1,500 Turkey-Trained Iraqi Forces Taking Part In Mosul Operation

Around 1500 Iraqi forces are taking part in the operation to drive ISIS from Mosul. (AFP photo)

Around half of some 3,000 Iraqi forces trained by Turkey at the Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq are taking part in the operation to drive ISIS from the city of Mosul, Turkish military sources said on Monday.

Turkey has been locked in a row with Iraq's central government over the presence of Turkish troops at Bashiqa and over who should take part in the US-backed assault on Mosul.

"Around half of the 3,000 are currently taking part in the operation. The other half are being kept in reserve," one of the sources told Reuters.

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US Presidential Election Stressing Out Americans.

About 52 per cent of US adults reported that 2016 election is somewhat significant source of stress.

Washington:  The 2016 US Presidential election is a significant source of stress for over half the Americans, with those using social media more likely to be affected, according to a new survey ahead of one of the most adversarial contests in recent history.

Daily coverage of the US presidential election dominates every form of mass media.

The survey was conducted online among 3,511 adults aged over 18 living in the US by the American Psychological Association (APA).

About 52 per cent of American adults reported that the 2016 election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress.

"We're seeing that it doesn't matter whether you're registered as a Democrat or Republican - US adults say they are experiencing significant stress from the current election," said Lynn Bufka, APA's associate executive director for practice research and policy.

Across party lines, those registered as Democrats (55 per cent) and Republicans (59 per cent) are statistically equally likely to say the election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress.

"Election stress becomes exacerbated by arguments, stories, images and video on social media that can heighten concern and frustration, particularly with thousands of comments that can range from factual to hostile or even inflammatory," said Mr Bufka.

In fact, the survey showed that social media appears to affect Americans' stress levels when it comes to the election and related topics.

Nearly 4 in 10 adults (38 per cent) said that political and cultural discussions on social media cause them stress.

In addition, adults who use social media are more likely than adults who do not to say the election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress (54 per cent vs 45 per cent, respectively).

While men and women are equally likely (51 pe rcent vs 52 per cent) to say the 2016 US presidential election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress, election stress differs among generations of Americans.

Millennials and "matures" are the most likely to say the election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress (56 per cent vs 59 per cent) - significantly more than Generation Xers (45 per cent) but not boomers (50 per cent).

Survey findings show that election-related stress does not confine itself to one racial or ethnic group. Rather, it appears to manifest across groups - more so in some than others.

Hispanics, in particular, are most likely to say that the election is a very or somewhat significant source of stress (56 per cent), followed by Whites and Native Americans at 52 per cent each.

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When Trump Goes Looking For A Media Brawl, This Feared Lawyer Steps In.

Marc Kasowitz sent New York Times a letter demanding retraction for stories about women accusing Trump

When Donald Trump has needed a legal brawler, he has often turned to Marc Kasowitz, a hard-edged Manhattan attorney whose website cites a description of him as one of the most "feared lawyers in the United States."

Kasowitz fits into the long-running pattern of Trump pursuing confrontational legal strategies and embracing tough allies, including the late attorney Roy Cohn, who Trump said earlier this year "could be a nasty guy" as he helped the businessman's real estate empire grow in Manhattan.

Last week, when the New York Times wrote about women's claims of sexual assault by Trump, Kasowitz sent a letter demanding "a full and immediate retraction and apology."
Two weeks earlier, when the Times released three pages of Trump's 1995 income tax returns, Kasowitz sent a letter threatening "prompt initiation of appropriate legal action."

Years before that, Kasowitz helped lead Trump's losing battle against an author who cited sources claiming Trump was not a billionaire.

"It's a trench fight with them. It's just brutal stuff," said Roddy Boyd, a former New York Post and Fortune reporter who covered Kasowitz's cases a decade ago. Boyd says he personally was threatened by Kasowitz with a suit over his reporting on two companies the attorney represented.

Kasowitz's firm also subpoenaed Boyd to obtain his hard drive and notes he had taken while reporting on a third company, Boyd said, adding the subpoena was rejected in court in 2011.

Kasowitz did not respond to requests for comment, and Trump was not made available for comment. In 2004, Trump told the magazine the American Lawyer that members of Kasowitz's law firm were "not good lawyers, they're phenomenal lawyers."

Kasowitz is not primarily a First Amendment or media attorney, and his wide-ranging practice has focused mostly on representing banks, insurers and other business clients. The most prominent of Kasowitz's tussles with the media have been on behalf of Trump.

Alan Garten, general counsel for the Trump Organization, described Kasowitz as a strategic lawyer and Trump's "go-to guy . . . when really urgent, sensitive, complex issues come up."

"He's incredibly smart, very measured . . . (but) that doesn't mean he's not tough," Garten said. "Who doesn't want a strong litigator?"

The claim that Kasowitz or Trump seeks to intimidate journalists, Garten added, is "the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
"Mr. Trump is someone who stands up for what he believes in," he said. "This is not an effort to intimidate. This is an effort to exercise and enforce rights he is entitled to exercise."

Kasowitz graduated from Yale University and Cornell Law School and, in 1993, founded Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman.

The firm now employs hundreds of attorneys, including former Democratic and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, Conn. It has offices in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and Silicon Valley.

A New York Law Journal survey in July of the state's 100 biggest law firms said the Kasowitz firm saw the state's sharpest drop in its workforce last year, losing 18 percent of its attorneys, or 51 lawyers, amid a series of layoffs and departures.

It's unclear why the firm lost so many lawyers so quickly, though the journal survey noted that some firms had reported declining legal demand. Kasowitz told the journal that the firm had taken "smart actions . . . to adapt to an evolving and volatile litigation market."

