11 parents of abducted girls die

The National Chairman, Chibok community, Pogu Bitrus, has said that four more parents of the abducted girls of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State have died thus raising the number to 11.

An online newspaper, The Cable quoted Bitrus as saying that seven of the parents of the girls abducted by members of the Boko Haram sect on April 14 from their hostel at Government Secondary School, Chibok, died of heart attack and frustration.

Bitrus was said to have made this disclosure on July 5, this year.

But speaking with the The Cable on Tuesday, Bitrus added that four more of the parents would not see their daughters again as they have lost their lives to the trauma visited on them by their children’s abduction.

“One father of two of the girls kidnapped just went into a kind of a coma and kept repeating the names of his daughters until life left him,”

We won’t concede any state to Boko Haram –DHQ

Security agencies in the country have vowed that they will not concede any state of the federation to the Boko Haram Islamic sect or any other terrorist organisation.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, made the pledge at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday. The occasion was organised by the National Information Centre, chaired by the Director General of the National Orientation Agency, Mr. Mike Omeri.

Olukolade said, “We are not conceding any part of this country to any terrorist group. The Nigerian security agencies are active and will reverse every form of insecurity wherever. It won’t be stampeded by what is found on the social media.

“The fact remains that we are not conceding any of the state to terrorists. We are committed to securing Nigeria as mandated by the constitution and no group will be allowed to raise any flag in any part of the country. If you see someone hiding a flag under his bed and you want me to confirm it here; that is not possible.”

He was responding to a question seeking confirmation on the reported hoisting of flags and mounting of roadblocks in some parts of Borno State.

Also speaking at the conference, Omeri warned parents not to allow their children to be used negatively by any group, alleging that some #BringBackOurGirls campaigners planned to use children to mark the 100 days of the abduction of over 200 girls from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, on April 14.

Omeri said, “Information available to us now is that some groups are now planning to mobilise children from across the country and within Abuja to commemorate 100 days of the abduction of Chibok girls.

“While it is the legitimate right of citizens to protest, especially in democracy that we practise, the President is committed to ensuring the right of every citizen; we wish to ask parents to be mindful of this development and not to allow their children to be used.”

“We want to state that all of us are standing with the parents of the Chibok girls. There is no need for us to create another round of catastrophe by leading our children where they ought not to be. This is holiday period and they should use it wisely.

“We have noted that a number of people have appeared in solidarity with the government and families of the Chibok girls. This is commendable and encouraging.

“Some people, however, are misdirecting the campaign by introducing issues that are inimical to the entire process. We wish that we will stay with the message; all of us must stay with the message and canvass for the release of these girls.”

On the alleged detention of former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, at the airport on her way to Britain, the Deputy Director of the Department of State Security, Mrs. Marylyn Ogar said the#BringBackOurGirls campaigner was seeking cheap popularity.

She said the DSS was only doing its work and had no intention whatsoever to detain the former minister.

She said, “The government has asked the SSS to be at the airport and I am wondering where Oby is right now. We don’t have any such person in our detention facilities. She is already on her way to the UK.

“Statutorily, the SSS clears all passengers that travel out and into this country. Until people stop aggregating to themselves unnecessary importance, we will continue to have serious security challenges. Security issues must not be trivialised for any reasons.”

Nigeria to benefit from N79 billion World Bank credit for agriculture, water

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on Friday approved a $495.3 million (about N79.3 billion) International Development Association, IDA credit.

The facility is to help improve farmers’ access to irrigation and drainage services, strengthen institutional arrangements for integrated water resources management, and improve delivery of agricultural services in selected, large-scale public schemes in the northern part of Nigeria.

Named the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria, TRIMING, the project would improve existing irrigation on 27,000 hectares, irrigate an additional 23,000 hectares, and benefit more than 140,000 farmers as well as mobilize the private sector investments.

The World Bank said the project marks a transformational effort to improve large-scale public irrigation for expanding food production and catalyzing economic growth in rural areas necessary to end poverty, boost prosperity, and enhance resilience of agriculture production systems in the country.

