15 killed as suicide bombers attack Borno

At least 15 people have been killed while 53 were injured in two attacks in Biu, a community in the southern part of Borno state, the police have said.

Victor Isuku, Borno police spokesperson, told TheCable that the suicide bomb attacks occurred at about 9am on Saturday at the community’s market.

The first attack was said to have occurred at entrance of the market, while the second occurred at yam section of the market.

Shaibu Biu, a trader, told TheCable that “uncountable” number of people have been injured as a result of the attacks.

“My friend Ibrahima was among those that were killed. First, we had a very loud explosion then we had another one in the middle of the markets,” Biu said.

“Countless of people have died while unaccountable were injured.”

Isuku said: “One of the bombers detonated IED strapped on her body within Biu Main market, while d other one detonated outside d market square.

“Police patrols EOD teams led by d Acting Area Commander Biu were promptly mobilized and dispatched to scene.

“The Corpses & the injured persons have been evacuated to General Hospital Biu. Meanwhile, normalcy has been restored and the area rendered safe.”- CableNG

Buhari Was Banned From Entering The U.S. For 15 Years

President Muhammadu Buhari was banned from entering the United States because Americans had reservations about his religious views, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said Friday. 

Critics have long accused Mr. Buhari of holding extreme religious views that antithetical to modern democratic principles. 

In 2001, Mr. Buhari drew nationwide backlash when he declared his total commitment to the Islamic doctrine of Shari’a and called on Muslims to only vote for their fellow Muslims during elections.

But the president has denied being an extremist, saying he tolerates other religions as much as he does his Muslim faith.

“For about 15 years, Buhari could not enter America on account of religious considerations,” Mr. Abubakar said in an interview with Dele Momodu which was published in The Boss Newspaper Saturday. 

Mr. Momodu had asked Mr. Abubakar why he had not been able to visit the United States for many years, amid speculations that he is wanted in that country for a slew of sharp practices.

Mr. Abubakar, who is expected to run for president in 2019, said the U.S. authorities have nothing against him. He said he was able to visit Europe regularly without being arrested for onward extradition to the U.S.

The former vice president said if Nigerians elect him president, he would be allowed into the United States just like Mr. Buhari and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both of whom are now being accorded red carpet treatments in the U.S. after becoming leaders of their respective countries.

Mr. Abubakar was named in at least one fraudulent deal in the United States, which involved contract award in Nigeria. 

An American congressman Williams Jefferson was jailed in 2009 after being convicted by the FBI in relation to that case. A $100,000 cash which federal agents found in Mr. Jefferson’s apartment during a raid was said to have been from Mr. Abubakar.

Mr. Jefferson acted as a middleman in the deal, which saw him use his political connection to top Nigerian officials to get the broadband contract for iGate, a company linked to his immediate family members. 

The U.S. Embassy in Abuja did not immediately respond to PREMIUM TIMES email seeking comments Saturday afternoon. 

Presidential spokespersons Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu did not immediately respond to PREMIUM TIMES’ requests for comments Saturday.

Mr. Abubakar, vice-president from 1999-2007, dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress last week Friday, citing failure by the Buhari administration to improve the quality of life in the country and neglect of the youth in federal cabinet appointment.

His political allies have indicated that Mr. Atiku was on his way to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, which has opened its doors to him.- Premium Times

Tottenham manager proud of 10-man fighting spirit of his team

 Mauricio Pochettino (Tottenham manager) praised his side's "unbelievable character" in overcoming Davinson Sanchez's red card to earn a 1-1 draw at Watford.

Sanchez was shown a straight red for elbowing Richarlison in the 52nd minute, damaging Spurs' chances of claiming a first win in four Premier League matches.

The manager, who refused to be drawn on whether he felt Sanchez's dismissal was justified, applauded his players' effort.

"I am so pleased. I am very frustrated with the results recently but I have nothing [negative] to say about the performance," the Argentine said at his post-match press conference.

"[The players] were always thinking of going forward and scoring to win the game. We did not concede one chance in the second half with 10 men and I think we were close to scoring.

"I am so proud of their character."

Pochettino also downplayed Dele Alli's apparent unhappiness over being substituted in the 86th minute.

The midfielder was seen shaking his head as he followed Christian Eriksen and goal-scorer Son Heung-min to the bench.

"Like Christian or Sonny, the players who have character always show their frustration," he said.

"Today was a game we wanted to win. Because [Alli] had to play deeper with Mousa Dembele, the effort was amazing from him and the whole team."

While the draw was enough to climb above Burnley and into sixth, last season's runners-up are now four points adrift of the Champions League places.

