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Covid-19/ Boko Haram: Inter-faith congregation forecasts divine victory over pandemic, terrorists

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The National Inter-Faith and Religious Organizations for Peace (NIFROP) has prophesized that an end to the Boko Haram insurgency and COVID-19 pandemic is in sight.

NIFROP made this declaration on Saturday, the seventh-day of its Joint Prayer and Fasting for divine intervention and solution to Covid-19 and Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorism.

In his speech, NIFROP’s president, Bishop Sunday Garuba said “God has given us a song of victory” over the terrorists, noting that Abubakar Shekau’s days are numbered.

Despite meeting virtually, the cleric reckoned that its sessions have garnered over 500,000 views, a testament of the firm followership across religious lines.

With its numbers and intercessory prayers, Bishop Garuba said the fleeing Shekau and whatever is left of his group would soon be a forgotten issue.

NIFROP, however, urged Nigerians to continue to show support for President Muhammadu Buhari and the gallant troops of Operation Lafiya Dole led by Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai.

Read full statement below:

Dearly beloved of God,

I welcome you all once again to the 7th day of our simultaneous joint Prayer and Fasting programme put together in prayers and supplication to God Almighty for divine intervention in halting the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria and across the world, as well as the end of the Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorism in Nigeria.

As we all know, this prayer session is being held online because we have been advised to observe social distancing as a precaution. We consequently developed this online platform, which started about six days ago.

I must commend those of us that have been consistent with the prayers and fasting even though it’s been done virtually; I also want to encourage some of us that have not been able to connect with us online in this critical national assignment do endeavor to do so. The pages are National Inter- Faith and Religious Organisations for Peace on both YouTube and Facebook and The Unity Church/ Unity Masjid.

Dear brethren, I am joyed in the Lord to inform you all that the first-day virtual meeting also witnessed the distribution of food to brethren across all creed and faith across the country. This is indeed phenomenal in the sense that we were able to put smiles on the faces of families regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliations.

I also wish to inform us that so far, we have had over 50,000 viewers who have followed our prayers and fasting programme online. This is indeed phenomenal, and it is our earnest prayer that the figures should continue to increase to the glory of God.

My dearly beloved in the Lord’s vineyard, this is a great assignment that God has bestowed on our shoulders on behalf of our great country and let me announce to you all that by the special grace of God we shall emerge victorious at the end of the 21-day prayer and fasting programme.

In the book of Hebrews 4:16, the bible says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Let me announce to all us that we shall receive mercy and find the grace to help us in our time of need by the special grace of God because God is not a man that he should lie, and his words are yes and amen.
The book of Psalms 90: 17 states that “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
Establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.” This is reassuring because we are carrying out an important assignment, and God, in His infinite mercies shall establish the works of our hands.

The Holy Koran also confirms this in (Quran 42:26) “And He (God) answers those who believe and do good works, and gives them more out of His Grace.”

My dear beloved, as we all know, the National Inter-Faith and Religious Organizations for Peace has been in the vanguard of uniting Nigerians across both faiths praying for the peace and progress of Nigeria, and this has seen us hold several programmes that has had a significant effect on our polity over the years.

I want to use this occasion to commend all of us from the pastors and imams that have been committed to our activities over the years. It is our earnest desire that Nigeria shall continue to experience peace and progress now and the years ahead.

I also want to use this medium to inform all of us that God is indeed merciful to Nigeria through the gift of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose commitment to the overall wellbeing of every Nigerian takes center stage.

President Muhammadu Buhari has, over the years, strived to keep the country as one. For that, we are grateful to God for his benevolence and His grace over the life of our president. We pray that God in His infinite mercies continue to grant him a sound mind and sound health in the discharge of his duties.

Dearly beloved in Christ, this body, which is also known as the Unity Church and Unity Masjid has been supporting vulnerable families with food items and direct cash transfer to those who have fallen on hard times within the period.

Our intervention was initially projected for 5 000 families. However, today we can tell you that the Lord is making more provisions and supporting brethren with more than expected. We shall continue to render this valuable assistance for as long as we can.

