Mali
Mali junta plans ‘transitional president’
Rebel troops who have taken power in Mali said on Thursday “a transitional president” would be appointed from either civilian or military ranks. “We are going to set in place a transitional council, with a transitional president who is going to be either military or civilian,” Junta spokesman Ismael Wague told TV channel France 24. “We are in contact with civil society, opposition parties, the majority, everyone, to try to set the transition in place.” Wague said, “It is going to be a transition which will be the shortest possible. You’re not talking about 2023, 2022. (We have) to complete this transition as quickly as possible, and then we go back to doing something different. “I can’t tell you when we are going to hand over power to civilians, because the transition has first to be put i...
Mali: ECOWAS to hold emergency meeting
The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) will on Thursday hold an Extraordinary Summit on the socio-political situation in Mali. The Directorate of Communications of the ECOWAS Commission made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. The summit would be held virtually through video conference. The summit became necessary following the military coup d’etat that took place in the Republic of Mali on Tuesday. Newsmen recall that President Ibrahim Keita and his government resigned after soldiers arrested him. The soldiers have set up a body to work out modalities for elections. ECOWAS has strongly condemned the undemocratic change of government, adding that it is against its protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. The Au...
NEMA receives 109 Nigerians repatriated from Mali
Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday received 109 stranded Nigerians repatriated from Mali at the International Wing of Murtala Muhammed International Airport Ikeja in Lagos. The Director General of NEMA, Muhammed Muhammadu, who received the returnees, said that they would be isolated for 14 days in Ikeja before they would be free to reunite with their families. Newsmen reports that the returnees, who were received at 3.15am, comprise 11 male adults, 89 female adults, with 4 male children and 5 female children. Muhammadu said that the returnees were assisted back into the country by the International Organization of Migration (IOM). He enjoined the returnees to be careful with those that promise greener pastures outside the country. The NEMA...
UNICEF, Patoranking re-release Bob Marley’s ‘One Love’
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with Patoranking, a popular Nigerian musician and some other artistes, on Friday re-released the late Bob Marley’s iconic song, “One Love.” This is contained in a statement signed by UNICEF Abuja, Communication, Advocacy and Partnerships officer, Oluwatosin Akingbulu. Mr Akingbulu said that proceeds from the song and related activities would be used to support “Reimagine”, UNICEF’s new global campaign. He said the campaign was organised to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from becoming a lasting crisis for children and to ensure the post-pandemic world was fairer and more equal for every child. “The release is to support UNICEF’s work to reimagine a fairer, more just world for children whose lives had been upended by the COVID-19 pa...
Sunday Oliseh: I started funding Nigeria national team in 1996
Nigeria legend Sunday Oliseh has opened up on his experience with the Super Eagles which spanned nine years. The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder made 63 appearances for the West Africans before he was forced to retire from international duty in 2002. Oliseh was a key member of the Super Eagles team that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia under Dutch tactician Clemens Westerhof. He explained the tournament opened doors of opportunities for him as he secured a move to Italy to play for Reggiana, becoming the first Nigerian to feature in the Serie A. “The 1994 Afcon was very special for me. In fact, it was my first major tournament for Nigeria in Tunisia and we had some great talents in the squad at that time,” Oliseh told the Punch. “We were favourites heading into the tournam...
Another Premier League player tests positive for novel coronavirus
A third first-team player from Brighton & Hove Albion tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, the Premier League club’s chief executive Paul Barber has confirmed. Two Brighton players had contracted the novel coronavirus in March and April and the latest positive result could cast doubts on the Premier League’s plans to resume the season that has been suspended due to the pandemic. Clubs are due to meet on Monday to further discuss “Project Restart” which envisages a return to play in June once given the green light from government, with the remaining 92 matches held behind closed doors at neutral venues. “It is a concern. Unfortunately we’ve had a third player test positive yesterday,” Barber told Sky Sports on Sunday. “So despite all of the measures that we’ve been taking over the ...
Man jailed five years for trafficking 18-year-old girl to Libya for prostitution
Twitter A 66-year-old man was on Thursday sentenced to five years imprisonment by a Federal High Court, Makurdi, Benue State, for trafficking an 18-year-old lady to Mali for forced labour and prostitution. The man, Lawrence Ogonna, was said to have connived with some other people who are currently at large to trafficked the said teenager from Makurdi to the North African country. Justice Hassan Dikko of the Federal High Court found the man guilty of a three-count charge of organising foreign travels for prostitution and assisting to traffic the victims contrary to sections 18 and 13(4)(c) of Trafficking in Perons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015. He was dragged to the court by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons. He, however, got an opt...
