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* Between 70 and 80 people were burned alive when a fuel tanker truck exploded in Nigeria, reportedly after a policeman fired a shot to keep passers-by away from a road accident, newspapers said on Saturday. The truck hit a pothole and overturned on Friday on the road between Onitsha and Enugu in the south of the country, spilling its cargo of petrol, witnesses and police told the papers. Several witnesses said that the truck exploded when a policeman who wanted to distance inquisitive onlookers fired his gun in the air. One witness said that people had been trying to...

Note: The following text is a quote: "Mr Spencer or whatever you call yourself,i pray u die not except you die a Muslim." Today's Hate Mail Bag specimen comes to us from Tinubu, Nigeria: Mr Spencer or whatever you call yourself,i pray u die not except you die a Muslim. Cos if you dont, then am giving you tidings of rottening in Jahan'nam.Stop being a hypocrite for you yourself know that you are not telling the the truth of the seal of faiths.(AL ISLAM-MADIN). ASHADU ANALAILLAHA ILALLAH WA'ASHADU ANAMUHAMMADAR RASULILLAH. ALHAMDULILLAH BI NI'IMATIL ISLAM. I'm told all the time that...

Nigerian anger over China deaths Nigeria has close ties with China and trade between the countries is booming Nigeria MPs have asked the government to investigate the status of Chinese residents in the country, saying some may be staying there illegally. The demand follows allegations that Nigerians in China, especially those in jail, are being mistreated. The MPs asked the government to reject a request by the Chinese authorities to cremate the bodies of 30 Nigerians who have died in Chinese jails. There are an estimated 700 Nigerians currently in prison in China. The BBC's Chris Ewokor in Abuja says...

Sorry for the intrusive vanity. Several weeks ago, Rush mentioned a woman from Nigeria who wrote an article comparing Obammie the Commie to an African-style communist/Marxist dictator. Can someone please point me either to the article or the author's name? Thanks in advance.

Nigeria: Pastors Beheaded On July 26, 12 Christians were killed, including three pastors, in northern Nigeria after members of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram launched attacks on police and government bases, according to contacts at VOM Canada. The violence, which began in Bauchi state, spread to Borno, Kano and Yobe states. Churches were set ablaze and several people were abducted, including Christians. Many believers were threatened with death if they refused to convert to Islam. According to media reports, assailants behead three pastors: Pastors Sabo Yukubu, Sylvester Akpan and Pastor George Orji. The assailants were reportedly acting on the...

Some 2,500 years ago, a mysterious culture emerged in Nigeria. The Nok people left behind bizarre terracotta statues -- and little else. German archaeologists are now looking for more clues to explain this obscure culture. Half a ton of pottery shards is piled on the tables in Peter Breunig's workroom on the sixth floor of the University of Frankfurt am Main. There are broken pots, other storage vessels, a clay lizard and fragments of clay faces with immense nostrils. The chipped head of a statue depicts an African man with a moustache, a fixed glare and hair piled high up...

Nigerians all over the world have reacted to alleged plans by the Libya plans to execute 220 Nigerians for immigration violations. It said that out of this number, 30 were allegedly executed in the early hours of Thursday in the prison yard in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. for entering the country without valid documents. most Nigerian illegal immigrants were arrested in the desert while trying to cross to Europe... Libyan authorities have been killing illegalaliens in batches since last week, stressing that the remaining prisoners would be executed tomorrow...

Our nation's top diplomat needs to learn that her job is to enhance the U.S. image abroad -- not muddy up America's reputation. Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton resurrected the 2000 presidential election controversy. On Wednesday, during an official visit, she mentioned the race in the context of Nigeria's turbulent electoral history. "You know, we had some problems in some of our presidential elections," she said. "As you may remember, in 2000, our presidential election came down to one state where the brother of one of the men running for president was governor of the state. So...

