BOKO HARAM VOWS TO DISTRUPT MARCH 28 ELECTION

Islamist militants boko haram have vowed to disrupt Nigeria’s March 28 elections at any cost in a newly released video.

It comes as fears grow that Nigeria is becoming increasingly unstable ahead of its already delayed general election. That was pushed back from February to allow the army more time to deal with the insurgency in the north-east.

On Tuesday ( February 17) bomb blasts struck at three different locations in the country killing dozens of people.

In neighboring Niger up to 35,000 people marched in support of the country’s military following a series of attacks.

Cameroon, Chad, Benin, Niger, and other African union leaders have pledged to support Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram.

The group which has caused havoc in Africa’s most populous country through a wave of bombings, assassinations and abductions, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.

    The video appeared to be the first message released by the group on Twitter, a sign of its changing media tactics after previous messages were distributed to journalists on DVD.

Shekau was shown in unusual clarity in front of a solid blue background, dressed in black and with an automatic weapon resting to his right.

Nigeria’s general election had been scheduled for February 14 but was postponed by six weeks, with the security services saying they needed more time to contain the violence in the northeast, Boko Haram’s stronghold.

Despite Shekau’s threat, experts doubt that the Islamist rebels have the capacity to disrupt voting nationwide, although election officials have conceded that voting could prove impossible in parts of the northeast, especially by March 28, the new election day.

Keshi close to becoming next Burkina faso coach

 Stephen Keshi, is now one step away from clinching the head coach job of Burkina Faso.The Out-of-contract Nigeria manager has won the nations cup for nigeria, but is now looking else where to probable finalize his coaching career. 

Keshi has been shortlisted among the final three for the coaching job of the Stallions.

The Burkina Faso Football Federation (FBF), on Tuesday, released a three-man shortlist that also include Serbian Milovan Rajevac and German coach, Gernot Rohr.

   
"The Burkinabe Football Federation has just taken the first step in selecting a national coach, producing the shortlist that includes the names of the top three contenders for the post," the FBF announced.

   
       Keshi and the two other shortlists are expected to be drilled on their underlying motivations as well as discuss general conditions of work.

The three will also face other parameters to determine who will emerge as coach.

       The Burkinabe federation is expected to announce Paul Put's replacement in three weeks.

The FBF stated that it received 38 applications for the coaching job of the Stallions and had to trim the list to three using qualification, work experience, teams managed and performance as criteria.

     Keshi is also in the running for a new contract from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), eight months after his initial three-year contract expired.

Supersport.com sources say the former Mali and Togo manager is expected to be offered a new contract in a matter of days.

Last week, Keshi confirmed that the FBF has approached him officially.

'Explosions and gunfire' at APC rally Rivers state

An opposition rally in southern Nigeria has been interrupted by explosions and gunfire, reports say.

The blast occurred at an All Progressives Congress rally at a school in Okrika, in Rivers state, local media said, ahead of elections on 28 March.

Members of the APC - Nigeria's main opposition - were reportedly waiting for their leaders to arrive at the venue when the incident occurred.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

A small explosive device detonated as crowds gathered for the rally, but there were no injuries, witnesses told the AFP news agency.

Organisers then decided to press on with the event in Okrika - a small port town south of Port Harcourt, in the heart of Nigeria's oil producing region - but gunshots rang out, causing people to flee, the witnesses said.

"We have been attacked," a spokeswoman for Rivers State governor governor Rotimi Amaechi told AFP.

Huge crowds welcome buhari in Borno state

A massive crowd of cheering supporters crowded Nigerian opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari in the embattled northeast city of Maiduguri on Monday, as the candidate vowed tough action against Boko Haram if elected.

 People flooded the streets surrounding the airport in the Borno state capital before Buhari's arrival, defying security fears in a city repeatedly attacked by the Islamist militants.

Markets have been bombed regularly and scores of civilians shot dead in their homes.

All Progressives Congress (APC) party candidate Buhari, a former military ruler, pledged to reverse the perceived failures of President Goodluck Jonathan in tackling the rebel uprising.

"If we get the people's mandate... Nigerians will begin to see a government that really care(s)," he told the crowd after visiting the area's top Islamic cleric, the Shehu of Borno.

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"It is not going to be easy, tackling the insurgency, but we are determined to face it squarely," he said.

Buhari's drive from the airport to the Shehu's palace -- which normally takes 10 minutes -- lasted more than two hours as people thronged the streets seeking a glimpse of the presidential hopeful.

Jonathan, who visited Maiduguri last month, has come under intense criticism in the region for his perceived lethargy in dealing with the Boko Haram insurgency.

Three years of relentless attacks in Borno prompted a state of emergency and the promise of decisive military action.

But the offensive appeared to achieve nothing, and reports suggested that troops sent to Borno often lacked ammunition and basic communication equipment as the insurgents seized large swathes of territory.

The military has however claimed significant gains in Borno this month following the launch of a joint operation with Nigeria's neighbours.

