By Emma Chukwuanukwu, Assistant News Editor
Alex Ekwueme Foundation, a non-profit and non-governmental organisation, will be holding its inaugural International Summit on March 31at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
According to the Director General of the foundation, Dr. Duke Igwilo, “Terrorist kidnapping and hostage-taking is now a critical issue in Nigeria. Having grown phenomenally since the mid 1990s, it is now a source of significant safety and security concerns across the country and adversely affecting the country’s economy by greatly undermining foreign investment.”
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Daily Independent
It is a cheerful news that elder statesman and former Vice- President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, has at last, settled for a foundation.
The Alex Ekwueme Foundation, a non-profit and non-governmental organisation, according to media reports, will be holding its inaugural International Summit on March 31, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The foundation, it was disclosed, would have its thrust on how to douse the ire of militancy, which has developed to dangerous dimension, in the country.
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Thisday - 02.25.2009
Like a bad dream, kidnapping which was first unleashed in Port-Harcourt on February 18 2006 by militants to press home their demands has now assumed a frightening proportion in various parts of the country. Not even the serenity and safety of Abuja is spared. Kidnapping has now become a veritable tool in the hands of hoodlums for making money.
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The media launch of Alex Ekwueme Foundation will hold on:
Thursday 5th, March 2009
Venue: Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja
Tony Edike - 23 February 2009
Enugu — THE aged mother of the Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Ernest Ebi was kidnapped Saturday night by unknown persons from heraged mother of the Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Ernest Ebiof Imo State.
Madam Ebi said to be over 70 years, was kidnapped by a six-man gang, who stormed her home at about 7 pm Saturday in two unmarked private cars, a Toyota Cressida and a Mazda.
Sources close to the family said the woman was being driven into her compound when the assailants who were trailing the vehicle from a distance forced their way into the premises and forced her into their vehicle, leaving her driver behind.
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Written by Emeka Aginam - Thursday, 26 February 2009
With its resolve to promote peace, democracy, social justice and community development, how best to resolve kidnaping, hostage taking and local terrorism in Nigeria, will be the focus of a one day inaugural international summit to be hosted next month in Abuja by the Alex Ekwueme Foundation, a non- profit and non-governmental organisation.
Briefing newsmen in Lagos yesterday, on the summit, the Director General,Alex Ekwueme Foundation, Dr. Duke Igwilo noted with dismay that terrorism, kidnaping and hostage-taking have become critical issues in Nigeria that needs urgent attention.
Having grown phenomenally since the mid 1990s, the British based medical Doctor said that the social malady is now a source of significant safety and security concerns across the country, adding that it is adversely affecting the country’s economy by greatly undermining foreign investment.
Punch Newspaper - Thursday, February 5, 2009
By Agency Reporter
During the last Christmas celebrations, wealthy Nigerians who spent their vacations in the eastern part of the country spent a fortune on security. While many of them were budgeting for the yuletide, they also included the cost of securing police escorts and purchasing patrol vans. It was that bad in the eastern and southern parts of the country where it was very easy for the dare-devil kidnappers to snatch a man from his dinning table in the presence of his whole family members.
After a vacation marred by reports of kidnapping and ransoms, many heaved a sigh of relief on their return to Lagos. But behold, the kidnappers are prowling all over their haven.
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Thisday newspaper - 02.06.2009
Security agencies in Rivers State, working in close collaboration with the state Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, have come up with a fresh plan to stem the new spate of abductions in the state.
Before now, Amaechi, working with security agencies, had tried to curb the ugly act before the recent upsurge. Amaechi on Wednesday, held marathon meetings with security agencies in the state to fashion out a new plan and strategy against kidnappings.
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From Chika Amanze-Nwachuku in Lagos, Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt and Segun James in Yenagoa, 02.05.2009
Kidnappings seem to be on the upswing again in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, as gunmen on Tuesday night kidnapped Gladys, the wife of former Petroleum Minister and Amayanabo of Nembe, Dr. Edmund Daukoru.
It was barely one week after an eight-year-old boy was kidnapped and his 11-year-old-sister murdered in the city…
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By Umoren -
Sunday, February 01, 2009
One problem that has given the nation sleepless nights, in recent times, has been the vexing issue of kidnapping. Once, it was a method used by those in genuine struggle to the development of the Niger Delta; but not any more. Suddenly, kidnapping has become an advanced form of robbery!
Today, when a father refuses a son’s unreasonable request for money, there must be a “kidnapping” involving a member of that family, shortly after.
When a brother disagrees with a brother over land matters, there must be a “kidnapping”. Cult rivalry and gang supremacy soon ends in “kidnapping”. Suddenly, Nigeria has become one kidnapping ring!
