PICTURE OF A 50-Year-Old Indian Man Who Stopped Growing At Age 5 (Photos)

From behind, Basori Lal could be mistaken for a child, standing at just 29 inches tall.

But in fact he is 50 years old, and has become a celebrity in his village, located in Madhya Pradesh province, India, because of his short stature.

Basori says he was not always celebrated for his short stature and had to overcome bullying in his younger years but has now been dubbed a 'hero' by his proud family.

Relatives say there was nothing to separate Basori from his peers as a child, but at age five they noticed he was not growing like the other children.

Despite noticing there was a problem, relatives say they could not afford to take Basori to a doctor and to this day have no idea why he is so small.

Basori said he was bullied for his height while he was younger, being called 'an alien' by others, but says his stature is now a source of pride.

We Are Not Offering More Financial Support to NIGERIA - EU

The European Union (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Michel Arrion says EU will not increase its financial assistance to Nigeria.

Arrion made this known in Abuja while delivering a Distinguished Lecture organised by the IBB Golf Club, with the theme “40 years of European union in Nigeria: Lessons learned and the way forward”.

The ambassador who said that EU was not promising further assistance to Nigeria however said that Nigeria remains EU key partner in view of the role it plays in global affairs.

The envoy also stressed that the Union would scale up its efforts towards the country’s institutional, political and economic development for a more prosperous future.

He said that Nigeria could not be said to be poor, as it is has enough resources to meet its developmental needs.

While expressing concern that on the economic level of the country Arrion called for a more equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth to ensure growth and stability and unleash its enormous economic potentials.

Arrion explained that the combine aides to the country were about ten per cent of the country’s annual budget.

According to him, the Official Development Assistance (ODA) flow in Nigeria is about 2.5 billion dollars yearly, which correspond roughly to about 10 per cent of the federal budget (N7,3trillion or 24 billion dollars).

This, he said has raised the question of should EU continue to give aide to Nigeria.?

Arrion, however said the regional block would scale up its efforts towards the country’s institutional, political and economic development for a more prosperous future.

“We are not offering more financial support, we are proposing more political and policy dialogue, technical assistance, capacity building, training, transfer of technology.

We also proposing more advocacies for more private investments and other innovative sources of funding,” the EU envoy said.

The envoy therefore called for improving in tax collection to finance the development of the country.

According to him Nigeria must find alternative funding to ODA including improved tax collection which must be improved at least five times more and also spend better.

Quoting Price Water Cooper (PwC 2016), he said: “Nigeria collects about N5.5 trillion or 18 billion dollars per year.

“About 10 million people (10 per cent of adult population) are registered for personal income tax (half of them in Lagos).

“The rate of VAT compliance by registered entities is about 12 per cent. The rate is lower for corporate income tax nine per cent.”

He also said Nigeria must attract more foreign investment five times more, to reach the level of Angola or Vietnam for instance and put in place more and better Public Private Partnerships.

Arrion said the evolution of vibrant relationship of equal partners between Nigeria and the EU was founded on shares values and aspirations and mutual trust.

According to him EU in its 40 years of engagement with Nigeria has identified development priorities, funded projects to stimulate the Nigeria’s economy, reduce hunger and disease.

He said that the union had also helped to enhance institutional capacities, strengthen governance and fight insecurity in Nigeria.

DESPITE HAVING 8,400 TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN, U.S. IS SENDING ADDITIONAL 4,000 TROOPS AS THE WAR AGAINST TERROR PO

Despite more than 8,400 United States troops already in Afghanistan, the no-win saga posed by terrorist attacks has compelled US to carry out more sacrifices.

Given the role of a co-ordinating attacks within and outside Afghanistan, Pentagon had vowed to fight terroridm to a standstill with all resources at it disposal.

The US media have quoted the Defence Secretary, Jim Mattis, as saying that he would recommend sending another batch of military personnel between 3,000-5,000 to the country believed to be harbouring terrist attack’s across the world.

A U.S. administration official has been quoted as saying the Pentagon will send almost 4,000 additional troops soon to Afghanistan, hoping that will break a stalemate in the 16-year war in that country.This coming on the heels of renewed terrorist attacks across the globe by the jihadists, made up of ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other militant groups, which mostly get link from Afghanistan for the country.

An official, who woukd not went to be named, said that the decision could be announced as early as next week.

