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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Photos and MEND's latest statements on today's bomb blast in Warri

via Saharareporters.com

Mend_bomb_blast_1Mend_bomb_blast_2Mend_bomb_blast_3





The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) salutes all its operatives who at great risk, successfully planted and detonated two (2) car bombs at the venue of the Vanguard Post Amnesty conference in Warri, Delta state. Three such bombs of varying strength were planted at this venue. It was unnecessary to detonate the third and most powerful bomb as our operatives noticed the participants at this jamboree fled towards the direction of the last bomb.

Any attempt to detonate this bomb would have resulted in great loss of life. This bomb is being preserved for future use.

All who participated in this operation, safely returned to their respective bases.

Jomo Gbomo

Monday, March 15, 2010

MEND issues bomb alert in Warri, Delta State by Jomo Gbomo

Written by Jomo Gbomo

After receiving the baton of ignorance from his Bayelsa state counterpart, the governor of Delta State declared in the Vanguard newspaper of February 22, 2010 that "the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a media creation." This assertion coming from the same person who claimed publicly that an oil pipeline can be destroyed by one man armed with a bottle of petrol, is hardly surprising. What is surprising is how he managed to obtain a science degree.

Thinking of no better way to announce our continued presence in the Niger Delta to Mr Uduaghan, operatives of MEND today March 15, 2010, successfully breached the security at the Delta state government house in Warri and planted three explosive devices in and around this compound which is the venue of the Vanguard Post Amnesty Dialogue organised by the Vanguard newspaper.

These devices will be detonated remotely.

In our usual effort to prevent the loss of innocent life, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta advises the immediate evacuation of the the Government House annex Warri and its immediate surroundings up to the Delta state Brodcasting Corporation.

The time given for this evacuation before the detonation of the first bomb is thirty (30) minutes which will elapse by 1130 hrs Nigerian time. The primary school bordering the government house annex should be evacuated immediately!

The first bomb will be detonated at exactly 1130 hrs. We will thereafter advise on the other devices planted within and around the venue of the vanguard newspaper organised and Delta state sponsored conference. Organisers and participants at this jamboree will ignore this warning at their peril !!!

People must not remain in their cars and attempt to drive their cars and maintain safe distance from all cars and the area!

The deceit of endless dialogue and conferences will no longer be tolerated. The lands of the people of the Niger Delta was stolen by the oil companies and Northern Nigeria with the stroke of a pen.

The vanguard organized and delta state sponsored conference is one of such tools of deception. The Niger Delta has been partitioned into oil blocks which have been distributed amongst mostly Northerners while indegenes of the Niger Delta can barely survive. One such example being General T.Y. Danjuma.

It is common knowlede that no southerner can lay claim to an inch of land in the North so why should we continue to talk as the occupation of our land and theft of our reources by the oil companies and Northern Nigeria persists?

The governors of the Niger Delta are shameless and visionless stooges who are more concerned with looting their state treasuries and seeking a second term in office, even against the wishes of their people.

MEND will attack any such gatherings designed to propagate more falsehood. Members of the public are hereby warned to avoid such gatherings as they may not be fortunate to have a warning before detonation.


In the coming days, we will carry out a number of attacks against installations and oil companies across the Niger Delta and will spread out to companies such as Total which have been spared in the past. We hope the actions which will follow will persuade Mr Uduaghan that we exist outside of cyberspace.

Jomo Gbomo

MEND issues bomb alert in Warri, Delta State by Jomo Gbomo

Written by Jomo Gbomo

After receiving the baton of ignorance from his Bayelsa state counterpart, the governor of Delta State declared in the Vanguard newspaper of February 22, 2010 that "the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a media creation." This assertion coming from the same person who claimed publicly that an oil pipeline can be destroyed by one man armed with a bottle of petrol, is hardly surprising. What is surprising is how he managed to obtain a science degree.

Thinking of no better way to announce our continued presence in the Niger Delta to Mr Uduaghan, operatives of MEND today March 15, 2010, successfully breached the security at the Delta state government house in Warri and planted three explosive devices in and around this compound which is the venue of the Vanguard Post Amnesty Dialogue organised by the Vanguard newspaper.

These devices will be detonated remotely.

In our usual effort to prevent the loss of innocent life, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta advises the immediate evacuation of the the Government House annex Warri and its immediate surroundings up to the Delta state Brodcasting Corporation.

The time given for this evacuation before the detonation of the first bomb is thirty (30) minutes which will elapse by 1130 hrs Nigerian time. The primary school bordering the government house annex should be evacuated immediately!

The first bomb will be detonated at exactly 1130 hrs. We will thereafter advise on the other devices planted within and around the venue of the vanguard newspaper organised and Delta state sponsored conference. Organisers and participants at this jamboree will ignore this warning at their peril !!!

People must not remain in their cars and attempt to drive their cars and maintain safe distance from all cars and the area!

The deceit of endless dialogue and conferences will no longer be tolerated. The lands of the people of the Niger Delta was stolen by the oil companies and Northern Nigeria with the stroke of a pen.

The vanguard organized and delta state sponsored conference is one of such tools of deception. The Niger Delta has been partitioned into oil blocks which have been distributed amongst mostly Northerners while indegenes of the Niger Delta can barely survive. One such example being General T.Y. Danjuma.

It is common knowlede that no southerner can lay claim to an inch of land in the North so why should we continue to talk as the occupation of our land and theft of our reources by the oil companies and Northern Nigeria persists?

The governors of the Niger Delta are shameless and visionless stooges who are more concerned with looting their state treasuries and seeking a second term in office, even against the wishes of their people.

MEND will attack any such gatherings designed to propagate more falsehood. Members of the public are hereby warned to avoid such gatherings as they may not be fortunate to have a warning before detonation.


In the coming days, we will carry out a number of attacks against installations and oil companies across the Niger Delta and will spread out to companies such as Total which have been spared in the past. We hope the actions which will follow will persuade Mr Uduaghan that we exist outside of cyberspace.

