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Showing posts from November 2, 2020

Northern Governors Ask Nigerian Government To Censor Social Media

Governors of Northern states have asked the Nigerian Government to regulate social media to curb the spread of ‘fake news’. At a meeting in Kaduna on Monday, the governors said the effect of uncontrolled social media was devastating. They also condemned recent attacks on persons and properties by thugs. “The superlative agitations and other change regime actions outside the ballot box soon take advantage of the peaceful protests to push for their separative agenda. The meeting endorses the indivisibility, indissolubility, and oneness of the nation. “The meeting took note of the devastating effect of the uncontrolled social media in spreading fake news. Therefore, calls for major control mechanism and censorship of the social media practice in Nigeria “Meeting raises attention on the need to keep a strict watch on the Federal Capital Territory to guide against unwarranted and destructive protests to safeguard critical assets of the nation,” part of a communique signed by Sim

#ENDSARS: Falana-led Coalition Sets Up Independent Inquiry To Probe Killings, Arson

Femi Falana, SAN. The Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 And Beyond, a coalition of over 80 civil society organisations and organised labour led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Femi Falana, has set up a seven-man independent panel of inquiry to probe the killings of Nigerians including security operatives and the destruction of properties following the deployment of security operatives in the wake of the #EndSARS protests. Many Nigerians consider the outcry, which snowballed into looting and arson as symptomatic of the country’s gradual collapse of governance, large scale corruption and the lack of provision of the essentials of life for millions of long-suffering Nigerians, who are stifled under a corrupt and inept leadership. Femi Falana, SAN. The panel led by Chino Obiagwu (SAN), according to the coalition, is not to counter the panels set up by the tiers of government but to complement and enrich the democratic space. ASCAB disclosed this on Monday in a statement jointly

EXCLUSIVE: Prisoners In Warri Prison Protest Starvation By State Government

File Photo Prisoners at the Okere Correctional Centre, Warri, Delta State, are currently protesting the starvation and lack of food they are made to go through by the state government, SaharaReporters can exclusively report. The punishment was put in place by the management of the correctional centre after a jailbreak on October 22, 2020. File Photo DailyPost See Also Exclusive EXCLUSIVE: Security Operatives Kill 18 Inmates In Warri Prison After Jailbreak 0 Comments 5 Days Ago The jailbreak led to the killing of about 18 persons by security operatives guarding the prison. Some inmates also escaped from the facility. SaharaReporters gathered that to punish the inmates for attempting to escape, they were denied food except dry garri (cassava flake). A source in the prison, who confirmed the situation to SaharaReporters, said the inmates are angry, adding that it could lead to another jailbreak if not swiftly addressed by the government. “The inmates have been under

Egypt To Deport Seven Nigerians For Participating In #EndSARS Protest, Diaspora Commission Boss, Dabiri-Erewa Says

Abike Dabiri-Erewa Egypt will deport seven Nigerians, who participated in #EndSARS protest in Cairo on October 18. The Nigerians were arrested for protesting against bad governance and police brutality and have since been detained. Abike Dabiri-Erewa Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, made this known in a series of tweets. She said, “The Egyptian authorities have said that seven out of the eight Nigerians who protested in Egypt on 18 October, will be deported to Nigeria for lack of resident permits/visas. “The only Nigerian among them who has a residency will get final clearance from the Egyptian Interior Minister, Mahmoud Tawfik, after signing an undertaking not to be involved in unauthorized activities while still in the country. “Current situation of Nigerians arrested in Egypt for protesting without a permit. “Everyone has a right to protest, but we appeal to our people abroad to follow the laws of that country as we continue to do all w

NECO Announces Commencement Of Examinations Across Nigeria

The National Examinations Council has directed the commencement of the 2020 Senior School Certificate Examination in all states across the country. The examinations are expected to commence on November 9. Azeez Sani, NECO Head of Information and Public Relations, in a statement on Monday evening, said, “The National Examinations Council wishes to inform candidates, schools and other stakeholders of the resumption of the 2020 Senior School Certificate Examination in all states and the FCT from Monday, November 9 2020. “The council was constrained to postpone the examinations indefinitely on Monday, October 25, 2020, due to security challenges occasioned by the #EndSARS protests, which disrupted the smooth conduct of the examinations in some parts of the country. “Following the return of normalcy in the states and FCT, the examinations will now continue with a new time-table from Monday, November 9, 2020, to Saturday, November 28 2020. “This new timetable will be made availab

AAC Candidate In Benue Demands Sack Of PDP Member Over Certificate Forgery

Akpoko Gabriel Ogbadu, candidate of the African Action Congress in this year’s local government election in Benue State, has dragged Erebe Agnes Uleko of Peoples Democratic Party before the Local Government Election Petition Tribunal sitting at Otukpo over alleged certificate forgery. In the petition with number EPT/01/2020, Ogbadu and the AAC are asking the tribunal to sack her for lying about her qualifications as well as to nullify the election, which they said did not comply with the provisions of the local government electoral law and guidelines for the exercise issued by the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission. Ogbadu while presenting his case before the Justice Ibrahim Mohammed-led tribunal, called two subpoenaed witnesses to testify in respect of Erebe’s claim that she attended LGEA Primary School, Ito Town from 1970 to 1976 and College of Health Technology Makurdi, the present College of Health Technology Agasha between 1996 and 1997. The witness from LGEA,