The bulk of the extra forces will train and advise Afghan troops, the official said, while a smaller number would be assigned to counterterror operations against the Taliban and Islamic State group.Asked about the report, a Pentagon spokesman said, “No decisions have been made.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told U.S. lawmakers on June 15 that President Donald Trump has given him the authority to establish troop levels in Afghanistan.

U.S. media have reported that Mattis will recommend sending another 3,000-5,000 U.S. troops to break what he has called a “stalemate” between U.S.-backed government forces and the Taliban.

EVANS, KIDNAP MENTALLY WREAKED ME BEFORE EXTORTING $1.2M FROM ME — VICTIM

The  kidnap day:

On September, 2015, as I was coming back from my factory in Agbara to my home in Festac, arriving Seventh Avenue, I saw four gun men. They stopped in front of my vehicle and started shooting while I was with my two drivers in my Hilux pickup.

I was sitting at the back, thinking they were policemen. I was wondering why they were shooting and charging at us not knowing that they were kidnappers. In the process, they shot us, me and two of my drivers but luckily, nobody died. I still have a bullet in my body.

By the time I realized they were kidnappers, they dragged me out of my vehicle to their own Lexus 470 Jeep. Inside their Jeep, there were lots of arms and ammunition inside a box. They had another box at the back where they put me in.

Four guys were inside that Jeep, well-armed, even the driver had his own AK-47 riffle. They drove past Festac Link Bridge to Amowu-Odofin, around 4:30pm as if they were going to Okota. Later, they came out to Oshodi -Apapa Expressway. By this time, they had not blindfolded me but they pushed my head down, lying bare on the floor of the car. One of them just held me as I was seriously bleeding. I never knew I would survive this. I couldn’t remember the places they took me to because I was lying down.

After a long journey, they stopped at a particular area, those guys jumped down and another group came on board and zoomed off again.

As we were going, we got to one house, they called the security guard who came and opened the gate, and they brought me out, gathered water, changed their cloths and called one doctor, whether he was quack or not, I do not know.

They told the doctor they had emergency. The doctor came, washed me and treated my wound. That was the first thing they did. Though, when we were about to get to where they wanted to take me to, they blind folded me.

They were administering two injections on me daily. When I asked them the kind of injection they were giving me, they said it was anti tetanus injection and pain reliever. They refused to give me water saying that if you have bullet in your body, you don’t drink water.

The second day, Evans came there with the doctor and said to me that, he came there because of me. Yet, I did not set my eyes on him. Maybe, the person that asked them to kidnap me told them that they should not let me die.

I said this because of the kind of treatment they were giving me or maybe, it could be because of my wound. But, I was seriously bleeding. At a point, they were thinking of exchanging me. They called my brother to come and let me go out and treat myself of the bullet wound.

My elder brother accepted to come but backed out at the end because those people, you never know what they planned. May be their plan was to capture the two of us before they would kill us. It was an ugly situation.

They injected me for seven good days. From that Monday till the next Sunday, every two days, there was a particular guy that came there to treat my wounds, dress it and put the bandage again. After some days, Evans called.

How they operate:

How they operate is that, they keep a hostage keeper, which is someone that would be guiding kidnap victims so that any time their boss wants to call, he would call that person. When he calls the person, the person would bring the phone to the victim and hold the phone for you talk to him.

They were always communicating. They did not maltreat me because of my condition but I heard them maltreating the victim in the other room with hot iron and the person would be crying.

Before they start that, they would go and put on their generator so that their neighbours would not be hearing. That guy was a terror.

Feeding pattern:

They were feeding me with one useless Indomie. I was just managing to eat to keep my life moving. They asked what kind of drugs I was taking but I told them I was not on drugs. I did not make trouble with them but there was a day I tried to escape. I was scared whether all the neighbours were their gang members or not.

Again, even if I would have escaped, I would have been naked because before you go to the bathroom, they take away your boxers. When you finished, you knocked at the door and turned your face to the wall as they gave you your boxer to wear.

They would blind fold you and put you in chains again. Early morning I used to hear siren and I thought, that it was police that were coming to rescue me. At the end nothing would happen. They would go. What were they coming to do there around 4:00 am to 5:00 am? I noticed that five times and I asked myself, “what the police are coming there to do?”.

I also noticed there was a construction site nearby where people were working. One particular day, one boy came in and asked “mummy, who is this uncle?”. I was listening and waited to hear what the woman would say but she did not say anything.

