Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Thursday 29th October 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 29/10/20
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Osun #ENDSARS Protesters Accuse State Government Of Manipulating Judicial Panel Of Inquiry, Demand Review
Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola.
The Osun #ENDSARS protesters have accused the state government of influencing and manipulating members of the judicial panel of enquiry to listen to cases of extrajudicial activities of security personnel in the state.
The protesters also accused the government of sponsoring an unknown body to impersonate the protesters and pledge allegiance to the state government.
Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola.
The protesters in a statement released by its spokeperson, Olawale Bakare (Mandate); Mobilisation Secretary, Olushayo Ogunleye; and Chairperson, Finance/Welfare Committee, Queen Fisayo; said it received with huge shock the announcement of the suspension of the protest.
Describing the judicial panel as “unpopular and controversial egression”, the youth said the panel is vested to defend the government’s interest against the people.
The #ENDSARS protesters therefore demanded that the membership of the panel be reviewed.
They said, “We demand that the membership of this be immediately reviewed. Many of the characters being appointed have never been part of the demonstrations so far and their antecedent is loud enough to stand them out of any pro-masses activity.
“The members of the panel such as the members of the ignoble and shady Nigeria Police Force that we are still battling with are present in the panel. The reprobatory and unsavoury member of the Bench is also in that panel; meanwhile none of the active protesters are neither in the panel nor satisfactorily represented.
“These people, we believe, don’t understand the plight of the masses because they have never been on the part of the masses.
“They say he who pays the piper dictates the tune. The fact that the government of Osun pays each panelist N100,000 per sitting is nothing but an attempt buy their voices and further buttress the heinous agenda to promote the government’s interest against the people.”
The group stated that the impersonators were never part of the protesters neither were they part of the decision makers of the #ENDSARS protest in Osun State.
The group added, “In fact, they were brought from nowhere to misrepresent we the genuine protesters.
“This set of persons were handpicked by the government so they could do their illicit bidding, cause confusion and mislead the public.
“We will like to put this in clear terms, that these set of characters should desist from impersonation as the Movement won’t hesitate to engage in legal actions to prosecute these potential criminals.
“Let it be known that the revolutionary train of EndSARS, Osun State is no respecter of anybody, we are loyal to nothing or nobody but justice and humanity.”
The youth, however, urged the state government to desist from using cheap blackmail and the misrepresentation of the protesters’ position to mislead the public, cause confusion and bury their political misdemeanour.
It advised the government to address the matter raised by the protest rather than resorting to contracting some persons, who parade themselves as #EndSARS protesters to dish out government-sponsored press statements.
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Joe Biden Votes Early In Hometown
Joe Biden, Presidential candidate of the Democrats, and his wife, Jill, have voted early in the United States elections.
So far, more than 75 million voters have cast their ballots early.
The former US Vice President voted at the Carvel State Office Building in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, after delivering remarks about protecting the Affordable Care Act.
He said, “I do have a proposal that relates to how we can improve the Affordable Care Act beyond what it was before, which Barack (Obama) and I wanted to do at the time to add a public option, allowing people to keep their private insurance, if that’s what they want to do, making it more affordable to get a better plan.”
US President and Biden’s opponent in the election, Donald Trump, had cast his ballot also early on Saturday at a library in Florida’s Palm Beach County.
United States of America
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#ENDSARS: Group Warns Against Sweeping Lekki Case Under Carpet
The Conference of Civil Society of Nigeria has warned against any attempt to sweep the Lekki killings under the carpet in the interest of justice.
The group warned that any party indicted must be made to face sanctions and the wrath of the law.
Chairperson of the group, Adams Otakwu, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while addressing journalists on the development.
Otakwu appealed for calm pending the outcome of judicial panels of inquiry.
He said, “We call for calmness, peace, restraint and a halt to blame trading while we await this report.
“We reassure the world that we (of the civil society) shall not rest on our oars once the report is out. Any parties indicted must be made to face sanctions and the wrath of the law.
“Any military or security personnel indicted of misconduct, must be appropriately and decisively dealt with. Any governmental or non-governmental organization found to have doctored facts and inflamed tempers, must be blacklisted as enemy of the state.
“One of such curious episodes which must not be swept under carpet is the Lekki Toll Gate episode. As watch dog of society, we are very concerned and will be keenly monitoring the transparency of the proceeding of the panel of inquiry by the Lagos State Government, as well as the objectivity with which expert information, forensic and ballistic examination and gathered intelligence will be analyzed and reported by the panel, in hope that the total truth about the incidence will be unraveled.
“To succeed in this direction, it is very imperative to build mutual understanding and cooperation between civil societies, citizen groups and the armed forces, rather than the armed forces intimidating us (citizens) and we (citizens) blackmailing them (armed forces).”
