Biafra Voice News

US soldiers from the Marine Corps have returned to Afghanistan’s Helmand province nearly three years after the US-led NATO forces ended combat mission in the country.
Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan General John Nicholson attended a handover ceremony on Saturday marking the return of the prestigious force, the first American soldiers to be deployed in Afghanistan since 2014, an AFP news agency photographer said.
Part of a troop rotation, they will arrive in stages, eventually numbering some 300 who will take part in NATO’s train, assist and advise mission.
The deployment to Helmand came a day after a resurgent Taliban announced the launch of their so-called Spring Offensive.
The decision to boost forces was first announced in January after Donald Trump took over as the new president of the US, who is seeking to craft a new strategy in Afghanistan.
Earlier this months, the US dropped “mother of all bombs” in Achin district of Nangarhar province close to the border with Pakistan.
The Pentagon said it targeted a series of caves and bunkers used by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIL) group, whose influence has grown in recent years.
Trump has criticised his predecessor Barack Obama’s Afghanistan policy.
Helmand for years was the centrepiece of the US and British military intervention in Afghanistan.
The Taliban effectively controls or contests 10 of Helmand’s 14 districts, aided by a huge opium harvest.
Civilians displaced
The roads from neighbouring districts are heavily mined by the Taliban.
The US has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan with about another 5,000 from NATO allies.
Nicholson has called for a few thousand more to help break the stalemate against the fighters.
James Mattis, the US defence secretary, gave warning of “another tough year” in Afghanistan when he visited Kabul this week as part of consultations on the Trump administration’s review of Afghan policy.
Most US forces in Afghanistan are taking part in NATO’s training mission, seeking to boost Afghan forces who have been straining to beat back the Taliban since international forces ended their combat mission in 2014.
Afghanistan has seen intensified Taliban attacks across the country, leaving Afghan forces – already beset by killings, desertions, and vacuums in leadership and morale – stretched on multiple fronts.
They have faced high casualties, up 35 percent in 2016 with 6,800 soldiers and police killed, according to a US watchdog.
Last week the Taliban delivered a painful blow, with its fighters dressed in Afghan army uniforms killing at least 135 young recruits at a base near northern Mazar-i-Sharif city, according to official figures – though multiple sources have said the death toll is much higher.
The attack is believed to be the deadliest by the Taliban on a military target since they were driven from power in 2001. The group threatened more in the statement announcing their Spring Offensive on Friday.

French President Francois Hollande warned Saturday that Britain must pay the price for Brexit as EU leaders met to adopt guidelines for negotiations.
“There will inevitably be a price and a cost for Britain, it’s the choice they made,” Hollande said as he arrived at a Brussels summit.
“We must not be punitive, but at the same time it’s clear that Europe knows how to defend its interests, and that Britain will have a less good position outside the EU than in the EU.”
Hollande, who is entering his last days as French president, dismissed suggestions that British Prime Minister Theresa May could strengthen her negotiating hand by winning a big mandate in elections that she has called for June 8.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel also ruled out an advantage for May from a big election win.
“It’s an internal problem she wants to resolve in the Conservative party, to have not a hard Brexit or a soft Brexit, but Theresa’s Brexit,” he said.
“We are very united, you seem surprised, but it’s a fact.”
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier meanwhile said it was also in Britain’s interests for the EU to be unified, as it would boost the chances of a Brexit deal.
“This extraordinary meeting shows the unity of the 27 on a clear line, but this unity is not directed against Britain, I think that it is also in its interest,” he said.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said on Saturday that Nigeria was gradually moving out of recession.
Mohammed, represented by the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Bayo Onanuga, made the assertion at the biennial convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editors in Lagos.
He said that going by a recent statement by the Central Bank Governor, the country would exit recession by the end of June.
“There have been other pointers for the good news as well. For two consecutive months, the National Bureau of Statistics has also reported a fall in inflation rate.
“The exchange rate is regaining some sanity.
“As I said earlier, the worst appears to be over. We are clawing out of the woods of recession in weeks from now,” the minister said.
Mohammed said that the Buhari administration and collective will of Nigerians had shamed doomsday prediction that our recession could worsen into a depression.
“I hope, in our various media, we shall begin to focus more on the positive developments in our economy, the growth in agriculture and mineral development, since the NBS last year, let out the secret that the Nigerian economy recorded a negative growth in the first quarter of 2016,” he said.The minister said that recession was not peculiar to the country.
He said that the United States of America had experienced 47 recessions, some regressing into depressions.
“Between 1980 and 2007 alone, the American economy experienced five recessions. The last one in 2007 was caused by the subprime mortgage crisis and led to the collapse of the US housing bubble,” he said.
Mohammed urged the media to stop the blame game and educate Nigerians on the efforts being made to end recession.
“Informing the people that the government is working hard to end the
recession will go a long way to give hope to the people.
“After all, it is said that ”if you keep hope alive, it will keep you alive” the minister said.

The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign state of Biafra, MASSOB,‎ has said that the release of leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has brought the agitation for Biafra republic closer to its restoration.The group expressed gladness over the release of Kanu from Prison on Friday, ‎adding that it rejoices with millions of ‘Biafrans’ all over the world on their contributions.
Leader of MASSOB, Comrade Uchenna Madu, said the release is a triumph of light over darkness.
According to Madu: “His release has opened a new dimension to Biafra struggle which must continue to be anchored on non violence, mutual understanding and unity of purpose.
“As Nnamdi Kanu regained freedom, MASSOB will continue with other progressive groups and individuals to press further for the release of other pro Biafra detainees across Nigeria prisons.
“MASSOB as the most prominent pro Biafra group that supports Mazi Nnamdi Kanu believe that there are credible Igbo senators and Jewish religious leaders who can stand for Nnamdi Kanu.
Madu said that MASSOB was not jittery over the stringent bail conditions granted to Kanu because it knew that the people of ‘Biafra’ were capable of dismounting strongholds against the actualization and restoration of the rupulic of Biafra.
“The bail conditions established against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal Government of Nigeria is a soft landing subtly given to themselves to ease their shame.
“MASSOB salutes and hails the oneness of unifying forces of Igbo senators led by Ike Ekweremadu and Enyinnaya Abaribe with the back up of Igbo governors and other prominent Nigerians in their swift response in perfecting the bail conditions of our brother, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” said Madu.

