Suntai Returns from Medical Check-up

Suntai Returns from Medical Check-up

Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai

The Taraba State Governor, Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, on Monday arrived the country from the United Kingdom after a one week medical check-up.

The governor arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 10p.m. on board a chartered aircraft in company of his wife, Hauwa, his medical team, as well as security details.

A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Hassan Mijinyawa, Suntai remained grateful to the people of the state for their strength of will and continuous prayers for him and the state.

How Boko Haram Overrun Mahia Town in Adamawa state

How Boko Haram Overrun Mahia Town in Adamawa state

Boko Haram insurgents

By Daji Sani in Yola

Boko Haram insurgents have overrun Maiha town, the headquarters of Mahia Local Government area of Adamawa state.

According to a security source, the insurgents were spotted hovering around the area about 5pm of Monday.

He added that nobody anticipated any attack as the insurgents had been coming to Maiha to preach and persuade the people to support their struggles.

He said the insurgents used the Potiskum attack that led to the death of about 47 school children to divert attention, so that while the authorities’ attention was on Yobe state, the insurgents struck Mahia, leading to the killing of several people who refused to flee after Mubi was attacked.

According to him , even before Mahia was overrun by the Boko Haram insurgents, it had been rendered a ghost of itself as commercial and social activities were paralyzed as a result of exodus of people from the town occasioned by attacks on Mubi  which is 20km away.

Fleeing residents of Mahia, who spoke to ThisDay on telephone said nobody anticipated that the insurgents would overrun the town, adding that insurgents had been convincing the people not to run away but promised to provide them with security and better life.

He said the killings and destruction orchestrated by the insurgents in Mahia violated their promise to the people by the insurgents to protect them.

FG Loses 4,700MW of Electricity to Gas Shortage

FG Loses 4,700MW of Electricity to Gas Shortage

 Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo

Ejiofor Alike 

Barely four days after the federal government announced that for the first time in Nigeria’s history, it was generating 4,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity, the Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, on Monday said the country was still losing 4,700MW due to the unavailability of gas to fire 7,800MW space capacity.

Speaking in Lagos at the pre-conference workshop of the 32nd annual conference and exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Nebo said of the 7,800MW available in the gas-fired power plants, the gas plants in the Niger Delta provide only 880 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of gas to fuel the generation of 3,100MW daily.

Before the recent 4,600MW-peak, the country’s highest electricity output was recorded on December 23, 2012 at 4,517.6MW.

According to Nebo, 1.9 billion cubic feet per day of gas (bcf/d) would be required to generate the 7,800MW available capacity, adding that with the 880mmscf/d gas that is available, there is a gas supply deficit of one billion cubic feet per day.

Nebo, who spoke on “The Challenges to Developing Sustainable IPP Projects in Nigeria”, reiterated that Nigeria’s current daily power output was about 4,000MW but 3,100MW of this is fuelled by about 880mmscf/d of gas.

“With the number of households in Nigeria put at 29 million, at an average consumption of 1 MW for some 500 homes, a maturing electricity supply industry in Nigeria should be producing some 60,000 megawatts (60 gigawatts) of power for household consumption everyday. Of these, some 42,000MW should be fuelled by gas,” he said.

The minister, who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant, Power and Gas, Mr. Frank Edoziem, said the opportunity for gas-fuelled IPPs stood at roughly 39,000MW for which about 11 billion cubic feet per day of gas would be required.

He noted that addressing the shortfall in gas supply and growing it to meet the anticipated demand would require different approaches to the exploitation of available gas resources.
“The recent announcement of a new pricing regime for domestic gas to power has opened up a new vista for the production of gas for domestic consumption.

“We now need to look more at the exploitation of non-associated gas. This means that in addition to our traditional sources in the prolific Niger Delta region, we need to look farther afield at marginal fields and the inland basins including the Anambra and Bida basins and the Benue trough.

“In other words, our gas growth needs power to be met through dedicated gas developments targeted at producing gas for power,” Nebo explained.