#EndSARS
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Germany, France Announce Second National Lockdown As COVID-19 Cases Rise
Germany has announced that it will enter a second national lockdown in November as COVID-19 cases in the country surge.
Chancellor, Angela Merkel, said schools and shops will stay open and called for a “major national effort” to fight Coronavirus.
Social contacts will be limited to two households, bars, catering and leisure facilities will shut, the BBC reports.
European counterpart, France, has also announced that it will be entering a second national lockdown starting on Friday.
As part of the new restrictions, French President m, Emmanuel Macron, said people will only be allowed to leave home for essential work or medical reasons.
Non-essential businesses such as bars and restaurants will close while a ban has also been announced on travelling between regions.
The move comes as Coronavirus cases rise globally, causing nations to go back into lockdown to curb the spread of the disease.
Already Ireland and Sweden have gone back to national lockdown while London is expected to follow suit.
In Nigeria, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control has also warned that COVID-19 cases may spike owing to recent large gatherings across the country.
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United States Opposes Okonjo-Iweala’s As WTO DG, Backs South Korean For Position, Final Decision To Be Announced November 9
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
The United States of America has opposed the candidacy of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala-Iweala as head of the World Trade Organisation, instead backing South Korea’s Trade Minister, Yoo Myung-hee, for the position of Director-General.
The so-called troika of ambassadors heading the World Trade Organisation’s three main branches determined after four months of consultations with member states that Okonjo-Iweala was the most likely to obtain the consensus needed to take the top job, WTO spokesperson, Keith Rockwell, told journalists.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
The initial pool of eight candidates for the WTO’s top post had been whittled down to just two over two previous rounds of consultations with only Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee left in the race, AFP reports.
On Wednesday, America said it was opposed to her taking the helm, casting doubt on whether she can obtain the necessary full backing from member states.
Rockwell said that 27 delegates had taken the floor during Wednesday’s meeting.
He added that, “One delegation could not support the candidacy of Dr Nogzi and said they would continue (supporting) South Korean Minister Yoo.
“That delegation was the United States of America.”
He stressed that Wednesday’s meeting “was never intended to make a final decision on our next DG (director-general).
“That decision can only be taken by the General Council.”
“The candidate that had the best chance of attaining a consensus of the membership is Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria. Consultations on the way foward will start immediately.”
The final decision of the WTO’s 164 member states is expected on November 9.
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NBC Turning Itself Into ‘Kangaroo Court’, Media Groups Say
The Media Rights Agenda and the International Press Centre have accused the National Broadcasting Commission of turning itself into a ‘kangaroo court’ by fining broadcast stations at will.
MRA and IPC said this in reaction to the fine recently imposed on three stations – Channels Television, Africa Independent Television and ARISE Television.
They were fined N3m each as penalty for their alleged use of unsubstantiated footages from social media in their coverage of the #ENDSARS protests and gave them three weeks from the date of receipt of the letter to pay the amount to avoid further sanctions.
The organisations threatened legal actions if the NBC refused to reverse the sanction.
In a joint statement issued in Lagos, the two organisations accused the NBC of turning itself into a “kangaroo court” and called on it to immediately reverse its decision sanctioning the three stations in order to save itself the embarrassment that both the commission and country would suffer locally and internationally as a result of its action.
MRA’s Executive Director, Mr Edetaen Ojo, said, “A situation where the NBC, which is so glaringly lacking in independence and subject to the direct control of political authorities, wrote the Nigeria Broadcasting Code creating the offences for which the stations were sanctioned and was the complainant in the allegations against the stations, prosecuted them and sat in judgment on the matter without even giving the stations any opportunity to defend themselves against the charges while also imposing a fine of N3 million on each of them, which it intends to collect and pocket, is offensive to any notion of fair hearing, equity or justice.”
He also said that every Nigerian ought to be scandalised by this obscene violation of a principle that is sacrosanct not only under our constitution but under every regional and international human rights instrument to which Nigeria is a state party.
“It portrays Nigeria as crude and primitive and will no doubt bring the country to ridicule,” he added.
Mr Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of IPC, spoke in the same vein, saying, “The NBC has in this matter again constituted itself into the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge in its own case.
“It is indeed strange that the fines were arbitrarily imposed without giving the concerned media outlets the option of defending the allegations. All this constitutes an affront on rule of law.”
Arogundade said IPC would team up with MRA to use the instrumentality of the law to challenge the absurdities perpetrated by NBC.
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NBA, CDHR Offer Free Legal Representation For Alleged Looters Arrested By Police
The Benin branch of the Nigerian Bar Association and the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights have offered free legal service for alleged looters arrested by the police in Edo State.
