Sunday 28 April 2013

UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister

Over 1 million candidates that sat for the University Tertiary Matriculation Examinations,UTME, on Saturday, may not gain admission into the nation’s higher institutions due to lack of space, the federal government has stated, DailyPost has gathered.
UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister
The Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday after having monitored the conduct of the UTME in Abuja and Suleja, Niger State, alongside the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board,JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde.
Rufai said that the current capacity of tertiary institutions across the country was only about 500,000.
This, she noted cannot cater for the 1.7million candidates sitting for the UTME.
Professor Rufai who bemoaned the gross inadequate number of universities in the country appealed for more public private partnerships for the establishment of more institutions to increase access to university education in Nigeria.
She made the plea, noting that the growing number of students who enrol for admission into tertiary institutions annually is alarming as revealed by the number of students siting for this year’s UTME.
 
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board,JAMB, announced that over 1.7million candidates registered for the UTME, an increase of 13.35 percent compared to last year’s.
According to the Minister, there is space for only one-third of these applicants and the remaining candidates, who may even pass the admission cut-off mark, may never get admitted.
She further lamented that this vicious cycle is bound to continue if the appeals of the federal government goes unheeded.
The Federal Executive Council,FEC, recently approved provisional licenses for the establishment of five new private universities in Nigeria.
This brings the total number of government owned and private universities in the country to 122. With over a hundred universities, the federal government claims, the institutions are not enough to address the challenges currently facing the nation’s tertiary education.
Source: Daily Post

UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister

Over 1 million candidates that sat for the University Tertiary Matriculation Examinations,UTME, on Saturday, may not gain admission into the nation’s higher institutions due to lack of space, the federal government has stated, DailyPost has gathered.
UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister
The Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday after having monitored the conduct of the UTME in Abuja and Suleja, Niger State, alongside the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board,JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde.
Rufai said that the current capacity of tertiary institutions across the country was only about 500,000.
This, she noted cannot cater for the 1.7million candidates sitting for the UTME.
Professor Rufai who bemoaned the gross inadequate number of universities in the country appealed for more public private partnerships for the establishment of more institutions to increase access to university education in Nigeria.
She made the plea, noting that the growing number of students who enrol for admission into tertiary institutions annually is alarming as revealed by the number of students siting for this year’s UTME.
 
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board,JAMB, announced that over 1.7million candidates registered for the UTME, an increase of 13.35 percent compared to last year’s.
According to the Minister, there is space for only one-third of these applicants and the remaining candidates, who may even pass the admission cut-off mark, may never get admitted.
She further lamented that this vicious cycle is bound to continue if the appeals of the federal government goes unheeded.
The Federal Executive Council,FEC, recently approved provisional licenses for the establishment of five new private universities in Nigeria.
This brings the total number of government owned and private universities in the country to 122. With over a hundred universities, the federal government claims, the institutions are not enough to address the challenges currently facing the nation’s tertiary education.
Source: Daily Post

UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister

Over 1 million candidates that sat for the University Tertiary Matriculation Examinations,UTME, on Saturday, may not gain admission into the nation’s higher institutions due to lack of space, the federal government has stated, DailyPost has gathered.
UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister
The Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday after having monitored the conduct of the UTME in Abuja and Suleja, Niger State, alongside the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board,JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde.
Rufai said that the current capacity of tertiary institutions across the country was only about 500,000.
This, she noted cannot cater for the 1.7million candidates sitting for the UTME.
Professor Rufai who bemoaned the gross inadequate number of universities in the country appealed for more public private partnerships for the establishment of more institutions to increase access to university education in Nigeria.
She made the plea, noting that the growing number of students who enrol for admission into tertiary institutions annually is alarming as revealed by the number of students siting for this year’s UTME.
 