Kasowitz and his wife, Lori, have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump and to Republican committees in recent years, data from the Center for Responsive Politics shows. The couple have also donated thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nev., and Sen. Charles Schumer, N.Y.
Kasowitz has taken on several high-profile cases, including defending the Liggett Group, one of America's biggest cigarette conglomerates, in tobacco lawsuits. He also represented the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in a suit that claimed officials had ignored warnings before the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

Kasowitz seems to cherish his hard-edged reputation: His biography on the firm's website lists media publications that called him an "uberlitigator" and the "toughest lawyer on Wall Street."

David Brooks, general counsel for one of Kasowitz's clients, Fortress Investment Group, told the New York Law Journal in 2010, "When there's a tough, call it rough-and-tumble kind of litigation, those are the guys I would go to." He added, "They're not afraid to get their hands dirty."

Kasowitz has represented Trump for at least 15 years, including during the restructuring of more than $1 billion in debt for Trump's Atlantic City casinos. The firm also represented Trump when media giants, including the Times, sought to unseal documents from Trump's 1990 divorce with Ivana Trump. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge rejected that request last month.

Kasowitz also represented Trump during his lawsuit against Timothy O'Brien, whose 2005 biography, "TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald," cited unnamed sources claiming Trump was worth far less than he said publicly.

In 2006, Trump said O'Brien's "terribly written" book had defamed him, and he demanded $5 billion in damages. Earlier this year, Trump told The Post he had not read the book but filed the suit because he wanted to cost O'Brien, who he called a "low-life sleazebag," "a lot of money."

Before the case, Kasowitz appeared at one of the author's book readings "to tell me, with a grin, that he was a writer, too," O'Brien wrote in a Bloomberg View column last week.

Recording the reading with a video camera, O'Brien said, representatives of Trump's legal team also attempted to goad the author into saying something damaging, asking questions such as, "Didn't you write this book to hurt Trump because you don't like him?"

Trump sat for a two-day deposition for the case in 2007, during which he made a series of false statements. In connection with the suit, he was also forced to reveal sensitive internal documents like tax returns. A New Jersey appeals court ruled in O'Brien's favor in 2011.

In the presidential campaign, Trump has said he wants to "open up" libel laws and threatened to sue news reporters and organizations at least 11 times, according to the Columbia Journalism Review. In an interview during the reporting for The Post's biography, "Trump Revealed," Trump told The Post: "I will be bringing more libel suits as people - maybe against you folks.

I don't want to threaten, but I find that the press is unbelievably dishonest."

Trump, however, has not sued a newspaper for libel since 1984, a Reuters review of court records found.

Kasowitz will now be consulting Trump closely on whether to follow through on his most recent threats.

"Trump has always favored scrappy lawyers and street fighters," O'Brien said. "Marc Kasowitz fits that profile."

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Rebels seize "doomsday" village where ISIS promised final battle.

Its defeat at Dabiq, long a mainstay of ISIS's propaganda, underscores the group's declining fortunes this year.

Syrian rebels said they captured the village of Dabiq from Islamic State on Sunday, forcing the jihadist group from a stronghold where it had promised to fight a final, apocalyptic battle with the West.

Its defeat at Dabiq, long a mainstay of Islamic State's propaganda, underscores the group's declining fortunes this year as it suffered battlefield defeats in Syria and Iraq and lost a string of senior leaders in targeted air strikes.

The group, whose lightning advance through swathes of the two countries and declaration that it had established a new caliphate stunned world leaders in 2014, is now girding for an offensive against Iraq's Mosul, its most prized possession.

The rebels, backed by Turkish tanks and warplanes, took Dabiq and neighbouring Soran after clashes on Sunday morning, said Ahmed Osman, head of the Sultan Murad group, one of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) factions involved in the fighting.

"The Daesh myth of their great battle in Dabiq is finished," he told Reuters, using a pejorative name for Islamic State.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said that Dabiq's liberation was a "strategic and symbolic victory" against Islamic State.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter also welcomed the retaking of Dabiq as both a military and symbolic blow to Islamic State and thanked Turkey for the role it played. "Its liberation gives the campaign to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat new momentum in Syria," Carter said, using an alternative name for the group.

The Free Syrian Army is an umbrella group for rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad in a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, dragging in regional and global powers and creating space for jihadists.

An Islamic prophecy names Dabiq as the site of a battle between Muslims and infidels that will presage doomsday, a message Islamic State used extensively in its propaganda, going so far as to name its main publication after the village.

It also chose Dabiq as the location for its killing in 2014 of Peter Kassig, an American aid worker held hostage by the group, by Mohammed al-Emwazi, better known as Jihadi John.

However, it has appeared to back away from Dabiq's symbolism since advances by the FSA groups backed by Turkey had put it at risk of capture, saying in a more recent statement that this battle was not the one described in the prophecy.

The village, at the foot of a small hill in the fertile plains of Syria's northwest about 14 km (9 miles) from the Turkish border and 33 km north of Aleppo, has little strategic significance in its own right.

But Dabiq and its surroundings, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Islamic State had brought 1,200 fighters in recent weeks, occupied a salient into territory captured by the Turkey-backed rebels.

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WomanRising Marks 1-Year Anniversary with the Release of Top 50 Women Corporate Leaders in Ghana.

