Jerry Douglas' Blog

Nine persons have been confirmed dead in a renewed clash between security forces and suspected extremist group, Boko Haram in Babbangida town of Yobe state. Babbangida is the capital of Tarmuwa Local Government Area and is 50 kilometres north of Damaturu the state capital. Witnesses said the gunmen stormed the Divisional Police Station of the area at the early hours of Thursday and opened fire at the policemen on duty in an encounter that lasted for almost an hour. The State Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Rufai, who confirmed the incident to Channels Television in Damaturu, said the suspected Islamic terrorists attacked the Divisional Police Station around 1:00am in a shoot out that lasted for an hour. Though the police repelled the attack, Mr Rufai confirmed that the commands lost four of its personnel in the encounter while two sustained injuries and are receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital. He said the police however killed five of the insurgents and inju...

Former Arsenal chief David Dein believes that Arsene Wenger is ready to splash the cash. The Gunners are going through an eight-year trophy drought, and Wenger has long seemed reluctant to spend massively - like some of their rivals. But Dein, who is still a close friend of Wenger, believes that the Arsenal boss will use the funds at his disposal this summer. "The fact is he has to strengthen the team and I know he will do that," Dein told The Sun. "He is one of the best managers in the world, he's been coaching for 30 years and knows what he is doing. "He knows what he wants and it's just a question of identifying the right talent." Dein does not believe that Wenger is even thinking about relinquishing control at the Emirates Stadium. "It's a long, hard season and I am a great supporter of Arsene," he said. "He has done a phenomenal job and continues to do so year-on-year. "He has the fire in his belly....

Ekiti State Government on Wednesday announced that the late Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka, would be buried on April 26. This was contained in a statement on Wednesday by the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Tayo Ekundayo. The statement read, “The remains of the late Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Mrs. Funmilayo Adunni Olayinka, would be buried on Friday, April 26, 2013. The week-long activities for her state burial will commence on April 22nd.” The statement was silent on where the remains would be buried. Meanwhile, the three senators from the state – Senator Babafemi Ojudu Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi and Senator Tony Adeniyi – paid a condolence visit to the parents of the late deputy governor. Ojudu, who wept uncontrollably, extolled the virtues of Olayinka, urging the grieving parents to take solace in the fact that the deceased lived a good life and impacted many lives positively. The senator said he saw Olayinka last Thursday before he travelle...

The leader of the radical Islamist group Boko Haram has rejected the idea of any potential amnesty deal, which the country’s presidency said it would study in a bid to curb a bloody insurgency, in a statement obtained by AFP Thursday. Abubakar Shekau, the purported head of Boko Haram who has been designated a global terrorist by the United States, claimed his group had “not committed any wrong to deserve amnesty.” “Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you pardon,” he said, listing what he described as the state’s “atrocities” against Muslims. The Hausa language audio recording was distributed by email in a manner consistent with previous Boko Haram messages, and the voice was similar to that of previous Shekau statements. President Goodluck Jonathan last week formed a panel to look at the possibility of offering an amnesty deal to the Islamists, whose insurgency h...

Four police officers were, yesterday, arraigned before a high court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State for allegedly killing two persons and shooting  another in the foot over a failed attempt to extort N50 from a bus driver. The suspects, ASP Omorogbe, Inspector Emmason Udo, Hadiza Musa and Samirah Ileya of the Abacha Road Police Station, Obia/Akpor locality of Port Harcourt were alleged to have shot the victims sometimes in 2010 while the driver of the commercial bus in which the victims were riding attempted to escape from the policemen who demanded N50 from him at a check point. They were said to have been arrested on the orders of then Police Commissioner who insisted on their being tried for alleged killings. In the suit No PHC/858/2010 filed against the suspects, the applicant, Ifeanyi  Echemazu, whose mother in-law was shot in the leg said he took the action to pursue justice for his mother-in-law and the two passengers who died during the ordeal. “Th...

I have taken time to gather photos from the eyewitnesses of last Friday's fatal multiple accident involving a trailer, an oil tanker and a luxury bus in Edo state. Nigeria has the worst road crash rate in Africa.