Labour urges governors not to treat their workers as slaves

As workers prepare for a show down with state governors over the non payment of salaries, frontline Labour leader and Vice President of IndustriALL Global Union, Comrade Isa Aremu has reminded state governors in the country that Nigerian workers were not slaves and should not be treated as such.

Are I told The Nation exclusively in Abuja that the condition Nigerian workers were being subjected to by some state Governors can be liken to that of modern slavery, pointing out that the Governors should realize that for any economy to develop, workers must be paid as and when due.

He said it was an irony that President Muhammadu Buhari had to constantly remind the Governors of the need to pay their workers, pointing out that the excuse being advanced by the Governors for owing several months of salaries and pensions was not acceptable because payment of salaries was a right of the worker.

Aremu who is the General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria and a member of the National Executive Council of the NLC said: “It is bad enough that the President had to remind the Governors to pay their workers as and when due whether there is Paris club refund or not. But it is worse that we are debating the need to pay the workforce. Payment of workers salaries is a fundamental right sanctioned by the ILO and reinforced by our Labour laws. 

“The difference between slaves and workers is that slaves are not paid, while workers are paid as and when due. We are not running a slave kingdom, but a federal republic based on the 1999 constitution that recognizes the need to pay workers as and when due, emphasizing the dignity of Labour. 

“I think that defaulting Governors should learn from their colleagues that are paying. Whether with Paris club or not. Some Governors have been paying their workers as and when due. 

“Recently, the World Bank released statistics about states that are doing well in terms of businesses and they all include states that are paying their workers as and when due. Payment of workers salaries is good economics and is good for economic recovery. 

“In any case, what do workers do with their salaries? They buy basic goods, pay rent, buy food, pay the school fees of their children. So, it is also good to run the economy well by paying. If you don’t pay, you are also under developing your state. 

“Above all, it is a fundamental right which is not negotiable and should not be tied to whether they release Paris club refund or not. None of these Governors will tell you that their salaries are tied to Paris club refund. 

“Every worker, right from the President, to the Governors to the cleaner is entitled to his pay. We have to find a way to let them understand the challenge of governance with respect to the payment of the workforce. 

“The greatest factor of production is Labour. You may have all the other factors, but if the Labour is not well motivated, it will never work. So, the key to productivity and recovery of Nigeria is a highly motivated and paid workforce.. it is after that, you can demand for discipline and more productivity. If you don’t do so, you don’t have the moral authority to demand productivity.

“Our governors should also know that they not just employers of Labour. They are government to enforce Nigeria Labour laws. They are supposed to make sure that private employers pay as and when due and if they don’t pay, they should sanction the, based on the law. 

“He who demand for equity must come with clean hand. So, if you are also not paying, what is the ,oral authority? I think they should know that they have dual role to pay salaries as and when due and above all, enforce Nigeria Labour laws. 

“I want to commend the President because he  has been very strong on the need to pay workers as and when due. Remember that he asked the governor recently how they sleep when they don’t pay workers. 

“Now he has told them he was releasing the Paris club refund for them to pay workers before Christmas without any excuse. Now they are saying until the money is paid and that they have other projects. Any project that goes beyond human resource is a failed project. 

“Human beings are not just the means, they are end of development. You are going to do good road, that is fine, but it has to be for good workers. If the citizens are not well fed, they cannot even use the road and so, they have to get it right. 

“Then this argument of recurrent and capital expenditure is also not tenable. Modern economists define human being as capital and that is why they talk about human capital. You can’t define human being as what you use to buy stationaries because the best investment is human resource and this economy cannot recover with miserably paid workforce. 

“First, the existing wages are so low and can hardly take workers home and then, you don’t even pay them on time, in luring pensions. I think good Governors should be championing the cause for increase in pay for fast economic recovery.”

Check out this Christmas jumper released by Beyoncé and what the fans think

The American singer, Beyoncé has released a $55 (£42) Christmas jumper and it has left fans infuriated.

The black round neck jumper is fairly plain aside from the words “Beyoncé Holiday Sweater” embroidered on the front in white, child-like, text.

Some fans  have taken to Twitter to mock the singer for the seemingly lacklustre design, with some comparing it to a “joke Tesco value” product.

“It’s a designer version of that joke Tesco Value one,” added another. 

“I’m dead surprised as I thought she was classier than this, but apparently not,” wrote one user.

Angry mob Kill '5 Witches' In Akwa Ibom

Five persons have been allegedly killed by angry youths in Eyobisung village in Udung Uko local government areas of Akwa Ibom State.  

