Northern Governors Urge FG To Restore Civil Authority In North East

Northern Governors in Nigeria have commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the military for the effort they have put in bringing the Boko Haram insurgency in the north east to an end.

At the meeting of the Northern State Governors Forum in Kaduna on Friday, the governors, while expressing satisfaction with the ongoing war against the terrorists, appealed to President Buhari to restore civil authority to the affected areas in order to ensure the safe return of Internally Distanced Persons to their communities.

They expressed concern over the frequent clashes between farmers and herdsmen in North West and North Central states that have left several people dead and properties worth millions of naira destroyed.

Chairman of the forum and Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, who briefed reporters at the commencement of the meeting, stressed the need for an effective collaboration with security agencies in order to address the situation and other security challenges confronting the region over the years.

He also appealed to members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria also known as Shiites to appear before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry investigating the December 12, 2015 violent clash between them and soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna state.

According to him, by appearing before the commission, the Shiites will have the opportunity of stating their side of what happened during the incident.

The governors commended the Federal Government for its intervention in the Agatu crisis in Benue State by deploying security forces to the affected areas.

During the meeting, the governors will also discuss the Boko Haram insurgency in the north east, the socio- economic challenges confronting the region and how they can addressed them.

In attendance at the meeting were governors of Kaduna, Borno, Zamfara, Kwara, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Adamawa among others.

VIDEO: Eben – Victory (Official Video)

Nigerian artiste, Eben has released the visuals for his smash hit single “Victory”. The amazing video includes cameo appearances from top Loveworld Music Artistes like Kelly Lyon, Joe Praise and other friends of his. You can watch the video below.

Kenya flooding: At least seven dead in building collapse

Residents said that the building shook violently in the rain before collapsing (Image Source: AP)

Rescuers in the Kenyan capital Nairobi are searching for people feared trapped after the collapse of a residential building in heavy rain.

A crowd gathered at the Huruma residential estate as rescuers dug for survivors. At least seven people are known to have died.

The Red Cross criticised "chaotic scenes" as rescuers arrived. It is unclear how many people are trapped.

Police chief Japheth Komme said that at least 121 people had been rescued.

There are conflicting reports as to whether the building had six or seven storeys.

The rainfall in addition has caused landslides, washed away houses and flooded roads.

Police said 14 people died in the Nairobi rains, including those in the collapse. Another four died when a wall toppled over.

Kenya's KTN network said on Saturday morning that a nearby building was being evacuated in case it too collapsed. Across the city, more than 1,000 homes were affected by the flooding, Kenya's Red Cross said.

Steven Oundo, the chair of Kenya's National Construction Authority, told KTN there would be an investigation into whether the building had a certificate allowing people to live inside.

"The building went down during the heavy rains, but we still want to establish if all the procedures were followed when it was constructed," Nairobi's deputy governor Jonathan Mueke told reporters at the scene.

The Huruma neighbourhood is a poor district on the outskirts of Nairobi made up of narrow streets, meaning firefighters struggled to get to the scene and were delayed by large crowds.

After some time, the army took charge of the rescue with the help of the Kenyan Red Cross.

"We can still hear voices of people who are still inside," Red Cross spokesman Venant Ndigila said.

Rescuers searched for survivors overnight on Friday (Image Source: AP)

Residents said that the building shook violently in the rain before collapsing.

Poor building standards are a fact of life in Kenya, correspondents say. A survey carried out last year found that more than half the buildings in the capital were unfit for habitation.

The high demand for housing in Nairobi has led to some property developers bypassing building regulations to reduce costs and increase profits.

There has however been some good news for the rescuers who extracted a number of children from the wreckage throughout Friday.

President Uhuru Kenyatta last year ordered an audit of all the buildings in the country after a spate of collapses.

Meanwhile two boys are missing in another part of the flood-hit country after going herding, according to the Red Cross.

Villarreal 1-0 Liverpool Match Highlights

After producing a magical night at Anfield Liverpool took on Villarreal in the 2016 Europa League semifinal first leg at El Madrigal and it turned out to be a snooze fest as both teams pretty much cancel each other out for best part of first hour. Villarreal had more possession and had couple of half chances. The game kept similar pattern in second half as both teams looked to be happy with a 0-0 draw but a late goal in injury time by Adrian Lopez ended what could have been a good result for Liverpool.

