Communities
APC group commends President Buhari, security agents for ‘decimating’ IPOB
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Legacy Awareness and Campaign has commended President Muhammadu Buhari and federal security agents for decimating separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The group, in a statement issued by the quartet of Barr Ismail Ahmed, Lanre Issa-Onilu, Tolu Ogunlesi and Salihu Moh Lukman, claimed that the country will in the next few months witness even more progress on all fronts. ‘On security, the fear that has gripped the nation in recent times is receding while confidence is being renewed as the security agencies are chasing down the criminals, taking the battle to the bandits, unknown gunmen, kidnappers, and other criminal elements who have been holding the country by the jugular and turning Nigeria to a killing field,’ the group stated. ‘From the...
South Africa gems that sparked rush are quartz not diamonds
The South African government says that stones found in a village last month are not diamonds but quartz. A cattle herder first uncovered the stones in KwaZulu-Natal province. It prompted thousands to rush to KwaHlathi village, more than 300km (186 miles) south-east of Johannesburg. But after conducting tests, officials have said the stones are quartz crystals, which are far less valuable. After feldspar, quartz is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust. “The tests conducted conclusively revealed that the stones discovered in the area are not diamonds,” a local government statement reportedly said. The rush occurred in one of South Africa’s poorest regions. The country – which already suffers from high levels of economic inequality – has seen a surge in joblessness amid the ongoing ...
Bauchi residents lament erratic power supply
Some residents of Bauchi metropolis have expressed concerned over the erratic power supply in the area. Some of the residents who spoke with newsmen in seperate interviews, said the situation had made life unbearable for them. Newsmen report that Gwallameji area of Bauchi and other parts of the metropolis are leaving in darkness in the past months following vandalisation of electrical facilities in the affected communitie. They urged the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDCO) to address the problem and adopt proactive to protect its facilities against acts of vandalisim. Mr Paul Ugochukwu, a resident of Rafin Zurfi area of the metropolis, said they had been experiencing erratic power supply for the past three months sequel to the alleged destruction of the power transformer in the ar...
President Buhar: We won’t rest until peace is fully restored in Borno
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Maiduguri, Borno State, assured citizens of the federal government’s presence in fighting terrorism to the end, and ensuring that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are fully returned to continue normal lives, commending Governor Babagana Zulum for resilience and relentless efforts in rebuilding the state. President Buhari, on an official visit to the state to appraise the security situation and commission some development projects, attributed recent successes recorded by the military against insurgents and terrorists at Dikwa, Damboa and Gwoza to careful planning, infusion of new equipment and other war materials as well as quality military leadership. “I am very happy to be here in Borno State once again. I consider Maiduguri and Borno State to be ...
CDHR calls for release of abducted Ebonyi children
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has urged the police and sister agencies to secure the unconditional release of the seven Ebonyi children abducted by suspected hoodlums at Enyigba community. The children were abducted from their respective homes at Enyigba community in Abakaliki Local Government Area (LGA) of Ebonyi by unknown persons, following alleged renewed conflict over a land dispute with Enyibichiri community in Ikwo LGA. A statement signed by the state secretary of CDHR, Jeremiah Oyibe, on Tuesday in Abakaliki, urged the police to ensure the safe and unconditional release of the seven abductees. The CDHR added that the police and the state government should ensure the arrest and trial of those involved in the criminal abduction of innocent children. The group expre...
Senator Gyang: Nigerian government hasn’t captured Plateau in housing units resettlement
Deputy Chairman Senate Committee on Defence and Senator representing Plateau North, Istifanus Gyang, said Federal Government is yet to consider Plateau State on the 500 housing units constructing for for destroyed communities in North East due to Insecurity. He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari in the spirit of fairness and Justice to come to the aid of Plateau communities, particularly destroyed communities in Barkin-Ladi, Riyom, Bassa and other villages in Plateau North. Sen. Gyang disclosed this on Monday during an interaction with Journalists at his constituency office, tagged, “The People’s Parliament” lamented over the the deteriorating security situation in the country. “I have being crying out for Federal Government to include Plateau State in the 500 housing units being build...
