The Iranian Justice Department on Monday warned European embassies in Tehran against interfering in the case of Navid Afkari, a professional wrestler whose execution at the weekend prompted shock internationally. “Foreign embassies should not become the mouthpiece for Iranian opposition groups and should at the very least adhere to diplomatic norms,’’ Ali Bagheri, deputy head of the department’s office for international affairs, said. According to him, pressure from abroad would undermine neither the Iranian justice system nor the Islamic laws that govern the country. The top official did not mention Afkari by name or which embassies he was referring to.…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Uche Secondus has said that all Nigerians were worried about the state of the nation, just like former President Olusegun Obasanjo is. Obasanjo on Sunday, declared that the country is drifting and divided during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, a comment that did not go down well with the Presidency. However, Secondus in a statement alluded to Obasanjo’s position, adding that majority of Nigerians shared the former president’s views and concern. The PDP chairman advised President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC, to absorb…
Edo governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki has alleged that his predecessor, Mr Adams Oshiomhole put the state in serious indebtedness by “borrowing recklessly.” Obaseki made the allegation on Sunday during the Edo Governorship debate organized by ChannelsTV. “Let me make some points very clear. What happened is that my predecessor in office borrowed recklessly and the Federal government had to restructure all the debts that we have taken before I came into office,” Obaseki said while answering a question about the debt profile of the State. “These included a whole series of bank borrowings, borrowing to pay salaries.…
The continued spread of COVID-19 and the scorch of climate change in Africa have caused economies to contract substantially. Lives and livelihoods are put at risk, as COVID-19 and the associated economic challenges continue to spill into an African food crisis. Before COVID-19, half of Africans faced food insecurity (https://mck.co/3mty5rQ) due to climate change and other factors, of which 50% are severely food insecure. And the number of people who are hungry might likely double in 2021. Land is a vital resource. It is essential to agriculture on which 70% of Africans rely for their livelihoods. People-centred land governance is…
The Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, in Lagos has announced that it will begin “Operation Show Your Driver’s Licence and Vehicle Papers” on Monday (today). The Lagos State Sector Commander, Olusegun Ogungbemide disclosed this in a statement made available on Sunday, saying that the operation is to checkmate the spate of accidents, especially truck-related crashes and fatalities. “With the recent increase in the accidents involving articulated vehicles, there is the need for all drivers to be handy with their driver’s licence and valid vehicle papers as the command begins Operation Show Your Driver’s Licence and Vehicle Licence. …
The Nigerian Muslim rights group, Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has condemned the alleged killing of Muslims and Fulanis in Zangon Kataf. MURIC in a statement issued by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akinola and made available to Ashenewsonline on Monday, also stated that the alleged killings, reported to have occurred on 8th and 9th September, 2020, violated the peace pact of 22nd August, 2020. Read the statement below: “Christian youths of Zangon Kataf have violated the 22nd August, 2020 peace pact initiated by the Agwa Atyap, Sir Dominic Gambo Yahaya between the Atyap and Hausa/Fulani. The breach occurred on Tuesday 8th September, 2020 when they launched guerrilla-like…
The National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, says 79 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded. The Centre via its official Twitter handle, @NCDCgov Sunday night also said that total infections now stands at 56,256. According to it, there were four COVID-19-related fatalities in Nigeria in the last 24 hours, bringing the national death toll to 1,082. The public health agency said that the 79 cases were reported from 13 states with Lagos posting the highest figure of 30 cases, Kaduna, 17, Ogun, seven, while Anambra reported five cases. Other states with new cases include Kano with four, while Katsina, FCT and…
Human Rights Layer, Femi Falana has petitioned the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in The Gambia over the death sentence passed on Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a musician in Kano state, for committing blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad, in a song Ashenewsonline recalls that Sharif-Aminu was sentenced to death in August 2020, after a Shari’a court found him guilty. However, Falana in a the petition dated September 8, asked the African Commission to appeal to Nigerian government “to stop the irreparable damage that would be caused to the petitioner and his charter rights”. He observed that Nigeria, having been party to…
Federal Government agencies in the Presidency on Saturday in Abuja held consultations on the 2021 budget toward meeting the September deadline for the submission of the document to the National Assembly. Mr Attah Esa, Deputy Director (Information), State House, who confirmed this in a statement on Sunday, said the Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr Tijjani Umar, led the 2021 budget bilateral meeting. He said the virtual meeting was between government agencies under the Presidency and officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning. He quoted Umar as saying that the preparation of the 2021 budget estimates takes…
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Sunday expressed belief that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, would conduct free, fair and credible elections in Edo. Obaseki stated this when he played host to the Senate Committee on INEC, on a courtesy visit to the government house in Benin. According to him, as government we have made all the resources at our disposal available to all agencies of government that are going to handle the conduct of the election weather INEC or the security agencies. “We want to believe that INEC, the umpire,…