Turkey and the United States can join forces to turn the Islamic State jihadist group’s de-facto capital of Raqa in Syria into a “graveyard” for the extremists, the Turkish president said on Saturday.
The Turkish government is pressuring Washington to stop backing Kurdish fighters as an ally in the fight against IS jihadists in Syria, in a dispute that has has limited cooperation between the NATO allies.
“The huge America, the coalition and Turkey can join hands and turn Raqa into a graveyard for Daesh,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told an Istanbul meeting, using an alternative name for the IS group.
“They (the jihadists) will look for a place for themselves to hide,” he said.
Erdogan’s comments come ahead of a meeting with President Donald Trump on May 16 in the United States, their first face-to-face summit since the American leader took office in January.
Ankara is hopeful about the future of the relationship with Washington under Trump after ties frayed in the final years of Barack Obama’s administration.
The two countries have bitterly disagreed over the role of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria.
Turkey sees the group as a terrorist group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a deadly insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
But for the United States, the YPG is essential in the fight against IS jihadists.
The dispute has until now held up any joint American-Turkish operation to seize Raqa and Erdogan is clearly hoping for a breakthrough at his meeting with Trump.
– ‘You cannot play’-
Erdogan on Saturday said he would present Trump at their meeting next month with “documents” proving the YPG’s links to the PKK, which is designated as a terror group by Ankara and Washington.
“We are telling American friends not to take a terror group along with them,” the Turkish leader said.
Turkey on Wednesday carried out several strikes in Syria and Iraq against separatist Kurdish rebels and their allies, drawing the wrath of US officials who accused Ankara of lacklustre coordination.
The strikes in the Sinjar area of northern Iraq were against positions held by the Yazidi Protection Units (YBS), a militia supported by the PKK.
“We launched strikes against Sinjar, and the other place (in Syria) and killed 210 to 220 terrorists there. Why? You cannot play with this nation,” Erdogan said.
He hinted at future operations against the YPG and PKK in Iraq and Syria.
“We know very well what to do when the right time comes. We can turn up abruptly one night,” he said, repeating a line from a well-known Turkish song.
Tensions escalated this week with cross-border clashes between Turkish forces and the YPG near the Syrian border. Turkey fired a barrage of artillery at the YPG, who returned fire with rockets on Turkish outposts on the border.

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has claimed that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, is after his life.
Wike stated this while speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Saturday.
The Governor said that the IG of Police, directed his crack team to invade his house in Asokoro, Abuja on Friday, supposedly acting on information from a whistle-blower.
“I want to reiterate, the Inspector-General of Police is after my life,” he said.
Wike said the raid was a plot, to plant firearms, cash and other incriminating exhibits in his Abuja home.
“All attempts are being made so that they will go and plant either AK-47 or $1m in the governor’s house. They can even plant costly wrist watches as a propaganda tool.
“I said I have to let Nigerians know that this is not the way to go about in a democracy. Rather, this is an attempt to truncate democracy. That someone differs on issues does not mean you have to go after the person’s life,” he added.
Wike also dared the police to come to his home in Rivers to conduct their search, instead of his Abuja residence.
“Nigerians should be aware that should they raid my house in Abuja and claim they found anything, it is incorrect.
“I have not been going to Abuja, but I will be in Abuja to wait for them to see how they plan to plant guns in my house,” Wike said.

The leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has said it would meet with leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu to accept restructuring instead of secession.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze, Chuks Ibegbu disclosed the planned meeting.
Ibegbu said restructuring is the only solution to the country’s problem, while stating that a delegation will be sent to Kanu.

He said, “Ohanaeze will definitely discuss with him (Kanu). Ohanaeze has been making efforts to parley with all the pro-Biafra groups and find a point of agreement with them on these issues.
“Even before now, Ohanaeze wanted to send a delegation to see him in Kuje Prison. We planned it before he was granted bail. We will engage him and some of his associates so that we can find a common ground.  He is our son, we understand him and he will understand us. If there are areas of divergence, we will find ways to address it so that we can work together.
“At the planned meeting, Ohanaeze intends to make Kanu understand and appreciate its position, which is the restructuring of the country, rather than secession. Ohanaeze’s position is restructuring and his (Kanu’s) position is secession. We will not tell him to drop his desire for self-determination but we will make him understand that Ohanaeze’s position is the position of the Igbo people.

“He has the right to seek self-determination, but we will make him appreciate Ohanaeze’s position, which is restructuring and social justice. Ohanaeze’s position is the position of the totality of the Igbo people. We will also make him understand that there is no need to insult anybody in the agitation, and no need for violence – of course he has never been violent.”
“Restructuring is the only solution to the problems in this country. With restructuring, even the issue of corruption would be addressed. What generates corruption? When the system is suffocating people, when the system is not properly coordinated, people will be stealing here and there. You cannot stop corruption by force. Even the issue of lopsided appointments is corruption. We have to address the fundamental issues.”

Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has declared that the anti-graft agency is committed to rescuing Nigeria from being wiped out by corruption.
Magu said this while presenting a paper titled, ‘Before Corruption Kills Nigeria’, at the 62nd award night of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), held at Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotels, Abuja.
Presented on his behalf by A Bello, Magu gave account of the monies recovered by the EFCC through tip-offs from whistle-blowers as he called on the media to support the ongoing fight against corruption because that was the only way the battle could be won.
“Apart from several other recoveries running into several billions of naira, the recent whistle-blower policy, has led to the recovery of N521,815,000, $53,272,747, £122,890, and €547,730 by the EFCC,” he said.
“The EFCC is committed to pursuing its statutory mandate and to rescue the Nigerian state and its people from being killed by corruption.
“We call on the media and well-meaning Nigerians to join us in this crusade. With the government and people of Nigeria behind the EFCC, we shall surely be victorious.”
Meanwhile, the NUJ President, Abdulwaheed Odusile, in his remarks, pledged the union’s support for the EFCC and condemned the rejection of Magu as the substantive chairman of the EFCC by the senate and called for synergy between the legislature and the executive in the interest of the nation.
“While we commend the EFCC for its efforts in fighting economic crimes and corruption, we urge it to be diligent and painstaking in its assignment, and continue to operate without fear or favour. The media will continue to support their efforts in this regard,” Odusile pledged.
“We condemn the undue politicisation of the confirmation of the appointment of Ibrahim Magu as chairman of the EFCC by the national assembly. We call on the executive and the legislature to work together in the interest of the Nigeria people.
“The cat and mouse game in their relationship is adversely affecting the state of the nation and the welfare of the people.”

Hundreds of Russian opposition supporters turned out Saturday to protest against President Vladimir Putin’s expected candidacy in elections set for 2018, with police detaining dozens of activists in the second-largest city of Saint Petersburg.
Protests in several cities were called by the Open Russia movement founded by arch-Putin foe and former oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
They were held under the slogan “We’re sick of him” — referring to Putin.
About 30 to 50 protesters were hauled away by riot police in a crackdown in Saint Petersburg after around 200 people gathered for an unauthorised demonstration, an AFP journalist witnessed.
Open Russia put the figure of detentions at about 50 people, while OVD-Info, which monitors detentions of political activists, said more than 125 were detained. Police have not yet issued numbers.
“Putin is an usurper. He has to finally go. We’re sick of him,” said one of the protesters, 35-year-old Anton Danilov.
“Everything is bad. Education, health — everything has been destroyed. I want changes,” said Galina Abramova, 57.
A similarly sized protest in Moscow remained peaceful as activists gathered at the offices of Putin’s administration and handed in petitions against his expected candidacy in 2018.
“I don’t want Putin to stand in the next elections,” said Anna Bazarova, a 16-year-old student queuing up to hand in her petition.
“Our main problem is that we can’t change those in power,” she said.
She added that many of her friends had opted not to attend, fearing detention by the police.
Riot police stood guard as officers used loudspeakers to warn protesters: “Citizens, your action has not been agreed by the authorities.”
One of the organisers, Yakov Yermakov, handed out forms for people to fill out with complaints to Putin.
“Our president has already been in power 17 years. We think that’s too long. Our country isn’t developing,” he said.
The protests came after opposition leader Alexei Navalny organised the largest unauthorised rally of recent years in Moscow on March 26. Police detained around 1,000 people, including Navalny.
Navalny has announced his plan to stand for president in 2018 and has galvanised the splintered opposition movement with a powerful online campaign including videos exposing corrupt officials. He has called for another protest on June 12.
The main figurehead of Saturday’s protests, Khodorkovsky, remains a highly controversial figure in Russia. The former oligarch and founder of the Yukos oil company spent a decade in prison and now lives in Britain.
His Open Russia movement has been targeted by the authorities recently with police raiding its Moscow offices this week.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has described restructuring of Nigeria as a political necessity needed for positive changes and not an emotional issue.
Ekweremadu said this in Abuja at the presentation of the book, ‘The Audacity of Power and the Nigeria Project: Exclusion of the South-East in Nigeria’s Power Politics and the Spectre of Biafra’, authored by Godwin Udibe and Law Mefor.
A statement by the Special Adviser (Media) to the Deputy President of the Senate, Mr. Uche Anichukwu, on Friday, said the lawmaker was represented by a member of the House of Representatives, representing Ezeagu/Udi Federal Constituency, Dennis Amadi, at the event.
The Deputy Senate President faulted those who saw the call for restructuring as tantamount to the call for disintegration.
He said, “It is actually the perpetuation of marginalisation, exclusion, imbalances, injustice and induced poverty that come with a dysfunctional federal arrangement like ours that is capable of bending a nation towards restiveness and implosion.
“On the other hand, inclusion, justice, liberty and allowing every component state considerable autonomy to utilise its resources and potential to develop at its own pace promotes unity as well as speedy and competitive development.”
Ekweremadu also described the marginalisation of Igbo people in South-East Nigeria as a reality that can only be addressed by the restructuring of the federation.
He said, “The cross of Ndi’gbo in the Nigerian state is heavy; Igbo marginalisation is real; and, as the authors argue, (it) now borders on deliberate exclusion. But the worst disadvantages suffered by Ndi’gbo are not just those imposed by structural imbalances, such as fewer number of states and local governments or the lesser revenue accruals, political representation, federal employments and political appointments arising from the imbalances and willful injustice.
“This awkward form of federalism has boxed Ndi’gbo to a tight corner and caged their potential and ingenuity.”
The lawmaker warned that until Nigeria had a president “who sees every part of the country as his or her constituency, and is committed to reuniting a highly polarised nation and reawakening the giant in all part thereof; and so long as people are mistreated on grounds of their electoral choices or where they come from, the quest for president of the various ethnic extractions will continue.”
Ekweremadu noted that in a normal federal arrangement, the hue and cry over marginalisation by Igbo people and other parts of the country would not have arisen.
He said, “It would be recalled that in the First Republic, the defunct Eastern Region was rated the fastest growing economy in Africa. At that time, oil had not started flowing in commercial quantity in the region. Nevertheless, the Eastern Region, as well as the other regions, recorded unprecedented and unequalled development.
“The State of California alone, in the USA, is one of the largest economies in the world. It reminds us that in a true federal state, Ndi’gbo would have been the most unlikely people to cry about marginalisation because they have what it takes to compete with the developed economies.”

