government
Insecurity: Nigerian governemtn to hold nationwide town hall meetings
In view of the security challenges confronting the nation, the Federal Government is set to convene town hall meetings in the six geo-political zones. Government is expected to confer with state chief executives, religious leaders, women and youth groups in a bid to find lasting solutions to the spiralling, multiple security threats in the country. A statement issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said the move was in furtherance of Federal Government’s commitment to address multiple security threats facing Nigeria. It said the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd) convened a meeting of the General Security Appraisal Committee (GSAC) on 11th February, 2021. The meeting, which was attended by the service chiefs and heads of law enforcem...
Myanmar police fire rubber bullets, wounding three, as hundreds of thousands protest
Supporters of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi clashed with police on Friday as hundreds of thousands joined nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations in defiance of the military junta’s call to halt mass gatherings. The United Nations human rights office said more than 350 people, including officials, activists and monks, have been arrested in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, including some who face criminal charges on “dubious grounds”. The U.N. rights investigator for Myanmar told a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva that there were “growing reports, photographic evidence” that security forces have used live ammunition against protesters, in violation of international law. Special Rapporteur Thomas Andrews urged the U.N. Security Council to consider imposing sanctio...
Anger over arrests in Myanmar at anti-coup protests
Opponents of Myanmar’s military coup sustained mass protests for an eighth straight day on Saturday as continuing arrests of junta critics added to anger over the detention of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Thousands assembled in the business hub, Yangon, while protesters took to the streets of the capital Naypyitaw, the second city Mandalay and other towns a day after the biggest protests so far in the Southeast Asian country. “Stop kidnapping at night,” was among the signs held up by protesters in Yangon in response to arrest raids in recent days. The United Nations human rights office said on Friday more than 350 people, including officials, activists and monks, have been arrested in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, including some who face criminal charges on “dubious grounds”. Anger in...
How bandits made woman widow barely a month after marriage
A housewife Ramatu Idris of Unguwar Malam Lamu, Tankarau, Dutsen Abba Ward in Zaria Local Government Area (LGA), has narrated how bandits made her a widow barely a month after her marriage with late Yusuf Suleiman. Idris told newsmen, on Thursday that the incident happened on Feb. 4, at about 12.45 p.m., 28 days after her wedding to Suleiman. “There were about seven of them (bandits). They forced themselves into our home holding guns and a stick. “My husband and I went to find out what was happening on hearing noises and shouts for help,but he was shot on the neck in my presence and he died on the spot. Idris, who has been traumatised by the incident, claimed those who killed her husband were the same criminals that raided the residence of Alhaji Abdulaziz Sani, Councilor representing Duts...
Nigeria, UN partner on food availability, safety
To check the growing inequality in food systems in Nigeria and to meet certain components of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Federal Government is partnering with the UN to hold a food systems dialogue. The Nigeria National Food Systems Dialogue (NNFSD) 2021is preparatory to the Food Systems Summit scheduled to hold in September, the National Coordinator of the Dialogue and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Mrs Olusola Idowu said on Thursday. Speaking at a webinar to draw the attention of stakeholders to issues relating to food systems, Idowu said that convening the Food Systems Summit was part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. “The Summit is aimed at launching a bold new action to deliver p...
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...
Russia invades homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Russian police and officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) today raided the homes of several Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow, in an ongoing crackdown. Moscow outlawed the sect in 2017, labelling it “extremist,” following up with the sentencing of apprehended members to lengthy jail terms. The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, confirmed the detaining of several leaders and members. Prosecutors, the FSB security services and the national guard carried out searches at 16 addresses, the committee said. Investigators said the Jehovah’s Witnesses had established a branch in the capital where “secret meetings” were convened to study “religious literature”. Founded in the United States in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell, the religious movement has been repeatedly accu...
Nigerian government approves new debt management strategy
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a new Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy for Nigeria (MTDS) for the period 2020-2023. With the approval, announced during Wednesday’s virtual FEC meeting, the DMO which is saddled with managing the nation’s debt matters, has promised full implementation to support economic development while ensuring that public debt is sustainable. The MTDS is a policy document which provides a guide to the borrowing activities of the government in the medium-term, usually four years. It is recognised as one of the best practices in public debt management and is recommended by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure that public debt management is driven by a well-articulated strategy that is structured to meet a country’s broader mac...
Nigerian Airforce jets kill more bandits in Kaduna forests
Several armed bandits were neutralized as air platforms carried out armed reconnaissance missions over locations in Kaduna state. The Air Force jets hit at bandits in Rahama, Tami, Sabon Birni, Galadimawa, Ungwan Farinbatu, Sabuwa, Kutemeshi, Gajere, Sabon Kuyello, Dogon Dawa, Ngade Allah, Kidandan, and adjoining settlements in Birnin Gwari and Giwa local government areas. Samuel Aruwan, Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Kaduna State, said on Wednesday, that operational feedback to the Kaduna State Government revealed that although thorough scans were conducted over the general area, no suspicious activities were observed. The forest west of Gajere was nonetheless strafed with probing shots. The crew conducted further missions over Sabon Madada, Babban Doka, Gwa...
VP Osinbajo: We must resist all attempts to tear Nigeria apart
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on Nigerians to resist any attempt to divide the nation saying Nigeria is better as one indivisible entity. He also called for the strengthening of community policing structures which he said will result in improved security situation across the country. Osinbajo who made this known on Tuesday while revalidating his membership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ikenne ward one in Ogun state declared “we must resist any attempt to destroy the unity of this country, our people have lived and worked together for decades, even centuries.” He added: “While we must attend to the cries of communities, and the cries of our people for justice, equity and fairness, we can do so within this same union. Ultimately we are stronger together than apar...
WTO fixes date to announce next director-general
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has scheduled a special meeting of its General Council for Monday, February 15, 2021, where Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is expected to be formally announced as the Director General. According to a notification seen by newsmen Tuesday, the only agenda for the meeting is to, “consider the appointment of the next WTO Director-General.” The United State government last week gave its formal approval to the emergence of Okonjo-Iweala as the next Director General, thereby removing the final obstacle to her bid to be the first woman and the first African to run the Geneva-based trade body. The endorsement of the candidacy of the Nigeria’s two-term former minister was sequel to the withdrawal of her main challenger, the South Kore...
Official: Nigerian government to establish central database for forfeited assets
The Federal Government’s inter-ministerial committee on assets disposal said Tuesday that it would create a central database of assets for finally forfeited assets. The chairman of the committee, Dayo Apata, said this during a courtesy visit of the committee to the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja. Mr Apata, who is the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, said: “the committee will create a central database of assets that had been forfeited to the Federal Government to ensure the Federal Government gets value for all the forfeited assets”. “Introducing uniform process of assets disposal, and avoiding wastages, so that the Federal Government can have the full benefit of what has been forfeited,” a statem...