In that kind of scenario, it is no surprise that some state hitherto free of the obnoxious activities of the so-called kidnappers are now being invaded. One of such states is Akwa Ibom State, where criminals from neighbouring states are said to be perpetrating evil. Sometimes, according to reports, they come in form of armed robbers; sometimes, in form of kidnappers. And there is the possibility of “political kidnapping”; just to settle scores!
However, the commendable measures adopted by the state to check the rising tide of crime in the state is what other states need to emulate.
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From Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt, 01.30.2009
Gunmen yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, killed an 11-year-old girl escorting his brother, eight-year-old Samuel Awolesun, to school and took away the boy, one of whose parents is said to be an employee of Shell Petroleum Devel-opment Company.
But it was a day of mixed bag of tragedy and relief as the hoodlums who kidnapped Total staff member Ngozi Ile on January 24, 2008 and Reverend Father Pius Kii last Sunday set them free in the early hours of yesterday just after the protest by the Catholic clergy in Port Harcourt, who insisted they would not pay any ransom for Kii’s release.
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Thisday Newspaper
From Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt, 01.27.2009
The increasing spate of kidnap of workers of Total Oil continued in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as one Ngozi Ile, a worker with the oil giant was in the early hours of Sunday kidnapped by unknown gunmen.
The kidnappers are already asking for N10 million ransom or $55,000 , whichever one her relations prefer , saying any of the two would be acceptable to them.
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Punch newspaper
Ibanga Isine, Chukwudi Akasike and Ibrahym Kazeem
Thursday, 22 Jan 2009
Heavily armed militants on Wednesday waylaid a vessel, MT Meredith, which was carrying over 4,000 metric tonnes of kerosene on the Bonny channel and kidnapped a Romanian who was on board.
A security source said the militants, who came with four speedboats, opened fire on the vessel as it was about to sail through the Bonny Fair Weather Buoy, thereby causing significant damage to it.
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That Nigeria’s future is inextricably linked to what the governing authorities do or omit to do about the Niger Delta crisis, is not in doubt.
But three recent developments underscore just how delicate and urgent the problem is, and how on a daily basis, the Nigerian government, the politicians, and the theorists of economic delusion continue to be confronted with the cost of their inaction. Leaders of the South South geopolitical zone and representatives of the North met on January 8, in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, and at the meeting, Niger Delta leaders were said to have requested for the “North’s support on development.”
It is interesting to hear that Niger Delta leaders are pleading with Northern leaders to support the Niger Delta cause. Who should be begging the other for support?
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Thisday Newspaper Nigeria
Ahamefula Ogbu - 01.18.2009
One person was killed when assailants kidnapped the crew of an oil-industry vessel in Nigeria’s restive Niger Delta region, a security official said Sunday.
But militants claimed the Nigerian military botched a mission to rescue two British oil workers held hostage for months.
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Nigeria-Tribune Newspaper
19.01.2009
One person was killed when assailants kidnapped the crew of an oil-industry vessel in the Niger Delta, a security official said on Sunday.
According to sources, unidentified gunmen attacked boats near a crude-oil loading installation late Saturday. A private security source said the gunmen had tried to board an oil tanker but failed and then attacked a smaller service vessel and one person was killed.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity. Spokesman of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF), Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, confirmed that attack, saying the entire Nigerian crew of one boat had been taken hostage.
MEND said one of its “affiliates” launched the attack to press the message that the military could not protect the oil industry. Meanwhile, militants claimed that soldiers botched a mission to rescue two British oil workers held hostage for months.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in an electronic message on Sunday that the British hostages were not in a village raided overnight by the military.
The group said it separated the pair and moved them deeper into the creeks and mangrove swamps. The military authorities made no comment on any rescue operation.
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Once again, kidnappers on Tuesday morning, struck at Emonu-Orogun in Ughelli North Local Government area of Delta State and took with them Pa Jacob Odivwri Edjesa, the father of Eddy Odivwri, former Editorial Page Editor, and now member, Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspaper.
Pa Odivwri, 82, was abducted from his bedroom in the wee hours of last Tuesday, and has since not been found. His abductors left an MTN number with which they could be reached. They had earlier demanded that MTN recharge cards worth N20,000 be sent to them, before negotiation of the terms of release would be discussed.
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BBC - Monday, 22 December 2008
The UN envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, has said there is a “hidden genocide” taking place in the country.
Mr Abdallah spoke as the African Union’s peace and security council held urgent talks on how to boost the peacekeeping force there.
Ethiopia says its 3,000 troops will withdraw by the end of the year, which some fear will lead to a power vacuum.
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From David McKenzie - CNN 08 - December 2008
NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) — The United Nations is mediating talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government and its main rebel group in an effort to “stop the hemorrhage” in the central African nation, a U.N. envoy said Monday.