The Federal Government is set to partner Sudan in the local production of weapons in a bid to enhance the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.
Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, who made this known while meeting his Sudanese counterpart, Awad Ibf Ouf, disclosed that a Memorandum of Understanding would soon be signed to strengthen the partnership.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, Colonel Tukur Gusau, who was also on the trip to Sudan, said that Dan-Ali also inspected Nigerian troops under the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Darfur, South Sudan, urging them to be more dedicated.
He said, “A technical team from Nigeria is already in Sudan to work out the modalities. Very soon, the MoU would be signed.
“The minister inspected military vehicles’ production plants in Khartoum, after meeting the Vice President of the Military Industry Corporation of Sudan, Lt. Gen. Omar Albded. He also proceeded to the Sudanese arms production industry.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Air Force has said that its fighter jets had bombed an illegal oil storage facility situated between Ojekiri and Ngbae communities in the Niger Delta region.
The air force said the facility was sighted during a patrol mission conducted by one of its helicopters.
The NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, said, “During the armed reconnaissance, the NAF crew discovered a 60-metre long oil storage facility filled with stolen oil products, an illegal oil barge and some canoes with drums containing stolen oil products. The storage facility, oil barge and canoes were successfully attacked by the NAF helicopter and set ablaze.”

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Friday said he was working on a book that would detail how his party removed former President Goodluck Jonathan from office.
Tinubu reportedly played an instrumental role in the merger of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Congress for Progressive Change and All Nigeria Peoples Party to form the APC that presented President Muhammadu Buhari as candidate.
Buhari removed an incumbent President from office in 2015.
Speaking at the launch of “Against the Run of Play”, a book authored by Chairman, ThisDay Editorial Board, Olusegun Adeniyi, Tinubu said he would soon reveal how the APC defeated the Peoples Democratic Party in the last presidential election.
Tinubu, who was represented at the event by his media aide, Mr. Tunde Rahman, also noted that he played a big role in the emergence of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as Nigeria’s Vice-President.
He said people should not dwell on his loss of the vice-presidential seat but on the achievements of Osinbajo, whom he had nominated for the position.



Rahman said, “Some have said that they will tell their story, Asiwaju is also working on his own book to tell his account of what transpired.
“To tell how he was able to mould the APC to the extent that it was able to unseat an incumbent president for the first time in the history of our contemporary politics.
“The account of what transpired as told by Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the book and as presented in some newspapers is not about him losing the vice-presidency and the eventual vice-president emerging, as the reviewer has put it.
“Asiwaju spoke in greater context in that book, and when people are making comments, they should speak with the context in which he spoke. If they are saying that Asiwaju lost the vice-presidency and that a vice-president emerged, where did he emerge from? Who nominated the vice-president?
“I’d like to say that even the vice-president has said on some occasions that a certain political leader from the South-West nominated him for the job and we all know who that is.
“That nomination has been a very good choice from all the wonderful things the vice-president has been doing.”

An attack in the town of Madagali on 13 January saw two women detonate their devices, killing themselves, two babies, and four others.
They had passed a vigilante checkpoint, mistaken for civilians because they were carrying infants.
Female attackers have been seen before, but officials said the use of babies could signal a "dangerous" trend.
The insurgent group Boko Haram is widely suspected of having carried out the attack.
Four women attacked Madagali located in Adamawa State, which was recaptured from Boko Haram in 2015.
Two were stopped at a security checkpoint, and detonated their devices, officials said.
The two women carrying infants, however, were not stopped, and exploded their own devices past the security point.
Boko Haram is known for using women, including young girls, as suicide bombers.
The Nigerian government has been fighting the group in a major counter-offensive, recapturing much of their former territory.
But the insurgents have ramped up their suicide bombings in response.
In early December, two female suicide attackers killed at least 45 people in the same town, after they detonated their devices in a busy market.
A similar attack killed 25 people a year earlier.

History has been made once again showing the level of illiteracy that governs the Nigerian state. The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu said it clearly that he will destroy Nigeria in their very own court and many were asking how he could achieve that whereas he is still in their custody; but the frivolous conditional terms that were attached to the bail granted him have totally exposed the level of judicial illiteracy in Nigeria thereby destroying the remnants of respect and reputation that the Nigerian government have in the face of international communities. 

Justice Binta Murtala Nyako having granted the IPOB leader bail on the 25th day of April 2017, based on health grounds, went ahead to act a script of her paymasters of the northern cabals and retired general Muhammadu Buhari by attaching some unattainable condition for someone granted bail on a health grounds such as;


1. Submission of all international traveling documents.
2. Not granting any interview to the press.
3. Not to be found in a gathering of more than 10 people and never to participate in any rally, etc.

Questions Binta Murtala Nyako must answer if she is to pretend that she is not acting any script from the Nigerian government are:

i.  Submission of all his international traveling documents: 
How can a judge that passed through the four walls of an higher institution, obtained her MSc and other qualifications to lead her to the seat of justice grant someone bail based on health grounds yet denying such a person the freedom for treatment in any hospital of his choice, whereas Buhari who have committed different war crimes in the past and even till date by ordering the killing of peaceful IPOB protesters move freely to any country of his choice to treat his dying body without any restrictions or conditions even as he faults his own rule for flying abroad for medical treatment? Is that one justice?




ii, Not granting any interview to the press: 
How on earth did you (Binta Nyako) think that a high profile personality and freedom fighter like Kanu will be set free after long incarceration by the Nigerian government will not address his people and the entire world for their unwavering support during his ordeal? Granting one bail but taking away his freedom of speech from such person which is his basic human right, is that one freedom?

iii, Not to be found in a gathering of more than 10 people and/or in any rally: 
Having sat on your seat of justice, Binta Murtala Nyako, you ruled that Nnamdi Kanu should be granted bail on health conditions, how do you then deny him of sympathizers? Apart from sympathizers, the immediate family of Nnamdi Kanu is more than 10 persons, do you then mean that as a crowned Prince of Afara kingdom, he is restricted from even having a family meeting and/or addressing the people of his kingdom?

