SUNDAY VANGUARD, JUNE 1, 2014 — PAGE 5
Continued from page 1 weeks ago, which left at least 300 people, including 16 policemen, dead. The latest attack occurred in the villages of Kanari, Wazarde and Gula along Nigeria’s border with Cameroun. It came on the heels of the ambush by gunmen, on Friday, on the convoy of some emirs in Borno State killing one and leaving two others seriously injured. In the meantime, the Federal Government said it had not foreclosed dialogue in resolving the war with the Boko Haram Islamist group. It also doused the controversy sparked by the statement by the Minister of Youth Development, Mr Boni Haruna, that amnesty plan for repentant Boko Haram members was in the pipeline, saying there was no such plan. Yesterday’s attack in Gamboru Ngala LGA, according to reports, occurred after gunmen arrived the three border villages at about 3a.m in trucks with assault rifles, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and petrol bombs. The gunmen, sources said, shot sporadically at fleeing residents, killing the victims. “The shooting went on for about seven hours. The gunmen had a field day and operated unchallenged as they did not leave until about 9.30 am on Saturday”, one of the sources told Sunday Vanguard. The villages have been reportedly deserted as survivors took refuge in Ngala town and neighbouring Cameroun villages. Borno State Commissioner of Police, Mr Lawal Tanko, said he was not aware of the attack. However, a top security source, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, confirmed the attack. He told Sunday Vanguard that two of the attacked villages were razed by the invaders. ‘Dialogue on the cards’ The Federal Government, yesterday, declared that it had not ruled out dialogue with Boko Haram to stop its killings in the Northeast and the release of the over 200 schoolgirls it abducted in Chibok, Borno State on April 14. The Special Adviser to the President on Media
THREE WEEKS AFTER MASSACRE OF 300
Boko Haram kills 42!
*Dialogue option with Islamist group remains – FG *’No amnesty plan’
From left: Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State; Senator Isiaka Adeleke; his wife; and the Interim National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, APC, during the defection of Adeleke from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to APC yesterday. and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, who disclosed this, said that whereas government was pursing a military campaign against the Islamist group, dialogue op-
tion remained on the table. ”The Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Conflict in the North-east is a standing one. There is also a Presi-
dential Fact-Finding Committee both of which have been engaging stakeholders and have been offering advice. The position of government has been that the mili-
tary option is there to deal specifically with impunity because no responsible government will fold its arms and allow any group supported by Al Qaeda to over run the country or threaten to divide the country”, Abati told Sunday Vanguard. ”The Nigerian government has made that very clear and President Jonathan has always said that he will not allow anybody to disintegrate Nigeria under his watch. At the same time, government has a soft approach under which it offers those who are willing to renounce terrorism to lay down their arms and return to the fold as citizens. The door is open to them for dialogue. The door is open to them for repentance and rehabilitation. They are like the lost sheep and the President is saying even these lost sheep we are willing to bring them back to the fold. The door of the Nigerian state is open to anyone who has gone astray, who has been misled to think that violence is a solution to whatever problem he or she may have, to rejoin the Nigerian family and conduct themselves as
Abiola deserves to be honoured – Obasanjo BY DAUD OLATUNJI,ABEOKUTA
ormer F Oluse
President gun Obasanjo, yesterday, said the late business mogul and undeclared winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola, deserves to be honoured, saying he sacrificed for Nigeria. Obasanjo, who spoke in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, at the fourth Founder’s Day celebrations and 85th birthday of the founder/patron of the Nobel House College, Chief Olatunde Abudu, lamented that Abiola was denied being
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the President of the country due to what he called ‘bad belle’. The former President, was reacting to a statement by the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, who said bad ‘belle’ robbed Ogun of producing three Presidents. Obasanjo acknowledged the contribution of Abiola to the development of Nigeria in all areas of human endeavours, saying the late politician sacrificed a lot for the development of the country. Obasanjo, a special guest of honour at the event, spoke in the presence of a former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan; a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola; governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; and some traditional rulers. Others dignitaries at the event i n c l u d e Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Lekan Alli, Major General Oluwole Rotimi (retd) and Chief (Mrs) Ayora KuforijiOlubi. The remarks came days to the 15th anniversary of the annulled June 12, 1993 election, as Obasanjo acknowledged that Ogun has produced many firsts in different spheres of life. According to the former President, Abiola contributed to the development of Nigeria, “Yes, I agree, Abeokuta would have produced a third President if not for bad ‘belle’.
