Boko Haram: Jonathan declares full-scale war ,deploys warplanes

Nigerian warplanes are carrying out air strikes against Boko Haram militant bases at Bama, Borno State, a senior official said yesterday, in a government counter-attack against Boko Haram’s drive to create an Islamist enclave.
The official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters Nigeria’s military was battling Boko Haram fighters at Bama, 70 km (45 miles) southeast of the Borno state capital Maiduguri.
Air strikes have been carried out “on all the Boko Haram bases”, the official said, adding this reflected President Goodluck Jonathan’s order for a “fully-fledged war” against the group which has waged a bloody insurgency since 2009.
“Bama today is the centre of the military battle with the terrorists … Boko Haram is being repelled by the Nigerian troops as we are talking now,” the government official said, without giving details of the operations or casualties.
The battle over Bama, and Boko Haram’s storming of towns and villages to the north, east and south of Maiduguri in recent weeks, has raised fears of an attack on the Borno state capital, prompting hundreds of civilians to flee.
“Even today, we can see so many people leaving … the buses are going out plenty now,” Musa Sumail, a human rights activist in Maiduguri who reports on the violence in the northeast, told Reuters. He said he had seen at least one or two Nigerian government fighter jets in the skies above Maiduguri.
We ‘ll do everything to defend our territorial integrity –Defence Hqtr...........read more here

Nigerian celebrities mourn Joan Rivers

Some Nigerian celebrities have expressed sadness over the death of U.S. comedian and fashion critic, Joan Rivers. Rivers, 81, died on Thursday after she stopped breathing a week earlier while undergoing a minor throat procedure at a hospital in New York City. Rivers was also the anchor person of the famous television programme, `Fashion Police’, aired on DSTV cable channels. Speaking in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, the celebrities said the late Rivers contributed a lot to the development of comedy and fashion, globally. Actress Adaora Ukoh, described her as a “whole lot of fun. I can’t stop loving her even in death; she was a whole lot of fun. “I wish her daughter would grant her the awesome fun burial she wished for. But to say the least, `Fashion Police’ has just lost the real touch. “Her life was well spent and thoroughly fulfilled and inspiring. I want to be like her or even more when that time is sure up. “No boring death.....read more 

Adultery scandal rocks Methodist church

It’s a mere rumour –Accused pastor  It’s true –Wife ‘We are investigating the matter –Prelate

Worshippers at the Ereko circuit, Di­ocese of Lagos, Methodist Church of Nigeria, are protesting against the reinstatement of one of their priests, Rev Abayomi Okesanya who was sent on suspen­sion for alleged adultery. They have vowed to re­sist the return of the clergy to their midst.

His sin: His wife, Yemisi Okesanya accused him of impregnating another woman. Some members of the congregation, who spoke with Saturday Sun, claimed that they were shocked by his sudden return even when he is living with another woman apart from his legally married wife.

The church, which is located at No 18 Ereko Street, Idumota, Lagos, has Rev Moses Adebayo Si­yanbola as the presbyter and minister in-charge of the circuit.

Aggrieved and determined to draw the attention of the church to what they described as an attempt by some leaders of the church to disregard biblical and age-long doctrine, members of the church told Satur­day Sun that the cause of the problem can be traced to the couple’s childless state.

According to a woman leader in the church: “He has been married for years and unfortunately, no child came out of it. Unknown to his wife, Rev Okesanya, with the aid of his family, made another ........click here for more  

IN TRAINING CAMPS, ISIS TEACHES CHILDREN HOW TO BEHEAD

This summer, in his hometown of Raqqa, 13-year-old Mohammad was forced to attend a children’s training camp established by the IslamicState of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

When his father opposed his son’s conscription, ISIS fighters threatened to kill him. Mohammad left for camp, which his father describes as a form of “brainwashing the children.”

After his return, his mother says she was surprised to find in his bag a blond, blue-eyed doll – along with a large knife given to her son by his ISIS supervisors. When she confronted Mohammad, he told her that the camp manager had distributed the dolls and asked that the children decapitate them using the knife, and that they were asked to cover the dolls’ faces when they performed the decapitation.

It was his homework: practice beheading a toy likeness of a blond, white Westerner.

Predator Drone Reportedly Spotted Over ISIS Stronghold

ISIS Strategy a Moving Target for Obama Administration.................read full story here