Jomo Gbomo

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Enemies of Nigeria Otherwise Known as the CABAL (A Profile) via Saharareporters.com

The 2007 (s)elected, Supreme Court declared President of Nigeria. Yar’Adua was former governor of Kastina State where he sickly served for 8yrs. At the time of 2007 elections then President Obansanjo, used everything within his reach to install a catastrophically sick Umaru Yar’Adua. Soon after he was declared the winner of the worst election ever conducted in Nigeria by one Prof Maurice Iwu, the fraudulent chairman of INEC. Yar’Adua began his unprecedented medical trips which saw him travelling from Germany to Saudi Arabia, each time Yar’Adua embarked on his numerous medical travels, he fails to comply with the section 145 of the 1999 Constitution which states that he writes the National Assembly when on medical vacation or incapable of office. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is the Subject of the Cabal (SOC).

Turai Yar'Adua

Hajia Turai Yar’Adua who is described as an over-ambitious, power-drunken, uncontrollably-greedy first lady is the Wife of Umaru Yar’Adua. Mrs Yar’Adua epitomises bad wife, bad mother, and bad sister. She became known for her greed to hold onto power at all cost, this same woman reportedly said “her husband would rather die in office than be ex president” Mrs Yar’Adua prevented everyone including Umaru Yar’Adua’s own mother and sisters from seeing their own blood. She had on several occasions used her loud-mouth as weapon of insults on elder statesmen who insisted or suggested Umaru Yar’Adua complete obedience to the constitution. Turai Yar’Adua is the Head of the Cabal (HOC)

Yusuf Tilde

Yusuf Tilde is the notorious Chief Security Officer to the President. This Bauchi born former Director of State Security Services is hand of Esau in this charade. Yusuf Tilde is described as conservative but reasonably intelligent with good writing skills. He surreptitiously handles affairs for Mr. Yar’Adua and has become one of the president’s most trusted aides. Yusuf Tilde assumed presidential functions by prerogating himself the right to treat files, endorse documents, and grant presidential approvals on behalf of the president whose failing health hampers productivity. Mr Tilde is highly corrupt and has enriched himself immensely. Yusuf Tilde is the Executor in Chief of the Cabal (ECC)

James Ibori

James Ibori is a former governor of the oil rich Delta State, a career thief who feasted on Delta State collective wealth. James Bond as widely called is a man who should not have been governor but-for the nature of Nigerian politics. James Ibori started his criminal career in 1990 the UK; he was convicted on several fraudulent offences which include Credit Card Fraud, Identify Theft, Dishonesty, Roofing Sheets Theft, amongst others. James Ibori spent more than 10 billion naira of Delta State earnings on Umaru Yar’adua’s 2007 election, that investment brought him very close to the family. He currently faces criminal proceedings in the UK and Nigeria courts. James Ibori is the Chief Financier of the Cabal (CFC)

Tanimu Yakubu

Tanimu Yakubu is the Economic Adviser to the President, a gentleman of corrupt practices; He is described as highly intelligent and knowledgeable in fraudulently “fixing the books”. Mr Yakubu has since become the man-Friday of the Yar’Adua’s from his days in Yar’adua’s Kastina government where he served in the finance portfolio. It is known that most bribes and kick-backs going to the Umaru Yar’adua family are expressly routed through Mr Tanimu Yakubu for onward delivery. Mr Yakubu a trusted ally of the yar’Adua’s will do anything possible to maintain the status quo so-as-to protect the vast looting interests of the greedy family. Mr Tanimu Yakubu is a Chief Cabal of the Cabal (CCC)

Michael Aondoakaa

Dethroned Attorney General of Federation and Minister for Justice. Chief Aondoakaa is better known as the Attorney General of Fraud due to his various meddling in cases that offered him bribes. Mike Aondoakaa used his office as weapon of intimidation and gateway of bribes. He defended those who could meet his financial demands & prosecuted any who did not meet his outrageous demands. Mr Aondoakaa was handy for the Yar’Adua’s greedy Cabal; he used every legal tactics to make sure the Vice President didn’t assume full Presidential powers. Nigeria’s 1999 constitution has new interpretations given by Aondoakaa, who goes about introducing alien cultures that do not have precedence in Nigeria. Aondoakaa was removed from office and sent to do-nothing office as special duties Minister. Chief Michael Aondoakaa is the Legal Adviser of the Cabal (LAC)

Mustapha Onovieda

Col. Mustapha Onovieda is Umaru Yar’Adua’s Aide De Camp (ADC). The little known Mustapha Onovieda is one of the few people who have access to the incapacitated President. His loyalty to his boss has been unflinching and his commitment waxed stronger when the latest medical trip was prolonged. It is in public information that he, Mustapha together with Yusuf Tilde barred the Acting President from seeing the President. Mustapha Onovieda is the Enforcement Caucus Member of the Cabal (ECM)

Sayyadi Abba-Ruma

Dr Ruma is visage wise baby-faced but corrupt Minister of Agriculture in Yar’Adua’s snail-presidency. He, Ruma was former member of Yar’Adua Kastina Government; his ministry was recently indicted by the Senate of the republic as a conduit pipe for looting, Dr Ruma since this charade started spent more time with the Cabal, plotting dubious strategies than he has been in his office attending to his job. Ruma is also known to have Shady interest in the Niger-Delta oil lands. Dr Abba-Ruma is a Caucus Member of the Cabal (CMC)

Ibrahim Babangida (IBB)

Gen Babangida a Military Dictator who fancied to be addressed by the appellation "ex Military President” in order to conceal nefarious activities he committed and continues to commit in Nigeria. Babangida toyed with the destiny of many Nigerians when he held illegal power for 8yrs, under his watch; many people were jailed or killed for no crimes, except calling for democratic government. He is believed to have master-minded the killing of Dele Giwa a former editor of a Nigerian Newspaper. Gen Babangida looted the treasury of Nigeria and has since been celebrated by a few whose wish is to see Nigeria remaining perpetually backward. Babangida is playing useful behind-the-scene role in aiding the Cabal in their quest to rule Nigeria on “Oga said” principle. General Ibrahim Babangida is a Consultant to the Cabal (CTC)

