By Habibu Harisu The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, on Monday, commenced special investigation into cases that border on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in Sokoto State. The panel which is led by the Executive Secretary of the commission, Mr Tony Ojukwu, begun the two-day exercise in Sokoto with more than 10 complaints so far submitted to it. Conducted in collaboration with the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative Project and aimed at eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), Ojukwu urged survivors to open up. According to him, the panel would entertain testimonies on abuse cases in the last 10 years,…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state, has denied that the minor skirmish reported at Sani Dingyadi Secondary School is linked to abduction attempt. The governor stated this when he promptly visited the scene with his Deputy, Manir Dan’Iya and some Commissioners Sunday evening. According to him, the incident involved a motorbike thief who ran into the school when he was chased by some people. “In the ensuing melee, there was an unexpected entrance of the pursuers into the school premises, which scared the students, some of who called their parents thinking it was a case of kidnapping.” Tambuwal also indicated…
President Muhammadu Buhari is currently meeting with the newly appointed Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Nigeria’s former finance minister, who is on a four-day official visit, was accompanied to the villa by the Ministers of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Niyi Adebayo; Foreign Affairs, Geoffery Onyeama; and Minister of state for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Maryam Katagum. The visiting WTO boss had earlier met with the Ministers of Finance, Dr Zainab Ahmed, and that of Foreign Affairs, Geofrey Onyeama. Okonjo-Iweala is expected to address the media after the meeting…
The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, fixed May 25 to hear a motion brought by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), seeking a stay of execution of orders it granted the businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim, over alleged N69 billion debt. The new date was fixed following the inability of Justice Okon Abang to preside in today’s proceeding. AMCON, through its lawyer, Ade Adedeji, SAN, had indicated to appeal the orders made in favour of Ibrahim and his companies by Justice Abang by filing a motion for stay of execution with suit number: FHC/ABJ/001/2021 before the court. Justice Abang had,…
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), says the signing of a seven-year 350 million dollars term loan facility will provide financing to OCP Group, the world’s largest phosphate mining and leading fertilizer company. Afreximbank’s Head of Corporate Communications, Amadou Sall, said in a statement that the facility would support OCP Group’s expansion plans across Africa. According to the statement, Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said that Afreximbank was fulfilling its mandate through partnership with a major player in the fertilizer industry and with a strong presence across Africa, Oramah said that the bank was also fulfilling its mandate of facilitating…
Bandits Monday morning, stormed UBE Primary School in Rama, a village in Birnin Gwari local government area of Kaduna state, Daily Trust has reported. The incident, according to a resident, Abdulsalam Adam, occurred while pupils where trooping into the school around 9am on Monday. “I have been told that three teachers and some pupils have been abducted but we are trying to ascertain the true situation. Right now, our vigilante boys and other volunteers have gone after the bandits. “We are in the school right now, what we are trying to do is comb the bushes because some of the…
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said with 120 confirmed new cases of COVID-9, the number of active cases in Nigeria now stands at 13,245. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Sunday. The country had tested 1,601,396 people since the first confirmed case was announced on Feb. 27, 2020. The NCDC said that the country has so far registered 160,657 COVID-19 confirmed cases, with 120 new infections and no related deaths recorded in the last 24 hours. It disclosed that 685 people had been successfully treated and recovered between Saturday and Sunday. “Our discharges…
Sunday clashes between anti-coup protesters and security forces in Myanmar left at least 59 people killed and 129 injured according to hospital data, the Myanmar Now news agency reported on Monday. The actual toll is estimated to be even higher.The reports came from three hospitals — Yangon General, Hlaing Tharyar, and Thingangyun Sanpya — but doctors and rescue workers expect the final toll to be much higher, Myanmar Now stated. The largest demonstrations were reportedly held in Yangon, Mandalay, Bago, and Hpakan. On Sunday night, following the protests, martial law was declared in two of Yangon’s industrial townships – Hlaing…
The strongest sandstorm in ten years swept across Northern China on Monday, with authorities in Beijing issuing a “yellow alert” and warning of severely restricted visibility. Pollution in the Chinese capital reached a dangerous level after heavy winds brought in sand from the north-west of the country. The China Meteorological Administration announced the yellow alert on Monday morning, saying around 12 provinces were or would be affected. That makes the storm both the strongest sandstorm in ten years and the one covering the largest territory. According to Chinese media, Beijing airports had to cancel more than 400 flights. Spring is…
The Netherlands says on Monday that it has joined the list of countries suspending the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine after reports of unexpected possible side effects from the injection. The vaccine will not be used until at least March 29 as a precaution, the Dutch government said in a statement. The announcement will lead to delays in rolling out of shots in the Netherlands, which had pre-ordered 12 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Health authorities had scheduled around 290,000 AstraZeneca injections in the coming two weeks. The move, which follows a similar decision by Ireland earlier in the day,…