TheCable

In addition to the rising tempo of political intrigues as we approach the 2015 elections, Boko Haram insurgency virtually dominated the news last week. On the international scene, stability is being restored in Burkina Faso after the forced resignation of Blaise Compaore. Here is a summary of the leading headlines.

JAILBREAK IN KOGI

Koton-Karfe prison in Kogi state was attacked on Sunday night by gunmen who freed all but one of the 145 inmates. Of the 145 inmates, only 26 were convicts; 119 were awaiting trial. Ope Fatinikun, public relations officer of the Nigerian Prisons Service, confirmed the incident to TheCable.

“Out of 145 inmates at the prison, 144 escaped. During the duel, one inmate died. As of now, five inmates who escaped have been recaptured while three inmates have voluntarily returned,” he said.

Earlier in February 2012, unknown gunmen had attacked the 50-bed prison facility which was built in 1934, freeing 136 inmates. Only 27 of them were re-arrested. A lot has been said about the deplorable state of Nigerian prisons. Perhaps this incident will serve as a wake-up call to the concerned authorities.

AGGRAVATED INSURGENCY

On Monday morning in Potiskum, Yobe state, a suicide bomber believed to be a member of Boko Haram infiltrated a crowd of Shi’a Islamic movement followers, killing many instantly. Hundreds of Shi’a faithful were gathered at the Faydia Islamic School when the bomb went off.

On Tuesday, the insurgents moved their terror train to Gombe state, where they attacked the police station in Nafada local government, setting it ablaze after looting its weaponry. However, according to a witness who spoke with TheCable, there was no casualty because all the policemen fled for their lives. Four days earlier, Boko Haram had detonated a bomb at Gombe Line Transport Service (also known as Central Park) killing at least 30 people and injuring several others.

Bauchi was also hit by Boko Haram last week. The insurgents detonated a bomb at First Bank ATM gallery in Azare, killing as many as 15 people. As the attacks became fiercer and more frequent, Kashim Shettima, governor of Borno state, expressed worry on how the militants had seized eight out of the 27 local government areas of the state. Bala Ngilari, governor of Adamawa state, also called for more troops.

PSYCHIATRIC TEST FOR JONATHAN’S CRITICS

At a public affairs forum on Tuesday, Doyin Okupe, special assistant to the president on public affairs, was full of praises for President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, describing it as the best since 1960 despite the challenges confronting the country. As far as Okupe was concerned, those describing Jonathan as clueless are lunatics who need psychiatric treatment.

“Some people who should be visiting psychiatric hospital are saying the government is clueless,” Okupe said. Alluding to a recent press conference by Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and an All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Okupe condemned comments that criticised government’s handling of the insurgency, emphasising that insurgency is a global phenomenon and the government was doing its best to restore normalcy to the troubled parts of the country.

OSOBA OUT OF APC

Olusegun Osoba, former governor of Ogun state; Segun Adesegun, deputy governor of the state; and some members of All Progressives Congress (APC) defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Wednesday.

While APC expressed shock at the defection, it urged its members in the state not to lose sleep over the development, adding that it would not affect the overall chances of the party in the forthcoming polls.

US MID-TERM ELECTION

The mid-term election that was conducted in the United States on Tuesday saw the Republican Party winning in the Democratic strongholds of Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois, the state of President Barack Obama.

Republican also won all the seats in the house of representatives and about one-third of the senate, including many state and local offices. Noting that the result of the mid-term poll could be critical to the 2016 presidential election, analysts observed that the Democratic Party might have lost the trust of Americans.

PDP GOVERNORS V PDP SENATORS

The festering disaffection between senators who want to return in 2015 and state governors who want to contest senatorial seats was on the front burner last week. Godswill Akpabio, governor of Akwa-Ibom and chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors forum, said that the governors seeking to become senators in 2015 pose no threat to senators seeking re-election. President Goodluck Jonathan was alleged to have supported the bid of the governors.

“The senate has about 109 members and PDP serving governors interested in going to the senate are not up to nine, so you still have at least 100 chances for incumbent senators,” Akpabio said. Adding that it was a party affair, he said that whatever dissenting voice that was being heard at the moment would be silenced by the PDP internal resolution mechanism. The president also tried to pacify the aggrieved PDP senators in a meeting on Thursday.

RESTORING STABILITY IN BURKINA FASO

Led by John Mahama, President of Ghana, a three-man delegation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on Wednesday. The visit was part of regional efforts to restore peace and stability to the country after the forced resignation of Blaise Compaore, the country’s president of 27 years, which led to a military takeover.

President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and President Macky Sall of Senegal joined Mahama to broker an agreement on a one-year political transition in Burkina Faso leading up to elections in November 2015. Meanwhile, the African Union on Monday said it would sanction Burkina Faso if the military does not relinquish power within two weeks. However, Isaac Zida, Burkina Faso’s interim military leader, has dismissed the threats, saying: “We are not afraid of sanctions; we care much more about stability.”

TINUBU AGAINST OKUPE

The call by Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the resignation of President Goodluck Jonathan, over the insurgency in the north-east, generated some political heat. Tinubu made the call on Wednesday at the second term declaration of Abdulfatah Ahmed, governor of Kwara state.

In the ensuing war of words, Doyin Okupe, special assistant to the president on public affairs, condemned the comment of the opposition leader, urging Nigerians to disregard it. Noting that no president resigns during a war, Okupe said: “Telling the president to resign because of an ongoing insurgency is the height of insensitive, indecorous and bad politics which ought to be roundly condemned by every patriotic Nigerian.” However, the opposition stood its ground, citing the example of Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister, who resigned during World War II.

ARBITARY ARRESTS AND EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS

Community leaders and residents of Dogo Tegbo area of Potiskum, Yobe state, on Thursday alleged the extrajudicial killing of 16 people who were arrested over the suicide attack in Potiskum. The men, who resided around the Dogo Tebo area of Potiskum, were arrested by soldiers while returning from the mosque on Wednesday. Their bodies were later found in the morgue at the Potiskum General Hospital.

In a related development on Saturday, the Nigerian Army freed 125 suspects arrested in Biu, Borno on September 23, over alleged links with Boko Haram. Earlier on Thursday, the army had given the sum of N100, 000 each to 42 civilians who were released after months of detention over suspected membership of Boko Haram. With such reports as these, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the army to win the confidence of Nigerians in the war against insurgency.

TAMBUWAL UNFAZED

Following an earlier ruling on Monday, Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed of the federal high court, Abuja, on Friday ordered parties in the suit filed by Aminu Tambuwal, speaker of the house of representatives, to maintain the status quo. Consequently, the house cannot reconvene before the adjourned date of December 3.

Meanwhile, Tambuwal, who has fallen out of favour with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissed threats by the ruling party. Speaking at the north-west zonal executive meeting of APC in Kaduna, Tambuwal said only God and members of the house of representatives could decide his fate.