Cross River Watch Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, President, Women Arise and Centre for Change, on Friday urged all tiers of government to urgently implement policies that would address the grievances of citizens. Okei-Odumakin, in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, said that there was so much pent up anger in the land as a result of deprivations and poverty. “It is time to now address such frustration and hopelessness that has made decent living impossible for millions of our people. “Staggering youth unemployment and high cost of living needs to be addressed,” she said. Okei-Odumakin said the high-handedness in dealings with citizens must become a thing of the past to regain the confidence of the people. Okei-Odumakin, therefore, urged the government to start making efforts to win bac...
Veteran Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, has asked families who lost their relatives during the Lekki tollgate incident to speak up. The actress disclosed this on Friday as she took to her Twitter account to enjoin Nigerians to desist from sensationalizing the story if there were no deaths. She said: “It is a Crime of Human Rights to shoot someone not pointing a gun at you or running from you.” “Now that the whirlwind is settling, let’s see clearly and sieve the facts from the sensation. “Remember that the Main Reason is to Stop Police Brutality in Nigeria and we still demand to know who ordered the Terror on Peaceful protesters while there’s Still No known arrests of killer MIU. “Who sent the Military and started the VIOLENCE and HOOLIGANISM. “We Demand to know who brought touts...
The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said the State needs additional 150 health workers in the junior cadre to reduce the acute shortage of manpower in the state-owned hospitals. The governor disclosed this while speaking to journalists at the National Physicians’ week of the NMA in Abeokuta, the state capital. Abiodun said he has given approval to all state-owned hospitals to commence the recruitment of 20 consultant doctors as a way of addressing manpower shortage. The governor, who spoke through the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, said the recruitment was necessary to reduce the shortage of manpower and also boost healthcare delivery in the state. Abiodun added that he has also approved the regularisation of payment of appropriate remuneration for all doctor...
The League of Veteran Journalists, Oyo State Chapter, has condemned the burning down and destruction of media houses in Lagos, by fifth columnists that infiltrated the ranks of the #EndSars protesters. According to a statement by the Chairman of the League, Mr Banji Ogundele, the burning down of Vintage Press Ltd, publishers of The Nation, was condemnable and unacceptable. He said that the #EndSars protesters respected the Press and courted on them to help publicise their actions to the outside world, noting that the destruction was the work of the fifth columnists that wanted to give the protesters a bad name. Ogundele said that other media houses that were vandalised included TVC Network, Radio Lagos, Eko FM and traffic FM. He described the action as not only dangerous and unacceptable, ...
Foremost rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has condemned what it called the silence of President Muhammadu Buhari over protests against operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, a unit of the Nigeria Police Force, in the past two weeks. The group in a statement issued by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Thursday, claimed that “certain ethno-religious extremists have been paid by some government officials to stoke the embers of ethno–religious division to graphically paint the #EndSARS movements with ethnic and religious colourations.” The statement noted that youths of the country are angry “because the elders who have had access to public offices and those wielding political powers have continuously feasted on the comm...
The National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President, retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, says President Muhammadu Buhari is to announce a critical solution to the #EndSARS protest in a couple of hours. Monguno, who made this known at the end of the fourth National Security Council meeting, presided by the president in Abuja on Thursday said Buhari also directed all security agencies to always operate within the confine of legitimacy and legality. He said the president also urged the security agencies to always avoid anything that would aggravate the nation’s security challenges. He also stated that the president would soon come up with certain solutions to address the security challenges in the country, saying the president directed that government would also do all it could to arrive at ...
The Enugu State Government has exempted health, essential, and emergency workers from the curfew imposed on the three Local Government Areas (LGAs) that make up Enugu metropolis. The state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Chidi Aroh, gave the clarification in a statement on Thursday. Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, on Wednesday, imposed a 24-hour curfew on the three LGAs – Enugu East, Enugu North, and Enugu South, after the EndSARS protest turned violent. “Sequel to the earlier announcement on the imposition of a 24-hour curfew on Enugu metropolis, the government has approved that persons on essential services in the affected areas such as health care workers, the staff of water corporation, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), fire service, and State Emergency Management Agency had bee...
File Photo The Abia State Government has imposed a 24-hour curfew on the two major cities of Umuahia and Aba, following the alleged killing of a police officer (name withheld) in Aba on Monday night. The Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi-Kalu, announced this in a statement made available to newsmen in Umuahia on Tuesday. Okiyi-Kalu stated that the curfew would take effect from 6pm on Tuesday, October 20. He stated that the deceased was allegedly murdered after a police patrol van was attacked by at least 30 hoodlums, who reportedly hijacked the EndSARS protest in Aba. He stated that the measure became necessary to forestall further breach of the peace and ensure the security of lives and property of law-abiding citizens in the state. He stated: “Last night, a contingent of police of...
The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s 24-hour curfew over unabated #EndSARS protests, as confrontational and ill-advised. The PDP in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Taofik Gani, said Sanwo-Olu’s decision could aggravate the agitations by the protesters. “The PDP opines that the decision is confrontational, ill-advised and capable of inflaming the already compressed “beast” in the peaceful demonstrators against Police brutality and other government induced vices in the state. “The governor must consequently take responsibility for any degeneration into maiming, killing and oppressive arrest. “The governor has again showed that he acts copy and paste in governance,” Gani said. According to him, the...
Men in Military uniform reportedly stormed the venue of the #EndSARS protesters in Lekki area of Lagos, last night, shooting indiscriminately to disperse them. This action followed a curfew imposed by the Lagos State Government, following the violent dimension the protest had assumed in the state. It could however not be ascertained if anyone was killed. But unconfirmed report said some persons died, while scores were injured. Information received from protesters who managed to flee the scene revealed that the armed security men that fired the shots stormed the venue unnoticed, switched off the lights before releasing volleys of bullets. Efforts to get the reactions of the authority concerned failed as they claimed they were yet to get detailed information on the shooting. Meanwhile, as at...
The Lagos State government said it would investigate reports of shootings at the Lekki Toll plaza, which followed the 24-hour curfew imposed to stop criminals hiding under the #ENDSARS protests to unleash mayhem on innocent citizens. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, gave the assurance in series of tweets on Tuesday evening. According to him, the government has ordered investigation into the incident. He added Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has advised security agents not to arrest anyone as a result of the curfew. “Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has advised the security agents not to arrest anyone on account of the curfew, which he urges residents to observe for the peaceful atmosphere we all cherish. “He advises Lagosians to remain calm and not allow criminals, who hav...