The Sokoto Network for Good Governance has faulted the South-East governors for banning open grazing in the region. The Network, addressing a press conference in Sokoto on Friday also noted that there was no controversy in the statement of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami where he said that the governors have no constitutional powers to stop Nigerians from exercising their constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of movement. According to the statement read by the chairman of the group, Usama Dandare, some Nigerians were only generating controversy from Malami’s position, “even against the clear position of Nigerian constitution…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
By Justina Auta The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, has urged the Police to thoroughly investigate all cases of Sexual and Gender Based Violence, (SGBV) to ensure justice for survivors. Tallen made the call during an advocacy coordination mechanism meeting with commissioners of women affairs in six states taking part in the European Union (EU) Spotlight Initiative in Abuja on Friday. The spotlight initiative is a global, multi-year partnership between the EU and the UN to eliminate all forms of violence against women and children. The minister expressed concern over the increasing cases of SGBV, in spite the…
By Justina Auta The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, on Friday said that the Federal Government would conduct surgical repairs on anyone identified to be having Obstetric Fistula. Tallen disclosed this during the joint ministerial press briefing in Abuja as part of activities to commemorate the international day to end Obstetric Fistula/VVF. According to her, the catchment areas to begin are Gwagwalada, FCT and Adamawa for women and girls suffering from obstetric fistula. She said that it was going to be in collaboration with the Ministries of Women Affairs and Health and other organisations. The minister said that…
By Justina Auta The European Union (EU) says it has invested €10 million in Action Against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (A-TIPSOM) Project in Nigeria. EU representative, Eleni Zetzelidou, made this disclosure on Friday at the pre-launch of the A-TIPSOM project by an international NGO, the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP) in Nigeria. Zetzelidou said that the fund would aid in policies, protection, prosecution, and partnership between organisations in the ECOWAS region, in the field of trafficking human beings. “We have done similar works in the past and have previous cooperation projects with…
Some Lagos-based lawyers on Friday opposed a bill proposed by the Senate seeking a 15-year jail term for any person found guilty of paying ransom to kidnappers. In interviews in Lagos, the lawyers said the bill did not tackle the root cause of ransom payment. The bill entitled, “Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2021”, provides that anyone who makes payment or colludes with an abductor, kidnapper or terrorist to receive any ransom, is liable on conviction to 15 years’ imprisonment. The bill also notes, among other things, that kidnapping is in the increase in Nigeria and prevalent across all the geopolitical…
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Ibrahim Attahiru has died in a military plane. Among those who died near Kaduna Airport, along with the COAS, are and six other military officers. The spokesperson of Nigerian Air Force, Commodore Edward Gabkwet in a terse tweet on Friday, said the Chief of Army Staff was billed to commission a project in one of the military formations in Kaduna state. He gave no details of the six military officers on board the aircraft. “An air crash involving a @NigAirForce aircraft occurred this evening near the Kaduna International Airport. “The immediate cause of…
The Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ebonyi, David Umahi has posited that the peaceful agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other groups in the South-East have been hijacked by bandits. He said this in Abuja at a media event organised by the Presidential Media Team. “The situation in the South East right now is a situation in which non-violent approach of IPOB at the beginning has been hijacked by bandits, by cultists, by criminals,’’ he said. He, however, described the insinuation in some quarters that ”foreign machineries” were the ones causing mayhem…
U.S. President Joe Biden has applauded a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and emphasised the U.S. will continue to support Israel militarily. Biden said in remarks at the White House in Washington, DC as Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire proposal by Egypt to take effect early Friday in Gaza. “The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks by Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups that have taken the lives of innocent civilians. “These hostilities have resulted in tragic deaths of so many civilians, including children, and I…
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says it has detained a Lebanese national accused of defiling minors in Plateau capital, Jos. The suspect, who was identified as Kfouri Suleiman (AKA Simo), is 61-year-old and had lived in Jos for 38 years. A NAPTIP statement on Thursday in Abuja alleged that the suspect was using the heinous crime for pornographic activities. The statement said that the suspect was at present being interrogated by NAPTIP operatives at the agency headquarters office in Abuja after he was handed over by the police. The statement recalled that NAPTIP Director-General, Mrs Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim,…
An Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement came into effect early on Friday at 2:00 a.m. Palestinian time between Israel and militant groups led by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). As soon as it turned 2:00, loudspeakers of the mosques all over the Gaza Strip shouted Allahu Akbar (God is great) celebrating the end of more than 11 days of tit-for-tat trade of fire between Israel and Hamas-led militants in the Gaza Strip. Militants fired into the air, while tens of thousands of people took to the streets, while whistling and shouting Allahu Akbar. Earlier on Thursday, Hamas armed wing announced that it…