Home » News Update » Buhari’s certificate a forgery – PDP

<SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' data-rocketsrc="//ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N7928.1916796THENATIONONLINENG.N/B8074030.112533107;abr=!ie;sz=640x90;ord=[timestamp]?" type="text/rocketscript"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <A HREF="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/N7928.1916796THENATIONONLINENG.N/B8074030.112533107;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=640x90;ord=[timestamp]?"> <IMG SRC="//ad.doubleclick.net/ad/N7928.1916796THENATIONONLINENG.N/B8074030.112533107;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=640x90;ord=[timestamp]?" BORDER=0 WIDTH=640 HEIGHT=90 ALT="Advertisement"></A> </NOSCRIPT>

Buhari’s certificate a forgery – PDP

Posted by: Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja in News Update 17 mins ago

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign organisation has described the West African School Certificate result of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as a “forgery.”
At a news conference in Abuja, the Director of Media and Publicity of the organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said the result sheet issued by the Cambridge examination body was superimposed on another document
Asked if the PDP had contacted the authorities in Buhari’s old secondary school to verify the authenticity of the document, Fani-Kayode answered in the negative and maintained that the party was not interested in such exercise.
Fani-Kayode said: “The column lines on the part where names are printed do not align with the blank columns, while there is an introduction of extraneous lines on some other columns.
“The document contains an obvious alteration on the Mathematics column of the candidate, Mohamed Buhari, who was assumed to have scored an “F” in the subject.
“This raises a very fundamental issue of validity in view of the fact that the accompanying result sheet states that “any alteration or erasure renders this statement of Results invalid.
“This is the standard practice in all interpretation of documents especially academic records. The question we put to Gen. Buhari and his party is whether this alteration was done by the University of Cambridge.
“One of the footnotes on the document purportedly issued by the University of Cambridge said “the results of this candidate in all subjects except English Language have been carried forward from the 1960 examination.
“The question arising from this is: When exactly did Buhari sit for all the other subjects claimed to have been passed in the Secondary School Examination?
“Our conclusion from all these is that the documents purportedly released by Government College (Pilot) Katsina, upon which the APC Presidential candidates hopes to bury the doubt about his eligibility for next month’s election are forged, manipulated and fraudulently procured. They are therefore untenable in fact and in law.
“We do not know who the authors and masterminds of this forgery are but whoever they are, we urge them to come forward and be identified.
“If they fail to come forward voluntarily, we hereby call on the police and other security agencies to seek them out, find them, arrest them, interrogate them and prosecute them in accordance with the laws of the land.
“We reiterate our call on Gen. Buhari to submit himself to the police to answer charges of perjury, having lied on oath about his academic qualifications. This is what a man who claims to represent integrity and due process ought to do in this situation.”

Continue

"The Niger Delta Is An Occupied Territory"—Nnimmo Bassey

"The Niger Delta is an occupied territory. Citizens raise their hands in the creeks each time they see the military."

---

by HEDA Jan 22, 2015

0 8 0

The question of whether or not the 1956 discovery of oil by Shell D’Archy in Nigeria’s Niger-Delta region has been a blessing or a curse remains a relevant topic in contemporary Nigeria, although most environmentalists believe that the discovery and exploration of oil in the region has been more of a curse than a blessing. The argument of these eco-activists is that oil exploration, which has led to oil spillage, has caused the region and its people environmental degradation, extinction and death of their sea animals and loss of their economic source of income (fishing and farming).

Nnimmo Bassey

In order to have a better understanding of this highly topical issue, HEDA, through its weekly #MondayTango tweet chat session, hosted Mr. Nnimmo Bassey to discuss the topic, ‘Oil Spillage, State Response and Implications for the Environment’.

Bassey is a Nigerian architect, environmental activist, author and poet. He was the Chairman of Friends of the Earth International from 2008 to 2012, and, is currently the director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation. Bassey is also a 2010 co-winner of the Right Livelihood Award.

Bassey stated that although the discovery of oil is ‘neither a curse nor a blessing’, but the major problem with oil activities ‘starts when men decide not to leave it (oil) underground’. He further explained that due to the country’s sole reliance on oil, its exploration has greatly affected the ‘politics and socio-economic progress’ of the country. He listed the oil companies, the Nigerian government, oil contractors, oil subsidy scammers and oil thieves as the major groups that have benefitted from oil exploration activities in the Niger-Delta, overtime. According to him, "without security breaches no one can successfully steal and transport crude in the creeks."