The Acting Vice President of the World Bank for the Africa Region, Jamal Saghir, who reviewed the importance of the project, said unlocking Africa’s development potential requires interventions in key sectors, such as energy and water.

He said by taking a comprehensive approach, the TRIMING project would increase farm productivity, build climate resilience, reduce flooding risks and improve the lives and well-being of millions of Nigerian citizens in Africa’s largest economy.

Agriculture, he said, is a key sector of the Nigerian economy, accounting for 22 per cent of gross domestic product, GDP in 2012.

Nigeria’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda, ATA, he said, is a major initiative to drive rural income growth, accelerate achievement of food and nutritional security, and generate employment.The World Bank’s portfolio of projects in the agricultural sector, including on agriculture research, extension and technology dissemination, as well as market access and value addition, was fully geared towards supporting the implementation of the ATA.

Reaching the ATA’s goals, Mr. Saghir said out, requires pursuing an ambitious policy and institutional reform agenda, while transforming public irrigation would play an important role for securing sustainable growth of food production.

“Given Nigeria’s determination to diversify and integrate its national economy to benefit all Nigerians, this project will help to advance this ambition in three vital ways,” the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, said.

The Director listed the ways to include restoring agricultural productivity, creating job opportunities for a large number of unskilled young people, and creating conditions for growth and peace in northern Nigeria.

The project, she pointed out, would help to set-up Water User Associations, WUAs and engage local communities in setting, collecting, and allocating water user fees.

The project would also help support the design of a comprehensive reform package for water resources management and irrigation in Nigeria.

“The project’s innovative approach seeks to improve sustainability by promoting autonomy at scheme level and empowering Water Users Associations, WUAs, organization,” said World Bank Task Team Leader for the TRIMING project, David Casanova.

He said the World Bank is looking forward to effective implementation of the project by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.

The project is scheduled to become effective on October 1, 2014.

Tears as escaped Chibok girls, parents meet Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday met with parents of the girls abducted from the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, on April 14 by Boko Haram insurgents.

Journalists were barred from   the meeting which took place inside the Banquet Room of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, exactly 99 days after the girls were forcibly taken away from their school hostel at night .

The Presidency had in a statement last week promised that the meeting would be “open to the Nigerian and international media for coverage.”

But our correspondent gathered from a source at the meeting that some of the 51 girls, who escaped from their captors wept as they narrated their ordeal     to   Jonathan.

He said that the girls appealed to the President to expedite action and ensure that their colleagues who are still in captivity are rescued on time.

The source added, “The girls narrated how they jumped out of moving vehicles on the night of their abduction.

“They said they ran into the bush without any knowledge of where they were and where they were heading for.

“The girls said they trekked cautiously inside the thick bush up until daybreak before they saw some Fulani men who offered to assist them because they were still in their school uniforms.

“They said they were moved on motorcycles by the Fulani men who assisted them.”

Our source added that four   other girls also told the President that they escaped   when they went to fetch water from a stream.

According to him, the girls who said they were five as of the time of their escape, regretted that they could not locate   one of them who fled in another direction.He said, “They told the President that they managed to escape when they went to fetch water from a stream.

“They said they were being guided by two men, that at a point, five of them managed to escape. Four of them went in the same direction while one went in another direction. They do not know the whereabouts of the fifth girl who went in another direction.”

He added that   many   at the meeting, especially women, shed tears when the girls started pleading with the President to do everything within his powers to ensure that their colleagues were rescued.

The meeting was also attended   by the President of the Senate, David Mark ; Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima; his Bauchi State counterpart, Isa Yuguda; some members of the Federal Executive Council,     security chiefs,   the principal of   the GSS,     opinion and community leaders from Chibok.

The 51 escaped girls, their parents and others were conveyed to and fro the venue of the meeting in four red luxury buses belonging to the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company Limited amid tight security provided by a combined team of men of the Department of State Service and policemen.

The security operatives shielded them from journalists before and after the meeting that lasted about three hours.

The venue wore a sombre look with the escaped girls who looked traumatised being the cynosure of all eyes.

The meeting started with the arrival of Jonathan, who was joined   by   Mark, Shettima,   Yuguda,   some FEC members and the security chiefs .