August 16, 2009 SNIPPET: "MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (BP)--Twelve Christians, including three pastors, were killed and 20 churches were demolished in Nigeria amid escalating religiously motivated violence, prompting a call for government intervention." SNIPPET: "In a report Aug. 6, ICC said the attacks that occurred July 26 in Maiduguri were instigated by Boko Haram, a group that opposes Western education and fights to impose sharia law throughout Nigeria, including areas that are largely Christian. Sabo Yakubu, a husband, father of seven and pastor of a Church of Christ congregation, was hacked to death by a machete, ICC said. Also killed were Sylvester...

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Tina Brown, what's wrong with my former, ex-girlfriend Hillary Clinton? TINA BROWN: What's wrong with Hillary is one week too long on this African hellish tour that she's on. Think of it from the human point of view: she is in her second week. She's hot. ..She is feeling fat. She had this horrible business where she suddenly lost it a bit over the whole Bill thing... Frankly, I want to get her home now. I want to get her home. Otherwise, by the time she hits Liberia, she's going to be saying: "what can I tell you?...

Here is video of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a Town Hall Meeting in Nigeria where she compared Nigeria's last Presidential Election and it's evidence of vote-rigging to the razor-thin election victory of George W. Bush over Al Gore in 2000. She insinuated that then Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had rigged the outcome by telling Nigerians, "We've had our own problems with elections. The brother of the man running for President was the Governor of the state. So, we've had our problems too." Hillary's not having a good trip to Africa. Just the other day she had an angry...

<p>Secretary of State Hillary Clinton compared Nigeria’s corruption and electoral problems with the 2000 Florida presidential election recount during a town hall meeting today in Abuja, Nigeria.</p> <p>Answering a question about Nigeria’s recent election, Clinton said, “In 2000, our presidential election came down to one state where the brother of the man running for President was the governor of the state. So we have our problems too.”</p>

Niger voted on Tuesday in a referendum the president hopes will give him a mandate to change the constitution and rule beyond the end of his term. Mamadou Tandja’s growing authoritarianism has raised fears of unrest in Africa’s second biggest uranium producer. The European Union on Tuesday warned that Mr Tandja’s actions could lead it to cut aid. In recent months, the president has governed by decree after dissolving parliament and disregarding the Supreme Court’s ruling against his plans to extend his stay in office beyond a two-term limit. “In voting today [Tuesday], I believe I have responded to the...

The renewal of violence in the northern provinces of Nigeria brings this oil producing country to the brink of "Talibanization," threatening not only the precarious ethnic and religious makeup of the most populous African state but also the entire region, from Chad to Senegal. The fight between the now-called "Nigerian Taliban" and the governmental forces took place this week within a country whose borders are 300 miles from where President Barack Obama stood inside the Ghana Parliament to address Africa's "problems." Unfortunately last month, the president didn't use mention words such as “Taliban,” “jihadists,” “Shariah,” “salafists,” or any term indicating...

Police in northern Nigeria say they have found another group of women and children abducted by the Boko Haram sect, locked in a house in Maiduguri. The group were in a deplorable condition, officials said, and one baby is believed to have pneumonia. The military now says 700 people were killed in Maiduguri alone during violent clashes between police and the Islamic sect. Col Ben Ahanotu, head of security in Maiduguri, said that mass burials had begun there. The Boko Haram compound, he said, was being used as one of the burial sites because bodies were decomposing in the heat....

The leader of an Islamic sect blamed for days of deadly violence in Nigeria has been killed in police custody, police officials say.The news came just hours after security forces said they had captured Mohammed Yusuf in the city of Maiduguri. Mr Yusuf led Boko Haram, which wants to overthrow the government and impose a strict version of Islamic law.Hundreds of people have died in five days of clashes between his followers and security forces."He has been killed. You can come and see his body at the state police command headquarters," Isa Azare, spokesman for the Maiduguri police command, told...

