Soldiers
Italian priest recalls coronavirus ‘nightmare’ of coffin-filled church
On the wall of St. Joseph’s Church hangs a black-and-white photograph with a caption remembering when the Italian parish of Seriate gave 270 people emergency “hospitality” last year – coffins of the dead from COVID-19, sometimes up to 40 at a time. The hosts were Father Mario Carminati, 65, and Marcello Crotti, 46, who opened up the church to give the deceased a dignified temporary place of rest so they would not have to wait in a warehouse for burial or cremation. “For me it was a nightmare, but I didn’t have the opportunity to think about it a lot because when you find yourself in the middle of an emergency you have to rush and act according to your instinct,” Carminati, the senior priest in Seriate, said. A year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic in northern Italy was spiralling and the provinc...
Chad president kicks off campaign for sixth term
President Idriss Deby of Chad kicked off his campaign for a sixth term on Saturday, calling for unity after rival protests were banned. The first rally since the start of the official election period on Thursday was held by Deby’s Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) at a packed stadium in the capital, N’Djamena. Deby, who has ruled for 30 years and is widely deemed a shoo-in for another term, said he had fought for national unity, while also drawing a line in the sand for his opponents. “People must know that democracy is not synonymous with disorder,” the incumbent warned. “Those who believe that should go elsewhere.” On Thursday, three opposition candidates quit the race ahead of the April 11 ballot with one of them — Mahamat Yosko Brahim — saying the climate was “not favourable for fair ...
Lagos hospital presents medical records of Lekki tollgate victims
Reddington Hospital Lagos, Saturday produced the medical records of some of the patients it treated following the Lekki toll gate ‘shootings’ of last October 20. One of the hospital’s trauma and orthopaedic surgeons, Dr. Babajide Lawson, presented the case files to the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS and the Lekki Tollgate Incident. The Nigerian Army has been accused of opening fire with live bullets on peaceful protesters at the Toll Gate demanding an end to police brutality using the hash tag #EndSARS. Some of the protesters have submitted petitions to the panel alleging that men of the Army’s 81 Division shot at and killed several #EndSARS protesters that night, a claim the Army denied. The Army has, however, shunned further appearance at the panel, without...
Governor Ikpeazu: Oil companies have no presence in Abia
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, has expressed concern that despite the long years of oil exploration in the state, there was nothing tangible people of oil-producing communities in the state have to show for it. Ikpeazu, while receiving the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Petroleum Industry Bill led by Senator Albert Bassey at Government House, Umuahia, said that Abia oil-producing communities have remained peaceful more than other oil-producing communities in the country, stressing that the peaceful disposition of the communities should serve as a model for the compensation of oil-producing communities. The governor lamented that the oil exploration and production companies who do business in Abia do not pay taxes to the state, but rather reside in neighbouri...
Boko Haram: Nigerian Army commanding officer, four others laid to rest in Borno
The Nigerian Army has buried a commanding officer and four other soldiers killed in the attack on the military base in Marte local government of Borno state. The attack occurred on February 14 when the Commanding officer Bedan Ishaya, now late, a Major from the 22 battalion led a reinforcement to Marte to support dislodged troops. The insurgents had hoisted their flags in Marte for at least a week before the Chief of Army Staff’s 48 hours ultimatum to troops (at the 81 DIV Task Force battalion which is also the headquarters of Super Camp 9 Dikwa) leading to Marte’s recapture. The bodies of Major Ishaya, a sergeant, two lance corporals and a private soldier were retrieved from the battlefield; they were all laid to rest today at the Maimalari Cantonment Military Cemetary. Deputy Theatre Com...
Lobbyist says Myanmar junta wants to improve relations with the West, spurn China
An Israeli-Canadian lobbyist hired by Myanmar’s junta said on Saturday that the generals are keen to leave politics after their coup and seek to improve relations with the United States and distance themselves from China. Ari Ben-Menashe, a former Israeli military intelligence official who has previously represented Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe and Sudan’s military rulers, said Myanmar’s generals also want to repatriate Rohingya Muslims who fled to neighboring Bangladesh. The United Nations says more than 50 demonstrators have been killed since the Feb. 1 coup when the military overthrew and detained elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy party won polls in November by a landslide. On Friday, a U.N. special envoy urged the Security Council to take action against t...