So, that couple that was paraded were there. I was praying every minute of the day, waiting for anything that would happen the next day. It was traumatising . So many things happened. I knew that, nothing would happen to me but they would charge me more money.

You know, I paid $1.2 million. We paid it in three instalments. We paid two hundred thousand dollars, eight hundred thousand dollars and another two hundred thousand dollars. He claimed that, the first two hundred dollars we paid had been cancelled because we set them up by inviting security agents to be tracking them. That’s how we were accused and that the payment had been rubbished.

Bargaining chip:

He usually bargains with the victims, he doesn’t bargain with the families. Whatever he asked for that is what the family would pay. A person that is under chain, what would he say? Anything they asked you to do, you just had to do it because of your life. That was not joke, they meant business.

If you refused to co-operate, they would kill you. I am sure; they have killed some people there. I stayed there for six weeks. I was abducted on the 7th of September and I was released on the 19th of October, 2015.

How I was released:

After I had finished paying the ransom, they still kept me for another eight days. My people were worried, and I was worried too because I did not know what was going on outside. They had cut off communication with everybody. Immediately, he collected his ransom, he travelled abroad. He goes outside to keep his ill-gotten wealth, which was obvious.

I now asked the hostage keeper, how long it takes them to release a hostage. He said four days, I now asked again, but why am I still here? He then said I should not worry, that the chairman travelled and that I would be released as soon as he returned.

He said that I should see myself as a free man and relax. The man was a greedy man. Of all the money we paid him, he didn’t feed us well. His duty, I observed, was to collect money and drop victims.

When he came back to Nigeria, he came to me where I was detained by his men and said to me that, today, you will go. He ordered his boys to bring all my belongings. My Rolex watch, my bag, my golden ring and my sandals were nowhere to be found. Not to talk of cash because all of them were criminals. All other valuables were gone.

They only brought my cloths, bank cheque books and seals and a polythene bag. And for my sandals, they bought one bathroom slippers for me. Just imagine someone coming back from his office.

Then, he asked me to hold on till the road was free; it was about 5:00 pm.

Evans promisedcto attend my Thanksgiving:

As I was waiting, he came back and called me, Nnwa which is my title name. Any time he wanted to talk to me he first called me Nnwa. When he saw my wound, he said, I was a lucky man. That, my God is a great God.

He said that, I would live up to hundred years for surviving that gunshot. I asked him why they were shooting us like that. He said in war all was fair. I then asked “you and who were fighting? Did I have gun with me?”.

Evans now asked who was the person in front of my car. That was when they thought I was a policeman. In fact they would have killed my driver, if he were a policeman. When he came down and they asked him, he told them he was just an ordinary driver. That was when they left him.

He advised me to buy a lot of drinks because many people would be coming to sympathize with me. He stressed that people were already waiting for my arrival. He said:

“Any day you are going to do thanksgiving, we are going to be there.” I now asked him, how would I know you will be there? He replied that, I shouldn’t worry; he would come and follow me to thank God. “Nnwa, but your God is great oh”.

All these things he was talking, my mind was not there because I knew he was wicked.

That evening, he brought ten thousand naira that I should take it. That if, they drop me anywhere, I should use it to enter taxi to my house. Or if I wanted, they could drop me in a nearby hotel so that, I could call my people to come and carry me.

But I told him to just drop my anywhere he wanted. When it became dark everywhere, they took me out of that house and moved me round the city before finally dropping me around Lagos State University (LASU, side in Iyana Oba.

Even to walk was a problem because, I had been in chains for long and all my bones had grown weak. I almost fell down while trying to cross the road because of my wobbling legs. I lost so much energy that, I became weak, lean and tired.

Suya was the first thing I ate after my release from captivity. I called a motorcyclist to take me to any nearby bus stop, which he did. When I turned the other side, I saw one man selling roasted meat (Suya), I went to him and bought the meat for one thousand naira and started eating.

My action was to soften the ground for me to start asking question that would let me know exactly where I was as by this time I never knew where I was exactly. I asked the man, how I could get to Mile 2, and he said before you get to Mile 2, you first of all get to Ransom Payment Spot(LASU)

I asked again, how I could I get to LASU, he told me to cross the road to the other side and enter any bus that was going that way. As soon as I entered the bus, I switched on my phones and there was no single credit on my phones except the one we used as a company group. That one doesn’t need credit because we pay once in a month. I now used it to call one of my managers.