Abdullah Garba Aminchi,

Ambassador Aminchi is the current Nigerian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Aminchi became very handy for the cabal when he was posted to Saudi Arabia; he served Kastina State as Deputy Governor to Umaru Yar’Adua during his last 4 years as Governor. Since the current political vacuum was created, Aminchi played leading roles in maintaining the status quo. He is one of the people that constantly misinformed Nigerians and the world about the true medical state of Yar’Adua. If there is any decency left in a man, the name Garba Aminchi will not be mentioned. Ambassador Aminchi is the Saudi Spokesman of the Cabal (SSOC)

Isa Yuguda

Isa Yuguda is the current Buachi State governor, a former Minister and a proud in-law of the Yar’Adua’s. By virtue of marriage Isa Yuguda is one of the closest members of the one sided anti-democracy Governor Forum, a privileged member who abandoned his office for Saudi in search of Umaru Yar’Adua. Isa Yuguda is one of the problems of Nigeria; he served as a Minister under Pres. Obasanjo. The highly corrupt Governor spent a whooping amount (#2billion) to marry the President’s daughter. Isa Yuguda is illusively positioned as the Vice President should Yar’Adua finally accept that he has been long incapacitated. Gov Isa Yuguda is an Interceding Member of the Cabal (IMC)

Bukola Saraki

The Present Chairman of the unconstitutional and oppressive Governors forum is the Governor of Kwara State. Dr Bukola Saraki is a medical doctor turned bank executive and later politician who has his father, a man holding the “uneducated” people of Kwara State to random, to thank. Bukola Saraki together with his father inflicted the worst banking woes on the everyday market man and woman whose hard earn monies were stolen by the Saraki family. A country that is serious wouldn’t allow the likes of Bukola Saraki near its public till, but Nigeria it’s a different story. Dr Bukola Saraki made a tyrant out of the supposed social Governor’s forum. Bukola Saraki whose fancy is to become President in 2011 is a Member of the Cabal Caucus (MCC)

Adamu Aliero

Senator Aliero is the present incompetent Minister of FCT; he was in charge of Kebbi State’s purse as Governor where he had unrestricted access to the treasury. Senator Adamu Aliero’s closeness to the Yar’Adua’s family is like toothpaste and toothbrush. He handed over to another Governor in-law of the Yar’Adua’s, and was duly compensated with a Ministerial appointment for his role in rigging then soon-to-be Yar’Adua’s in-law to office. Senetor Aliero is grossly incompetent, little wonder why he spends more time with the cabal instead of doing his job, Mallam El-Rufia’s Abuja which was a pride city, has turn to an eye sore. Since Yar’Adua episode started, the Minister has played the role of an informant to the Cabal. He was also the on-ground executing officer the day Yar’Adua returned. Senator Adamu Aliero is the Informant of the Cabal (IOC)

Dimeji Bankole

The gap toothed massive liped Dimeji Bankole is the speaker of the Federal House of confusion (Representative). A young Oxford graduate, whose emergence brought about hope for the young generation, Dimeji Bankole has since turned into a bully in the House where he supposed to maintain neutrality; he has also been fingered in wholesome fraudulent dealings in the House. From the popular PAN scandal to the exotic bullet proofed automobiles together with sundry property purchases. Dimeji Bankole is a bad example of young people in power; he holds the position as the Protector of the Status quo in the Cabal’s Quest. (PSQ)

Shehu Inuwa Imam

56 years old former Local Government Chairman in Kastina State represents Faskari/Kankara Sabuwa constituency in the Federal House of Representative. Shehu Inuwa who is a loyalist of the Yar’Adua’s together with Dimeji Bankole (Speaker) controls the billions of naira budgeted for bribing members the members of the lower House. He Shehu used every act to make sure the House did not take any positive step in dealing with the Yar’Adua issue. Shehu a national certificate of education holder has not sponsored any bill in the House. Shehu Inuwa Imam is the Legislative Liaison officer to the Cabal (LLO)

Gen. Abdurahman Dambazau

Is the present Chief of Army Staff from Kastina State, who undermined the office of the seating Commander in Chief to protect his financial interest, Gen Dambazau became known in his handling of the Jos genocide where he ordered killing of many people to the protection of his clad, and he actively participated in the midnight return of Yar’Adaua. Disregarding the office of the Commander in Chief, Gen Dambazau deployed troops from the Brigade of Guards to the streets of Abuja and the International Airport where a commando styled return of Yar’Adua was staged. He is known to have a huge corrupt interest in the Niger Delta oil land (see Sahara Reporters) General Abdurahman Dambazau is the Commandant of the Cabal (CC)

Thisday Newspaper & Nduka Obaigbena

Thisday newspaper and its owner Mr Nduka Obaigbena seem to have played different roles in Umaru Yar’Adua’s presidency. The newspaper became a tool for propaganda and image selling of the cabal and their evil plans. Whenever the truth is about to come to light, Thisday will in all effort print out absolutely outrageous lies to delude & change the mindset of the people. Thisday Newspaper is fond of telling sweet tales of Yar’Adua’s home coming & 25 minutes exercise regime. ThisDay Newspaper is the Propaganda in Chief of the Cabal (PCC)

Daily Trust Newspaper
Daily Trust Newspaper is one of the worst newspapers to read, it is believed to be a tribalistic and hate instigating print media. A print media, that is in the business of lies and pro-northern establishment. Since this Yar’Adua’s charade began, the Daily Trust newspapers aligned with the Cabal in peddling wrong and deceptive information. It is a pillar to post affairs of lies either of how Yar’Adua drinks tea and eat biscuits or of how he played squash in Saudi Arabia and the grandfather-grandchildren Aso Rock tales. Daily Trust Newspaper has now become the Tribalist Media Supporter of the Cabal (TMSC)

