Jerry Douglas' Blog

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) yesterday said power must return to the North in 2015, warning governors in the zone to cue behind the power-for-North struggle or see themselves as anti-North. The elders also threatened to take the Federal Government to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the killings of civilians in the recent Baga carnage if the security forces deployed to the area were found culpable of mass killing by a set of lawyers constituted by the forum to probe the incident. Led by its Chairman, Malam Maitaima Sule, Dan Mansaini Kano, the forum during a meeting in Maiduguri, Borno State with Borno Elders and after its visit to the governor of the state, Kashim Shettima, said though the northerners threw away the presidency few years ago by some political errors, adding that elders in the North had decided that it was time to return the presidency to the region. “We are not happy that the North is not playing active role in the present day. That is why ...

Dear compatriots, 1. It has become necessary for me to address you on the recent spate of terrorist activities and protracted security challenges in some parts of the country, particularly in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Plateau and most recently Bayelsa, Taraba, Benue and Nasarawa states. These unfortunate events have led to needless loss of lives and property of many innocent Nigerians including members of our security forces. 2. The recent killing of security operatives by a cult group in Nasarawa state is particularly condemnable. I have directed that no effort or expense be spared in identifying and bringing to justice all those who had a hand in the killing of the operatives. 3. The activities of insurgents and terrorists have been reprehensible, causing fear among our citizens and a near-breakdown of law and order in parts of the country, especially the North. We have taken robust steps to unravel and address the root causes of these crises, but it would a...

Nigerian singer Sidney Onoriode Esiri popularly called Dr Sid has completed the construction of his new mansion in Lekki, Lagos Nigeria. This came weeks after the death of his father Justus Esiri, a veteran Nollywood actor who passed away after a short-battle with diabetes. Dr Sid took to his Twitter page few hours ago to share the photos of his brand new house. Congrats to him. Source:  Naija Gists

About 2,000 security operatives and military hardware, including fighter jets have been deployed to Maiduguri ahead of yesterday’s declaration of State of Emergency. In neighboring Yobe State, it is not clear how many soldiers were deployed but residents said shortly after the declaration of state of emergency, stop and search operations have been intensified in the state capital while movement have been restricted in other places. Residents said the deployment of the federal troops, including the army, navy, air force and operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) began at the weekend. We started sensing danger on Saturday when we saw military trucks conveying soldiers to the Joint Task Force (JTF) headquarters along Pompomari area, Usman Jika, a resident of Maiduguri said. By Sunday morning, so many roadblocks have sprung up in the state capital and there was noticeable cordon and search of houses by new faces (soldiers), he said. All the soldiers that came to the n...

The Brazilian forward, is number one ahead of superstars like Lionel Messi, Tiger Woods, Usain Bolt and Lewis Hamilton, in the list of 50 compiled by SportsPro magazine. David Cushnan, SportsPro editor-in-chief, explained why the 21-year-old tops the list. “Essentially the crux of it is we are trying to predict marketing value over the next three years. We’re trying to forecast who is going to be worth investing from a sponsorship point of view but also who perhaps offers real value for money. “Our feeling is that Neymar has the World Cup coming up next year, where he’s going to be the star at home, he’s a megastar in Brazil. “He still has this big move to come, probably to Barcelona, that will launch him to whole new level of fame. And there is no doubt that Messi is the more talented player but you can make the argument he is not particularly charismatic off the pitch, not animated or confident in front of the camera. “You can’t ignore him but when it comes to marketi...

Lega Calcio have fined Roma €50,000 (£42,200), after a section of their fans racially abused three AC Milan players, during a Serie A game at the San Siro. The game, which was eventually ended 0-0, was suspended for two minutes by the referee Gianluca Rocchi, so the stadium announcer to warn offenders to end the chants. Lega did not specifiy which players were targeted, but it is believed Milan striker Mario Balotelli, was one of them. “A fine of €50,000 with a warning for Roma, whose supporters continuously addressed racially discriminatory chants to three players of the opposing team, prompting the referee to suspend the game for two minutes in order to make them desist from such reprehensible behaviour,” a statement published on legaserie.it said. Roma have also responded to the fine imposed on the club on their official website, saying: “AS Roma condemns any form of racial abuse. This type of behaviour from any football supporters, including ours, is completely unacce...

BET Awards just released their 2013 nominees list. 2face Idibia and Ice Prince were nominated in the Best International Act: Africa category. The two Nigerian music stars were nominated alongside R2bees from Ghana, Radio and Weasel from Uganda, Donald from South Africa, and Toya Delazy from South Africa. The award will hold 30th June. See the full nominees list  HERE Oh, FYI, Drake leads this year's awards with 12 nominations.

England defender Rio Ferdinand has announced his retirement from international football. The Manchester United player, 34, who won 81 caps, said he wants to concentrate on his club career. "After a great deal of thought, I have decided the time is right to retire from international football," he said. Rio Ferdinand's England career 1997:  Makes England debut v Cameroon at Wembley 1998:  Named in squad for 1998 World Cup finals but does not play 2000:  Left out of Euro 2000 squad 2002:  Scores first England goal in 3-0 win over Denmark at 2002 World Cup 2004:  Banned for eight months after missing a drugs test 2006:  Plays five games at World Cup in Germany 2008:  Captains England for first time in defeat by France in March - loses out to John Terry in battle for permanent skipper role 2010:  Terry is stripped of captaincy and Ferdinand is given the armband but injury rules him out of the 2010 World Cup 2011:...

The singer explained how it all happened on her Twitter page... More when you continue... Please read from bottom up...

President Jonathan has declared an indefinite state of emergency in three Northern states, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, citing insecurity. He made the announcement in a nationwide live broadcast this evening. With this declaration, the president has given the military the authority to take over the security of the states, though all political office holders in the states would still continue in office. President Jonathan said the efforts at dialogue with militants will continue but will take extra ordinary measures to maintain peace. He immediately ordered troops to be deployed to the states to arrest and detain suspected terrorists, take over of suspicious buildings, and detain persons suspected to be in possession of arms. On terrorism, he said: "We will hunt them down, fish them out and bring them to justice. No matter what it takes, we will win this war against terror" This action is so long overdue. Just wondering why Nassarawa wasn't included. 

Just minutes after President Jonathan declared a State of Emergency in Borno State (and two other states), the Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state, Reverend Faye Pama Musa was killed by suspected Boko Haram members. This happened around 7.30pm this evening. Reverend Pama Musa, who was the head pastor of a pentecostal church in Maiduguri, was shot dead inside his GRA home by two gunmen who trailed him to his residence. The head quarters of Borno CAN have confirmed his killing.