Information recently made available to 247ureports.com indicates that the attack on Kano yesterday night was a “coordinated and well planned attack” that was meant to look like the January 2012 attack. The communities selected by the suspected Boko Haram group saw the skies light up in fire as the men of Boko Haram and the Joint Task Force exchanged gun fire through the night yesterday. They also witnessed over 20 explosions.

Residents of the communities state that the attack brought back fears of the last January 2012 black Friday attack to the fore. They added that the attack was well coordinated and planned. The Joint Task Force [JTF] were over matched by the superior and/or sophisticated firepower of the Boko Haram.  Some of the residents living within Goron Dutse lamented that they saw some of the JTF operatives in apprehension as the intensity of gun battle heightened. “It was clear the Boho Haram boys were smarter and more couragious“, stated aone of the residents who went on to say that nearly all of the attackers escaped before the security men arrived.

The police denies it was outsmarted by the Boko Haram.

According to Police Commissioner Ibrahim Idris “the places attacked includes; Dala Police Division, Jakara Police Barracks, Goron Dutse Prison Yard, 52 Squadron Challawa, Junior Secondary School Sabuwar Doka Ungogo LGA.  While he also asserts that 17 Boko Haram members were killed, 3 arrested, 5 assault rifles recovered, 14 IEDs defused, 220 live ammunition recovered, 5 motor vehicles recovered, 3 motor cycles recovered. Other things according to the Police Commissioner which was recovered includes N100,000 cash recovered,  large quantity of drugs and syringes recovered and according to him the  terrorists were numbered about 30,” the Police Commissioner said.

The Police Commissioner also said that one police Corporal was killed at Goron Dutse.

Meanwhile the JTF in their Press Release this moring has narrated their own story.

According to the JTF: “At about 1810Hrs yesterday, 26 June 2012, multiple Improvised Explosive Devices were detonated by members of the terrorist sect at Goron Dutse and Dala general areas of Kano akin to the 20 January 2012 attacks in the state. The terrorist elements eventually gained access to the Dala Police Division outpost were they killed a Police Corporal and were about to loot the arms store of the Police division before the swift response of security forces.

On sighting operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF), the terrorists attempted to flee the area but were engaged by troops of the JTF. After the intense gun battle, seven of the terrorists were killed and several wounded. Arms and ammunitions were recovered from them as well as IEDs which as at this moment are still being discovered and detonated by the Police Anti Explosive Ordinance Unit safely. Area search is still on going to apprehend those with gunshot wounds as well as other unexploded IEDs. The JTF appeals to members of the public to report immediately, any person seen with any form of wound or any suspicious package for prompt action.”

Meanwhile, two explosionswere heard in Nasarawa Local government this morning. A security source pegged the explosion “a controlled detonation” by security agents.

* South African president urges economic transformation drive

* Says post-apartheid economy still mostly in hands of whites

* Calls for “equitable share” of mineral wealth, land reform (Recasts, adds details, quotes)

By Jon Herskovitz and Peroshni Govender

JOHANNESBURG, June 26 (Reuters) – South Africa’s economy is still largely under the control of whites who held power under apartheid, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday, and he called for a “dramatic shift” to redress the wealth balance more evenly in favour of the black majority.

Such calls have been a staple of ANC strategy documents for years and Zuma’s policy speech comes months before he will seek re-election as leader of the faction-ridden movement in December. He has also been facing demands from the party’s youth wing to nationalise mines and seize white-owned farmland.

Zuma, speaking at the start of a major policy meeting of his ruling African National Congress, said the challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality posed long-term risks for Africa’s richest country 18 years after the end of apartheid.

“The structure of the apartheid-era economy has remained largely intact,” Zuma told several thousand ANC delegates.

“The ownership of the economy is still primarily in the hands of white males as it has always been,” he added.

Without giving details, he called for a “dramatic shift and giant leap” in coming years to spread the country’s wealth more equitably, mentioning the distribution of mineral resources and land ownership as areas which needed to be overhauled.

Zuma said this proposed “second transition” was necessary to complement the negotiated end of apartheid in 1994, when he said “certain compromises” over economic ownership had been made to ensure a smooth political transition from white minority rule.

While draft proposals to be considered at the conference advocate a greater role for state-owned enterprises, Zuma made clear however that the ANC’s strategy has been to seek to boost growth and create jobs through “a thriving mixed economy”.

The former liberation movement ANC has had a spotty record in ending economic disparity that is among the highest in the world. It has brought housing, electricity and running water to millions, but almost half the population still lives in poverty.

According to Statistics South Africa, 29 percent of blacks are unemployed compared with 5.9 percent of whites, while IHS Global Insight, an economic consultancy, estimates that whites have an average income nearly seven times that of blacks.

Zuma’s government has been criticised by three global ratings agencies for ineffective leadership in tackling a broken education system, rigid labour market and chronic unemployment eroding the country’s economic competitiveness.

The ANC has drafted a raft of policy documents that call on mining firms to pay more to the state to help finance welfare spending. The proposals also advocate relying on state-owned enterprises to be engines of job creation and growth.

But Zuma may be more focused on lining up support for an ANC party leadership election at the end of the year than in policies, analysts said. If he wins the party race, he is poised to also win a second term as president, serving until 2019.

“His speech did not convince me that he was serious about cleaning house. It was half-hearted considering that corruption is a very serious problem in government,” said Susan Booysen, a political analyst at Wits University in Johannesburg.

“His first priority is not to make enemies.”

DEBATE OVER MINES AND LAND

Zuma acknowledged rising anger and frustration in deprived communities about the poor delivery of basic public services such as electricity, water, sanitation, transport and health. His government has faced an increasing number of protests, some of them turning violent, against defective public services.

