Libya crisis: US caught off-guard by air strikes

by BBC

The US was “caught off guard” by air strikes against Islamist militia in Libya, a senior official has told the BBC.
The attacks on militia positions around Tripoli airport were reportedly carried out by the United Arab Emirates from bases in Egypt.
Egypt has denied any involvement and the UAE has not commented.
A militia alliance recently captured the capital’s international airport after a battle lasting nearly a month.
The official told the BBC that the US had not been consulted about the air strikes and that it was concerned that US weapons may have been used, violating agreements under which they were sold.
The unidentified war planes attacked twice in the past week during a battle for Tripoli’s airport between Islamist and nationalist militias.
A report in The New York Times on Monday said the UAE had provided the military aircraft, aerial refuelling planes and crews while Egypt gave access to its air bases.
On Monday, the US, France, Germany, Italy and the UK issued a joint statement denouncing “outside interference” in Libya which it said “exacerbates current divisions and undermines Libya’s democratic transition”.
The BBC’s Barbara Plett Usher in Washington says the air strikes have exposed another battleground in a regional struggle for power between Arab autocrats and Islamist movements.
Qatar has provided weapons and money to Islamist forces in Libya and elsewhere, she says, while Egypt and the UAE along with Saudi Arabia are trying to roll back Islamist advances.
Violence in Libya has surged recently between the rival groups who overthrew Muammar Gaddafi in the 2011 uprising.
Libya’s police and army remain weak in comparison with the militias.
Over the weekend, Islamist-affiliated forces from Misrata and other cities took over Tripoli airport from the Zintan militia, which has held it for three years.
The airport, Libya’s largest, has been closed for more than a month because of the fighting.
Hundreds of people have died since clashes broke out in Tripoli in July.
In another development on Monday, Libya’s previous Islamist-dominated parliament reconvened and voted to disband the country’s interim government.
Correspondents say it leaves Libya with two rival parliaments, each backed by armed factions.
Elections in June saw the old General National Congress, where Islamists had a strong voice, replaced by the House of Representatives, dominated by liberals and federalists.
The GNC, which reconvened in Tripoli on Monday, has refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of its successor assembly, which is based in Tobruk.
The House of Representatives says the groups now in control of Tripoli airport are “terrorist organisations”.
But the Misrata-led brigade, now in control of Tripoli airport, has called on the GNC to resume work.
Libya’s government has repeatedly called for the militia groups to disband and join the national army. But so far, few have shown a willingness to disarm.

Ebola: Japan offers drug, Nigerian patient to be discharged

by Sunday Aborisade, Bukola Adebayo and Afeez Hanafi with agency report

Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu

Fresh hope appears in the horizon for Ebola   patients as Japan on Monday expressed its readiness to provide its anti-influenza drug as treatment for the deadly virus.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, made the offer hours after a group of scientist in the United Kingdom said it had discovered that the largest outbreak of the   Ebola Virus Disease was caused by an infected fruit bat that bit a toddler.

Briefing   journalists in Tokyo on Monday, Suga said Japan   was ready to offer the drug, Favipiravir, which was developed by Toyama Chemical, a subsidiary of Fujifilm, any time   the World Health Organisation requested it.

Approved by the Japanese health ministry in March, Favipiravir is a tablet developed   for the treatment of novel and re-emerging influenza viruses.

Suga, according to the Agence France Presse,  said Japan was waiting for WHO’s decision on further details over the use of untested drugs.

He however said that “in case of an emergency, Japan may respond to individual requests before any further decision by the WHO.”

The spokesperson for the company, Takao Aoki, said Fujifilm had initiated talks with the United States on how the drug could be adopted in treating EVD.

He said, “Fujifilm is in talks with the US Food and Drug Administration on clinical testing of the drug in treating Ebola, The company has Favipiravir stock for more than 20,000 patients. Ebola and influenza viruses are the same type and theoretically similar effects can be expected on Ebola,” he said.

It was however not known as of Thursday last week if Favipiravir is the drug the Federal Ministry of Health had said it had requested from a foreign country.

The ministry which turned down a trial drug, Nano Silver, had applied for ZMapp which was administered on two US aid workers who contracted the virus in Liberia.

