THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO HAVE LAUNCHED AN ATTACK AGAINST RWANDAN HUTU REBELS IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTRY. The Democratic Republic of Congo's army on Tuesday launched an assault against Rwandan Hutu rebels in the volatile east of the country, military and official sources said. "Operations against the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) began in South Kivu early this morning and will last as long as these people resist," an officer in the armed forces (FARDC) said, asking not to be named. "We hear explosions here in Lemera, 30 kilometres from Mulenge," said Innocent Ndaheba, a local leader, referring to towns in South Kivu. "We've seen FARDC deploying over the past two days." Rwandan rebels have been active in North and South Kivu provinces since older members of the movement fled across the border in 1994. The Hutu rebels are accused of taking part in the mass slaughter in 1994 of some 800,000 people in Rwanda, mainly from the Tutsi minority, before a Tutsi-led rebel front seized power. "We're worried about collateral damage from these attacks," said Gode Mutama, who lives in Mulenge. "We live a few kilometres from the operations ground." Without elaborating, the army source said, "We have taken steps to protect the population." An official said the operation began in Uvira in the south of South Kivu and that the Congolese troops were acting without the support of troops in the large UN mission deployed in the DRC. The army officer confirmed that "unilateral operations" were taking place under the command of Brigadier General Espera Masudi in the Mulenge region, on the Uvira plateau. The assault was first announced by President Joseph Kabila's regime last month, with strategic, logistical and operational support initially offered by the UN mission MONUSCO which includes a brigade with a special UN mandate to take the offensive against armed groups. However, MONUSCO withdrew the offer when Kinshasa refused to remove two generals designated to lead the campaign, Bruno Mandevu and Sikabwe Fall, with both men having been accused of abuses by the United Nations. The FDLR is believed to number between 1,500 and 2,000 fighters. The rebels have been implicated in serious human rights violations, including killings, rape, looting and the forcible enlistment of children, in the two Kivus. The international community last year told FDLR to surrender by January 2, but barely 300 fighters turned themselves in. They included none of the leaders wanted by Rwandan and international justice.

IRAQI ARMY DOWNS TWO BRITISH PLANES CARRYING WEAPONS FOR ISIL TERRORISTS. Al-Anbar province, a senior lawmaker disclosed on Monday. “The Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defense Committee has access to the photos of both planes that are British and have crashed while they were carrying weapons for the ISIL,” Head of the committee Hakem al-Zameli said, according to a Monday report of the Arabic-language information center of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. He said the Iraqi parliament has asked London for explanations in this regard. The senior Iraqi legislator further unveiled that the government in Baghdad is receiving daily reports from people and security forces in al-Anbar province on numerous flights by the US-led coalition planes that airdrop weapons and supplies for ISIL in terrorist-held areas. The Iraqi lawmaker further noted the cause of such western aids to the terrorist group, and explained that the US prefers a chaotic situation in Anbar Province which is near the cities of Karbala and Baghdad as it does not want the ISIL crisis to come to an end. Earlier today, a senior Iraqi provincial official lashed out at the western countries and their regional allies for supporting Takfiri terrorists in Iraq, revealing that US and Israeli-made weapons have been discovered from the areas purged of ISIL terrorists. “We have discovered weapons made in the US, European countries and Israel from the areas liberated from ISIL’s control in Al-Baqdadi region,” the Al-Ahad news website quoted Head of Al-Anbar Provincial Council Khalaf Tarmouz as saying. He noted that the weapons made by the European countries and Israel were discovered from the terrorists in the Eastern parts of the city of Ramadi. Al-Zameli had also disclosed in January that the anti-ISIL coalition’s planes have dropped weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL in Salahuddin, Al-Anbar and Diyala provinces. Al-Zameli underlined that the coalition is the main