Former Nigerian president Dr Goodluck Jonathan has been honoured by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Atlanta with the Presidential Award in recognition of his leadership in advancing human rights social justice and the fight for universal freedom. Dr Jonathan therefore becomes first African leader to be honoured with the award.

The award which is founded by the late American civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King, in January 1957, the SCLC is currently led by Dr Charles Steele.

As part of the activities leading up to the celebration of Dr Martin Luther King Day on Monday, January 18, 2016, the SCLC decided to honour Dr Jonathan for his role in ensuring there was a peaceful transition of power in Nigeria in last year’s presidential elections.

Article written by freelance journalist, Ihechukwu Njoku.

A YouTube clip showing controversial Nigerian Pastor T.B. Joshua’s dramatic encounter with ‘Lucifer’ has gone viral, amassing over 500,000 views in just one month since its release online.

The video titled ‘Face To Face With Lucifer’ shows a peculiar scenario that unfolded in Joshua’s church when a self-professed ‘occult wizard’ came to seek prayers at The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos, Nigeria.

In the clip, an eerily looking man with a menacing black beard introduces himself as Professor Chukwudi Okakpu, an alleged ‘Grand Llama of Science Beyond Material’. Amidst his extraordinary claims, the Satanist professed to have had face to face encounters with ‘Lucifer’ and to have endorsed ‘anti-Christs’ globally. “I can stay here and appear in any part of Europe,” Okakpu, dressed in a flowing white suit, calmly stated, adding that he ‘operates like a spirit’.

“If you are such a person that patronises shrines or herbalists, I am the ultimate,” he sensationally claimed.

The video shows Joshua praying for Okakpu who sways uneasily several times before eventually falling to the floor. Several of his ‘followers’ proceed to come out from the crowd and are also prayed for, after which the ‘professor’ renounces his devilish past. Okakpu proceeds to return the following week with some of his ‘occultic’ garments to testify to the changes in his life after ‘accepting Jesus Christ’.

“This is a video satan does not want you to watch,” Emmanuel TV states in its introduction of the clip on YouTube. “A satanic ‘general’ renounces his covenants with devilry and witchcraft in a church service that made hell and its minions quiver!” As with most of Joshua’s videos, the contents have elicited controversy with opposing views as to its authenticity.

Several online commentators insisted Joshua’s deliverance services are nothing more than a scam involving arranged actors while others argue they are genuine and godly. Joshua’s YouTube channel Emmanuel TV, where the clip was uploaded, is the third most subscribed channel in Nigeria with nearly 300,000 subscribers and 110,000,000 views.

The presidency has reacted to reports President Buhari walked out  during meeting with Chibok parents yesterday.

They also explained why cameras and journalists were banned from covering the meeting..According to SSA media to the president ,Garba Shehu

We thank the BBOG_Nigeria for a good event. But that is not to say that all of the accounts of the meeting on Twitter are accurate. President Buhari could not have stormed out of his meeting with the #Chibok parents, stakeholders and the BBOG_Nigeria.

He (President Buhari) was called to speak at a meeting he did not start. He did his part and left so that the meeting would continue It is a simple meeting procedure. He had to leave without being disruptive That is what happened.

The ministers did not even escort him. They stayed back to conclude the meeting. I thought that the President should be praised for ending his meeting with a foreign leader to come and  for the courtesy & respect he showed to the parents & the BBOG, which is undoubtedly Africa’s best known social action movement.

We asked cameras out for two reasons. Sensitive security information may be disclosed.Two, privacy is not unusual with leaders around the world when they meet families in grief.We didn’t want anyone to get the sense that the President was exploiting their images in a photo op. Regards!

The Senior Special Adviser, Garba Shehu released a statement on what transpired at the meeting. He did not directly address the reports president Buhari stormed out of the meeting.

“President Buhari has approved an investigation into the theft of the 219 girls from Government Secondary in Chibok, Borno State.

The panel to investigate the incident which happened in April 2014 is soon to be named by the NSA, General Babagana Munguno.
The investigation will seek to, among other things, unravel the remote and immediate circumstances leading the kidnap of the girls by Boko Haram terrorists as well the other  events, actions and inactions that followed the incident.

This came to light just as the President, in Abuja, assured parents of the Chibok girls that he has been doing his best & will continue to do everything possible rescue them and re-unite them with their families. Speaking at a meeting attended by some parents of the abducted girls, representatives of the Chibok community,and members of the Bring Back Our Girls movement at the Conference Hall of the State House, President Buhari said that he remained fully committed to his pledge to do all within his powers to save the girls.

He said

“I assure you that I go to bed and wake up every day with  the Chibok girls on my mind. “The unfortunate incident happened before this government came into being.”What have we done since we assumed office?We re-organized the military, ordered the succeeding service chiefs to deal decisively with the Boko Haram insurgency.”removed all the service chiefs and In spite of the terrible economic condition, we tried to get some resources to give to the military to reorganize and equip retrain, deploy more troops and move more forcefully against Boko Haram.”
“And you all know the progress we have made.When we came in Boko Haram was in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno. Boko Haram has now been reduced to areas around Lake Chad.””Securing the Chibok girls is my responsibility.”The service chiefs & heads of our security agencies will tell you that despite the dire financial straits that we found the country in.I continue to do my best to support their efforts in that regard.
This is a Nigeria where we were exporting average of 2m barrels daily at over 140 USD per barrel. Now it is down to about 27 to 30 USD..You have been reading in the press how they took public funds, our funds, your funds and shared it, instead of buying weapons.”That was the kind of leadership I succeeded. That was the kind of economy I inherited.””God knows I have done my best and I will continue to do my best,”

He was accompanied by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Mohammed Dan Ali,Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Alhassan, Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Gabriel Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai and the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd).

The Chief of Defence staff told the meeting that in the last 3months the military has liberated more than 3000 people kidnapped by BH..in the North eastern part of the country. He reassured of the military’s ability to rescue the #ChibokGirls, but added that intelligence is delicate and we don’t want to anything to jeopardize the lives of the girls.”