WomanRising, Ghana’s leading network of Women Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders and a flagship project of The African Network of Entrepreneurs (TANOE) has released another comprehensive & inspiring list of the Top 50 Women Corporate Leaders in Ghana following their earlier list of the 100 Most Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs in Ghana to mark a year anniversary of their launch.
The list, which is NOT a ranking; features 50 leading corporate women from various business sectors including but not limited to Banking, Investments, Media, Telecommunications, Insurance, Local and International NGOs. It is aimed at recognizing the outstanding achievements of women in the development of the Ghanaian economy and inspiring the next generation of globally minded women business leaders.
In his statement, Ekow Mensah, the CEO of TANOE, expressed his excitement at the release of the list which he believes will serve as a catalyst for the rapid development of more women leaders in Corporate Ghana. With the tough competition women generally face in their quest to climb the corporate ladder and in their mission to transform businesses; it is refreshing and inspiring to know that these top 50 women against all odds have risen to the pinnacle of their careers serving as role models for other women; he added.
Below are the Top 50 Women Corporate Leaders in Ghana arranged alphabetically

1. AbiolaBawuah || MD, United Bank for Africa (UBA)
2. AdjoaKusiwaaBoateng || Country Manager, MicroEnsure Ghana
3. Afia S. Zakiya || Country Representative, WaterAid Ghana
4. Afua BoahemaaOwusu || Executive Dir, Star Microinsurance
5. AkosuaDuffuor || Executive Dir, uniCredit
6. AmmaLartey || Country Director, Reach for Change-Ghana
7. Angela kyerematen-Jimoh || Country Manager, IBM Ghana
8. Angela Osei-Kufuor || Vice President, First Group
9. Araba Sika Tobbin || Executive Dir, Tobinco
10. Aretha A. Duku || MD, Ghana Union Assurance
11. Ayesha Bedwei || Senior Partner, PWC
12. Betty Elizabeth Zormelo || Executive Dir, Zormelo and Associates
13. BoatemaaDuffourBarfour-Awuah || Executive Dir, Star Assurance Company Ltd.
14. Carol Annang || MD, New Times Corporation
15. Charlotte Lilly Baidoo || CEO, Women’s World Banking Ghana
16. Christiana EkaeteOlaoye || MD, Energy Bank
17. Claire Staal || Country Manager, Jovago.com
18. Cynthia Lumor || Executive Dir, MTN Ghana Foundation
19. Dorothy K. Gordon || Director General, AITI-KACE
20. Dorothy L. Ametefe || CEO, First Atlantic Asset Management Co. Ltd
21. Estelle Akofio-Sowah || Country Director, Google Ghana
22. Florence Larbi || MD, Zoomlion Ghana Limited
23. Francisca Ashietey-Odunton || Director General, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
24. Freda Duplan || MD, Nestle Ghana
25. GiftyFiagbe-Alabi || CEO, Saham Life Insurance Ghana
26. GlowenKyei-Mensah || MD, Participatory Development Associates
27. JebetAmdany || MD, Scanad Ghana
28. Jemima Oware || Registrar General, Registrar General Department
29. Joyceline Coleman || Senior Partner, KPMG
30. Karen AkiwumiTanoh || Chairman, First Atlantic Bank
31. Kay Kwao- Simmonds || MD, GIHOC Distilleries Company Ltd
32. Liliana Biglou || Country Director, British Council
33. Linda OseiAkoto || MD, NSIA Ghana Insurance Co Ltd
34. Lucy Quist || MD, Airtel Ghana
35. Lynda Odro || CEO, Hollard Ghana
36. Maidie Arkutu || MD, Unilever Ghana Ltd.
37. Marie Laure Akin Olugbade || Resident Representative, Africa Development Bank
38. Mawuena Trebah || CEO, GIPC
39. Mireille Hitti || Executive Dir, Duraplast
40. Nana Serwah Arthur-Poku || Country Manager, MFS Africa
41. Patience Akyianu || MD, Barclays Bank Ghana
42. Petra Aba Asamoa || Head of Station, 3FM
43. RoshiMotman || CEO, Tigo Ghana
44. Sandra AbrokwaOwusu-Kyerematen || CEO, Tonaton Ghana
45. SedinaTamakloeAttionu || CEO, MASLOC
46. Shadeh Olivia Van Esch || Country Director, Oxford Business Group
47. Sheila Naah-Boamah || CEO, The Student Loan Trust Fund
48. Susan NamondoNgongi || Country Director, UNICEF Ghana
49. Yolanda Zoleka Cuba || CEO, Vodafone Ghana
50. Yvette AdounvoAtekpe || MD, IS Internet Solutions

WomanRising is passionate about equipping women to succeed particularly in business and generally in life through the provision of relevant information, capacity building through training and coaching, branding and productive networking support and entrepreneurship development.

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DSS recovers over N360m after raid in 3 judges' homes.

