Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Gunmen kill 19 at Deeper Life Church during service


Okene, Kogi State - Unknown gunmen stormed a Deeper Life Bible Church opposite the Federal College of Education (FCE) and opened fire on worshippers, killing no fewer than 19. Many were injured. The gunmen, who were said to be bearing sophisticated weapons, stormed the church during the Bible Study, a Monday programme, at about 7p.m., shooting indiscriminately. The gunmen reportedly took the worshippers by surprise. They blocked all entrances into the church, preventing people from escaping as they fired indiscriminately at the worshippers.

A source said at least15 worshippers died on the spot; others died in the hospital. Among the dead was the local government area Pastor, according to a source who spoke in Lagos where news of the incident sent members into a shock. One of the injured is the Dean of Student Affairs of the FCE. The attack came two weeks after an account officer with FCE was abducted from his home and murdered. An attack on the Living Faith Church on Lagos Road in Okene was last month repelled by security operatives who stopped an explosive-laden vehicle parked by road side. It could not be immediately ascertained how many worshipers were in the church at the time of the attack.


Related developments
Gunmen believed to be members of Boko Haram struck again in Sokoto State yesterday.
They bombed a police station in Shagari Village about 70 kilometres to Sokoto, the state capital.
Shagari is the home town of Second Republic President Shehu Shagari. The police station that was attacked is a few metres away from his home.
A police source said the attackers came on a motorbike and tossed dynamites at the police outpost while firing at the policemen on duty.
Sokoto, the seat of the Caliphate, was attacked last week.
Boko Haram, the violent Islamist sect, yesterday claimed responsibility for Sunday’s killing of six soldiers and two civilians in Damturu, the Yobe State capital.
The group said it was responsible for other weekend attacks in the Northeast.
Also on Sunday night, four people were killed in their homes by suspected Boko Haram members in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, as the Joint Task Force (JTF) alerted the public to an impending series of suicide bombings in the city.
In an email statement attributed to a Boko Haram (Wester Education is a sin) spokesman and obtained by The Associated Press yesterday, the group said “One of (their) fighters” caused an explosion Sunday in Damaturu.
Police say six soldiers and two civilians were killed in the blast.
The statement also claimed responsibility for two other attacks in two other northeast cities. It was not immediately clear which attacks it was referring to.
The statement comes after an Internet video featuring the sect’s leader was posted on YouTube on Saturday.
Boko Haram is held responsible for more than 660 deaths this year alone according to international media count.
Apart from Sunday’s attack in Damaturu, the Emir of Fika was attacked on Friday in a suicide bid but he escaped. His orderly died
A former Commissioner for the Environment in Borno State Alhaji Abdulkadir Kaasa, was shot dead in his home in Maiduguri on Sunday.
Two of the victims of Sunday night killings in Maiduguri were residents of Lawan Bukar, where Alhaji Fannami Gubio, the original candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in the governorship election in 2011 was killed.
Another victim was killed in the Railway Quarters, where the headquarters of the sect was located before the 2009 clampdown. It was there that its leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed by security operatives alongside dozens of his followers.
One other person was killed at Gamboru Ward. The killing caused apprehension among residents of the town.
Though there was no official confirmation at press time, a military source who spoke anonymously told reporters that the military had intensified efforts at getting the culprits.
The JTF yesterday alerted the public to the plan of the sect to undertake massive snatching of vehicles in Maiduguri and environs which they will later use for suicide missions.
The vehicles, according to the task force, would be laden with explosives and used to bomb strategic locations and cause breach of the peace in the town. The statement signed by the task force field operations officer, Col. Victor Ebhaleme reads: “The JTF wishes to alert members of the public of the desperate moves by Boko Haram terrorists to steal/ snatch vehicles for suicide bombings.”
He urged those whose vehicles have been stolen to immediately report the theft to the nearest police station or to the JTF. He warned that anyone who failed to report and his vehicle is used as a courier of bombs would be treated as an accomplice of the sect.

 source: Nigeria Forum

Friday, August 3, 2012

BEWARE! LAGOS MOTORISTS: ROAD TRAPS THAT MAY LEAD TO JAIL


A recent report in The Guardian says the controversial new traffic bill prescribing three years jail term for one-way traffic violators in Lagos State will be signed into law today by Governor Babatunde Fashola. However, due to recent developments, the jail term has been reduced to one year for first time violators of one-way traffic in Lagos.Trying to be my brother’s keeper, I would like to share with you some roads in Lagos that can take you directly to jail as from Friday. 