We will continue to do the little that we can and pray the Almighty God to heal the land and deliver us from the Boko Haram/ISWAP evil. I want to inform all of us that indeed our victory over COVID-19 and the evil deeds of Boko Haram is certain.

In the book of Deuteronomy 20:4 “…for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.” Dear beloved, our victory over COVID-19 and Boko Haram shall be indeed sweet to the Glory of God.

I want to use this medium to declare that the days of Abubakar Shekau are indeed numbered. I am convinced that by the special grace of God, he shall be captured, and the end of Boko Haram would come very soon.

Our dear father shall not lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Our pride often tricks us into thinking we can deal with evil on our own. We can’t, and if we try, we will fail. We pray to our Heavenly Father and ask for deliverance.

Dear Lord, do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us; Let Your compassion come quickly to meet us in Jesus name.

I thank you all and encourage us not to relent until we receive redemption in Nigeria. God has given us a song of victory.

Kano relaxes lockdown amidst rising cases of covid 19 deaths

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Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has announced the relaxation of the lockdown order imposed on the state by President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Ganduje, Mondays and Thursdays would be lockdown-free days from 10am to 4pm.

The governor noted that no markets will be allowed to open unless supermarkets.

He said, the list of the supermarkets would be announced on local radio stations.

Ganduje added that only Yankaba Market where perishable items are sold and Yan Lemo Market would be allowed to operate on Mondays and Thursdays 10am to 4pm.

There have been a significant rise in cases of covid 19 related deaths in the state in the last few days

COVID-19: President Buhari lauds Nigerian media over fight against pandemic

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday lauded the Nigerian media for its efforts in keeping people informed and educated amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The President’s comment was contained in a statement released by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, which is celebrated every May 3.

“We cannot overemphasize the role of the media in keeping people informed and educated on the pernicious virus, which has no friend or foe,” the President was quoted as saying in the statement.

“It simply seeks to mow down anyone and everyone in its path, and public awareness is very important, lest we become like sitting ducks. The media are doing this quite effectively.”

He charged the media further to continue its good work, “till we get to safe harbour, when the world, and our country are finally free of this greatest health challenge in recent history.”

Adesina’s statement also revealed that the President reflected on the World Press Freedom Day 2020 theme: ‘Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.’

Nigeria, the President believes, has a very unhealthy dose of disinformation, fake news, hate news, purveyed by people who use media platforms, particularly the digital variant.

“They don’t mean well for us, and no country can afford to close its eyes to the evil disinformation can cause,” the President said.

“In a plural polity like ours, it has the potential to rupture relationships, sow seeds of discord, and set on the path of destabilisation.

“When fake and hate news are added unabashedly, it can only signpost doom.

“I urge the Press to use the occasion of World Press Freedom Day to see how this can be vigorously tackled.”

Meanwhile, President Buhari pledged a re-commitment to the ideals of freedom of the press, noting that democracy thrives better in an atmosphere of transparency, as opposed to opacity.

“We appreciate the cooperation we have enjoyed from the media in tackling the coronavirus, and look forward to same, post COVID-19, when all hands must be on deck to repair the damages done to our economic and social lives,“ he said.

Colombia sacks 11 top military officers in spying probe

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Colombia’s defence ministry has ousted 11 military officials and forced the resignation of a general in connection with an ongoing probe into allegations the army spied on journalists, politicians, magistrates and other members of the military.

The ministry did not name any of the people dismissed or the general who resigned on Friday.

The country’s attorney general opened the investigation in January after local news magazine Semana published the allegations.

There have been repeated hacking scandals involving the military in recent years, including accusations that officials spied on negotiators at talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, which eventually led to a 2016 peace accord.

Defence Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said the decision to relieve the officials of their duties was made based on the allegations.

“Today 11 officials will be removed from their posts and retired from active service, also a brigadier general has asked to be voluntarily removed from active service,” Trujillo said at a news conference.

The investigations are continuing, Trujillo said.

On Friday, Semana followed up with more details, including the names of some of the alleged victims. It said the accounts of more than 130 people, including journalists for both foreign and domestic media, had been hacked and information about their contacts, families and addresses collected.