On the delay in the declaration of the much-awaited Transitional Electricity Market (TEM), Nebo explained that a few conditions precedent for the declaration of TEM were yet to be fully met.

According to him, the federal government and other relevant stakeholders are working to ensure the outstanding conditions precedent are met, adding that the TEM would automatically kick in the contractual obligations of all market participants.

He advised the new investors in the power sector to immediately begin the implementation of their respective business plans to reduce losses and recover unutilised capacities.

In her speech, the President of NAPE, Mrs. Adedoja Ojelabi, said recent studies had shown that the economic loss to the country due to gas flaring could range between $2.5 billion and $17 billion annually.

She acknowledged that some reduction in flaring had been achieved, down from the initial 100 per cent to about 11 per cent in recent times.

“However, this is deemed slow over time and a zero flare-out is yet to be achieved. Nigeria still flares about 2 bcf/ day and is ranked among some of the highest gas-flaring countries in the world, with Russia and Iraq.

“There are still over 100 flare sites in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria is the highest emitter of greenhouse gas in Africa,” she said.

Ribadu’s Brother Kidnapped

Ribadu’s Brother Kidnapped

Daji Sani in Yola

The Adamawa State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of the younger brother of the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Nuhu Ribadu, by unknown gunmen.

The Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), DSP Othman Abubakar, who briefed journalists in his office in Yola, said the younger brother of the former EFCC boss, Alhaji Sani Ribadu, a former chairman of Yola South Local Government, was abducted on Sunday at his farm along Fufore Road, about 15 kilometres away from Yola, the state capital.

The police spokesman further revealed that when the assailants kidnapped him, they took him in a vehicle and later abandoned the vehicle inside the bush and used another vehicle to an unknown destination.

He said the whereabouts of Ribadu were yet to be ascertained, adding that the police had since dispatched a search team to hunt for him and his abductors.

The police appealed to the public to divulge useful information to aid them apprehend the abductors of the former local government boss.

While responding to questioning from journalists, on whether the abductors had contacted the police or any family member to make demands for ransom, Abubakar said the abductors had not contacted anyone.

A family source, who also confirmed the abduction of Sani Ribadu, said   he was seized on Sunday at his farm by unknown gunmen.

The source, who don’t want his name on print, further revealed that Ribadu was trailed to his farm and was abducted and there are no clue on his whereabouts.

He said the abductors had not called to make any demand or given a reason for his abduction.