The conditions of his bail is indeed mindboggling to be heard of by some, that a country certified to be issuing justice, one will not seize to wonder that if the judicial system is as corrupt and myopic as have seen from Justice Nyako, then sewage system would be cleaner and clearer to compare to the entire system. 


It is the time all learned and good people of the world especially from Nigeria to lend their individual voices to this case as injustice meted against one is an injustice against all because it will always be used as a reference point in your own turn or in the turn of your loved ones.

The eyes of the world is strongly beamed on you, Binta Nyako and the script you are acting from your paymasters to see how you will crash at the end, you still have lots of time to retrace your steps and deliver justice without being partial as your actions continually unifies us more and even wins us more sympathizers on daily basis; as you saw in the person of the lion governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose and many more who are gearing up for the next court case. 

Have it at the back of your justice table that Biafra is a spirit and can never be silenced or defeated and Nnamdi Kanu is ordained to restore her back to her glory so it's important for you to have yourself a good name in the sands of history than making mockery of yourself which will, in turn, be used as a caricature by generation unborn.



The Indigenous People of Biafra worldwide (IPOB) lead by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is demanding that you must release our leader unconditionally having not found him guilty of any crime or offense that may warrant tagging some conditions to his release. 



It is time for all the world leaders to stand up against injustice in Nigeria and the entire Africa, following the footsteps of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu to advocate peace for all parts of the world.

#Unconditional Release of Nnamdi Kanu

By Ejike Ofoegbu Of Biafra Writers

The religious fanatism of Muhammadu Buhari knows no bound. He is madly in extreme position that he wishes he could lead another Jihad down to other non-Muslim communities of Nigeria. If Buhari regrets anything, it is his non-achievement of this singular plan in his youth.

The coming of this religion bigot in 2015 having been heavily funded and delivered by Saudi Arabia, the US under Obama and David Cameron of Britain, has nothing in mind to achieve other than quick Islamisation of the entire Nigeria. In expressing his readiness for this, he infiltrated his cabinet with fundamentalists and strategically position Muslims in all the Armed Forces and service cheifs.  Having led the ground ready for official Islamisation of the country, he started the release of Boko Haram prisoners whom he knows will do the Jihad for him and reabsorb them into the Nigerian military.


In March 2016, he gathered world Muslim leaders in Abuja for briefing and inspection of how prepared his foot soldiers are.  The briefing was done under the pretense of International Islamic Conference held in Abuja. The road map was sketched, and areas of disagreement in plans were reconciled with his international funders.


Since then many Christians and other non-Sunni Islamic adherence have been killed and gruesomely murdered. At the supervision of this present Government, their Jihadi-soldiers under the false flag of Herdsmen have wrecked down various Christians communities and many lives lost at the applauds of the present regime.  Christian clergymen were asked not to speak or get molested by the DSS and other security operatives. Those of the clergymen who defied this orders were humiliated and treated like animals.



Having succeeded in intimidating Christians and the Shiites, the Government is poised to rout out the observance of Jewish Religion in Nigeria. This they are doing by configuring all the security arms and agencies of the government to map out harsh measures in dealing with them. 

The recent harsh and stringent bail condition melted on Mazi Nnamdi Kanu having heard that he is of the Jewish faith by the Judge is a clear affront and soft approach of clamping down on the Jewish Religion observance in the country. If the experiment is allowed unchecked, the next move will be to marshal out a bloody and draconian approach against the Jewish Religion observance in Nigeria.



It will be recalled that Nigeria is a free religion state as enshrined in the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria but the attack on other religious faith in Nigeria leaves an unanswered question if Nigeria is really practicing freedom of religion. It is very disheartening that Nigeria prefers to embrace a very violent religion like Islam as opposed to other religions as Christianity and Judaism.

US President Donald Trump have told gun owners that they have a “true friend in the White House” as he addressed a National Rifle Association (NRA) meeting in Atlanta.
“To the NRA I can proudly say I will never, ever let you down,” he said on Friday, pledging also never to “infringe” on the right of people to keep and bear arms.
“Freedom is not a gift from government. Freedom is a gift from God,” he told the powerful lobbying group.
Trump, speaking on the 99th day of his presidency, said he was proud to be the first sitting president to address a major NRA forum since Ronald Reagan in 1983.
He thanked the organisation for backing him in May last year, the earliest it has ever endorsed a presidential nominee.
“You came through for me, and I am going to come through for you,” Trump said.
According to US media reports, the NRA gave $30.3m to the trump campaign.
‘Assault’ over
Since taking office, Trump has raised the issue of gun ownership rights only obliquely at a few of the campaign-style rallies he has held.
Trump said on Friday that under his administration the “assault” on the second amendment of the US Constitution, which secures the right of the people to own guns, has come to an end.
“No longer will the government be trying to undermine your rights and your freedoms as Americans. Instead we will work with you by your side.”
His Democrat predecessor Barack Obama tried to pass minor gun control legislation following the Sandy Hook School massacre that killed 26 people in 2012.
A few blocks away from the NRA convention, protesters gathered to counter the group’s message and to honour victims of gun violence.
Gun control organisations said they would also rally on Saturday in opposition to the “extremist” NRA leadership and its “guns everywhere” agenda.
Everytown for Gun Safety said that the gun lobby’s agenda contributes to the more than 90 Americans shot and killed and the hundreds more injured every day in the US by gun violence.