 

Worlds largest aircraft delivers face masks to Germany

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The largest aircraft in the world arrived in Germany on Monday from China, bringing urgent medical supplies as part of efforts to help curb the spread of coronavirus.

The Antonov-225 cargo aircraft, carrying 10,000,000 protective face masks, arrived at Leipzig/Halle airport on Monday morning and was welcomed by German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

The masks were procured by the German government.

The flight was made possible by the NATO-supported Strategic Airlift International Solution – or SALIS – which provides countries participating in the programme with access to Antonov heavy transport aircraft.

Revealed: €5 million foreign sponsors’ funds tears Shekau, commanders apart

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At a time when he is running from one camp to another to evade capture by soldiers that are hot on his trail, a foreign funding of €5 million from an international NGO has set the leader of Boko Haram, Abubabakar Shekau on a war path with some of his key commanders, as they accuse him of greed and unilateral decision making in how the funds should be shared.

Verified intelligence reports indicated that the International NGO, which operates in the northeast and with affiliations in other parts of the country informed the Boko Haram leadership of the receipt of the funds on their behalf with an advisory that disbursement will follow “previous channels and beneficiaries’ templates.”

Sources familiar with development in the war against terrorism in the northeast confirmed that the NGO in question would usually credit arms suppliers on behalf of the terror group using fronts, proxies and convoluted cut-outs that distances it from terrorism financing. It will then retain its handling fees and costs for providing relief materials and medical treatment to wounded terrorists while transferring the balance to the terrorists using similar channels as those for paying arms dealers.

There has been no mention of the organization or third-party country that made the €5 million available.

The outstanding amount to be remitted to the terrorists is now a subject of contention between Shekau and his key commanders. One of the sources revealed that “Shekau is hiding because some of the boys, who are angry over how he is handling the money, have threatened to kill him before the government troops get him.”

The Boko Haram leader is reportedly interested in using a chunk of the money for recruiting mercenaries as replacement for the fighters that have been killed in recent encounters with militaries while also paying generous compensation for those that have been killed in a desperate move to shore up morale. But some of his commanders reportedly expressed their preference for “taking care of and encouraging the living” while also prioritizing those that have put in time in killing for the group. The commanders are accusing Shekau of directing the money at expenditure lines that will either benefit him or for which proper accountability will not be possible, like paying compensation for dead fighters whose relatives are not known.

Another source who is a staffer of an international NGO working in the region, not the one that provided the funds, disclosed that “an international NGO gave Shekau €5 million to share to his commanders and their fighters pending full arrangements for their surrender. But instead of being appreciative, the fighters rather condemned Shekau for his greed and they are gearing up for a show down.”

A military source meanwhile said “Shekau is getting blind as such only the very close ones of his aides have access to him. The issue of €5 million is causing serious disaffection in their camps. We found out that the audio message he released was a sort of commitment to those who gave the money. He had to show that he is still in the fray and remains the contact they should deal with.

“Shekau has been receiving such funding in the past and he was never able to build his terror infrastructure beyond what is currently being dismantled. Our commanders have not concerned that he is still defrauding those sponsoring him, if there is any concern it is that we should be able to capture him before his own fighters kill him,” the source said.

Ganduje rejects Kwankwaso’s hospital as isolation centre in Kano

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Kwankwasiyya Foundation has disclosed that Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduhe, has rejected the former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso’s donation of a newly-built 60-bed capacity hospital as isolation center for Coronavirus patients in the state.

Recall that on Monday, April 20, the former governor had announced the donation in terse statement signed by Ibrahim Adam, spokesman to Abba Kabiru Yusuf, the Kano State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in the 2019 elections.

According to the statement, the hospital, named Amana Hospital and located at Miller Road, Bompai in the Kano City, had been equipped by Mr Kwankwaso, a former Senate who represented Kano Central during the 8th Assembly.

On Friday, a few weeks thereafter, Kwankwasiyya Movement took to twitter to disclose that Mr Ganduje had yet to acknowledge the gesture nor put the same to a use. Writing on Twitter, the movement alleged that Mr Ganduje was playing politics with the lives of Kano people by refusing to take the donation.

