Some angry youths have stormed the Oyo State Police Command Headquarters at the Eleyele area of Ibadan to stage a protest at the over the escape of Sunday Shodipe, the prime suspect in the serial killings that have been happening in the Akinyele Local Government Area of the state.

HAVE YOU READ THIS? Mali: ECOWAS suspends nation, to impose sanctions

It was gathered that the youths stormed the police headquarters and some of the protesters reportedly became unruly and attacked the headquarters with stones and other missiles. However, the police were said to have promptly stopped it before the Commissioner of Police, Nwachukwu Enwonwu, attended to them.

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The Police Public Relations Officer, Olugbenga Fadeyi said some students also joined in the protests.

He said, “The CP and other senior police officers attended to them and answered all their questions. You know students now, some of them got out of control but we were able to handle the situation professionally. They have gone back.”

Shodipe, who was paraded on July 17 by the police, confessed to have killed some of the victims in the area before he later escaped from the police custody on August 11. The policemen on duty when he escaped have reportedly faced an orderly room trial and are expected to face further sanctions. 

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Angry youths storm Oyo police headquarters over serial killer’s escape

ECOWAS, the Economic Community for West African States, on Tuesday condemned a military putsch in Mali and pledged a number of retaliatory actions, which include financial sanctions.

This announcement came following the news of the arrest and detention of Mali’s President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse on Tuesday afternoon by rebel soldiers, following weeks of political tension in the country. The dramatic move followed the seizure of an army base near the capital Bamako on Tuesday morning.

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ECOWAS, in a statement, pledged to demand sanctions against “all the putschists and their partners and collaborators” and declared that its members would close land and air borders to Mali.

The 15-nation bloc, of which Mali is a member, also said that it would suspend the country from its internal decision-making bodies.

The statement, which was originally published in French, read in part, “ECOWAS has noted with great concern the seizure of power by Malian military putschists”.

Mali has been in the grip of a deep political impasse since June, with President Keita facing increasingly strident demands for his resignation.

The opposition, which was named the  June 5 Movement for the date of its first protest, has been expressing deep anger over a dire economy, perceived government corruption and a brutal jihadist conflict. The June 5 movement veered into crisis last month when at least 11 people were killed over three days of unrest that followed a protest.

In an effort to avoid chaos in notoriously unstable Mali, ECOWAS then stepped in to mediate. The bloc suggested the formation of a unity government and other measures late last month, but stuck by Keita.

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However, the June 5 Movement repeatedly turned down compromise proposals, and continued to demand Keita’s departure.

The political opposition declared a new phase of anti-government rallies on Monday.

Keita, 75, along with the Prime Minister, Boubou Cisse, is currently being held by rebel soldiers outside of the capital.

Mali: ECOWAS suspends nation, to impose sanctions

Following the release of a viral video showing Nigerians who, claimed to have been compelled to flee to the desert by the United Arab Authorities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said the stranded Nigerians can return home from August 29 when international air travel would commence.

The viral footage showed the stranded individuals standing in open desert grounds outside a city believed to be Dubai, while the recorder of the video accused the UAE of racism, stressing that that they had been prevented from departing the country.

HAVE YOU READ THIS? August 29 International flights: Their children want to resume school abroad – Sowore

Reacting to the video, the spokesman, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye, said the Nigerian mission in UAE had carried out the evacuation of many Nigerians. He then added that those shown in the video could return to Nigeria on their own.

 He said, “Our mission in UAE has been carrying out evacuation of stranded Nigerians and those who were serious have been brought back.

“For those in the video, they can hang on till August 29 when international air travel will commence and they would be free to come back on their own.”

Furthermore, the Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa also commented on the video, stating that the protesters shown in the video were mostly irregular migrants had been asked to leave the UAE on March 1, before the deadline was later extended to August 17.

She explained that the authorities provided free evacuation flights which the protesters allegedly snubbed.

 According to Dabiri-Erewa, “179 came back on Saturday  free of charge, but some are still bent on hiding and breaking the laws. You shouldn’t stay illegally anywhere.”

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Nigerians stranded in UAE snubbed evacuation offer – FG

The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that his administration is installing closed-circuit televisions CCTVs in the southern part of the state. This would be part of efforts to strengthen security forces and restore calm in the crisis-torn communities.

The governor made this public in a statement he signed on Monday after meeting with the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Revd. Supo Ayokunle, and other leaders of the association in Kaduna.

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The statement, which was titled, ‘Let Us Unite to Build a Constituency for Peace in Kaduna State’, read in part, “Since last month, the state government and security agencies have been working to contain an upsurge in violence and needless killings in parts of the state. We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives in a totally unnecessary frenzy of communal attacks, reprisals and revenge.