Immediately the meeting commenced at about 11:20am, journalists were asked to leave the venue.

The doors of the Baquet Room were only re-opened to journalists shortly after the President had made his closing remarks. Photojournalists were however able to capture him in a group photograph with the escaped girls.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, told State House correspondents after the meeting that his boss   had the opportunity to listen first-hand to the various categories of persons.

Abati described the meeting as   a good development because Jonathan had always been looking forward to such an opportunity, having met with other stakeholders on the matter before.

Abati said, “Statements were made by all the representatives. They spoke their minds and conveyed their feelings to the President.

“The girls who escaped also gave an account of what they went through. Mr. President reassured them of the Federal Government’s determination and his own personal determination to ensure that the girls that are still in captivity are brought out alive.

“That is the main objective of the government. Mr. President also used the opportunity to reassure the parents and the girls   that everything will be done to make things easier for them, especially those who have escaped and the ones that will also be rescued. He promised them that their education will not in anyway suffer and he is convinced that evil will never prevail over good.

“Mr. President further assured them that after the battle has been won and the girls are brought back home, he, together with the parents and the (Borno) state government will focus on development, on building Chibok, on building all that the terrorists had destroyed and on ensuring that every child, either in Chibok or in any other part of the country, has his/her dream realised.

“At the end of the meeting, the parents were happy. Everybody was in high spirits.”

He added that Jonathan told the gathering that   efforts were being made to place the escaped girls in other schools.

On media reports that most of the real parents of the abducted girls were not part of the meeting, Abati said the parents who attended made it clear that they were representatives of other parents.

He said over 200 people from Chibok attended the meeting.

“The girls spoke in great details about their experiences and their observations. It was an open and frank session in which everybody expressed their minds,” he concluded.

Abati later issued a statement in which he said that Jonathan’s desire was   to visit Chibok after the abducted girls might have been rescued.

According to Abati, the President believes that it is only then that the parents of the   girls could receive him with smiling faces rather than with tears.

He said that the President told the gathering that his heart was constantly with the parents, despite the fact that he had not visited their town.

The statement read in part, “Our duty now is to take all relevant steps to recover our girls alive and our primary interest is getting them out as safely as possible. I will not want to say much, but we are doing everything humanly possible to get the girls out.

“This is not the time for talking much. This is the time for action. We will get to the time that we will tell stories. We will get to the time that we will celebrate and I assure you that, by God’s grace, that time will come soon.

“Anyone who gives you the impression that we are aloof and that we are not doing what we are supposed to do to get the girls out is not being truthful.

“Our commitment is not just to get the girls out, it is also to rout Boko Haram completely from Nigeria. But we are very, very mindful of the safety of the girls. We want to return them all alive to their parents. If they are killed in any rescue effort, then we have achieved nothing.”

The President was quoted as saying that the National Emergency Management Agency and federal medical agencies would intensify their efforts to provide the people of Chibok and their neighbours with additional relief aid and assistance.

He also assured them that Chibok and other communities in the three North-East states most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency would be the first beneficiaries of the Victims’ Support Fund, a   Presidential Initiative for the North-East.

The VSF and the Safe Schools Initiative are some of the developmental programmes which the Federal Government put in place   to address the damage, losses, setbacks, economic and social dislocations occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency.

Abati also quoted the Borno State governor as calling for more sobriety, reflection and unity of purpose in the fight against terrorism in the country.

He pledged that his state would give Jonathan the fullest possible support in his efforts to address the problems caused by terrorism and the Boko Haram insurgency.

Registration And Deportation Of Citizens ban by FG from any part of the Country.