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AFP) – A Nigerian Islamist sect leader was shot dead following his capture Thursday, after troops put down a five-day uprising that left hundreds dead. Mohammed Yusuf, 39, leader of a Nigerian self-styled Taliban sect was captured earlier in the day from a house in the northeastern city of Maiduguri following days of deadly clashes between his followers and security forces. "Mohammed Yusuf was killed by security forces in a shootout while trying to escape," Moses Anegbode, police Assistant Inspector-General for the northeastern Nigeria told BRTV state television. "I can confirm that has been killed and the body...

Washington, D.C. (July 29, 2009) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Islamic extremists killed a pastor and razed five churches in the city of Maiduguri, Nigeria, on July 27. The extremists also attacked two churches in the Nigerian city of Potiskum. Yakubu Sabo, a husband and father of seven, was hacked to death with a machete by members of a violent Islamic militant group know as Boko Haram (which means “education is prohibited”). Sabo pastored a Church of Christ congregation in Maiduguri. Deeper Life Church, Evangelical Mission, and Church of the Brethren are three of five other churches...

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – Troops shelled the compound of an Islamist sect blamed for days of violence in northern Nigeria then attacked its mosque, killing at least 100 militants in a fierce battle.

More soldiers were said to have been killed in the exchange of gunfire between them and members of the militant religious sect, “Boko Haram”, yesterday in Maiduguri, Borno State. Military authorities refused to confirm or deny the story last night but promised to brief the press today on the situation. But highly placed sources told THISDAY that no fewer than three more soldiers lost their lives yesterday. This, if confirmed, will bring to six the total number of soldiers killed since hostilities began in Bauchi last Sunday. And as the military bombardment of the Maiduguri stronghold of the leader of...

JOHANNESBURG – Islamist militant attacks that killed scores in Nigeria this week appear to be abating, but Nigeria's woes show no sign of going away — and in fact are growing deeper. A country that should be rich on prodigious oil reserves is getting poorer by the day, Islamic radicals are seeking to impose a Taliban-style regime in the north, and Angola has surpassed Nigeria as Africa's biggest oil producer. The two-day outburst of violence is just the latest wave in a familiar cycle of bloodshed — and a sign that the corrupt government is unable or unwilling to confront...

Nigerian forces have shelled the home of an Islamic extremist sect leader in the city of Maiduguri. Sectarian violence has already claimed the lives of over 250 people in the past three days as authorities try to quell a radical Islamic uprising. * React (3) * Print * save AFP - Nigerian forces Tuesday shelled the home of the leader of an Islamic fundamentalist sect on the third day of fierce clashes that have left more than 250 people dead, witnesses said. An AFP reporter heard sporadic mortar fire and gunshots as soldiers shelled the home of Mohammed Yusuf in...

Up to 100 people are believed to have been killed in the latest clashes between Islamist militants and security forces in Nigeria. The Islamist militants have staged a series of attacks on police stations, government buildings and a church in northern Nigeria over the past two days. In the latest assaults as many as 100 people died as militants engaged police in fierce gunbattles. The Islamist fighters are thought to belong to a group known as Boko Haram, which means "western education is sin". The group wants Western-based education banned and wants to establish sharia law across Nigeria, a country...

July 26, 2009 News services report an early morning attack on a police station in Bauchi City, Nigeria, by the Nigerian Taliban, AKA Boko Haram. The initial attack was repelled, and the police evidently chased the attackers into the adjoining neighborhood. Total death toll includes one police officer and 40+- others - mostly Taliban, some civilians as well.

Forty-two people died during fighting between Nigerian police and a sect inspired by the Taliban, according to source in a hospital in the northern city of Bauchi. AFP - Forty-two people were killed Sunday in clashes between police and members of a radical sect in Nigeria that is inspired by the Taliban in Afghanistan, a hospital source said. "We have received a total of 42 bodies," Awwal Isa, a nurse at Bauchi Specialist Hospital in the northern city of Bauchi where the violence took place, told AFP by telephone. They were victims of "fighting between security personnel and members of...