Department of State Service, DSS, yesterday, said  it recovered over N360 million from the residences of three judges following raids, on Friday night,‎ of the residences of seven judges  of the Supreme, Federal and High Courts across the country. A breakdown of the monies  allegedly recovered from the residences of the three judges  is N93,558,000; $530,087; £25,970 and €5,680. The three judges were identified as Justices Adeniyi F.A. Ademola, Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta and John Inyang Okoro. The DSS claimed Governor Nyeson Wike of Rivers State frustrated the raid of the house of one of the seven judges in which it alleged about two million dollars was being kept, a charge Wike rejected. Wike explained that he acted based on what he described as the suspicious nature of the raid, especially as he is the chief security officer of Rivers State. He said that the DSS action showed the nation was under siege. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, in separate statements, criticised the raids. NBA demanded the release of the affected judges who, according to it, were being detained. Sunday Vanguard learnt, last night, that the crackdown would be extended to more judges across the country suspected to be corrupt. The DSS, explaining why it  carried out the raids, said it was aimed at restoring “sanity and sanctity to the esteemed third arm of government”. Mallam Garba, an  official of the DSS, who spoke to journalists at the headquarters of the law enforcement agency in Abuja, said  a planned raid on the residence of a judge in Rivers where, he said, there was an  intelligence that he had $2million  cash at home was frustrated by Governor Nyesom Wike who  allegedly brought in “thugs” to prevent operatives from carrying out  their mission, in connivance with an unnamed sister security agency. He explained that the operations were based on allegations of corruption and other ‎acts of professional misconduct leveled against  the suspected justices. The DSS official  defended the action of the DSS, saying it was in line with  its core mandate, adding that the affected judges' “expensive and ‎luxurious” lifestyle  had been monitored by the agency for some time. The DSS statement read: “The Department of State Services (DSS), in the past few days, has embarked on series of special sting operations involving some judges of the Supreme, Appeal and High Courts. These operations were based on allegations of corruptions and other acts of professional misconduct by a few of the suspected judges. The Service action is in line with its core mandate, as we have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the judges as well as complaints from the concerned public over judgments obtained fraudulently and on the basis of  amounts of money paid. “The judges involved were invited, upon which due diligence was exhibited and their premises searched. The searches have uncovered huge raw cash of various denominations, local and foreign currencies, with real estate worth several millions of Naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these judges. Meanwhile, some of them have made useful statements while a few have declined even with the glaring evidences that were found against them in terms of material cash, documents and property recovered pointing to their compromise. “In one of the states where the Service operations were conducted, credible intelligence revealed that a judge had Two Million United States Dollars ($2,000,000 USD) stashed in his house. When he was approached for due search to be conducted, he, in concert with the state governor, mobilized thugs against the Service team. The team restrained itself in the face of unbridled provocative activities by those brought in by the governor. Unfortunately, the judge and governor also engaged the tacit support of a sister security agency. “The Service surveillance team noticed that upon frustrating the operation, the judge, with the active support of the governor, craftily moved the money to an unknown location which the Service is currently making effort to unravel. “Meanwhile, large amount including foreign/local currencies have been recovered. Summaries of these include: NAIRA    – N93,558,000 DOLLARS –   $530,087 POUNDS  –  £25,970 EURO  –  €5,680 “Other foreign currencies were also recovered. These were recovered from just three (3) of the judges. “These, in addition to other banking documents, including real estate documents have been recovered. Meanwhile, preparations are ongoing to arraign them in a competent court of jurisdiction in line with the laws of the nation. “The Service would want to clearly state that it has never invited Justice Walter NKANU ONNOGHEN  (CJN designate) for investigation, neither is he being investigated by this Service. In addition, the Service would like to put it on record that it has tremendous respect for the judiciary and would not do anything to undermine it or its activities. The Service will also join hands with this noble institution in its fight to rid it of few corrupt judges whose actions are  undermining not only the judiciary but the common bond of our national life. “Ladies and gentlemen, this current operation will be sustained and followed till sanity and sanctity is restored to the esteemed third arm of government and public confidence is regained. “Members of the public are also encouraged to avail the Service of any information which could assist in this drive to rid our nation of corrupt practices and tendencies”. Nigeria under siege – Wike *Says operatives manhandled him Governor Wike clarified his role in the drama that unfolded as the DSS team tried to raid the home of one of the judges located at 35/84B, Forces Avenue, old GRA, Port-Harcourt. He alleged that the operatives manhandled and threatened to shoot him if he did not allow them to take the judge away. The governor, however, said he acted based on the fact that he is the chief security officer of Rivers, describing the action of the DSS as a threat to the nation's democracy. Wike explained that  some of the policemen and men of the DSS immediately cocked their rifles when they saw him at about 2am, threatening to shoot  if he did not allow them to whisk the judge away. Raising a blood stained finger on his right hand for journalists  to see, the governor said it was unfortunate that security operatives would act “in a demeaning manner as this in a democracy”. “You can see my hand with blood.  For the first time a governor was manhandled by security men , it had never happened before in this country”, he said Wike wondered why the security operatives would choose to visit  a  judge by 1 am  instead of inviting him to answer for whatever issue. “The DSS and  police men  cocked  their guns and said they will shoot me. And I told them I had never heard this type of thing  before. Again, this is to show that more of this will come. We will resist it.  Leadership comes with sacrifice. This is why we are here(at the judge's premises that morning). We are not trying to stop any arrest,”he stated. His words, “I don't know which judge. All I was told was that he is a judge. And I don't want  to know which judge. My interest is strictly that the judge is not a criminal, not an armed robber. It is only when the person fails  to honour your invitation…. “We  can do things in a more civilised way. This is democracy, not military government . If they cannot invite the judge, then something is wrong . This portends danger for our democracy. Under a democratic government, the law must always take its place. “My state is under siege  in a way. What I have seen today , I  have never witnessed all my life. “The  (state) Commissioner of Police says he has privileged information, that he only came to make peace. With all due respect, they are always having privileged information. If they can't share the privileged information  with the chief security officer of the state, then there is a problem.  