Ojo Maduekwe

Mr Maduekwe is the Foreign Minister, who according to him knows the mind of the president to the extent he need no clearance from him in carrying out his functions. This same man in 2009 spent close to 2 billion naira touring around the world, when most workers of his ministry are owed 2 months unpaid wages. Ojo Maduekwe is a career political prostitute who seems to bed different governments no matter the ideas behind the government. Ojo Madukwe defended the incapable Yar’adua when he appeared on BBC hard talk by telling the world, he was a part of the few that wrote the 1999 constitution. Ojo further told the world there is nothing wrong if Yar’Adua chooses to stay away from the country as long as he wanted, because he is not obliged to fulfil the section 145. Ojo Maduwkwe is an Active Member of the Cabal (MOC)

Aliko Dangote

Chairman of Dangote group, A greedy monopolist who facilitates his proximity around any seating government so to protect his tax evasive business dealings. He was reported to have jointly invested huge capital in the (s)election of Yar’Adua. Aliko Dangote uses his strong hold on governments as a getaway to enlarge his monopoly. In other to maintain the status quo, Dangote put enough money down to be used for bribing and maiming of oppositions. Aliko Dangote is the Financier of the Cabal (FOC)

Sarki Muhtar

Finally Sacked National Security Adviser who misadvised Acting President for the selfish interest of the cabal is a Retired Army General who by reason of his office, he is supposed to protect the office of the seating Commander in Chief; instead he would better protect the status quo than the Acting President. Gen Muhtar spearheaded the midnight Yar’Adua return, without informing the Acting President he carried out presidential orders bypassing the Commander in Chief. Muhtar was finally sacked after a failure to communicate sensitive security information’s to the seating Commander in Chief. The highly compromised former NSA is Security Adviser to Cabal (SAC)

Segun Adeniyi

A former public anti-status-quo journalist, who later became a member of the clique, is the Media Assistant to the President. Since he became the voice of the president Segun departed from everything he fought about over this years. Mr Adeniyi is a typical example of how a person without opportunity behaves when he finally gets one. Segun engaged in “Oga said, Oga did not say” misinformation. He sold lies upon lies to Nigerians about the ill state of his boss; the media was handy to Mr Adeniyi for easy manipulation. Mr Adeniyi is the Spokesman for the Cabal (SMC)

Timipre Sylva

The Corrupt Governor of Bayelsa State is the immediate successor of the Acting President who left office as governor of Bayelsa State to contest the 2007 election with Umaru Yar’Adua. Gov Timipre Sylva’s only achievement in Bayelsa State is the successful listing of the State amongst those governed by incompetent, corrupt and greedy people. Majority of Bayelsa State remains in the dark, instead of devoting time to his job that will bring the state to light; the Governor spends more time and state resources fighting the Acting President with the support of the Cabal who has no interest in Bayelsa. Timipre Sylva is highly regarded by the cabal in the fight to maintain status quo because of the billions he is injecting into the project. Governor Timipre Sylva is a Strategic Member of the Cabal (SMC)

Ibrahim Shema

Governor Shema is the current governor of Yar’Adua’s home State (Kastina). Shema who is supposed to be focused on his (s)elected job as the chief executive of the state goes about from Abuja to Saudi to Dubai from one cabal meeting to the next all in-order to maintain the present status quo. Governor Shema who is not a national name, has since this evil plotting started enlisted his name into the inglorious book of the shameless cabal. There is nothing worthy to write of him, besides the obvious amount he stole from Kastina State treasury to finance the projects of the cabals. He Gov Ibrahim Shema is the Member of the Cabal Caucus (MCC)
Peoples Democratic Party
Peoples Democratic Party is anything but democratic in its doings. The largest party in Africa as claimed by them is known as party of killers, looters and unintelligent people. PDP parades mediocre public officers who hate anything called free and fair elections even in its internal sphere. The same party that gave us darkness, fuel scarcity, bad roads, looters, heart breaks, sleepless nights and sick Yar’adua amongst many others still dream to retain power for another 60yrs. Since the Yar’Adua drama stated, the party told Nigerians to-go-to hell as they went to sleep pretending that all is well. PDP will go down as the party that destroyed Nigeria’s democracy. PDP is the Party of the Cabal (POC)
Governor’s forum

The unconstitutional social club that transformed into “men’s cult” is at the fore-front of maintaining the Status quo. The group’s only interest is greed and helping 7 of their members stay in the course. The seven members are ISA YUGUDA, TIMIPRE SYLVA, BUKOLA SARAKI, ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE, GABRIEL SUSWAM, USMAN SA'IDU NASAMU DAKINGARI AND IBRAHIM SHEMA. The Governors forum now plays greedy national elders roles, a position that is not part of their mission of purpose. The Governor forum is the Friends of the Cabal (FOC)
Senators Ibrahim Ida, Mahmoud Kanti-Bello and Garba Lado

Senator of the republic played significant roles in the drama. They are in habit of organising counter-forces whenever the debate on Yar’Adua’s health issue comes on the floor of the Senate, this is achieved by mobilizing other senate members from the North in an attempt to dislodge any hearing/action required to urge Yar’Adua in complying with the section 145 of the constitution. They senators represent Yar’Adua’s home state in the upper chamber of the National Assembly. Senators Ibrahim Ida, Mahmoud Kanti-Bello and Garba Lado are Upper Legislative Hands of the Cabal (ULH).

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Death Toll In Turkey Earthquake Rises To 57 - Update


3/8/2010 4:19 PM ET

(RTTNews) - The death toll in the earthquake that struck eastern Turkey Monday morning has risen to 57, according to officials and local news reports.

The 6.0-magnitude tremor with its epicenter located in the village of Basyurt in Elazig province, struck at 4:32 am local time at a depth of five kilometers. Until now, more than 40 aftershocks have followed the pre-dawn quake.