Nigerian soldiers flee as Boko Haram captures more territory in Adamawa

Nigerian soldiers flee as Boko Haram captures more territory in Adamawa

The Boko Haram on Monday expanded the territory it controls in Adamawa when it captured the town of Maiha, residents have told PREMIUM TIMES.
Maiha is about 25 kilometres from Mubi, the commercial town captured by the insurgents in Adamawa last week. Maiha is also about 200km from Yola, the state capital.
Even before the town fell to the insurgents, it was already a shadow of itself as commercial and social activities were paralyzed. People were already leaving the town due to its proximity to Mubi.
Fleeing residents said they saw many soldiers running away from the area with some of them hitch-hiking in residents’ vehicles. The soldiers told the residents that if the insurgents caught up with them, it would lead to instant death.
“The insurgents started trooping into the town around 2:30 p.m. and engaged troops stationed at Kosha before advancing to the main town of Maiha,” a fleeing resident, Kabir Musa, said in a telephone interview. “The soldiers, who advanced to the area in their bid to recapture Mubi, started running away as the insurgents overran the entire town.”
Another resident of the town, Garba Baba, said some fleeing soldiers begged him to assist them with civilian clothes so they would not be traced by the insurgents. The soldiers, he said, even threw their guns into the bush.
“The fleeing soldiers asked us to give them our clothes so that they can camouflage and escape from the area safely as some of them discarded their weapons in the bush. A lot of the discarded weapons are currently lying in the bush,” Mr. Baba, who also fled Maiha, said.
He said in a similar situation to when the insurgents captured Mubi, they did not encounter any challenge from the Nigerian troops.
“The insurgents did not encounter any challenge as they stormed the town in APC’s and Toyota Hilux vans firing shots into the soldiers’ directions chanting Allahu Akbar,” Mr. Baba said. “The Boko Haram insurgents had ordered us not to run, saying that they are not after civilians but soldiers and other security people.’’
Another resident still trapped in Maiha, Dauda Mallam, said, “Many of the residents fled into the bush, particularly soldiers. Some of them may have been killed by bullets.
“The insurgents also hoisted their flags in strategic places in the
town.”
A soldier of the 23rd Armoured Brigade, Yola, also told PREMIUM TIMES that “we just heard that the
insurgents had attacked our men in their base near Maiha town, and some soldiers were killed in a gun battle. We are yet to get full details.”
The military is yet to officially react to the Maiha takeover in Adamawa, which like Borno and Yobe, has been under a state of emergency since last year. The emergency rule has not deterred insurgents from carrying out terrorist activities leading to the death of thousands of people.
Several soldiers including senior officers are currently being investigated and disciplined for fleeing battles with insurgents.
On Monday, the Nigerian government, apparently frustrated by its inability to check the Boko Haram insurgency, accused the U.S. of not doing enough to assist the country.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Ade Adefuye, expressed the government’s view when he received a delegation of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations.
“I am sad to inform you that the Nigerian leadership: military and political, and even the general populace, are not satisfied with the scope, nature and content of the United States’ support for us in our struggle against terrorists,” Mr. Adefuye said.
“We find it difficult to understand how and why in spite of the U.S. presence in Nigeria with their sophisticated military technology, Boko Haram should be expanding and becoming more deadly.

Students, teachers relay gory tales of bloodbath in Yobe

on November 11, 2014   /   in Headlines 5:52 am   /   Comments

By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North, Kingsley Omonobi & Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA—Running away from the school assembly ground with his white uniform stained with blood and bits of flesh, a traumatised student of Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School, Potiskum, Yobe State, who survived a suicide bomb attack that claimed the lives of 47 of his colleagues with 79 others injured, yesterday, recounted his experience. The incident was considered one of the worst attacks on schools.
Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, in his immediate reaction challenged President Goodluck Jonathan to explain why more people in the state were being killed by insurgents under a state of emergency declared by him.

STUDENTS OF AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY DEMONSTRATION SECONDARY SCHOOL SENT OUT FOR
DEFAULTING IN SCHOOL FEES AT SAMARU-ZARIA IN KADUNA STATE ON FRIDAY

