Chidoka Inaugurated As The New Aviation Minister

The new Minister of Aviation (former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Osita Chidoka), has today been inaugurated by the President Goodluck Jonathan.

Chidoka replaces Stella Oduah, who got sacked by Jonathan on February 12th, 2014 after a series of investigative reports which exposed her involvement in a web of certificate scandals, as well as the scandalous purchase of two BMW armored cars for $1.6 million as reported by Sahara Reporters.

After swearing in Chidoka just before the Federal Executive Council’s meeting began, President Jonathan announced the replacement of Chidoka as FRSC boss with Boboye Oyeyemi, who until now was Deputy Corps Marshal.

Dr. Suleman Abubakar was also named as the Minister for National Planning; Abubakar was   lecturer at the University of Abuja. He will also simultaneously work as Deputy Chairman of the National Planning Commission. 

Victims Of The MH17 Crash Begins Their Journey Home

Today is a day of mourning in the Netherlands for the 298 victims of MH17 that was shot down. As the first planes carrying bodies from flight MH17 have left Ukraine for the Netherlands.  

Pro-Russian rebels have been widely accused of shooting down the Malaysia Airlines plane on 17 of July. The Rebels have also been accused of exaggerating the number of bodies transported from the crash site to the town of Kharkiv on Tuesday. They had claimed 282 bodies had been loaded on to a train, but experts said only 200 could be verified.

Experts will begin to identify the dead, most of whom were Dutch. The first 40 coffins were slowly loaded on to two military planes at Kharkiv airport on Wednesday morning by a military guard of honour.

Death Toll Of Chibok School Girls Parents Hits 11

According to The Sun and the Associated Press (AP), nearly a dozen parents of the more than 200 kidnapped northern schoolgirls will never see their daughters again.

Since the mass abduction of the schoolgirls by Islamic extremists three months ago, at least 11 of their parents have died and their hometown, Chibok (Borno State), is under siege from the militants, residents report.

Seven fathers of kidnapped girls were among 51 bodies brought to Chibok hospital after an attack on the nearby village of Kautakari this month, said a health worker who insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisals by the extremists.

At least four more parents have died of heart failure, high blood pressure and other illnesses that the community blames on trauma due to the mass abduction 100 days ago, said community leader Pogu Bitrus, who provided their names.