#LekkiMassacre: Governor Sanwo-Olu Must Face International Criminal Court For Inviting Military And Lying About It —AAC

The Lagos State Chapter of the African Action Congress has said Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of the state, must be made to answer for crimes against humanity over his role in the killing of peaceful protesters on October 20 at the Lekki Toll Gate. In a statement by Kunle Wizeman Ajayi, the state Chairman of party, the AAC said Sanwo-Olu misled Nigerians on his role in the killings which extended beyond Lekki before he was fingered by the military for his involvement. It reads, “Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is very involved with the massacre committed through the Lekki shootings and other shootings around Lagos State in Badagry, Mushin, Berger, Ketu, Abule Egba, Ikotun, Igando and several other areas. He is the one that invited the military as well as even SARS (in the case of Lekki and Surulere) and the police.  “Also, Sanwo-Olu misled the public many times with open lies by first denying the Lekki shootings and then blaming only the army, just as the governor also said no one

President Muhammadu Buhari’s Address To American People On Eve Of Their 2020 Election (First Draft) By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo

Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo My dear American people, On the eve of the 2015 elections in Nigeria, President Barack Obama addressed the Nigerian people from the Oval Office. Following that tradition, I want to say a few words to you. Most of you may not know me. My name is Muhammadu Buhari, a retired general. I am the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, with its largest economy. I address you today concerning your 2020 elections, taking place on Tuesday, November 3. Your experiment over the last four years has been fun while it lasted. It has also been exhausting for the world. While I was a postgraduate student at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the America that I knew then has not been recognizable in the last four years. You have an opportunity to change the course on Tuesday. I hope you all will utilize that opportunity. You, Americans, belong to everybody, and you belong to nobody. The truth about the myth of Ameri

Drought, Lack Of Incentives Responsible For Rise In Food Price, Nigerian Farmers Group Says

File Photo Farmers have attributed the rising cost of food prices in Nigeria to drought and lack of incentives. The prices of food items in the country have doubled in recent times, exposing many individuals and households further to hunger and starvation. File Photo In Lagos and Port Harcourt, a bag of rice, which is a staple, has gone from N18,000 to N32,000.  A bag of onions, which used to sell for N25,000, now goes for N76,000 with one piece going for N100 in most markets across the country. The price of a Mudu/Derica of beans has also gone up from N250/300 to N500 in some markets. Shedding light into why the price of food items had been shooting up, Adeola Adegoke, National President of Cocoa Farmers Association, told SaharaReporters on Monday that lack of rainfall combined with lack of incentives from the government was chiefly responsible for the hike in price. He said, “The truth of it is that we cannot run away from the reality of the change in our weather system

#EndSARS: Osun Youth Condemn Criminalisation Of Peaceful Protest, Insist On Review Of Judicial Panel

Some protesters in Osun State have called on the state government to stop the clamp down on protests in the state. The state government had cracked down on protesters in Osun after an alleged attack on the state governor. The EndSARS protest, which took place across the country, was met with violence, leading to the killing of at least two persons in Oshogbo, the state capital, by security operatives attached to Governor Gboyega Oyetola, while he was dispersing the demonstators. However, the Osun State Government in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation, Funke Egbemode, on Sunday, moved to suppress further demonstrations. But the protesters through their spokesperson, Olawale Bakare (Mandate), in a statement said the youth will continue to push for an end to police brutality in the state. The group also tasked the state government and law enforcement agents to protect protesters rather than forcefully dispersing and arresting them. Ma

Task Force Kills Lagos-based Journalist, Refuses To Release Corpse To Family

Pelumi Onifade A 20-year-old Lagos-based journalist, Pelumi Onifade, was recently shot dead in the custody of the Lagos State Task Force led by Yinka Egbeyemi, SaharaReporters has gathered. Pelumi, who was working with Gboa TV, was arrested by policemen at Abattoir, Oko Oba area of Agege, on October 24 while on official duty and whisked away. Pelumi Onifade Speaking with SaharaReporters, a family member of the deceased said they searched for him to no avail until a senior police officer broke the news of his death to them. “Pelumi went to record the incident of looting at the abattoir as a staff of Gboa TV on Saturday 24/10/2020 only to be arrested by men of the Lagos Task Force and after searching for him aggressively for seven days, we were told that he had been shot dead and his body deposited at the morgue. “We are begging them now to release his corpse and explain to us how he died. Why was he arrested at Agege, only for us to be told that his corpse is at Ikorodu Gene