Restriction
My wife lost her memory the two times she had our children – man tells court
A Sharia Court in Magajin Gari, Kaduna, Kaduna State, has granted the prayer of one Aminu Abdulkareem, a business man for divorce on grounds that he no longer loved his wife, Aisha Sanusi. According to newsmen, Aminu, who resides in Mahuta, Kaduna, in his petition, said his wife also lost her memory whenever she was close to giving birth. Delivering judgment, the judge, Nuhu Falalu granted Aisha custody of their six-year-old child and ordered Aminu to pay N15, 000 monthly for the upkeep of the child. He also ordered Aisha to allow the child’s father see him without any restriction. Earlier, Aminu said: “The love is no longer there. I want to divorce her. I also want custody of our two children.” Aisha, who lives on Abeakuta Street, Kaduna, through her counsel, Elizabeth Yayok, did not obje...
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. ...
IPOB sit-at-home: Black marketers sell petrol at N300 per liter in Ebonyi
Black marketers on major streets of Abakaliki cashed in on the sit-at-home order by the Proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) on Monday to make brisk business. They sold the premium motor spirit, otherwise called petrol, for between N200 and N350 per litre, following the closure of fuel outlets in the city due to the IPOB order. In separate interviews with newsmen, a cross-section of the hawkers expressed happiness over the development. Chidi Onu, who said he “made good business”, frowned at the restriction on business activities by IPOB. “Well, it is not my fault that these things are happening. It is high time we sat on a roundtable as citizens to discuss many issues affecting us as a nation. “Yes, the IPOB order has favoured me. I only came out to sell and have something for my ...
Boss Mustapha: Nationwide curfew not re-introduced
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee, (PSC) on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, has clarified misrepresentation in the briefing of the PSC on Monday. Mustapha, who spoke to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, said it was erroneously reported that the federal government had re-introduced nationwide curfew between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. as part of the COVID-19 safety protocols. He, however, said the announcement by the National Incident Manager, Dr. Mukhtar Mohammed, during the PSC press briefing was taken out of context because the federal government did not relax the curfew imposed earlier under Phase Three of the eased lockdown. Rather, he explained that what Mohammed said was that the federal government was maintaining the curfew und...
Wheat farmers bemoan $6.1 billion annual import, laud CBN restriction on forex for importers
The Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria (WFAN) says about $6.1 billion is spent yearly to import wheat into Nigeria. The President of the association, Alhaji Salim Muhammad, made this known at a news conference on Wheat Forex in Abuja on Thursday. Muhammad commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the policy that placed wheat on Forex restriction. He described it as an impressive policy and a welcome development. According to him, Nigeria consumes 5 million metric tons of wheat per annum, while a meagre 420,000 tons is produced locally. He said that in view of numerous challenges that plagued local production, the policy would enable the government to unlock the unrealised potentials in the wheat sub-sector. “The forex restriction policy will give relevant stakeholders the confiden...
Official: Why CCB denies Nigerians access to public officers’ assets information
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on Wednesday explained why it denies Nigerians access to the details of the assets declared by public officers. The chair person of the bureau, Muhammad Isah, also disclosed that assets declaration would soon become online-based. Mr Isah, represented by his special assistant, Mustapha Musa, spoke in Lagos at a meeting on ‘Promoting Transparency and Accountability in Asset Declaration by High-Ranking Public Officers’. Newsmen report that the meeting was organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). On access to public officers’ assets information, the CCB chair said the bureau never honoured citizens’ requests for such information because the National Assembly had yet to give the guidelines for such public disclosure. He said the...
Ugandan government withdraws troops from Bobi Wine’s house
Ugandan soldiers stood down their positions around the residence of opposition leader Bobi Wine on Tuesday, a day after a court-ordered an end to the confinement of the presidential runner-up. Wine, a popstar-turned-MP whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had been under de-facto house arrest at his home outside the capital Kampala since he returned from voting in January 14’s election. For 11 days heavily armed soldiers and police officers surrounding the property had prevented members of Wine’s household, including his wife Barbie, from leaving their compound, as well as denying access to visitors. But security forces withdrew from around Wine’s house on Tuesday, allowing the opposition leader to convene with newly-elected MPs from his National Unity Platform (NUP) for the first time sin...
Coronavirus takes toll on federal roads’ construction in Lagos
The ravaging effect of Coronavirus (COVID-19) was, perhaps, the biggest challenge faced by stakeholders in the road sub sector of the construction industry in 2020. As the virus gained ground, several contractors soon abandoned work and shut their operations, consequently, many hitherto gainfully employed Nigerians were thrown into the labour market. Even when the government later introduced partial lockdown measures, the number of workers on site was scaled down by many contractors in line with COVID-19 protocols, which slowed down progress of work. Virtually all road projects in Lagos State suffered the effect of the pandemic, with every project having its own peculiar challenge. The reconstruction of 46km Agbara-Seme section of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway project awarded to CGC Nigeria...
Nigerian government says churches, mosques can reopen
The Federal Government has announced relaxation of restriction on gatherings in places of worship imposed as part of the guidelines to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 led by Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation and chairman of the PTF, announced that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the relaxation of the ban for four weeks on Monday. He however said the state governments and PTF will issue guideline to be followed for the reopening of the religious centres. “Relaxation of restriction on places of Worship based on guidelines issued by the PTF and protocols agreed by state governments,” PTF said. “The PTF submitted its recommendations and the PRESIDENT has approved the following for implementation over t...
IGP orders officers to respect essential workers
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered respect for journalists, medical personnel and other essential workers who are exempted from the eased restriction and curfews across the country. Doctors and journalists were allegedly being harassed by security agents. This had prompted the Nigerian Medical Association to call on its members to down tools. Force spokesman DCP Frank Mba, in a statement on Wednesday, said the IGP had directed Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and State Command Commissioners of Police to give maximum effect to these orders and extend due courtesies to essential service providers so affected and also ensure that personnel deployed for the enforcement duties respect the fundamental rights of the citizens. Mba stated: “The Force wishes to ...
