Newspaper of the Year
...93 D AYS TO GO DA
•Soyinka to EFCC, ICPC, INEC: probe Ekiti rigging plot MORE ON •Row in House of Reps over AIG Mbu •AND PAGES 2-9 &52 •APC to NIMASA: account for $800m cabotage funds •Rep battles House Leader over meeting with Jonathan
•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper
VOL. 10, NO. 3136 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2015
Kidnappers of American missionary demand N60m
TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH
N150.00
Senators slam Okonjo-Iweala for poor budget execution
•School owner abducted in Kogi
A
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N American missionary running an elementary school in Nigeria has been abducted from her workplace in Kogi State. Rev. Phyllis Sortor was snatched by masked gunmen, who stormed the Hope Alive Nursery/Primary School, which she runs in Emiworo, Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State on Monday. “She was whisked away at around 10 am on Monday,” Kogi State Police spokesperson Sola Collins Adebayo said yesterday. Commissioner of Police Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi said the Continued on page 2
•www.thenationonlineng.net
•Rev. Sortor
ENATORS yesterday berated Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the dismal implementation of the 2014 capital budget. The senators, who met at various committees with ministers, heads of Federal Government departments and agencies in Abuja, were un-
From Onyedi Ojiabor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja
happy that last year’s budget was poorly implemented. They were shocked when ministers and some heads of agencies told them that they got between 40 to 45 per cent of their capital votes last year. The senators insisted that the alleged withholding of appropriated funds meant to execute
critical capital projects had gravely retarded the economy’s growth. Earlier yesterday, the Senate met behind closed doors for about two hours. It resolved to ensure that this year’s budget is passed before the March 28 - the presidential election day. A source who pleaded not Continued on page 2
•INSIDE: EXCESS CRUDE ACCOUNT DOWN TO $2B P50 FANI-KAYODE’S TRIAL RESUMES P9
27 die in Boko Haram bus stations suicide bombings
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WILL THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15, LAST YEAR EVER RETURN?
•THE SCENE OF HORR OR: Some residents at the blast scene of the suicide bombing in Kano...yesterday. HORROR:
Kano, Yobe hit Jonathan attacks sect APC: govt to blame
T
HE Boko Haram bloodletting continued yesterday with suicide bombings in the North’s commercial capital, Kano and Potiskum, Yobe State’s biggest town. No fewer than 27 people died at bus stations in the cities, giving an indication of a co-ordinated action. Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, the manner of the blasts point in the direction
From Kolade Adeyemi Kano and Duku Joel, Damaturu
of Boko Haram. President Goodluck Jonathan criticised Boko Haram for what he described as its focus on “soft targets”, saying the latest action is “an act of a sect facing extinction”. Twelve persons were killed in the Kano blast. Five others were injured as the explosion rocked the Kano Line
Motor Park at Kofar Nassarawa. Fifteen died in Potiskum. At about 3.15pm, three suspected suicide bombers walked into the park, disguising as passengers. It was gathered that the suspected bombers believed to be aged between 17 and 18, carried bags and mixed freely with passengers travelling to various destinations. An eyewitness account said two of
the suicide bombers stood by the side of an Urvan bus loading passengers and detonated explosives. Ten passengers were burnt to death. The third suspected suicide bomber reportedly escaped during the pandemonium that followed the blast. Three vehicles were burnt. Kano State Commissioner of Police Idris Ibrahim, speaking at the blast site, Continued on page 2
•POLITICS P11 •SPORTS P20 •MONEY P22 •INVESTORS P24 •LIFE P39 •FOREIGN P52