Sunday 12 November 2017

Russia 2018: Rohr hails NFF

Russia 2018: Rohr hails NFF 


Dailysun report 
Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser Gernot Rohr is full of encomiums for the Nigeria Football Federation for the “professional and committed manner” it handled the Super Eagles’ 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Not only were the three –time African champions unbeaten in what was styled ‘Group of Death’, the Eagles picked the ultimate prize in that group with a game to spare, becoming Africa’s first candidate for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia in the process.
The man that led the team to achieving this feat believes the professional approach to the team’s preparations by the NFF for all the six qualifiers played a pivotal role in the team’s success.
“For sure, we must commend the NFF for the role they played right from that game in Ndola against Zambia to last Friday’s game in Constantine, Algeria.
“Apart from putting together excellent arrangements for our games at home, they ensured we travelled in comfort to all our away games and the fact that our away travels were always direct on chartered flights made sure we had very good recovery period between games. This also helped to manage the few days we usually have because of the congested and very small number of the FIFA international days,” Rohr said.
 Nigeria won four games and drew two to finish top of the eminent pile with 14 points, six ahead of second –placed Zambia.
In both drawn games away from home, they were pegged back by late penalties to the hosts in dying minutes, underlying the Super Eagles’ praiseworthy performance through out the campaign.
This, the Franco –German tactician believes, was down to paying attention to little details.
“From the time the draw was made for the group series of the qualifiers, we know that in a difficult group like the one we were in, the difference between success and failure could be down to little things that most people would take for granted, but I am happy that the NFF were very professional, passionate and committed to the cause. Their great planning and arrangements made the players to focus on the football only, so we got the best out of them.
“Now we cannot rest on our oars because there is a bigger challenge ahead of us. We have to prepare better and focus even more as we get set for the World Cup next year,” Rohr concluded.
Meanwhile Russia –based Bryan Idowu on Saturday night joined up with the rest of the squad after they arrived in Krasnodar, Russia. He told thenff.com: “It’s a big privilege for him to be part of this great squad. I will definitely give my best in order to remain a part of this team.
“It’s a big honor for me to be called into the Super Eagles. I will give this opportunity my very best shot so I can stay here for a long time. I believe this team will put smiles on the faces of Nigerians at the World Cup next year,” he added.

Corrupt soldiers, security personnel selling arms to criminals, DSS tells Reps

Corrupt soldiers, security personnel selling arms to criminals, DSS tells Reps


• Names Nasarawa, Benue, Taraba, Plateau as sales points
The Department of State Security (DSS) has blamed the worsening insecurity in the country on corrupt members of the armed forces and other security agencies, who allegedly sell arms to  criminals.
Speaking at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives joint committee on Customs and Excise and National Intelligence, investigating the “frightening influx of small arms and light weapons into the country,” Director of Operations at the DSS, Godwin Eteng, claimed some agencies had, over the years, recruited former cultists and armed robbers, who get involved in illegal activities, including arms sales to criminals.
“We have conducted more than 27 operations and arrested more than 30 persons involved in the supply of arms and ammunition and some of them are serving security men,” he disclosed.
He said there was a case in one of the armouries belonging to one of the armed forces, where many pistols got missing with quantities of ammunition and all the pistols were new.
“In the armoury, no place was broken into, but the weapons were missing. And we’re interested in knowing what happened.”
The director listed four states in the North-Central zone as the major sources of illegal arms.
“When we did our studies, we discovered that three-quarter of the arms used to cause the crisis in Southern-Kaduna, in Zamfara and Plateau states are coming from the following states: Nasarawa, Benue, Taraba and Plateau states.
“We found out that if you can carry out serious operations to affect the supplies, which is coming from these areas, it will seriously limit part of what is happening there,” the DSS director said.
On interventions to counter criminal gangs and prevent violent attacks, Ekeng disclosed that seven tactical teams were conducting the operation to apprehend culprits associated with the arms sales, an operation, which, according to him, is ongoing.
On how to solve the problem of illegal arms, he  suggested legislations on prohibited firearms, more extensive vetting of those recruited into the security agencies, release of funds for logistics for border patrol personnel, electronic manning and deployment of cameras at borders and review of crisis management at local government levels.
Damgaiadiga  Abubakar, Deputy Comptroller,  who represented the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, disclosed that there were 1,100 illegal entry points into the country, with only 97 approved border posts.
He said the Customs was short of  equipment needed to stem the flow of weapons into the country, revealing that 2,671 pump action rifles had been seized from January to date, just as Customs personnel found culpable in the import of 661 pump action rifles had been dismissed from service and handed over to the DSS for prosecution.
According to him, lack of operational vehicles, fast moving boats, cutting-edge technology and advanced scanning machines at airports, seaports and border points were limiting the effectiveness of the Customs.

