Organization
Namibian president caught in new fishing corruption allegations
Informante The president of Namibia has been implicated in new allegations of corruption involving the country’s lucrative fishing industry by an investigation released by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and The Namibian newspaper. According to a lawyer who allegedly arranged the deal, President Hage Geingob instructed his close associates to embezzle millions of dollars from a state-run fishing enterprise in order to bribe electors at the 2017 congress of the ruling SWAPO (South West Africa People’s Organization) party, reports the new investigation released on Friday. The lawyer, who is not named by the OCCRP, claims that Hage Geingob – elected as President of Namibia in 2014 and re-elected in 2019 – allegedly asked James Hatuikulipi, then chairman of the sta...
US accuses Nigeria of significant human rights abuses
US Embassy in South Africa The United States has accusesd Nigeria of significant human rights abuses in its latest ‘’Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2020’’, released Wednesday by the Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. In the report titled ‘’’Nigeria 2020 Human Rights Report, Executive Summary’’, the US accused Nigeria of ‘’significant’’ human rights abuses, which include: unlawful and arbitrary killings by both government and non-state actors; forced disappearances by the government, terrorists, and criminal groups; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government and terrorist groups; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions. The 102-page report also accused the federal government of ‘’arbitrary d...
Thousands flee to Thailand after Myanmar army’s air strikes on villages
About 3,000 villagers from Myanmar’s southeastern Karen state fled to Thailand on Sunday following air attacks by the army on an area held by an ethnic armed group, an activist group and local media said. Myanmar’s military launched air strikes on five areas in Mutraw district, near the border, including a displacement camp, the Karen Women’s Organization said. “At the moment, villagers are hiding in the jungle as more than 3,000 crossed to Thailand to take refuge,” a statement from the group said. Thai PBS reported about 3,000 had reached Thailand. Thai authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. At least two soldiers from the Karen National Union were killed, said David Eubank, founder of the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organisation. “We haven’t had air strikes ther...
EFCC warn POS operators over illegal cash transaction
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, recently warned operators of Mobile Money and Banks Agents otherwise known as POS operators over illegal cash transactions. The Commission’s Zonal Head in Sokoto CDS Bawa Usman Kaltungo on Thursday March 25, 2021 gave the warning at a meeting with the Sokoto Chapter of Mobile Money and Banks Agents Association, (MMBA) Sokoto State Chapter in his office. EFCC boss express concern at the high rate of mobile money fraud in the country, and called on the association to join hands in the fight against money laundering and electronic transaction fraud. But while reacting to this, the South West coordinator of Moniepoint, Israel Eniolorunda frowned at this development noting that nefarious activities of many of these POS operators in the country...
WTO chief: ‘Safe Schools Initiative’ to stop abduction of students
The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Wednesday expressed hope that the ‘Safe Schools Initiative’ will help stop the incessant abduction of students across Nigeria. Nigerian women on Wednesday came out en masse to welcome Okonjo-Iweala in her first homecoming since she became the director-general of WTO, during a visit to the Ministry of Women Affairs in Abuja. Addressing the crowd which included Senators and members of the National Assembly, former Ministers, wives of former governors, women in the Armed Forces, women societies, female political aspirants, Civil Society Organisations, as well as students, Okonjo-Iweala expressed deep concern about the incessant abduction of girls and boys in schools. The WTO boss who noted that it is shamef...
Police promotion: PSC insists no zone is marginalised
File Photo The Police Service Commission has reiterated that no part of Nigeria has been deliberately shortchanged in the promotion of officers of the Nigeria Police Force. This was disclosed in a statement on Wednesday by Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations of the commission. He said the Commission was aware that promotion in the Police Force is guided by defined rules and regulations that have nothing to do with ethnic or religious considerations. The statement read in part, “The Commission wishes to state that it has since sanitized the processes of recruitment, promotion and discipline in the Force and has ensured that these processes are also governed by established rules and regulations. “It is on record that the Commission has contributed in ensuring sanity in the recrui...
Foundation donates N2 million to fix potholes in UNICAL
Tecno An educational foundation, Teacher Essien Ita Ita Educational Foundation (TEIIEF), has presented a cheque of N2 million to the University of Calabar (UNICAL) for the fixing of potholes in the institution. The presentation, which was done at the weekend in the office of the Vice Chancellor of the University, was part of the activities to mark the second year remembrance of the demise of Mrs. Temitope Ekpenyong Ita, wife of Mr. Ekpenyong Ita, a former Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and son of the late Teacher Esien Ita, who died March 13, 2019. Speaking shortly after presenting the cheque to the Vice Chancellor of UNICAL, Prof. Florence Obi, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, Chief Gersh Henshaw said, the organisation was delighted to i...
Red Cross: Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region ‘largely inaccessible’
Ethiopia’s embattled northern region of Tigray remains largely inaccessible, the International Red Cross said Wednesday. The situation has led to starvation deaths, the organization said. “Eighty percent of the Tigray is unreachable at this particular time,” president of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, Abera Tola, told a press conference. “People in Tigray need everything: food and food items, water and sanitation, medical supplies, and mobile clinics. And humanitarian organizations need access to Tigray to reach the most vulnerable. And this is a call to hold the parties involved: give us safe and unhindered access, respect our teams, respect the medical doctors, respect the health facilities, respect the health workers”, said Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of...
Rivers governor commiserates Akwa Ibom over death of PDP, PANDEF chairmen
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has commiserated with the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Udom Emmanuel over the recent loss of prominent indigenes of the state. Wike described the death of the State Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Udo Ekpenyong and the Director-General of Governor Emmanuel’s two terms Divine Mandate organization and Chairman of Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga rtd., as a grave loss not just to Akwa Ibom State but the entire South-South region and the party which, he said, is Nigeria’s hope. The Rivers State Governor who was on a condolence visit to Governor Emmanuel at Hilltop Mansion, Government House Uyo, on Thursday said what touches Akwa Ibom touches Rivers state. Hear him, “what I came here is that the Governor Udom ...
Niger governor: Incompetent leaders took over from military in 1999
Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger state has attributed the failures recorded in governance since the coming of democracy in 1999 to incompetent leaders who took over leadership of the country from military. The Governor spoke just as former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, blamed the nation’s educational system for the failure being recorded in leadership in the country, saying the system was not designed to produce leaders. Both men spoke at a youth summit organized by a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman Board of Trustees of Lead Generation Initiative (LGI), Shina Peller, in Abuja. The Niger governor said the that when the military decided to hand over power to civilians, a lot of competent people never believed in the process and therefore stood ba...
SON: We have initiated more measures to tackle importation of substandard products into Nigeria
File Photo The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) said it has devised more efficient measures against importation of substandard products to protect local manufacturers in the country. The Director-General of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim stated this during a visit to the organization’s office in Awka, Anambra State, on Saturday. According to Mallam Salim, the agency will continue to discourage importers of substandard products from short-changing unsuspecting consumers. He also announced plans to improve workers welfare and increase engagement with stakeholders in the country, noting that the move by the agency would help protect the interest of the business community while also safeguarding life and property. The Director-General assured that the organization would work with stakeholders ...
CNPP urges President Buhari to sack minister, spokesperson
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed and the presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu. CNPP accused the duo of continuously misinforming Nigerians and turning the country into a laughing stock. Secretary-General, CNPP, Willy Ezugwu, made the call in a statement on Sunday in reaction to the duo’s comments on Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index report. Ezugwu described Mohammed and Shehu as major liabilities that have contributed to the poor image of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government. He noted that the Buhari administration would have been perceived in a better light without the two. “To most Nigerians, the Minister of Information represents a face of misinformatio...