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President Buhari inaugurates police equipment in Lagos
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday inaugurated security equipment for the police and other security agencies in Lagos State. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos officially handed over the patrol vehicles and various security equipment to the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba. The security equipment include 150 double cabin vehicles, 30 saloon patrol vehicles, 1000 ballistic vests, 1000 ballistic helmets, 1000 handheld police radios/walkie talkies and 100 security patrol bikes. Others are two Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), four high capacity troop carriers, two anti-riot water cannon vehicles, office/command furniture and other ancillary support resources. Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Sanwo-Olu said that the state, local governments and corporate organisations contr...
Nigerian Army reshuffles senior officers in major shakeup
The Nigerian Army has redeployed some of its senior officers in a major shakeup. Outgoing Army spokesperson, Mohammed Yerima, a brigadier general, made this known in a statement on Thursday. Notable amongst the new appointments was that of C.G. Musa, a major general, who was named the new Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, the counter insurgency operation in the North-east region. Also, Onyema Nwachukwu, a brigadier general, has now been appointed as the army spokesperson. Another brigadier general, A.M. Umar, was named the chief of staff to the COAS. The reshuffle, considered normal when there is a new leadership in the force, was expected when the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Faruk Yahaya, a major general, was appointed on May 27. He replaced the late COAS, Ibrahim Attahiru, who di...
ASUP: Why we suspended strike after 65 days
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has suspended its 65 days industrial strike with effect from Thursday, following an agreement reached between the union and the federal government. A statement by Mr Abdullahi Yalwa, National Publicity Secretary of ASUP and made available to newsmen in Bauchi, announced on Wednesday. According to the statement, “the suspension of the strike action was for a period of three months, to enable the government complete the implementation of the issues contained in the Memorandum of Action signed with the Union. “Following an appraisal of the report indicating the gradual implementation of the items contained in the Memorandum of Action signed between our Union and the Federal Government, the Union has resolved to suspend its 65 days old industrial...
Exam malpractices: Lagos fines 27 schools N13.5 million
The Lagos State Government has fined a total of 27 private schools N13.5 million as part of punishments for being involved in examination malpractices during the 2020 Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) which was conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). Each of the affected schools is to pay N500,000. This decision was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the Office of the Education Quality Assurance (OEQA) of the state’s ministry of education. The statement, which was signed by the spokesman for the OEQA, Emmanuel Olaniran, noted that the decision followed a report by the regional examination body which indicted the concerned private secondary schools. According to Mr Olaniran, WAEC officials, who monitored the conduct of the examination across the stat...
UN: 64% of married Nigerian women lack sexual, reproductive rights
The United Nations Fund for Population Affairs (UNFPA) has said that an estimated 64 per cent of married women in Nigeria are unable to enforce their sexual and reproductive health rights. It said that only about 46 per cent of married women in Nigeria between the age of 15 and 49 years are in a position to make personal decisions regarding their sexual and reproductive health rights. UNFPA said that whereas 56 per cent of the married women have decisions about their healthcare made mainly by their husbands, 33 per cent make such decisions jointly with their husbands. The world body, which issued a report on the state of bodily autonomy for women across the world, said only 56 per cent of married women in Nigeria can say no to their husbands if they do not want to have sexual intercourse. ...
Twitter pushes back on ban by Nigerian government
Micro blogging social platform, Twitter, has pushed back on ban by the Federal Government. It described it as brazen affront on citizens fundamental human rights and advised its users and other social media platforms in the country to download virtual private networks (VPNs) to enable them continue to use the platforms for their economic survival and social and political engagements while the “push back on this draconian order by the Nigerian government.” In a statement, Twitter said: “Today, the 4th of June 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced its suspension of Twitter operations, that the application can be used as a platform for activities capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence. “Many Nigerians read the announcement of the ban on Twitter as a reflection of the...
NAF chief: Armed forces committed to end insecurity
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, yesterday declared that the Armed Forces remained committed to ending the crisis of insecurity ravaging the nation. He said the expected delivery of six A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets by the United States in July and two drones from China, would be a “game changer” in the war against insurgency. The position of the air force chief is coming on a day the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, sought the assistance of the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. Farouk Yahaya, to provide security for train stations and railway construction sites across the country. Speaking at the graduation ceremony of 1,031 recruits of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Basic Military Training Course 41/2020, Amao affirmed that “the NAF in consonance w...
Police arrest 10, recover firearms, ammunition in Enugu
The Police Command in Enugu says operatives attached to `Operation Restore Peace’ have arrested 10 criminal suspects for alleged kidnapping, armed robbery, unlawful possession of firearm and fighting in the state. The operatives recovered two firearms, four live ammunition of .9mm calibre, one expended cartridge, two vehicles, one tricycle, one machete and other incriminating items. The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, said in a statement on Thursday in Enugu that the feat was in pursuance of `Operation Restore Peace’ mandates. Ndukwe said, “On May 28 at about 7am, operatives attached to Nimbo Police Division in synergy with Neighbourhood Watch Group, arrested Nnamdi Okweli, 26; Victor Nwakor, 23 and Chisom Nwankpa, 22 for suspected kidnapping, while others escap...
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...
Bandits murder police inspector, seven others in Katsina, Kaduna
The Katsina State police command has confirmed the killing of an Inspector of Police and three residents of Zandam village, in Jibia Local Government Area, by suspected bandits. The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, said the incident happened on Monday evening, during which five other villagers sustained injuries. Isah, in a press statement, yesterday, said, “bandits in large numbers, armed with sophisticated weapons and riding on motorcycles, invaded Zandam village. “The Bandits had a fierce gun battle with the mobile policemen deployed to the village. “At the scene, it was discovered that three male residents were shot and killed by the hoodlums while five others sustained injuries. “The team succeeded and gunned down three of the bandits, but an Inspector of Police g...
Euro 2020: Gareth Southgate invites Bukayo Saka, 24 others
Gareth Southgate hit back at the critics after selecting Trent Alexander-Arnold for England’s Euro 2020 squad as the Three Lions boss admitted Harry Maguire is a doubt for the opener against Croatia. Alexander-Arnold had to endure a nervous wait before learning he had made the cut after spending much of the season out of favour with Southgate. The 22-year-old was left out of Southgate’s England squad for their World Cup qualifiers in March. But Alexander-Arnold’s strong end to the season with Liverpool convinced Southgate to restore the right-back to his squad. Alexander-Arnold responded to his selection by tweeting: “Always believe in yourself. Silence the doubters.” Irritated by the inaccurate pre-announcement reports that he would drop Alexander-Arnold, Southgate insisted he never lost ...
Senate committee gets 14 days to process President Buhari’s N2.343 trillion loan request
The Nigerian Senate has given its Committee on Foreign and Local Debts 14 days within which to process President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for a fresh ₦2.343 trillion ($6.183 billion) for approval. Senate President Ahmad Lawan gave the directive at the commencement of Tuesday’s plenary session shortly after the Senate Majority leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, drew the attention of the Senate to the pending request. The Senator Clifford Ordia-led Committee on Foreign and Local debt had approved a total of $28 billion so far. The current request will take the total loan approved to $35.683 billion. Buhari had urged the Senate to approve N2.3 trillion ($6.183 billion) external borrowing. He said the loan was to finance the 2021 budget deficit of N5.6 trillion. The President indicated that the loan ...