“While we mourn the dead, our immediate focus remains to stop the cycle of attacks and reprisals. We remain committed to ending the legacy of violence that has blighted the state for 40 years, needlessly taken many lives and curtailed the life chances of others.

“We will continue to support the security agencies to restore calm in the affected communities. Over the last five years, we have invested heavily in the security sector. We have consistently provided vehicles and other logistics support to the security agencies that are deployed in the state.

“We are also addressing the technology side of security, through the procurement of drones, the award of contracts to install CCTVs in phases in Kaduna, Kafanchan and Zaria metropolitan areas, build a command and control centre and establish a forensic laboratory.”

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai added that the recommendations and eight-point requests of the CAN President would be carefully examined.

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El-Rufai: My govt installing CCTVs in Southern Kaduna

Popular social media celebrity, Ismaila Mustapha, aka Mompha, has been rearrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mompha is facing money laundering charges before the Federal High Court. He was rearrested last Friday, when he went to the EFCC office in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Mustapha was at the office to reclaim his personal effects, which included five wristwatches, one Apple Air pod, one iPhone 8 and a pair of sunglasses.

Following an application by his lawyer, Gboyega Oyewole (SAN), Justice Mohammed Liman on July 24 ordered the EFCC to release the items. 

Liman ruled that the items were not listed as exhibits and the EFCC had no justification to continue to hold onto them.

However, Mompha had barely left the premises, when operatives of the anti-graft agency swooped in and took him back into custody.

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EFCC rearrests Instagram celebrity Mompha

Former presidential candidate,and convener of the #RevolutionNow protests, Omoyele Sowore, has declared that Nigerian leaders have allowed international flights to resume only because it the time for their children and wards to return to schools abroad is drawing near.

Sowore,who is also the Publisher of SaharaReporters, a Nigerian online newspaper, said the government does not care about the people.

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It will be recalled that the Federal Government had yesterday announced the approval of the resumption of international flights from August 29, 2020. This was after it had banned international flights as one of its measures to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in the country as far back as March.

This was made known by the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika who said, “Glad to announce the resumption of international flights from the 29th of August, 2020.”

Reacting to the development, Sowore said, “They are happy to announce commencement of international flights because it is time for their children/wards to return to schools abroad, September is the resumption date for most schools abroad! Nobody is willing or happy to reopen schools here. #Theydontcareaboutus #RevolutionNow.”

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Meanwhile, the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 has declared that the August 29 resumption of international flights is still tentative.

The Coordinator of the PTF, Sani Aliyu, who said this on Monday, stressed that the date announced by Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, was for the consideration of resumption of flights. Aliyu stressed that airport authorities must meet the set criteria before international air transport is allowed.

“We will spend a whole day discussing international travel and how this will be done. And if I may clarify, we said from the 29th of August, we didn’t say on the 29th of August.

“So, very similar to what we did for the domestic flights. Don’t come back and say that we promised we will open on the 29th, but that date is not sacrosanct; but we will work towards it,” he stated.

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August 29 International flights: Their children want to resume school abroad – Sowore

The African Giant Burna Boy has dropped another classic album executively produced by Diddy.

Grammy-nominated Nigerian singer-songwriter Burna Boy has released his 5th studio,Twice As Tall,on Thursday, August 13 ahead of his performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.  The 15-track album which was released on August 14th is a follow up to his critically acclaimed 2019 album “African Giant”.

The 15-track album, which  is a follow up to his critically acclaimed 2019 album “African Giant”, is produced by Sean “Diddy” Combs, Bosede Ogulu and Burna Boy himself. “Twice As Tall” boasts of features from Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour, O.G. trio Naughty By Nature, Kenyan afro-pop band Sauti Sol, Coldplay’s Chris Martin and U.K. rapper Stormzy. 

In addition to dropping an album, but the singer has released an animated comic on Youtube called “The Secret Flame” narrated by his grandfather, Benson Idonije, who managed iconic Afrobeat music pioneer Fela Kuti back in the day. 

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In the words of the self-proclaimed African Giant, the album "was a journey through a bunch of emotions and energies at different points in time. It has now morphed into something bigger than me. It serves as a bridge for mankind to show that we’re all different but still very much the same. 

"I’m grateful for the unreal talents that came together from ALL over the world to pull this off. Shout out to the OG @diddy for coming on board and sprinkling his own unique spice on this! I hope I’m able to spark something in you when you listen. #TWICEASTALL”.