I am not hiding my identity and will always pronounce it at any given time. I remain Tonye Tyger Tamuno Amachree from Ijaw Biafraland, the release of George Onyeibe must be unconditional and immediate.

Turkey has blocked all access inside the country to the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia.
Officials said “an administrative measure” had been taken, but gave no reason why.
Turkish media said authorities had asked Wikipedia to remove content by writers “supporting terror”.
Turkey has temporarily blocked social media sites including Facebook and Twitter in the past, usually following protests or terror attacks.
The Turkey Blocks monitoring group said Wikipedia was unreachable from 08:00 (05:00 GMT). People in Istanbul were unable to access any pages without using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
“After technical analysis and legal consideration based on the Law Nr. 5651 [governing the internet], an administrative measure has been taken for this website,” Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority was quoted as saying, giving no further details.
However, the Hurriyet daily newspaper said Wikipedia had been asked to remove content by certain writers whom the authorities accuse of “supporting terror” and of linking Turkey to terror groups. The site had not responded to the demands, Hurriyet said, and the ban was imposed as a result.
Turkey Blocks and Turkish media, including Hurriyet, said the provisional order would need to be backed by a full court ruling in the next few days.
It’s become all too familiar here: the endless “loading” icon followed by the message “server timed out”.
Blocking websites is a common tool of the Turkish authorities: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have suffered the same fate several times, and numerous anti-government sites are inaccessible.
Critics say it smacks of Turkey’s repression of free speech: over half of all requests to Twitter to remove content have come from Turkey, and the country now ranks 155 of 180 in the press freedom index of the watchdog Reporters without Borders.
Social media was in uproar as news of the ban emerged, with some users speculating that it might be a bid to suppress criticism on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Wikipedia page.
Mr Erdogan narrowly won a controversial 16 April referendum on increasing his powers, but the issue has deeply divided the country.
One Twitter user noted that the Wikipedia page on Turkey’s referendum has a section on “controversies and electoral misconduct”, and cites claims that the government suppressed the No campaign through “arrests, control of the media and political suppression”.
The Turkish government has previously denied censoring the internet, blaming outages on spikes in usage after major events.
Wikipedia has also faced censorship in other countries, including a temporary ban in Russia, and repeated crackdowns in China.
-NAN


SOURCE: SitiBe News

Pope Francis urged Egypt’s leading imams on Friday to teach their students to reject violence in God’s name and preach messages of peace and tolerance instead, forging ahead with a delicate visit to the Arab world’s most populous country following a spate of deadly Islamic militant attacks against Christians.
Francis arrived to a subdued welcome and a heavy police presence at Cairo’s international airport. But he brushed off security concerns by driving into town with his windows rolled down in a simple blue Fiat — not the armored “popemobiles” of his predecessors.
Francis has said he wanted to bring a message of peace to Egypt, which has been enduring an increasingly emboldened insurgency led by a local affiliate of the extremist Islamic State group.
In a speech to President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and diplomats from around the world, Francis strongly backed the Egyptian government’s crackdown against the militants, saying Egypt had a unique role to play in forging peace in the region and in “vanquishing all violence and terrorism.”
Francis’ major event of the day was a landmark visit to Cairo’s Al Azhar university, the revered, 1 000-year-old seat of Sunni Islam learning that trains clerics and scholars from around the world.
There, he warmly embraced Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Al-Azhar’s grand imam who hosted the pope and other senior Muslim leaders, students and scholars at a peace conference.
The conference center featured a mock-up of the famous Al-Azhar mosque, complete with faux windows and flooded with purple lights.
Speaking to the crowd, Francis recalled that Egypt’s ancient civilizations valued the quest for knowledge and open-minded education, and said a similar commitment to education is required today to combat the “barbarity” of religious extremism among the young.
While Al-Azhar has strongly condemned Islamic fundamentalism, Egypt’s pro-government media has accused its leadership of failing to do enough to reform the religious discourse in Islam and purge canonical books from outdated teachings and hatred for non-Muslims.
“As religious leaders, we are called to unmask violence that masquerades as purported sanctity,” Francis said to applause from the crowd. “Let us say once more a firm and clear ‘No’ to every form of violence, vengeance and hatred carried out in the name of religion or in the name of God.”
“To counter effectively the barbarity of those who foment hatred with violence, we need to accompany young people, helping them on the path to maturity and teaching them to respond to the incendiary logic of evil by patiently working for the growth of goodness,” he added.
El-Tayeb thanked Francis for what he called his “fair” comments against charges of terror and violence leveled against Muslims and Islam.
“We need to cleanse religions from wrong notions, false piety and fraudulent implementations which stoke conflicts and incite hatred and violence,” he said. “Islam is not a religion of terrorism because a minority from among its followers hijacked some of its texts” to shed blood and be provided by some with weapons and funds, he said to applause.
Francis too called for an end to the flow of weapons and money to militants, saying that “only by bringing into the light of day the murky maneuverings that feed the cancer of war can its real causes be prevented.”




