Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Wednesday 28th October 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 28/10/20
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Nigerian Army Confirms SaharaReporters Story, Reveals Lagos State Government Invited Soldiers To Attack Peaceful Protesters At Lekki Toll Gate
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai.
The Nigerian Army has finally revealed that it was summoned to the scene of protest at Lekki Toll Gate by the Lagos State Government.
The army said this after initial denial by both the military and Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, over the involvement of the military in the shooting and killing of protesters.
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai.
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Men In Military Uniform Were At Scene Of Lekki Shooting, Governor Sanwo-Olu Reveals
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Governor Sanwo-Olu had blamed “forces beyond our control” for the attack, while insisting that he had no authority over military engagements.
SaharaReporters had also reported how soldiers involved in the operation confirmed that they were actually drafted in for the mission on the request of the governor.
The soldiers, who were deployed from 65 Battalion, Bonny Camp, Victoria Island, Lagos, told some victims’ relatives after dumping some of the injured and dead at MRS Hospital that they were sent by Governor Sanwo-Olu, the report revealed.
Confirming the report of being summoned to engage the protesters by the state government, Acting Director, Army Public Relations, 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major Osoba Olaniyi, said the state government called in the military.
He said, “The decision to call in the military was taken by the Lagos State Government after a 24- hour curfew was imposed
“This was as a result of the violence which led to several police stations being burnt, policemen killed, suspects in police custody released and weapons carted away.
“The situation was fast degenerating into anarchy. It was at this point that LASG requested for the military to intervene in order to restore normalcy.”
He, however, insisted that the army did not open fire on the protesters despite initial admittance by the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, who claimed troops were at Lekki to “ensure compliance with the curfew imposed by legitimate civil authorities in Lagos and other states”.
Olaniyi, who branded as untrue and unfounded the shooting of protesters at Lekki, also claimed that the news of the shooting was aimed at discrediting the Nigerian Army.
He said, “At no time did soldiers of the Nigerian Army open fire on any civilian. From the onset of the ENDSARS protest, there was no time personnel of 81 Division Nigerian Army Lagos were involved.
“The intervention of the military followed all laid down procedures for internal security operations and all the soldiers involved acted within the confines of the rules of engagement for internal security operations.
“Finally, Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army reiterates Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities did not shoot at any civilian as there is glaring and convincing evidence to attest to this fact.
“This allegation is the hand work of mischief makers who will stop at nothing to tarnish the image of the Nigerian Army. The general public is hereby enjoined to discountenance this allegation as there is no iota of truth therein.”
Lagos Disables Website On Dealings With @HQNigerianArmy | Sahara Reporters followlasg @jidesanwoolu pic.twitter.com/hpsODyfDtX— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) October 27, 2020
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Lekki Toll Gate Killings: How President Buhari, Nigerian Army And Lagos State Government Connived To Kill Peaceful #EndSARS Protesters In Lagos
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The army personnel at Lekki on Tuesday night opened fire on the protesters, killing and injuring many of them.
The army personnel also prevented ambulances from accessing the scene to evacuate those injured to the hospital after opening fire on them.
The soldiers also seized and carried away eight corpses of protesters killed at the scene.
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REVEALED: Nigerian Soldiers Involved In Lekki Massacre Took Eight Bodies To Bonny Camp Clinic
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The incident triggered widespread violence across Lagos and other parts of the country, leading to the destruction of public properties, causing the governor to announce a 24-hour curfew.
#EndSARS
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Nigeria Union Of Journalists Bans Media Coverage Of Police Activities In Delta Over Brutalization Of Member
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The Nigeria Union of Journalists, Delta State chapter, has placed a ban on the coverage of all police activities in the state over the unwarranted attack and brutalisation of Vanguard correspondent, Akpokona Omafuaire.
The journalist was brutalised by police officers at Ovwian-Aladja Police Station, Udu Local Government Area, on Friday despite identifying himself as a media practitioner.
File Photo
“I was driving out of Ighodakpo Street in Ekete when the police attacked me, saying that no one was allowed near that area. I parked to show my identity card but as I made it near them, they descended on me with cutlasses and guns, cutting and whipping me, cutting my car, shattering the lights,” the journalist said as he narrated his encounter with the police.
Reacting to the issue, Michael Ikeogwu, NUJ Chairman in the state, Patrick Ochei, Secretary, decried that the police were insensitive to the plight of the journalist.
