1, March 2018
S. Cameroons Crisis: Nigeria holds security meeting on French Cameroun cross-border military action 0
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division Nigerian Army, Major General Adamu Baba Abubakar, at the instruction of the Chief of Army Staff(COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, held an elaborate security stakeholders meeting on the 27th of February, 2018 at the 245 Reconnaissance Battalion at Ikom, Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State. The meeting is to confirm/assess the reported occasional security threats at the border areas between Nigeria and Cameroon with the view to addressing the situation. The GOC, on behalf of the COAS, thanked the various security agencies for their efforts in ensuring peace and security of all Nigerian citizens at the border areas in the midst of the reported/recorded security threats. He used the opportunity to urge the leaders and youths of the affected communities not take laws into their hands, remain law abiding and endeavor to report any security infraction to available security organization close to them.
General Abubakar reiterated the resolve of the Nigerian government to protecting lives and properties of her citizens and the capacity of the Nigerian Armed Forces to defend the territorial integrity of the country at all times. Present at the meeting include the Commander 13 Brigade Brigadier General I Isah, Commander Military Intelligence Brigade Colonel Kingsley Nwoko, Commanding Officer 245 Battalion Colonel Solomon Diwa, a member Cross River State House of Assembly representing Boki Local Government Area Dr. Mrs Abang, the Chairmen of Boki, Ikom, Etung and Obubra Local Government Areas, Commissioner of Police, State Director of Security Services Cross River State and other heads of paramilitary organisations in the State as well as traditional rulers of the affected border communities.
The representative of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC), UNHRC Sub – Office Calabar Mr Josiah Kolleh Flomo also graced and made a brief at the meeting. Two important highlights of the event was the briefs made by the various commanders and heads of security agencies to the GOC and a visit to Ajasso – Etung – Mfum border with Cameroon in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State.
Culled from prnigeria.com
1, March 2018
Nigeria: Death toll from Lassa fever reaches 72 0
Nigeria is suffering its worst outbreak of Lassa fever, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, as local health officials said 72 people had died since the start of this year.
Lassa fever, named after the town in northern Nigeria where it was first identified in 1969, is endemic but the number of confirmed cases “has never reached” this level before, it added.
“Nigeria’s Lassa fever outbreak has reached record highs, with 317 laboratory confirmed cases,” the WHO said in a statement, quoting figures from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
On February 6, 31 people were reported to have died from the disease, which is caused by a virus of the same family as Marburg and Ebola.
But in an update, the NCDC said: “Since the onset of the 2018, 325 cases have been classified as: 317 confirmed cases, eight probable cases with 72 deaths.”
Fourteen health workers have been affected by the virus in six states.
The WHO said a total of 2,845 people who have come into contact with patients have been identified and were being monitored.
Worst-hit by the virus is Edo state, in the south, where Crusoe Osagie, a media aide to the state government, said mostly rural areas were affected.
“Edo state is the only state with Lagos to have a special treating hospital for this disease, which is in Irrua,” he told AFP. “People come here from all over. ”
The federal-owned facility usually deals with about a hundred cases each year but has already handled that number in the last two months, he added.
WHO said it was supporting the NCDC effort to contain the disease and treat those affected in treatment centres across the country.
“The ability to rapidly detect cases of infection in the community and refer them early for treatment improves patients’ chances of survival and is critical to this response,” said the world body’s representative in Nigeria, Wondimagegnehu Alemu.
Lassa fever is spread through contact with food or items contaminated with rats’ urine or faeces or after coming into direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
It can be prevented by enhanced hygiene and avoidance of all contact with rats.
More than 100 people were killed in 2016 in an outbreaks affecting 14 of the 36 states, including Lagos and the capital Abuja.
Source: Africa News