cause of ISIL’s survival in Iraq. “There are proofs and evidence for the US-led coalition’s military aid to ISIL terrorists through air(dropped cargoes),” he told FNA in January. He noted that the members of his committee have already proved that the US planes have dropped advanced weaponry, including anti-aircraft weapons, for the ISIL, and that it has set up an investigation committee to probe into the matter. “The US drops weapons for the ISIL on the excuse of not knowing about the whereabouts of the ISIL positions and it is trying to distort the reality with its allegations. He noted that the committee had collected the data and the evidence provided by eyewitnesses, including Iraqi army officers and the popular forces, and said, “These documents are given to the investigation committee … and the necessary measures will be taken to protect the Iraqi airspace.” Also in January, another senior Iraqi legislator reiterated that the US-led coalition is the main cause of ISIL’s survival in Iraq. “The international coalition is only an excuse for protecting the ISIL and helping the terrorist group with equipment and weapons,” Jome Divan, who is member of the al-Sadr bloc in the Iraqi parliament, said. He said the coalition’s support for the ISIL is now evident to everyone, and continued, “The coalition has not targeted ISIL’s main positions in Iraq.” In late December, Iraqi Parliamentary Security and Defense Commission MP disclosed that a US plane supplied the ISIL terrorist organization with arms and ammunition in Salahuddin province. MP Majid al-Gharawi stated that the available information pointed out that US planes are supplying ISIL organization, not only in Salahuddin province, but also other provinces, Iraq TradeLink reported. He added that the US and the international coalition are “not serious in fighting against the ISIL organization, because they have the technological power to determine the presence of ISIL gunmen and destroy them in one month”. Gharawi added that “the US is trying to expand the time of the war against the ISIL to get guarantees from the Iraqi government to have its bases in Mosul and Anbar provinces.” Salahuddin security commission also disclosed that “unknown planes threw arms and ammunition to the ISIL gunmen Southeast of Tikrit city”. Also in Late December, a senior Iraqi lawmaker raised doubts about the seriousness of the anti-ISIL coalition led by the US, and said that the terrorist group still received aids dropped by unidentified aircraft. “The international coalition is not serious about air strikes on ISIL terrorists and is even seeking to take out the popular (voluntary) forces from the battlefield against the Takfiris so that the problem with ISIL remains unsolved in the near future,” Nahlah al-Hababi told FNA. “The ISIL terrorists are still receiving aids from unidentified fighter jets in Iraq and Syria,” she added. Hababi said that the coalition’s precise airstrikes are launched only in those areas where the Kurdish Pishmarga forces are present, while military strikes in other regions are not so much precise. In late December, the US-led coalition dropped aids to the Takfiri militants in an area North of Baghdad. Field sources in Iraq told al-Manar that the international coalition airplanes dropped aids to the terrorist militants in Balad, an area which lies in Salahuddin province North of Baghdad. In October, a high-ranking Iranian commander also slammed the US for providing aid supplies to ISIL, adding that the US claims that the weapons were mistakenly airdropped to ISIL were untrue. “The US and the so-called anti-ISIL coalition claim that they have launched a campaign against this terrorist and criminal group – while supplying them with weapons, food and medicine in Jalawla region (a town in Diyala Governorate, Iraq). This explicitly displays the falsity of the coalition’s and the US’ claims,” Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said. The US claimed that it had airdropped weapons and medical aid to Kurdish fighters confronting the ISIL in Kobani, near the Turkish border in Northern Syria. The US Defense Department said that it had airdropped 28 bundles of weapons and supplies, but one of them did not make it into the hands of the Kurdish fighters. Video footage later showed that some of the weapons that the US airdropped were taken by ISIL militants. The Iranian commander insisted that the US had the necessary intelligence about ISIL’s deployment in the region and that their claims to have mistakenly airdropped weapons to them are as unlikely as they are untrue.