Watch highlights below

Jurgen Klopp side kept Villarreal in check for most part of the game in the first leg of Europa League semifinal this Thursday night, 28th April. Both teams set themselves up for counter attacking football which resulted in a boring 0-0 first half. 

However a late injury time goal by Adrian Lopez made it 1-0 for home side with pretty much the final move of the game.

Anti Religious Freedom Law: Nigerian Pastor threatens to Announce Burial Date for the Kaduna State Governor

The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai is already becoming known for always being entangled in series of unneccesary controversial actions. The governor has sent a bill titled ‘A bill for a law to substitute the Kaduna state religious preaching law, 1984′ to the state House of Assembly to regulate religious preaching across the state. This bill has been seen in many quarters as anti-religious freedom. In response to the bill, the Senior Pastor of Omega Fire Ministry, Apostle Johnson Suleman criticized the bill and in response to the Apostle, Gov. El-Rufai, demanded that Prophet Suleiman should tell him the exact date of his death, bearing in mind that death is irrevocable. In his words 

“If that apostle is truly an apostle, he should mention the day I will die. There is nothing in that law that prevents or infringes the practice of religion. It seeks to ensure that those that preach religion are qualified, trained and certified by their peers to do it,” El-Rufai had said.

In a fiery response to the governor’s demands, Prophet Suleiman, in his latest message, said: 

“Pray for the plan of the enemies, those in authority, to turn Nigeria to a country of one religion; it will not work. I said something sometime back about one governor that is trying to Islamise Kaduna, he said he want to put a bill to try and control preaching and the reason he wants to do that is because of the Islamic uprising i.e. the issues of insurgency in the Islamic world…. I do not fight with the government of the Kaduna state, it’s too small to fight with me… If you want to correct your people, correct your people; we don’t have problem with Christians and if you want to balance your people, balance your people; we don’t have problem with Christians and the man said I should give him the day of his death."

“You are dead already, ask for the day of your burial. I don’t give date for death but I can give date for burial.” Apostle Suleiman, warned El-Rufai not to pass the ‘license for preaching in Kaduna State’ into law or he would die.

Watch The Video below

Saraki Asks Tribunal Chairman To Disqualify Self From His Trial

Nigeria’s Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Wednesday told the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Mr Danladi Umar, that he lacked moral justification to preside over his trial on an allegation of false declaration of asset.

He requested that he should disqualify himself from his trial.

The counsel to the Senate President, Mr Raphael Oluyede, during the hearing insisted that Mr Danladi was still under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the same agency that allegedly filed the criminal charges against him

He alleged that it was obvious that the said investigation was used as a bait by the EFCC to get Mr Danladi to do its bidding.

He, therefore, asked the chairman to excuse himself from the case, in the interest of justice and fair hearing.

In a motion argued by Mr Oluyede, the Senate President claimed that since the EFCC was largely responsible for the trial and also responsible for investigation of the 10 million Naira bribery allegations against the chairman, there was no way the chairman would be objective and impartial in the prosecution.

“Since the sword of Damascus is dangling in the direction of the chairman of the Tribunal, he may be tempted to dance to the tune of the anti-graft agency,” he told the Tribunal.

Matters Of Sentiment

Dr Saraki’s counsel further insisted that available facts had proved that the EFCC had a case against the Chairman of the Tribunal, as buttressed in its letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on March 5, 2015 and also on April 20, 2016.

He added that even though it had stated that it had cleared the Chairman of the Tribunal, in the same vain, it made mention of the fact that the Chairman did met with an accused person in his office and that he also demanded 10 million Naira bribe from the said accused person.

He, therefore, asked the Chairman of the Tribunal to withdraw honourably from further participating in the Senate President’s trial in the interest of justice.

Objecting the motion, the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, asked the Tribunal to dismiss the motion, claiming it lacked merit.