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board,JAMB, announced that over 1.7million candidates registered for the UTME, an increase of 13.35 percent compared to last year’s.
According to the Minister, there is space for only one-third of these applicants and the remaining candidates, who may even pass the admission cut-off mark, may never get admitted.
She further lamented that this vicious cycle is bound to continue if the appeals of the federal government goes unheeded.
The Federal Executive Council,FEC, recently approved provisional licenses for the establishment of five new private universities in Nigeria.
This brings the total number of government owned and private universities in the country to 122. With over a hundred universities, the federal government claims, the institutions are not enough to address the challenges currently facing the nation’s tertiary education.
Source: Daily Post

UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister

Over 1 million candidates that sat for the University Tertiary Matriculation Examinations,UTME, on Saturday, may not gain admission into the nation’s higher institutions due to lack of space, the federal government has stated, DailyPost has gathered.
UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister
The Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday after having monitored the conduct of the UTME in Abuja and Suleja, Niger State, alongside the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board,JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde.
Rufai said that the current capacity of tertiary institutions across the country was only about 500,000.
This, she noted cannot cater for the 1.7million candidates sitting for the UTME.
Professor Rufai who bemoaned the gross inadequate number of universities in the country appealed for more public private partnerships for the establishment of more institutions to increase access to university education in Nigeria.
She made the plea, noting that the growing number of students who enrol for admission into tertiary institutions annually is alarming as revealed by the number of students siting for this year’s UTME.
 
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board,JAMB, announced that over 1.7million candidates registered for the UTME, an increase of 13.35 percent compared to last year’s.
According to the Minister, there is space for only one-third of these applicants and the remaining candidates, who may even pass the admission cut-off mark, may never get admitted.
She further lamented that this vicious cycle is bound to continue if the appeals of the federal government goes unheeded.
The Federal Executive Council,FEC, recently approved provisional licenses for the establishment of five new private universities in Nigeria.
This brings the total number of government owned and private universities in the country to 122. With over a hundred universities, the federal government claims, the institutions are not enough to address the challenges currently facing the nation’s tertiary education.
Source: Daily Post

UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister

Over 1 million candidates that sat for the University Tertiary Matriculation Examinations,UTME, on Saturday, may not gain admission into the nation’s higher institutions due to lack of space, the federal government has stated, DailyPost has gathered.
UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister
The Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday after having monitored the conduct of the UTME in Abuja and Suleja, Niger State, alongside the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board,JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde.
Rufai said that the current capacity of tertiary institutions across the country was only about 500,000.
This, she noted cannot cater for the 1.7million candidates sitting for the UTME.
Professor Rufai who bemoaned the gross inadequate number of universities in the country appealed for more public private partnerships for the establishment of more institutions to increase access to university education in Nigeria.
She made the plea, noting that the growing number of students who enrol for admission into tertiary institutions annually is alarming as revealed by the number of students siting for this year’s UTME.
 
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board,JAMB, announced that over 1.7million candidates registered for the UTME, an increase of 13.35 percent compared to last year’s.
According to the Minister, there is space for only one-third of these applicants and the remaining candidates, who may even pass the admission cut-off mark, may never get admitted.
She further lamented that this vicious cycle is bound to continue if the appeals of the federal government goes unheeded.
The Federal Executive Council,FEC, recently approved provisional licenses for the establishment of five new private universities in Nigeria.
This brings the total number of government owned and private universities in the country to 122. With over a hundred universities, the federal government claims, the institutions are not enough to address the challenges currently facing the nation’s tertiary education.
Source: Daily Post

UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister

Over 1 million candidates that sat for the University Tertiary Matriculation Examinations,UTME, on Saturday, may not gain admission into the nation’s higher institutions due to lack of space, the federal government has stated, DailyPost has gathered.
UTME: Over One Million Candidates Will Be Denied Admission – Minister
The Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufai, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday after having monitored the conduct of the UTME in Abuja and Suleja, Niger State, alongside the Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board,JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde.
Rufai said that the current capacity of tertiary institutions across the country was only about 500,000.
This, she noted cannot cater for the 1.7million candidates sitting for the UTME.
Professor Rufai who bemoaned the gross inadequate number of universities in the country appealed for more public private partnerships for the establishment of more institutions to increase access to university education in Nigeria.
She made the plea, noting that the growing number of students who enrol for admission into tertiary institutions annually is alarming as revealed by the number of students siting for this year’s UTME.
 
