ASUU Strike: FG Shifts Ultimatum Deadlin

The Federal Government on Monday shifted the deadline for the strikers from December 4 to December 9.

Previously the government, through the acting Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, had ordered the striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resume work on December 4.

However, on Tuesday the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Julius Okojie, announced the new date while addressing journalists in Abuja.

He said the Government had shifted the deadline after it received notification of Prof. Festus Iyayi’s funeral rites slated for between December 5 and 7.

On the N200 billion revitalization fund which ASUU is demanding should be disbursed within two weeks, Okojie diclosed that the money has been deposited in an account in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Former ASUU President Mr. Iyayi tragically died on November 12, 2013 in auto crash in Lokoja on his way to attend the association’s meeting in Kano.

“We just received information that the burial rites of Festus Iyayi begins on the December 5 and would last till December 7.

“Based on this information, government decided to shift the resumption deadline to December 9, to enable lecturers to participate in the burial,” Okojie explained.

The executive secretary said the directive had been communicated to the various university Governing Councils and Vice Chancellors for onward transmission to the academic staff. He also added that there was no intention to victimise any lecturer for participating in the strike. He said the victimisation clause which members of ASUU were using to discredit the government never came up when the unionists met with President Goodluck Jonathan on November 4.

It was also mentioned that the order does not require students to commence lectures immediately.

“The school environment had to be made habitable for both students and the entire staff of the universities.’’

He said any lecturer who resumed work after the expiration of the new deadline would not have his or her salary arrears paid.

“You cannot pay someone who has failed to resume work. You are on strike and you want to be paid?

The ASUU President, Nasir Fagge, had earlier explained that the union did not add any new demands in its letter to the president.

ASUU President Nasir Fagge  condemned government’s ultimatum, noting that the government’s letter after the meeting with President Jonathan (aimed and problem resolution) was not a total reflection of what transpired during the meeting. 

"The document was a report of Government’s understanding of the decisions or agreement reached on the matters discussed with ASUU,” he said.

Two Men Arrested For Raping Boys

 

Two men have been arrested Aminu Abdulkadir, 30, and Sani Musa, 25, for allegedly raping two boys in Dutse, the state capital.

They were paraded by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Jigawa State yesterday.

Parading them, the state commandant of the NSCDC Malam Muhammed Gidado Fari said the two men were arrested at separate locations. He said both men confessed defiling many children in their  areas.

Fari advised parents to be more careful with their children, adding that the NSCDC has arrested 11 others over cases of sexual abuse against boys and men in the state.

One of the suspects, Sani Musa, said he was introduced into the act while in school.

Why The Strike Must Continue: ASUU Releases 14-Point Guideline

The Federal Government had yesterday shifted its ultimatum for the reopening of universities till Monday.

However, ASUU has restated its rejection of the ultimatum, issuing yesterday a 14-point guideline to its members on why they must sustain the strike, adding that government's claim that external forces were behind the union only betrays government's desperation to distract the union's genuine cause.

This was made known by the union in Strike Bulletin No. 14, signed by ASUU National President Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge.

The union came up with 14 guidelines signaling that it is prepared for a long drawn battle with the Federal Government.

The guidelines read in part:

•Do not sign any resumption of duty. Government is out to humiliate us. Hold your head high. This too shall pass!!!

•If you receive any query on account of the ongoing strike, failure to sign resumption of duty register, etc, bring such to the attention of the branch chairperson immediately for guidance.

•It is a general knowledge that members of ASUU are on a national strike. It is against the Labour Act and the ILO convention to sack anybody on account of participation in a strike, no matter how remotely related.

•Remain resolute and refrain from violating the ongoing strike. Our Union is capable of protecting its members.

•Meanwhile, be security conscious. Do not visit security agencies alone. In case of difficulties, always consult your Chairperson.

•With our collective resolve, we can again brush off this unwarranted and provocative onslaught. Stand to be counted on the positive side of history. Do not betray your union.

The leadership of ASUU also justified its struggle and insisted that it is in the public interest.

It said: “Our collective national struggle to save the future of public system has entered yet another critical phase. The National Strike Coordinating Committee(NSCC) commends all members for their steadfastness and commitment to this patriotic cause.

More so, lecturers of the states and Federal universities in the Southwest said they remained resolute, describing Federal government's threat to sack them as 'primitive and derogatory'.