The tremor was also felt in the neighboring provinces of Bitlis and Diyarbakir, but most of the causalities were in the villages of Okcular, Yukari Kanatli, Kayalik, Gocmezler and Yukari Demirci.

While quake reportedly destroyed the hillside village of Okcular, it left the nearby villages badly damaged. Some 17 people were reported killed in Okcular, where up to 30 houses collapsed in the quake.

Provincial Governor Muammer Erol said that rescue and relief teams have been rushed to the affected area, where most people live in mud-brick homes built on hillsides. He added that buildings made of cement or stone suffered only minor damages.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek has rushed to the quake-hit region, accompanied by Health Minister Recep Akdag, Housing Minister Mustafa Demir and State Minister Cevdet Yilmaz, State-run Anatolia news agency reported.

Residents in the quake affected region have been advised not to return to their damaged houses because of the continuing aftershocks. The largest of the aftershocks measured 5.1 and 5.5 on the Richter scale.

Following Monday's quake, Turkish government's disaster management agency and Turkish Red Crescent have set up tents across the affected region to provide shelter and relief to the survivors, and are distributing food and blankets.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, which is located on the the North Anatolian fault line. Though the quakes are generally minor, a strong 7.4-magnitude tremor that struck the north-western city of Izmit in August 1999 left at least 17,000 people dead.

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Survivors shiver in Turkey after quake kills 51

OKCULAR, Turkey – Hundreds of earthquake survivors huddled in aid tents and around bonfires Monday in eastern Turkey, seeking relief from the winter cold after a strong temblor knocked down stone and mud-brick houses in five villages, killing 51 people.

The damage appeared worst in the Kurdish village of Okcular, which was almost razed. At least 15 of the village's 900 residents were killed, the Elazig governor's office said, and the air was thick with dust from crumpled homes and barns.

The pre-dawn earthquake caught many residents as they slept, shaking the area's poorly made buildings into piles of rubble. Panicked survivors fled into the narrow streets of this village perched on a hill in front of snow-covered mountains, with some people climbing out of windows to escape.

"I tried to get out of the door but it wouldn't open. I came out of the window and started helping my neighbors," Ali Riza Ferhat of Okcular told NTV television. "We removed six bodies."

The Kandilli seismology center said the 6.0-magnitude quake hit at 4:32 a.m. (0232 GMT, 9 p.m. EST Sunday) near the village of Basyurt in a remote, sparsely populated area of Elazig province. The region is 340 miles (550 kilometers) east of Ankara, the capital.

The U.S. Geological Survey listed the quake at 5.9 magnitude.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kandilli Observatory's director, Mustafa Erdik, urged residents not to enter any damaged homes, warning they could topple from aftershocks that Erdik said could last for days.

More than 100 aftershocks measuring up to 5.5 magnitude shook the region on Monday alone.

In addition to the deaths, 34 people were being treated for injuries, Turkey's crisis center said.

Abdulkerim Sekerdag, 72, said he had just risen for early morning prayers when the quake hit.

"The jolt threw me onto the ground," he told The Associated Press. "When I got up I checked my animals and then I checked on my neighbors."

"Two of them were buried. We pulled them out," he said, adding that they were alive but injured.

Men used shovels and bare hands to dig two bodies out from under piles of dirt, rubble and concrete blocks, video footage showed. Both bodies were covered in blankets and carried away. One appeared to be a baby or young child.

Women in veils gathered near the rescue scenes, some crying.

"Everything has been knocked down, there is not a stone in place," said Yadin Apaydin, administrator for the village of Yukari Kanatli, where three died.

Fifteen people were killed in the nearby village of Yukari Demirci, Gov. Muammer Erol said, while four each were killed in the villages of Kayalik and Gocmezler and 10 others died after being taken to a hospital in the town of Kovancilar.

Most of the dead were immediately buried according to Muslim traditions. A few funerals had to be put off until Tuesday.

The temblor also knocked down barns, killing many farm animals. A half-dozen dead cows were seen partially buried near one collapsed home. One man, Haci Sekerdag, said he lost eight cows and calves — his main livelihood.

The Turkish Red Crescent set up tents and villagers laid plastic sheeting to shelter them from the cold and dirt. The government said it rushed ambulance helicopters, prefabricated homes and mobile kitchens into the stricken area.

Erdogan blamed the region's mud-brick buildings for the many deaths and said the government housing agency would build quake-proof homes in the area.

The quake was also felt in the neighboring provinces of Tunceli, Bingol and Diyarbakir, where residents fled to the streets in panic and stayed outdoors. Schools were closed for two days. In Tunceli province, the quake caused one school's walls to crack, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

A museum in Elazig displaying artifacts from the Iron-age Kingdom of Urartu was not affected by the quake, and nearby dams were also intact.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, much of which lies on top of two main fault lines. In 1999, two powerful earthquakes struck the country's northwest, killing about 18,000 people. In 2003, a 6.4-magnitude earthquake killed 177 people in Bingol, including 84 children whose school dormitory collapsed.

Monday's quake in eastern Turkey followed deadly recent temblors in Haiti and Chile, but Bernard Doft, the seismologist for the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute in Utrecht, said there was no direct connection between the three.

"These events are too far apart to be of direct influence to each other," he said.

Richard Luckett, a seismologist from the British Geological Survey, said there has not been a spike in global seismic activity.

"If there was a big increase in the number of magnitude 6.0s in the past decade we would know it, because we would see it in the statistics," Luckett said. "We haven't seen an increase in 7.0s either."

He said scientists often see strong earthquakes but they don't get reported because the damage or death toll is minimal. According to USGS data, the world is hit by about 134 earthquakes a year in the 6.0- to 6.9-magnitude range — or about two a week.

"The point is that earthquakes are common and always have been," he said.

__

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Arthur Max in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Paisley Dodds in London and Seth Borenstein in Washington, D.C., also contributed to this report.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Violence Rocks Jos again, Loss of lives! via BBC

Hundreds of people, including many women and children, were killed in ethnic violence near the city of Jos in Nigeria at the weekend, officials say.