The NUJ said while the brutalisation of journalists was not new in Delta State, the union could no longer watch members being molested, beaten, harassed, brutalised, intimidated and detained.
The union therefore directed journalists to blacklist the police in all of its reportage.
“Right now we are calling on our members in the Council to stop attending police press briefings, stop using their press releases, stop covering their activities or taking interviews from them henceforth.
“We are in support of the victim seeking redress in court, and we will join him to get justice.
“The PPRO whose office it is to coordinate police relationship with the media has shown disdain and no concern to the frequent harassment, intimidation and brutalization of journalists in the State,” the NUJ said.
The union is demanding the removal of the DPO of Owvian Aladja Police Division for gross incompetence, adding that the police hierarchy should fish out Sergeant Godspower and cohorts for carrying out the attack.
The NUJ added that it was ready to maintain working synergy and cordial relationship with the police if they were ready to do so.
“However, we are not ready to bury any of our members who will die from police brutality before the police will learn how to deal with journalists.
“We reiterate that the ban on coverage of police activities takes immediate effect and any member of the union who flouts this order will face disciplinary action from the council,” the NUJ added.
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COVID-19 Infections Likely To Rise Due To Large Gatherings, NCDC Boss Warns
NCDC Boss Chikwe Ihekweazu
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has warned that the number of cases in the country will increase due to recent events where people have congregated in large numbers.
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director-General of the NCDC, said the next two weeks will determine the next phase of the virus in the country.
NCDC Boss Chikwe Ihekweazu
He said, “The outbreak is escalating around the world literally. We have held things down because of our proactive measures – the very effective airport screening which was put in place to limit the re-introduction of cases from countries where the outbreak is escalating.
“This virus does not know the reason why people are congregating – whether you are congregating for religious purposes, protest, partying, etc. This virus takes the opportunity of people coming together.
“We cannot afford to let down our guards irrespective of what our anger is at the moment.
“As we move into the next two weeks, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that we have to watch the numbers very carefully. The reasons are obvious – we have gathered in our masses for whatever reason, and now we have to keep our eyes open to face the potential consequences. But those consequences are not inevitable. We can still do our part to prevent them.
“There are over 1,000 known deaths that would not have happened in Nigeria this year without this virus that has happened.
“There could have been a lot more if not for the proactive work we have done collectively as a country. We cannot afford to add this to the many challenges we already have.
“Over the past few days, we have reported low numbers, and those low numbers reflect the fact that in many states, we have not been able to test as much as we would like to because there have been curfews.
“40 per cent to 60 per cent of cases in Nigeria are reported from Lagos. Our labs in Lagos have not been able to perform as they normally would for the past two to three weeks.
“Many states in Nigeria have done extremely well in the last few weeks, raising their testing capacity across the country. So, we must stay on the board.”
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United States Officials Intercept Ancient Artefacts Smuggled From Cross River State At Miami Airport
Example of an Ikom monolith
The United States Customs has announced that they intercepted ancient carved stones known as the Ikom Monoliths smuggled illegally from Cross River State to Cameroon and then to America.
Experts believe that the artefacts date back between 200 A.D. and 1000 A.D.
Example of an Ikom monolith
Printerest
According to a statement from officials of the US Customs and Border Protection, the Ikom Monolith with human facial features was intercepted at the Miami International Airport in a cargo shipped to the US using fraudulent documents.
UNESCO notes that they “bear a form of writing and a complex system of codified information…each stone, like the human fingerprint, is unique from every other stone in its design and execution”.
Without giving precisions on the number of stones seized, the customs officials indicated that the artefacts will be returned to Cameroon, Journal du Cameroun reports.
Robert Del Toro, the agency’s Acting Port Director at the Miami International Airport, said, “CBP has a critical role in protecting cultural property and preventing illicit trafficking. This is just the latest example of ever-vigilant CBP teams working with our federal partners to enforce international repatriation laws of ancient artefacts.”
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Lagos Court Throws Out Homosexuality Charge Against James Brown, 46 Other Men
A judge in Lagos has thrown out the homosexuality charge preferred against 47 men including Internet sensation, James Brown, due to lack of diligent prosecution.
Nigeria’s laws ban homosexuality and it is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The men were charged with public displays of affection with members of same-s**.
Reuters
However, the decision of the court has ended what had widely been seen as a test of the country’s laws banning h********* relationships.
The men were arrested in a police raid on a Lagos hotel in Egbeda in 2018.
Police said the men were being initiated into a gay club but the defendants said they were attending a birthday party.
