said.
Djinnit, the UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative and head of the UN Office for
West Africa, reiterated the world body’s
commitment to stopping the problem of
insurgency in Nigeria.
He said the efforts would be to tackle the threat
of terrorism within the framework of the UN
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
The envoy visited Nigeria on May 12 to May 15
in his capacity as the High-Level
Representative of the UN Secretary-General to
discuss with government officials the
assistance that the UN could provide in support
of ongoing efforts.
Efforts to seek the safe release of the more than
200 girls abducted from their school in Chibok,
northern Borno State, in mid-April.
In the wake of that visit, the UN had prepared
an integrated support package that included
immediate support to the affected families, the
population and the girls after their release.
The support would in particular be in the area of
psycho-social counselling and helping the girls
to reintegrate with their families and
communities.
Though there has been no claim of
responsibility for the twin blasts in Jos, they
seem to be bearing the hallmarks of the terror
group, Boko Haram, which abducted the school
girls over a month ago.
The group, whose name stands for “Western
education is a sin’’, has been carrying out
targeted attacks in recent years against
schools, police, religious leaders and
politicians.
They also targeted public and international
institutions, indiscriminately killing civilians,
including dozens of children. (PANA/NAN)
Culled from Vanguard
bombings in Jos
UN envoy for West Africa Said Djinnit has
condemned the double bombings in a market
in Jos, which killed 75 people and wounded
more.
In a statement issued in Dakar, a copy of which
was obtained by PANA in New York on
Thursday, Djinnit extended his solidarity and
sympathy to the victims and their bereaved
families as well as to the Government and the
people of Nigeria.
He said the perpetrators of these “heinous and
cowardly attacks’’ against innocent civilians
should be swiftly brought to justice.
“The large-scale and devastating losses of
lives caused by repeated indiscriminate killings
cannot continue,’’ he said.
Djinnit, the UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative and head of the UN Office for
West Africa, reiterated the world body’s
commitment to stopping the problem of
insurgency in Nigeria.
He said the efforts would be to tackle the threat
of terrorism within the framework of the UN
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.
The envoy visited Nigeria on May 12 to May 15
in his capacity as the High-Level
Representative of the UN Secretary-General to
discuss with government officials the
assistance that the UN could provide in support
of ongoing efforts.
Efforts to seek the safe release of the more than
200 girls abducted from their school in Chibok,
northern Borno State, in mid-April.
In the wake of that visit, the UN had prepared
an integrated support package that included
immediate support to the affected families, the
population and the girls after their release.
The support would in particular be in the area of
psycho-social counselling and helping the girls
to reintegrate with their families and
communities.
Though there has been no claim of
responsibility for the twin blasts in Jos, they
seem to be bearing the hallmarks of the terror
group, Boko Haram, which abducted the school
girls over a month ago.
The group, whose name stands for “Western
education is a sin’’, has been carrying out
targeted attacks in recent years against
schools, police, religious leaders and
politicians.
They also targeted public and international
institutions, indiscriminately killing civilians,
including dozens of children. (PANA/NAN)
Culled from Vanguard
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