The NBA and CDHR represented over 100 alleged looters arraigned by the police and military before a magistrate court sitting in Benin City on Tuesday.
The legal counsels were led by National President of CDHR, Osagie Obayuwana, Bar Public Defender, Dennis Osaretin, Legal Consult, Osayuki King, and other respected counsel from the Benin bar and human rights community.
The police and military charged the suspects for various offenses including looting of COVID-19 palliatives and violation of curfew.
The suspects were all granted bail with the NBA and CDHR helping to perfect their bail at no cost to the suspects.
“We are committed to providing free legal representations to all victims of #ENDSARS protest in Edo state and many who have become victims of oppression by the very same government who ought to protect and provide for them,” the NBA said.
Recall that residents of different states including Edo, Lagos, Osun, Abuja, Plateau and Ogun had discovered warehouses where COVID-19 palliatives are being hoarded by state governments.
The residents overpowered the security personnel guarding the warehouses and made away with the palliatives.
The police are currently making attempt to recover the palliatives including making house-to-house search.
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Crackdown On Social Media Will Increase Unemployment, Expert Warns
Following suspicions of renewed plans by the Nigerian Government to reactivate the social media bill and similar policies, Chief Executive Officer of Brisk Capital, Dominic Joshua, has warned that any move made to stifle social media interactions will lead to massive unemployment in Nigeria.
This warning comes on the heels of the submission by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, during the 2021 budget presentation at the National Assembly where he said the nation needed a social media policy.
Recall that on November 5, 2019, a bill to regulate social media in Nigeria and criminalise peddling of falsehood and malicious information was advanced before the National Assembly.
The bill, however, received backlash from Nigerians, who argued that it was meant to deprive them of their rights to communication.
Joshua, in an interview, stated that shutting down what he described as the ”number one digital platform for youth in Nigeria was a move to not just stifle freedom of speech but also increase unemployment rate in the country.
He said, “Majority of Nigerian youths have got their dream jobs and started their dream careers working remotely with the use of social media.
“We’ve seen within the last one week what mass unemployment has caused in the country with large scale arson and vandalism by hoodlums.”
The investment expert said it was time the country understood and dealt with the factors that led to unrest in the country, rather than shut down technology.
He reiterated that social media was not the problem, even though he acknowledged that misinformation could happen there.
He added that misinformation could also happen offline in the mainstream media.
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NNPC, IPMAN Allay Fears Over Fuel Scarcity, Caution Against Panic Buying
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has assured Nigerians of steady supply of petroleum products, cautioning against panic buying.
This follows fears in Abuja and environs of petrol scarcity after queues at filling stations in the city resurfaced earlier this week.
The NNPC spokesperson, Kennie Obateru, said the corporation had over two billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit in stock to guarantee steady supply, and at least 60 -day product supply sufficiency.
He said, “NNPC has over two billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit in stock to guarantee steady supply, and at least 60-day product supply sufficiency.”
“With the easing of the curfews and restriction of movement by various state governors, normalcy is expected to return to the petroleum products supply chain in the next couple of days.”
Also, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria debunked rumours of impending scarcity.
National Public Relations Officer of the organisation, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu, stated that some fuel station owners were only scared of their properties being attacked or damaged by thugs was why they are refusing to open for business.
He said, “The long queues in some parts of Abuja were due to fear of attacks by hoodlums.
“People should not fear and embark on panic buying as there is enough fuel on ground.”
Many petrol outlets were shut in Abuja on Tuesday including some NNPC retail stations.
At the close of work, no fuel station was selling to motorists along Kubwa and Airport roads.
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E2%80%99s-fate WTO Delegates Commence Meeting To Decide Okonjo-Iweala’s Fate
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
The World Trade Organisation delegates are currently meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to determine, who emerges the next Director-General of the international trade body between Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and South Korea’s Yoo Myung-Hee.
A media representative of the WTO disclosed this to SaharaReporters on Wednesday.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
According to her, the result of the meeting will be displayed on the organisation’s website soon.
“The formal publication will be published on our website, that’s where you will see it. They are in the meeting presently and they are discussing it,” she told SaharaReporters over the phone.
Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-Hee are both in the final round of the selection process.
The winner between the two women will replace Brazil’s Roberto Azevedo and former Director-Deneral of the WTO.
The initial pool of eight candidates for the WTO’s top post, which has been whittled down over two rounds of consultations, had included three Africans – Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya.
If Okonjo-Iweala is confirmed, she will join the WTO at a difficult time, with the world facing a deep post-Coronavirus recession and a crisis of confidence in free trade and globalisation.
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United States Not Supporting Okonjo-Iweala’s WTO Candidacy Despite American Citizenship
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