Immediately he saw my call, he knew I was out and asked me where I was so that he could come and carry me. I told him to come to LASU, I got there and was waiting for him. He was coming from Agbara axis. While there, I strolled down a bit to buy orange, one man just came to me that I should give him money in spite of my tattered appearance.

I took two thousand out of the ten thousand Evans gave to me and gave to him. I was kind of hiding so that people who knew me before would not notice me until I got home.

When my manager came, he took me straight to the house after that, I went to report officially to the police. Even the commissioner of police came to my house after that.

After that incident, I requested for police protection which I was later provided with. I was so happy when I heard that, the guy has been arrested. I thank the Nigeria police for doing a great job. That shows that, if the police want to work, they could work.

Pope to Nigerian priests: you’ll be fired if you don’t obey

Pope Francis leads the Easter mass in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 16, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini 

Pope Francis has laid down an ultimatum to defiant Nigerian priests saying that they will lose their jobs if you don’t obey him and their bishop. The catholicherald.co.uk report that clergy in Nigerian diocese must write to Holy Father asking for forgiveness by July 9. The report stated that Pope Francis gave the priests in the Nigerian Diocese of Ahiara 30 days to write a letter promising obedience to him and accepting the bishop appointed for their diocese. Priests who do not write the letter will be suspended, according to Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. The papal text in English was posted on the blog of Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, president of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, and Fides posted it in Italian. The Vatican press office could not immediately confirm its authenticity, although Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja, who also was present, told the Catholic News Service that they were the remarks of the Pope. A day earlier, Nigerian Church leaders met Pope Francis to discuss the situation of Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke, who was appointed Bishop of Ahiara by then-Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, but who has been unable to take control of the diocese because of protests, apparently by the majority of priests. The Vatican issued only a short communiqué on the meeting with the Pope, describing the situation in the diocese as “unacceptable.” The protests were motivated by the fact that Bishop Okpaleke is not a local priest. “The Holy Father, after a careful evaluation, spoke of the unacceptable situation in Ahiara and reserved the right to take appropriate measures,” the Vatican said. According to the Pope’s remarks posted by Archbishop Kaigama, Pope Francis said, “I think that, in this case, we are not dealing with tribalism, but with an attempted taking of the vineyard of the Lord.” The Pope also referred to “the parable of the murderous tenants” in Matthew 21:33-44. “Whoever was opposed to Bishop Okpaleke taking possession of the diocese wants to destroy the Church. This is forbidden,” the Pope said. Francis said he even had considered “suppressing the diocese, but then I thought that the Church is a mother and cannot abandon her many children.” Instead, he said, every priest of the diocese, whether residing in Nigeria or abroad, must write a letter to him asking for forgiveness because “we all must share this common sorrow”. Each priest’s letter, he said, “must clearly manifest total obedience to the Pope” and indicate a willingness “to accept the bishop whom the Pope sends and has appointed”. “The letter must be sent within 30 days, from today to July 9, 2017. Whoever does not do this will be ipso facto suspended ‘a divinis’ and will lose his current office,” the Pope said, according to the posts. “This seems very hard, but why must the Pope do this?” Pope Francis asked. “Because the people of God are scandalised. Jesus reminds us that whoever causes scandal must suffer the consequences.” Bishop Okpaleke, the contested bishop, also met the Pope and was joined in Rome by other Nigerian bishops and a handful of priests making an unusual kind of visit “ad limina apostolorum” (to the threshold of the apostles) in early June. While “ad limina” visits usually are done in national groups, the Vatican communiqué described the Ahiara diocesan visit using the same term. It noted that the nine-man delegation prayed at the tombs of St Peter and St Paul and in the Basilica of St Mary Major. They also participated in a private celebration of the Mass with Pope Francis. The Vatican did not say if the Pope gave a homily. Later in the day, the Pope held a private audience with the group. Members also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, and Cardinal Fernando Filoni and other top officials from the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples to examine what the Vatican called the “painful situation of the Church in Ahiara”. When Bishop Okpaleke was appointed to the diocese, the announcement was greeted with protests and petitions calling for the appointment of a bishop from among the local clergy. Nevertheless, he was ordained a bishop in May 2013, although the ordination took place not in the Ahiara diocese but at a seminary in the Archdiocese of Owerri. Ahiara is in Mbaise, a predominantly Catholic region of Imo State in southern Nigeria. Bishop Okpaleke is from Anambra State, which borders Imo to the north. A petition to Pope Benedict launched by the “Coalition of Igbo Catholics” said, “That no priest of Mbaise origin is a bishop today … is mind-boggling. Mbaise has embraced, enhanced the growth of and sacrificed for the Catholic Church, has more priests per capita than any other diocese in Nigeria and certainly more than enough pool of priests qualified to become the next bishop of the episcopal see of Ahiara diocese, Mbaise.” According to the Vatican, the diocese has close to 423,000 Catholics and 110 diocesan priests. Trying to calm the situation, in July 2013 Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Onaiyekan to serve as apostolic administrator of the diocese, and the following December he sent Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, then-president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, to Ahiara to listen to the concerns of the diocesan priests and local laity. Cardinal Onaiyekan joined Bishop Okpaleke on the “ad limina” visit to Rome, as did Archbishop Anthony Obinna of Owerri and Archbishop Kaigama. Three priests, a religious Sister and a traditional elder also made the trip.