You remember when they came to seal the convention venue of the PDP, it was the same thing they said which is not correct.” The governor, who said President Muhammadu Buhari may not be aware of the action of the DSS, said he was going to inform him. “Obviously I will let Mr President know that this is not acceptable. I don't believe Mr President is aware. “Probably, they (security men) wanted to do something funny. I did not want to mobilise anybody to react to this. All I need is peace. We are talking of change, change is to do things in an acceptable way. It is odd to come to a judge's house at 1 am.” When contacted, Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mr Odesanya, said he raced to the scene to maintain  peace when  he heard of the development. Spokesman for the Police Command, DSP Omoni Nnamdi, who also commented said the police was not part of the DSS team that went for the judge, adding that the police only came in to maintain peace when the face-off between the DSS and those around was almost getting out of hand. But the Director, DSS in Rivers State, Mr Ajayi Tosin, ignored all calls and text messages from Sunday Vanguard to his mobile phone for comment on the issue. In a related development, All Progressive Congress, APC, in Rivers State has accused Wike of obsructing the course of justice in stopping the raid of the judge's house. Spokesman for the party, Mr Chris Finebone, also dismissed as untrue the claim by the governor that he did not know the judge residing in the affected residence. Democracy under threat – Fayose Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State also criticised the DSS raids. Fayose described the judges reported arrest as a direct assault on the judiciary and an attempt to harass and intimidate that arm of government to do the bidding of the APC government. “It should now be obvious to all Nigerians and the international community that democracy is under threat in Nigeria and Nigerians must rise to save democracy from being truncated”, he told journalists in Ado-Ekiti. “For all intent and purposes, there is no how the federal government can justify the gestapo and crude action of the DSS against our judiciary, the last hope of the common man and I believe they just want to hide under anti-corruption fight to blackmail and intimidate the judiciary. If not, have the affected judges been reported to the National Judicial Council (NJC), the body saddled with the responsibilities of investigating and sanctioning erring judges? Were the affected judges ever invited by the DSS and they refused to honour the invitation? “Nigerians should be reminded that I raised similar alarm when this regime of impunity started with the invasion of the Akwa-Ibom State Government House and later the Ekiti State House of Assembly.” NBA demands release of judges …Says there will be consequences if demand not met Reacting to the raids, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, yesterday, called on the DSS to immediately and unconditionally release the judges whose homes were raided. NBA President, Mr Abubakar Mamoud, SAN, told journalists, in Lagos, alongside three past Presidents of the association, namely Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN and Mr Joseph Daudu, SAN, that: “DSS has been carrying out raids in the houses of Justices of the Supreme Court and those of judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Gombe and Port Harcourt, Rivers State. “Some family members of the judges were manhandled. We gathered that the raids were carried out at  2a.m. “We condemn the raids in the strongest possible terms. We are in a democratic society and we cannot accept a situation where armed masked DSS operatives invade the homes of the Justices the Supreme Court and judges of our high courts. “This is a ploy by the executive to intimidate the judiciary and we will not accept it. The NBA will not accept it. “I want to emphasise again that we're not under military rule and we cannot accept this Gestapo style of operations. “First, the NBA demands the immediate and unconditional release of the Justices the Supreme Court still being held by the DSS without further delay. “The DSS should limit itself to its constitutional duties and responsibilities. “We demand that President Muhammadu Buhari should call his security agencies to order as this kind of practice is not acceptable under a democratic rule. “It there are issues affecting judicial officers, there are established processes and procedures for handling them and we demand that these constitutional processes must be obeyed. “I have declared a state of emergency on the legal profession over the matter and I have invited past Presidents and Secretary Generals of the association. “I have also set up a crisis committee team which shall consist of past Presidents and Secretary Generals of the association to follow up on the matter.” Asked whether the association will immediately embark on court boycott over the arrest and detention of judicial officers by the executive arm of government, he said members should allow the leaders handle the matter, while awaiting any further directive as maybe necessary. He also discountenanced suggestions that there might be ethnic and religious colouration to the arrest, detention and harassment of the judicial officers. “I have been in touch with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, on phone over the development. We will go to any extent to ensure that the rule of law is followed in the way things are done in the country,” the NBA President added. Action is executive lawlessness–Afenifere In its own reaction, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, expressed shock over the raids which it called an attempt to intimidate the judges of the Supreme Court and Federal High Court. Afenifere, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin, described the DSS action as  'executive  lawlessness and usurpation of investigative functions.' Odumakin said: “Afenifere  is shocked  by the  reported intimidation of both Supreme Court and Federal High Court judges. It is  executive lawlessness and usurpation of investigative functions of the judicial arm of government is not done with the authority of the National Judicial Commission, NJC, as stipulated in our Constitution.” NBA should order boycott of courts – Adegboruwa Lagos lawyer and activist, Mr Ebun Olu Adegboruwa, also asked the NBA to call out lawyers in the country to boycott court sittings over the raids. Adegboruwa in a statement, yesterday, said: “This is full blown dictatorship now in action. It is now a case of anarchists in power. The clampdown on judges has been on for a long time, through agents of government in the various institutions of oppression. We are now back to the 1984 jackboot system of intolerance, where all dissenting views and opinions must be silenced. “It is condemnable for the DSS, which is an arm of the executive, to be breathing down on the judicial arm of government, under the guise of fighting corruption. It is now clear without any shadow of doubt that the so called anti corruption war, is a hidden agenda to perpetuate the Gen Buhari regime in office beyond 2019. It is meant to silence the opposition and to cover the inefficiency and cluelessness of this administration. “The 1999 Constitution in sections 4, 5 and 6 prescribes the system of separation of powers between the three arms of government. But since 2015 when this government was sworn in, the executive arm under Gen Buhari has dominated and brutalized the other two arms of government. The leadership of the National Assembly is under trial and it is now the turn of the judiciary”. Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, CRRAN,  condemned the DSS raids, saying it represented the darkest period for the judiciary in the country. President of CRRAN, Olu Omotayo, in a statement, yesterday, expressed surprise at the crackdown. The statement entitled, “Crackdown on the Judiciary. This is not democracy as Nigeria heads towards Anarch, said: “In the over 200 years of democratic experience of the United States of America only 15 federal judges have been impeached. Of those 15; eight were convicted by the Senate, four acquitted by the Senate, and three resigned before the outcome of trial. “We demand an immediate end to the crackdown on the Nigeria Judiciary and immediate release of the arrested judges.” More judges to be taken into custody – FG Meanwhile, the Federal Government served notice last night that it would take more suspected tainted judiciary officials into custody. A top Federal Ministry of Justice official involved in the ongoing process to take out  suspected corrupt jurists and other officials, confirmed to Sunday Vanguard that the onslaught had just begun. The officer made it clear that the resort to forceful arrest of judges was informed by the refusal of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to release the affected men to answer to corruption charges against them. The top official said, “In line with the determination of the present administration to weed the judiciary of bad eggs, we have decided to continue to investigate all allegations of bribery and corruption leveled against the judiciary and take out those implicated. “Indeed, the exercise has just begun and we will continue to go after those implicated either by corruption or security-related breaches. “Although we would have put them to trial immediately, emerging incriminating evidence against those already in detention, have created a new dimension of evidence against them and we intend to take time to work on the new facts”. The development came as the  NJC meets tomorrow to decide on the  new Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN. The council, according to a competent source, would also deliberate on the selection of a new Executive Secretary (ES) for the body, as its ES prepares to exit office next month, like CJN Mohammed Mahmoud.