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board,JAMB, announced that over 1.7million candidates registered for the UTME, an increase of 13.35 percent compared to last year’s.
According to the Minister, there is space for only one-third of these applicants and the remaining candidates, who may even pass the admission cut-off mark, may never get admitted.
She further lamented that this vicious cycle is bound to continue if the appeals of the federal government goes unheeded.
The Federal Executive Council,FEC, recently approved provisional licenses for the establishment of five new private universities in Nigeria.
This brings the total number of government owned and private universities in the country to 122. With over a hundred universities, the federal government claims, the institutions are not enough to address the challenges currently facing the nation’s tertiary education.
Source: Daily Post

High-Scoring Eaglets Fail To Lift U-17 Trophy

The hope of high-scoring Golden Eaglets of Nigeria revenging the defeat suffered in the hands of their Ivorian counterparts and and win the African U-17 Championship in Morocco melted away yesterday as they suffered their second defeat to the same team and settled for the silver medal.
High-Scoring Eaglets Fail To Lift U-17 Trophy
The team handled by Manu Garba with Nduka Ugbade and Emmanuel Amuneke as assistants went into the lead eight minutes into the game through Prince Omego to raise hope that they will not only revenge their defeat but crush the young Elephants like they did to other teams on their way to the final.
That was not to be as the rugged and hard fighting Ivorians did not want to fall to Nigeria like their seniors did to the Super Eagles at the 2013 Africa Nations Cup in South Africa and so took the game to the Eaglets.
The Eaglets took the lead through Prince Omego in the eight minute, raising hope that they were not only on a revenge mission but were going to crush the Ivorians like they did to other teams on their way to the final.
Chidiebere Nwakali took a corner kick that forced a save from the Ivorian goal minder Aboubakar Diabagate who punched a goal-bound header back into play and Omego reacted quickest to poke home the first goal of the match.
The Eaglets could have doubled their lead some minutes later when the ball found Musa Yahaya all by himself in the box but with everyone looking for the off-side whistle which did not come, Yahaya dragged his short wide of the post.
However, the hard-fighting young Elephants, not wanting to fall like their seniors did to the Super Eagles at the 2013 Africa Nations Cup took the game to the Nigerian lads and it paid off in the 26th minute when they equalised through Chris Bile Bedia to send their camp wild with jubilation.
The Baby Elephants won a free-kick in the Nigeria half. Bedia used his height advantage to jump furthest and flick a header into the top corner of Eaglets’ goalkeeper, Adeyinka Adewale’s net for the equalizer.
Just after that Success Isaac was thwarted by Diabagate after beating his marker but the goalkeeper closed the angel forcing the competition top-goal scorer to blaze his effort.
The teams engaged in a fierce battle and both defenses stood solid in an evenly contest match. The Baby Elephants came close to a second goal when captain Yannick Kessie played a through ball to Maiga only for Musa Muhammed to come with a crucial challenge.
Nigeria went down to ten men in the 73rd minute when defender Akinjide Idowu ‘s challenge on Aboubacar Keita with a raised arm got him sent off but the Eaglets made changes and kept on the pressure as a see-saw battle ensued.
The contest could not provide a winner and it was left to a penalty shoot-out to settle the matter and the Ivorians scored all their five penalties through Kessie, Diallo Ismael, Angban, Keita and Dogbole Niangbo who scored the winning penalty after Chidiebere Nwakali has missed for Nigeria. Success, Ifeanyi Mathew, Yahaya and Musa Muhammed converted their kicks for the Eaglets.