Since a new Shopping Mall accommodating Shoprite was launched in Alausa, Ikeja, the road that passes directly behind it is now a one-way street. Policemen have been feeding fat on people who had used that road for ages and are unaware of this new development. When the bill becomes law, heading in the wrong direction on the road will send you to jail for three years.

To new motorists or those visiting Lagos, Somolu is filled with booby-traps that can send you to jail. One-way streets there are numerous. But the ones that quickly come to mind include Oyebajo Street. If you’re coming from Morocco Road, going to Ikorodu Road, Oyebajo Street is to the right. With no visible signs, this street is a one-way ticket to jail.

Again, when coming from Ikorodu Road, heading to Igbobi College, there is another one-way traffic street by Fadeyi Bus Stop via Kalejaiye Street. It is the right turning before the National Orthopaedic Hospital. Officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority will usually not stay at the entry point to warn you, but in the middle to apprehend you. You will regain your freedom in three years!

Then, the popular bridge linking Dopemu to Egbeda is one-way traffic at a designated time of each day. From 5am to 11.59am, you can cross from Dopemu side to the Egbeda side and vice versa without any trouble. But by noon, if you cross from Egbeda side to Dopemu, LASTMA and the police will be waiting for you with a Black Maria. Kiss your freedom goodbye.

On the Yaba/Akoka section, there are a few booby-traps, apart from the clear one-way traffic roads with concrete medians. The one that leaps to mind now is the major road from University Junction that leads directly to the UNILAG Gate. This road is 95 per cent two-way traffic. But there is a 5 per cent one-way traffic, where you have to detour inside the community and burst out a little further down the road. There is an old, faded ‘No Entry’ sign, to warn motorists, but many first timers miss it. They are joking with three years jail term. 
The service lane at Oshodi coming from Mile Two is presumably two-way traffic up to a little after NAFDAC. The road forks into two, the right links CAPPA/Mushin, while the left links Oshodi Oke. Motorists who want to drop passengers at Oshodi, but are too law-abiding to do it on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, usually enter the service lane, drop their passengers, drive past NAFDAC and at the fork, bear left to link Oshodi Oke, onward to Oworonsoki or Maryland, as the case maybe.

But any day some LASTMA officials are broke, they usually stay on top of Oshodi Oke bridge and  monitor those climbing the bridge at the fork. They then pounce on them, accusing them of one-way traffic violation. If you are unlucky to pass that route on one of such days, you will be writing a prison memoir soon, or you offer to pay for the school fees of the children of the ‘hardworking’ LASTMA officials who apprehend you.  Which would it be?

Then, from the past few months, motorists coming from Toll Gate by 7Up, and attempting to link Oregun can no longer drive straight into Ikosi Road by Union Bank. Entry has been barred even though there is no single sign to that effect yet. In lieu of that, there are traffic cones placed there to guide motorists. In all fairness, there are sometimes some honest LASTMA guys at the intersection to guide confused motorists how they can access Ikosi via Unilever.

But often times, on duty are the crooked ones who see an opportunity to make money. When a Lagos State Waste Management Authority truck or other government vehicles exempted from traffic laws blow these cones away, motorists coming afterwards inadvertently drive into Ikosi at the intersection and are slammed by LASTMA and gun-toting policemen. You are in serious trouble.

There are many more, I’m sure. If there are some roads you know that are not included, be your brothers’ keeper and share. Wish you a jail-free motoring.
Culled from John Awe Online