In addition to Francis’ main message of repudiating religiously-inspired violence, the Friday-Saturday visit is also meant to lift the spirits of Egypt’s large Christian community after three suicide bombings since December – including deadly twin Palm Sunday church attacks – killed at least 75 people.
Egypt’s Islamic State affiliate claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Egypt’s al-Sisi, a general-turned-president, declared a nationwide state of emergency following the Palm Sunday attacks in a bid to better deal with the insurgency through wider police powers and swift trials.
Francis strongly backed his stance, saying his repudiation of religiously-inspired violence “merits attention and appreciation.”
“Egypt, in the days of Joseph, saved other peoples from famine; today it is called to save this beloved region from a famine of love and fraternity,” he said. “It is called to condemn and vanquish all violence and terrorism.”
Al-Sisi has had the support of Egypt’s Christian community in his crackdown. But he has been criticized for human rights violations and was ostracized by much of the West after ousting Egypt’s first democratically elected president in 2013, the Islamist Mohammed Morsi whose one-year rule proved divisive.
Francis’ support is likely to embolden al-Sisi further after he recently won a coveted White House visit.
Speaking alongside Francis, al-Sisi said Islamic militants who commit acts of terror cannot claim to be Muslim.
“True Islam does not command the killing of the innocent,” he said.
Later on Friday, Francis headed to the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose followers are the vast majority of Egypt’s estimated nine million Christians, to meet its spiritual leader, Pope Tawadros II.
Francis and Tawadros presides over an ecumenical prayer service in St. Peter’s church, the central Cairo church hit by a suicide bombing in December that killed 30, most of them women. Together the two Christian leaders were to pray for the victims of the attacks.
Francis has frequently spoken out about the present day’s Christian martyrs and the “ecumenism of blood” that has united Catholic, Orthodox and other Christians targeted for their faith by Islamic militants.
While Francis eschewed the armored “popemobile,” security was visibly tightened for the 27 hours he will be on the ground in Cairo.
Streets designated for the pontiff’s motorcade around the Coptic Orthodox cathedral of St. Mark’s and the Vatican Embassy in the upscale Zamalek neighborhood were cleared of cars.
Police also swarmed Zamalek, a Nile River island where Francis will sleep on Friday at the embassy.
Policemen in riverboats patrolled the Nile in front of the embassy. Security men, meanwhile, were posted every hundred meters or so along the 20km stretch between the airport and central Cairo ahead of Francis’ arrival and armored cars were stationed in front of the presidential palace.
However, the pope’s visit appears not to have caused much disruption to the city of some 18 million people as it fell on the Muslim Friday-Saturday weekend, when the usually congested traffic is significantly lighter.

ABUJA – LEADER of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, on Friday, fulfilled the bail conditions granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The bail condition was perfected through the presence of the Chairman, South East Senate caucus and former Deputy Governor of Abia State, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, a Jewish High Chief Priest, Immanuu-El Shalom and a Chartered Accountant residing in Abuja, Tochukwu Uchendu.

Details soon....

Moses Agbo, a Biafran journalist working for Family Writers who was released some weeks ago from DSS illegal detention, puts all of us on notice that now the Nigerian armed forces are hunting for him. He says in his Facebook:

"If been a Biafran is my only crime that makes the zoo armed forces to keep hunting for me shortly after my release from #DSS unlawful abduction/detention, then it is time they have to take me to my earlier grave if they can.

But as for me,Moses Agbo Obinna in this struggle,I can never go exile,no retreat no asylum.
If I die, I die but in as much as I'm still alive,it is a must to stand eyebrow to eyebrow with any forces until they release my leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and others followed by Biafra total freedom.

#Biafra or #Dearth

Do your worse if you can!
But I can assure you that #ChukwuAbiama is alive."

No fewer than 253 Nigerians voluntarily returned from Libya on Tuesday aboard a chartered Airbus A330-200 with registration 5A-LAT operated by Libya Airlines.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the aircraft landed about 6.45pm at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The returnees were made up of of 102 males, 140 females, six children and five infants.
They were brought back by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the Nigerian embassy in Libya.
The returnees were received at the Hajj Camp area of the airport by officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) , the National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and the Police.
Also on ground to receive them were officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Addressing newsmen, Dr Onimode Bandele, Director, Search and Rescue, NEMA, said two of the returnees had medical issues.
According to him, one of them was suffering from depression, while the other had severe burns requiring surgical operation.He said :”Let’s thank God that these ones have returned safely because Libya is not what it used to be.
“As a government, our advice is that young Nigerians should strive to work hard and tap into vast opportunities available in the country instead of seeking greener pastures elsewhere. ”
Bandele said some state governments had initiated various programmes to rehabilitate and reintegrate the returnees back into the society.
He said NEMA would continue to work with IOM to bring back Nigerians willing to return, adding that the programme was continuous.
Speaking to newsmen, the returnee who suffered the severe burns on her face said she arrived Libya in February after making a payment of N300, 000 to her traffickers.
She told newsmen that she suffered the injury while working for her “madam” who only went to dump her at the hospital where she was abandoned.
The returnee, therefore, appealed to the government for assistance to carry out a reconstructive surgery on her face.
NAN reports that a total of 236 Nigerians had in March voluntarily returned from the North African country where they had been stranded enroute Europe.
NAN

Prof. Catherine Falade, a Malariologist and consultant Clinical Pharmacologist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, says Nigeria treats more than two million patients for malaria every year.
Falade said this at a Webcast session held in Ibadan to mark this year’s World Malaria Day.
The expert, who disclosed that there was a new deadlier type of mosquito called penocide, called for adequate sensitisation in fighting the scourge.
Falade said: “Penocide is the fifth newly discovered deadliest of the malaria causing mosquitoes; it is life threatening but unfortunately Nigerians don’t see it as death sentence.
“Malaria parasite is always in Nigeria all year round, with major states in the North having the highest morbidity and mortality rates.
“Certain population groups are at the highest risks of having malaria and these included small children who are five years and below, pregnant women and HIV patients.
“These groups have low immunity and develop complications like anaemia and cerebral malaria.
“Infants under three months are also vulnerable to attacks and pregnant women have higher risks of premature births and morbidity.
“IDPs in Nigeria also have higher risks and more complications identified with malaria.
“In peak incidence areas in Nigeria, we usually have admission rates, particularly among babies and children.
“Clinical outlook of malaria includes acute anaemia, cerebral malaria and lifelong complications.