Source: Vanguard
Source: Naij.com

Mary Uranta: Sexual Harassment Drove Me Out Of Nollywood

Photo - Mary Uranta: Sexual Harassment Drove Me Out Of Nollywood
For star of Secret Mission, Mary Data Uranta, her first foray into Nollywood was unpalatable. When she started out as a green horn, it was not easy finding her feet in the industry because most times she ended up with people who were only interested in taking her to bed rather than exploiting her talent.
In an exclusive chat with The Entertainer, the actress opened up on her ordeal in the hands of film producers and declared that the sexual harassment was so much she decided to take a walk from Nollywood. That decision took her to the UK where she studied at the London School of Arts.
“At a point, sex became a condition for getting movie roles so I just took a walk. There were times when I missed getting roles because I wouldn’t succumb to pressure so I left and did other things including studying at the London School of Arts. But the passion was so strong I knew I just had to return so, I took time to look for professionals; people who would be interested in my talent and not taking me to bed,” she recalled.
However, the United Nation’s Peace Ambassador declares that sexual harassment is not a big deal today because it is a thing of choice. Hear her: “It’s a natural thing in the industry; men will always chase women so I don’t think it’s peculiar to Nollywood. It’s the same thing everywhere you go. I think those in the banks and other sectors also get harassed. So, it’s not what I love to discuss.
“Definitely, harassment will come but it’s a thing of choice. Movie or no movie, a producer can see you and get attracted to you. Same thing goes for an actor or marketer, so for me, it’s not a story to talk about.”
Childhood
Mary is an indigene of Okpobo but grew up in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. She lived all her life in Port Harcourt before relocating to Lagos to pursue a career in acting.
Commenting on her childhood, she said: “I had a great childhood. I never had it rough or tough growing up. Fine, I’m from an average home. But it’s never been bad. I had all I wanted as a child. I’m from a family of 13. Seven kids from my mum and four step brothers including mum and dad. It was fun growing up with my brothers and sisters, we were one happy family.
Passion driven
Right from childhood, Mary had always dreamed of being an actress so when she was in her teens she started shuttling between Lagos and Port Harcourt just to attend auditions.
“I’ve always loved acting,” she recalled. “I have been very passionate about it. I used to come to Lagos then from Port Harcourt just for auditions, my friends and I actually. We used to go to Asaba, Enugu, Owerri and even within Port Harcourt just to get auditioned. But after a while, I said to myself, ‘If Lagos is the place where it’s happening, I think I should just move to Lagos instead of coming and going.’ And that was it.”
Challenges
According to Mary, her journey into acting came with a lot of challenges because her parents were not down with it. “They had a way of coming up with good excuses about why I shouldn’t act so, I never had the full support at the initial stage from anyone around me. Actually, my parents didn’t have a problem with me doing it as far as it was in Port Harcourt. Probably that was because I was very young at the time,” she says.
Consequently, Mary had to sneak to Lagos to attend auditions and also get an apartment in view of her plans to finally relocate to Lagos and pursue her dreams. “My coming to Lagos was even a problem. Initially, I didn’t tell my parents that I was relocating to Lagos. I came quietly, got a house, furnished it and was still going to Port Harcourt and back as if I was around.
But later I had to tell my mum. And she was like ‘how would you cope all by yourself?’ But I assured her that I would cope. So, that’s how I became a Lagos girl. Ever since, I have never looked back,” the actress stated.
First break
Mary got her first role ever in Port Harcourt and it was in Girls Hostel, a movie also starring Olu Jacobs, Ngozi Ezeonu, Uche Jombo, and Empress Njama. “I was still in school then. The movie was shot in Port Harcourt and the director came for an audition there, so I went with my friends who were in the Theatre Arts Department.
They actually forced me to come with them. When we got there they each got a role in the movie and the director now turned to me and said ‘hey you, don’t you want to act?’ And I said ‘yes, I want to act’. I was very shy. He auditioned me for a role and surprisingly I did well. That’s how I got the role of a hall president in the movie. After that, we were brought to Lagos for another movie entitled, Silver Spoon and then another one entitled, Church Committee, and ever since I have never looked back,” she narrated.
Recounting further those years, the actress said: “Movies were very big then but at a point I stopped because I was still in school and my HOD was not down with my acting so she was always giving me problems. In fact, I had an extra year because of that and that was a big problem for me. But after school I took up the challenge. I told myself this is what I wanted to do and nothing could stop me.”
Secret Mission
However, Mary pointed to Secret Mission as the movie that gave her the big break in 2005. Hear her: “I played the lead in the movie. I played the role of Ngozi Ezeonu’s younger sister. There were also Desmond Elliot, Tonto Dikeh, Chioma Chukwuka and others. That movie stands out for me because I had problems interpreting the role.
“It was so bad I had to go to the producer twice to return the script. At a point, I went to the producer and pleaded with him to look for someone else to play my role because it was so difficult for me. I wasn’t just getting it right at all. I was just fumbling. At a point, I fled to Port Harcourt and they were looking for me everywhere.
“They called and asked me to come back to Lagos because I had already shot the film half way. The lesson I learnt from that experience was that it’s not about someone giving you a big role; the real challenge is interpreting it. But I guess it’s because it was my first lead role. Now I’m a pro. My work speaks for me.”
So, how’s the man in her life coping? The actress responded thus: “Men are just beginning to come to terms with the reality that a woman has dreams which she wants to actualize. They are beginning to realise that acting actually pays because people are becoming famous and rich from acting.
“Then, when we started, it was for the love of it. We never knew that we could make money from the industry. Nobody ever wanted his girlfriend to do movies but I am happy I have a man who believes in my talent and is giving me all the support.”
Who is that man in her life? “I don’t want to talk about my relationship,” Mary says with a dismissive tone.
As an independent career woman, does she sometime scare men? “Sometimes yes, you know men will always be men. When you are independent they worry. They are like ‘am I sure if this one will stay?’ When you are dependent on them they are like, ‘this girl, your bills are too much.’ So, it’s like that. But when the right person comes, he will understand that you are doing what you have to do and accept you the way you are.”