They did not allow him to be President,” he stated. “He deserved to be honoured because he sacrificed for Nigeria. “ Also speaking, Amosun
stressed the essence of developing the education sector by all stakeholders, maintaining that government should provide the enabling environment for its growth.
Cooking gas explosion kills family of six BY EMMANUEL OKOLIE, Agbor n explosion from a cooking gas has killed a family of six in Agbor in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State. The victims were identified as Mr. Favour Akpevweta, his wife, three children and a sister-in-law The fire started after the gas with which Mrs. Akpevweta was cooking exploded. An eyewitness said that she was washing beans outside the compound in the evening when she noticed that something was burning in the kitchen, and rushed inside to know what it was. The eyewitness said she
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entered the kitchen with a burning candle, which she dropped by the door, adding that the candle caused the explosion. According to the eyewitness, while Mr. Akpevweta, who was in the sitting room with his children managed to walk out of the building, opposite Gbenoba Grammar School, he died some minutes later due to the severe burns he sustained. Efforts by good Samaritans to rescue other members of the family were unsuccessful, the eyewitness added, saying that those that made it to the hospital alive, including Mrs. Akpevweta, did not survive.
Wike denies taking oath before Amaechi to be appointed Minister
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UPERVISING Minis ter of Education, Mr Nyesom Wike, has denied the allegation by Governor Chibuike Amaechi that he swore never to part ways with him politically if he (governor) nominated him for ministerial appointment. Amaechi alleged recently that the Supervising Minister broke an oath he took with the names of his children that he would not
betray him ( governor) if he pushed for his appointment as Minister. The governor, who also said he ensured President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Wike in his cabinet, described the Minister as a traitor. Wike, who spoke in Obio Akpor local government area, at the weekend, said he never took any oath before Amaechi, adding that the govenor spoke out of frustration.
true citizens”. ’President never mentioned amnesty for Boko Haram’ Also, yesterday, Abati said President Goodluck Jonathan never mentioned the issue of amnesty for Boko Haram members during his Democracy Day speech. The presidential adviser was reacting to the statement by the Minister of Youths Development, Haruna, on Thursday, during one of the events marking the Democracy Day celebrations, that government would grant amnesty to Boko Haram members who renounce violence and lay down their arms. Abati, who spoke with State House correspondents, said the President never mentioned amnesty in his Democracy Day broadcast. Chibok girls: Ozekhome backs negotiation Meanwhile, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome, has called on the Federal Government to negotiate with Boko Haram with a view to bringing back the Chibok abducted school girls. In a statement, yesterday, Ozekhome, who is also a delegate to the National Conference in Abuja, said that Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution mandates the Federal Government to ensure the security and welfare of the citizenry.
EKITI GUBER
Fayose petitions CJ, seeks transfer of cases on impeachment BY GBENGA ARIYIBI, Ado Ekiti
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he national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has petitioned Ekiti State Chief Judge,Justice Ayodeji Daramola, objecting to Justice Monisola Oluwatoyin Abodunde presiding over a suit against the party’s gubernatorial candidate in the June 21 governorship election in the state, Mr Ayodele Fayose, on the grounds of likelihood of bias. The petition is in response to two suits, Mr Adeniyi Ajakaiye Vs Fayose and others on behalf of a socio-political organisation,Ekiti E-eleven, and Citizen Popular Party(CPP) and 2 others Vs PDP and 3 others In the two cases, the plaintiffs are seeking the order of court that Fayose is not competent to contest the election on the premise that he had sworn to an affidavit in an Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC)Form, that he was never impeached or indicted by any tribunal. In the petition, written by the National Secretary of the PDP, Prof. Wale Oladipo ,Fayose was said to have been forced out of office because of orchestrated failed impeachment spearheaded by the then Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon Friday Aderemi, and Justice Jide Aladejana (rtd). The petition went further to state that the then Chief Judge,Justice Kayode Bamisile, who earlier constituted a 7 -man panel, freed him( Fayose) of any wrong doing.