The local ASUU chair, Dr Adesola Nassir, addressing reporters said the Ibadan Zone of ASUU comprising University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, Lagos State University, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta and Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijagun, would sustain the strike.

They added that, a government that could hurry to inject over two trillion naira into ailing banks that are privately owned should not find it difficult to infuse N200bn into public universities across the country.

Boko Haram Suspects To Face Secret Trial In Lagos

A federal high court sitting in Lagos, south west Nigeria has ordered that the trial of suspected Boko Haram members be conducted in secrecy.

Journalists have now been barred from covering the proceedings.

The court further ordered that all the witnesses who will give evidence in the case should wear masks and bear coded names

The order was sequel to an application by the Attorney General of Lagos state, Mr Ade Ipaye.

Ipaye said the trial borders on public safety and national security.

The seventeen suspected Boko Haram members were charged with illegal possession of fire arms, act of terrorism and being members of an illegal organisation.

The presiding Judge Justice Ibrahim Buba, granted all the requests. The case has been adjourned for trial, at a date not announced.

MAIDUGURI SLAUGHTER: Survivors Recount Atrocities Of Boko Haram Attack

Maiduguri, Borno State — A number of Maiduguri residents, survivors of and eyewitnesses to the recent slaughter in Borno State's capital by suspected Boko Haram sect members, recount their experience.

Wreckage of truck burnt in front of the Gomari Police Divisional Office which was completely razed

It will be recalled that on Monday, December 2, about 300 armed terrorists invaded the city and wreaked havoc onto military formations and police stations.

The area accommodates hundreds of JTF (Joint Task Force) operatives and the Divisional Police Station in Gomari Airport Ward of the metropolis, as well as 50 military vehicles.

Nigerian Air Force Base offices, staff quarters, club house, five aircraft were set ablaze by the terrorists and burnt completely. Residential buildings, such as semi-detached bedroom flats and offices with staff quarters newly built by the Borno State Government at the 33 Artillery Regiment base, were also razed by the fire.

Mallam Yakubu Gashua, who lives near the now-destroyed 79 Composite Group, Nigerian Air force Base (NAF), said:

"I thought my days on earth was over on that day.

"My wife and I were in bed, and all of a sudden, I started hearing heavy sounds of gunshots, as if it was in my compound. We immediately woke up and started reciting some protective verses in the Quran.

"The gunshots became more intense with ceaseless explosions all over the place.

"At a point I told my wife and my uncle, who came from Gashua for a visit, that our days have ended.

"I said, 'Who is going to take care of my two little children who are still writing their exams in a boarding school in Damaturu, the Yobe state capital?' But thank Allah for sparing all of us."

Two brothers who lived opposite the NAF main gate, a military object that was the first port of call of the terrorists, were slain. Their neighbour recalls that the attackers arrived the base around 4a.m., and called for Subhi prayers in a nearby mosque before chanting 'Allahu Akbar' ['God is Great'].

"The terrorists entered the compound and saw a Toyota hilux loaded with bags of beans, and they asked my deceased neighbour to provide the keys of the loaded vehicle to them.

"When he said the keys were with the driver somewhere else, they immediately opened fire on him. His brother was ambushed at his patent medicine store around 7am a few metres away from the NAF main gate, and was killed."

Another resident, who lives close to the NAF base, narrated his own ordeal:

"When I heard a strange voice close to our mosque, I asked myself, who are these people calling for Subhi prayers? I peeped outside just to see what was happening, and when I discovered that the voice is a strange one, I quickly went back home.

"Later, we went to the mosque and performed our prayers with my deceased neighbours who were killed after the prayers. 

"We didn't know that the terrorists were the ones calling for the Subhi prayers.

“We performed our pre-dawn prayers successfully, and, as we were about to enter our house, we started hearing the sounds of gunfire, explosives and bombs inside the NAF premises. The sound of the explosives was even shaking our houses, which now have cracks after the multiple explosions inside the NAF Base. In fact, I had to quickly hide myself with my wife and two of my little children inside an abandoned soak-away toilet in the compound for over two hours."

Mallam Abba Usman, is a resident of Mwaramti village, opposite the 33 Artillery Regiments. His place of residence was not spared by the terrorists also, as he says, "The terrorists were very active and brave, as they stopped and picked dead bodies of their members."

Residents say the tragic events in Maiduguri, a city which had witnessed relative peace for the past six months, calls for serious concern of the government and the people of Borno State.