The explosion was said to have ripped through an all-boys school in Potiskum just as students gathered for morning assembly before classes began, causing panic and chaos.
The massacre came a day after the release of a new Boko Haram video in which the Islamist group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, again rejected Nigerian government claims of a ceasefire and peace talks.
Students at the school were waiting to hear the principal’s daily address when the explosion happened at 7:50 am. Several witnesses described the blast as “thunderous”, leaving the assembly ground littered with abandoned footwear, books, bags and body parts.
Police Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu said: “There was an explosion after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb. We have 47 dead and 79 injured.” He added that Boko Haram was believed to be responsible.
One rescue worker said the wounded had “various degrees of injuries”, while those who survived complained of hearing problems from the deafening blast. The school has more than 1,000 students and caters for boys aged 15 to 20. The victims are all believed to be in their teens.
One of the surviving students, Adamu Abdullahi said those at the centre of the blast near the principal’s office were flung in all directions and others were knocked off their feet. Recounting his experience to AFP, he said: “I found myself under the weight of another student, who fell over me. I’m certain he was dead. I was dazed and disorientated for a moment. When I realised what had happened, I managed to push the body on top of me and started running like everyone else. It was confusion all over. Everybody was hysterical. I saw many people on the ground. Human flesh and blood were splattered all over the place. I ran out of the school and went home. When my father saw me he was terrified. I didn’t realise my white school uniform was stained with human blood and bits of flesh.”
The dead and injured were taken to the Potiskum General Hospital, just 100 metres away.
A teacher at the school, a medic and a rescue worker confirmed the blast happened at the Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School in Potiskum, Yobe State.
One of the rescue workers told AFP that 13 bodies had been taken to hospital with more than 30 others left “with various degrees of injuries”.
One of the teachers who witnessed the explosion but asked not to be identified, said: ”The students had gathered for the morning assembly when something exploded in their midst with a thunderous sound at exactly 7:50 am. The explosion has affected many students but I can’t say how many because we are now evacuating the victims to the hospital which is just 100 metres away”.
A medic at the Potiskum General Hospital, where the victims were taken, said scores of students had been admitted. He said: “We are still receiving casualties from the school which is a stone’s throw from here. Our priority now is to save the injured, so we have not started a headcount of the victims.” A resident, Adamu Alkassim, said there was confusion in and around the school.
Explain why our people are being killed under emergency rule, Gaidam taks Jonathan
Reacting to the attack, Governor Gaidam who demanded explanation from President Jonathan why more people were being killed by insurgents under a state of emergency declared by the President said that the emergency rule had failed to achieve the desired goal.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Press Affairs and Information, Abdullahi Bego, he said: “This is the fifth time in about one year when our schools are being brutally attacked and students killed. Governor Gaidam deeply regrets that all of these dastardly attacks took place under a climate of Emergency Rule declared in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states by President Goodluck Jonathan.
“In theory, the Emergency Rule Declaration was a signal that more vigorous steps would be taken to protect the lives and property of people in the affected states and deploy the full might of the Federal Government to restore peace and security.
“Unfortunately, this has not been fully the case. Instead of forcing insurgents and criminals to flee; the insurgents are forcing innocent people to flee and making life miserable for everyone.”
Israel, America, join Nigeria to flush out Boko Haram from Mubi
In a related development, the Nigerian military, working in concert with foreign military collaborators have commenced a major offensive to retake Mubi, Michika and Madagali towns from Boko Haram terrorists.
Vanguard gathered that the operation to retake the towns which was being prosecuted with Air Force fighter jets and helicopters providing air support to soldiers, was being supported by foreign troops from friendly nations.
The foreign troops include those from Israel, and America. The troops who are in the battlefront with surveillance aircraft and other equipment were said to have recorded several successes in the operation to regain the seized territories.
Towards this end, Vanguard gathered that troops have pursued Boko Haram terrorists to Marara-Mubi which is the outskirts of Mubi town and that the onslaught was moving towards Michika at press time.
A senior military source told Vanguard that unlike in the past whereby such onslaught witnessed a pause and the terrorists had the opportunity to regroup and carry out reprisal attacks, the present offensive would be continuous until the objectives are attained.
Air Force helicopter crash-lands
Meantime, the Defence Headquarters yesterday issued a statement disclosing the crash landing of a Nigerian Air Force helicopter, noting that no casualty was recorded.
Vanguard gathered that the aircraft crashed as a result of technical problems and that an Israeli and two Nigerian Air Force personnel have returned to base.
The statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said: “A Nigerian Air Force helicopter with call sign Shark 23 on a training mission executed a controlled forced landing four minutes after take-off at the runway approach end of Yola International Airport today (yesterday) at about 0930hours.
“There is no casualty recorded as all the crew members have been recovered back to the base.
“The Nigerian Air Force Headquarters has already set up an investigation panel to unravel the circumstances that led to the incident.”
Senate President, David Mark, yesterday, condemned the massacre of students of Government Science School, Potiskum, Yobe State and called on the security operates to step up intelligence and surveillance.
Senator Mark who decried the massacre of students at the Assembly ground by a suicide bomber, described the attack as barbaric and inhuman, adding, “it is condemnable by any right thinking member of the society.
Attacks on schools since July 2013 blamed on Boko Haram
June 17 2013: Extremists kill nine students as they took an exam in Maiduguri.
July 6 2013: Gunmen attack a secondary school in Mamudo, near Potiskum, killing 42 people, many of whom are students.
September 29 2013: Gunmen open fire on sleeping students in a dormitory in Gujba, in Yobe state, killing 40.
February 25 2014: Suspected Islamists kill 43 in attack on sleeping secondary school students in the town of Buni Yadi in Yobe state.
February 26-27 2014: 25 people killed during an attack against a Christian school in Shuwa, in Adamawa state.
April 14 2014: 276 high school students, all girls, are kidnapped in Chibok, Borno State.
June 23 2014: Eight people die and 12 are wounded when a bomb explodes at a public health school in Kano.
September 17 2014: 13 people die, 34 wounded in a suicide attack at the campus of the federal institute of higher education in Kano.
November 10 2014: A suicide attack kills at least 47 people and wounds some 79 students at a boys school in Potiskum.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/students-teachers-relay-gory-tales-bloodbath-yobe/#sthash.a7D1E2i5.dpuf

