Why Diezani Alison-Madueke Must Be Probed

Barely 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed all the members on the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo, has reiterated his call for the erstwhile Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to be probed.
Keyamo had, on June 17, written a letter to the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives asking the National Assembly to commence investigations into the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, especially with regard to the crude oil swap programme and offshore processing agreements of the company.
He alleged that some NNPC officials, in collaboration with some local companies, were looting the country’s resources.
In an interview with Sahara TV on Saturday, Keyamo said there was an array of issues necessitating investigations into Alison-Madueke’s management of the ministry.
He said, “It is about a whole lot of issues. In my petition, I was particular about what has come to be known as the crude oil swap deals. Under this arrangement, we never knew that a lot of our crude oil was given to private oil companies in exchange for their bringing in petroleum products. Under one arrangement, they were supposed to take it out. We signed (out) the products and then took them back to Nigeria whether they were petroleum products or by-products.

Decomposing Body Of Kidnapped Ex-FUTA VC, Prof. Albert Ilemobade Found Inside His Own Compound

Seven days after he was declared missing and family members were still expecting to hear from his abductors to pay ransom, the body of former Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof. Albert Ilemobade, has been discovered.

Why Buhari May Not Appoint Ministers Until September

Itchy Nigerians who eagerly await President Buhari’s ministerial list might have to wait a little longer as the President is said to be in no hurry to announce cabinet members.
The president is said to be determined to put the formation of his cabinet on hold until the “rot left behind by the past administration” is cleared. This was revealed to Punch on Sunday, June 28, 2015, by a reliable presidency source.

Al Shabaab claims responsibility for Somalia suicide attack

A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into the entrance of a Somali intelligence training center Sunday, a government official said.

And armed attackers traded heavy gunfire with security guards as they tried to enter the building, said Mohamed Yusuf, spokesman for the Somali Security Ministry.

The militant Islamist group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, Yusuf said.

Yusuf said Somali security forces killed three insurgents. But at least one Somali intelligence official was also killed, he said.

Al Shabaab has been designated a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States. It has waged a long insurgency in Somalia.

8 million mummified animals, mostly dogs, in catacombs at Egypt site

 

For centuries, dogs have been humans' loyal, domesticated companions. They've been wild animals, doing what's needed to survive. And in ancient Egypt, they served as bridges to the afterlife, with the hope that they'd intercede with the god Anubis on their owner's behalf.

But only now is it becoming known the extent to which dogs served this latter role -- 8 million times over.

Child suicide bomber kills 10 in Nigeria market attack

 
A suicide bomber, believed to be about 12, blew herself up in a market in northeast Nigeria's insurgency-plagued Yobe state, residents and medics said.

The blast Tuesday killed 10 people and injured more than 30 others.

The bomber detonated her explosives among traders and customers at a weekly market in the remote Wagir village.

Chad strikes Boko Haram in Nigeria, bans burqas

The central African country of Chad conducted airstrikes against Boko Haram sites in neighboring Nigeria on Wednesday and announced it has banned burqas, the head-to-toe garment worn by some Muslim women, after twin bombings earlier this week by veiled attackers.

The Chad army and security forces hit Boko Haram bases and related sites, according to a government statement, destroying six bases and killing several militants.

Prime Minister Kalzeube Payimi Deubet announced the burqa ban Wednesday following a call with religious leaders, according to another statement from the government.

The move was at the direction of President Idriss Deby Itno, after as many as 23 people were killed Monday in the capital, N'Djamena, in two attacks -- one at the National School of Police and the other targeting the Central Office of the Police, according to Chad's communications ministry.

The four attackers were also killed, and more than 100 people were wounded, officials said.

Meet the Muslims who celebrate their faith with dreadlocks and reggae

The followers of the Baye Fall aren't your typical Muslims. They show their devotion a bit differently: with dreadlocks and reggae.

Often, members of the Baye Fall are confused for Rastafarians.

"They both have very positive vibes, which is why they look alike -- the Baye Fall and the Rasta" concedes Mamadou Lamine Seck, a follower and the lead singer in Gustou Band.

"But we don't have the same prophet. I don't believe in Rasta, but I appreciate Rasta."

The Baye Fall sect is little more than a century old, and was born out of Senegal's second largest city: Touba. Touba itself was founded in the late 19th-century by the creator of the Mouride Brotherhood -- a branch of the Sufi order of Islam. In fact, Baye Fall's founder, Sheikh Ibrahima Fall, was said to be one of the brotherhood's fiercest disciples.

Aside from the physical look of Baye Fall followers, the sect is also notable for the value it places on hard work.

"Ibrahima Fall realized and decreed that working is better than fasting and praying. That is the principle we are all still following right up to this day," says Serigne Abdoul Aziz Fall -- a Baye Fall religious chief and grandson to the founder.

Iceland remains most peaceful nation in the world

 
In search of peace? Maybe it's time to move to Iceland.

According to the nonprofit Institute for Economics and Peace, the thinly populated island in the midst of the North Atlantic has retained its place as the most peaceful country in the world.

Tourists flee Tunisia after resort attack

 
Tourists fled a Tunisian seaside resort on Saturday, a day after an attack killed at least 38 people and wounded at least 39 others.

A stream of buses quietly ferried out thousands of guests who abruptly ended their beach holidays in the coastal city of Sousse.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack that started on the beach outside the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba, but it wasn't clear if the Islamist group had any direct role in it.

Stowaway found dead after falling from British Airways plane in London

A stowaway on a British Airways jet was found dead after falling on a roof as the plane approached London Heathrow Airport, authorities said Friday.

It's unclear whether the man had crouched in the wheel well, a common hiding place for stowaways.