Violence
NGF: We’ll fish out attackers of Imo governor’s residence
The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has condemned the attack on Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state’s residence, saying all hands must be on deck to fish out perpetrators of the crime. Gunmen had on Saturday attacked and killed many people, including three security personnel, and set the country home of the governor at Omuma, Oru East Local Government Area of the state ablaze. Chairman of the NGF and Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi, in a statement on Sunday, sympathised with Governor Uzodinma and all those who had been injured, maimed or had someone close killed during the attack. “The Forum calls on all good citizens to cooperate with the nation’s security forces and the government in trying to build a civil, safe and secure environment for our citizens. “For those behind these crimes,...
Senator Tinubu: Terrible people want to break Nigeria’s appointment with destiny
All Progressives Congress chieftain, Bola Tinubu, says terrible people and strong forces want to break Nigeria’s appointment with its greater destiny by attacking “agricultural players” in the country, thereby creating food scarcity. He spoke on Saturday on the occasion of the 23rd to 25th convocation ceremonies of the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, the Benue State capital. Tinubu was also awarded a honorary doctorate at the event by the university Senate and Governing Council. The former Lagos State governor said, “We approach a defining moment as a nation. A reckoning of special importance beckons. We must decide whether to give the truest meaning to our national motto “peace and unity” or we allow the agents of destruction and merchants of violence to have their way with us...
Ramadan: Israel, Palestinians clash on Gaza border as Jerusalem violence continues
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired dozens of rockets into Israel on Saturday drawing retaliatory air strikes, the Israeli military said, after nightly Ramadan clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police had resumed in Jerusalem. The pre-dawn exchange of fire broke months of relative quiet on the Israel-Gaza frontier, though it did not appear to signal a wider escalation after the military said it was not imposing any safety restrictions on Israelis living near the border. In Jerusalem, Israeli-Palestinian tension has been higher than usual during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Protests turned violent on Thursday with scores of arrests and injuries. The unrest resumed on Friday night, when Palestinian youths gathered outside the walled Old City and scuffled with hundreds o...
Southeast Asian leaders discuss Myanmar crisis with junta chief
Southeast Asian leaders began a crisis meeting on Myanmar on Saturday aiming to persuade Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who led the military takeover that sparked turmoil in his country, to forge a path to end the violence. The gathering of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta is the first coordinated international effort to ease the crisis in Myanmar, an impoverished country that neighbours China, India and Thailand. Myanmar is part of the 10-nation ASEAN. With participants attending in person despite the pandemic, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Friday that the summit reflected the “deep concern about the situation in Myanmar and ASEAN’s determination to help Myanmar get out of this delicate situation”. It’s unusual for the leader o...
Red Cross condemns ‘horrific’ sexual violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray
The Red Cross voiced alarm Thursday over “horrific” accounts of sexual violence in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray region, amid fears that rape was being used as a weapon of war. Robert Mardini, director-general of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross, said the organisation’s staff in hospitals and clinics in the region were hearing first-hand of extreme sexual violence. “Those reports are extremely horrific, very shocking,” he told AFP in an interview, adding that this was a “matter of grave concern”. “I haven’t heard such terrible accounts for more than two decades in the humanitarian sector,” said Mardini, who among other things closely followed the civil wars in Syria and Yemen when he headed ICRC’s Near and Middle East division from 2012 to 2018. “Many of my humani...
Ohanaeze warns Nigerian Army to stop mass arrest of Igbo youths
Ohanaeze Ndigbo has raised alarm over the alleged massive arrest of Igbo youths by the Nigerian army and taken to unknown destinations. Ohanaeze said the mass arrest is going on in Ohaji and Oguta Communities of Imo State by military personnel believed to be from 34 Artillery Brigade, Owerri. The arrested youths were alleged to be members of Eastern Security Network, ESN, according to the apex Igbo group. Ohanaeze wondered why the army were arresting Igbo youths who bear no arms and allow Fulani herdsmen to move around with AK 47 riffles. They called on the Chief of army staff to immediately stop the mass arrests. The Professor George Obiozor led Ohanaeze in a statement signed by its spokesman, Alex Ogbonnia said: “The attention of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has been drawn to ongoing massiv...