“Let us now get on with it,” said former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is now the U.N. envoy to mediate the situation. “The DRC has bled for over 50 years. Let us stop the hemorrhage, let us bind the wounds, let us open a new chapter of durable peace and harmony.”
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Daily Independent Newspaper 01 December 2008:
Jos Riots: Death Toll Hits 400
By Olusola Balogun, Ekene Okoro (Lagos), Adetutu Folasade-Koyi (Abuja) and Onoja Audu (Jos), (With Agency Reports)
Residents delivered more bodies to the main mosque in Jos on Sunday, bringing the death toll from two days of clashes between Muslim and Christian gangs to about 400 people.
Rival ethnic and religious mobs have burned homes, shops, mosques, and churches in the violence sparked off by the dispute over council elections.
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REUTERS - 02.11.2008 - By Hez Holland
GOMA, Congo (Reuters) - A United Nations aid convoy protected by U.N. peacekeepers will head into a rebel-held zone of east Congo on Monday to try to reach tens of thousands of civilians displaced by fighting, the U.N. said on Sunday.
The convoy will group staff and resources from U.N. agencies and humanitarian NGOs. It will leave Goma, capital of Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province, and travel north to Rutshuru, taken by Tutsi rebels on Tuesday.
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The Guardian Newspaper
Tuesday 28 October 2008
Hundreds of protesters on Monday reportedly attacked the United Nations’ headquarters in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A UN spokeswoman said cars were damaged and windows shattered in the regional capital, Goma. The protesters are angry that a 17,000-strong UN force had not better protected them against offensive by rebel forces.
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The Guardian Newspaper
Tuesday 28 October 2008
A United Nations report has called on the Sudanese government to halt its increased military response to the ongoing rebel violence in Darfur, saying “the security condition in the region is deteriorating”. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who wrote the report on the situation in Darfur, said “an escalation in rebel violence and the military response from the Sudanese government have created a volatile situation in the region”.
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The Guardian Newspaper Monday, October 27, 2008
UNITED Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the world’s nuclear powers to take steps to abolish their atomic arsenals and outlined a set of proposals for eliminating all weapons of mass destruction.
The permanent members of the UN Security Council, the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, signed the 1968 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, under which they pledged to negotiate steps on scrapping their nuclear weapons.
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The Guardian newspaper Monday, October 27, 2008
A UNITED Nations (UN) human rights expert says women around the world will continue to endure violence, abuse and discrimination, according to a report submitted to the UN General Assembly in New York.
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BBC News, Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Zimbabwe’s main opposition party has called for new elections, after regional talks on the power-sharing deal were postponed for a week.
New polls are the “only way forward”, Movement for Democratic Change spokesman Nelson Chamisa told the BBC.
Neighbouring Botswana has also called for new elections.
The MDC and the ruling Zanu-PF agreed to share power last month but they cannot agree on the details. A BBC reporter says there is a lack of trust.
The BBC’s Jonah Fisher in Johannesburg says the atmosphere between the two parties is absolutely toxic.
A summit in Swaziland to discuss the deadlocked power-sharing agreement was postponed after the MDC insisted that its leader Morgan Tsvangirai be granted a passport.
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Guardian Newspaper Nigeria
Tuesday October 21, 2008
FORMER United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan has urged the Kenyan government to set up a tribunal for people accused of involvement in violence after last year’s elections.
Annan brokered a power-sharing deal, which ended the violence in February.
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From Mohammed Aminu in Sokoto, 08.12.2008
Thisday Newspaper
Sokoto
Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar III, has identified dialogue as the best way to achieve peace and stability in the world.
He noted that crisis and terrorism in the world today can be minimised to its barest minimum if parties to conflict engage in dialogue.
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October 17, 2008 — Updated 1502 GMT (2302 HKT)
Zimbabwe power-sharing talks stall
• STORY HIGHLIGHTS
• Parties tussle over finance, home affairs portfolios
• Reports suggest talks also stall because Mugabe wants generals protected
• Mugabe, Tsvangirai signed power-sharing deal on September 15
• The deal was to end months of turmoil and violence after the presidential poll
(CNN) — Power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe have stalled, with the government and main opposition parties unable to agree on the distribution of ministries.
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Guardian Newspaper Friday, October 17, 2008
SUDANESE President Omar al-Bashir has launched his “people’s initiative” for peace in Darfur with an elaborate ceremony attended by regional dignitaries but no rebels involved in fighting.
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From Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt, 10.19.2008 Thisday newspaper
President of the Economic Community of West African States Commi-ssion, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, yesterday warned parties in the various conflicts in the region to sheathe their swords, saying armed conflicts will never lead to the development of the region.
The ECOWAS boss, who identified poor resource management and exclusion from development as major causes of conflicts in the region, said hostility is antithetical to conflict resolution.
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