Given this background, Bassey defined oil spillage as ‘the release of crude oil into the environment from compromised pipelines or related facilities.’ He proceeded to explain the effects of oil spills, and stated that oil spillage is highly ‘damaging to the eco-systems,’ and poses great hazard to ‘water, land and even air.’

On the question of the major perpetrators of oil spill cases in Nigeria, Bassey stated that the oil companies are mostly responsible for the number of oil spillages in the Niger-Delta region. He explained that the problems of poor standards, poor maintenance and expired pipes used by the oil companies are also responsible for the cases of oil spills in the region. He added that although, there is a connection between oil theft and oil spillage, but the connection is not as major as that of the oil companies. Bassey mentioned that Shell’s recent admittance of responsibilities in the Bodo oil spill was a step in the right direction and that the oil company still has to admit other major oil spills that it was responsible for. He charged the oil companies to also ensure they clean up the affected areas. According to him, military presence is an intimate part of the problem. They bomb crude laden boats, burn bush refineries.

He explained that in order to ensure that compensations paid by oil companies get to the affected communities and individuals, proper documentation of the compensation payments must be made. He added that ‘compensations can never pay for environmental harm,' as he believes that the effects of oil spillage are not limited to humans, but also extended to the entire eco-system as well.

On the question of how effective the Nigerian government has been in prosecuting perpetrators of environmental injustice caused by oil spills, Bassey said he is yet to see any prosecution by the federal government, and he added that, ‘the government and the oil companies are joint venture partners.’ He also said, "The Niger Delta is an occupied territory. Citizens raise their hands in the creeks each time they see the military."

On his stance on the recent reduction of the fuel price to N87, as announced by the federal government, Bassey stated that the reduction should also be extended to other petroleum products, and should not be limited to only fuel.

The chat session ended with Bassey explaining that he, like other eco-activists, isare actively clamoring to save the Niger Delta region from further degradation. He stated that part of their strategies include restrategising, exposing the spills and demanding cleanups of areas affected by oil spills.

Firdaws P-IBRAHIM
Communication Officer, HEDA

Continue

Non-Transformation Agenda: What President Jonathan Said On Power By Timi Frank

Non-Transformation Agenda: What President Jonathan Said On Power By Timi Frank

Speaking with United Nations diplomats on Monday, 31st January 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President Goodluck Jonathan made this promise: “If I’m voted into power, within the next four years, the issue of power will become a thing of the past. Four years is enough for anyone in power to make a significant improvement and if I can’t improve on power within this period, it then means I cannot do anything…”https://www.facebook.com/ReportYourself/photos/a.183323277702.132568.96184337702/10152362828962703/?type=1

Continue

We gathered some most important information about this controversial person.

We gathered some most important information about this controversial person. 

Ali Modu Sheriff. Photo: saharareporters.com

1. Young years

He was born in a rich family in Ngala Town, Ngala Local Government Area, Borno State in 1956. His father was a successful businessman Galadima Modu Sheriff.

Ali Modu Sheriff studied in Business School of London, where his main subjects were Insurance, Banking and Finance.

2. Start of political career

He became a member of a Social Democratic Party in 1990. In 1997 he joined National Republican Convention. He became a senator representing Borno Central on the platform of the United Nigeria Congress Party. It happened during General Sani Abacha’s military regime. After democracy was restored, in April 1999, he was again elected Senator, Borno Central, on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party.

Ali Modu Sheriff was elected governor of Borno State in Nigeria in April 2003. He was the first governor in Borno state to win the seat for two consecutive times.

3. Arrest

In 2012 Modu Sheriff, a former senator, was arrested upon entering Cameroon from Chad. He was arrested by neighbouring Cameroon’s security forces, allegedly for his link with Boko Haram. But after some time he was just escorted back to the n=border of the country. His connection with Boko Haram was not proved.

4. Younger brother

Alhaji Goni Mustapha Sheriff, a younger brother of the former politician, also had a political career. But in 2011 he was killed. Rumors said that the ones who are responsible for it are the Boko Haram. So Ali Modu Sheriff  often uses this fact to prove that he has nothing in common with this group.