“You can’t sit and say ‘it’s fine’. We are in government, we have to do something about it,” the president told delegates, although he added violent lawlessness would not be tolerated.

Zuma said the debate over how the country’s mining wealth should be used must go beyond simply the question of “to nationalise or not to nationalise.” Calls for nationalisation from some sectors of the ruling ANC have stirred investor concerns in the world’s No. 1 platinum producer.

The party produced a research paper earlier this year saying nationalising mines could bankrupt the state, but it suggested increasing taxes on windfall mining profits.

This countered calls from firebrand ANC Youth League former leader Julius Malema who was a vocal nationalisation advocate. He was expelled from the party for indiscipline this year in what was widely seen as a political boost for Zuma.

Zuma said the conference should consider how the state can obtain an “equitable share” of mineral wealth, which could be used more to benefit poor communities.

He also called for a new programme for land reform, saying the current “willing buyer-willing seller” policy had been too slow in returning white-owned farmland to blacks dispossessed by the apartheid state. But he did not spell out what alternative mechanisms of land ownership transfer should be adopted.

South Africa’s black economic empowerment policy designed to give disenfranchised blacks greater ownership of the economy should be strengthened, Zuma added.

This policy has been criticised from within the ANC and by its governing allies in organised labour as only benefiting a small sliver of the population with political ties to the party.

The policy conference will end on Friday and its deliberations are being held behind closed doors.

Saudi authorities on today beheaded four of its citizens for  murder and a Syrian national for drug smuggling, the interior ministry said.

Three Saudi nationals were executed in the kingdom’s eastern Qatif  region for stabbing and then shooting to death an Indian, Kohimo Ahmad, after  robbing the shop where he worked, the ministry said in a statement carried by  state news agency SPA.

Hussein bin Ahmad Shweikhat, Abdel Aziz bin Hasan al-Maatouq and  Hussein bin Ibrahim al-Maatouq were beheaded after the three were found guilty  of having stabbed and then shot Ahmad with an automatic rifle.

In a separate case, Khaled bin Saeed al-Asmari, was executed in  the town of Abhaa in the kingdom’s southern region of Asir for stabbing to death  fellow Saudi, Abdullah bin Saad al-Masmaa, after a dispute, the ministry  said.

And William Hatoum, a Syrian, was executed in the northern region  of Jawf after being found guilty of smuggling drugs into the ultra-conservative  kingdom, it said.

Hatoum was the third Syrian national to be executed in Saudi  Arabia for drug smuggling since January.

The latest beheadings bring to 45 the number of people executed in  Saudi Arabia so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official  reports.

Under the AFP count, at least 76 people were beheaded in 2011,  while rights group Amnesty International put the number of executions last year  at 79.

The death penalty in Saudi Arabia applies to a wide range of  offenses including rape, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking, as well  as murder, as stipulated by Islamic sharia law.

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AFP) — A new Zimbabwe radio  station aligned to long-ruling President Robert Mugabe ZANU-PF party began  broadcasting yesterday.

Star FM, which is owned by the Zimbabwe  Newspaper Group (Zimpapers), launched with a rendition of the national anthem at  midday, seven months after being awarded a licence by the broadcasting  authority.

Star FM brings to five the number of state-owned  radio stations that are broadcasting in the country. Others are Spot FM, Radio  Zimbabwe, Power FM and National FM.

Zimpapers also publishes eight newspapers,  including The Herald, which is regarded as a ZANU-PF mouthpiece.

The awarding of the licence to Star FM was  criticised by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), a coalition partner in  an uneasy unity government, which has described it and the other radio stations  as “ZANU-PF apologists”.

Media reform remains one of the key  disagreements between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC,  who accuses the 88-year-old of riding roughshod over reforms agreed to in their  unity pact.

New Information made available to 247ureports.com reveals that the men of the joint task force [JTF] stationed in Kano have suffered casualties. This is according to credible source within the men of the JTF who reported that casualties have been sustained from both sides – the suspected men of the dreaded Islamic terrorist group, the boko haram and with the members of the JTF. Some civilian members of the neighborhood are said to have been gun down in the gun fight.

As gathered, fifteen toyota hilux vans operated by the men of the JTF were said to have arrived the scene about 40minutes ago [8:30pm] – and proceeded to seal the entrances and exits out and into the Kano city [Gworo Dutse]. This is as the suspected gun men continued to attack their target – believed to be the nearby police station. The security source continued to add that the gun men posed a resilience that made the approach initially difficult – resulting in the quick casuality on the part of the JTF. The number of casualities are unknown but the security source spoke in certainty that casualities have been sustained.

The source adds also that the area where the incident is taking place is heavily populated by Muslims. The source believes that the target was the police station located near the Ishiaku Mosque – but “the heavy ammunition is suspect” because of the proximity of a prison nearby and the wealthy business man [Ishiaku Rabiu] the also resides nearby.

The residents of Gworon Dutse in Dala Local Government – where the explosions and gun fire is taking place are said to be frightened and trapped with no where to run – as the gun battle – appears to gave caged the city. The security forces are said to be in confusion as to the real intentions of the attackers and the real identities of the attackers.

As of 9:30pm, the fight is said to still be ongoing. Another bomb was reported to go off at 9:50pm in the said area.

Meanwhile, the men of the JTF have begun refortification of Sabon Gari – which is a Christian dominated area of Kano. Sabon Gari is located inside Feggae Local Government Area [LGA] which shares the same boundary with Dala LGA – where the attack is taking place. Residence of Sabon Gari are said to be going about their business – but the sounds of bomb explosion could be heard from Sabon Gari.

The security source pledged that the JTF will round up the culprits.

stay tuned