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The glamorous lovers’ day celebration on Monday turned bloody at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) when gunmen killed two students. Daily Sun gathered that the clash was between two rival cult groups, namely, Black Axe and the Buccaneers,’ over a female student allegedly snatched by the Capone of the Black Axe for Valentine celebration.

The action of the Capone , the source said did not go down well with the other group leading to the clash.
A student who witnessed the shooting said besides the two cult members who were shot dead, about four others sustained injuries and were ferried out of the campus by their leaders to shield their identity.

The sources said the cult members who carried out the attack were not UNILAG students but members from another campus, adding that the attack was carried out in a commando style with sporadic shooting.
An undergraduate student of English Department told Daily Sun that the Buccaneers’ group attacked the Black Axe members while another student returning from the Mosque said those who carried out the killing were not from UNILAG because they did not cover their faces.

It was learnt that as soon the shooting started, students scampered for safety while others took cover behind the wall and under cars packed around, while others ran into the halls to avoid being hit by stray bullets. 
A senior lecturer who confirmed the killings said the university management had met to curtail any reprisal attack while security personnel had taken over the investigation of the deadly cult clash.
When Daily Sun visited the troubled institution yesterday, there was uneasy calm, as most staff and students rebuffed efforts made by the reporters to get their comments.

However, one of the students who resides at Sodeinde Hall, said there was sporadic gunshots outside the premises which caused panic everywhere. 
It was gathered that the crisis, which erupted when the students were at the peak of lovers’ day celebration, created stampede on the campus as people ran for safety.

One of the victims of the attack reportedly ran into Sodeinde Hall for help, from where he was taken to the hospital.
Although the Hall Master of Sodeinde Hall declined comments on the issue, one of the officials, who wouldn’t want his name published, said the attack could not be linked to any cult group. He said there was increasing speculation that the perpetrators of the attack could be fighting for love. Efforts made by Daily Sun our reporter to ascertain the identities of the victims were unsuccessful.
The news bulletin of the university, Information Flash (ISSN 08195540) also captured the incident, while assuring the staff and students of the university of adequate security.

“The attention of the universities authorities has been drawn to the incident which occurred in one of the Halls of Residence in the late hours of Monday, February 14, 2011 where two persons were reportedly injured in fracas. The university management has commenced investigation into the unusual incident, in particular at a time when preparation for the first semester examinations due to commence on February 21, 2011 are in top gear. Security has been intensified to ensure safety of life and property on campus. Law enforcement agents have been involved to assist the university in this respect,” it said. 
Daily Sun learnt that students are leaving the campus because of the fear of reprisal attack while some parents called their wards on phone to return home until the situation is brought under control. 

The Deputy Registrar Information of UNILAG, Mr. Dare Adebisi refused to pick his calls or replied to text message sent to his phone.
When the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Samuel Jinadu (DSP) was called thrice, he promised to contact the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the area and did not call back as at the press time....

President Goodluck Jonathan has said those behind the twin bomb attacks in Abuja which claimed about 16 lives during the 50th anniversary celebrations were terrorists sponsored from outside the country. He vowed that government would name and shame those involved.

The president said at a dinner held to commemorate the country's golden jubilee at Marina State House annex Lagos, over the weekend that the government was already on the trail of the perpetrators, and they will not go free.

Mr. Jonathan said, "a small terrorist group that resides outside Nigeria was sponsored to carry out the evil act. We are on their trail and will ensure that until they are arrested and brought to book, we will not rest. Government will no longer condone impunity and any culprit no matter how highly placed or connected will not go scot free."

It's a terrorist plot

The President who called for a minute's silence for those who lost their lives, again absolved the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) of any connection with the blast. He said the act was perpetrated by a terrorist group hiding under the umbrella of the movement.

According to him, "We have contacted other members of MEND and they say they know nothing about it. Anybody that hides under the umbrella of MEND to carry out those acts will soon be exposed."

However, MEND had in an earlier statement claimed responsibility and blamed security agents for the loss of lives. In the statement, it said, "The irresponsible attitude of the government security forces is to blame for the loss of lives. They were given five days prior notice which led to the harassment of Henry Okah on Thursday in South Africa." Mr. Okah's house in South Africa was first ransacked by INTERPOL on Thursday and South African security officials arrested him after the bombing, on Saturday.

At another event on Sunday at the National Christian Centre Abuja, Mr. Jonathan regretted that those who carried out the bombings did so at a time many were offering prayers for the nation. "It is the work of the devil, but the people will not die in vain. They have paid the supreme sacrifice to reveal the demons with beautiful names amongst us. We will unearth them," he promised.

He also thanked Nigerians for their orderliness and calm despite the explosions adding that it shows a new Nigeria.

"Nigerians have unanimously declared liberty on our land to move our nation forward. In this year, with the help of God we shall be liberated".

Transformation is coming

He restated his determination to drive the process of transformation by working at all levels and arms of government to reposition the economy.

The Senate President, David Mark, assured the federal government of the support of the National Assembly to ensure the prompt arrest of the perpetrators and ensure they get maximum punishment.

"Whatever may be the reason behind this, it is not acceptable. This is not time to forgive anybody behind this evil, we urge the federal government and we will assist them that the evil doers must get maximum sanction", he said..

Speaking on behalf of the 36 state governors, the Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio,

said they were prepared to support the leadership of Mr. Jonathan. He urged the president not to despair or get distracted by the "blackmail".

The representative of the business community and Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Kola Jamodu, also noted that there has been a significant improvement in the economy because of the positive steps taken by the government. He appealed for more transparency and consistency in economic policies to move the nation forward.

