Governor, bodyguards killed in suicide blast

A Somali governor and three bodyguards were killed in a suicide attack claimed by the Al-Shabaab jihadist group in the regional capital of Galkayo on Sunday, a security official said.

The attacker rammed a scooter taxi into a car carrying Ahmed Muse Nur, the governor of the north-central Mudug province, and his security detail before detonating an explosive device, official Muse Ahmed told AFP.

A witness named Bile Mohamed described the attack in a phone call with AFP, saying: “Everyone in the vehicle including the governor and his driver died, there were smoke and fire all everywhere.”

Muse Ahmed confirmed the toll of four and added: “There are other casualties but the details are still being investigated.”

In late March, the governor of Puntland, a neighbouring semi-autonomous province, was killed in similar circumstances.

Al-Shabaab, an Islamist militant group waging a deadly insurgency in Somalia, claimed responsibility for that attack as well.

On Sunday, it posted a statement on a pro-Shabaab website that said: “The governor of the apostate administration in the Mudug region was killed in a martyrdom operation in Galkayo today.”

Galkayo lies around 600 kilometres (375 miles) north of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, straddling the border of two self-proclaimed semi-autonomous states — Puntland and Galmutug, which includes Mudug.

The city has been rocked by fighting between forces from both regions and also by rival clans in the northern and southern parts of the town.

Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda affiliate, was driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 and lost most of its strongholds, but still controls vast swathes of the countryside.

Its militants have vowed to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu and have carried out numerous attacks in the capital.

– AFP

FCT indigenes demand state status, governor

Indigenes of the Federal Capital Territory, under the aegis of Original Inhabitants Development Association of Abuja, have called on the Federal Government to accord state status to the capital territory to enable them to elect their own governor.

The President of OIDA, Pastor Danladi Jeji, made the call on Saturday in Abuja, during a town hall meeting by FCT natives on the future of Abuja indigenes.

Jeji said that for over 41 years, several resettlements and relocation experiments were carried out in the FCT by various governments, but “no headway due to policy inconsistencies.’’

He said that if the natives were allowed to elect their governor, members of the house of assembly, and more local area councils created, there would be more accountability and development.

“The failure of the Federal Government to resettle, relocate and compensate our people at the initial cost of N2.8bn in 1978 has led to several policies summersaults.

“In spite of all the challenges, we are still here, and we are not prepared to go anywhere because we have nowhere to go.

“All we want is to also be represented in the Federal Executive Council,’’ Jeji said, adding, “the natives no longer want a city-centred minister that focuses on developing elite districts.
He stressed that the constitution should be amended to reflect cosmopolitan nature of Abuja.

Jeji said, “This is our own idea of restructuring, a restructuring based on devolution of governmental powers from federal authorities to Abuja city authorities.

“We no longer want the present military contraption, where a minister is appointed to run the Federal Capital Territory like a cantonment.

“We must change the constitution to reflect our wishes for a modern and cosmopolitan capital city.’’

The president promised to sustain the struggle for FCT natives’ emancipation through constitutional amendments at the National Assembly, through peaceful dialogue and negotiations.
(NAN)