Vanguard gathered that the incident happened last Wednesday night when most of the residents must have gone to bed It was also gathered that the youths had gone to each of the victim’s houses in the night and killed them one by one because they were branded as witches.

An investigation revealed that the perpetrators have fled the community after the killings.

People from the local government area, however, appear to be in a conspiracy of silence over the incident as they declined to comment on the issue even as some appear not to have any knowledge about the incident.

The Police Public Relations Officer DSP, Bala Elkana, confirmed the incident to Vanguard Friday, adding that the command has already commenced an investigation into the incident. A text message from Elkana however, indicates that one of the five victim’s killed was missing.

The text reads, “On 23-11-2017 at about 0715hours Police received a complaint from Eyobisung village, Udung Uko Local Government Area that about 0400hrs of the same date some Irate youths from the said village attacked and lynched five villagers on suspicion /accusation of witchcraft. They include Chief /Mrs. Essang Ebiagha, Iquo Etim Ibok(F), Affiong Effiong Edwards (F), and Hannah Effiong John (F), and Flymoh Edet Eyo(M) was reported missing." 

Bodies of victims were evacuated to the mortuary for post-mortem examination.

“The Commissioner of Police has ordered the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) to carry out an in-depth investigation into the incident and apprehend the culprits. The command will update the public on the outcome of the investigation” - Vanguard

Manchester United star Paul Pogba admits supporting Arsenal

Paul Pogba has revealed that Arsenal were the Premier League side we considered himself to be a "big fan" of while growing up.

His club go head-to-head with the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, hoping to close the gap on Manchester City at the top of the table.

It was that strong French connection which attracted Pogba to Arsenal, with Thierry Henry in particular an inspiration to the United midfielder.

And for Pogba, the match will take on added significance, as he prepares to face the team he loved to watch while growing up in France.

"In France, they were very big," Pogba told Football Focus ahead of Saturday's clash.

"They [Arsenal] had a lot of French players. I was a big fan of Arsenal, Thierry Henry – I was watching him.

"I was a little fan, not a crazy fan, but I was watching a lot of Arsenal games. They have always been a great club."

NO SUPRISE !! ‘Nigerians selling us in Libya more wicked than Arabs’ — returnees

Some Nigerian returnees from Libya have recounted how they were sold as slaves in the country, with some claiming that their fellow countrymen were actively involved.

A report by CNN had uncovered auctions of Africans, including Nigerians, in Libya.
The report had generated global outcry and condemnation, with President Muhammadu Buhari ordering the evacuation of Nigerians stranded in the country.

Some of the returnees who spoke to PUNCH said Nigerians are also culpable in the slave trade.
“Nigerians and Libyans are doing the business like they are one big happy family,” Harrison Okotie, 32, who lived in Libya for three years until his repatriation, told the newspaper.
Sunday Anyaegbunam, another returnee, said they were sold twice by Nigerians during their nine-day journey through the desert.

Anyaegbunam, who hails from Edo state, left Nigeria along with his wife in April this year.
He said their Nigerian “burger” (trafficker) sold them to a set of Libyan traffickers at Agadez, Niger, where they were subsequently sold to another Nigerian who took them to Sabha, Libya.
It was at Sabha that they were separated in different cells, he said.

“We were made to contact our families on the phone and I had to ensure the payment of N400,000 for my release and N300,000 for my wife,” Anyaegbunam said.
“The Nigerians selling people in Libya are more wicked than many of the Arabs. I have never seen people so heartless as the Nigerians who bought and sold me.

“There are many of them in Agadez and Sabha, who are making so much money from selling their own people. But there are other West Africans doing the business too.
“When you approach them and say, ‘please, my brother, help me’, they would tell you, ‘no brother in the jungle.”

Esosa Osas, another Nigerian who was in Libya for six months, said she also met many Nigerians selling their countrymen but “you dare not talk to them, else they would beat you and lock you up.
“I noticed that the connection houses were also controlled by Nigerian women.”

‘WE SURVIVED ON URINE AND FUEL’
The returnees also recounted how their fate was that of survival of the fittest even though they left for the country for greener pastures.
Kelvin Sunday, 21, who was in Libya for seven months, said he had to raise N965,000 to get to Libya with the help of family and friends.

Sunday recounted how the vehicle conveying them through the desert developed an engine fault.
“We were in the desert for three days without food or water,” he said, adding: “We were drinking our urine to survive. It got to a point that when there was no more urine to drink, we started to drink fuel.”