5. Wedding of his elder daughter

His eldest daughter was married to Alhaji Babagana Muhammed Sherriff in 2011. One strange moment of the wedding was that it was closed and only men were allowed to attend it. The wedding fatiha was conducted by the Chief Imam of the Yahaya Road Jumat Mosque.

6. Owner of an Airline

He is a third ex-governor of Nigeria who owns his own airline. So he became a stakeholder in the Nigeria`s sphere of aviation. He is also an owner of the most expensive private jet in Nigeria, which is worth N11.5 billion.

7. Is he really a sponsor of Boko Haram?

This fact can`t be proved or rejected now. Usually he easily denies all allegations against him. When Australian negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, accused him of being one of the sponsors of Boko Haram, he insisted that he had never met any leaders of this sect. And that he will sue the Australian negotiator.

Continue

How Cameroun arrested, released Sheriff – Falana

on September 06, 2014   /   in News 9:49 am   /   Comments

By Olasunkanmi Akoni and Monsur Olowoopejo
Lagos based human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, yesterday, revealed how Former Governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff was arrested in 2012 by the Cameroonian government for the crime committed by the deadly Boko Haram sect.

Meantime, ahead of the 2015 election, former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Professor Tam David-West, Professor Akin Oyebode and Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, have, unanimously, urged Nigerians to wake up from their slumber and use the next year’s election to bring relief to their unwholesome circumstances.

Ali Modu Sherrif at the conference

Falana and other eminent personalities spoke at the 5th Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Lecture, titled; ‘State of the Nation and 2015 general elections: Issues, posers and challenges before us, held in Lagos.

“In October 2012, Sheriff was arrested in Cameroun on crime committed by the Boko Haram he sponsored. The state government pleaded with the Camerounian government to release him because he is a well known man here and he cannot be arrested.” Falana stated.

The Lagos based lawyer said that the former governor was not sincere in his relationship with the Boko Haram sect in the country.

Sue me not Davis

He however, asked Sheriff to sue him rather than planning to seek redress in court by suing the Australian negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davies, even as he reaffirmed that Sheriff sponsored of the Boko Haram activities.

This came few days after Sheriff said he would seek redress in court by suing the Australian negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davies, who recently fingered him as one of the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency. According to Falana, “I am expecting Senator Ali Madu Sheriff to sue me. I heard that he wanted to sue an Australian (Dr. Steven Davies). He doesn’t need that. He should sue me. I am waiting for him to sue me. Not only did he fund that organization (Boko Haram), he also had a deal with them.” He noted that Sheriff cannot denial all the allegations made against him, saying. “In 2003, he had a deal with the Boko Haram leaders to help him win the election and that if he wins his re-election, he will compensate the organization.

\When he won the election, he appointed one of them as Commissioner for Religious Affairs to implement Sharia in that state.”

He however, accused the Federal Government of shielding certain facts from its citizens.

Falana said “The Federal Government is yet to react to the statement by Dr. Stephen Davies against Sheriff. I expect the central government to have made its position known on the issue.”

The lawyer therefore, called for concerted effort to tackle the menace of Boko Haram, saying, “People’s Democratic Party, PDP and All Progressives Congress, APC should stop politicizing the Boko Haram issue but what is important is unity to tackle the menace”

In his remarks, David-West lamented the nefarious activities of Boko Haram sect in the country, saying, “We do not have a nation. If we have a nation, the problem confronting the country will have been resolved earlier than now.”

He added, “In fact, we are not at crossroad but we have missed the road. There is no road at the moment for the country to attain greatness.”

Explaining the reason for the longevity of the challenges facing the country, David-West said, “What do you expect from a country ruled by a Ph.d holder who said that 16 is greater than 19. The country when the president budget N1 billion for food in a year and cannot pay N18, 000 minimum wage. Daily I have begun to lose faith in our election and leadership.

ON 2015 ELECTION

David -West dispelled the claim that the country will fail to exist after 2015 election, saying, “we will not break in 2015.”

But he said “The citizens need to wake up from their slumber. We are too complacent and this was the reason why the current public office holders take the citizens for granted.