They said villages had been attacked by men with machetes who came from nearby hills.

Troops have now been deployed in the area and dozens of arrests are said to have been made.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered security forces to prevent more weapons being brought into the area.

Jos has been under a military curfew since January when at least 200 people died in clashes between Christians and Muslims.

ANALYSIS
Caroline Duffield
Caroline Duffield, BBC News, Lagos

Already this is being described as retaliation for the outburst of killing in January in which hundreds more people were killed.

Back then the largest losses were suffered by the Hausa Fulani community. In the village of Kuru Karama more than 100 people were killed and their bodies thrown into wells and sewers. Grave accusations were made that the local government had stoked the violence. This time it is clear that the targets were Berom Christians.

For weeks there have been rumours of retaliation in these villages and people have been living in a state of anxiety. Many families left. These killings are often painted by local politicians as a religious or sectarian conflict. In fact it is a struggle between ethnic groups for fertile land and resources in the region known as Nigeria's Middle Belt.

The latest attacks are said to have been reprisals for the January killings.

The AFP news agency reports that the villages are now calm after troops and military vehicles entered them.

An adviser to the Christian-dominated Plateau state government, Dan Manjang, told AFP: "We have been able to make 95 arrests but at the same time over 500 people have been killed in this heinous act."

Another Plateau state official, Gregory Yenlong, urged people to "remain calm and be patient as the government steps up security to protect lives and property in this state".

Many of the dead in the villages of Zot and Dogo-Nahawa are reported to be women and children.

Mark Lipdo, from the Christian charity Stefanos Foundation, said Zot had been almost wiped out.

He said: "We saw mainly those who are helpless, like small children and then the older men, who cannot run, these were the ones that were slaughtered."

A resident of Dogo-Nahawa said that the attackers had fired guns as they entered the village before dawn on Sunday in defiance of a curfew.

JOS, PLATEAU STATE
Map of Nigeria showing Jos
Deadly riots in 2001, 2008 and 2010
City divided into Christian and Muslim areas
Divisions accentuated by system of classifying people as indigenes and settlers
Hausa-speaking Muslims living in Jos for decades are still classified as settlers
Settlers find it difficult to stand for election
Communities divided along party lines: Christians mostly back the ruling PDP; Muslims generally supporting the opposition ANPP

"The shooting was just meant to bring people from their houses and then when people came out they started cutting them with machetes," Peter Jang told Reuters news agency.

Some witnesses said villagers were caught in fishing nets and animal traps as they tried to escape and were then hacked to death. Mud huts were also set on fire.

Mass burials took place on Sunday and scores more bodies were laid out in the streets of the three attacked villages, awaiting further burials on Monday.

Figures given for the death tolls in the ethnic clashes have varied widely, sometimes to achieve political ends or to reduce the risk of reprisals, or simply because victims are buried quickly.

Jos lies between the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria and its largely Christian south.

Analysts say the latest attack seems to be in reprisal for clashes in January, which claimed the lives of at least 200 people and displaced thousands of others.

Hundreds of people have fled from Jos in the aftermath of the fighting, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.

The clashes represent a challenge for Acting President Jonathan. He formally took over last month from President Umaru Yar'Adua, who has a heart problem.

Mr Yar'Adua returned from three months of treatment in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago but has still not been seen in public.

Friday, March 5, 2010

How the Governors Forum used and dumped Goodluck Jonathan

Extensive investigations by Saharareporters have uncovered details of the secretive maneuvers and high stakes politics of greed and dishonesty that resulted in members of Nigeria’s powerful “Governors Forum” frustrating Goodluck Jonathan’s acquisition of real political power. In what one of our sources described as “the invasion of Aguda House,” the governors met with “acting President” Jonathan and delivered to him a set of strange orders that effectively changed his status from hopeful substantive “President” of Nigeria to a lame-duck who may remain Vice President to ailing Nigerian ruler, Umaru Yar’adua.

During a fiery meeting with Jonathan two nights ago, the governors queried his decision to appoint a Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) without consulting them. They accused him of selecting men and women who are ‘paperweight’ in their various states. Above all, they said Jonathan overreached himself by appointing such a powerful committee with a Northern Christian and Southern Christian as Chairman and Deputy Chair respectfully.

They also asked Jonathan to shelve the plan to invoke section 144 of the constitution at yesterday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, insisting that Yar’adua should continue as President while Jonathan should remain “Acting President.”

Two sources told Saharareporters that Jonathan looked dazed and helpless. “He was especially stunned when the governor of his home state, Timipre Sylva, became very vocal and confrontational at the meeting,” said one of the sources.

The governors also bitterly complained about recent press interviews by Minister of Information, Dora Akunyili, accusing her of causing “disaffection and overheating the polity” by her utterances. They asked Jonathan to censure her immediately.

When the meeting was over, the governors took over the airwaves to announce a rash of decisions and orders given to Jonathan. As soon as they left, the PDP leadership also came up with its assault on Jonathan. The party leaders told Jonathan to forget the idea of running for presidency after his tenure as Acting President.

“After what happened two nights ago, the governors have effectively stripped Jonathan of most of his power to take presidential decisions,” said a source close to one of the governors. He added: “They have also restored the Presidency to an unseen and unwell Yar’adua.”

“It’s a victory for Turai Yar’adua who will wield those powers on behalf of her sick husband,” a diplomatic source told Saharareporters. “It’s a sad reversal for Nigerians and one hopes that it’s only a temporary setback.”

The governors’ move to checkmate Jonathan has been described as an “expedient volte-face driven by greed and avarice.”

A few weeks ago, the same state governors – some of Nigeria’s most rabid looters – boosted Jonathan’s path to presidential power when they met and decided that Yar’adua’s prolonged absence from Nigeria was overheating the system. The leader of the group, Bukola Saraki, was particularly miffed that he was rebuffed when he visited Saudi Arabia a few days after Yar’adua was evacuated from Nigeria on medical emergency. On his return to Nigeria, Governor Saraki used his father to push a series of campaign against Yar’adua through his “Northern Union” pressure group.