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Speaking about the album, Diddy told the New York Times that,“I’m on record that I like hit records. If they’re not hit records, I don’t like them.”

Diddy also added, “He (Burna Boy), as every artist, he wants his music to be heard by the world. He doesn’t care about crossing over. You know, he’s not trying to get hot. He’s not, like, ‘I want to be a big pop star’ — he’s already a star. He wants his music to be heard, his message, his people.”

The National Bureau of Statistics has released data on Nigeria’s unemployment rate after a 20-month interval. 

It stated that the unemployment rate rose to 27.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 from the 23.1 per cent that was recorded in the third quarter of 2018.

The NBS released the data in its ‘Labor Force Statistics: Unemployment and Underemployment Report’ on Friday, saying that underemployment rate increased from 20.1 per cent in Q3 2018 to 28.6 per cent in Q2 2020.

According to NBS, “For the period under review, Q2 2020, the unemployment rate among young people (15-34 years) was 34.9 per cent, up from 29.7 per cent, while the rate of underemployment for the same age group rose to 28.2 per cent from 25.7 per cent in Q3 2018. These rates were the highest when compared to other age groupings.”

The NBS said the number of persons in the economically active or working age population (15 – 64 years of age) increased  from 115,492,969 in Q3 2018 to 116,871,186.

It said, “The number of persons in the labour force (i.e. people within ages 15 -64, who are able and willing to work) was estimated to be 80,291,894. This was 11.3 per cent less than the number persons in Q3 2018.

“Of this number, those within the age bracket of 25-34 were highest, with 23,328,460 or 29.1 per cent of the labour force.”

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The NBS stated that the total number of people in employment in Q2 2020 fell by 15.8 per cent 58,527,276, compared to Q3 2018.

“Of this number, 35,585,274 were full-time employed (i.e. worked 40+ hours per week), while 22,942,003 were under-employed (i.e. working between 20-29 hours per week),” it added.

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In addition, the report also stated that Imo State reported the highest rate of unemployment with 48.7 per cent, followed by Akwa-Ibom State and Rivers State with 45.2 per cent and 43.7 per cent respectively. On the other hand, Anambra recorded the lowest rate of unemployment at 13.1 per cent.

The NBS said, “For underemployment, the state which recorded the highest rate was Zamfara with 43.7 per cent, while Anambra State recorded the lowest underemployment rate, with 17 per cent in Q2 2020.

“A total number of 2,736,076 did not do any work in the last seven days preceding the survey due to the lockdown but had secure jobs to return to after the lockdown.”

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Nigeria’s unemployment rate rises to 27.1% - NBS

The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC has fined a radio station, Nigeria Info, N5m, for a recent comment made by a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Obadiah Mailafia, about Boko Haram being headed by a Northern governor. 

This was contained in a statement signed by the NBC management on Thursday titled, ‘The National Broadcasting Commission Fines Nigeria Info 99.3 For Unprofessional Broadcast’.

It will be recalled that NBC recently unveiled its Reviewed Broadcasting Code in Lagos and raised the fine for hate speech from 500,000 Naira to 5 million Naira.

Mailaifa was interviewed on Monday during one of the station’s programmes, Morning Cross Fire where he talked on the killings in Southern Kaduna, one of the parts of the North-West region worst hit by banditry.

“Some of us also have our intelligence networks. I have met with some of the bandits; we have met with some of their high commanders – one or two who have repented – they have sat down with us not once, not twice.

“They told us that one of the northern governors is the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Boko Haram and the bandits are one and the same. They have a sophisticated network. During this lockdown their planes were moving up and down as if there was no lockdown.

“They were moving ammunition, moving money, and distributing them across different parts of the country,” the former Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress said during the programme.

Consequently, Mailafia was invited by the Department of State Services in Jos on Wednesday and grilled for six hours.

Reacting on Thursday, the NBC said, “The National Broadcasting Commission has noted with grave concern, the unprofessional conduct of Nigeria Info 99.3FM, Lagos, in the handling of the Programme, “Morning Cross Fire”, aired on August 10, 2020, between 8.30am and 9.00am.

“The station provided its platform for the guest, Dr. Mailafia Obadiah, to promote unverifiable and inciting views that could encourage or incite to crime and lead to public disorder.