The malariologist, who said that there had been a positive development in the fight against the scourge since 2010, attributed this to the fact that health professionals had been able to keep to recommended standard WHO practice.
Falade said: “These include the use of long lasting insecticides treated nets, use of artemisinin combination therapy recommended by WHO and vector control measures.
“Nigeria has the highest percentage of distribution of malaria prone zone in Africa and therefore government should be ready to allocate more funds to fight this scourge.
“It should be a must for consultants to do microscopic diagnosis for malaria parasite (Plasmodia parasitomia) in the treatment of malaria.
“We still don’t check for malaria parasite when giving blood transfusion and this may lead to complication that is life threatening.”
The forum was organised by GlaxoSmithKline Plc and viewed from 15 centres in Nigeria simultaneously.
The Company Director of Market Access, Alexandra Spang, disclosed that the 15 centres included Ibadan, Bauchi, Calabar, Akure, Badagry, Ikorodu, Benin and Port Harcourt.
Others were Abuja,Ogun, Kano, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Anambra and Lagos – with three centres.
Spang, who is also the company’s Country Representative in Nigeria, described GSK as a science-led global health care company that researches and develops a broad range of innovative products.
The World Malaria Day is celebrated on April 25 and the occasion focuses on the global efforts to control malaria.
The theme for this year was: “End Malaria for Good.”

The Alliance for Affordable Internet has ranked Nigeria third in its Africa Affordability Drivers Index, out of 27 countries studied by the group.
The Africa Regional Coordinator of the group, Onica Makwakwa, made the disclosure at the unveiling of the Africa Affordability Report 2017 in Lagos on Tuesday.
The report is an annual publication of A4AI, examining the policy and regulatory framework that had allowed some countries to make internet more affordable, accessible and universal.
It suggested what other countries could do to catch up on internet affordability.
A detailed breakdown of the report showed that Mauritius topped the table with 61.70 per cent, followed by Morocco with 57.75 per cent.
Nigeria came third with 56.58 per cent, with Botswana on the fourth position with 55.37 per cent and Cote d’Ivoire scoring 53.25 per cent.
The report said: “Affordable internet is one Gigabyte of mobile pre-paid data for two per cent or less of average monthly income.
“However, 1GB of data costs an average citizen nearly 18 per cent of their monthly income.
“Overall, African countries score less than five out of 10 in all policy areas, indicating the crucial need for improvement.”
The report cites the International Telecommunication Union as saying that only 25 per cent of the African population is online.
It said that the continent had 16 per cent of mobile broadband penetration and that there was 23 per cent internet use gender gap in Africa.

The Imo State governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has called on his Ndigbo kinsmen to stop wasting resources in developing other land.
He asked them to return to the east and set up their businesses instead of helping other states like Lagos, Kano to grow.
Okorocha stated this while commissioning a hotel in Arondiziogu in Ideato council area of the state on Tuesday.
He said, “I commend the proprietor of this hotel for coming home to invest. He could have built this hotel in Abuja or other places knowing too well that he could have made more profit, but he chose to think home. Let’s all come home, develop our area and create jobs for our people.”
The governor further directed the state ministry of Works to assess the cost of drainage and asphalting the road leading to the area.
According to him, “We don’t have to tell anybody to invest at home; anyone who has ear, let him hear. Why do we have to develop Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and other places? We should always think home.”
In his response, Proprietor of the hotel, Benbella Anachebe, SAN, said he decided to build the hotel at his hometown to boost tourism and develop the area.
He said, “I have built a hospital, a road, a church and now a hotel to help develop my hometown. The church was built as a way of showing gratitude to God as well as to serve humanity.
“The hotel would be providing subvention to the hospital and the church. It is not all about money.
“Ndigbo had a sad experience after the civil war where we lost our properties and businesses. Anybody who has read the history of abandoned property does not need to be told that home is the best place to invest.
“Your property in your hometown is secure. Develop your hometown where you have a guarantee of a lifetime ownership of your property or business.”

Former President Goodluck Jonathan says Barack Obama, former US president, was desperate to have him removed.
Jonathan, who was president from 2010 to 2015, said Obama and his officials made it clear to him that they wanted a change of government in Nigeria.
The former president did not have the warmest of relationships with the Obama administration.
In the heat of the Boko Haram insurgency, the US government placed an arms embargo on Nigeria, though it cited gross abuse of human rights on the part of the Nigerian army as the reason for its decision.
In an advance copy of ‘Against the Run of Play’, a book which chronicles how Jonathan lost the 2015 presidential election, written by Segun Adeniyi and seen by TheCable, the former president said Obama went very far in his attempt to have him removed.
“President Barack Obama and his officials made it clear to me by their actions that they wanted a change of government in Nigeria and were ready to do anything to achieve that purpose. They even brought some naval ships into the Gulf of Guinea in the days preceding the election,” he said on page 184.
Jonathan also accused Obama of influencing the opinions of world leaders against him.
“I got on very well with Prime Minister David Cameron but at some point, I noticed that the Americans were putting pressure on him and he had joined them against me,” he said.
“But I didn’t realise how far President Obama was prepared to go to remove me until France caved in to the pressure from America.”
Explaining how desperate Obama was to have his way, Jonathan said he had a good relationship with President Francois Hollande of France, but the former US president muddled the waters.
He then said weeks to the election, Hollande joined “the Americans in supporting the opposition against me”.
The former president said the Obama administration kept citing allegations of corruption against his government as the reason for its stand against him, but that it was not specific in its accusation.
“There was this blanket accusation that my body language was supporting corruption, a line invented by the opposition but which the media and civil society bought into and helped project to the world. That was the same thing I kept hearing from the Americans without specific allegations,” he added.
The book will be launched on Friday. Adeniyi, the author, is the chairman of THISDAY editorial board.
Some of his other works are ‘Last 100 Days of Abacha’ and ‘Power, Politics and Death’.