Incident
Lekki shooting: CNN objects to Lagos panel’s invitation
Cable News Network, Inc. (CNN) has protested against its invitation by the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry to appear before it on Saturday, December 12, 2020, (today), over the alleged killing of peaceful #EndSARS protesters by soldiers in October. The news outfit said the panel does not have the jurisdiction to summon its staff to testify before it because they are not in Nigeria. The panel had invited CNN following its two-part report on the Lekki shooting incident. The report had claimed that Nigerian soldiers shot at and killed peaceful #EndSARS protesters on the night of October 20 at the Lekki toll gate, Lagos. According, the objection file by CNN’s Lawyers, Messrs. Olumide Babalola LP and dated 4th December 2020 at the Tribunal on December 9, 2020, stated that the panel is bereft of...
President Buhari condemns bandits’ attack on Katsina school, orders reinforcement of security
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attack carried out by bandits’ at the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, charging the security agencies to go after the attackers to ensure that no student gets missing or harmed. The president made the remarks in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday. He urged the school authorities to carry out an audit of the population of the students following shootings in and around the school that sent hundreds of them fleeing and scrambling over perimeter walls. He also advised parents who rushed to evacuate their children and wards from the school to notify the school and police authorities in order to have a full account of the school population. “I strongly...
Neymar: No place for racism
Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir played their Champions League match to a conclusion on Wednesday, 24 hours after it had been suspended, with Neymar scoring a hat-trick before saying both teams had felt compelled to make a stand against racism in what was an unprecedented protest over an alleged comment by an official. PSG won the game 5-1 after it restarted where it had stopped the previous day, in the 14th minute, following a touchline argument over accusations the Romanian fourth official, Sebastian Coltescu, had described Basaksehir’s Cameroonian assistant coach Pierre Webo as “black”, or “negru” in Romanian. “Sometimes in extreme circumstances these things need to be done to see if the world can change a little,” said Neymar, who together with other players and the new team...
Ethiopia government admits forces ‘shot at’ UN team in Tigray
An Ethiopian spokesman on Tuesday said that the country’s forces fired on a UN team, claiming they ignored instructions and drove through government checkpoints in the northern region of Tigray. The shooting came as the UN and aid agencies are continuing to seek access to northern Ethiopia, more than a week after fighting there was declared over on November 28. “Some of the UN staff were actually detained and some were shot at,” said Redwan Hussein. “They broke two checkpoints to drive to areas where they were not supposed to go, and that they were told not to go. When they were about to break the third one, they were shot at and detained.” Speaking at a press conference in the capital Addis Ababa, Redwan insisted the UN staffers were to blame for Sunday’s incident close to the town of Shi...
Angry mob set three armed robbers ablaze in Delta
Three suspected armed robbers were set ablaze by an angry mob early Tuesday morning, along Okumagba Avenue in the Warri South council area of Delta state. Newsmen learnt that two of the suspects were burnt at Emebiren Junction, close to the popular Robinson Plaza, while the other one was lynched at Eburu Junction. According to reports, the hoodlums were members of a gang, whose numbers could not be ascertained. A witness who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed that they started the robbery operation from about 1 am in an unknown vehicle. A chemist, a fish farm, and a household, all within the Okumagba Avenue axis, were said to have been attacked by the hoodlums, who carted away an undisclosed amount of money and mobile phones. Other onlookers claimed they attempted to rob some female t...
Security expert calls for 10,000 vigilantes to provide protection for Borno communities
Security expert, Dr Ona Ekhomu, has advised the Borno State government to immediately hire 10,000 Borno Youths into a robust vigilance force to defend the state alongside the military, the police, the paramilitary and the Civilian JTF. The absence of a capable guardian is what facilitated the Borno massacre that occurred last Saturday, he added. Dr. Ekhomu, who is President of the Association Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria, said hiring the 10,000-man youth vigilance force will provide protection of the rural populations against incessant terror attacks. He said: “The vigilance initiative will also help Governor Zulum to fulfil his campaign promise to hire Borno youths to secure the State. “The Borno Vigilance Force which should employ able-bodied youths who must receiv...
