HELICOPTERS SEEN BY IDP's DROPPING ARMS AND FOOD FOR BOKO HARAM. Displaced residents of Monguno, in Borno State, which was recently taken over by Boko Haram, have said they saw helicopters dropping arms and food items for the insurgents in the bushes. The IDPs, who said they spent about 48 hours in the bush running towards Maiduguri, expressed worry that the Boko Haram sect was not the only ones involved in the insurgency, but that there are many foreign fighters and some external supports. Leader of the Nigeria Vigilante Group in Monguno, Muhammed Sani-50 said he had, on several occasions, spotted unusual delivery of items in big wooden boxes by air, and sacks being dropped in the bushes around Marte and Monguno where Boko Haram terrorists were camped. “Even during the attack on Monguno, there was an aircraft that came but did not do anything, not even dropping a single bomb before it left; then another one later came around the Monguno barracks and we saw four men alighting from the aircraft, using a rope. The aircraft left, but we doubt if they were soldiers. “Even before then, some of my colleagues and I have been sighting helicopters dropping items in sacks and some in boxes to them at the camp of Boko Haram near Chikungudu and Kwalaram villages. Many helicopters came to drop items packed in boxes and sacks to the Boko Haram insurgents at a bush camp between Monguno and Marte; then we would see the Boko Haram gunmen rushing to the spot to pick the dropped items,” he stated. The displaced vigilante officials said those that attacked Monguno comprised hundreds of foreigners who looked like Chadians. “Many of them looked like Chadian Arabs – they were light-skinned with coiled hair, and there were many young men from Monguno – who Boko Haram had abducted when Nganzai was attacked last year – that were now active members of the sect. “While Boko Haram members that are former youths of Monguno were leading other insurgents to attack Monguno town, the foreigners were the ones engaging soldiers near the barracks,” he explained. Sani, who said he had lived in Monguno for the past 20 years, said he fled amidst the hail of bullets when the terrorists became irritated by his anti-bullet charms that rendered bullets ineffective. His shirt and trousers were riddled by bullets, yet he remained unhurt, he said.

Security Awareness Tips. Your safety and security are very important in every aspect of your life. Use these tips to help protect yourself, your loved ones and your valuables. EXTREME COLD SAFETY. When extreme cold arrives, there are many challenges to stay safe. It is important to take extreme cold seriously and minimize your risk of exposure. Preventive Action is Your Best Defense. (1) Prepare your home and car in advance for cold-weather emergencies: (2) Winterize your home by insulating, using weather stripping and caulking, and installing storm windows (3) Create a home emergency kit that has enough supplies for three to seven days. (4) Keep anti-freeze and windshield washer fluids at proper levels in your car and have a full tank of gas. (5) Carry a vehicle emergency kit that includes warm clothing, a blanket, a scraper, a shovel, a flashlight with extra batteries and jumper cables if you are residing in a severe snow area. If you must go outside, make it brief and avoid physical exertion, as cold weather puts extra strain on the heart. (6) Wear several layers of loose-fitting clothing: Outer layer-Wear a coat made from a tightly woven fabric that is wind- and water-resistant. Inner layer-Fabrics like wool, silk or polypropylene hold more body heat than cotton. (7) Wear a hat, a scarf to cover your face and mouth, mittens and water-resistant boots. (8) Remove extra layers of clothing if you feel too warm, as excess perspiration can increase heat loss. (9) Avoid wet clothing, which loses 90 percent of its insulating value. Shivering should not be ignored; it means your body is losing heat. (10) Do not drink alcoholic or caffeinated beverages, which cause your body to lose heat more rapidly. Don’t forget to bring your pets indoors!

Ahmadu Ali Says PDP Will Ensure Maku Fails For The Rest Of His Life. The Director-General of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council, Ahmadu Ali, on Tuesday said his party will make sure the former Information Minister, Labaran Maku, fails for the rest of his life for defecting to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. Mr. Ali said Mr. Maku is a “dangerous boy” who the PDP helped groom from nothing, adding that his defection will cause a reduction in the number of votes the PDP will garner in Nasarawa state. The Director- General who stated this at the PDP presidential rally in Lafia, explained that the former minister benefited from the PDP-led Federal Government only to defect to another party. “We have a young man who from nowhere was a Deputy Governor of this state for four years, from nowhere he was made a Minister at the federal level for six years, decided to leave the party for another party and keep telling lies that by being in that party, he is helping us. “He is only going there to reduce our votes. He is a dangerous boy. “We must make sure that now that he has shown his colour, he will continue failing for the rest of his life unless he retraces his steps back to the elders like us and we will forgive him.” Mr. Ali then urged the electorate in the state to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan and other candidates of the party at both federal and state levels. (NO Sir, #CHANGE - APC or Nothing) In his remarks, the President also denied lending any form of support to Mr. Maku’s gubernatorial aspiration under the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. Mr. Jonathan said lending such a support to the former minister would amount to anti-party behaviour. He, therefore, expressed his support for all the PDP candidates in the state in the February 14 and 28 general elections. “We are told and everybody spoke about that the former Minister of Information that is in another party and saying that it is the President who asked him to go to another party. Definitely I cannot play anti-party. “PDP is my party and all those who want to help us should come to PDP and work for PDP so that PDP will be in control of Nasarawa State so that government of PDP in Nasarawa State and the Federal Government that will be in the hands of PDP and work together to move Nasarawa State forward,” Mr. Jonathan said. Also speaking , the President of the Senate, David Mark, urged Mr. Maku to desist from dropping the name of Mr. President in his quest to achieve his political ambition. He advised him to apologise to the PDP ”if he is willing to return to the party”, saying that the PDP would wholeheartedly accept him into its fold. “People of Nasarawa State, don’t be deceived by any ungrateful son of yours, who goes round saying he is in another political party because Mr. President has put him there. “That is absolute lie, you must never believe it. We said so few days ago and we are emphasising it again. “And we want to emphasise it; (the) President is body and soul PDP. “He can’t, therefore, put somebody in another political party to be campaigning on behalf of another political party. “How can you be in APGA and be campaigning for the PDP presidential candidate? “Return to PDP with apology because before we even take him he has to apologise to all the good people in PDP.’’

