Bauchi bomb explosion- death tolls rises to 31

Bauchi-The causality figure of the yesterday bomb explosion that rocked a busy phone market known as Kasuwan Jagol in Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi state has risen to 31 while 30 patients are currently on admission.

However the Chief Medical Director of Azare Medical Centre Dr. Abduallhi Ibrahim told newsmen that the hospital recorded 17 deaths and 30 of the victims of the bomb explosion are on admission.

While giving the breakdown of the causality figure, Dr. Ibrahim said out of the 17 that died in the hospital 14 are victims of the explosion and 3 are suspected suicide bombers.

Journalist kidnapped in Abia

The Umuahia, Abia State Correspondent of The Nation Newspapers, Mr. Ugochukwu Eke, has been kidnapped.

According to a family source, the incident occurred around 7:30 pm on Sunday at his family house located at  Ogbor Hill Aba.

Eke who went to visit his family over the weekend, was said to be driving into his compound when suddenly the hoodlums pounced on him and dragged him out of his car into a waiting to an unknown destination.

A family source said contact had been established with his abductors who are demanding a ransom of N20 million.

Nigerian Troops Recapture Chibok, Several Killed in Bauchi Bombing

Nigerian soldiers

•   10 soldiers killed in Adamawa 
• Abati: Reports on fleeing soldiers are exaggerated

Jaiyeola Andrews, Senator Iroegbu in Abuja, Daji Sani in Yola and Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi    


The Nigerian military has recaptured the symbolic Chibok town in Borno State after it was briefly overrun by Boko Haram terrorists on Friday.

Oshiomhole: Jonathan Will Not Get 5% of Votes in Edo

Governor Adams Oshiomhole

•  Cross River is president’s stronghold, says Imoke

Davidson Iriekpen    

Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has warned President Goodluck Jonathan not to expect up to five per cent votes from the people of his state in the 2015 presidential election because he has nothing to show for the 95 per cent votes he got in 2011.

Obama calls hostage's beheading by ISIS 'pure evil'

(CNN) -- American aid worker and former soldier Peter Kassig was beheaded by ISIS terrorists, the White House confirmed Sunday, hours after a video claiming to show the victim surfaced online. ISIS held Kassig as a hostage and in previous communications had threatened his life.The video shows the aftermath of a beheading in which the victim is not clearly recognizable.President Barack Obama confirmed the 26-year-old's beheading, saying Kassig "was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity."Kassig, who converted to Islam in captivity, also went by the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

1,000 square feet, $1 million

In most parts of the country, a million bucks will buy you a pretty nice house: new, or maybe historic; updated, with fancy amenities; and above all, spacious.

But in a few places -- and not just Manhattan -- $1 million won't buy you much at all.

Zillow assembled a collection of homes outside the Big Apple that have a mere 1,000 or so square feet of living space, yet cost anywhere from $1,049,000 to an eyebrow-raising $1,875,000. The most expensive home isn't even on the coast, nor does it come with even a quarter-acre of land.

Each property has its own charms, but $1 million worth?

Click here or on the photo to see them, then tell us in the comments whether you think these homes are a good value for the price.

172 fall ill on Carnival's Crown Princess cruise from California

By Jonathan Kaminsky

(Reuters) - A cruise ship with 172 passengers and crew members suffering from a gastrointestinal ailment caused by norovirus was met by public health officials when it docked in California on Sunday, authorities and Carnival Corp said.

The outbreak marks the second time in less than a year that the highly contagious virus has spread on the company's Crown Princess ship, which is part of its Princess Cruises fleet. On the latest trip, the ship carried more than 4,100 people on a cruise that departed nearly a month ago from Los Angeles and included stops in Hawaii and Tahiti.

New video of MH17 downing shows alarm in Ukraine

HRABOVE, Ukraine (AP) — Four months after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine, The Associated Press has obtained video that shows how close the burning passenger jet came to hitting village homes and suggests that residents first assumed it was a Ukrainian military plane that had been struck.

Solange Breaks All the Fashion Rules at Her Wedding

Solange and her wedding party. @beyonce

Solange Knowles wed Alan Ferguson in New Orleans over the weekend. The couple stayed true to their laid-back style by bucking traditional wedding practices, especially in the fashion department. Ever the trend-setter, here are the six ways that Beyonce's little sis made the nuptials all her own (and you can too).  

Stop Chime’s N11b loan, APC tells CBN, EFCC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Enugu State chapter has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to stop Governor Sullivan Chime from accessing a loan of N11 billion approved for him by the State House of Assembly.

In a statement on Sunday by the State Publicity Secretary, Kate Offor, APC expressed outrage over the secrecy that enveloped the loan approved for the governor by the House of Assembly.

The party said the loan was unacceptable and sheer wickedness by a government that has scant regard for civil servants and general welfare of the indigenes.

N100m fraud: Fani-Kayode knows fate today

A Federal High Court in Lagos will on Monday (today) rule on a no-case submission filed by the former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, to the MONEY laundering charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

If the ruling is decided in Fani-Kayode’s favour, that will automatically end the matter before the court.

If otherwise, Fani-Kayode will be asked to open his defence to the allegations against him.

Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia had fixed the ruling date after lawyers to Fani-Kayode and EFCC adopted and argued their addresses for and opposition to the no-case submission.

After the EFCC had concluded its case against Fani-Kayode, the former minister elected not to put in a defence, and instead filed a no-case submission.

APGA now general party of Anambra people – Umeh

National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Victor Umeh, has described his party as “a general party of Anambra people”.