Roy Hodgson ‘really pleased’ as Crystal Palace hit 5 goals in West Brom rout
Wilfred Zaha was outstanding for Crystal Palace as they took advantage of the controversial dismissal of Matheus Pereira to claim their first points in three games with a rout at West Brom. Zaha had missed Palace’s previous two matches – both of which ended in defeat – after testing positive for Covid-19 but quickly found his feet again at The Hawthorns with a typically lively attacking display that included two goals and an assist. It was from his low cross that Darnell Furlong diverted the ball into his own net to give the visitors the lead and his whipped finish into the far corner that restored the advantage after Conor Gallagher’s low, driven equaliser. Between these two Zaha contributions, though, came the incident that completely altered the complexion of the game – Pereira’s red ca...
Jerusalem church suffers damage in arson near Garden of Gethsemane
Israeli police on Friday arrested a man for trying to set fire to an east Jerusalem church by the Garden of Gethsemane, the site revered by Christians as the place where Jesus prayed before he was crucified. The 49-year-old Israeli suspect poured flammable liquid inside the Church of All Nations, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The man then set it alight, a separate police statement said, before the church guard detained him. “Preliminary investigation and the suspect’s details strengthen the assessment that the background to the incident was criminal,” police said, suggesting investigators believed it was not a hate crime. Reuters pictures showed a charred bench and a small blackened portion of the mosaic floor of the Catholic church, which overlooks Jerusalem’s walled Old City. “T...
Gunmen kidnap Edo councillor
Unknown gunmen in the early hours of Wednesday abducted Israel Inyanabor, a councillor representing Ewohimi Ward One in Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State. Inyanabor’s kidnap happened along Ewatto-Ubiaja-Okhuesan Road near Ena River in Esan South-East LGA of the state. The kidnap of the councillor has reportedly created tension in the community following an earlier abduction of a teacher and his wife, simply identified as Mr and Mrs Aluola, by suspected bandits along the same Ewatto-Ubiaja-Okhuesan Road on Monday. It was learnt that the abductors of the couple are asking for N15 million as ransom from the family before they would be released. A resident of Ewohimi, Festus Ehigiator, disclosed that the scene of the latest kidnap incident was the same spot where the teacher a...
Borno killings: Senator Lawan leads federal government delegation on condolence visit
The federal government has sent a delegation led by the President, of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, to Maiduguri, Borno state on a condolence visit over the killing of farmers at the weekend by terrorists. A release issued on Monday by Lawan’s media aide, Ola Awoniyi, stated that the delegation which had since arrived Borno state was received on arrival at the Maiduguri airport by Borno State Deputy Governor, Usman Umar Gadafu. The delegation is in Borno, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government, to commiserate and identify with the family of the victims, the Government and the people of Borno State over the incident. Members of the delegation include the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Ministers of Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bel...
Sri Lanka coronavirus prison riot leaves eight dead, over 50 wounded
At least eight prisoners were killed and more than 50 injured in clashes with guards at a Sri Lankan prison, officials said on Monday, as authorities tried to quell a protest over rising corornavirus infections in the country’s crowded jails. Sri Lanka has witnessed an upsurge in coronavirus cases in the past month and over-congested prisons across the country have reported thousands of fresh infections. Inmates have staged protests in recent weeks demanding an increase in coronavirus testing and new isolation facilities for infected prisoners. The latest clash at Mahara prison situated on the outskirts of the capital Colombo started on Sunday when some inmates protested against prisoners infected by the Covid-19 virus being transferred from other facilities to Mahara. “We can’t say it for...
UN: Over 110 people killed in attack on Borno rice field
United Nations (UN) has revealed that not less than 110 civilians were killed by Boko Haram in the attack on a rice field in Borno State. Earlier reports had put the death toll of Saturday’s deadly Boko Haram attack on rice field in Borno at 43 while several others were said to be missing. A statement by the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, on Sunday, while describing the attack as horrifying, said not less than 110 people were killed with many other persons injured in one the deadliest attack by the terrorist group, who have laid siege to the Northeast for over a decade. Kallon said: “I am outraged and horrified by the gruesome attack against civilians carried out by non-state armed groups in villages near Borno State capital Maiduguri. “At least 110 ...