He accused the Senate President of harassment, citing a bill before the Senate attempting to amend the Act that established the CCT and the Code of Conduct Bureau.

“The bill before the Senate is designed to whittle down the powers of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, as a result of the Senate President’s trial,” he stated.

Mr Jacobs also describe the issues raised in the motion as matters of sentiment which had no place in law.

He also accused the Senate President and his team of predicating the motion on the wrong assumption that the EFCC was the one trying the Senate President when it was the Federal Government to this end he asked that the motion be discountenanced.

After listening to both parties, the Chairman of the Tribunal, Mr Danladi Umar, said he would adjourn to April 28 for ruling on the application and then continuation of the cross examination.

He also hinted the Tribunal that discussions were ongoing with major television stations such as Channels AIT and NTA to carry the proceedings live to show that the Tribunal had nothing to hide.

While the counsel to the EFCC told reporters that the application was frivolous and a waste of the time of the Tribunal, the counsel to the Senate President described the statement by the Chairman of the Tribunal as ‘corroborating his client’s stance that he was bias’.

Manchester City 0-0 Real Madrid Match Video Highlights

Real Madrid took on Manchester City in the first leg of their 2016 Champions League semifinal at Etihad Stadium this Tuesday night and it turned out to be a very tight and competitive game between the two sides. Madrid lost Ronaldo before the kickoff as he failed to pass fitness test and Man City dominated the game without really troubling Keylor Navas. The game was 0-0 at the break and both sides looked happy even if the score stays the same and thats how the game ended with a 0-0 draw and both teams have all to do in return leg in a weeks time.

Advertise with us

Watch the video highlights below

Ronaldo less Real Madrid looked nervous in the opening exchanges but they kept City’s front trio pretty much in check and never gave them any clear opportunity at goal. Sergio Ramos and Pepe both used their physical presence and frustrated Man City with some hard tackles throughout the first half.

Gareth Bale looked like the only threat Real madrid posed for best part of first hour while Benzema and Lucas Vazquez struggled to impose themselves on the game.

The best chance of the game fell to Pepe who was in acres of space inside the box when a ball fell for him nicely and his left footed strike was straight at City’s goalkeeper Joe Hart who made himself big to keep the game at 0-0.

Advertise with us

DROP YOUR COMMENTS BELOW

CONNECT WITH US:

Don't Forget to 

Like us:

www.facebook.com/dblissmedia

Follow us: 

www.twitter.com/dblissmedia

Subscribe to us:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/dblissmedia

Jamie Grace Covers Lecrae; Admits She Raps on Next Album

Jamie Grace took to Facebook live to chat with her fans and perform some acoustic tacks for her fans. Throughout the session she sang, rapped, and even put out an on the spot rendition of “Nuthin” by Lecrae. 

Grace, who’s voice was a little off due to her being sick, still managed to put a soulful and unique twist on the track. She did a great job of switching between rapping, singing, and playing the guitar. 

After Rapzilla commented on the video saying “Not bad,” she revealed a hint of her next record. “Little known fact, I am rapping on my next record,” said Grace. 

She said it won’t be Lecrae style, but it’ll be “legit.” 

Check out the video below:

N. Korea puts mid-range missile on standby

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea is believed to have placed a new, powerful midrange missile on standby for an impending launch, a news report said Tuesday.

The reported launch plans came two days after North Korea said it successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in a continuation of its weapons tests amid ongoing South Korea-U.S. military drills. Seoul officials said they could not confirm whether Sunday's test-firing was a success.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified Seoul official as saying Tuesday that the country's military had unspecified evidence indicating North Korea would likely soon launch a midrange Musudan missile.

Seoul's Defense Ministry said it had no such intelligence. South Korean officials often refuse to discuss North Korea's weapons systems publicly because they involve confidential military intelligence.

Yonhap said the missile on standby is one of two Musudan missiles North Korea had earlier deployed in the northeast before it fired one earlier this month.

South Korean and U.S. officials said there was a North Korean missile launch on April 15, the birthday of the North's late founder, Kim Il Sung, but they have not officially confirmed it was a Musudan firing. U.S. officials said the earlier launch ended in failure.