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Troops Arrest Quite a Number of Boko Haram in Maiduguri and Mafa

Suspected Boko Haram

In what could be described as bumper harvest in the wave of arrests of escaping and infiltrating remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in the north east, troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE with assistance of Civilian JTF, have arrested quite a number of the suspects in Maiduguri and Mafa.
Col. SK said “yesterday afternoon, at Kasuwar Shanu (Cattle Market), one Abur Modu Magaji was apprehended by Civilian JTF and handed over to troops. Preliminary investigation shows that he admitted to rustling 45 cows from Saleh Mohamed with 20 other Boko Haram terrorists at gun point. He however cooperated and assisted in pointing out 7 other suspected terrorists at Mafa road checkpoint.”
He further report that “3 suspects Ibrahim Chari, Bulama Magaji and Nde Ngude were positively identified as Boko Haram terrorists group members that he had operated with in the past, while 4 others; Mustafa Fannami, Abubakakar Modu, Mohammed Merai and Abur Mustafa bought cows from him out of the stolen animals.
Similarly, Bakura Agwala, Jatau Yaga and Umar Modu were arrested at a checkpoint along Maiduguri-Mafa road by troops with the assistance of Civilian JTF. The suspects also confessed that they were involved in attacks and livestock rustling.
Additionally, “at about 5.00pm yesterday, troops also arrested Abacha Umar and Umar Babagana at Cattle Market. Preliminary investigation shows that the suspects were from Bama and had participated in various Boko Haram terrorists attacks and cattle rustling. The suspects have been handed over to Joint Investigation Committee, while 18 recovered cows have been handed over to the Cattle Market Committee for screening and identification and subsequent hand over to their rightful owners.” Col.

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FG Shares Same Goals With BBOG On Finding Chibok Girls.

The Federal Government has said it has the same goal as the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group, which is to secure the safe return of the Chibok girls.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who made the assertion on a special programme to mark Nigeria’s 56th independence anniversary on Channels Television on Saturday night, noted, said the federal government’s commitment to bringing back the girls is not in doubt.

“I want the Bring Back Our Girls to understand that this government appreciates what they are doing. We are all batting on the same side and we are as concerned as they are and we are well ready to work with you. Clearly we need a closer working relationship so that there will be no communication gap. Clearly, I do not see the objective of the BBOG group as different from ours,” said the Minister, who appeared side by side with the BBOG Co-Convener, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili.

While reiterating the President’s statement that there will be no closure to the Boko Haram issue until the Chibok girls are released and returned safely to their families, he noted that apart from the parents of the girls, no other individual or group has a higher stake in the release of the girls than the Federal Government.

Alhaji Mohammed said there is no contradiction between the fact that Boko Haram has been defeated and the fact that the girls remain in captivity.
“There shall be no closure on the Boko Haram issue until and when the Chibok girls are released and returned to the safety of their families.”

I think that does not contradict what Mr President has said that we have defeated Boko. Of course anybody who is familiar with the philosophy of insurgency will understand that it is not the regular kind of war where you sign an armistice and the guns become silent forever, but rather it is a kind of guerrilla war.

“But what Mr President said, which cannot be contradicted, is that as of May 29, 2015, when he took over, we had a chunk of our territory in the hands of Boko Haram. As at 2015, a part of the Northeast could not be accessed because of the activities of the terrorists, but the same cannot be said about the area today,” he said.

The Minister said it is necessary to situate the Chibok saga within the proper context, noting that the girls have been in captivity for over 400 days before the Buhari Administration came into power, yet there have been attempts by the government to establish contact with Boko Haram to secure their release (but) the fictionalisation within the terror group made it difficult for the deal to go through.

“I want us to put things in correct perspective. Yes, the issue of the kidnap or abduction of the Chibok girls is one that should affect everybody, it is not out of place for anyone to be emotional about it but at the same time we must be rational in our approach to the issue. Yes, today might be 901 days since the girls were abducted but it must also be understood that these girls were abducted 400 days before this government came to power, this must not be forgotten and by the time we came in, the trails had gone cold. The first 48 hours after any kidnapping constitute the most critical period.

“If you listen to my press conference some weeks ago with respect to the failed negotiations, it is clear that every occasion starting from the one in August 2015 where for 10 days we were at the appointed point where Boko Haram fighters were supposed to be exchanged with the Chibok girls, the factionalisation of Boko Haram played a key role in our inability to secure the release of the girls,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed said the fact that the President approved the deal to exchange even some Boko Haram armourers for the girls is the clearest indication yet of his unflinching commitment to securing their release.

He also said there is no contradiction between the President’s statement that there is so far no credible leadership of the Boko Haram to engage with and the fact that the government has tried three times to strike a deal for the release of their girls.

