Abuja Bloggers

A socio-cultural group, the Jukun Development Association (JDA), has called on the people of southern Taraba in Taraba State to defend themselves by any means possible against external aggression aimed at exterminating them in the country. JDA also demanded the immediate evacuation of all Fulani herdsmen from southern Taraba, claiming that the presence of “these violent herdsmen, driven from Plateau, Nasarawa and Benue States, was responsible for the rising cases of violence in their homeland and that the herdsmen must leave for peace to reign in the area.” The group threatened that if the herdsmen refused to leave their homeland, they would take up arms against them. In a statement signed by JDA National President, Mr. Benjamin  Danborno, the group said the call to take up arms became necessary due to federal government alleged failure “to check the violence and protect the Jukun people from the clutches of the blood-thirsty Fulani herdsmen, who have been killing...

The increased security checks at the nation’s seaports in the wake of the insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country has yielded fruits as a young man, Emmanuel Eko, has been arrested for importing  of army camouflage boots, belts and other military accessories. The 38-year-old man who has Nigerian and British international passports was apprehended yesterday officials of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Ports and Terminal Multi-Services Limited (PTML) Command, Apapa, Lagos. The suspect, who claimed to be a soldier with the British army was arrested becaused the items are listed.  Army camouflage, military uniforms, boots, belts and other military accessories are items listed in the Import Prohibition List (IPL) maintained by the NCS. Eko who looked undisturbed as he answered questions from reporters, said the items were reportedly approved for clearance by the NCS and he was on his way out of the terminal when he was stopped at the exit gate ...

Scores were killed and several others injured on Tuesday after an early evening explosion that rocked one of the pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at the Takwa Bay Beach area of Lagos. Although the inferno had been contained as at press time, the entire area was still pervaded with a thick smoke and the stench of petrol. According to eyewitness accounts, some vandals had beforehand, visited the area, vandalised the pipeline and successfully siphoned fuel by digging a pit where the stolen products from the ruptured pipeline flowed into. Although the cause of the explosion was yet to be ascertained, the deceased and injured persons were said to have been among those that stormed the site of the spillage to scoop fuel after the vandals had disappeared. Some of the villagers who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the vandals had stormed Takwa Bay in canoes laden with several hundreds of 50 liter jerrycans. According to...

The Verdict By Olusegun Adeniyi;   olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com In what turned out to be perhaps his last public outing, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua spent practically the whole of July 18, 2009 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. It was to attend a fundraising event organized by his wife and then First Lady, Hajia Turai Yar’Adua to build an international cancer centre in Nigeria. With President Olusegun Obasanjo as chairman of the occasion, the ceremony had in attendance most of the movers and shakers in Nigeria, and financial pledges were made, all running into about N6.8 billion. On return to the Villa that day, the late President told one of the aides, “Please tell Mr Hallawi I want to see him.” Born in Kano to Syrian parents, Mr. Waleed Hallawi, a respectable old man, was a dependable associate of the late Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.  “Inherited” by his younger brother, Mr. Hallawi was the go-to man whenever the Y...

Monday. “The three young men they met there could not help the women, as they (gunmen) also ordered the three of them to enter the Toyota Hilux vans and took all of them away,” Tar added. The news channels also reported that three young men who tried to stop the abduction of the women were also taken away. When contacted by one of our correspondents, the Borno State Police Commissioner, Lawan Tanko, denied that the incident took place. He said, “I believe there is no truth in the attack as I just spoke to my divisional police officer in Chibok. He should have informed me of the abduction if there was any.” Also, the Chairman of Chibok Local Government Area, Baana Lawan, said, “When I saw the report on online new sources, I despatched some vigilance group members and hunters to the scene. They came back and told me that the place was never attacked and that no one was abducted.” Telephone calls by one of our correspondents in Abuja to the Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Ch...

A nutritionist at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Mr Tunde Ajobo, on Tuesday said walnut, potato and mango were super foods packed with health enhancing properties for the human brain. Ajobo, a Dietician and Head, Dietetic Department of the college, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan. “These foods have health functions ranging from prevention of heart diseases and cancers to improving skin tone and boosting memory and brain function,” the don said. He explained that walnut was a rich source of ALA (Omega3), and therefore, useful in boosting depression and raising cognitive functions. Ajobo said walnut was an edible seed of Juglans Regia tree which originated in India and the regions surrounding the Caspian Sea. “The tree has multiple uses, it can be used as food (edible seed), medicine, furniture, and dye. “The seed has a number of health benefits ranging from weight management to prevention and slowing of various cancers,” he s...