Osinbajo’s $1.5 billion loan meant for Kaduna, Ebonyi, Abia, Ogun, six other states

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, requested the bicameral National Assembly to consider and grant 10 states of the federation accelerated approval to borrow a total sum of $1.5 billion from multilateral agencies and France.

The states’ loans requests were parts of the 2016-2018 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan whose approval the presidency had sought since last August.

“I write in reference to my earlier letter requesting for the consideration and approval of the Senate (and House of Representatives) for the 2016-2018 External Borrowing Rolling Plan and to request the Senate (and the House) to separate the States’ Projects from the items listed therein with a view to giving them accelerated consideration,” Mr. Osinbajo wrote in his letter to both Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

The letter, dated June 1, 2017, was read in both chambers of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

Mr. Osinbajo sought approval of the lawmakers to allow Kaduna State and Ogun State access $350 million each for their respective State Development Policy Operation (DPO) from the World Bank.

Ebonyi and Abia States are also to secure $70 million (for Ebonyi Ring Road Project) and $100 million (for Abia Rural Access and Mobility Project) from a credit facility to be co-financed by the African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, Mr. Osinbajo further told the National Assembly.

Then, according to the acting president, the Islamic Development Bank is proving $422.4 million loan facility to finance projects in four states as follows: Katsina, Health System Project, $110 million; Jigawa, Integrated Rural Development Project, $32.4 million; Ebonyi, Ring Road Project (to be co-financed with the AfDB), $80 million; and Kano, Integrated Agricultural and Water Resources Development, $200 million.

Finally, for their respective Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Project (NUWSRP-III) Plateau, Enugu, Kano and Ondo States are looking forward to accessing $200 million from the French Development Agency.The proposed states loans amount to $1,492,400,000.

Mr. Osinbajo told the National Assembly “it will be highly appreciated if could kindly give this request an expedited consideration and approval to enable states meet up with all other effectiveness conditions for the implementation of the projects in their respective states.”

Since last August when President Muhammadu Buhari first sent the $30 billion 2016-2018 borrowing plan to the National Assembly, no part has ever got the statutorily required legislative approval.

In April, the president wrote the lawmakers, further to the last year’s initial letter, seeking approval to secure about $6.4 billion dollar loans from the World Bank and China to fund infrastructural objectives across the country and combat polio outbreak in the North-East.

While that request is still pending, the June 1 letter, read on Tuesday, was sent to seek approval for 10 states to secure loans.

source; premium times

FG pays N375.8m to 20 Whistleblowers

The Federal Ministry of Finance says N375.8 million has been paid to 20 providers of information under the Whistleblower Policy. The Director of Information, Mr Salisu Dambatta in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said that payment was related to the recovery of N11.6 billion.