KEEP GENERATOR FAR FROM WINDOWS AND ROOM ALWAYS. THE CARBON MONOXIDE IT RELEASE KILLS IN MINUTES. Carbon Monoxide could be called the “suicide gas, each year thousands of people deliberately inhale it, usually in the exhaust fumes of their own cars. But carbon monoxide (CO) has also caused more accidental deaths than any other poison in history, not just because its deadly, but because it slips under the radar of the human senses: you can’t see, smell or taste it, and it doesn’t irritate the skin or mucous membranes. And its fast-acting. By the time you notice symptoms of poisoning, its often too late. COMMON CARBON MONOXIDE SOURCES. Carbon monoxide is produced as a result of the incomplete combustion of any carbon-based fuel (petroleum, gas, paraffin, oil, coal, wood, charcoal, etc). Combustion produces other toxins too, but none as lethal as CO. When people die of smoke inhalation during fires, it is again CO that is the primary killer. Thus potential sources of dangerous CO levels include motor vehicle exhaust fumes, and the combustion fumes from fuel-burning appliances – such as charcoal braai grills, camping stoves, fireplaces, gas stoves and heaters, wood and coal ovens, and petrol generators and power tools. When these appliances are kept in good working order and used correctly with sufficient ventilation, they don’t carry a high risk for CO poisoning. But faulty appliances used in enclosed (or even semi-enclosed) spaces, for example a charcoal braai grill burning in the kitchen or a car engine running in a closed garage, can cause CO to build up to fatal levels. GENERATORS ARE LIFE-THREATENING HAZARD. World Occupational Care (WOC) is concerned that power outages in recent years led to many members of the public purchasing generators and Nigeria is no exception. A purchase that introduces a life-threatening hazard into the home or workplace. In its safety advisory on the issue, WOC points out that: “A generator's exhaust contains poisonous CO which can kill you in a matter of minutes.” Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Low levels of CO poisoning are often mistaken for those of other common ailments, like ‘flu, and may include: headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, weakness and shortness of breath. You can strongly suspect CO poisoning if these symptoms improve when you go outside. With higher levels of poisoning, symptoms become more severe, and include worsening headaches, vomiting, fainting, confusion and impaired vision and hearing. At very high levels, CO causes loss of consciousness, coma and eventually death. Symptoms can occur within minutes of exposure to the gas, and you can succumb to its effects before you’re able to seek fresh air and safety. People who are sleeping or intoxicated can die from CO poisoning even more easily. Unborn babies, infants, and people with anaemia or a history of heart or respiratory disease are especially susceptible to the effects of CO exposure. Breathing low levels of the gas can cause increased chest pain and fatigue in people with chronic heart disease. Even healthy people who survive breathing high levels of CO can be left with permanent heart or brain damage. If you think you’re experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning, Get fresh air immediately. Turn off any fuel-burning appliances, and go outside. Call emergency medical services if anyone shows signs of losing consciousness, or if other symptoms do not quickly improve. Even if you start to feel better, call your doctor at once and tell him or her that you suspect CO poisoning. If you’ve been suffering from chronic ‘flu-like symptoms, ask your doctor if it could be low-level CO poisoning, and have any fuel-burning appliances professionally checked. HOW TO PREVENT CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be avoided simply by making sure you know how to use fuel burning appliances correctly with sufficient ventilation, and getting them professionally periodically. The following guidelines from WOC as regards portable generators can be applied to other fuel-burning appliances also:- 1. Never use a portable generator inside a home, garage, shed or other partially enclosed space, even if doors and windows are open. 2. Use portable generators outside only, far away from the home. Keep the generator away from openings to the home, including doors, windows and vents. 3. Read the label on the generator and the owner's manual, and follow the instructions carefully. 4. Install CO alarms with battery backup in the home outside each sleeping area. WHY CARBON MONOXIDE FORMS DURING INCOMPLETE COMBUSTION. When carbon-based fuel burns efficiently (i.e. there is plenty of oxygen), then each carbon (C) atom in the fuel bonds with two oxygen (O) atoms from the air to form carbon dioxide (CO2), the same gas we normally exhale. But when there isn’t enough oxygen available for the fuel to burn completely, then each carbon atom bonds with just one oxygen atom to form carbon monoxide (CO). Please be careful about this and never refuel Generators while it is on.

