Nigeria: Villagers eat bird flu chickens

[Guest guest]

Villagers arrested for eating carcasses of bird flu chickens

Daily Trust (Nigeria)

Rabiul Awwal 07, 1427 A.H

Thursday, 06 April 2006

http://www.dailytrust.com/1/article.php?aid=6297

 

 

Starving villagers in Jos, Plateau state, who exhumed and ate the

carcasses of bird-flu infected chickens were arrested by the police,

government officials said yesterday.

 

Starving villagers in Jos, Plateau state, who exhumed and ate the

carcasses of bird-flu infected chickens were arrested by the police,

government officials said yesterday.

 

The Chairman, Sub-committee on Sanitation and Transportation of the

Plateau State Bird Flu Committee, Mr Joseph Pate, expressed shock that

some villagers of Dong in Jos North local government area, had gone to

the dump site to exhume the infected birds to form part of their meals.

 

Pate said the infected birds were from a farm in Jos and had been

buried on Monday after they were confirmed to have died of the flu.

 

The chairman said the action of the people has exposed them and others

to the deadly virus, noting that it could lead to death.

 

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Isa Adejoh, was not available

to comment on the arrests.

 

An official of the Ministry of Health, Mr Iliya Azi, told the News

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the villagers' action was condemnable.

 

Azi said the consumers of the carcasses stand the risk of being

infected because the cells in the dead chickens had the bird flu virus.

 

http://www.dailytrust.com/1/article.php?aid=6297

 

 

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and now for a little comic relief...

 

 

America treasures your friendship, Ambassador tells Muslims

By Chinyere Okpara

Vanguard (Nigeria)

Thursday, April 06, 2006

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/nationalx/nr306042006.html

 

 

The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, on Tuesday

assured the Muslim Community in Nigeria that America treasures their

friendship and honours their faith. This he said on a courtesy call to

the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu on his visit to Bauchi State.

 

Ambassador Campbell emphasized that Islam is a religion that brings

hope and comfort to more than a billion people around the world, which

he said includes millions of American Muslims and Nigerians.

 

However, he stated that America would reject all forms of religious

intolerance and grief when people are the victims of religious

bigotry. He assured the Emir that Americans stand firmly with

Nigerians in opposing those who commit evil in God's name.

 

He however said that the major part of his visit to the State was to

inaugurate programme for distribution of sewing machines and school

kits to the underprivileged, to declare the American Corner open for

public use and inspect a USAID supported health facility in Yelwa.

 

He said these programmes represent a strong and growing partnership

between the people of Bauchi and the American people.

 

Speaking, the Emir of Bauchi Alhaji Suleiman Adamu thanked the

Ambassador for his visit, stating that no religion teaches violence

and that with respect for each other's religion, people will live

together in peace and harmony.

 

He however, expressed his gratitude to the Ambassador for remembering

the less privileged in the state, assuring him that he would not be

disappointed when he goes round the state, stating that it is a State

where there are true dividends of democracy.

 

http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/nationalx/nr306042006.html