CNN Rejects Nigeria’s Political Adverts

 CNN Rejects Nigeria’s Political Adverts cnn-653x365.

The penchant of Nigerians for lavish publicity in foreign media has met a stonewall in CNN which has been rejecting political advertisement. With the 2015 elections drawing close, several politicians are shocked that the American international cable channel, which is one of the favourites in Nigeria, has been turning down commercials with overt political messages. CNN adverts are among the most expensive in the world ─ the network charges up to N5m for a 30-second spot at prime time ─ but many Nigerian companies and politicians typically value the prestige above the economic cost. This has also created a bandwagon effect, with many falling over each other to get on the international media. It is estimated that Nigerian companies and various state governments spend billions of naira every year advertising in foreign media, notably The Economist, Financial Times of London, CNN International and Super Sports. “We approached CNN agents in Nigeria to place some adverts for our principal. We sent the creatives to them as requested and they returned them, saying they do not run commercials that are intended to campaign for votes. We could not believe it,” a consultant to a presidential aspirant said. Another, who is working for a state governor seeking re-election, said he had a similar experience. But an official of CNN said that it was a general rule not to accept certain advertisements and there was no discrimination against Nigerian politicians. Ashley Hogan-Gancarz, the account manager of CNN International, added that: “CNN International never accept political or religious advertising. This is due to Ofcom regulations. “If you want to promote investment opportunities, etc. that would be fine but nothing to do with politics or the 2015 election.” Ofcom is the regulator of the broadcast industry in the UK, from where CNN International oversees its African operations. CNN’s rejection of 2015-related adverts is expected to benefit local media in Nigeria. Part of the advertising budget is now expected to be spent locally.

Voter’s cards: APC, others protest in Lagos

By Olasunkanmi Akoni, Dapo Akinrefon, Monsur Olowoopejo, Bartholomew Madukwe & Ebele Okafor
LAGOS—Members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and many Lagos residents, yesterday, protested shoddy distribution of the Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

PROTEST: Members of the Nucleus Group, TNG, during a protest over alleged poor distribution of Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVC, by INEC at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