We’ll boycott, not disrupt election -IPOB


We’ll boycott, not disrupt election  -IPOB




Dailysun source 
The proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has refuted reports that it plans on disrupting the forthcoming election in the state.
In a statement signed by the group’s publicity secretary, Emma Powerful, it slammed the leadership of Ohanaze Ndigbo and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing them of being behind the reports that IPOB planned to disrupt the elctions.
“We wish to state for the purpose of clarity that we are boycotting the elections and we want to state that the  unfounded allegations about IPOB intending to disrupt the polls as peddled by Ohaneze Ndigbo and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)  are not only baseless but completely false. What the good people of Anambra State should watch out for is the well known rigging antics of INEC.
“We insist on total boycott of all elections because voting in Anambra or any other elections in Nigeria is an exercise in futility since Aso Rock has already decided who they want sworn in as Anambra governor despite the words of free and fair elections emanating from APC praise singers in the South East. Risking one’s life to go and vote on Saturday, with trigger happy  soldiers looking for a Biafran to kill, is a risky adventure not worth undertaken by any sane person.
“We hereby warn all commercial vehicle operators to please stay away from Anambra State starting from the evening of the 17th of November because any vehicle seen will be regarded as hostile and working to subvert the will of the people. We are fully aware that some security agents have been brought into the state to facilitate the rigging of the election and any one seen on the road will be considered a threat to their plans. Therefore, we advise every body to stay in doors and to desist from driving through the state from 5pm on Friday the 17th of November to 6pm on Saturday the 18th,”the statement read.

Boko Haram: Army loses 3 soldiers

Boko Haram: Army loses 3 soldiers


The Nigerian Army has said it lost three of its personnel after successfully clearing 13 Boko Haram hideouts in the Sambisa forest in one week. Making the disclosure, yesterday, in Maiduguri, Borno State, Col. Kinsley Samuel, Deputy Director, Public Relations, 7 Division of the Nigeria Army, explained that six soldiers were injured during the operation while dozens of the insurgents were neutralised by troops.
Samuel said: “Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in conjunction with the Nigerian Air Force on Operation Deep Punch have, within the past one week, embarked on clearance operations to dislodge Boko Haram terrorists from their camps.”
He added that the troops successfully cleared the terrorists’ hideouts at Talala, Ajigin, Mangzum, Abagajiri, Kafa, Dusula, Buk, Malumti and Abulam among others.
“Furtherance to the clearance operations, the troops on Friday, November 10, 2017, while acting on credible information that the terrorists were massing up at certain camps in fringes of Sambisa forest, advanced and cleared the insurgents at Shyadawe-Angwan-Fulani, Shyadawe-Angwan-Bula-Musa and Shyadawe.
“The troops captured two gun trucks, three motorcycles, many bicycles and a laptop containing valuable information. They also located a vandalised and unserviceable tank in one of the camps.
“The remains of the soldiers have been evacuated while those injured are receiving treatment at a military hospital,” said Samuel.

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