5 Boko Haram Suspects Killed, Bomb Factory Demolished In Kaduna

In Kaduna State, the Joint Task Force (JTF) early on Thursday killed five Boko Haram suspects and captured two others.

According to a statement by the spokesman of 1 Division, Nigeria Army, Kaduna, Col. Sani Usman, the incident happened in Rigasa, in Igabi local government area.

He said the operation followed information received from well-meaning citizens, upon which the JTF carried out a Cordon and Search Operation in Rigasa.

“On the approach to the factory, some suspected terrorists opened fire and also threw already primed IED at the troops. The exchange of fire that ensued resulted in the death of five terrorists, while two that sustained various degrees of injuries are being treated. In line with our resolve to deter terrorists, the building housing the factory was demolished this morning.”

He said another bomb-making factory was discovered at a house located off Makarfi Road, and the following items recovered:
1. Five Mark 4 rifles
2. Three Pump Action Riffles.
3. Twenty Rolls of Detonating Cords.
4. Twenty One 9’ Volt Batteries.
5. Two Remote Switches.
6. One Testing Metre.
7. Five assorted Daggers and Jackknives.
8. One Firing Cable and other Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) materials.

Commending the cooperation of the public, Col. Usman reiterated the resolve of JTF to fight terrorism in this country.

“We wish to inform the general public that whatever we are doing is aimed at ensuring that there is peace in Kaduna State as well as taking necessary steps in safeguarding the lives and properties of law-abiding citizens.”

He urged the public to continue to report any suspicious movement, establishments or persons in their environment, stressing that all such information received will be treated with absolute confidentiality.

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'We are very happy!' Shakira's footballer boyfriend Gerard Pique tweets to announce the birth of their baby boy

Colombian singer Shakira has reportedly given birth to a baby boy according to her delighted boyfriend, footballer Gerard Pique who took to Twitter on Thursday, to say the couple were 'very happy'.
Writing in Spanish he said: 'Our son has been born! We are very happy! Thanks to all for your messages!'

Shakira did not confirm the news herself, leading to some speculation that the tweet could be a joke.
It was written on Spain's Day of the Holy Innocents, similar to April Fool's Day.
Only days before Christmas, Shakira was pictured looking heavily pregnant shopping for gifts in Barcelona.
She is thought to have been due to give birth early next month.

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Obasanjo Jokes About Fire Accident...'It Only Beautifies The House!'

Former President Obasanjo simply joked over the fire incident. The journalists who expected a briefing from former President Olusegun Obasanjo on the cause of the fire at his house got a shock as the former leader instead joked over the incident.



After newspapers broke the story of the fire, Mr. Obasanjo started receiving phone calls from sympathisers, and welcomed the ones who rushed to the Abeokuta residence, the former president asked to meet with the few journalists present at the scene. The briefing by the former president was expected to dwell on the cause of the fire, which was put out by officials of the fire service. Instead, Mr. Obasanjo decided to make jest about the fire.

Speaking in Yoruba language, the former President told journalists to go to town and sing about the fire. "Go, go and sing to the whole world that "the Kings house that is gutted by fire only beautifies the house," - the former president said.

While journalists expected him to continue, Mr. Obasanjo simply dismissed the journalists after the statement. The former president’s hilltop mansion in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, was gutted by fire for over 30 minutes on Thursday before officials of the fire service put out the fire. Though no official cause has been given for the fire, it is supposed that the fire started from Mr. Obasanjo’s private office, a stone throw to his bedroom, before the security in the premises raised alarm, and the state fire service was contacted.

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Obasanjo’s Abeokuta Mansion on Fire

The house located in Abeokuta, the Ogun State Capital, was gutted by fire on Thursday with extensive damages recorded in the 30-minute incident. The fire, which started at about 4.25 p.m., was traced to electricity power surge, just barely about 20 minutes after Mr. Obasanjo left for his other house located in the Ita-Eko area of the town.
It was gathered that the fire started from Mr. Obasanjo’s private office, a stone throw to his bedroom, before the security in the premises raised alarm, and the state fire service was contacted.
The fire service, in a swift response, raced to the scene with two fire fighting vehicles, to curtail the fire, which would have spread to other apartments.
No life was lost, but some damaged property were seen being moved out by men of the fire service and officers of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
As at the time of this report, Mr. Obasanjo had returned home, apparently to see the extent of the damage. His wife, Bola Obasanjo, was seen outside in company of some grandchildren looking worried. On his part, Mr. Obasanjo, after the fire had been put under control, was seen sitting within the premises receiving telephone calls from sympathizers.
However, one of his sons, identified as Oba Obasanjo, threw caution to the wind, as he seized the Blackberry phone of one of the correspondent and smashed it on the floor for taking photographs.
Symphatisers that thronged the home of the former President include the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye; a factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, Dipo Odujinrin; and the state’s Director of State Security Services. Ironically, an hour after the fire incident was brought under control, the officials of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, arrived in two pick-up vans loaded with ladders.
The former President is expected to address journalists on the cause of the fire.
Located along the Ibrahim Babangida Boulevard in Abeokuta, the multi-millionaire villa, made up of about six structures, was completed shortly before Mr. Obasanjo left office in 2007. It was constructed by Messrs Gitto Construzioni Generali Nigeria Limited, an Abuja-based Italian company. It was built atop a hill, some critics said, to give the former president the psychological feeling of being on top of everyone.

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United States To Send Soldiers To Tackle Boko Haram

A U.S. Army brigade will begin sending small teams into as many as 35African nations early next year, part of an intensifying Pentagon effort to train countries to battle extremists and give the U.S. a ready and trained force to dispatch to Africa if crises requiring the U.S. military emerge.




The teams will be limited to training and equipping efforts, and will not be permitted to conduct military operations without specific, additional approvals from the secretary of defense.

The sharper focus on Africa by the U.S. comes against a backdrop of widespread insurgent violence across North Africa, and as the African Union and other nations discuss military intervention in northern Mali.

The terror threat from al-Qaida linked groups in Africa has been growing steadily, particularly with the rise of the extremist Islamist sect Boko Haram in Nigeria. Officials also believe that the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which killed the ambassador and three other Americans, may have been carried out by those who had ties to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

This first-of-its-kind brigade assignment — involving teams from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division — will target countries such as Libya, Sudan, Algeria and Niger, where al-Qaida-linked groups have been active. It also will assist nations like Kenya and Uganda that have been battling al-Shabab militants on the front lines in Somalia.

Gen. Carter Ham, the top U.S. commander in Africa, noted that the brigade has a small drone capability that could be useful in Africa. But he also acknowledged that he would need special permission to tap it for that kind of mission.

“If they want them for (military) operations, the brigade is our first sourcing solution because they’re prepared,” said Gen. David Rodriguez, the head of U.S. Army Forces Command. “But that has to go back to the secretary of defense to get an execute order.”

Already the U.S. military has plans for nearly 100 different exercises, training programs and other activities across the widely diverse continent. But the new program faces significant cultural and language challenges, as well as nagging questions about how many of the lower-level enlisted members of the brigade, based in Fort Riley, Kan., will participate, since the teams would largely be made up of more senior enlisted troops and officers. A full brigade numbers about 3,500, but the teams could range from just a few people to a company of about 200. In rare cases for certain exercises, it could be a battalion, which would number about 800.