Seeing an opportunity for his own political advancement, Bukola Saraki also reached out to Jonathan to ask for the position of Vice President. He promised that, once Jonathan offered him the VP position, he would activate his contacts in the National Assembly to impeach Yar’adua after declaring him incapacitated.

Our sources said that Jonathan declined to designate Bukola Saraki as the VP. Though disappointed, the Kwara governor then turned his attention to another issue that was important to him and other members of his Governors Forum.

The forum members set their eyes on Nigeria’s strategic reserve, a sum of revenues from crude oil sales. Domiciled abroad, the reserve is named the “Excess Crude Accounts,” so named because the fund is from sale prices above the budgeted cost of selling Nigerian sweet crude per barrel. The governors badly wanted to lay their hands on the fund, but disbursements from it require the Nigerian President’s agreement and signature. For weeks, Jonathan had declined to sign, stating that he lacked the requisite constitutional authority to release the funds.

The governors realized the serious political risk of lying that Yar’adua signed the document from his hospital bed in Jeddah – the way that his handlers had forged his signature on the supplementary budget after dispatching his principal secretary on a crooked trip to Saudi Arabia. To avoid certain uproar that would have followed another ruse that a bed-ridden Yar’adua signed, the governors issued a statement insisting that Jonathan be made “Acting President.” The governors reached out to members of the National Assembly and some of them sat in the legislative chambers to ensure that the plan was approved.

Once he was declared “acting President,” Jonathan released over $2.5 billion from the excess crude accounts to be shared among the governors.

“Once the funds were released, the governors went into a looting frenzy, leaving Jonathan to his own devices and to sort out how to exercise the ambiguous powers bestowed on him,” said a source knowledgeable about the deals.

Meanwhile, Jonathan mustered some “courage” and began to reach out to people across all political spectrums with the aim of achieving full presidential powers. “But the groups he consulted had conflicting interests that shaped their response to him,” said one of our sources, an informal advisor to Jonathan. He said Jonathan’s “limited experience, his lack of clear ideas about what to do with power, left him indecisive.” Another source, who worked with Jonathan during his days as governor in Bayelsa, also described him as “a scared man who marooned himself in Abuja, afraid that Yar’adua loyalists might kill him.”

Jonathan’s advisors sought to secure Yar’adua’s medical records and exact health condition, since Turai Yar’adua and the cabal in Jeddah was highly secretive. Jonathan’s people used Israeli intelligence contractors to get the information on Yar’adua, but the Israelis ripped them off, providing only artistic composites of what they thought Yar’adua looked like on his hospital bed in Jeddah.

To complicate matters, members of Yar’adua’s kitchen cabinet refused to give up. From beside her husband’s sick bed in Saudi Arabia, Turai Yar’adua and her key loyalists – including economic adviser Tanimu Kurfi, former Governor James Ibori, former Attorney General Michael Aondoakaa, and Agriculture Minister Abba Ruma – manipulated the country, hired media hands, handed massive bribes to members of the national legislature and worked the lines with politicians, sowing the deception that Yar’adua was improving and regaining strength. They also engaged elements in the security forces to control everything that moves. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Sarki Mukhtar, was used to bombard Jonathan with daily security reports “showing that Jonathan’s life was in great danger,” said a source in the NSA’s office. Yar’adua’s agents routinely harassed federal ministers whom they suspected of flagging loyalty or disloyalty.

The brinkmanship came to a head two weeks ago when it became clear that Yar’adua was likely to be removed at the Federal Executive Council meeting. Turai and her cronies made a desperate decision to pack Yar’adua onto an air-ambulance and have him to flown into Abuja in the dead of the night. Offloaded from the air ambulance into a vehicular one, Yar’adua was driven to the residential area of the presidential villa and moved into a medically fortified facility in the Villa.

Facing mounting pressure eight days after Yar’adua was holed up in the villa, unseen, his wife and her cronies feared that the mounting opposition could jeopardize their hold on power. Their dramatic arrival and the illicit use of military muscle had failed to do the trick.

To device new strategies, elements of the Yar’adua group gathered last week in Edo State, in a meeting summoned by former Governor Ibori of Delta State. Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo provided logistical support for the meeting. The Edo meeting, chaired by Ibori, agreed to explore several options to emasculate Jonathan before he fully consolidates his hold on power. Ibori, who still nurses an ambition to become the PDP’s vice presidential candidate in next year’s presidential election, is “very concerned that a powerful Jonathan could take over the party machinery and give it back to the Obasanjo faction of the party,” said a source who talks with Ibori. While Ibori eyes the VP spot, Oshiomhole is reported to be interested in running for the presidency in 2015.

“Oshiomhole has emerged as one of the strongest attackers of Jonathan,” revealed one source. He said the Edo governor was one of the most vocal voices during the governors’ meeting with Jonathan. “The only governor more rabid in his attacks was Timipre Sylva whose hyperactivity during the tense meeting made some governors in attendance to whisper that he was on drugs,” added the source.

The Edo meeting decided that the Yar’adua team should offer all eligible state governors, whether PDP or not, the promise of “automatic second terms if they would pledge loyalty to Turai and her group,” a source briefed about the meeting revealed to us. The group also commissioned members of the Yar’adua team to step up the campaign to portray Jonathan as anti-North.

To enlist the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, the Yar’adua-Ibori team assured him of their support for his ambition to capture the governorship seat in Ogun State. They also told him that they had credible intelligence that Jonathan wanted to dig up the Rural Electrification Agency scandal which involves Bankole’s father and two siblings but which Yar’adua had ordered the EFCC to bury.

In addition, Ibori contacted Chief of Army Staff, Abdulrahman Dambazau, and asked him to indicate his reluctance to take orders from Jonathan as the commander-in-chief. Saharareporters had earlier revealed that Dambazau is involved in defense contracts with Ibori. Without clearing with Jonathan, the COAS had illegally ordered the movement of soldiers in different parts of Abuja the night Yar’adua returned.