He further asked for tax incentives for private investors who are setting up businesses in the villages and remote parts of the country to stem rural urban migration as well as develop the areas and create more employment.

Earlier, the Minister of Information and Communication, Dora Akunyili said the dinner was the final stage of the Nigeria@50 anniversary celebration and government decided to go ahead and hold it in honour of those killed in the blast rather than be cowed by the attacks.

The Aso villa chaplain Obioma Onwuzurumba condemned the attacks saying, "The enemy meant evil, but I know that God will turn what the enemy intended to be evil for the good of Nigeria. We are not daunted, we are not intimidated, we simply give thanks to God that the damages were curtailed."

Turai Yar’Adua, the wife of Nigeria’s President, may have garnered a reputation as the viciously ambitious woman with a drive to occupy the number one position, her husband’s; but lurking within the shadows of the Yar’Adua-Saudi Arabian debacle is a man who may indeed be playing a more pivotal role than Mrs. Yar’Adua.

Yusuf Tilde, the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the president, is believed by security sources to be the strongest force and influence in the national drama which began long before Nigeria’s ailing president succumbed to a devastating illness that caused him to be holed up in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Saudi Arabia for three months.

Mr. Tilde, unknown to many Nigerians, is not new to the business of executive decision making. Having established a league of formidable security officials in the presidency, a large number of whom who are loyal to Mr. Yar’Adua, Mr. Tilde was able to ensure that his boss remained in control and, for more than 70 days, had the Executive Council of the Federation (FEC) and legislators supporting the plans of Mr. Yar’Adua’s supporters - notoriously called the cabal - of which he is one.

Before leaving for Jeddah with his boss, the CSO, according to sources in the presidency who spoke on conditions of anonymity, was already carrying out presidential functions such as treating files, endorsing documents, and granting presidential approvals on behalf of the president whose failing health had begun to hamper his productivity.

Mr. Tilde, who has been described as ‘conservative but reasonably intelligent with good writing skills’ was surreptitiously handling affairs for Mr. Yar’Adua and had become one of the president’s most trusted aides.

The emergence of Tilde

The Bauchi-born CSO’s entrance into the presidency was not without some irregularities. Mr. Tilde took over his current position from the more cosmopolitan and broad-minded Bello Charanchi, a former State Director of the State Security Service (SSS) who spent a few weeks as Mr. Yar’Adua’s CSO before he was ousted.

“Yar’Adua’s kitchen cabinet felt that Charanchi was too professional and independent minded. They felt they could not encircle and control the president through him. Very quickly, they plotted for his exit and brought in a more pliable person,” a source said to NEXT.

According to our sources, succumbing to the call for a new CSO, the president’s only request was that the new person be ‘Muslim’. Mr. Tilde met this requirement and more; he had served as a state director of the SSS in three states, Adamawa, Katsina, and Kano.

While Mr. Tilde is thought to be very intelligent, his superiors at the SSS allegedly found his performance in his posting in Kano less than satisfactory, hence the redeployment to the Headquarters from where he was picked for his current assignment.

Mr. Yar’Adua’s kitchen cabinet, however, forwarded Mr. Tilde’s name to the president’s deputy Chief of Staff (COS), Moddibbo Aliyu, in the early days of his presidency, who made a special request to the SSS for the deployment of Mr. Tilde.

“Tilde became the first CSO who was beholden directly to the presidency. He was not interviewed by the director of the SSS for the new posting. Instead, he was interviewed by the Chief of Staff to the president. They side stepped the director of the SSS and asked for Tilde,” a source in the presidency said.

Growing Bigger

Mr. Tilde proved himself a Yar’Adua faithful. His hard work and commitment to his boss was phenomenal.

“In the early months, he [Tilde] would go through files for the president. He used to write comments on plain sheets after reviewing the files. The president would then copy his work. But in the later months, he [Tilde] wrote all the presidential reviews and had the president merely sign them. It is not uncommon for Tilde to work from 9pm to 5am,” our source said.

Some members of the executive council soon became aware of Mr. Tilde’s new powerful role and ‘began to accord him presidential respect’.

According to sources, ‘there was hardly any minister who could defy his orders’.

“There seemed to be a parallel between the Tilde Chief Security office and the Al-Mustapha Chief Security office,” a source said, comparing the CSO’s influence to that wielded by his contemporary in the Sani Abacha regime.

Mr. Tilde, presidency sources claimed, got every one who seemed to be in competition with him out of the way. The CSO also expressed a preference for ‘a unified security corridor’. According to sources, Mr. Tilde sought an arrangement that would allow the existence of only one CSO in the presidency. This process eventually led to the elimination of many Jonathan-loyalists.

“It was possible for him to do this because he worked with all major villa [Aso Rock] security officials, which he had himself planted, most of them Muslim northerners. The most prominent being Dahiru Dodo.”

Mr. Dodo, who is generally described as a very ‘wily fellow that is gifted in being street wise’, serves as the administrative officer for the president.

Returning to Nigeria

Since his return to Nigeria with his boss, who is still believed to be critically ill, Mr. Tilde has continued his covert activities. He, allegedly, continues to play a pivotal role in the current quest to keep the critically ill president in power.

Having successfully orchestrated the grand plan that brought in Mr. Yar’Adua stealthily into Nigeria on Wednesday, Mr. Tilde continues to map out ways to secure the presidential seat for his boss.

This past weekend, he had his hands full trying to convey the caravan intensive care unit set up in Katsina relocated to Abuja where the president will be transferred to because the one in the Villa malfunctioned and is generating a huge embarrassment for the first family.

Since his return to Nigeria, Mr. Yar Adua continues to lie lonesome in his sterile ambulance because there is no facility that can accommodate him in his degenerative state.