Prosecution and defence lawyers in the case had told Reuters that nobody had yet been convicted under the law, which led to the case of the men being widely seen as a test case that could help to establish the burden of proof.
Prosecutors failed to attend Tuesday’s hearing at the Federal High Court in Lagos, having previously failed to present some of their witnesses in a case that had been adjourned on several occasions.
Justice Rilwan Aikawa struck out the case and said he had done so due to the “lack of diligent prosecution”.
Outside the court, many of the men smiled and cheered including James Brown, who said, “I am free. It means a lot of good things.”
Under Nigerian law, defendants in a case that is struck out can be rearrested and arraigned again on the same charge, whereas that is not possible in cases that have been dismissed.
Taxi driver, Onyeka Oguaghamba, a father-of-four, who said he merely drove people to the party, said he was happy the case had been struck out but disappointed that it was not dismissed entirely.
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International Press Centre Condemns Continued Detention Without Trial Of Journalist Tom Oga
The International Press Centre, Lagos, has condemned the continued detention of Mr Tom Oga, Publisher of Power Steering Magazine, as the organisation asked the police to charge him to a competent court or release him.
The IPC decried the arrest without trial of Oga who has been in police detention for 14 days.
SaharaReporters had published how the police arrested and detained Oga on the orders of Jeddy Agba, Minister of State for Power, over an allegation of defamation.
Oga was arrested on October 13, 2020 at about 5:00pm by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force led by CSP Ibrahim, detectives Usman, Daniel and Elijah on the instructions of the Minister of State for Power, and he has not been allowed access to his lawyers in the past days.
IPC Executive Director, Lanre Arogundade, described the situation of the journalist as a slap on the profession.
He stated that anybody not pleased with reports published should seek redress in court rather than intimidate media practitioners.
“The arrest and continued detention of Oga without trial is a slap on the journalism profession and the rule of law. If anyone has any issues with certain published allegations, the appropriate place to seek redress is the law court,” Arogundade said.
He added that in view of popular clamour for police reforms, the Inspector-General of Police should step into the matter to ensure that due process was followed instead of recourse to self-help.
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Police Reform: Nigerian Civil Society Coalition Calls For Transparency In Trial Of Errant Police Officers
A coalition of civil society organisations has called for transparency in the prosecution of police officers indicted in the brutality and extrajudicial killing of Nigerians.
The coalition made up of 33 CSOs condemned the use of live bullets on peaceful protesters in the country.
They also urged the government to immediately meet the demands of the #ENDSARS protesters.
“One of the demands is the transparent prosecution of the officers responsible for the brutality against citizens.
“On this note, we applaud the request of the National Human Rights Commission to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, to ensure speedy prosecution of 35 operatives of the defunct SARS.
“These officers were accused of human rights violations and abuse of office in a report by the presidential investigation panel,” the coalition said in a joint statement.
The coalition said it had begun to document shreds of evidence with a view to tracking and underscoring the various human rights abuses following the #ENDSARS protest.
It also raised concerns over the legitimacy and legal backing of the NHRC to put together a panel despite not having a governing council.
It said, “This includes the launch of the Missing Persons Portal and tracking of cases specific to violence against women.
“In addition, we are ready to provide live streaming and tech support to the Panel setup, in order to enhance the credibility of the investigative process.
“We are worried that the NHRC, which announced its constitution of an independent investigation panel into the activities of the dissolved SARS, does not have a constituted governing council.
“We immediately call on President Muhammadu Buhari to grant the commission the needed capacity to conduct this investigation by inaugurating the commission’s governing council without further delay.
“In Section 7(3) of the National Human Rights Commission Act, the Executive Secretary lacks the power to act without a governing council, thus invalidating any action taken by the Anthony Ojukwu led commission.”
The coalition also condemned the destruction and looting of properties by hoodlums and the looting of COVID-19 palliatives.
It added that while state governments have reacted to the issues of hoarding palliatives, “some of the statements raise some credibility questions”.
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#EndSARS: We Need Technology To Regulate Social Media, Nigerian Government Says
Lai Mohammed
The Nigerian Government has said that technology was needed to regulate the use of social media in the country.
Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, who made the remarks on Tuesday while speaking with the House of Representatives Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, cited the success of China in using the regulation of the social media as strategy to prevent mass action and dissent as an example Nigeria must follow.
Lai Mohammed
The Nigerian Government’s position followed the role social media played in helping young citizens to mobilise and embark on nationwide protest against police brutality and state repression.