Source: The Sun
Source: Naij.com

Wizkid Signs Legendury Beatz To Star Boy Entertainment



Wizzy is putting together a strong production unit for his Star Boy label.
The Nigerian Pop has announced the signing of Lagos based music production duo Mutay and Zei better known as Legendury Beatz.
It’s Official!!… @Mutay_Legendury and @zei_legendury Legendury Beats now on StarBoyEnt!!!…we growing!!!…#RICH!!…yaaaaga!!‘, Wizkid tweeted on April 26.

The producers are made up of two brothers Uzezi Oniko (Zei) and Okiemute Oniko (Mutay). They are alumni of the University of Lagos and credited with making some of the biggest hits of the past two years having worked with the likes of Wizkid himself (Azonto) and the EME crew (Baddest boy), Reminisce (2 mussh), Mo’Cheddah (Ko ma roll), Brymo (Ara), Illbliss (Emi ni baller), Tilla man (Ko ma roll).

Wizzy signed his first artiste, Maleek Berry, a UK based producer, only few days ago.


Source: Thenetng
Source: Naij.com

Baga Mayhem: ”We Are Still Picking Corpes Of Women, Children In The Bush”

Borno State is Nigeria’s self- acclaimed ‘Home of Peace’. That is the appellation. But you may not be wrong if you now describe it as ‘The Home of Ruins and Pieces’. The truth about the state is that it has become a theatre of a war unleashed by the Islamist group called Boko Haram. Insurgency has been the order of the day in the state, leaving in its trail bombings, shootings and deaths.
When the residents are lucky, the death toll is low, but sometimes it can be high. Some analysts blame the problem on the international borders with Chad, Niger and Cameroun which they believe is porous as to allow Islamic extremists from the countries to enter the state at will.
The Federal Government raised a military outfit under the aegis of the Joint Task Force (JTF) which it deployed to contain the Islamists. However, the efforts to abate the violence in the state have led to the JTF’s stand-off with the intransigent Islamists, claiming more lives. One of such incidents was the face-off of last week between the JTF and the Boko Haram elements which reportedly claimed about 185 lives – the JTF is the arrowhead of a multinational force working in the state to contain the insurgents.
The face-off took place at Baga, a remote village in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, believed to have been a haven for the Islamist group. Most of those killed in the four-hour battle were said to have been civilians thus sparking national outrage.