VP Osinbajo: Let’s focus on empowering our compatriots living with albinism
As a people, and in our communities, it is paramount to have conversations around the safety and enablement of our citizens who live with Albinism according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. He made this known at a virtual event, attended by a number of distinguished personalities including diplomats such as the American Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, marking the World Albinism Day themed: “Strength Beyond All Odds”, on Sunday, 13th of June, 2021. According to the VP, “there is a need to see it for what it is, a genetic difference not a contagious disease or a public health problem.” In dealing with the various challenges faced by the albinism community, Prof Osinbajo stated the need to “have frank and robust conversations around the protection and empowerment of our compatr...
Nigerian minister accuses entertainers of promoting abuse of women’s bodies
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Pauline Tallen, has accused entertainers of promoting abuse of women’s bodies by employing vulgar lyrics and depicting female dancers in a most disdainful manner. Tallen said this while speaking on the theme “My Body is My Own: Claiming the Right to Autonomy and Self-Determination,” at the launch of the State of the World Population 2021 report in Abuja on Tuesday. According to Tallen, entertainers are frustrating the government’s efforts which include tackling the fear and stigma of survivors of violence, weak community and facility referral systems, lack of counselling services for women and girls and the communities as well as seeking justice for victims. “It is almost disheartening to note that while we are confronting these obstacl...
Pope says Canada school discovery painful, but stops short of apology
Pope Francis said on Sunday that he was pained by the discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former Catholic school for indigenous students in Canada and called for respect for the rights and cultures of native peoples. However, Francis stopped short of the direct apology some Canadians had demanded. Two days ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Catholic Church must take responsibility for its role in running many of the schools. Indigenous leaders and school survivors said the Church needed to do much more. “We’re all pained and saddened. Who isn’t?” said Bobby Cameron, chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan. Speaking to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly blessing, Francis urged Canadian political and Catholic...
President Buhari orders IGP to reduce insecurity to barest minimum
President Muhammadu Buhari, has ordered Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba to ensure insecurity is reduced to the barest minimum. This is even as the Police Council made up of the President, Vice President, governors, ministers of Police Affairs, Interior and the Federal Capital Territory, confirmed Baba as the IGP. Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Maigari Dingyadi, who confirmed the development at the end of the one and half hours meeting, said he was unanimously confirmed. President Buhari had on April 6, appointed Baba as acting the Inspector General of Police. Baba was a Deputy Inspector General of Police before his promotion. Briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting held at the First Lady Conference Room, the main purpose of the meeting was to “get the appo...
House member accuses military of extrajudicial killings, looting in Imo
A member of the House of Representatives, Bede Eke, has said men of the Nigerian Army and the police are carrying out extrajudicial killings and displacement of people in Imo State following the recent killing of a former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak. Mr Gulak, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was killed by unknown gunmen on May 30 while on his way to Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri, en route Abuja. According to the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, Mr Gulak was consulting for the Senate Committee on Constitutional Review, which he (Omo-Agege) heads. The police said Mr Gulak’s killers were subsequently killed in a gun battle. Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Mr Eke, who represents Mbaise/Ngor-Okpala Federal Constituency of Imo State, alleged tha...
Mass grave reopens wounds among indigenous survivors of colonial Canadian school system
The discovery of the remains of 215 children at a former residential school in Canada has reopened wounds for survivors of the system, they said, as the government pledged to spend previously promised money to search for more unmarked graves. The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc indigenous nation in British Columbia announced last week it had found the remains of 215 children, some as young as three, buried at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, once Canada’s largest such school. Between 1831 and 1996, Canada’s residential school system forcibly separated about 150,000 children from their homes and subjected them to abuse, rape and malnutrition at schools across the country in what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 called “cultural genocide”. Run by the government and c...