He continued; “Election affords citizens the opportunity to change government which they do not like. I do not believe in revolution but the citizens must go on the street to stop bad government. If 2015 election will be selection rather than election, Nigerians must rise up to stop it. It has to be election and not selection.”

Oyebode while delivering his lecture said the power to change any government resides in the citizens. “And this they can do through their vote.”.

According to him, “The 2015 election constitute yet another opportunity for Nigerians to see themselves as master in the political game rather than servants of the governing class.”

Continue

Stephen Davis’ Allegations: SSS to quiz Sheriff as Boko Haram sponsor

Stephen Davis’ Allegations: SSS to quiz 

Sheriff as Boko Haram sponsor 

The State Security Service, SSS, has said it has invited a former governor of Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff for questioning over his alleged sponsorship of the Boko Haram insurgents. It however absolved a former Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika, over the same allegation. The spokesperson of the service, Marilyn Ogar, disclosed this at a press conference Friday in Abuja during which some suspects of the Nyanya bombing were paraded. An Australian, Stephen Davies, who was contracted by the Federal Government to negotiate the freedom of the abducted Chibok girls had alleged that both Messrs. Sheriff and Ihejirika were major sponsors of the sect. They however denied the allegation. On Wednesday at a press conference in Abuja, Mr. Sheriff, a former senator, described the allegation as “callous and unwarranted, and that those linking him with the sect were either ignorant or completely out for mischief. He also threatened to sue Mr. Davies. Ms. Ogar, a Deputy Director however said the former governor had been summoned for interrogation though he had earlier been quizzed twice. “Sheriff has been invited twice and he has been invited again (over his alleged sponsorship of Boko Haram). Investigation is ongoing to review every aspect of Davies allegations,” Ms. Ogar said. On Mr. Ihejirika, she said it would be “uncharitable for Nigerians to reward someone who laid down his life, to associate him with the sponsorship of the sect.” “I would want to say here that it is absolutely uncharitable for us as Nigerians to reward somebody who laid down his life in pursuing this same people (Boko Haram) for us to accept that he can in any way be associated, be seen as sponsoring the same sect,” Ms Ogar said. She added: “He together with this service, the military together with this service succeeded in bringing their activities in Kano, Okene and other parts of Nigeria to a halt and pushing them to Sambisa forest. Its the same man we want, because he is no longer in office, to say he is the one sponsoring the sect. I think its being wicked. That shouldn’t be the way we reward people who lay down their lives to provide a secure environment for us.” Ms. Ogar described Mr. Davies as “a self-styled and self-appointed negotiator.” During the briefing, the SSS spokesperson paraded the alleged mastermind of the Nyanya, Abuja bomb blast. Those paraded are Sadiq Ogwuche, Ahmed Abubakar, Muhammad Ishaq, Yau Saidu, Anas Isah and Adamu Yusuf. She denied Mr. Davies’ claims that the CBN official, who coordinated the funding of Boko Haram, was an uncle to three of those arrested in connection with the Nyanya incident. According to her, none of the six suspects in the agency’s custody had any blood link with one another. She stated, “In other words, none is a cousin or nephew to any other and only two suspects namely Yau Saidu and Anas Isah have ever lived together at the makeshift clinic called ‘Kishi Clinic’ operated by Rufai Tsiga, a co-mastermind of the bomb blast who is still at large.” She said the clarification was being made to correct the wrong impression being created in the media. In a chat with journalists, Mr. Ogwuche, who was repatriated to Nigeria from Sudan, said he was not a member of Boko Haram. He said he was in Sudan at time the incident occurred. He however admitted giving the widows of some Boko Haram members N30, 000 through one Tsiga, who has since been declared wanted for allegedly participating in the Nyanya bomb blast. Mr. Ogwuche said he left the army to enable him pursue a course in Arabic in Sudan. He however confessed that he received lectures and trained with a jihadist group in the United Kingdom when the incident occurred before returning to Nigeria. “I am not a member of Boko Haram and I don’t know anything about the Nyanya blast. I deny it because I was studying in Sudan when the incident happened,” he said. However, Mr. Saidu said Mr. Ogwuche regularly visited to Tsiga “clinic” where the plot to carry out the bombing was hatched.