The Federal Government on Monday warned security agencies and other groups against registering or deporting Nigerians from wherever they live in the country. The administration gave the warning after the meeting of the Security Council at the Presidential Villa. President Goodluck 

Jonathan chaired the meeting, which was attended by service chiefs, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, and the Director General of the State Security Service, Ita Ekpeyong. A group, the Goodluck Jonathan, had last week asked non-Northerners residing in that part of the country to relocate to their respective states within the next two weeks. The group said in a statement signed by its national president, Aliyu Usman, and Secretary, Alfred Solomon, after a visit to the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sunusi II, that the decision was informed by the need to accommodate northerners who would return home as a result of the unwarranted attacks against them in other parts of the country. Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Director-General of the State Security Service, SSS, Ita Ekpeyong, said the Council’s resolution was to guard against Nigerians discriminating against other Nigerians, which could be worse than the current Boko Haram scourge. He explained that if it was allowed to go on, it could lead to the disintegration of the country. Mr. Ekpenyong stated that to underscore the seriousness of the issue, the Council warned that any member of the security agencies found involved in registering or deporting any Nigerian would be strictly penalised. He said the directive to the security agencies was in line with the ongoing fight against Boko Haram. “The fight against Boko Haram, the efforts made by government to rescue the Chibok girls and the issue of deportation, registration of Nigerians in states of the federation, we regard this as even more potent than Boko Haram,” Mr. Ekpenyong stated. “Council discussed in detail the issue of registration of Nigerians in any part of the country, being subjected to registration, being subjected to deportation, being taken away from one part of the country to the other. Council discussed the reaction by some groups in Kano State and other parts of the country. “Council observe that this threat was more potent than Boko Haram and could disintegrate the country. And we take this very seriously, for people to deport people, for people to ‎take people from one place to the other, for registration of indigenes no matter where they are. No matter where they are they are free to settle anywhere they like. Council resolved that the issue of registration of Nigerians anywhere in the country and deportation should stop forthwith.” The SSS boss said as a way of re-emphasising the importance attached to the matter, Mr. Jonathan asked him and Mr. Abubakar to address the press, and insisted that registration of Nigerians must be stopped. He continued, “Security operatives ‎should not be involved in anybody trying to register people and anybody trying to deport people. Security operatives must henceforth not be involved. Any policeman or SSS found to be involved in it will be severely dealt with. “Also Youth groups trying to foment trouble because of this issue are hereby warned to desist from it because government is taking serious notice of it. Government is doing everything possible to stem this from getting out of control. As a matter of fact to show the urgency, the Council of State meeting will be held anytime next week to discuss these issues. Mr. Ekpenyong likened the fight against terrorism in the country to a football match, where only goals are recognized and not the attempted goals. He restated that government was aware of where the girls were being kept, but that it was being cautious in other to avoid human casualties. “We kept saying that the fight against Boko Haram is like the footballer. You know when the Germans played Argentina, it was only that one goal they scored that everyone is remembering, the other goals that were stopped nobody will remember,” Mr. Ekpenyong said. “There are several things government is doing, there are several attacks government has stopped but nobody will remember those ones because we don’t tell you but several things are going on. “The issue of Chibok girls, government is making efforts. We know where they are, but we don’t want to endanger their lives. That is the truth. We want to take it ‎gradually and release them at the appropriate time. We know where they are you can go to bed with that.”

PDP vows to defeat APC in Sokoto

Sokoto, June 29, 2014 ( NAN). The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in Sokoto State said on Sunday that it would wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress ( APC) in the state in 2015.The newly-elected Chairman of the party, Ibrahim Milgoma, told newsmen in Sokoto: "The party is intact and united. There will be no retreat or surrender until we take over the government in 2015."He promised that the party would make the desired changes in the lives of the people of state if voted into power in 2015.According to him, the leadership of the party in the state will ensure that the choice of candidates for the various elections is respected.Milgoma said that PDP was blessed with members who were experienced enough in electioneering campaigns."This experience will come to bear during the upcoming elections and the party will emerge victorious at all levels." 

Keshi quits after World Cup exit

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has stepped down from his position after the Super Eagles' exit from the World Cup in Brazil.

France scored twice in the last 11 minutes in Brasilia on Monday to reach the quarter-finals at their expense.

The 52-year-old was appointed Nigeria boss in 2011 and helped them become African champions two years later.

Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo also retired from international football following their exit.

Fenerbahce's Yobo, 33, scored a late own goal after Paul Pogba's header had broken Nigerian resistance.

Keshi offered his resignation after last year's Africa Cup Of Nations triumph, citing a lack of support and respect, although he was persuaded to stay by Nigeria's sport minister.