Dambatta explained that the payment was only for recovered assets that had been declared free of legal disputes or litigation by the Attorney-General of the Federation. He said that in addition, taxes have been removed before final payments to beneficiaries. “This payment, which is the first under the Whistleblower Policy, underscores the commitment of the President Muhmmadu Buhari-led administration in meeting obligations to information providers under the Whistleblower Policy. “The policy is an essential tool in the fight against corruption. “The Ministry, therefore encourages all Nigerians with information on misconduct, violation or improper activity which can impact negatively on Nigeria to report it to the appropriate authority,” he said. Dambatta said the Whistleblower Policy was recently amended to include the introduction of a formal legal agreement between information providers and the Federal Government. He said the agreement had already been executed by the Minister of Justice. He said the amendment was introduced to ensure the protection of the identity of information providers during the payment process. However, Dambatta declined to revealed the specific recoveries for which the monies were being paid saying that “it may endanger the whistleblowers”. The Whistleblower Unit (WBU) is a multi-agency team, resident in Federal Ministry of Finance Headquarters. It is staffed by secondees from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Department of State Services (DSS). Also, the Nigeria Police Force and Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) form part of the unit. The Unit is the first line of response to whistleblower information, where initial review is undertaken before cases are forwarded to the relevant investigative agencies. So far, the unit has received 2, 150 communications and 337 tips through its dedicated channels from many patriotic Nigerians, which led to the recovery of substantial assets that were illegally acquired by various individuals. The primary purpose of the Policy is to support the fight against financial crimes and corruption, promote accountability and enhance transparency in the management of public finances.

We’ll strike you if…- Pro-Assad group threatens Trump’s US.

A military alliance fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday it could hit President Donald Trump’s U.S. positions in Syria. The threat which came in a statement in the name of the “commander of the operations room of the forces allied to Syria, warned that its “self-restraint” over U.S. air strikes on government forces would end if Washington crossed “red lines”.

The statement was circulated by a military news unit run by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, one of Assad’s military allies. Assad’s allies also include Iran and Russia.

The statement did not spell out whether Moscow was a signatory to it. “America knows well that the blood of the sons of Syria, the Syrian Arab Army, and its allies is not cheap, and the capacity to strike their positions in Syria, and their surroundings, is available when circumstances will it,” the statement said. The U.S. launched air strikes on Tuesday against what it said were Iranian-backed fighters who it said posed a threat to U.S. and U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in southern Syria, the second such attack in three weeks. The SDF spokesman Talal Silo told Reuters the battle started on Monday and the fighting would be fierce “because Daesh (Islamic State) will die to defend their so-called capital”. The assault overlaps with the final stages of the U.S.-backed attack to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State. It follows months of advances to the north, east and west of Raqqa by the SDF, which includes Arab and Kurdish militias. Islamic State captured Raqqa from rebel groups in 2014 and has used it as an operations base to plan attacks in the West. The UN estimates there are approximately 160,000 people left in Raqqa city, but said this was not a formal estimate. Humanitarian aid organisation, International Rescue Committee, said 200,000 people were still trapped inside, and warned civilians in Raqqa risk being killed by Islamic State snipers or mines if they try to flee but could be used by the militants as human shields if they remain.

El-Rufai Orders Arrest Of Northern Youths That Declared War On Igbos

Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir Elrufai has ordered the arrest and immediate prosecution of some Northern Nigeria youth group leaders who on Tuesday in Kaduna issued what they called a 'Kaduna Declaration' in which they declared “war” against all Igbos residing in the North, demanding they leave the area within three months. 

A press conference addressed in Kaduna today by a spokesperson for the governor, Samuel Aruwan stated the governor has directed the Attorney General in state to file charges against the youths that gave the ultimatum asking Igbos to leave the north while urging Northerners in the South-East to leave the area from October 1, 2017, which happens to be Nigeria’s Independence Day.

The youth coalition met at Arewa House in Kaduna yesterday and declared they will commence implementation of ‘visible actions’ to prove they are no longer part of a federal union that includes the Igbo. 

The declaration was signed by various groups which include Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, Arewa Students Forum and Northern Emancipation Network, but it is unclear if known officials of any of the groups actually signed the document.

They cite as reason for their decision the pro-Biafran activities of some Igbo, centred around the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), saying their latest action and similar confrontational conducts “amount to a brutal encroachment on the rights of those termed as non-indigenous people residing and doing lawful businesses in those areas illegally demarcated and defined as Biafra by the Igbo.” 

When SaharaReporters reached out to one of the signatories, Ahmed Yerima, he denied that his coalition was planning violence against Igbos but stated they were responding to IPOB leaders who recently successfully staged a sit-at-home protest in several Southeastern cities. Yerima said his group will soon make a clarification to the public while urging law-abiding citizens to freely exercise their freedom of movement.