Read more at: Stephen Davis’ Allegations: SSS to quiz Sheriff as Boko Haram sponsor | LATEST NIGERIAN NEWS BREAKING HEADLINES NEWSPAPERS

Continue

Ebola: Nigeria confirms 7 deaths, 18 patients including sister of late Port Harcourt doctor

By Wale Odunsi on September 4, 2014@akinbilehalomer

Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu

Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said that the number of Ebola Virus Disease patients in the country has risen to 18, the latest casualty being the sister of the late Port Harcourt doctor.

This is contained in a statement by his special assistant on media and communication, Dan Nwomeh, on the update of the status of EVD in Nigeria.

It said the total number of cases successfully managed and discharged was now eight, while deaths from the fever was now seven.

Continuing, the statement said, “The last case to be discharged, the first secondary contact to be diagnosed and a spouse of a primary contact of the index case went home from the isolation ward in Lagos yesterday.

“The ninth survivor is the ECOWAS Commission official, who evaded surveillance in Lagos and traveled to Port Harcourt, where he infected the doctor who attended to him)”.

Breakdown of deaths: “One, the index case, occurred in a private hospital in Lagos, four in the Lagos isolation ward, one in the Port Harcourt isolation ward (the female patient who was on admission in the same hospital where the late Port Harcourt doctor was also admitted), while another one was the doctor who was infected by the ECOWAS Commission official in Port Harcourt and who did not come under the care and management of the Incident Management Committee”.

According to the minister, the total number of EVD patients currently under treatment was two, one in the Lagos isolation ward and another one in the Port Harcourt isolation ward.

“Total number of contacts currently under surveillance in Lagos is 41, while Port Harcourt has 255. Total number of contacts discharged in Lagos after they were observed for 21 days is 320”.

The minister debunked rumours of EVD cases outside Lagos and Port Harcourt.

He also refuted the story that the body of the late Port Harcourt doctor was transported to Edo or Delta State, saying the body has been decontaminated and would be interred in Port Harcourt.

Regarding the rumoured case in Zaria, he said the blood sample had been sent for Ebola testing.

Continue

Expect stable power supply by October – Minister

Posted by: Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja in News Update 

The Federal Government Friday promised that power supply will be stable in the country by October this year.
The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of a meeting on power chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the State House, Abuja.
Maintaining that other issues in the electricity value chain are being addressed in the country, he said that power supply has improved in the country in the past one week due to improved gas supply.
He also said the Federal Government is making arrangements to ensure that the bills of electricity generating companies are promptly paid.
He said: “The cheering news from all of these is that if you have noticed throughout the country in the past one week people have been getting better power supply.
“The gas is now beginning to come back and it’s something that gives all of us a lot of joy. And we know that it will continue to grow that way even until December because of some of the facilities, maintenance and repair works on the gas equipment and so on.”
“The gas producers have come to a place where almost all of these are being taken care of and then the new gas we are expecting, we have them trickling in right now.
“So that’s part of the shortfalls we’ve had in production up to this time, we hope that by the beginning of October, we will see a much better stabilisation of the entire power delivery system in the country.”
He went on: “First, I would say we rejoice that for the first time in a long time we have been averaging over 4,500MW when we include nearly 300MW of spilling reserve which is put there to ensure the reliability and stability of the grid at all time.”
“So, we are really moving forward; it may not be as rapid as Nigerians expect, but it is important to let everybody know that indeed we are advancing, we are making progress and we will continue to make progress.”

Continue

Senegal confirms first Ebola case

Posted by: Agency Reporter in News Update 1 hour ago

Senegal’s health ministry has confirmed a first case of Ebola, making it the fifth West African country to be affected by the outbreak, the BBC reports.
Health Minister Awa Marie Coll Seck told reporters on Friday that a young man from Guinea was confirmed to have contracted the virus.
The man was immediately placed in quarantine, she added.
The current outbreak, which began in Guinea, has killed more than 1,500 people across the region.
At least 3,000 people have been infected with the virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned it could get much worse and infect more than 20,000 people.
Senegal had previously closed its border with Guinea in an attempt to halt the spread of Ebola, but its frontiers are porous.
It had also banned flights and ships from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – the three worst-hit countries.
But the Guinean health services reported on Wednesday “the disappearance of a person infected with Ebola who reportedly travelled to Senegal,” according to Senegal’s health minister.
A young Guinean student later turned up at a hospital in the capital, Dakar, said Ms Seck, but he did not reveal that he had contact with Ebola patients in his own country.
Senegal, a major transit hub for aid agencies, has a large Guinean population.
Separately on Friday, residents of Guinea’s second largest city, Nzerekore, rioted after its main market was sprayed with disinfectant in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.

