BIAFRA : The Biafra Nations Youth League, BNYL, Reveals Agenda for 2020

The Biafra Nations Youth League, BNYL, has said that the group will be holding its annual convention every April 12 of the year to mark the group declaration in Cross River State.

 The Deputy Leader 1 of the BNYL, and Head of Operations, BBS Online TV, Ebuta Ogar Takon said the convention will be to mark the Ekukunela 

Declaration which the BNYL made in the Ejagham town of Ekukunela, Ofutop in Ikom LGA, Cross River State on the 12 April, 2016.
                                                                                                                                                   Takon said that "the historic resolution formed the major guidline of the BNYL. As from next year, we shall make copies available to our elders and get them to endorse it".

 He disclosed that the resolution helped to unite members of the group and its supporters especially in the South-south of Nigeria which enhanced cooperation among them and the Southern Cameroons separatists respectively.

Speaking further, he said that the move came after the first BNYL Congress held in Uyo on Fedruary 20, 2016 with delegates from Southern Cameroons led by the Deputy Leader of the Ambazonia Governing Council. AGC Applauded Prince who he said is currently in prison in Cameroon and a similar congress with her members was also held at Ikom before the announcement of the resolution in the presence of the Ejagham speaking youths.

BNYL said that the Ekukunela Declaration answered some question on territorial integrity of Biafra which some Nigeria loyalists has been disputing the British conspiracy as well as the blockade and nemesis of Biafra war over the Bakassi Peninsula.

The group called on the people of South-east and South-south to think beyond ethnicity adding that members of the group have taken their destiny in their own hands.

Takon said the group will not allow anybody to toy with the Biafra agitators' efforts especially that which the group has been able to make in past years.

BIAFRA : Northern Christians beg Buhari to effect release of Leah Sharibu as Christmas gift to Christians

Christians all over the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, Northern States Christian Elders Forum (NOSCEF), have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the release of the kidnapped Dapchi schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu.

The Northern Christian Elders argued that, the federal government has the “wherewithal and the competency” to effect the release of Miss Sharibu who has been held by the Boko Haram insurgents since 2018.

In a Christmas message made available to journalists in Kaduna on Sunday, NOSCEF’s Chairman, Mr. Ejoga Inalegwu, said the release of the Sharibu would be the most cherished Christmas gift for Christians in Nigeria.

DAILY POST recalled that, Leah Sharibu was among the 110 students of the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe state, who were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists on February 19, 2018.

It was reported that, five of the girls died, 104 were released by the insurgents on March 21, 2018, following negotiations with the federal government, while Sharibu was held back by the captors due to her alleged refusal to deny her Christian faith.

NOSCEF, however, said, “We plead with the President, Muhammadu Buhari, to give the Christian community of this great nation, the Christmas gift by ensuring the release of our dear child Leah Sharibu from the brutal custody of the Boko Haram.

“We believe the government has the wherewithal and competency to effect her release,” Ejoga said.
He also lamented the state of the nation, saying that Nigerians are heartbroken because leaders have abandoned God and every godly value that makes a nation great.

He noted that Christmas is a message of hope for a people who had lost every hope and good news to revive the hearts of those in despair.

The NOCEF chairman said: “Our hearts bleed for our nation, a nation that has abandoned God and every godly value.

“We call evil good and good evil, we congratulate those who steal the mandate of the people by the barrel of the gun and intimidation, we have forgotten the values of the leaders of the Yar’adua, fame who could look at victory to its face and said, “the means that brought me to power is flawed.

Those from whom we expect a higher standard, are the first to congratulate a stolen mandate.

“Every Local Government election is now won 100 per cent by the party in power in the state. Those who are advocating that INEC takes over Local Government elections will now be chewing their words because with INEC, we see elections stolen by guns and lives lost”.

He called on men and women of conscience to cry out loud so that the situation does not deteriorate further.

According to him, “dishonesty in government escalates crime and criminality. Let the spirit of Christmas revive our ways of godliness.