“Like I explained at that press conference, right from the time when we were approached that Boko Haram leadership wanted to exchange the girls for their people, Mr President was quite worried because they (Boko Haram) insisted that some of the terrorists who were actually the masterminds behind the bombings should be included on the list of those to be released. Despite that, the president accepted and the entire process was activated but for 10 days we were there and there was breakdown of communication and nothing was achieved. So that was what Mr President meant when he said ‘yes we are ready to negotiate but that we need a credible leadership to engage with.

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Deputy Senate President Salutes Rangers on NPFL Title.

Ike Ekeremadu
Nigeria’s Deputy Senate President

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has showered praises on the Rangers International Football Club of Enugu for their gallantry and clinching of the Nigeria Professional Football League, NPLF, title in Enugu on Sunday.

Senator Ekweremadu was at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium to cheer the Flying Antelopes during their last match for the season against the El Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri, where he noted that Rangers had won something more than a league title for their teeming supporters across the world.

A highly elated Ekweremadu, who was in the company of the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, said: “I want to congratulate the players, the management of Rangers, and indeed the Government and good people of Enugu State on this emphatic victory and the reclaim of the league title after a 32-year wait full of disappointments.

“Those who know the history of Rangers understand why this great achievement will resonate across the length and breadth of the South East and South South especially, and indeed every part of the nation and the world where you find rangers fans.

“For us, this is more than just a league title. This is a huge revival, morale booster, and comfort. It is one great achievement that refreshes memories and our survival instincts as a people. It is a reminder to all our people that though sorrow may endure for a night, joy surely comes in the morning”.

Senator Ekweremadu who described the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, as a jinx breaker, commended him for his fatherly support and encouragement, which spurred the team to victory.

He assured that Rangers’ successful defence of the league title and their continental campaign in the coming season would be the collective task of all.

While commending the improvements in the NPFL, the Deputy President of the Senate, however, called for more private sector support and greater commitment by the nation’s football managers to lift the round leather game higher in Nigeria.

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Budget Minister Udoma On Made-in-Nigeria Product.

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Budget Minister Udoma Say Donors Should Support Our Made-in-Nigeria Focus
Akpandem James, Abuja: 

Budget and National Planning Minister, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma has appealed to international agencies to assist Nigeria’s drive for self-sufficiency by encouraging the local production of items required for the execution of their mandates in the country.

Senator Udoma Budget minister who was speaking at a meeting with the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNDPA), Professor Babatunde Osotimehin and his delegation from the agency’s office in New York, at the weekend in Abuja, said Nigeria has the human capacity to realize the objective but needed support and patronage to drive the process.

As part of plans to achieve self-sufficiency, the Minister said government is focused on encouraging small and medium scale industries and promoting Made-in-Nigeria goods because there is a lot of scope for production and expansion. “It is important that we support them and patronize them and help them improve on the quality of goods produced in Nigeria”.

The Minister told the delegation that there is no reason why we cannot manufacture most of the drugs and other medical accessories needed in the treatment and control of maternal mortality and other related medical conditions and would appreciate assistance more in the area of production of those materials locally.

Whilst thanking the donors for their continuing contributions to improving health in Nigeria, he asked them to consider sourcing as much as possible, locally, so as to support local manufacturers.

Over time, with local sourcing, he stated, Nigeria can achieve self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on development partners for assistance.

Senator Udoma said government places premium on the country’s human capital which is also a veritable wealth resource; and its policies seek to promote the development of human capacity with focus on good health, which is an important aspect of the human capacity index.

He pledged the Ministry’s readiness to work with international development partners and other relevant Departments and Agencies within the country towards reducing the rate of maternal and infant mortality in the country.

Osotimehin had informed that while Nigeria’s population is about two percent of the world’s population, the country accounts for about ten per cent of the global maternal mortality ratio; a statistic the Minister described as alarming and unacceptable.

“We will certainly support all the initiatives aimed at reducing the figures. We will certainly work with you in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to bring that number down.”, he said

The Minister of Budget and Planning said that although government was going through difficult times financially, the health of its citizens cannot be compromised; which is why it would appreciate every assistance from development partners to ensure the situation is speedily arrested. It would also be given serious consideration in the 2017 budget, he indicated.

“In terms of the budget, luckily we are on it right now, so we’ll see what we can do in that direction; but I think that it will continue to be helpful, and useful, to receive external support because, given the country’s current economic circumstances, resources are very limited.

Ultimately, our aim will be to achieve self-sufficiency, but in the short term, we will continue to need resources from your organization, as well as those of other donors”, he stated.

He expressed government’s gratitude to the UNPFA and other development partners for their developmental activities in Nigeria to promote universal access to sexual and reproductive health, promote reproductive rights to reduce maternal mortality and accelerate progress towards the achievement of ICPD’s Declaration for sustainable growth.

Osotimehin, who was also accompanied by officials from DFID and USAID, was worried that the population of Nigeria was growing uncontrollably and health facilities were being overstretched leading to avoidable deaths, particularly birth-related incidences.

He said the uncontrolled reproduction regime also fosters the alarming rate of maternal mortality, a development he said should be arrested immediately if the country was to see meaningful and sustainable growth and development.

Uncontrolled population growth, he said, was not just a social issue but a very serious economic problem, because uncontrolled population growth and maternal deaths add up to the financial burden of the society and by extension the national economy.

The UNDPA Director suggested immediate provision of universal access to information that will allow women make choices about how they want to live their lives and how many children a family should conveniently have for health and economic reasons. Efforts should be made to significantly improve the supply chain system that will ensure that provisions made for health purposes reach the last man in the form intended.

While appreciating that there are moral and cultural obstacles, Osotimehim said those in positions of authority should try as much as possible to educate the people on the health and economic implications of uncontrolled child bearing.

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See Photos Of The Nigerian Students Detained In Turkey Over Failed Coup Attempt.