The success of the demonstrations shocked the government, who was forced to yearn to the demands of the people by scrapping the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force.
Speaking on Tuesday, the minister said “The biggest challenge facing Nigeria today is fake news and misinformation. Based on that, we dedicated an entire National Council on Information meeting to that issue after which we launched a national campaign against fake news in July 2018.
“We said then that the next war will be fought without a shot being fired, but with the use of fake news. We didn’t stop there. We went on a tour of all media houses to solicit their support in the fight against fake news. We launched the campaign to regulate social media which was bitterly contested by the stakeholders.
“We kept saying that if we don’t regulate social media, it will destroy us. Social media and fake news will not destroy Nigeria. In 2017, there was a fake video of the herdsmen and farmers’ crisis. It was a video of what happened in Tanzania and was played in Nigeria as if it was true. In 2017, a very popular entertainer in Nigeria raised a false alarm that students of the College of Education, Gidan Ways, Kaduna State, had been murdered.
“There was an almost reprisal only for him to find out that it was not true. In the same 2017, we found out that some of the videos being posted are things that happened in other parts of the world. When there was a problem between South Africa and Nigeria, they were posting videos of what happened in India and Tanzania to suggest that Nigerians were being roasted alive. That was what led to the reprisals in the malls.
“At every time, the government has continued to draw attention that this is a menace. Unfortunately, it is not happening in Nigeria alone. The University of Ohio conducted research and discovered that Hillary Clinton lost the Presidential election to Trump because of fake news which was promoted by Russia and they worked on three issues.
“First was that Trump had been endorsed by the Pope. The second was that when she was Secretary of State, she authorised the sale of arms and also that she was a very old person. These three things did a lot to sway the votes.
“We are sitting on a time bomb on this issue of fake news. Unfortunately, we have no national policy on social media and we need one. When we went to China, we could not get Google, Facebook and Instagram. You could not even use your email in China because they made sure it is censored and well regulated.
“In June this year, there was a riot in Ethiopia when a popular musician was killed. What the government did was to shut down social media for two days to bring that riot under control. Bear in mind that Ethiopia hosts the AU and its office for Africa. But the truth is that the only way to do it was to shut down social media.
“We need technology and resources to dominate our social media. We need a social media policy to determine what can be seen and what cannot be seen.
“The recent #ENDSARS war was fought on social media. They mobilised using social media. The war today revolves around two things. Smartphones and data and these young men don’t even watch television or listen to the radio or read newspapers.
“You will be shocked that when you start arguing with your children, they will be quoting the social media. So, we need a social media policy in Nigeria and we need to empower the various agencies and we need technology to be able to regulate the social media.”
Odebunmi Olusegun, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, supported the idea.
He said, “Social media has come to stay. What the government should do is to look for technology that will work together with what is in the space.
“We are not asking the government to stop social media. The most important thing is that the government should go and look for the technology to regulate so that you can equally be working within the space.”
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Nigerian Government Declares Thursday Public Holiday To Mark Muslim Festival
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola
The Nigerian Government has declared Thursday, October 29, 2020, as a public holiday across the country.
The holiday is to mark this year’s Eid-El-Maulud in commemoration of the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.
Daily Post
Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made the announcement on Tuesday in a statement by Mohammed Manga, Director of Press and Public Relations in the ministry.
Aregbesola enjoined Muslim faithful to imbibe the spirit of love, patience and perseverance during the period, calling on Nigerians to reject violence, lawlessness, adding that doing so would guarantee peace and security in the country.
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Soldiers Arrest Suspects For Looting NYSC Camp In Abuja
File Photo: Abuja NYSC camp
Armed soldiers and policemen have arrested some persons for vandalising and looting some properties of the National Youth Service Corps at Kubwa orientation camp in Abuja.
The rampaging youth were arrested shortly after gaining access into the premises of the camp.
File Photo: Abuja NYSC camp
Some of the items carted away includes mattresses, stationeries, boots and uniforms of potential corps members.
Speaking on the development, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, stressed that the camp was not in possession of any COVID-19 palliatives.
He appealed to the youth to stop attacking NYSC camps under the guise of looking for palliatives.
SaharaReporters had earlier reported how security operatives fired teargas to disperse thugs, who besieged the orientation camp in search of COVID-19 palliatives.
The thugs gathered in front of the camp in attempt to break into the place and loot the food items believed to be stockpiled in a warehouse.
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