United Nations Trust Fund Switzerland Department of Humanitarian Affairs Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland. Congratulations Beneficiary, Your email has been selected by the United Nations(UN) for a cash grant award of Six Hundred And Fifty Thousand Five hundred United States Dollars,($650,500.00usd)for this year 2009 Grant Award.Your email address was selected during our random email balloting for the cash grant and if you received this notification,it means that you are a lucky beneficiary of our cash grant award. The united nations authorities has decided to give this award to 15 beneficiaries from all over the world to help fascilitate...

Note: The following text is a quote: YOU ARE HERE: Home > Reports > Consular Affairs Bulletins > Report Warden Message: Nigeria Kidnapping Incident, Southern Travel Risks CONSULAR AFFAIRS BULLETINS Sub-Saharan Africa - Nigeria 13 Jul 2009 U.S. Embassy Abuja and U.S. Consulate General Lagos jointly issued the following Warden Message on July 13: This warden message is being issued to warn all U.S. citizens of the continuing risks of travel in southern and southeastern Nigeria. On June 29, 2009, a U.S. citizen was kidnapped from a vehicle on the Izombe-Owerri road in Imo State. The U.S. Government worked with...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4c6_1247205700 "Sharia Law And Forced Amputations In Nigeria" Video Description: "Sharia Law And Forced Amputations In Nigeria see for yourself!"

NIGERIAN militants claim to have blown up for a second time a recently repaired oil pipeline operated by US petroleum giant Chevron. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the country's most prominent armed group, said it destroyed the pipe around 1900 GMT on Friday (5am AEST Saturday). The pipeline was first hit in May. "Our fighters revisited the recently repaired Chevron pipeline linking Alero creek through Abiteye to the Chevron export terminal in Delta state and destroyed it again," the group said. Nigeria's main rebel group, which claims it's fighting for a greater share of the...

ACCRA, Ghana, Sep 23, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton on Monday urged Africans to team up to fight poverty, saying boundary-less cooperation means boundless economic potential. "Through cooperation and collaborative efforts, termites have been able to pull down strong edifices," Clinton said. "Bees have been able to build houses for humans to tap heir honey from." Clinton, who is in Africa to promote efforts to fight AIDS and encourage economic development, was speaking to an assemblage of government ministers, traditional rulers and academics at the launch of Ghana President John Kufuor's Foundation for...

Armed Nigerian militants are holding six members of an oil tanker's crew, including the Russian captain, hostage, the tanker's managers say. A statement from EMS Ship Management said the Sichem Peace was boarded by armed men about 20 nautical miles from Escravos, Nigeria. The gunmen forced six crew members to come ashore with them, the BBC reported Monday The company said the ship was then released and its remaining 13 crew members sailed it further offshore. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, issued a communique claiming it was holding the men, whom it identified as...

Russia's energy giant Gazprom has signed a $2.5bn (£1.53bn) deal with Nigeria's state operated NNPC, to invest in a new joint venture.The new firm, to be called Nigaz, is set to build refineries, pipelines and gas power stations in Nigeria.

A top expert tells Congress that oil will be around for a long time and high inventories and low prices are no excuse not to find more. Oil shock? How about a no-oil shock? Be careful what you wish for, goes the old proverb. Well, as we all had hoped, energy prices have fallen — but only as part of the global decline in economic activity. This has been used as an excuse to further discourage exploration for and development of domestic oil resources. But if the economy does recover, that policy could provoke another recession.

I posted an ad in Craig's List a few days ago, selling a laptop computer. I received numberous suspicious responses asking for my Paypal account number, such as the one below: I'm interesting in purchasing this item for my inlaw, what is the present condition and get back to me if its available for sale.i will make a good offer. I had already received several of these fractured-English inquiries, and was suspicious right off the bat. Here's my reply: As I am interesting in selling it to you. I expecting hopefully good offer. Here is the reply I got: to...