WHY SEAT BELTS ARE IMPORTANT SAFETY MEASURES WHILE DRIVING. Seat belts are designed to give a high level of protection in the event of a crash. They are designed to adjust automatically to fit the user, to be convenient and easy to use. New drivers are disproportionately involved in accidents, especially in the first months after passing a driving test. It has been proven that drivers who have taken hazard perception test training have much better hazard perception test skills. Wearing the seat belts can reduce the injuries of that person as it stops that person to come out of his seat and hit other interiors of the car which is also called second impact. Despite the risk of serious injuries, and the facts that seat belts can be effective in saving the life of people sitting in the vehicle, many people still neglect the use of seat belts while driving. Nigeria Road Safety law : 1. By law, you must wear a seat belt in cars and goods vehicles where one is fitted. There are very few exceptions to this. The driver is liable to prosecution if a child under 14 years does not wear a seat belt or child restraint as required or the driver who is alone in a vehicle. 2. Children up to 135cms tall must use the correct child restraint for their weight (not age) when travelling in the front or back seat of any car, van or goods vehicle. In this case; Child restraint' means any of baby seat, child seat, booster seat or booster cushion which should be use to provide safety measures for the kids while driving. 3. A child can use an adult belt when they reach 135cm or their 12th birthday, whichever comes first. 4. In buses and coaches with seat belts fitted, passengers aged 14 years and above must use them. Why you should wear seat belt? 1. In a crash someone not wearing a seat belt is more likely to die than someone using one. Report indicates that in 2007, about 1,432 car occupants where killed, research also indicates that some 34 per cent were not wearing a seat belt. 2. While few people admit to regularly travelling without a seat belt, research shows that 24 per cent of people admit they sometimes don't wear a seat belt when travelling in the back, and 10 per cent in the front. There is also evidence that people are less likely to use seat belts on short or familiar journeys or at low speeds. This puts them at serious risk of injury in a crash. 3. You are twice as likely to die in a crash if you don't wear a seat belt. 4. Nearly 300 lives would almost certainly have been saved in 2007 if all car occupants had been wearing a belt. Roughly, that's one life a day. Tips for using the seat belt: 1. Do not twist seat belt, wear it close to the body. 2. The shoulder belt should lie across the chest across the chest and over the shoulder away from the neck. 3. Do not leave any slack in the belt - the belt can only do its job properly in a crash if it starts off close to the user's body. 4. Do not use 1 adult belt for 2 people. 5. The driver MUST ensure that all children under 14 years of age in cars, vans and other goods vehicles wear seat belts or sit in an approved child restraint. 6. Child seat belt - It has to be installed if you have small children and 1 thing to remember that baby seat belts should not be fitted in front seat of those cars which are equipped air bags. There are various sources through which you can get details or information on safety measures i.e. road signs, highway code signs, theory test practice, traffic signs, theory test, driving theory test practice, driving theory test, road safety signs, road traffic signs are available from the Road Safety Corp, The V.I.Os' and Road Safety Marshals. Always fasten your seat belt while driving. This is for your safety and others.