A group stage win against Bosnia-Hercegovina helped Nigeria reach the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time since 1998, despite the players being involved in a row over bonuses.

Arisekola Alao’s death: 7days declares for mourning.

THE Oyo State Government has declared seven days of mourning following the death of Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola-Alao in the UK on Wednesday. Dr Festus Adedayo, the Senior Special Adviser on Media to Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, made the disclosure late night on Wednesday in Ibadan. He said “the Oyo State Government has declared seven days mourning for the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola-Alao. “The state government has also declared Friday, June 20, 2014 a public holiday, as mark of respect for the spirit of the departed soul.’’ The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Ajimobi had earlier on Wednesday visited the Ibadan home of the deceased. Meanwhile, the state government had sent a special delegation comprising the Speaker of the  State House of Assembly, Alhaj Monsurat Sunmonu, the Secretary to the State Government, Olalekan Alli and two other members of the Executive to London. The delegation was to accompany the remains of Arisekola-Alao to Nigeria.

Boko Haram terror tops ECOWAS meeting agenda

Abuja - The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) confirmed Ghana will later this week host the 72nd ordinary session of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.

The two-day event will start on Thursday, the regional body confirmed from Abuja.

"The meeting will among others consider and endorse the Report of the Ministers in charge of security and integration as well as the Memorandum on the ECOWAS Declaration on the Events in Northern Nigeria in the wake of repeated Boko Haram terrorist attacks that have claimed hundreds of lives and kidnappings, including more than 200 school girls," read an ECOWAS statement.

It added that other items on the agenda of this Council's first session to be held in Accra since Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama assumed the chairmanship of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government last March, also include swearing in of new Commissioners and Financial Controller who assumed duties in February and the presentation
and consideration of the 2014 Interim Report of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Kadré Desire Ouédraogo.

The statement said the council would also endorse Report of the Meeting of Ministers in charge of the ECOWAS Community Development Programme (CDP); consider the Report on Institutional Reforms, Financial Controller's 2013 Final Report; Status of Tasks Assigned by the 71st
Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers, and the Draft Agenda of the 45th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government.

The Council of Ministers meets at least twice a year in ordinary session and makes recommendations to the Authority on Community development as well as coordination and harmonization of economic integration policies. 

I Don't Mind Being Shot, I Will Lead The Protest To Chibok- Patience Jonathan

Oh dear, she actually said that! Words are easier said Than done sha.. First Lady Patience Jonathan has said she's ready to lead a protest to Chibok, Borno state if the kidnapped girls are not released soon, and doesn't mind being shot if that's what it will take to release the girls #yimu#. I personally think this is part of the campaign strategy for her husband's 2015 Election! Mama peace made this statement during a meeting with wives of government functionaries, female Senators and Commissioners. 
"I do not mind being shot as long as they return our girls to us safely, we are tired of the kidnapping," she said. 


According to her, First Ladies of other countries such as Cameroon, Chad, Niger and others have  being calling to ask her questions and offer assistance on the matter. 
"They intimate me of their readiness to help. They also asked me questions that I could not answer ‎and as women we are the last hope of this nation. We cannot fail our fellow women and the nation. If need be, we will call on the northern elders to help us so that our children and husbands will not die," Dame Jonathan said.‎‎ 

She said a committee would be set up at a stakeholders meeting involving wives of all the relevant bodies tomorrow May 4th. She warned that failure of any relevant agency to honour their invitation to the meeting would force her and others to make the Chibok protest a reality. 
"I cannot perpetuate hearsay and rumor; I must have facts to tell the international community. We will set up a committee to seek the truth as women. If any of those we call refuse to come, we will take the protest to Chibok" she said

US offers to help Nigeria in hunt for abducted girls

Washington - The United States said on Thursday it had offered Nigeria help in its search for around 200 girls abducted by militants.

"We have been engaged with the Nigerian government in discussions on what we might do to help support their efforts to find and free these young women," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told a daily briefing. "We will continue to have those discussions and help in any way we can."

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen on April 14 stormed an all-girls secondary school in the village of Chibok, in Borno state, packing the teenagers onto trucks and disappearing into a remote area along the border with Cameroon.