The dead, according to reports, include women and children, while hundreds of houses were torched.
Baga, about 235 kilometers away from Maiduguri, Borno State capital, is a border town with Niger and Chad. It produces fish. Troops from Niger and Chad were reported to have been involved in the operation.
Until this incident, the last reported insurgent activity in the area was the killing of a Customs officer. This time, the multinational force took the battle to the ‘home’ of the Boko Haram Islamists. Reports said the civilian casualty was high as the Islamists used residents as human shields from the multinational force fire.
A Baga resident, who gave his name as Mallam Bana, said he survived the battle by whiskers. According to him, it all started at about 8pm penultimate Friday. “The soldiers were heartless that night in their approach; they killed and burnt our houses, chased everyone into the bush including women and children. So far, we have buried 185 corpses. – some were burnt beyond recognition; others are hospitalized with various degrees of injuries,” Bana said.
But the commander of the JTF, Brigadier General Austin Edokpaye, who confirmed the incident, while conducting Governor Kashim Shettima round the affected area, on Sunday, debunked the claim that scores of civilians were consumed during the battle. “We lost an officer during an attack on our men on patrol. We received intelligence report that some suspected Boko Haram members usually prayed and hid arms at a particular mosque in the town. It was around that mosque that our men were attacked with several of them injured and an officer died”, Edokpaye said.
“When we reinforced and returned to the scene, the terrorists came out with heavy firepower including RPGs which usually have a conflagration effect that caused houses with tatched roof or fencing to catch fire.”
The commander revealed that the fire that consumed the community and the resultant deaths should be blamed on the Boko Haram Islamists who opened fire on soldiers and using civilians as human shields. He denied the residents’ allegation that the shootout was unprovoked.
Edokpaye noted that in his many years of stay in Borno State, he had cultivated civil and military relations to the effect that Baga and environs had enjoyed relative peace.
He said those who died as a result of the incident could be victims of the crossfire between the soldiers and the Boko Haram gunmen, which he said was highly regrettable.
Shettima drove through the village with a large retinue of government functionaries, including the member of the House of Representatives representing the area, Hon. Isa Lawan Kangarwa, and the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Baba Ahmed Jidda.
The governor and his entourage also visited the General Hospital, Baga, where he commiserated with the women, children and aged men admitted for various cases of burns.
The governor took time to pacify the aggrieved residents and pleaded with those in the bush to return home.
He directed that those in hospital with severe cases of burns be transferred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital where they could get better treatment.

Shettima later expressed his displeasure with the way the soldiers carried out their duties on the fateful day, just as he implored the commander to “take full charge” of his operation and ensure he personally supervises his field officers from time to time “in order to avert such nasty incidents in the future.”
Before he left the town, he inaugurated a high-powered committee, led by Hon Isa Lawan Kangarwa, to ascertain the extent of the damage and how the people could be helped out of their “seemingly irreparable trauma”.
Sunday Vanguard checks revealed that food and other basic needs became a problem in the community throughout last weekend as a grocery merchant, who lost his house and business stall in the conflagration, Malam Bashir Isa, said, “Everyone has been in the bush since Friday night; we started returning to town because the governor came today. To get food to eat now is a problem because even the markets are burnt. We are still picking corpses of women and children in the bush”.
To cushion the effect of the hardship faced by the surviving residents, the Federal Government ordered the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, North East Zone to collaborate with Borno State government to mobilize to site on Wednesday to assist the victims with relief materials. Consequently, NEMA officials were deployed to the area.

Source: Vanguard
Source: Naij.com

Baga Mayhem: ”We Are Still Picking Corpes Of Women, Children In The Bush”

Borno State is Nigeria’s self- acclaimed ‘Home of Peace’. That is the appellation. But you may not be wrong if you now describe it as ‘The Home of Ruins and Pieces’. The truth about the state is that it has become a theatre of a war unleashed by the Islamist group called Boko Haram. Insurgency has been the order of the day in the state, leaving in its trail bombings, shootings and deaths.
When the residents are lucky, the death toll is low, but sometimes it can be high. Some analysts blame the problem on the international borders with Chad, Niger and Cameroun which they believe is porous as to allow Islamic extremists from the countries to enter the state at will.
The Federal Government raised a military outfit under the aegis of the Joint Task Force (JTF) which it deployed to contain the Islamists. However, the efforts to abate the violence in the state have led to the JTF’s stand-off with the intransigent Islamists, claiming more lives. One of such incidents was the face-off of last week between the JTF and the Boko Haram elements which reportedly claimed about 185 lives – the JTF is the arrowhead of a multinational force working in the state to contain the insurgents.
The face-off took place at Baga, a remote village in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, believed to have been a haven for the Islamist group. Most of those killed in the four-hour battle were said to have been civilians thus sparking national outrage.