Continue

Boko Haram may link up with ISIS —Australian negotiator

August 28, 2014 by Bayo Akinloye with agency report 

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau

An Australian hostage negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, has warned that Boko Haram may establish links with two vicious terror groups- Al Shabaab and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria- if not effectively checked now by the Nigerian government.

Al Shabaab, the militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Court,     aligned with Al-Qaeda and took over most of Southern Somalia in the second half of 2006.   The ISIS, on its part,   is an Iraqi group that stands with Al-Qaeda as the most vicious Jihad group in the world.

Davis had visited Nigeria to negotiate   the release of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted since April by Boko Haram insurgents.

He previously worked as a negotiator for Nigerian government under ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Shehu Yar’Adua administrations during the Niger-Delta militants uprising in the South-South.

Davis, in an interview posted on Wednesday by Radio Australia, said   that the best ways to stop Boko Haram insurgency were to block its sources of funding and tracking down its sponsors.

He identified banks and some Nigerian politicians as the major providers of funds to the insurgents.

The Australian claimed that many of the politicians sponsoring the insurgency were in the opposition, adding that it would be difficult for President Goodluck Jonathan to arrest and prosecute them.

He argued that should Jonathan   try   to order their arrest, it would be misconstrued as a political attempt to rig the 2015 elections.

Davis said, “That makes it easier in some ways as they can be arrested, but of course the onus of proof is high and many are in opposition, so if the President moves against them, he would be accused of trying to rig the elections due early next year.

“So, I think this (insurgency) will run through to the election unabated. These politicians think that if they win power they can turn these terrorists off, but this has mutated.

“It’s no longer a case of Muslims purifying by killing off Christians. They are just killing indiscriminately, beheading, disembowelling people – men, women and children and whole villages.”

According to the negotiator, Boko Haram is growing out of the control of the politicians sponsoring it.

He warned that, as it is the trend with terrorist groups in Somalia, South Sudan and Egypt, the Boko Haram insurgents might soon link up with the ISIS and Al Shabaab.

Davis added, “I would say it’s almost beyond the control of the political sponsors now.

“Terror groups are linking up in Somalia, southern Sudan, Egypt and we have fairly strong evidence they are talking with ISIS members.

“They will link up with ISIS and Al Shabaab and I think that what we are seeing in that region is the new homeland of radical Islam in the world.”

The Perth-based international negotiator claimed he survived months of extreme danger in trying to rescue the   200 abducted schoolgirls.

Davis, who returned from a four-month sojourn with rare footage of the intense fighting in the North-East,   said his life was threatened more than once, but his Australian passport saved him.

“When confronted by groups with an AK-47 in my face they’d say, ‘you are American, we have to kill you,” Davis said.

“When you say, no I’m not American, they think you are British, and say you will still die, but when I said I’m Australian, they said that’s all right.

“I have no idea why but it’s certainly been helpful.”

He however blamed the aborted rescue of the schoolgirls on sabotage.

“I made a few telephone calls to the Boko Haram commanders and they confirmed they were in possession of the girls,” Davis said.

“They told me they would be prepared to release some as a goodwill gesture towards a peace deal with the government, so I went to Nigeria on the basis of being able to secure their release,” he added.

According to him, the insurgents lived up to their promise, but the rescue was sabotaged.

He said, “The girls were there, 60 girls. There were 20 vehicles with girls. We travelled for four-and-a-half hours to reach them, but 15 minutes before we arrived, they were kidnapped again by another group who wanted to cash in on a reward.

“The police had offered a reward of several million naira just 24 hours before we went to pick them up. I understand, from the Boko Haram commanders I spoke to, the girls eventually ended up back with them.

“I don’t know what happened to the group that took them but I suspect it wasn’t good.”

Continue