“Let us pray that God will bring hope and righteousness to the state of despair and hopelessness in the nation.

“May the Lord flush out unrighteousness of state organs, so that the rich (the wise men) and the poor (the homeless Shepherds) will have access to the blessings of God to our Nation Nigeria.

“Goodness Thomas scored 302 in JAMB and 278 in post JAMB, with 6 A1s, but could not get the course of her choice, because she is a Christian.

“Let the nation cry out against this injustice. The injustice/discrimination that Christians suffer as a way of life, in the north in all spheres, even Christians from educationally disadvantaged states of Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and other Northern states are denied their state quota admission to read courses of their choice, inspite of their performance, because of their faith.

“Soon, having taken over the headship of the institutions that regulate higher education, they will start targeting the private universities, to frustrate them and will even make “undercover laws”, that even our brethren in the National Assembly will be stampeded to support under the guise of party loyalty e.t.c.

“But no Herod (no man) can stop God from blessing those whom He would bless. He who would not spare His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us, will give us all things.” He said

BIAFRA : Buhari govt, officials under fire over US declaration on religious intolerance

President Muhammad Buhari government has been accused of not doing enough to protect Christians in Nigeria.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) stated this on Sunday in reaction to United States’ inclusion of the country in its watchlist.

The US listed Nigeria among ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ over its tolerance for “violations of religious freedom”.

Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said the US had re-designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom”.

However, Comoros, Russia, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Sudan are on a “Special Watch List” for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.”

HURIWA, in a statement by its coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the indictment was appropriate as the Nigerian government had failed and refused to arrest, prosecute and punish the sponsors and actors in the serial mass killings of farmers, Christian worshippers and villagers by armed Fulani herdsmen.

HURIWA urged world leaders to mount pressure on the Nigerian government to render proper account of the number of armed kidnappers and bandits rounded up and paraded in the media by the Nigeria Police Force but yet to be tried.

The Rights group lamented that over three months since a Taraba based armed kidnapper, Hamisu Wadume and a serving Army Captain were indicted for killing three police officers, there were concerted effort to sweep the heinous crime under the carpet.

HURIWA called on international community including the US, the European Union, Canada, Germany and the International Court of Justice in the Hague Netherlands to take decisive actions and enforce measures to compel the rounding up of all the suspected killers roaming freely in Nigeria.

“The United States of America as a World power should institute a suit at the International Court of Justice against the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for tolerating crimes against humanity and crimes that are deemed as genocide carried out by armed Fulani herdsmen which gained support by some top government officials from 2015 till 2019”, it said.

The Rights group said several top ranking government officials working for President Buhari openly backed the activities of violent herdsmen by criticising some States like Benue and Taraba for legislating against open grazing of cattle by herdsmen.

HURIWA said the Presidency was yet to set up judicial commissions of inquiry to arrest those who unleashed violence on selected Christian communities in Southern Kaduna, Plateau, Adamawa, Taraba and Benue States, the killing of several Catholic Priests, systematic kidnapping of Christian Pastors, among others.

“The Nigerian government have failed to implement effective strategies to prevent or stop such violence or to hold perpetrators accountable as disclosed in the United States’ report and these are factually accurate and can’t be contradicted by anybody of superior arguments or body of empirical knowledge.

“These are the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We plead with the US government to impose sanctions on the federal government headed by the former military leader Muhammadu Buhari”, the group requested.

BIAFRA : Nigerian govt to meet with U.S govt over ‘Special Watch List’

The Nigerian government will early next year, meet with the U.S government over its decision to place Nigeria on its Watch List

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on this development, Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, said placing Nigeria on the Watch list does make Nigeria a country of concern on religious freedom.

He added that placing Nigeria on U.S. watch list carries no immediate implication, and that does not in any way make the country an area of concern as being asserted in some quarters.

The presidential aide maintained that Nigeria as a geo-political entity had no policy that promotes one religion against the other.

According to Shehu, the right to freedom of worship for all citizens is guaranteed in the Nigerian constitution

“The correct U.S. government position is that the addition of Nigeria to the watch list of the IRF does not make Nigeria a country of concern on religious freedom.