They Believe No Christian Should Govern Nasarawa” Labaran Maku Blasts David Mark, Ahmadu Ali, Others. The governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance in Nasarawa State, Labaran Maku, has hit back at Senate President, David Mark, and a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], Ahmadu Ali, for accusing him of betraying the party. Maku, a former Minister of Information, formally joined APGA to contest the Nasarawa State governorship election, after losing to Yusuf Agabi in the PDP primaries in December last year. President Goodluck Jonathan, President of the senate David Mark and Ahmodu Ali had sworn it will not be well with Maku who they’ve supported all along only for him to defect. Mr. Maku, speaking through a statement by Zakari Edego, the Director, Media and Publicity of his campaign organisation, said the PDP leaders were jittery and panicky as a result of his exit from the party to emerge as APGA’s governorship candidate for Nasarawa State. “The import of these attacks on the APGA governorship candidate clearly shows that there is panic in the PDP in Nasarawa State following the emergence of Mr. Maku as the flag-bearer of APGA,” the statement said. “The real issue in Nasarawa state is that some people within and outside the state believe that no Christian should ever be governor of Nasarawa state. Therefore, Mr. Maku is being persecuted purely for religious reasons. “The attacks on him are orchestrated to sustain the status quo in Nasarawa, which is already leading to destruction of the state by insurgents and mercenaries. This development portends danger to the future unity and development of Nasarawa state and our dear country. “The Maku Campaign Organisation views the sustained attack against the APGA candidate as a desperate measure by some leaders of the PDP to distract him from campaigning to defeat their candidate and the incumbent in the upcoming governorship elections.” He queried Mr. Mark’s particular anger over his exit, while remaining silent on the defections in his native Benue State. “While Mr. Maku has high respect for Senator Mark and Dr. Ahmadu Ali and wishes not to join issues with them, he finds it especially curious that Senator Mark has remained mute over the defection in his own native Benue State of Former Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr. Sam Ortom, and former PDP National Chairman, Senator Barnabas Gemade, who have gone all the way to the opposition APC to contest for the governorship and senatorial positions respectively. “Why has Senator Mark not condemned these defections from his native Benue state? Why the undue attention on Mr. Maku and Nasarawa State?” Mr. Maku said he never enlisted the support of Mr. Jonathan for his governorship ambition in APGA, adding that, he is experienced enough to know a sitting president would not support him in an opposition party. He condemned David Mark and Ahmadu Ali for expressing anger over his campaign for Mr. Jonathan, whom APGA adopted as its presidential candidate as a result of his “sterling leadership qualities and many achievements in office”. “We therefore urge our teeming supporters to disregard all insinuations and threats and sustain the tempo of the campaign for Mr. Labaran Maku and Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to emerge as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and governor of Nasarawa State in this year’s general elections,” the statement said.

Sharia police arrest 12 men accused of planning to wed in Nigeria's Kano. KANO, Nigeria: Sharia police arrested 12 men accusing them of attempting gay marriage in Nigeria's second city of Kano, though 10 were later released, a spokesman for the board overseeing Islamic rules in the area said on Tuesday. Gay marriage, same-sex relationships and membership of gay rights groups were banned in January 2014 by President Goodluck Jonathan despite Western pressures over gay rights and threats of aid cuts to those passing laws that persecute homosexuals. Nigeria's population is roughly split between predominantly Christians in the south and Muslims in the north. As in much of sub-Saharan Africa, anti-gay sentiment extends across the religious divide. A spokesman for the sharia law group, Mohammed Yusuf Yola, said the men were arrested at the scene of the ceremony on the outskirts of Kano on Sunday following a tip-off. "It is still an allegation but when we screened them, they really looked gay, and the way they behaved was gay," Yola said. Ten out of the 12 suspects were released after their parents signed a statement saying they would keep their children away from such activities, Yola said, but would be handed over to the police for prosecution if they were caught again. Nigeria's anti-gay laws provide for sentences of up to 14 years in prison.