The dead, according to reports, include women and children, while hundreds of houses were torched.
Baga, about 235 kilometers away from Maiduguri, Borno State capital, is a border town with Niger and Chad. It produces fish. Troops from Niger and Chad were reported to have been involved in the operation.
Until this incident, the last reported insurgent activity in the area was the killing of a Customs officer. This time, the multinational force took the battle to the ‘home’ of the Boko Haram Islamists. Reports said the civilian casualty was high as the Islamists used residents as human shields from the multinational force fire.
A Baga resident, who gave his name as Mallam Bana, said he survived the battle by whiskers. According to him, it all started at about 8pm penultimate Friday. “The soldiers were heartless that night in their approach; they killed and burnt our houses, chased everyone into the bush including women and children. So far, we have buried 185 corpses. – some were burnt beyond recognition; others are hospitalized with various degrees of injuries,” Bana said.
But the commander of the JTF, Brigadier General Austin Edokpaye, who confirmed the incident, while conducting Governor Kashim Shettima round the affected area, on Sunday, debunked the claim that scores of civilians were consumed during the battle. “We lost an officer during an attack on our men on patrol. We received intelligence report that some suspected Boko Haram members usually prayed and hid arms at a particular mosque in the town. It was around that mosque that our men were attacked with several of them injured and an officer died”, Edokpaye said.
“When we reinforced and returned to the scene, the terrorists came out with heavy firepower including RPGs which usually have a conflagration effect that caused houses with tatched roof or fencing to catch fire.”
The commander revealed that the fire that consumed the community and the resultant deaths should be blamed on the Boko Haram Islamists who opened fire on soldiers and using civilians as human shields. He denied the residents’ allegation that the shootout was unprovoked.
Edokpaye noted that in his many years of stay in Borno State, he had cultivated civil and military relations to the effect that Baga and environs had enjoyed relative peace.
He said those who died as a result of the incident could be victims of the crossfire between the soldiers and the Boko Haram gunmen, which he said was highly regrettable.
Shettima drove through the village with a large retinue of government functionaries, including the member of the House of Representatives representing the area, Hon. Isa Lawan Kangarwa, and the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Baba Ahmed Jidda.
The governor and his entourage also visited the General Hospital, Baga, where he commiserated with the women, children and aged men admitted for various cases of burns.
The governor took time to pacify the aggrieved residents and pleaded with those in the bush to return home.
He directed that those in hospital with severe cases of burns be transferred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital where they could get better treatment.

Shettima later expressed his displeasure with the way the soldiers carried out their duties on the fateful day, just as he implored the commander to “take full charge” of his operation and ensure he personally supervises his field officers from time to time “in order to avert such nasty incidents in the future.”
Before he left the town, he inaugurated a high-powered committee, led by Hon Isa Lawan Kangarwa, to ascertain the extent of the damage and how the people could be helped out of their “seemingly irreparable trauma”.
Sunday Vanguard checks revealed that food and other basic needs became a problem in the community throughout last weekend as a grocery merchant, who lost his house and business stall in the conflagration, Malam Bashir Isa, said, “Everyone has been in the bush since Friday night; we started returning to town because the governor came today. To get food to eat now is a problem because even the markets are burnt. We are still picking corpses of women and children in the bush”.
To cushion the effect of the hardship faced by the surviving residents, the Federal Government ordered the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, North East Zone to collaborate with Borno State government to mobilize to site on Wednesday to assist the victims with relief materials. Consequently, NEMA officials were deployed to the area.

Source: Vanguard
Source: Naij.com