Lagos: Police arrest protesting Uber, Bolt drivers
The police in Lagos have arrested some members of the Professional E-hailing Drivers and Private Owners Association (PEDPA), the umbrella body of e-hailing ride companies including Uber and Bolt, who had embarked on an industrial action over the services rendered by the platforms. Five drivers, including the president of PEDPA, Idris Shonuga, were arrested on Tuesday. Speaking on the arrest, Kolawole Aina, the Regional Vice President PEDPA, South-west, said the drivers were picked up by the police at the National Stadium in Surulere while they were gathering for a peaceful march to Alausa. Newsmen reported that Bolt and Uber drivers commenced strike on Monday to express their displeasure over the “unfavourable pricing” of the companies and its impact on their business. Shonuga, who listed ...
US: Chad rebels heading towards capital from north
The United States said rebel fighters in Chad appeared to be moving towards the capital N’Djamena and ordered non-essential staff to leave, warning of possible violence. A spokesman for the rebel Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT) said its fighters had “liberated” the province of Kanem, some 220 km (136 miles) from the capital N’Djamena, but the government denied this. “The authors of these false statements are not even on the ground, but somewhere in Europe,” the government said in a message posted to Facebook. A day earlier the British government urged its citizens to leave Chad because of information that two rebel convoys on the move, one near the town of Faya, some 770 km (478 miles) northeast of N’Djamena, and another by the town of Mao, the provincial capital of Kanem. On S...
Eight killed in mass shooting at Indianapolis FedEx facility
At least eight people were dead after a shooting at the FedEx Ground Plainfield Operations Centre in Indianapolis, Indiana, late on Thursday, according to police. The gunman reportedly took his own life after firing indiscriminately. Eight of those who were shot died on the scene, while some others were hospitalised with injuries, according to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) spokesperson Genae Cook. She told reporters that the motive for the killing was unclear, and that IMPD would work with the Indiana State Police to investigate the shooting. IMPD homicide detectives responded to the scene and began their investigation. A FedEx statement indicated that staff members were among the victims. “We are deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our team members following th...
Damasak attack: EU calls for safe passage of people caught in web of violence
The European Union (EU) has called on all parties in the ongoing North-east crisis to allow people caught in violence to move freely to safe places and facilitate unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. A statement issued on Thursday by the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, Mr. Janez Lenarčič, on the latest terror attacks on Damasak, Borno State, said: “The EU is following with deep concern the recurrent violent attacks by non-state armed groups against the people of the town of Damasak, Northeast Nigeria.” The statement lamented that the life and security of civilians is in danger and that humanitarian premises have been destroyed with humanitarian workers deliberately targeted. It said because of the recent increase of violence in North-east Nigeria, hundreds...
CSOs threaten to occupy National Assembly over Electoral Act amendment
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations has threatened to occupy the National Assembly after Ramadan fasting, if the lawmakers fail to pass the Bill for an amendment of the Electoral Act. The CSOs which include Center For Liberty, Concerned Nigeria, The Electoral Hub, and Raising New Voices Initiative, issued the threat at a joint news conference on Thursday in Abuja. The Co-convener, Centre for Liberty, Mr Dare Ariyo-Atoye, who read the joint speech of the CSOs, said they were worried that the 9th National Assembly was yet to pass the bill. According to him the passage of the bill could have given them lasting legacies and written their names in gold. Ariyo-Atoye said that in the last 15 months, CSOs had consistently engaged lawmakers and appealed to the NASS to make the passage of a n...
ASEAN changed Myanmar statement on release of political detainees – sources
A draft statement circulating the day before a Southeast Asian leaders’ summit on the Myanmar crisis included the release of political prisoners as one of its “consensus” points, said three sources familiar with the document. But in the final statement at the end of Saturday’s meeting, the language on freeing political prisoners had been unexpectedly watered down and did not contain a firm call for their release, two of the sources said. The absence of a strong position on this issue caused dismay among human rights activists and opponents of the coup, fuelling criticism by them that the meeting had achieved little in the way of reining in the country’s military leaders. read more Activist monitors say 3,389 people have been detained in a crackdown on dissent by the military since the Feb....