At the end of their meeting, the Ibori team retired to an elaborate birthday bash for Justice Constance Momoh, the retiring chairperson of the Code of Conduct Bureau. The party was sponsored and funded by Ibori and Governor Oshiomhole. Our investigators recently uncovered the fact that the retiring judge’s son, Omamofe Boyo, is a longtime front for Ibori in business deals. Boyo has served for long as a director of Oando. UK court documents available to Saharareporters show that when Ibori applied for a bank account on behalf of Stanhope, one of the companies he used to launder funds stolen from Delta, he stated that he might invest £100m in the bank and also disclosed that he held a 30% ownership stake in Oando, the largest private oil company in Nigeria.

“The relationship between Ibori and Justice Momoh’s son explains why the judge tried to get former EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu at all cost in a convoluted trial over Ribadu’s purported failure to file appropriate forms at the Code of Conduct Bureau,” disclosed our source. Justice Momoh had issued a declaration that Ribadu was wanted.

Several sources have told Saharareporters that members of Yar’adua’s kitchen cabinet boast that they hold the ultimate joker in the fight against Jonathan. That joker is the use of the courts to neutralize Jonathan. “They have recruited judges who are willing to give a simple court ruling to the effect that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s status as acting president was illegal,” said one source. “That would effectively put Yar’adua back in power even if he remains unfit,” he added, stating that his wife and her allies plan to keep running Nigeria using his physical presence as a cover. There are currently several court cases pending at the Federal High Courts.

A source told us that Jonathan’s demeanor and body language at yesterday’s the Federal Executive Council meeting showed that “he has lost his swagger if he had any to begin with.”

Not only did he retreat from a plan to shuffle the cabinet – and to remove as many as ten ministers – he made a tepid appeal to the ministers not to allow the cabinet to become divided along the lines of North and South. He asked Akunyili not to grant any further press interviews without his clearance. He then made a weak threat to dissolve the cabinet if ministers engaged in acts of insubordination.

Our sources said Team Yar’adua has been in a celebratory mood since the governor’s emasculation of Jonathan. “They believe they have got a reprieve of another week to plan how to be fully back in power,” said a source.

Even so, a source told us that Jonathan is regrouping for his own offensive to assume power after several Nigerians and groups decried his lack of decisiveness and displays of weakness. “He may be moving more aggressively in the next day or two to fire some misfits from the cabinet and to announce some initiatives,” said one of his advisors, revealing that some prominent Nigerians had charged the “acting president” to “take charge.”

Earlier today, Jonathan inaugurated three committees, including the advisory committee whose leadership provoked fierce criticism from the Governors Forum.

via SaharaReporters.com

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Jonathan probes ministries over abandoned projects et al...

Lead Image

Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan. Photo: SUNDAY ADEDEJI




The Federal Government is set to probe ministries, agencies and parastatals, and yesterday set up a committee to investigate all multibillion naira projects being executed by them. The three already slated for probe are the Ministry of Agriculture; the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation; and the Millennium Development Programme.

It is, however, not clear if the government intends to look into the books of the National Poverty Eradication Programme, where billions of naira have reportedly been misappropriated.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan said he inaugurated the project monitoring committee to look at existing projects in different ministries, departments and agencies of government and ascertain those that have been executed and those that have not.

The committee’s points of reference include taking inventory of all on-going projects awarded by the federal government to assess the level of funding of each project; inspecting every project to determine work done and whether it is commensurate with the amount paid to the contractors; and evaluating the professional competence of the contractors handling the various projects to determine whether the level of execution is in accordance with the terms of the contract between the federal government and the contractor.

The committee will also examine the reasons why the projects were not executed in accordance with the terms of their contract at the time of the award; and to make appropriate recommendations to government on how to fast-track the completion of the projects.

The committee is headed by Ibrahim Bunu, with Bon Otti as Vice Chairman. The other members are: Iboro Ege-Edaba; Yomi Awoniyi; Caleb Olubolade; Aminu Mikailu; Idris Abubakar; Pius Okpa; Kate Okparake; Usman Abubakar; Gbola Tokun; Etodo Inyang; Akoh N. Ugbabe and Ummi Aminu.

Others are Olusegun Adedeji; Khalil Inuwa; B. K. Mohammed and O.O. Oluleye of the Office of the Secretary of the Government of the Federation, who will act as secretary.

Probe these projects

NEXT learnt that some of the projects to be investigated have not really taken off though the monies voted for them have been paid to the contractors; in many cases, the projects have been abandoned.

Most of the projects in the first stage of the probe are under the Agriculture ministry, which was allocated N166.9 billion in the 2009 budget.

The investigation is to cover the N30 billion awarded for dam projects in Katsina State, (N1.19 billion); the Ogbese dam project in Ekiti State (N5.49 billion); the Zobe dam project, also in Katsina State (N6.86 billion); the new Nigeria farmers project in Kwara State, (N2.82 billion); and other irrigation projects in various states put at the cost of N3.71 billion.

The team will also investigate the execution of the N10 billion silos projects in Abuja ( N4.17 billion); Katsina (N4 billion) and Uyo (N1.73 billion.)

The team is also investigating how the N4.73 billion released from the 2009 Agriculture budget, representing 25 per cent of government grants, for a tractor hiring scheme was spent.

The implementation and disbursement of the Federal Government’s 40 per cent credit facility, amounting to N9.52 billion, to 10 selected eligible rice processing companies for the procurement, installation and setting up of model rice processing mills in Adamawa, Benue, Ekiti, Niger, Kano, Taraba, Kebbi, Enugu, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ogun and Anambra states will also come under the committee’s search light.

The committee has also been asked to review the utilization of the sum of N2. 8 billion, being 40 per cent of government grant to six selected private sector organizations as investors to establish export handling, preservation and conditioning centres in six locations across the country.

via 234next.com