Harf did not elaborate on the kind of assistance Washington is offering, but said: "We know Boko Haram is active in the area and we have worked very closely with the Nigerian government to build their capacity to fight this threat."

In fiscal year 2012, the United States provided over $20 million in security assistance to Nigeria, part of that to build the military, boost its capacity to investigate terrorist attacks and enhance the government's forensic capabilities, she said.

Nigerian Government Orders Closure Of All Public Schools, Offices In Abuja For World Economic Forum

A statement by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, stated that the directive is to ensure free flow of traffic in the city centre.

The Federal Government has ordered the closure of all government offices and schools in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, during the period of the World Economic Forum, WEF.

The WEF on Africa is scheduled to hold from May 7 to 9.

A statement by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, stated that the directive is to ensure free flow of traffic in the city centre.

“This is to inform the general public that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck  Jonathan, GCFR, has approved, as part of arrangements for the successful hosting of the World Economic Forum Africa, that all Government Offices and Schools in the Federal Capital Territory, expect those on essential services, are to be closed from Wednesday, 7th to Friday, 9th May, 2014.  Private Organisations with large number of staff may also wish to close down.”

Observers, however, believe the closure is due to the security concerns in the Nigerian capital following two bomb explosions in three weeks, killing scores of people.

Explosion on edge of Nigerian capital kills at least 15

People who were injured during an explosion are seen on stretchers at Asokoro General Hospital in Abuja May 1, 2014. The suspected bomb exploded in the suburb of Nyanya, on the outskirts of Nigeria's capital Abuja on Thursday, killing at least nine people, a week before the city was to host a summit of leaders and business executives focused on Africa's growth prospects.

A suspected car bomb exploded on the outskirts of Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Thursday, killing at least 15 people a week before the city was to host a conference of leaders and business executives focused on Africa’s growth prospects.

The explosion hit the suburb of Nyanya, close to the site of a morning rush hour bomb attack at a bus station last month that killed at least 75 people. The April 14 attack was claimed by the radical Islamist movement Boko Haram which is waging an insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan’s government.

Flames lit up the area around the blast, which was strewn with drying blood and contorted bodies, and sirens wailed.

“There was a loud blast then a ball of fire,” witness  told opinionvoices by telephone from Nyanya. “There were many dead bodies and ambulances were rushing there.” Kayode Adeyemi said he counted at least 15 bodies at the scene of the blast, which shook the ground next to him.

“It exploded just as commuters were waiting to board buses,” he said. “I was about 100 metres away.” National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Manzo Ezekiel said at least 9 dead and 11 critically wounded were taken to hospital. Other wounded victims were being treated at the site.

A Reuters photographer in a nearby hospital saw 11 charred bodies that medical staff said had been brought there from the place of the blast.

Another witness to Thursday’s blast, Joe Udofia, said there was a “deafening explosion, then the area near Nyanya bridge was on fire. There were many people in the vicinity.” There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Boko Haram, which is seeking to carve out an Islamist enclave in Africa’s No. 1 oil producer, had threatened further attacks after the April 14 bombing.

The latest attack is an embarrassment for Jonathan’s government, which had announced a massive security operation to protect the World Economic Forum on Africa scheduled for May 7-9 in Abuja. The forum, a regional replica of the Davos, Switzerland event, brings together international leaders, policy makers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists. 

Nigeria’s government had announced that 6,000 soldiers and police would be deployed to protect next week’s summit which is due to be attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, African leaders and a host of other international personalities.

The government and the military have been under intense pressure to step up security in the country following the April 14 attack and the mass abduction by suspected Boko Haram militants the same day of more than 200 teenage schoolgirls from a northeastern school. Some of the girls escaped but most are still missing.

This abduction has shocked Nigeria, triggering protests in Abuja and exposing the security forces’ inability to contain a ruthless anti-government insurgency whose targets also include Christian churches and civilians of all races and creeds.

The West African oil producer, which recently replaced South Africa as the continent’s biggest economy through a rebasing of its GDP, faces an election 10 months away which many fear will exacerbate existing political, ethnic and religious tensions.