“Millions of lives are at stake but Ganduje is playing politics with the donation of the hospital by Kwankwasiyya Foundation. “Gov. Ganduje refused to take a donation of a hospital as an isolation center from Kwankwaso in order to save lives in Kano because of a mere political grudge,” the foundation wrote.

Reacting to the development, Twitter users expressed mixed reactions with one user stating that if what the movement claimed is true, then, Governor Ganduje’s decision is bad. He said: “If that’s true, then it’s too bad. I thought they have settled their differences considering the esteemed regards people have for them.”

Another user rose in defense of Governor Ganduje, saying that the Kwankwasiyya Movement was a hypocrite for playing politics with everything. According to him, Kano does not lack isolation centre, adding that the state needs testing laboratories at the moment. He said: “[Kwankwasiyya Movement are] original hypocrites, playing politics in everything thing.

“You know Kano does lack isolation Center for now, it is a lab that Kano needs, we still have unoccupied isolation center by Dangote at the Sani Abacha Stadium.”

Scores of terrorists killed as Air Task Force bombs Boko Haram logistics facilities at Parisu, Borno State

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In furtherance of its objective of restoring peace and security in the Northeast of the Country, the Armed Forces of Nigeria, through the Air Task Force of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, yesterday, 30 April 2020, neutralized some Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) and destroyed some of their logistics facilities at Parisu in the Sambisa Forest area of Borno State.
The air strike, which was executed as a precursor to further air and ground operations, was conducted after intelligence reports revealed that the terrorists had resumed use of the settlement as a staging area to launch attacks against nearby troops’ locations.
Recent aerial surveillance missions had also shown significant terrorist activities in the area whilst identifying some compounds housing the fighters and their logistics items.
Consequently, the Air Task Force dispatched its fighter jets to attack the location.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jets, while taking turns to engage the target area, scored accurate bomb and rocket strikes, resulting in the destruction of some of the structures as well as the killing of several terrorists.
In a statement, the Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche said, the Armed Forces of Nigeria will continue to sustain the offensive against the enemies of the Country, until peace and normalcy are restored in all parts of Nigeria.

COVID-19: Morgue chaos, coffin shortage hit Brazil as pandemic surge

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In Brazil’s bustling Amazon city of Manaus, so many people have died within days in the coronavirus pandemic that coffins had to be stacked on top of each other in long, hastily dug trenches in a city cemetery. Some despairing relatives reluctantly chose cremation for loved ones to avoid burying them in those common graves.

Brazil becomes a coronavirus hotspot: New cases overwhelm ...

Now, with Brazil emerging as Latin America’s coronavirus epicentre with more than 6,000 deaths, even the coffins are running out in Manaus. The national funeral home association has pleaded for an urgent airlift of coffins from Sao Paulo, 2,700km (1,677 miles) away, because Manaus has no paved roads connecting it to the rest of the country.

The city – populated by about two million people and carved from the jungle – has been overwhelmed by death in part because it is the main site where those from remote Amazon communities can get medical services, according to Lourival Panhozzi, president of the Brazilian Association of Funeral Service Providers.

For families of the missing, Sao Paulo morgues hold few answers ...

As of April 30, Brazil’s Health Ministry said that there were over 5,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Amazonas state and 425 deaths, although there are concerns that inadequate testing for the virus has meant that the numbers may be much higher.

Before the outbreak, the city of Manaus, the capital of the state, was recording an average of 20 to 35 deaths a day, according to the mayor. Now, it is recording at least 130 a day, data from the state’s health secretary show.

People in the region also have widely ignored isolation measures.

There also are signs in the much larger cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo that suggest authorities may not be able to handle a huge increase in the death toll. A field of fresh graves that was dismissed in April by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro as excessive has since been filled.

Latin America’s grimmest scenes occurred last month in Ecuador’s city of Guayaquil, where residents said they had to leave bodies on the street after morgues, cemeteries and funeral homes were overwhelmed.