These are hard times for residents of border towns on Borno State following the refusal of the military authorities to heed their calls for the deployment of soldiers to protect the embattled villagers. As a result, the residents, who are said to be in the throes of a serious food scarcity, have started fleeing their homes to hills and caves while reportedly feeding on wild fruits. Speaking to journalists on Tuesday in Maiduguri, the immediate past vice chairman of Gwoza Local Government, Mr. Francis Nduka, and Caretaker Committee Chairman, Dr. Hamman Ahmadu, said the people of Gwoza East, affected by Boko Haram insurgency in six border villagers, had fled into Gwoza hills and took refuge in mountain caves for safety. They said the people said they would only return if troops were deployed in the area, saying staying in the affected villages would be suicidal. Nduka said, “Our people have been gripped with ‘fears and trauma for over two weeks, and have no any other place to flee th...

Call for more details on your choice of smartphone 08032105060 Abuja residence only. Also known as Nokia X plus, Nokia X+ Dual SIM RM-1053, Nokia X plus Dual SIM General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2 GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100 SIM Optional Dual SIM (Micro-SIM) Announced 2014, February Status Available. Released 2014, May Body Dimensions 115.5 x 63 x 10.4 mm, 73.2 cc (4.55 x 2.48 x 0.41 in) Weight 128.7 g (4.52 oz) Display Type IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors Size 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density) Multitouch Yes, up to 2 fingers - Nokia X platform 1.0 UI Sound Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones Loudspeaker Yes 3.5mm jack Yes Memory Card slot microSD, up to 32 GB, 4 GB included Internal 4 GB, 768 MB RAM Data GPRS Up to 85.6 kbps EDGE Up to 236.8 kbps Speed HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; ...

Worldwide sales of tablets to end users reached 195.4 million units in 2013, a 68 percent increase on 2012 figures, according to Gartner.com. It was learnt that while sales of iOS tablets grew in the fourth quarter of 2013, iOS’s share declined to 36 per cent. Gartner.com also reports that the low-end smaller screen tablet market, and first-time buyers fuelled the tablet growth in 2013; this led Android to become the number one tablet operating system (OS), with 62 per cent of the market. “In 2013, tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications,” said Miss Roberta Cozza,a research director at Gartner.com. “As the Android tablet market becomes highly commoditised, in 2014, it will be critical for vendors to focus on device experience and meaningful technology and ecosystem value — beyond just hardware and cost — to ensure brand loyalty and improved marg...

Some football fans in Ondo State on Tuesday faulted Coach Stephen Keshi’s Super Eagles’ final list for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. However, some believed nothing was wrong with the list and that all that was needed was prayers for the team to succeed at the Mundial. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Keshi on Monday released the 23-man final list, including three goal-keepers, six defenders, seven strikers and seven mid-fielders. The fans in separate interviews told NAN that Keshi dropped some important players who helped in securing the 2013 AFCON Cup in South Africa. They also advised that Keshi should inject his technical prowess in coordinating the squad for the team to go beyond the round of 16. A sports analyst in Ondo, Oluwatoyin Olafusi, said Keshi made a big mistake by dropping Sunday Mba, who sealed the 2013 AFCON Cup in South Africa. Olafusi said most of the players featured in the list might not have the zeal to surpass the round of 16 at the tournament. “Th...

President Goodluck Jonathan | credits: nigerianbulletin.com The Federal Government has so far eliminated 56,000 ghost workers who have been drawing salaries from the nation’s coffers for years, thereby increasing government’s recurrent expenditure. The government has therefore saved N161.9bn that would have gone to the ghost workers as of March 2014. This was contained in a book, “The transformation agenda: Reviewing progress, matching forward,” presented by President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday in Abuja as part of activities marking the nation’s Democracy Day. The 98-page book catalogues the achievements of the present administration between 2013 and 2014. According to the book published by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the feat was achieved through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System. It said the decision to put the IPPIS in place was borne out the various fiscal challenges faced by the nation’s economy at the onset of J...