“The watch list carries no immediate implication, except for the need for both countries to discuss areas of concern over the next year. We are looking forward to such discussions with our partners, the U.S.

“We have no policy that promotes one religion against the other.

“The right to freedom is guaranteed by the constitution and we have no problem observing that,’’ he said.

The US listed Nigeria among ‘Countries of Particular Concern’over its perceived tolerance for “violations of religious freedom”.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said the US had re-designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom”.

However, Comoros, Russia, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Sudan are on a “Special Watch List” for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom.”

BIAFRA : Religious intolerance Senator Sabi Abdullahi tells Buhari govt what to do over US sanction

Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has said the passage of the Hate Speech Bill under consideration by the National Assembly will address all issues of discrimination associated with religious and ethnic persecution in Nigeria.

Sabi Abdullahi stated this against the backdrop of impending sanctions faced by Nigeria following its inclusion on the ‘special watchlist’ of the United States Government over high cases of religious and ethnic persecution.

The United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, had announced Nigeria’s inclusion into the religion violations list.

Also, the 2018 report of the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), recommended Nigeria’s designation as a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) given the high cases of violence and discrimination recorded on the basis of religion and ethnicity.

The report indicted the Federal and State Governments of doing nothing to bring the situation under control.

“The Nigerian Governments, at the national and state levels, continued to tolerate violence and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief, and suppressed the freedom to manifest religion or belief,” the report said.

Reacting on the development, Senator Abdullahi said, “the escalating incidence of religious and ethnic violence in Nigeria stems from discrimination on almost all fronts which the Hate Speech Bill specifically seeks to address.

“The threat is real. With the inclusion of Nigeria on the watch list of the United States Government and sanctions to follow, it is only imperative for the legislature to act timely by introducing a law to deal with the menace which is becoming an embarrassment to the reputation of the country internationally.”

On the support of Nigerians for the Hate Speech bill, the lawmaker said, “I can tell you that the bill is receiving strong support from Nigerians across the country.

“Notable personalities across various professions are beginning to speak out in support of the bill in the media. This is not to leave out some members of the Academia that are rallying support for the bill’s passage by the National Assembly.”

He added that recent events have vindicated the introduction of the Hate Speech bill and expressed full confidence that Nigerians would come out massively to support it when the time is right.

He said, “Like I have always state, only those who are against the unity of Nigeria will oppose the bill by hiding under guise of protecting ‘Free Speech’.

“The Hate Speech Bill targets acts of discrimination and absolutely not Freedom of Speech as those with sinister motives who are opposed to the bill are trying to mislead Nigerians into believing.

“Before Nigeria is consumed by religious and ethnic violence, we must all rise to save the country from people using hate speech for personal gains.”

BIAFRA : BREAKING NEWS Trouble as US places Nigeria on Special Watch-List [REASONS]

The United State authorities Friday said it has placed Nigeria on a Special Watch List for tolerating “severe violations of religious freedom.” Cuba and Nicaragua were also added to the list.

“No country, entity, or individual will be able to persecute people of faith with impunity,” United States’s secretary of state Mike Pompeo said. “These religious freedom designations show that when faith is attacked, we will act.”

The West African country may be designated Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 if religious persecutions continue, the State Department said.

Although the State Department said in a statement that Nigeria is on the SWL list, a report published by the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom showed the country is already classified as a CPC.

USCIRF said “continued systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief” in Nigeria should have earned the country a place on the official CPC list since 2009.

The US accused the Nigerian government of tolerating violence and discrimination based on religion or belief, and suppression of the freedom to manifest religion or belief.

It said religious sectarian violence increased in 2018, with Muslims and Christians attacked based on their religious and ethnic identity.

“The Nigerian federal government failed to implement effective strategies to prevent or stop such violence or to hold perpetrators accountable,” USCIRF said.