Russia's energy giant Gazprom has signed a $2.5bn (£1.53bn) deal with Nigeria's state operated NNPC, to invest in a new joint venture. The new firm, to be called Nigaz, is set to build refineries, pipelines and gas power stations in Nigeria. Analysts say the move could further strengthen Russia's role in supplying natural gas to Europe. The agreement comes during a four-day African tour by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. As well as forming Nigaz, Russia is keen on developing a trans-African pipeline to transport Nigerian gas to Europe. This could further reinforce Gazprom's already-strong influence over Europe's energy supplies. 'Commodity-rich'...

Oil Surges Toward $71 on Nigeria Attack By REUTERS Published: June 25, 2009 LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than $2 to near $70 a barrel on Thursday after Nigerian rebels attacked a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline, raising worries about supply from the OPEC-member nation. Crude also got a lift as Wall Street rallied on hopes for an economic recovery and as gasoline futures rebounded heading into the peak of the U.S. summer driving season. U.S. crude futures for August rose $2.18 to $70.85 a barrel by 1730 GMT. London Brent crude rose $2.09 to $70.42 a barrel. In...

mo, Nigeria, Jun 15, 2009 / 06:08 pm (CNA).- By a vote of 13-1, the legislature in the small state of Imo, Nigeria rejected the Reproductive Rights Bill last week, marking a pro-life victory in a state whose rich heritage, culture and religious traditions welcome life and respect the lives of unborn children. It was a decision that the national Nigerian newspaper This Day described as a “victory of the superior Imo cultural values over the new global Western Cultural Revolution” and “yet another triumph of reason… a triumph of democracy and the popular will.” While the Reproductive Rights Bill...

Playwrights everywhere nurture the same dream: to see a live performance of their work. So when Out North decided to stage a production of his full-length historical drama "The Black Cockerel," Waisu Ademola Bello was elated. Elation became consternation when, a few weeks before the show's opening, he was arrested for having overstayed his visa and sent to a detention center in Tacoma to face possible deportation. Now out on bond, he reflected Thursday on how he got in such a situation and described a convoluted, troubled path stretching from Africa to Alaska. Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, Jan. 31, 1973,...

The trial of Anglo-Dutch super major, Shell, over its alleged complicity in the death of Mr. Ken Saro-Wiwa, leader of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), will begin today. Lawyers from the company will today represent the oil major in a New York court as it faces charges that it colluded in human rights abuses and torture in the Niger Delta which led to the hanging in 1995 of Ogoni campaigner and renowned poet, Saro-Wiwa. The troubled oil giant had refused to comment on the court case ahead of the hearings, but the continued flaring of...

Chief Alfred Bubor: "Actually, I was on the toilet when I heard this boom, and all the lights went and the wall started falling down." ...military helicopters buzzed over the small town of Oporoza, in Nigeria's Niger Delta... The helicopter gunships hovered low over a crowded street, where people had gathered to celebrate an annual festival, and opened fire with machine guns and rockets, according to several accounts... The assault last Friday was the beginning of a six-day campaign by the Nigerian military's Joint Task Force (JTF), which is in charge of security in the Niger Delta, fighting oil...

A congressionally mandated commission has blacklisted Nigeria as one of the world's worst abusers of religious freedom, in a controversial decision made with dissent from at least one of the panel's members. The ranking is linked to the government's role in religious discrimination and retribution in the large West African country. Although official policies do not encourage or promote such actions, the commission faults the authorities for failing to prevent violence along religious lines. "The toleration by Nigeria's federal, state and local governments of systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom has created a climate of impunity, resulting in...

More than nine United States lobbying firms are jostling for the highly paid job of representing the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the country. THISDAY learnt the firms have made their interests known officially by submitting their proposals to the government. Although, the identities of the companies were not revealed, a source who cannot be quoted because he is not authorised to speak to the press, said the matter is before the Federal Executive Council (FEC). FEC is expected to mull over the submissions before them and make an informed decision as to which firm will best represent Nigeria’s interests...