In their thousands, the protesters stormed the Birrel Avenue, Yaba, office of the commission and later the Alausa, Ikeja, office of Governor Babatunde Fashola, to register their complaints. They got to INEC’s office at about 9 am and Fashola’s office around 1pm. They displayed various placards with indicting inscriptions against INEC.
Some of the placards read: “The electoral body is hoarding the PVCs to disenfranchise residents in 2015 elections!” “We Lagosians detest rigging, give us our PVCs!” “Lagosians reaffirm one man, one woman, one vote, give us our PVCs, period!” “Jega, be warned, don’t act FG’s script in Lagos’!” “We beg una to give us our cards!” “The totality of Agege Youth, women and men are demanding an extension for PVC collection!” “INEC, Agege demands more time for our PVC collection!” “Enough of your show of shame INEC, we need our PVC!”
They sang several solidarity and anti-INEC songs, vowing that they would never allow election to be rigged in the state.
The protesters, under the aegis of Activists for Good Governance, AGG, The Nucleus Group, TNG, consisted of party members from the 20 local councils and 37 local council development areas.
At the INEC office, there was tight security as scores of armed policemen ensured that the protest did not degenerate into violence.
Speaking on behalf of the AGG, Comrade Declan Ihekaire said Nigerians were afraid that INEC is planning to rig next year’s elections, especially in states controlled by the APC, which informed the hoarding of the PVCs.
“2015 is here already and any attempt to disenfranchise Nigerians will mark the beginning of action. What we see is that INEC is short of staff and you are already being nicknamed as trying to rig the election next year,” he told the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Lagos State, Dr Adekunle Ademola.
“INEC must ensure the PVCs get to the people and they should not attempt to rig the election. Those in power know that there will be protest votes in 2015 and that is why they are trying to rig the election,” he added.
Spokesperson of TNG, Comrade Olusola Odubiro called on INEC to extend the exercise by two weeks so that all Lagosians would get their PVCs.
Responding, Dr. Ogunmola admitted that the body had been encountering problems in the distribution of PVCs in Lagos but assured that at the end of the exercise, every Lagosian duly registered will get his or her PVC.
“Our intention is to ensure all registered voters in Lagos State get their PVCs before the 2015 elections. There have been hiccups; we are only distributing materials given to us,” he admitted.

Extends exercise till tomorrow in Mushin, others
Ogunmola said: “Due to the problem encountered on Friday, we added Monday. Beyond that, there are some local governments that would be addressed on case-by-case basis like Mushin Local Government. We received some PVCs yesterday (Sunday) and we have deployed our officers to the local governments. We will extend the exercise till Tuesday (today) for that local government.
“In Mushin, yesterday, we distributed PVCs to 529 polling units. By the time we complete the 11 Local Governments, all will be captured. We are also doing continuous voters registration to capture everybody,” he said.

Data for some polling units no longer exist
Ogunmola continued: “The reason why you cannot find INEC officials at some polling units was that the data for those units no longer exist. We will be taking our machines to those polling units to re-register the residents, and two machines have been allocated for those units.”

‘Unclaimed PVCs will be transferred to council INEC offices’
After the exercise , he said, “residents are expected to visit the councils to collect their PVCs. The beauty of the arrangement is we will be following the process up with the Continuous Voter Registration. For those who didn’t see their name on the list, they should re-register when the voters registration starts.”

Voting in 2015 election
For next year’s election, Ogunmola said: “Anyone whose fingerprints does not correspond with what is on his PVC will not be counted. What we are doing is because of the political class. We want to ensure that we block all loopholes, and that was why it has taken the commission this long to provide the cards.”

Why we couldn’t retain 6.2 million register for Lagos
“If we retain the number we captured in 2011, residents will get to their polling units and will not be able to find their names. It amounts to disenfranchising them. That was why we have decided to inform them earlier. When we started the registration in 2010, there were some hiccups and some of them didn’t revisit the polling units for ratification when we announced that they should go revisit the polling units.”

Fashola appeals to protesters
Responding, Governor Babatunde Fashola who led the members of the State Executive Council to address the protesting residents, expressed disappointment with INEC’s handling of the PVC distribution exercise.
While also calling for extension of the exercise in view of the population of Lagos State, he said: “If our sizes are different why don’t we have different cloths? When they spend certain days in states that are not as populated as Lagos, why should they spend same days with Lagos which is more populated?”
“Why should INEC keep deceiving us? What if INEC is the one running our banks? What if INEC is the one producing Coca-cola and Guinness and other popular consumables,? We wouldn’t have had them in the market again What is difficult in the distribution of the PVCs?”
He wondered why it is becoming increasingly difficult for the nation’s electoral umpire to do the necessary things by ensuring all Nigerians are not disenfranchised.
CTCE kicks
Speaking in like manner, a pro-democracy pressure group, the Centre for Transparent and Credible Election (CTCE) berated the INEC and described its handling of the exercise in Lagos as “shoddy and untidy.”
The group, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Wale Adeyemi complained that, “the exercise is fraught with a lot of irregularities such as duplication of names, missing names, misspelt names, inadequate materials as well as muddling up of identities.”
Against this background, the organization therefore called on the INEC boss, Professor Attahiru Jega, to put his house in order so as not to create the impression that he is out to disenfranchise Lagos voters.