Legacy of intolerance

It is not the only the American government that has accused Nigeria of systemic religious intolerance and persecution. Amnesty International earlier in December accused Nigerian troops of forcibly removing of headscarves of female members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a Shia group popularly in northern Nigeria. AI said the soldiers also beat and insulted the religious conservative women.

IMN Ibrahim El Zakzaky has been in detention since 2015 after a violent faceoff with troops during a religious procession in Zaria.

Amnesty said about 350 members of the group were killed in the violence and were buried in mass graves. But the official toll was far lower.The group has had several violent clashes with Nigerian security authorities in subsequent years. “More than 150 more IMN members were subsequently killed in Kaduna, Jos, Bauchi Sokoto, Funtua and Abuja,” Amnesty International said.

Apart from the official crackdown against the Nigerian Shiite group, USCIRF said scores of Christians and Muslims were killed in different parts of northern Nigeria, especially in Plateau State allegedly by “Muslim Youth Militia”.

Despite the damning report, USCIRF said the American government is committed to continuing its humanitarian support to Nigeria and for the fight against Boko Haram insurgency.

However, Pompeo said the United States will continue to challenge Nigeria and other entities that seek to infringe upon those fundamental rights and to ensure they are held to account for their actions.

BIAFRA : 2023 PRESIDENCY Ohanaeze faults Arewa youths’ claim, says Boko Haram more a threat than IPOB, MASSOB

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has faulted reason the president of Arewa Consultative Youth forum, Yerima Shettima gave for why people from South east part of the country should not be supported for the presidential election in 2023.

Shettima was said to have at a recent event in a Lagos said that the North would not support somebody from South-East to become next President of Nigeria in 2023 because they were threats to national unity.

He was apparently referring to activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Movement for the Actualisation of Biafra (MASSOB), who have been demanding for Biafra Independence from Nigeria.

But replying him, the Ohanaeze youths said that Boko Haram and not IPOB nor MASSOB was a threat to national unity.

In a statement signed by its president-general, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro and secretary-general, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, the Ohanaeze youths said:

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide had dilligently studied the utterances of the president of Arewa Consultative Youth forum Alhaji Yerima Shettima recently in a Lagos event on the preparedness of the South East.

“We categorically state that equity, justice and fairness favours South-East to produce the Nigerian President come 2023, and we’re prepared to present Igbo’s best, especially with the equivalent of Great Zik of Africa among the current governors and former governors.

“We categorically state that there’s no Igbo man or group threatening the peace of Nigeria, as alleged by the president of Arewa Youths to justify why South-East should not be supported by the North to take a shot at the presidency in 2023.

“With Igbos scattered over the 774 LGAs with huge investments in the North, and other parts of the country, it’s self evident that Igbos are more Nigerian than most tribes in Nigeria. No Igbo man or group has carried arms against the state since after 1970,

“We Know that in 1999 Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was drafted and supported by Nigerians and was elected president to quench the rising violent agitation of OPC because of perceived maltreatment melted on late MKO Abiola.

“Successfully, Goodluck Jonathan presidency quenched the Niger Delta militancy and President Muhammadu Buhari came in to tame insecurity in the North East, so Igbo presidency project for 2023 will stop non violent self determination threats of biafra agitators,” the group said.

According to the group, the South-East is the allegedly the most marginalized zone in terms of infrastructure, allocation of resources, political distribution of power and dividends of democracy, policies and rotation of presidency.

“We wish to remind Arewa Youths that the best way to have a prosperous Nigeria is for all to collectively use Obasanjo/Falae model by fielding all Igbo presidential candidates in all the parties or 2023.

“It will be unfair for the president of Arewa Youths to be counting the years of the North as 10 half years by 2023 (Yar”Adua 2 years and six months plus Buhari’s 8years) with Southern 12 years (Obasanjo’s 8 years and Jonathan’s 6 years).

“We wish to correct this erroneous impressions which the North is creating to justify their inordinate quest to retain presidency as a ruse, as Nigeria is currently divided along six geo-political zones, and South-East is the next zone to produce the president, Ohanaeze youth added.