If we spend 20 years preparing for madness, when exactly are we going to manifest the full-blown lunacy? remains one of my favourite Yoruba proverbs. This statement is so profound and relevant to the Nigerian situation. It seems our leaders have spent nearly 50 years perfecting their lunacy, and no psychiatrist is able to find a cure. In 50 years, we’ve been unable to produce a leader who can turn our country into Singapore, Dubai or China. Yet we are naturally endowed with everything we need. Professional politicians in Nigeria are like leopards. They have refused to change their skin....

Gunmen riding in 18 boats attacked a military houseboat outside an oil facility Monday in restive southern Nigeria, commandeering a naval vessel and killing one sailor, Shell and private security officials said. Four other people were wounded in the attack on military forces guarding a facility run by Royal Dutch Shell's local joint venture in Nigeria's southern Bayelsa state, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to prohibitions on dealings with the media.

Some person named "Azul Ajan" sent this to me: Dear Friend, First, I must solicit your confidence in this transaction.This is by virtue of its nature as being utterly CONFIDENTIAL AND TOP SECRET. However after series of petition was recieved by this present cregime from foreign contractors and inability of the BANK OF AFRICA to fulfill their obligation for the payment to its foreign creditors, in conjunction with the council of ministers, they mandated us to carry out a careful and comprehensive review of all overdue payments to foreign contractors and to effect payments immediately. During the above mentioned process,...

Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Seattle Division 1110 Third Avenue Seattle, Washington 98101-2904 Payment Code: R5109176K Reg No: 132731593 Date: March 29, 2009 The Federal Bureau of Investigation has discovered through our intelligence Monitoring Network that you are eligible to receive the sum of $7,500,00.00 USD regarding to an over-due Inheritance/Award payment which was fully endorsed to be paid in your favor. Therefore, the FBI Seattle Division in conjunction with the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Has screened through our various Monitoring Networks and has been confirmed and notified that the transaction you have with the Financial Institution...

March 24, 2009 Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/March/09-nsd-264.html Irish Trading Firm and Its Officers Charged in Scheme to Supply Iran with Sensitive U.S. Technology WASHINGTON – An Irish trading company and three of its officers have been charged with purchasing helicopter engines and other aircraft components from U.S. firms and illegally exporting them to Iran using companies in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. Among the alleged recipients of these U.S. goods was an Iranian military firm that has since been designated by the United States for being owned or controlled by entities involved in Iran’s nuclear...

The Church of Nigeria, the largest province in the Anglican Communion, has become the first to formally accept a new orthodox province emerging in North America. Although official recognition from the entire 77 million-member Anglican Communion is expected to take years, the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria resolved unanimously to be in "full communion" with the emerging Anglican Church in North America and recognise it as a branch in the global body, according to an announcement on Friday. Bishop Robert Duncan, who is to lead the Anglican Church in North America, praised the decision. "In this one action,...

LAGOS - NIGERIA'S anti-drugs agency has arrested a 114-year-old Nigerian man after discovering 100 bags of cannabis behind his house in south-west Ogun state, a senior official said on Saturday. NDLEA Ogun state director Chinyere Obijuru said Sulaimon Adebayo who denied ownership of the illicit drug was arrested early in the week at Odeda following a tip-off. 'Imagine what could have happened if this drug had not been seized. Imagine the lives that would have been destroyed by this illicit drug,' she queried. Last November, the agency seized 30,000 kilogrammes of cannabis contained in 5,923 bags in southern Edo state,...

Sectarian violence in northern Nigeria this past weekend left at least 11 people dead, police and Red Cross officials said Monday. Violence broke out Saturday when Muslim youths attacked Christians and burned churches in Bauchi state, according to Agence France Presse. In total, six churches and about a dozen houses were torched, Red Cross officials said. The conflict also left nearly 40 people injured. Local Muslims say the attack on Christians is retaliation for two mosques that went up in flames during the early morning hours on Saturday. Muslims blamed local Christians for the burning of the mosques. But even...