Nigerian state firm picks up Shell block

State oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Corp and a local company bought an onshore oil block operated Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday, NNPC said in a statement.

The OML 34 is amongst three onshore blocks that the Anglo-Dutch major has been trying to divest this year as part of a rejig of its portfolio in Nigeria, Reuters reported.
NNPC said it and a company called ND Western will now run the oil block, saying in the statement that it is "a major milestone in the oil and gas sector".
"The taking over of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 34 by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and ND Western (is) part of measures to grow the in-country upstream capacity of the petroleum industry," the statement said according to the news wire.

NNPC takes 55% and ND Western 45% of the block from Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, a Shell-run joint between NNPC, with 55%; Shell, with 30%; EPNL, with 10%; and Agip, with 5%.
Shell officials were not immediately available for comment to the news wire.
Shell has been winding down some of its onshore operations to focus on offshore and deepwater drilling. The sales follow similar divestments over the past two years.

 The company said last month it was seeking buyers for OMLs 30, 34 and 40.Shell's onshore facilities are plagued with problems such as militancy and rampant oil theft, although the firm says such problems have not influenced its divestment plans.
Last year Shell sold its 30% stake in Nigerian onshore oil block OML 42 to local consortium Neconde Energy - which includes Nestoil Group, Aries E&P Company Limited, VP Global and Poland's Kulczyk Oil Ventures - for $390 million.
In the same year, it divested its 30% stake in block OML 26 to First Hydrocarbon Nigeria (FHN), which is part-owned by Afren, for $98 million.
Nigeria's government has a policy of boosting local participation in the oil industry, although critics say NNPC lacks the funds to invest sufficiently in its own assets.
The statement said the sale of the block "would give indigenous companies ... the impetus to become an active player in the ... oil and gas sector."

(www.upstreamonline.com)

Explosive device found university lecture hall in Kano

An explosive device was found on Tuesday in lecture hall at a university in northern city just before students arrived for an examination, an official said.
The device planted in the lecture theatre at the Federal College of Education (FCE) in Kano was discovered by a campus security guard and dismantled before causing any damage.
In April, attackers suspected of belonging the radical Boko Haram Islamist group killed roughly 20 people at the nearby Bayero University, Kano.
They set off bombs at a Sunday morning campus church service, then opened fire as worshippers tried to flee.
“This morning, something suspected to be an improvised explosive device has been successfully detected and detonated by the anti-bomb squad of the Nigeria police in the college,” said FCE spokesman Auwalu Mudi Yakasai in a statement.
He added that the exams would continue uninterrupted.
It was not immediately clear who planted the device, but Boko Haram, responsible for scores of attacks across northern and central Nigeria in recent months, has hit Kano repeatedly in the past.
The name Boko Haram, a combination of Hausa and Arabic, means “Western education is forbidden.”
Kano, Nigeria’s second most populous city, was the site of the group’s deadliest attack yet on January 20 when at least 185 people were killed in coordinated gun and bomb attacks.
The group has claimed the deaths of more than 1,000 people since mid-2009, and three of its presumed top leaders have been designated as global terrorists by the United States.

(www.vanguardngr.com)

JTF kills two terrorists; intercepts rocket launchers,10 rocket bombs

The Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order (ORO) on Tuesday said it killed two suspected terrorists in Monguno Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno State.
The JTF Spokesman, Lt.-Col.Sagir Musa, stated this while briefing newsmen in Maiduguri.
He said the JTF also intercepted large quantities of arms from the suspected terrorists during the operation.
Musa also said the two suspected terrorists who were escorting the consignment died in an exchange of fire with security men.

 “The arms included eight rocket launchers, 10 rocket bombs, 10 rocket chargers, two AK 47 rifles and 13 magazines.”
He said that the arms were concealed in a blue Toyota Hilux vehicle heading towards Maiduguri.

“The JTF in conjunction with the Department of State Service, the Multi National Joint Task Force intercepted large consignment of arms and ammunitions.
“The consignment was intercepted at Daban Masara in Monguno Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno based on intelligence report.
“The large consignment of arms was being moved from Baga Masara heading towards Maiduguri in a blue hilux vehicle.
“The JTF wishes to appeal to members of the public to provide useful information to security agencies in order to stop the isolated killings in the state.”  (NAN)
ABI /DO/SIA

(www.vanguardngr.com)

16 Million People Facing Food Shortages in East Africa

More than 16 million people, in six African nations, are currently facing food shortages, that range from stressed to emergency levels food insecurity, a recent report from Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSN) shows.
The affected countries include Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and Ethiopia, with poor rains, conflict, high food prices and in some cases inability to access humanitarian assistance, seen as driving factors.
According to FEWSN, climate forecast by the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum (GHACOF 31) for the June to September rains reportedly indicate that the performance of these rains will be normal to above normal in areas of East Africa that typically receive this rain.
"These rains are the main rains in most parts of Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Djibouti," the report says, while adding that Northern Uganda and the northern and coastal parts of Somalia also receive rains during this season.
However, since it got independence over a year ago, South Sudan's has had murky relationship with neighbouring Sudan, often characterized by clashes, counter accusation and each blaming the other for working to allegedly destabilize each other's regime.
Also, poor harvest, macroeconomic instability and widespread conflict in South Sudan could see more than 4.7 million people or almost half of the country's population at risk of food shortage; a million of whom could face severe consequences, according to a United Nations food security assessment.
In a related development, the FEWSN report says, about 1.2 million resident or host communities in the drought affected areas of North Darfur face crisis levels of food insecurity, citing poor food availability and high grain prices and in Jebel Mara due to the impacts of conflict on trade and humanitarian access, as contributing factors.
"The rising pattern of insecurity is expected to cause new displacement, reduce access by humanitarian agencies and reduce the flow of and on food goods from central Sudan to Darfur resulting in even more higher prices," the report warns.
At least US$427m of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the U.N Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said its annual report, were allocated to 11 U.N agencies and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) last year.
According to the report, climate-related emergencies due to drought, floods and storms, it says, received more than $149m from the fund, while over $128m reportedly went to the Horn of Africa for people affected by drought and food insecurity.
(http://allafrica.com)

CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards 2012

A news report featuring the impact of drought and food insecurity in Kenya today won a UNICEF-sponsored Television News Bulletin Award at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Award Ceremony held in Lusaka, Zambia.

Reporter Nimrod Taabu Mwagamoyo and Cameraman Charles Kinyua Kariuki of NTV Kenya received the Award for their “Portraits of Pain” series highlighting the plight of Barpello village in East Pokot, Kenya, where severe drought and food insecurity has rendered water so scarce that residents are forced to rely on a single, heavily-contaminated water-source.

The pastoralist community shares this dam with their animals that not only drink from it but also pollute the water further with their own waste.

The television feature echoes the residents’ appeal to save them from trekking long distances in search of clean water, and from consuming unsafe water that has rendered them perpetually vulnerable to disease.

Today marks the first time that UNICEF has supported the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year Award.

UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Elhadj As Sy, who presented the award to the finalists, expressed gratitude to the African journalists for their role in uncovering and reporting on critical issues that deeply affect children across the continent.

“Important progress has been made for children in Africa over the years in reducing child mortality. However, progress has not been uniform and inequalities exist between and within countries,” Mr. Sy said during the awards ceremony.“

“UNICEF is committed to empowering countries with technical support, capacity-building and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation to help them reduce sickness and death among children. UNICEF is also committed to work in partnership with governments, non-governmental and civil society organizations, the private sector, donors, and of course, the media to reach every child, everywhere, particularly those hardest to reach and most vulnerable.”

Mr. Sy applauded the role of journalists in highlighting the multiple obstacles to the survival, health and wellbeing of children in Africa in the media, and in provoking debate and discussion to address them.

He said, “Media professionals are key partners for us when it comes to advocating for the realization and protection of children’s rights.

Journalists have a crucial role to play in illustrating and explaining these challenges and their impact, particularly, on those children who are most excluded from progress and access to basic social services. Without a transparent and open media environment, it would be almost impossible to effectively tackle the challenges children in Africa face.”

The Award was established in August 1995 to encourage, promote and recognize excellence in African journalism. It is now in its 17th year.

(www.newvision.co.ug)

Ethnic clashes kill 18 Ethiopians, displace thousands

At least 18 people have been killed in fierce fighting between two communities over land in southern Ethiopia and 20,000 refugees have fled to Kenya, the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said on Monday.
Fighting broke out last Thursday because of a dispute over the Ethiopian government's decision to settle the Garri community on land which the Borana claim to own, KRCS said in a statement on its website.
Thousands of refugees, segregated by ethnicity, are camped out in schools and a mosque around the Kenyan town of Moyale. Others are being given refuge by local Kenyan residents.
"Most of the families are in the open cold with their children for lack of shelter," KRCS said.
"The humanitarian situation is dire bearing in mind that the effects of the HOA [Horn of Africa] drought on the populations in the conflict areas are also still being felt," it said.
The Garri and Borana communities straddle the Kenyan and Ethiopian borders.
Life in arid northern Kenya is precarious, with millions still reliant upon food aid following a severe drought in 2011. Heavily armed pastoralist communities regularly clash over land, water and cattle in the remote borderlands.
Some refugees started to return to Ethiopia on Monday after Ethiopia's federal government intervened in the clash-hit areas, Abbas Gullet, the secretary general of KRCS, told AlertNet.
"The federal security forces are taking control of the security situation from regional security officials and they are looking for an amicable solution to the disputes," Gullet said.
At least 12 people have been injured, but they are reluctant to seek medical help at facilities thought to belong to rival communities, KRCS said.
"The reported injuries include gun wounds, fractures, bleeding, and internal bleeding," it said.
The KRCS Moyale Branch response team is waiting for more casualties to reach the Kenyan border from the Ethiopian interior where the fighting is taking place, KRCS said.

(www.trust.org)

Nigeria forces thousands from floating slum (Lagos, Nigeria)Street Life in Lagos Searching for a better life, many immigrants are struggling to survive in the world's fastest growing megacity

Thousands of people have been left homeless in the Nigerian city of Lagos after a recent government-led eviction of an almost 200-year old shantytown.
During last week's eviction of the Makoko slum, home to about 100,000 people, residents were given only 72 hours to evacuate before men in speedboats were sent to destroy their houses.

"As the city authorities continue to forcefully evict this community of mainly fishermen, many say there have nowhere to turn to," said Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow, reporting from Lagos on Sunday.

Street Life in Lagos

Searching for a better life, many immigrants are struggling to survive in the world's fastest growing megacity

 The floating Makoko slum rises out of the murky lagoon water that separates mainland Nigeria from the island that gave birth to its largest city.

(www.aljazeera.com)