The two were discharged last Thursday, a few days after Washington said it did not have enough XMapp to send to countries in need of it.

ZMapp fails Liberian doctor

However, a Liberian doctor , Abraham Borbor, has died despite taking ZMapp, according to  a statement by the Liberia’s information minister, Lewis Brown.

Borbor was one of three doctors in Liberia who had been given ZMapp and was showing signs of recovery.

“Borbor was showing signs of improvement but on Sunday, he took a turn for the worse,”   Brown told the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Monday reversed the number of confirmed EVD cases in Nigeria from 14 to 13.

Health Minister, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, said while briefing journalists in Abuja that the   development followed the outcome of a further confirmation test conducted on the 14th case, which   turned out to be negative.

He also said another patient in the isolation centre in Lagos had   after receiving   treatment tested negative.

The patient, according to him, will be dicharged before Wednesday.

He said the development would bring from four to two, the number of patients still in the isolation ward.

The minister added that the number of deaths recorded so far in the country as a result of the disease still remained five, including the Late Patrick Sawyer, who brought the EVD to Nigeria from Liberia.

Chukwu said, “We have been able to manage and discharge five persons who had tested positive to the deadly virus, while the sixth person would be dicharged within the next 48 hours.

“For each case that tested negative, we run further confirmatory tests to make sure that anybody that is labelled as EVD victim, is truly having the disease.

“The 14th case has turned out to be negative in terms of anaemia and symptoms, so that has now reversed number of EVD cases in Nigeria from 14 to 13 and that includes the index case (Sawyer).

“As of today (Monday), we have three patients receiving treatment in the isolation ward in Lagos but certainly, before Wednesday, one of them would be discharged because he has tested negative and we are now concluding his discharge process.”

The ministry also denied   reports (The PUNCH not included) which claimed that the younger sister of the late Dr. Stella Adadevoh, had tested positive to the EVD.

The minister’s   Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Dan Nwomeh, said on Monday that no new patient had been admitted into the treatment centre in Lagos.

He said, “We are not aware of that development, but to avoid any confusion, Minister of Health reiterates that he has the sole authority to announce confirmed and discharged EVD cases.

“Any doubtful information on the outbreak of EVD should be verified from the office of the minister , we are on all social media platforms.”

A group of 17 UK-based European and African scientists have found out   that the largest outbreak of the EVD was caused by an infected fruit bats that bit a toddler.

The   tropical disease researchers, ecologists and anthropologists had spent three weeks investigating the outbreak of the disease in Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia and Ivory Coast.

According to the Daily Mail, the scientists captured some bats and other creatures near the village of Meliandoua in Guinea, where the present epidemic began last year in December.

According to the scientists, the toddler, who     was bitten by a   fruit bat   passed the infection on to his mother and both died within a week.

The disease was then spread far and wide by mourners who attended their funeral.

Scientists have long believed that bats are the main carriers for the disease but it is rare for them to pass it on to man.

Most of the previous outbreaks have been caused by meat from dead infected animals collected by hunters who then sell it on.

Fruit bats, however, are widely eaten in some rural areas of West Africa – either smoked, grilled or in a spicy soup.

The team led by epidemiologist Fabian Leendertz, a disease ecologist at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, are expected to publish their results in a major journal soon.

Initial research believed that a new strain of Ebola had emerged in West Africa but according to Herr Leendertz, the strain of the disease is one related to Zaire ebolavirus, identified more than 10 years ago in the Congo.

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Naira falls on dollar shortage

by Oyetunji Abioye with agency report

The naira dropped against the dollar on Monday, with last week’s move by JP Morgan to include the country’s 10-year bond in one of its indexes failing to stimulate strong dollar inflows.

The local currency closed at N162.07 to the dollar, compared with Friday’s close of N161.98, the same level it closed on Thursday prior to JP Morgan’s announcement.

The 2024 bond is due to be added to JP Morgan’s Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets on August 29, in addition to five other bonds already listed, potentially triggering more offshore interest.

But dealers said local bond trading was muted on Monday due to a holiday in Britain, where a number of foreign investors who trade Nigerian debt are based. Yields on the 2024 bond climbed to 11.99 per cent, as against 11.92 per cent on Friday.

Citibank said in a note it expected the naira to get support from potential oil company dollar sales and foreign portfolio inflows this week.

