French President, Francois Hollande who is currently on an official visit to Nigeria has said Boko Haram remains a threat despite “impressive” military gains against it. He said this at a news conference in Abuja where he is to attend the regional security summit.
“The results (of the counter-insurgency) are impressive” and the rebels had been “diminished and forced to retreat”, he told a news conference in Abuja where he is to take in the regional security summit.
Hollande spoke after holding talks with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa before regional leaders met to discuss the conflict.
Discussions at the security summit are expected to focus on the formal deployment of a new regional force comprising troops from Nigeria and its neighbours Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
•Arrests wanted terrorist kingpin, kill many others
Senator Iroegbu in Abuja
Nigerian troops engaged in the ongoing Operation Crackdown in the North East have repelled Boko Haram attacks inside Sambisa forest and arrested another terrorist kingpin.
The Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, disclosed that the troops of 21 Brigade and a rugged team of Armed Forces Special Forces (AFSF) while on harbour inside the infamous forest for refitting, came unde terrorists’ attack about 1.45am on Saturday.
However, Usman said, the gallant troops successfully repelled the attack.
“They further followed up with mopping up operations of the general area before advancing. They also recovered two corpses of the attackers and the following items; two AK-47 rifles, two Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) bombs, five rifle magazines, mortar bombs and a belts of Machine Gun rounds.
“Unfortunately, five soldiers were wounded in action (WIA), as a result of mortar fired into the harbour area by the Boko Haram terrorists. The wounded soldiers have been evacuated to the rear for treatment,” he stated.
Despite this incident, the DAPR assured that “the morale of the gallant troops remains very high as they are determined to successfully clear Boko Haram terrorists”.
In a related development, Usman said that the troops have arrested one of the declared wanted Boko Haram terrorists leaders, and also conducted patrols and clearance operations within the theatre of operations.
According to him, the troops of 143 Battalion, at about 1.35pm on Friday, arrested one Sulaiman Umaru, a suspected Boko Haram terrorists group member whose photograph is on the poster containing the photographs of the 100 Boko Haram terrorists declared wanted.
He said that the suspect has since been moved to 28 Task Force Brigade Headquarters for further investigation.
Also, the Army Spokesman said that the troops of 21 Brigade have continued with the clearance operations at Yerimari, while troops of 22 Task Force Brigade Garrison have also embarked on patrols along Dikwa–Mafa-Maiduguri road.
The patrol, he noted, was aimed at picketing the road to keep it safe and open.
Similarly, he said, the same unit in conjunction with some elements of 112 Task Force Battalion conducted a fighting patrol along Dikwa-Gulumba Gana road.
He revealed that the team had a fierce fire fight with some Boko Haram elements in which the troops killed quite a number of the Boko Haram terrorists.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Gudaji Kazaure, has accidentally shot himself on the foot while fidgeting with his pistol.
Hon. Kazaure gained national acclaim when footages of his presentations on the floor of the House and interviews went viral on social media.
Daily Nigerian reliably gathered that the accidental discharge occurred a few days ago in his Kano residence when his cocked pistol accidentally went off and hit his foot.
A source close to the lawmaker said that the bullet damaged Hon. Kazaure’s three toes, and were removed at an Abuja hospital.
Hon. Kazaure is currently receiving medical attention in Dubai, UAE.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted making many “unforced errors” in the last 24 hours.
Speaking when he appeared before the House of Commons, which summoned him over disparaging comments about Nigeria and Afghanistan, Cameron made a U-turn, saying both countries were making “remarkable steps forward” in their war against anti-corruption.
He said: “First of all, I had better check the microphone is on before speaking… tips on diplomacy are useful, given the last 24 hours, I have made many unforced errors.
“The leaders of Nigeria and Afghanistan are battling hard against very corrupt systems and have made remarkable steps forward.”
Angus Robertson, Scottish National Party leader, was said to have asked Cameron if he had heard the complaints of some Nigerian anti-corruption activists, who said their efforts were “seriously undermined” by the UK authorities.
“The role of London’s property market to conceal stolen wealth has been exposed in court documents, reports, documentaries and more.
“What is the Prime Minister going to do about this?” Robertson reportedly asked.
In his response, Cameron was quoted as saying: “Action is necessary by developed countries, as well as developing countries, and the steps we are taking to make sure that foreign companies that own UK property have to declare who the beneficial owner is will be one of the ways we make sure that plundered money from African countries can’t be hidden in London.”
Cameron had come under fire since the video of a private conversation he had with the Queen, with Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, in attendance, where he referred to Nigeria and Afghanistan as “fantastically corrupt countries,” a remark that did not go down well with Welby, who vouched for the integrity of the Nigerian leader, with whom he met yesterday at Lambert Palace, London.
Stephen Johnson Syndrome, (SJS), a new dangerous disease has been detected in Nigeria according to Health Minister Isaac Adewole.
According to him, the disease has killed a Nigerian while another is currently undergoing treatment at the National Hospital Abuja.
“We have to find a means to communicate with Nigerians, so they should all be aware of this dangerous disease and it is the sole business of government to enlighten the society by trying to increase their awareness, knowledge and to improve their quality way of life," he said.
Dr. Olanrewaju Falodun a Senior Consultant Physician/Dermatologist at the National Hospital, Abuja, described the disease.
“Stephens Johnson Syndrome, is an immune complex mediated hypersensitivity reaction that typically involves the skin and mucous membranes and was first described in 1922 by Albert Stevens and Frank Johnson,” Mr. Falodun said.
SJS is a rare and unpredictable reaction, and is also a minor form of toxic epidermal necrolysis with less than 10 percent body surface area involvement, the consultant said.
“SJS is a rare but serious and potentially life-threatening contagious drug reaction. Incidence of SJS is estimated between 1.1 and 7.1 cases per million per year and is more prevalent in women than men," he said.
Symptoms of the disease include fever, sore throat, running nose, fatigue, general aches and pains, ulcers in mouth, genitals, anal regions as well as conjunctivitis.
The health complications, Mr. Falodun said, are pigmentation problems, skin scarring, scarred genitals, joint pains, lung diseases, obstructive disorders and eye complications, adhesions, ulcers, and blindness.
He however said the cause of the disease remained unknown in a quarter to half of cases but that self-medications appeared to be one of its causes.
He urged the public not to misuse drugs and called on individuals with previous drug reactions to always inform healthcare practitioners so that they would be able to predict who is at risk of the disease using genetic screening.
Arsenal Ladies beat London rivals Chelsea Ladies 1-0 in the final of the Women’s FA Cup in front of a competition record crowd of 32,912 at Wembley on Saturday.
Danielle Carter scored the only goal of the game with an excellent first-half shot as Arsenal overcame a Chelsea side who kicked-off having won four successive matches in the Women’s Super League.
Carter, 22, went past Hannah Blundell on the left corner of the penalty area before curling a shot beyond the reach of Chelsea goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl after 18 minutes.
Lindahl made several good saves as Arsenal failed to get the second goal that would have helped put the result beyond doubt.
Chelsea had a number of chances to equalise and their best opportunity of the second half came with 20 minutes left when South Korean midfielder Ji So-Yun shot narrowly wide.
Barcelona sealed their 24th La Liga title as Luis Suarez took his tally for the season to 59 goals with a hat-trick in a 3-0 win at Granada to hold off Real Madrid’s late-season surge.
Real registered their 12th consecutive La Liga win 2-0 at Deportivo la Coruna thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s double, but finished a point behind their bitter rivals.
Suarez’s treble also sees him become the first player in seven years other than Ronaldo and teammate Lionel Messi to win the Pichichi award for La Liga’s top goalscorer with 40.