WHO KILLED PROFESSOR AHMAD MUSTAPHA FALAKI? This is very sad! Ridiculous, devastating and unacceptable. The extra-Judicial killing of the Professor is terrifying, act of inhumanity and abuse of human right. Professor Ahmad Falaki was with his driver and younger brother Aliyu Falaki returning from Bauchi on Saturday February 14, 2015. Professor Ahmad Mustapha Falaki, the director, Institute of the Agricultural Research (IAR) of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria who was murdered by the Nigerian Police after duely identifying himself was shot dead by the Police. Torture and extra-judicial killing Torture, according to the UN General Assembly, constitutes an aggravated and deliberate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. To the European Commission on Human Rights, the word ‘torture’ is often used to describe inhuman treatment, which has a purpose such as the obtaining of information or confessions, or the infliction of punishment, and is generally an aggregate form of inhuman treatment. Section 34(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that. “No person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment”. ‘Extra-judicial’ means happening out of court; out of the jurisdiction of the proper court. Thus, extra-judicial killing means killing; not sanctioned by a court of competent jurisdiction in the process of criminal trial. The 1999 Constitution, in section 33(1) guarantees the right to life in the following terms: Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of a sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty. The only permissible limitations on the right to life are contained in section 33(2) of the Constitution, which provides that a person shall not be regarded as having been deprived of his life in contravention of this section, if he dies as a result of the use, to such extent and in such circumstances as are permitted by law, of such force as is reasonably necessary: (a) For the defence of any person from unlawful violence or property. (b) In order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained. ( c) For the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny. It must be noted that the general omnibus derogation and limitation clauses in section 45 of the Constitution does not apply to the right to life. Thus, any killing not within the context of section 33(1) & (2) above will be unlawful and illegal. The pertinent question is whether the limitation clauses allow intentional killing in the circumstances enumerated in section 33(2) (a)-(c). It is respectfully submitted that the killing permitted under section 33(2) should have the objective of achieving one of the specified aims and the killing is merely a consequence of using an absolutely necessary amount of force in doing so. The European Commission on Human Rights, in construing a similar provision, ruled that if disproportionate force is used and death results, the Convention is violated, even if death was unintentional. While the use of force may sometimes be necessary, conduct resulting in death, whether intentional, negligent or accidental, should always have to be justified. The duty of the state is to secure life. Though the Constitution made no express provision on this matter, it can be implied from the spirit and some other provisions of the Constitution, that there is a duty on the State to act to secure life. Furthermore, though section 33 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to life, appears to have merely imposed a negative obligation on the State not to take life, when that section is read together with section 14 (under the Fundamental Objectives, and Directive Principles of State Policy), it will be clear that the State has a duty to act to save life. Section 14 enacts that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. Furthermore, the Constitution provides that Nigeria shall be a democratic nation, which implies the doctrine of the rule of law. The European Commission on Human Rights, while interpreting a provision under the European Convention similar to section 33(1) of the Nigerian Constitution, maintained that right to life imposes obligations on states to take appropriate steps to safeguard life. This will, for instance, entail taking appropriate steps to promote security and to prevent murder and other crimes threatening life. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has equally noted that the right to life includes a duty to prevent wars, acts of genocide and other acts of mass violence causing arbitrary loss of life. Having examined the concepts of democracy, torture and extra-judicial killing, and the circumstances in which some extra-judicial killing can be justified under the Constitution, and having stated the obligation on the part of the State to act to save life, let us now bring theory and practice into focus by juxtaposing the realities of Nigerian nascent democracy with the principles stated above. Torture and extra-judicial killing in Nigeria’s 4th Republic. There have been numerous cases of torture and extra-judicial killings since the advent of the Nigerian nascent democracy. This is notwithstanding the constitutional guarantee of right to life in provision against torture, inhuman or degrading to treatment. Members of the POLICE regularly beat up, kill or maim innocent persons. These trends has continued without necessary steps to correct the abnormalities by the legal authority. To this effect; Human rights groups across a broad spectrum are engaged in the vocal and public campaign for the promotion of human rights in Nigeria. Among the most active are: the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO); the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CDHR); the Constitutional Rights Project; the National Association of Democratic Lawyers; Human Rights Africa; the Legal Research and Resource Development Center; the National Association of University Women; the International Federation of Women Lawyers; and the Human Rights Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association. A number of prominent authors, including Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, artists, educators, and jurists, in addition to professional and labor organizations, have spoken out frequently on human rights issues. All the afformentioned organizations are hereby called upon to set up strong delegations to properly investigate and bring those responsible for gruesome killing of Professor Ahmad Mustapha Falaki as required by Chapter 4, Section 33 of Nigerian Constitution of the Fundamental Human Right. They are nothing, but criminals in disguise and must be brought to justice,”