Nigerian Army dismisses report of desertion by troops
The Nigerian Army on Thursday dismissed reports that over 100 officers and soldiers had deserted the army during encounters with insurgents in parts of Borno recently. The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Yerima, said this in a statement in Abuja. Yerima said that a section of the media had reported that over a hundred troops absconded after Boko Haram attacks on Marte and Dikwa. According to him, this publication is false, unfounded and an attempt to malign the image and character of the Nigerian Army. “For the records, in the fog of war, it is a routine that head count is conducted to determine the number of men and equipment holding aftermath of military offensive. “Unfortunately, an internal correspondence that was originated by the formation was not properly done. ...
#EndSARS: Oba Akiolu accuses youths of stealing $2 million, N17 million from his palace during protests
Nigerian Ports Authority Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu has said that youths that invaded his palace during #EndSARS protests in October 2020 stole $2m and N17m from his palace. The monarch said the youths wouldn’t have committed the offence if they knew the implication of what they did. Akiolu said this during the commissioning of the Glover Hall Memorial in Lagos on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. It would be recalled that Akiolu’s palace at Iga Idunganran on Lagos Island was attacked by youths a day after soldiers shot at #EndSARS protesters at Lekki tollgate on Tuesday, October 20, 2020. The youths vandalised vehicles and carted away several artefacts including the monarch’s staff of office. Describing the destruction that followed the shooting of protesters as enormous, Akiolu said he had appe...
Three injured as explosion rocks power infrastructure repair site in Maiduguri
Explosion on Saturday rocked the site where technicians were carrying out repair work on damaged power infrastructure in Maiduguri. Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, has been in darkness for about a month now since suspected Boko Haram members damaged power lines along Maiduguri-Damaturu road. Technicians were subsequently deployed to the site and security was provided for them by a combined team of soldiers and men of the Borno State Rapid Response Team. Every day before the commencement of work by the technicians, soldiers scanned the entire area for any explosive drvice that might have been planted by Boko Haram. But on Saturday at about 10am, when technicians were getting ready to commence the day’s work, there was an explosion which destroyed a Hilux Toyota van and seriously in...
Hundreds of thousands protest in Myanmar as army faces crippling mass strike
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in Myanmar for a ninth day of anti-coup demonstrations on Sunday, as the new army rulers grappled to contain a strike by government workers that could cripple their ability to run the country. People surround a police vehicle as they protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar February 12, 2021 in this still grab obtained by Reuters from a video on February 13, 2021. Trains in parts of the country stopped running after staff refused to go to work, local media reported, while the military deployed soldiers to power plants only to be confronted by angry crowds. A civil disobedience movement to protest against the Feb. 1 coup that deposed the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi started with doctors. It now affects a swa...
ICC ruling brings hope for Palestinians, dismay for Israelis
Many Palestinians see a ruling by the International Criminal Court that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories as a belated chance of justice for victims of Israeli attacks. But for many Israelis, Friday’s ruling is worrying because they say they are the “good guys” defending themselves against Palestinian violence. The ruling, delivered by a pre-trial chamber of three ICC judges, could lead to criminal investigations of Israel and Palestinian militant groups including Hamas. No probe was expected in the near future, however. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said she would now examine the decision and pointed to the 2014 Gaza war between Israel and militant groups in Hamas-controlled Gaza, the 2018 Gaza border protests and Israeli settlements in occupied territory. In Khan Youni...
NUJ calls for Sheikh Gumi’s arrest
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), on Friday, called for the arrest of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, for saying journalists are criminals for calling bandits criminals. The union expressed reservation on Gumi’s remarks during an interview on Arise TV on Wednesday where he labelled journalists as criminals for calling bandits criminals. In his interview, Gumi said: “You are emphasising on criminality, I don’t know. Even the Press (journalists) are criminals too because they are putting oil into fire [sic]. These people are listening to you, don’t address them as criminals”. “It is instructive to note that one of the gangs that were recently interviewed by Nigerian journalist, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz and published in Daily Trust of today where the bandit leader insisted on being introduced properly as...