A Musudan has a reach of 3,500 kilometers (2,180 miles), putting far-off U.S. military installments in Asia in range.

North Korea typically conducts more weapons tests when South Korean and U.S. troops conduct annual springtime drills that Pyongyang views as an invasion rehearsal. This year's drills end later this week.

Last week, South Korea's president said there were signs that North Korea was preparing for a fifth nuclear bomb test amid media reports of increased activity at the country's main nuclear test site. North Korea carried out a fourth nuclear test in January.

Analysts say a new atomic test could happen before North Korea holds a ruling Workers' Party congress in early May so that leader Kim Jong Un can burnish his image at home and further cement his grip on power.

Source: AP

V. Rose - I Love You So Much (ILYSM) ft. Trip Lee

V. Rose premieres a new single for her upcoming album, Young Dangerous Heart, "I Love You So Much (ILYSM)" featuring Reach Records rapper Trip Lee. 

"In my journey, so far I have faced heartbreak, tragedy, abandonment, fear and many more terrible things, but God has always been there for me and has never turned His love away," V. Rose said of the song. "That's why I love Him so much."

"Where I come from, people claim they would die for you when they love you like family, but the only one who has ever died for me is Jesus, and I have done nothing to deserve that kind of grace. Nonetheless, it is freely given every day. I love God so much and, most days, it can feel like me and Him against the world."

"Psalm 9:10, 'And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you."

Young Dangerous Heart, a 13-track LP, releases on InPop Records tomorrow and also features Derek Minor, FLAME and Angie Rose.

“The transition from the teenage years to being a young adult is such a vulnerable place,” said V. Rose, who recently guest starred on an episode of TLC's Jill & Jessa: Counting On.

“You can grow into being a strong, confident person or be insecure and confused, all depending on whether you play it safe and try to make people happy or whether you can listen and follow God’s voice in your heart. If you can do that, true joy is within reach.”

Listen Now 

Buy Young Dangerous Heart on iTunes.

Syria conflict: Obama rules out ground troops for Syria

Barack Obama said "applying international pressure" would help broker a transition

President Barack Obama has ruled out deploying US ground troops in Syria and says military efforts alone cannot solve the country's problems.

"It would be a mistake for the United States, or Great Britain... to send in ground troops and overthrow the [Bashar al-] Assad regime," he told the BBC.

He also said he did not think so-called Islamic State would be defeated in his last nine months of office.

But he said: "We can slowly shrink the environment in which they operate."

Mr Obama, who has been on a three-day visit to the UK, also warned that Britain could take up to 10 years to negotiate trade deals with the US if it votes to leave the EU in a June referendum.

The US president later arrived in Hannover, Germany, where he hopes to boost support for the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal.

Later, he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are due to open the Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial technology trade fair.

No military solution

Mr Obama told the BBC that Syria was a "heart-breaking situation of enormous complexity".

"I don't think there are any simple solutions," he said.

"In order for us to solve the long-term problems in Syria, a military solution alone - and certainly us deploying ground troops - is not going to bring that about."

Mr Obama says military strikes will continue to degrade the IS group, but such actions alone cannot solve Syria's long-term problems

Mr Obama said the US-led coalition would continue "to strike ISIL (Islamic State) targets in places like Raqqa, and to try to isolate those portions of the country, and lock down those portions of the country that are sending foreign fighters into Europe".

But he said the international community would have to continue to apply pressure to all parties, including Russia, Iran and moderate opposition groups "to sit down at the table and try to broker a transition".

But he added: "That's difficult."

Mr Obama criticised those countries whose parliaments had not approved actions in Syria but still "want the United States to do something about it".

"You can't have it both ways," he said.

Mr Obama said Syria was one of many issues that are "transnational in nature... and require a transnational response".

He said: "It would be, I think, tempting, for a lot of people, to believe that we can pull up the drawbridge and that we can carve a moat around ourselves and not have to deal with problems around the world."

But without co-operation and alliances "we are far weaker and we won't solve these problems", he said.

On so-called Islamic State he said: "Prosecuting the campaign is critical, and although I don't anticipate that in the next nine months it will be finished, because, unfortunately, even a small pocket of extremists, if they're prepared to die themselves, can still wreak havoc on many of our cities.