See Photos Of The Nigerian Students Detained In Turkey Over Failed Coup Attempt

The Turkish government has commenced a massive deportation of Nigerian students resident in the country. Some students were detained on orders of the federal government upon arrival at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul as they were all escorted to a room and their passport confiscated by Turkish police (as shown in the pictures).

The students were reportedly made to sign deportation documents in preparation for their deportation back to Nigeria. In the deportation document, it was stated that they will not be accepted to Turkey pursuant after the deportation and that until their flight is ready for the deportation, they will be kept inside TAV Private Security Room, according to a report.

The detained Nigerians are mainly students of Fathi University, one of the private universities in Turkey. The Fathi University is among the 2099 schools, dormitories and universities shut down in the wake of the July 15th failed coup in Turkey. The Turkish authorities said the schools and universities were terrorist schools because they have links with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government had accused of being the mastermind of the coup in Turkey…

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See some Photos of the Largest Hospital In Aleppo, Syria Hit By Two Barrel Bombs

 
Largest Hospital In Aleppo, Syria Hit By Two Barrel Bombs
The largest hospital in eastern Aleppo has been targeted in airstrikes by government forces as they continue a Russian-backed offensive to retake the entire city.
At least two barrel bombs hit the M10 hospital in the rebel-held side of the city on Saturday, according to the Syrian American Medical Society.

The offensive, announced on September 22, has seen dozens of civilians killed and residential buildings flattened in the east, where an estimated 250,000 people live under government siege.

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Osagie Ize-iyamu Appease Protesters Says We Can Take A Legal Action, Hold World Press Conference.

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic, PDP in the September 28 governorship election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has appealed to his supporters to remain calm over the election results saying it has only shown how the opposition rigged the election. He however assured his supporters that instead of destroying property or protesting, we ‘can take a legal action or even hold a WORLD CONFERENCE’ so the world would know what went down in Edo State or just LEAVE EVERYTHING TO GOD. Ize-Iyamu who is also a Pastor made this known in a statement yesterday. Part of the statement read;
“I appeal to all of us, Edo people who feel dissatisfied, not to take laws into your hands or engage in violent demonstrations or destruction of public property. We still have many options.

“We can go to the elections tribunal. We can call a world press conference to let the world know what transpired or we can leave everything to God. Continue…


“No matter how you feel, please conduct yourselves in a civilised manner because the will of God must prevail. If God says I, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, will be governor, no amount of rigging can stop it. So, we must keep hope alive; let us continue to hope and believe in our country.”

It will be recalled that INEC had on Thursday declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Godwin Obaseki, winner of the election, with a total of 319,483 votes to defeat Ize-Iyamu, who scored 253,173 votes.

So which one will you encourage him to do? Take a legal action, hold a world conference or leave everything to God.

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Buhari To Save $10 Billion Annually From Fuel Import.

President Muhammadu Buhari

Ismaila Chafe: President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday said Nigeria would be saving 10 billion Dollars annually from importation of petroleum products as the nation’s four refineries would soon be fully repaired.
The president disclosed this in a nationwide broadcast to mark the nation’s 56th Independence Anniversary on Saturday.
The President frowned at the situation where half of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings were being spent on importation of petroleum and food items.

“We are to repair our four refineries so that Nigeria can produce most of our petrol requirements locally, pending the coming on stream of new refineries. That way we will save 10 billion USD yearly in importing fuel.’’

He attributed the current socio-economic hardship being experienced in the country to inability of the previous administrations to save for the “rainy days’’.
“Historically about half our dollar export earnings go to importation of petroleum and food products, Nothing was saved for the rainy days during the periods of prosperity.
“We are now reaping the whirlwinds of corruption, recklessness and impunity.

“There are no easy solutions, but there are solutions nonetheless and government is pursuing them in earnest.
“We are to repair our four refineries so that Nigeria can produce most of our petrol requirements locally, pending the coming on stream of new refineries. That way we will save 10 billion USD yearly in importing fuel.’’

He said there were only two system collapses between June and December 2015, while the over-all system suffered 16 system collapses between March and July 2016 alone … In this respect, the Mambilla Hydro project, after many years of delay is taking off this year.

Buhari said his administration’s economic revival strategy was centred on the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.
According to him, the ministry will lead and oversee the provision of critical infrastructure of power, road transport network and housing development.

He said power generation in the country had steadily risen since his administration came on board from three 3,344 megawatts in June 2015, to a peak of 5,074 megawatts in February.
“For the first time in our history, the country was producing five thousand megawatts.’’
He, however, lamented that renewed militancy and destruction of gas pipelines had continued to cause acute shortage of gas and constant drop in electricity output available on the grid.
The president also noted an appreciable improvement in power transmission between June 2015 to September 2016.
He said there were only two system collapses between June and December 2015, while the over-all system suffered 16 system collapses between March and July 2016 alone.
He attributed the incidents to vandalism by Niger Delta militants.
“As I have said earlier, we are engaging with responsible leadership in the region to find lasting solutions to genuine grievances of the area but we will not allow a tiny minority of thugs to cripple the country’s economy.
“In the meantime, government is going ahead with projects utilizing alternate technologies such as hydro, wind, and solar to contribute to our energy mix.
“In this respect, the Mambilla Hydro project, after many years of delay is taking off this year.’’
According to the president, contract negotiations for the Mambilla project are nearing completion with Chinese firms for technical and financial commitments.
He said the project would be jointly financed by Nigeria and the Chinese-Export-Import Bank.
Buhari said power purchase agreements on 14 Solar Power Projects had been concluded.
“Hence, the plan to produce 1,200 megawatts of solar electricity for the country will be realized on schedule,’’ he said.

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