Buhari has not articulated a detailed plan to crush the uprising but has repeatedly promised to get troops proper equipment to fight an increasingly well-armed extremist movement.

After meeting the Shehu, Buhari attempted to move to the nearby Ramat square to address a campaign rally but again his movements were slowed by a mass of supporters.

An AFP reporter said the trip, which normally takes five minutes, took more than an hour and that the crowd at Ramat was perhaps the largest ever gathering in Maiduguri.

The boisterous crowd virtually drowned out the candidate's speech, the reporter added.

Buhari, like most in Maiduguri, is a northern-born Muslim, giving him a clear political edge in the city over Jonathan, from Nigeria's mainly Christian south.

But Buhari is also an ethnic Hausa, a group that has a long history of tension with the Kanuri of Borno, the dominant ethnic group in Boko Haram.

Experts say his support in the area likely runs deeper than religion and tribe.

The economic breakdown caused by the unrest, as well as school closures, travel restrictions and widespread bloodshed has left the community clamouring for change, experts say.

Many see Buhari, partly because of his military background, as better placed to stamp out the raging insurgency.

The vote, expected to be the closest ever in Nigeria, had been scheduled for February 14, but security fears forced a six-week delay to March 28.

Man United to face Arsenal in FA cup

Arsenal face a trip to Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals while giant-killers Bradford will be at home to Reading.

The draw for the last-eight took place at Deepdale just before Louis van Gaal's men beat Preston 3-1 in the final game of fifth-round weekend.

Another all Premier League tie pits new Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood against local rivals West Brom.

Bradford have already beaten Premier League sides Chelsea and Sunderland to reach the quarter-finals and, as their chairman Mark Lawn hoped, they will take on Championship opposition in the form of Reading, winners over Derby County on Saturday.

The first tie out of the hat saw Liverpool given a home draw against Blackburn Rovers, who thrashed Stoke City 4-1 on Saturday thanks to a hat-trick from striker Josh King.

Quarter-final draw:
Liverpool v Blackburn Rovers
Bradford City v Reading
Manchester United v Arsenal
Aston Villa v West Brom

Ties to be played March 7 and 8.

Immigration arrests foreigners with Nigeria’s voter’s cards.

The Public Relations Officer of the NIS, Chukwuemeka Obua, in a statement yesterday in Abuja said the Comptroller General, David Parradang, “announced the seizure of some voter’s and national identity cards from some foreigners in a renewed crackdown on irregular migrants across the country ahead of the forthcoming general elections.”

The statement indicates that among the seized items said to be in the custody of the service are 191 PVCs, 57 temporary voter’s cards, 367 old national identity cards, 68 new national identity cards and 11 old temporary identity card slips.

Other items recovered includes 10 Nigerian birth certificates, six Gada Local Government tax cards, three NIS registration certificates, two driver’s license and one (1) each of Nigerian Army identity card for occupants in the barracks, primary school certificate and data page of Nigeria passport.

Obua, in a chat with The Guardian, said the identity of the irregular migrants and their countries of origin are still being withheld until investigations are completed, but “so far, none of those apprehended with the said security items has the right to have them. This is because one has to be a citizen of Nigeria to be in possession of some of the items, and where the privilege of being conferred with citizenship is not extended to you by the president and commander in chief, you do not have the right as a foreigner to possess the national identity card, for instance”, the assistant comptroller said.

  He noted that the elections in Nigeria needs to be safeguarded the best way possible, just as the Immigration Service is carrying out her responsibilities to ensure that those with criminal tendencies don’t get into the country through the borders, and has continued to mop up these elements from across the country, which has resulted in the feat recorded so far.

According to the NIS,  the “vital security documents were recovered in Sokoto, Jigawa and Zamfara states following an ongoing nation-wide mop-up operation against irregular migrants ahead of the forthcoming general elections”.

Nigeria's inflation rate rises

 Nigeria's inflation rate rose for the second consecutive month to 8.2 percent in January, up from 8 percent the previous month despite a sharp fall in the naira currency, the statistics bureau said on Monday.

Food inflation was flat at 9.2 percent in January, unchanged from December. Food prices account for bulk of the inflation basket.

The central bank devalued the naira by 8 percent in November, with many analysts fearing the downward pressure on currency in a country that imports almost 80 percent of what it consumes could stoke inflationary pressures.

The latest figures suggest those fears have not yet been realised, although price pressure could still feed through later this year.

"Prices increased at a faster pace in most major non-food divisions such as housing, water, electricity," the NBS said in a report.

A sharp rise in inflation would be an added headache for President Goodluck Jonathan before a closely fought election in which his record on security, corruption and the economy is under scrutiny.

The naira has remained under pressure despite the one-off devaluation trading outside central bank's target band of 160-176 to the dollar, on weak global oil prices and escalating tensions after presidential elections in Africa's biggest economy was delayed.

The NBS has said in its outlook for 2015, that it expected inflation this year to rise to 8.78 percent, up from an estimated 8.0 percent last year, driven by the devaluation of the naira.