"But I do think that we can slowly shrink the environment in which they operate and take on strongholds like Mosul and Raqqa that are the beating heart of their movement."

At least 250,000 people have died in five years of conflict in Syria and millions have fled the fighting.

Mr Obama and the UN fear a fragile truce between the government forces and non-jihadist rebels, in place since February, is in danger of collapse amid renewed clashes.

Current talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and opposition delegations will continue into next week, but there have been bitter exchanges.

The Syrian opposition delegation, known as the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), and rebel forces inside Syria have accused the government of repeatedly violating the terms of the truce brokered by the US and Russia.

The HNC said the Syrian government was "not a serious partner" while the government hit back by accusing the HNC of "sulking".

Any peace process would require a transitional government, but the role of Mr Assad is a key sticking point.

CHINA IS BUILDING FLOATING NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS

With 70 percent of our global real estate consisting of oceans and other bodies of water, one country with plenty of experience dealing with overcrowding is taking to the seas to build new power plants. According to new reports, China is working on floating nuclear power plants that will power its manmade chain of islands. China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation has been tasked with building a fleet of these structures in order to power the various radar systems, lighthouses, airfields, and other structures that currently reside upon the new islands in the South China Sea. And predictably, it’s no small undertaking.

#China plans to build 20 floating #nuclear power stations to boost maritime construction https://t.co/htQilcXeJV pic.twitter.com/YZ7fO5oX5g

— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) April 21, 2016

Liu Zhengguo, an executive at the Corporation, has been quoted as saying that “demand is pretty strong” for the nuclear stations, and Chinese media reported that the government has plans to build up to 20 of these mobile plants. While the concept of floating nuclear power stations isn’t particularly new (Russia recently began building them for use in the Arctic), China’s move marks the latest in its ambitious five-year plan. As the New York Times reports, the nation currently boasts building more nuclear power stations than any other country.

“Nuclear reactors afloat would give the Chinese military sustainable energy sources to conduct their full panoply of operations, from air early warning and defenses and offensive fire control systems to anti-submarine operations and more,” Patrick Cronin, senior director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, told the Chicago Tribune. And more concerning, perhaps, are the potential safety risks associated with such a large undertaking. “China has already done enough damage to the maritime environment by hastily building artificial islands and destroying irreplaceable coral reefs,” Cronin continued. “We do not need a nuclear accident in these importing fishing grounds and sea lanes.”

Olympic torch fires up own Twitter account

What’s this? A torch with a Twitter account? Well, at least we can expect some illuminating musings, or possibly a few hot pics. Corny jokes aside, we learned on Thursday that a torch – the Olympic torch, no less – has indeed opened its own Twitter account, a first for this particular burning flame.

The verified account, which is going with the sensible username @OlympicFlame, is sending out messages from the traditional relay run, which is set to finish at the Olympic stadium in Rio, Brazil when the sporting extravaganza begins on August 5.

The 106-day relay is set to involve 12,000 torch bearers running nearly 12,500 miles (20,000 km) through more than 300 Brazilian cities, as well as across parts of Greece.

The ceremonial lighting of the torch took place at the ruins of ancient Olympia in Greece on Thursday. Debut tweet? “After spending years in the darkness I can’t wait to see the light of day again. Almost time to return.”

The special torch has only attracted 5,000 followers so far, but we’re pretty sure the account will spark into life over the coming weeks as more people get to hear about it. Followers can expect plenty of “flame facts” along the way, as well as lots of selfies and pictures of crowds welcoming the torch to their cities.

The first of the torch bearers was Greek gymnast Eleftherios Petrounias, who introduced himself in a short video tweeted by the flame.

A personal message from the first torchbearer @Petrounias_E. #OlympicFlame pic.twitter.com/NJZa9UhNpw

— Olympic Flame (@OlympicFlame) April 21, 2016

The Olympic torch relay was started 80 years ago for the Berlin Games, and is based on a ceremony in Ancient Olympia where contests took place for more than 1,000 years.