Many in Brazil fear the rising deaths will hit hardest in the favelas, the vast neighbourhoods of the poor that are well-known in Rio and Sao Paulo but that also exist in most big Brazilian cities and even in smaller ones.

Brazil coronavirus

“There is a great fear that uncontrolled contamination will happen there,” said Panhozzi, whose group represents Brazil’s 13,400 private funeral companies.

In Rio’s Complexo do Alemao cluster of favelas, the body of Luiz Carlos da Rocha, 36, lay untouched for more than 12 hours on Tuesday. Relatives didn’t know why he died but said he had epilepsy.

The state’s military police, who normally pick up bodies found outside, no longer do so for non-violent deaths, said an officer at the scene who would not give his name. He said without elaborating that the policy change was due to the coronavirus. The military police press office did not respond to requests for comment.

The next day at Rio’s Hospital Salgado Filho in a lower-middle-class neighbourhood, Clovis de Castro, whose ailing sister Genina had just died, found himself helping out in the hospital’s morgue. He waited six hours to sort out death certificate paperwork in what he described as a chaotic scene in the morgue, with grieving relatives arriving to identify bodies and only one worker available to move corpses. At one point, he was asked to lend a hand.

“I had to help a person to put a body in a coffin,” de Castro said, adding that the experience made him “realise that people need help, the hospital needs help, the country needs help.”

De Castro left with a death certificate saying his sister’s cause of death was undetermined. He was angry that no autopsy was conducted that might have confirmed his suspicion she died of COVID-19 or complications from the disease.

“Why hide this stuff?” he asked.

Sao Paulo director of ambulance services Francis Fuji blamed a recent surge of deaths in homes on coronavirus patients who were discharged from hospitals with mild symptoms, only to have their conditions deteriorate rapidly.

Paramedics do not have the training to identify COVID-19 as a cause of death, he said, and many relatives have lied about their loved ones’ symptoms to avoid the corpses being handled as though they were contagious.

“They think that if they get that diagnosis, then their loved one will be removed in a sealed plastic bag, they’ll never see him or her again, and they won’t even have a funeral,” Fuji said.

Authorities in Sao Paulo dug hundreds of graves last month in anticipation of a rise in deaths. President Bolsonaro has likened the coronavirus to “a little flu”, and insists that sweeping state measures to close all but essential business are more damaging than the illness. On April 2, he questioned whether photos by The Associated Press news agency of the new graves were “fake news” or “sensationalism”.

By Thursday, all those graves were filled with the dead, as were dozens of other new ones, according to images by the AP photographer who took the original photos and revisited the site on Sao Paulo’s eastern region. Refrigerated trucks to hold the overflow of bodies are now seen outside hospitals and cemeteries.

In Manaus early Thursday, Raimundo Costa do Nascimento, 86, died of pneumonia in his home. Funeral workers were so swamped that his relatives had to wait 10 hours for someone to retrieve his body.

A week after Panhozzi’s association appealed for the coffins for Manaus, he said the request is still being considered.

“That won’t work,” he said. “I need it now.”

Nigeria Currently Tracing 12,000 COVID-19 Contacts

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The Director-General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Friday announced that the agency is currently tracing about 12,000 persons who have had contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu who made this known while responding to questions from journalists at the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19 added that this figure is however fluid as the contacts increase daily.

“The number of contacts is very fluid because with every new case, there is a new contact. But we are following up about cumulatively 12,000 contacts across the country from the beginning of the outbreak,” the NCDC boss said.

Ihekweazu speaking further on lack of adequate bed spaces for COVID-19 patients across the country stressed that this still remains a challenge.

According to him, the 3,500 bed spaces available across the country is no enough and no states in Nigeria has fulfilled the bed space capacity needed to respond to the outbreak.

He called on private individuals who have facilitates that can be used as isolation centres to help in their various states.

“There is no state in Nigeria, even Lagos that has fully fulfilled the bed capacity that they need to respond to this outbreak.

“No single state in Nigeria has achieved that,” he said.

Nigeria currently has 1,932 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 34 states of the country including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Only 319 persons have been discharged while 58 deaths have, so far, been recorded.