Umeh spoke on Saturday evening when over 4,000 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) defected to APGA en masse.

According to him, that showed that APGA is the only hope the people of the state have for their salvation.

He said the significance of the mass defection of APC members is that in the next election, APC can be easily eliminated because the party has been seriously decimated to the extent that nobody can work for it or even vote for it.

Nigeria Army Says Recaptures Abducted Girls’ Chibook Town

Control Crucial To Govt’s Reputation

ABUJA, Nov 16, (AFP): The Nigerian army said Sunday it had recaptured the northeastern town of Chibok, where Islamic militants abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in April, provoking a wave of global outrage. Control of Chibok is crucial to the reputation of the government of President Goodluck Jonathan and the military, which have both come under fire at home and abroad for their failure to rescue the girls.

INEC approves two-day extension for third-phase CVR

Following the confusion that has been trailing the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has granted a two-day extension in all states under the third phase of the exercise, except in Adamawa.

According to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Kayode Idowu, “In effect, the CVR that commenced on Wednesday, November 12th and was scheduled to end on Monday, November 17th, 2014, will now last until Wednesday, November 19th, 2014. The states affected are Kano, Edo, Plateau, Ogun, Imo and Lagos.

Buhari’s Supporters Put Pressure on Tambuwal to Quit Race

House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal

   APC aspirants rejig strategies      Why Tambuwal is running
Olawale Olaleye and Femi Durojaiye in Lagos, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Since declaring his interest in the presidential race on the platform of All Progressives Congress last week, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal has faced a great deal of pressure from supporters of former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, to shelve his ambition. Buhari is seen as the leading aspirant of the party and his supporters see the entry of fellow North-west man, Tambuwal, into the race as a possible upset that should not be allowed.

One dead, another injured in Somali car bomb

A car bomb has exploded in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing one person and injuring one other.

Al-Shabab told Al Jazeera they had claimed responsibilty for the attack, which they said targeted Mukhtar Dheere, an immigration official at Mogadishu’s international airport who they said had died.

“We believe that the bomb was attached to the car,” police officer Ahmed Siyad told the AFP news agency on Sunday.

Afenifere Advises Jega to Quit INEC Job

Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin

By Shola Oyeyipo

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has been advised to quit his job as INEC boss rather than take actions capable of destabilising the electoral process ahead of the 2015 general elections over primordial sectional sentiment.

Giving the advice yesterday, against the background of a recent query issued some resident electoral commissioners pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, expresses the views that the query was a vindictive action taken because of the botched additional polling units proposed by Jega.

Aliyu Endorses Nasko as Successor in 2015

 Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu

Aisha Wakaso in Minna

Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has endorsed the candidacy of his former Chief of Staff, Alhaji Umar Nasko, to succeed him in 2015, adding that it had always been his wish for someone from his cabinet to succeed him.

Aliyu, who stated this at his residence in Minna on Sunday when he had a meeting with stakeholders from Zone C, comprising Kontagora and Borgu emirates, said they endorsed Nasko for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in the primaries slated for next month.

15,000 PDP Members Join APC in Kwara

Senator Bukola  Saraki

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

No fewer than 15,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) across the 16 local government councils of Kwara State at the weekend dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress(APC).

The defectors, according to THISDAY checks, were also made up of members of the Muhammed Dele Belgore’s group, Bankole Association, Golden Youths of Kwara, Agbaji and Ode Alausa Maje Ko Baje group, among others.

APC Faults Enugu Govt over N11bn Loan Request

Governor Sullivan Chime

Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State on Sunday expressed shock and disbelief at the news of the N11 billion loan request by Enugu State Government, less than seven months to the expiration of Governor Sullivan Chime’s administration.

The opposition party in a statement by its Publicity Secretary in the state, Mrs. Kate Ofor, noted that it was more worried considering the secrecy that characterised the approval of the N11 billion loan recently by the state House of Assembly.

Speaker of the assembly, Eugene Odo, confirmed to journalists that the House on  November 13, reconvened from recess and approved an N11 billion loan for the state government.

Shell to attain 80% reduction in gas flaring by 2015

With three new gas projects namely, Forcados -Yokri, Adibawa and Otumara-Saghara, set be streamed urgently, Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) has indicated its willingness to achieve more than 80 per cent gas flare in its mining concession by 2015.

Ubaka Emelumadu, Director, Gas, SPDC, who spoke at the 32nd Annual International Conference and Exhibition of Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) held in Lagos over the weekend, said the project is expected to end gas flares-out and, at the same time, monetise Nigeria’s abundant gas resources.

Court Official Petitions Zenith Bank over Stolen Funds

An official of the Lagos division of the Federal High Court, Tunde Fagbuyiro, has petitioned the Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Peter Amangbo, over alleged theft of funds from his trapped Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card.

Fagbuyiro, who maintains a current account with Access Bank, had attempted to withdraw funds from his account using the ATM at the Bourdillion branch of Zenith Bank in Ikoyi.

Crisis rocks Akoko-Edo APC

The Akoko-Edo Local Government Area chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is currently wallowing in crisis, as some members of the party in the council area have expressed fears over the fate of the party ahead of the 2015 elections.

The members, in a signed petition addressed to the state chairman of the party, Anslem Ojezua, called for investigations into activities of the party’s leadership under Jerry Obasanmi at the locality.

In the petition, the aggrieved members said they have uncovered plans by some APC members to defect on the eve of the general elections..

Daily Devotion for November 17, 2014

Two Apostles by Peter Paul Rubens, ca. 1611.