Most torch bearers will run for about 200 meters with the flame. After six days in Greece, it’ll be flown to Brazil on May 3.

Besides Twitter, Olympic flame fans can also follow the torch’s journey on Vine and Periscope – so long as it doesn’t melt its smartphone when posting messages along the way, that is.

The man who leads with no limbs

‘I have no arms and legs that weigh me down,' 

How a man born without arms or legs learned to swim, surf, skydive – and speak in front of thousands

The man standing before the stadium-sized crowd held the attention of thousands, in part because of humorous, yet moving, speech about the power of hope. But also because he was standing there at all.

Nick Vujicic, the 32-year-old president of motivational speech marketer Attitude is Altitude, was born without arms or legs. Though he struggles with some practicalities of everyday living (brushing teeth, for example), he has become an in-demand inspirational speaker.

There is no medical explanation for Vujicic’s physical disability, an extremely rare congenital disorder known as tetra-amelia syndrome. He has a small foot on his left hip which helps him balance. He can type, pick things up between his toes and even kick a ball. The self-confessed adrenalin junkie regularly swims and has gone skydiving.

Confidence didn’t come naturally to Vujicic. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, he struggled with depression and was bullied at school. When he was just 10 years old, he attempted suicide. Over time, Vujicic worked on adopting a positive attitude, and, at 17, an encounter with his high school janitor inspired him to go into public speaking. The charismatic Australian now travels the world addressing huge crowds, including business groups and school children. He has visited more than 50 countries and given thousands of talks. 

The author of memoir Love Without Limits now lives in California with his wife, Kanae, and their 2-year-old son. Vujicic runs a non-profit ministry, Life Without Limbs, as well as Attitude is Altitude, which markets his motivational speeches and campaigns against bullying.

Watch Nick Vujicic speak with BBC Capital about his extraordinary life and his recipe for success in the corporate world.

Source: BBC

By Peter Bowes

Nigeria MP Mrakpor 'slapped by prison boss aide'

Onyemaechi Mrakpor is a member of the House of Representatives from southern Delta state

The head of Nigeria's prisons service has been summoned to appear before parliament after his security guards allegedly slapped a female MP.

Onyemaechi Mrakpor, 49, and a member of the lower house, told the BBC she was attacked for overtaking the motorcade of Peter Ezenwa Ekpendu on Wednesday.

"One man banged at my car, slapped me and called me a prostitute," she said.

Mr Ekpendu reportedly watched as the lawmaker was assaulted by his aides within the premises of the parliament.

Mrs Mrakpor said she was shocked and embarrassed by what happened and had written a formal complaint to the police.

"I wondered if that could happen to me, what the other helpless Nigerians will be going through," she told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme.

The opposition lawmaker, who represents a constituency in the southern Delta state, said the incident highlighted the way women and girls are treated in the country.

Mrs Mrakpor was in tears when she reported the incident, one senior MP told parliament on Thursday.

"This is the time we need to rally behind her not just as a member but as a woman," MP Femi Gbajabiamila said, The Herald newspaper reported.

It is not clear when Mr Ekpendu, who has not yet reacted to the report, will face the MPs.

Nigerian officials often travel in large convoys, forcing other motorists to make way. There have been frequent accusations that those who refuse to pull over are assaulted.

All heads of security agencies in the parliament have also been summoned to explain why they failed to protect the lawmaker.

Beware of blue lights - Naziru Mikailu, BBC News

Driving along the roads of Nigeria's major cities, it is common to see a large convoy of senior government officials moving at high speed.

They often show scant respect for traffic rules.

When you spot the blue lights flashing behind your car or hear the sirens, you know that you must give way regardless of the situation.

This often causes terrible accidents and lead to abuses of ordinary motorists.

The country was shocked in September last year when the officials in the motorcade of a state governor allegedly assaulted a woman and her two children on a highway for not vacating the road for the politician's convoy on time.

In most cases the individuals or the politicians and security forces responsible for these large convoys get away with it.

After coming to office last year, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered his convoy and security aides to abide by traffic rules and respect other motorists.

But it appears that the president's action is yet to convince some other top officials to change their minds.