The local unit of Italian oil firm Eni sold $12m on Monday, to start the month-end dollar sales

Nigeria delays second-quarter GDP data by one week

Meanwhile, the Federal Government will delay the release of second-quarter Gross Domestic Product data by a week because of a backlog of work caused by a rebasing exercise, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

GDP data is scheduled for release 45 days after the end of each quarter, though the NBS does not always keep to a precise schedule with data releases.

The Chief Executive Officer, NBS, Mr. Yemi Kale, told Reuters that “the rebasing in April … took us off our normal quarterly schedule” by creating a backlog of adjusting work.

The rebasing almost doubled the size of its economy to $510bn, making Nigeria Africa’s biggest economy, surpassing South Africa.

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Leaders to hold Ukraine-Russia talks

by BBC

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is due to take part in talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at a summit in Minsk, capital of Belarus.
The meeting comes amid rising tension between the two countries over Ukraine’s military campaign against pro-Russian separatists.
Ukraine said on Monday that its troops had captured 10 Russian servicemen in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly denied supporting the rebels.
More than 2,000 people have died in months of fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The two regions declared independence from Kiev following Russia’s annexation of the southern Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.

Why I dropped presidential ambition –Ribadu

by Olusola Fabiyi

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu
| credits: leadership.ng

Former presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has explained why he abandoned his presidential ambition to contest the governorship primary of the Peoples Democratic Party for the Adamawa State governorship poll.

Ribadu, who spoke with journalists after he submitted his nomination form at the national headquarters of the PDP in Abuja on Monday, said that his desire to serve at any level propelled him to drop his initial ambition.

Ribadu, who was a former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said, “Everything in my life has been about public service. I’m prepared to serve in any capacity.

“If you ask me to come and be a sweeper of any street in any part of the country, I’m ready to do that. I don’t even have power of my own in any part.”

Asked whether he was worried that the PDP was yet to grant him and other defected aspirants waivers needed to contest the primary, he said no.

”I am not worried about the waiver. I have followed the rules. I am a law and order person. I have done my own bit and I will wait for the party to do their own. That part is not my responsibility,” he said.

Under the constitution of the party, new members and returnees are not qualified to seek elective positions until after two years, except they get a waiver.

Section 50 (9) of the PDP constitution says, “There shall be a minimum of two year membership span for a member to be eligible to stand for election into any public office, unless the appropriate executive committee gives a waiver or rules to the contrary.”

Meanwhile, other aspirants have insisted that the party must conduct proper primary to choose the party’s candidate for the October 11 election.

The aspirants spoke when they came to also submit their nomination forms to the party’s national leadership, which was received by the National Organisation Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha.

The aspirants included the former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Modibbo; Acting Governor of the state, Ahmed Fintiri; former Presidential Adviser, Ahmed Gulak; and the former ACN governorship candidate in the state, Mr. Marcus Gundiri.

Others are former Lagos State Military Administrator, Buba Marwa; Dr. Umar Ardo, Senator Ahmed Girei, Gen. A.A.Kana (retd.), Awwal Tukur and Aliyu Idi-Hong.

Modibbo said, “People should be allowed to contest. We should not pay too much attention to consensus. Our tragedy in the state was that we did not do the proper thing when we chose the past leader.”

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Boko Haram: 480 Nigerian soldiers flee to Cameroon

by Fidelis Soriwei, Okechukwu Nnodim and Kayode Idowu

Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade
| credits: www.ynaija.com

NO fewer than 480 Nigerian soldiers have fled into Cameroon following fierce fighting with Boko Haram insurgents.

The Cameroonian Army Spokesman, Lt Col Didier Badjek, who confirmed this, said the troops had already been disarmed.

But   the Director of Defence Information, Maj. -Gen Chris Olukolade, said the   soldiers merely strayed into Cameroon and therefore were not “deserters.”

Badjek told the British Broadcasting Corporation on Monday that the disarmed Nigerian soldiers   were   being accommodated in schools in Maroua, about 80 kilometres   from the Nigerian border.

The BBC which added that there were clashes in the border town of Gamboru Ngala, said that thousands of civilians also fled to Cameroon.