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“Dr. Mailafia Obadiah’s comments on the “Southern Kaduna Crisis”, were devoid of facts and by broadcasting same to the public, Nigeria Info 99.3FM, is in violation of the following sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code:

“3.1.1. No broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime, lead to public disorder or hate, be repugnant to public feelings or contain offensive reference to any person or organization, alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity;

“3.1.2. Broadcasting shall promote human dignity, therefore, hate speech is prohibited;

“3.3.1 (a). The broadcaster shall ensure that any information given in a programme, in whatever form, is accurate;

“3.3.3.1(b). The Broadcaster shall ensure that all sides to any issue of public
interest are equitably presented for fairness and balance;

“3.11.1(a). The broadcaster shall ensure that language or scene likely to encourage or incite to crime, or lead to disorder, is not broadcast;

“3.11.1(b). No programme contains anything which amounts to subversion of constituted authority or compromises the unity or corporate existence of Nigeria as a sovereign state;

“5.4.1(f). The Broadcaster shall not transmit divisive materials that may threaten or compromise the indivisibility and indissolubility of Nigeria as a sovereign state.

“Consequent on these provisions and in line with the amendment of the 6th edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, Nigeria Info 99.3FM Lagos, has been fined the sum of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira), only.

“This is expected to serve as a deterrent to all other broadcast stations in Nigeria who are quick to provide platform for subversive rhetoric and the expositions of spurious and unverifiable claims, to desist from such.

“The Commission wishes to put it on record that it will not hesitate to suspend the Broadcast Licence of broadcast stations that continue to breach the Code.

“Stations are, by this statement, admonished to desist forthwith, from airing unwholesome content, or be ready to face appropriate sanctions.”

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NBC fines Nigeria Info FM N5m for Mailafia's interview

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has urged the Federal Government to grant licences to responsible citizens to carry sophisticated weapons such as AK47 as part of measures to curb the rise in insecurity in the country.

However, the policy should be backed by a strict legal framework to prevent illegal possession of arms by the citizenry without exception.

Ortom made these submissions in a paper he presented on Tuesday during a virtual meeting convened by the Centre for Values in Leadership, in collaboration with Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

HAVE YOU READ THIS? Former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington is dead

In the paper, which was titled ‘Insecurity and Governance Challenges in the New Normal’, Ortom said governments at all levels must come to terms with the fact that insecurity is a real threat to the development of the country and must be willing to sincerely tackle the menace.

He also recommended adequate funding of security agencies and continuous training of their personnel to enable them to be abreast of global dynamics in the fight against insecurity.

Ortom urged the Federal Government to embrace ranching as it remained the global best practice of animal husbandry, adding that it was also important for the apex government to enact a law to end open grazing.

According to the statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, Ortom also advocated improved educational standards and enhanced public enlightenment campaigns to give the people, particularly youths the needed orientation to shun negative acts and become more patriotic.

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Former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington, is dead.

His death was confirmed by his Nigerian wife, Arese Carrington, in a family statement released on Wednesday. She did not state the cause of his death.

She stated that  the 90-year-old died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones on Tuesday.

“It is with a heavy and broken heart but with gratitude to God for his life of selfless humanity that I announce the passing of my beloved husband Walter Carrington, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and Senegal.

“He passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones at the age of 90 years old on Tuesday, August 11th, 2020. Further announcements will be made shortly,” the statement read.

Mrs Carrington described the late diplomat as a loving husband, father, grandfather, cousin, uncle, friend and in-law.

“Ralph Waldo Emerson said…It is not the length of life but the depth of life. Walter was fortunate, his life had both length and depth,” she said in the statement.

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Walter Carrington, who celebrated his 90th birthday a fortnight ago, served as the United States Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Senegal and Nigeria. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Senegal from 1980 to 1981 and was later appointed by former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, in 1993 as the ambassador to Nigeria, where he remained until 1997.

The diplomat married into a Nigerian family and had lived in three Nigerian cities since the late 1960s.

Former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Walter Carrington is dead

The National Examinations Council, NECO, has released the timetable and guidelines for the conduct of its 2020 examinations for the Senior Secondary Schools Certificate Examination, SSCE, Basic Education Certificate Examination, BECE, and the National Common Entrance Examination NECO.

The timetable was released by the Registrar, Prof. Godswill Obioma, at the NECO headquarters on Tuesday in Minna, Niger State.

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Obioma said the NECO BECE conducted for JSS 3 students will commence on August 24 and end on September 4. He also said the SSCE examinations for SS3 students would begin on October 5 and end on November 18, 2020, while the National Common Entrance Examination for students seeking admission into Federal Government Colleges, commonly known as Unity Schools, would hold on October 17.

Obioma said, “Other details of the schedule indicate that the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations, for SS3, conducted by NECO will start on October 5 and end on November 18, 2020.”

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NECO fixes 2020 BECE, SSCE for August, October

Nigerian newspapers,on one page.