Cumberbatch Engagement Announced - By Parents

The star has never publicly confirmed his relationship with Sophie Hunter but now his parents have revealed the news in The Times.

Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter are rarely photographed together

Benedict Cumberbatch has gone back to tradition to announce his engagement to his girlfriend Sophie Hunter.

The British actor's parents have put a message in The Times newspaper to tell the world that their son will marry the theatre director.
The announcement in the Forthcoming Marriages section reads: "The engagement is announced between Benedict, son of Wanda and Timothy Cumberbatch of London, and Sophie, daughter of Katharine Hunter of Edinburgh and Charles Hunter of London."

The couple have kept their relationship very private and are rarely photographed in public together.
In June they were pictured at the French Open and have been seen leaving restaurants in London in recent weeks.

Video: Sherlock Star Turns Codebreaker

Fans spotted the news of the engagement on Twitter with many saying it was a "classy" way for a celebrity to do it.
But the popular star may have also broken some hearts: "Benedict Cumberbatch engaged? Not words I want to hear right now, tbh," tweeted @fauxhito.
His publicist told Sky News: "I am delighted to confirm this morning’s announcement that Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter are engaged."
Cumberbatch, 38, is currently starring in The Imitation Game, a biopic based on the World War Two code breaker Alan Turing, which is released on 14 November.
He is due to play Hamlet at the Barbican in London next year and tickets have already sold out.

US Midterms: Republicans Take Over Senate

The conservatives net seven Senate seats to take over Congress and stun the Democrats in a string of governor races.

Video: Republicans Take Control Of Senate

By Sky News US Team

The US Republicans have swept to power in both houses of Congress for the first time in eight years in midterm elections shaped by President Barack Obama's unpopularity.

Results continue to trickle in across the US, but the conservatives won seven seats from Democrats, one more than they needed to take control of the 100-seat Senate.
Tha takeover will limit Mr Obama's political influence and curb his legislative agenda in his last two years in office.
West Virginia, Arkansas, South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, North Carolina and Iowa all fell to the conservatives.
The Democrats are still battling to hold on to Senate seats in Virginia and Alaska, while Louisiana's race will go to a run-off next month.

Boko HaramSect Has Captured 8 LGAs In Borno – Governor

Governor Kashim Shettima said this on Tuesday, November 4, while receiving members of the Federal Government Sub-committee of the Victims Supports Fund in Maiduguri.

  (AFP)The Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima has said that Boko Haram has taken control of eight out of the 27 Local Government Areas in the state.

The Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima has said that Boko Haram has taken control of eight out of the 27 Local Government Areas in the state.

Shettima said this on Tuesday, November 4, while receiving members of the Federal Government Sub-committee of the Victims Supports Fund in Maiduguri.

The governor said:

 “The insurgents have taken over nearly eight LGAs in the state. They have taken over Gamboru-Ngala, Kala-Balge, Marte, Dikwa, Gwoza, Bama, Askira-Uba and part of Konduga local government areas.”

“The insurgents have also carried out recent attacks in Abadam, Kukawa,” he added.

However, the governor expressed hope that the insurgency would soon be a thing of the past:

 “I strongly believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We are going to bounce back very soon by the grace of God,” he said.

The Deputy Governor of the State, Zanna Mustapha has also warned that if urgent measures are not implemented, Boko Haram could wipe out Adamawa, Borno and Yobe in three months.