The Libyan government has ordered an investigation into the alleged slave trade.- Cable Nigeria

Tithing : OAP Freeze slams Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo

Controversial media personality who has widely criticized Nigerian pastors has taken another swipe at Senior Pastor of Kingsway International Christian Centre , KICC,Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo who called him a ‘yoyo’

Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo in one of his sermons told congregation to ignore freeze, describing him as a yoyo , drunk and woman beater.

However, Freeze in his reaction said Pastor Ashimolowo is the ‘yoyo’ as Jesus drank alcohol and was called a drunk by pharisees.

He wrote via his Instagram page, “Haaaaaa! Has it come to this?

“See the way he is defending tithing with so much passion, I hope this same passion is extended to bringing home our brothers who are currently enslaved in Libya.

“I didn’t hear ONE single bible verse, just sentiments and emotions in this defense.

“Who is this ‘Yoyo’ now? Mention his name make we know am and I hope there is proof to back these allegations up and they are not just ‘hear say’ from a false interview conducted on an embattled pot of stale bitterleaf soup.

“Whoever the ‘yoyo’ is, one thing is certain, he cannot determine what the body of Christ believes, only the BIBLE can do that, so until you can come out with a superior argument to explain where Jesus our high priest, or the disciples our first pastors collected tithes, it looks like the ‘yoyo’ is the one speaking the biblical truth and no amount of subbing or name calling can override the scriptures.

“If the ‘yoyo’ drinks alcohol, lets remember Jesus drank alcohol too.. he was called a drunkard by the Pharisees.. the teachers of religious law who burdened the people with unbearable religious yokes and put up similar fights when Jesus drove the money changers out of the temple!

“A man can’t be seen drinking pap, Fanta or lucozade and be called a drunkard, can he? ~FRZ

How suspected ritualists abducted me, 12 others in Kwara state

Pandemonium broke out recently in Malete, Moro local council area of Kwara State as suspected ritualists reportedly abducted no fewer than 13 persons.

The incident which happened on Thursday affected a student of Kwara State University, Malete. Narrating her experience, one of the abducted persons that later regained her freedom, a 200 level student of the department of Mass Communication, Dorcas Oluwatimilehin Olanrewaju, said she was abducted in a taxi on her way to the campus in Malete.

She said: “While in the taxi I boarded, a woman in the vehicle complained of feeling cold, so the glass windows were closed up. I lost consciousness since. I later found myself among some people in the night. We were about 13 in the place as at Thursday night but the ritualists have taken six victims away.

“They told us that they are heading to Ekiti State. I was kept inside the booth of the vehicle. When we got to Offa, they asked of my origin and I told them that I am from Omu Aran. So, when they wanted to take water for the faulty radiator of the vehicle at Omu Aran, I was dropped and set free, unknown to them, in front of my father’s house,” she said.

Dorcas is the daughter of the chairman, Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Kwara State and State Correspondent of The Sun newspaper, Layi Olanrewaju.

She reportedly left her off-campus residence to write an examination in school but rather than take her to the campus, the driver of the campus shuttle vehicle drove her to an unknown destination.

Feeling unsafe in the circumstances she found herself, she allegedly sent a text message to one of her friends informing her that she had been taken away by some unidentified persons suspected to be ritualists.

She was later dumped in Omu Aran, Irepodun local government area of the state on Friday morning but she could not explain the whereabouts of the other victims.

In his reaction, Director, University Relations, Dr. Isiaka Aliagan, claimed that only a female student was reportedly abducted by unknown persons. He said security has been beefed up on Malete route, around the campus and environ to keep criminals at bay, adding that armed police patrol has also been deployed to the route and regular checking of vehicles intensified since yesterday.

Aliagan said: “The university learnt that she sent a distress call through her mobile phone indicating that she could not identify the location at which she had been drop. Immediately they were alerted,  officials of KWASU Safety unit swung into action by contacting the security operatives and telecommunication agencies to track the phone.

“KWASU management would like to stress that all efforts were made to secure the lives of its students staying on both campus and off-campus hostels, while all commercial transport operators were duly registered with the university to ensure proper monitoring of their activities.

“At the moment, the identity of the vehicle involved in the kidnap incident or its driver is unknown. We believe the security operatives are up to task and will work round the clock to track the perpetrator(s) of the crime. Management will give maximum support and cooperation to the police to track the kidnapper(s) and ensure justice,” said Aliagan.

He added that: “Management wishes to urge students to be security conscious, to patronize only registered transport and to report strange persons or movements around their hostels and campus.”

Reacting to the incident, the state police command’s spokesperson, Ajayi Okasanmi, said that the command has commenced investigation on the matter, adding that the report had been circulated to police formations within and outside the state towards possible arrest of the culprits. - The Nation