Nigerian immigration intercepts Libyan returnees

National Transitional Council onslaught on the supporters of ousted Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, arrived in Kaduna through the Niger-Nigeria border on Friday.


The escapees, including women and children, were, however intercepted and detained by the state command of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Kaduna by armed immigration personnel at about 2pm on Friday.


 As they alighted from from the two luxury buses that brought them, most of them kept mum on allegation that they had fought on the side of forces loyal to the ousted Libyan leader.


 One of them, who declined to give his name told our correspondent that although it was not impossible that some of them might have served as Gaddafi’s fighters, they escaped from different parts of the North African country.


He said they were wandering in the desert for almost two weeks before they were apprehended by immigration officials at the Niger-Nigeria border.


He said, “It may be true because of the way some of these boys have been behaving since we all met. Infact, many of them, by their behaviour have left many of us in no doubt that they must have actively participated in the war in Libya. I don’t know if one can actually call them mercenaries, I don’t know, honestly. We left Libya about two weeks ago looking for our way back to Nigeria through the desert before our arrest at the Niger-Nigeria border.”


Our correspondent’s attempt to confirm the status of the returnees from the NIS Comptroller in the state, Mr. Suleiman Umar, proved abortive as he declined to speak.


An immigration officer, who pleaded anonymity, however, told our correspondent that the comptroller had to obtain clearance first from higher authorities in Abuja before he could speak on the matter.


He said, “We are yet to ascertain whether they are Gaddafi’s fighters or not but we know they are Nigerians from Libya.


“As I am talking with you, another set are at the Kaduna toll gate.


“What we want to do now is to keep them in our custody and await directives from the government on the way forward.


“Right now, high level security meeting is going on at the Kaduna Government House and our zonal comptroller has gone there.”


Recently, a Spanish-based radio, Hamada Radio International, reported that some members of the Gaddafi regime had crossed over to some parts of Northern Nigeria.


The radio added that more than 200 Nigerians were arrested in Libya by the TNC, while about 20 were executed for supporting Gaddafi as mercenaries.


The report also said some members of the old Libyan regime were heading towards Burkina-Faso while others were reported to have headed towards the North-West town of Katsina.

 The report also noted that some members of the Libyan military had maintained close family ties with Northern Nigeria, especially one Gen. Youssef Dbiri, head of Gaddafi’s security service, said to have his maternal roots in Nguru, Yobe State in North-Eastern Nigeria.

First African woman to win Nobel Peace Prize dies

 Wangari Maathai, the first African woman recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, died after a long struggle with cancer, the environmental organization she founded said Monday. She was 71.

Kenya's most recognizable woman, Maathai won the Nobel in 2004 for combining environmentalism and social activism. She was the founder of the Green Belt Movement, where over 30 years she mobilized poor women to plant 30 million trees.

In recognizing Maathai, the Nobel committee said that she had stood up to a former oppressive regime — a reference to former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi — and that her "unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression."

Maathai said during her 2004 acceptance speech that the inspiration for her life's work came from her childhood experiences in rural Kenya, where she witnessed forests being cleared and replaced by commercial plantations, which destroyed biodiversity and the capacity of forests to conserve water.

Although the Green Belt Movement's tree-planting campaign did not initially address the issues of peace and democracy, Maathai said it became clear over time that responsible governance of the environment was not possible without democracy.

"Therefore, the tree became a symbol for the democratic struggle in Kenya. Citizens were mobilized to challenge widespread abuses of power, corruption and environmental mismanagement," Maathai said.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Maathai's death "strikes at the core of our nation's heart."

"I join Kenyans and friends of Kenya in mourning the passing of this hero of our national struggles," Odinga said. "Hers has been heroism easily recognized locally and abroad. ... Prof Maathai has passed on just when the causes she long fought for were just beginning to get the attention they deserved as threats to the survival of the human race and that of our planet."

The United Nations Environment Program called Maathai one of Africa's foremost environmental campaigners. The U.N. agency recalled that Maathai was the inspiration behind UNEP's Billion Tree Campaign, which was launched in 2006. To date, more than 11 billion trees have been planted as part of the campaign.

"Wangari Maathai was a force of nature. While others deployed their power and life force to damage, degrade and extract short term profit from the environment, she used hers to stand in their way, mobilize communities and to argue for conservation and sustainable development over destruction," said Achim Steiner, the executive director of UNEP.

Tributes also poured out for Maathai online, including from Kenyans who remember planting trees alongside her as schoolchildren. One popular posting on Twitter noted that Maathai's knees always seemed to be dirty from showing VIPs how to plant trees. Another poster, noting Nairobi's cloudy skies Monday, said: "No wonder the sun is not shining today."

A long time friend and fellow professor at the University of Nairobi, Vertistine Mbaya said that Maathai showed the world how important it is to have and demonstrate courage.

"The values she had for justice and civil liberties and what she believed were the obligations of civil society and government," Mbaya said. "She also demonstrated the importance of recognizing the contributions that women can make and allowing them the open space to do so."

Her quest to see fewer trees felled and more planted saw her face off against Kenya's powerful elite. At least three times during her activist years she was physically attacked, including being clubbed unconscious by police during a hunger strike in 1992. The former president, arap Moi, once called Maathai "a mad woman" who was a threat to the security of Kenya.

By contrast, Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Monday called Maathai a "true African heroine." The Nelson Mandela Foundation also expressed sadness over Maathai's death. The foundation hosted Maathai in 2005, when she headlined the foundation's annual lecture.

"We need people who love Africa so much that they want to protect her from destructive processes," she said in her address. "There are simple actions we can take. Start by planting 10 trees we each need to absorb the carbon dioxide we exhale."

A former member of Kenya's parliament, Maathai was the first woman to earn a doctorate in East Africa — in 1971 from the University of Nairobi, where she later was an associate professor in the department of veterinary anatomy. She previously earned degrees from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas and the University of Pittsburgh.

Maathai first latched on to the idea of widespread tree planting while serving as the chairwoman of the National Council of Women in Kenya during the 1980s.

The Green Belt Movement, which was founded in 1977, said on its website that Maathai's death was a great loss to those who "admired her determination to make the world a more peaceful, healthier and better place."

Edward Wageni, the group's deputy executive director, said Maathai died in a Nairobi hospital late Sunday. Maathai had been in and out of the hospital since the beginning of the year, he said.

Maathai is survived by three children. Funeral arrangements were to be announced soon, the Green Belt Movement said.