Our correspondent in Maiduguri gathered that Boko Haram insurgents had at about 5.15am on Monday invaded Gamboru, forcing both civilians and soldiers to flee   to Cameroon.

One of the residents who called from Cameroon, said the insurgents went straight to attack the military base and police station in the town.

He said an initial attack was repelled by the military which killed many of the insurgents.

The resident added that about two hours later, the insurgents regrouped and   launched a fresh attack on the troops.

He said. “They engaged the military and caused them to retreat into Cameroon. It was most likely that the Nigerian soldiers ran out ammunition.

“But some soldiers   later   emerged with their Cameroonian counterparts and continued the battle with the insurgents.

“As I am speaking to you now (4pm on Monday), we are still hearing sound of gunshot miles away, meaning they are still engaging themselves.”

An elderly woman who did not want her name in print, told journalists on the telephone from her temporary abode  in Cameroon, that she fled “ when the shooting became intense in parts of the town.’’

She said that she saw many corpses while fleeing to Cameroon.

But in Abuja,   Olukolade told one of our correspondents   that the 480 soldiers strayed into Cameroon   while   in pursuit of the insurgents.

He said the soldiers were on their way back to the country and would soon be reunited with their units in the North-East.

The army spokesman stated further that it was the standard practice for soldiers who strayed into a foreign but friendly country to be disarmed.

He explained that the soldiers were not expected to react because there was no hostility involved in the issue.

Olukolade also denied the claim by the insurgents that they had taken control of   Gamboru Ngala, stressing that security operatives were still confronting them in the town.

He said, “In the pursuit of the insurgents, some of our soldiers strayed into Cameroun. The military authorities are in touch with the Cameroonian authorities and the soldiers are on their way back and would soon be united with their units in the country.

“These are normal procedures; when an Army enters a country and are not on a hostile mission; normally, they won’t fight back.

“All that has been sorted out to the best of my knowledge.

“As for Gamboru Ngala, I can tell you that the operation is still going on as we are speaking.”

The DHQ later issued a statement in which it again explained the presence of Nigerian soldiers in Cameroon.

The statement on its official website, defenceinfo.mil.ng, stated that the   troops had to submit their weapons to the Camerounian authorities to show that they were not on any offensive mission.

It added that it was wrong to describe the presence of the soldiers in Cameroun as defection in view of discussions between the military leaderships of two countries and contacts made with the soldiers about their safety.

The statement read, “The presence of the Nigerian troops   in Cameroun was as a result of a sustained battle between the troops and the terrorists around the borders with Cameroun which saw the Nigerian troops charging through the borders in a tactical manoeuvre.

“Eventually, they found themselves on Camerounian soil. Being allies, the normal protocol of managing such incident demanded that the troops submit their weapons in order to assure the friendly country that they were not on a hostile mission.

“Following necessary discussions between Nigerian and Camerounian military authorities, the issues had been sorted out. Subsequently, the troops are on their way back to join their unit in Nigeria.

“The reference to the incidence as a defection is therefore not appropriate considering the discussion between the two countries’ military leadership and the series of contacts with the soldiers who have confirmed that they are safe.

“Meanwhile, troops are repelling a group of terrorists who are trying to enter the country through Gamborou Ngala.   A group of them who fizzled into the town are being pursued.”

Boko Haram had on Sunday released a video in which it said it had established an Islamic state in the towns and villages it controls in the North-East.

Last week, a group of 40 soldiers allegedly refused to follow orders to go and fight the insurgents, saying the militants were better equipped.

Insurgents also seized one of Nigeria’s two main riot police training academies, which is near   Gwoza, a town they claimed to have captured earlier this month.

Less than two weeks ago, the wives of some   soldiers had protested at the Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri against their husbands being sent to the Boko Haram militants.

In May, some soldiers opened fire on their commander, Maj-Gen Ahmed Mohammed, at Maiduguri’s Maimalari barracks, blaming him for the killing of their colleagues by Boko Haram fighters.

 We’ll defend Nigeria   –FG

The Federal Government has however said it is prepared to defend Nigeria even to the last citizen in the country.

It said no group would succeed in dividing the country and noted that it had confidence in the Nigerian Army despite threats by   Boko Haram.

The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television, said adventurers that were contending with Nigeria’s destiny would not succeed.

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