Sahara Reporters Latest News Today Saturday 31st October 2020
Sahara Reporters Latest News Today and headlines on some of the happenings and news trend in the Country, today 31/10/20
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Liberia Launches National Carrier, Lone Star Air
Liberia has launched a new national carrier to begin flight operations.
The West African nation has named the airline, Lone Star Air, 30 years after the former national carrier became defunct.
George Weah, Liberia’s President, while inaugurating the national carrier on Friday, said, “It would connect our country to our region and to the world.
“It is my dream, my hope and my ambition that we will very soon see Lone Star Air, the wings of Liberia, flying our flag in international skies, shining so brightly.”
It is unclear when the new airline will begin operation and neither Weah’s office nor the Ministry of Transport was immediately available for comment, AFP reports.
The airline initially plans to operate flights between Monrovia and regional hubs such as Abidjan in Ivory Coast or Lagos in Nigeria.
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Governor Akeredolu Orders Bearers Of Unauthorised Arms, Ammunition To Hand Them Over To Amotekun Corps
Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has asked those in possession of unauthorised arms and ammunition to surrender them.
There had been shootings in various parts of the state capital, Akure, in the past few days with miscreants roaming the streets with dangerous weapons mostly at the night.
Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu
The situation has further led to increase in armed robbery and sent panic across the city.
In a statement on Friday by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr.m Donald Ojogo, the governor said he would give an ultimatum of seven days to those bearing such arms to turn them in before a clampdown by security agencies.
He said such items should be returned to the Commandant of Amotekun Corps in Akure.
The statement reads, “All those in the category of the illegal arms and ammunition bearers are to take advantage of this window of grace to turn in these deadly weapons as security agencies shall take necessary steps against defiance after the seven days.
“Those who find it difficult to physically present such arms and ammunition for obvious reasons are advised and indeed encouraged to call 08079999989 for further advice and instructions on appropriate steps to be taken.”
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Lawyer Commences Defence Against Ex-Presidential Aspirant, Adamu Garba, Over Suit Seeking Twitter Ban In Nigeria
Tope Akinyode
Human rights lawyer, Tope Akinyode, has commenced defence proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a lawsuit instituted by a former presidential aspirant, Adamu Garba, seeking an order of court to ban the use of Twitter in Nigeria.
Announcing the development on Twitter, Akinyode said, “Having been consulted by friends and colleagues, I’ve filed court processes to challenge @adamugarba’s lawsuit against @jack and @Twitter. Jack’s support for Nigeria’s cause is commendable. We’ll protect our freedom of expression and resist the move to ban Twitter in Nigeria.”
Tope Akinyode
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The tweet was retweeted by about 12,000 Twitter users and has over 15,000 likes.
Reply & quote this tweet with #TwitterLawSuit Let’s make #TwitterLawSuit trend tonight so Adamu Garba & his associates know we serious.— Tope Akinyode (@TopeAkinyode) October 28, 2020
In the notice of joinder filed in the case, Adamu Garba v. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria & nine others, Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1391/2020 and sighted by SaharaReporters, Akinyode said he was an avid user of the online microblogging platform, Twitter, adding that it had been a significant avenue for him and other Nigerians to air their opinions and exercise their freedom of expression.
The lawyer said his tweets and that of many other Nigerians have formed a bedrock of public discourses, which have shaped and are still shaping government decisions.
On October 7, 2020, Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo, had tweeted a picture of himself reading print-out tweets from Nigerians and wrote, “Dear Nigerians, I know that many of you are angry, and understandably so. We could’ve moved faster and for this we are sorry.”
Akinyode said given the fact that the Vice President took time to read print-out tweets of Nigerians, his tweets and that of other Nigerians carried a lot of weight with the government and it is a priority activity for the government to read such from Nigerians.
The lawyer said he had proffered legal advice and received response from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission during the weekend, which would have been impossible except for Twitter usage.
Meanwhile, Garba reacted to Akinyode’s joinder of the lawsuit, saying he felt sad that the lawyer took up the case to defend Jack, who violated Nigeria’s sovereignty.
He said, “When a tweet from @TopeAkinyode came up, I worry at how much Nigerians take their country. To defend @Jack, who violated your sovereignty by calling for a donation to sustain a protest that lead to damages to our country after the President acceded to protesters request. Sad!” When a tweet from @TopeAkinyode came up, I worry at how much Nigerians take their country.To defend @Jack, who violated your sovereignty by calling for a donation to sustain a protest that lead to damages to our country, after the President acceded to Protesters request. Sad! mdash; Adamu Garba II (@adamugarba) October 28, 2020
We’ll meet in Court, No long talk. #TwitterLawSuit mdash; Tope Akinyode (@TopeAkinyode) October 28, 2020
Akinyode has stated that he was appearing in his personal capacity to defend the case just like any other Nigerian can do.
The lawsuit is yet to be assigned to a court or given a date for hearing.
Meanwhile, some Nigerians have been reacting to the development on Twitter, condemning the former Presidential aspirant and hailing the human rights lawyer.
@TopeAkinyode don’t go too far,you’ve won the case! @adamugarba is not so educated,he probably won’t understand any of this.— Lukboy Gold (@Lukboygold7) October 28, 2020
Please Also make sure to counter sue for him using the same platform to insight tribal wars and probably a civil war also 😒— IQ 압둘구ë‘스 (@qudus593) October 28, 2020
Suer just get sued, @adamugarba is A FOOLISH MAN “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere… Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.†– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.#EndSARS #LekkitollgateMassacre #EndPoliceBrutality #EndBadGovernanceinNIGERIA— TAYỌ (@rocksteady147) October 29, 2020
This fight is for us and our children, born and unborn. Freedom from oppressors will not be easy, so we have to be resilient and relentless in these cause. Our oppressors will not relent as well, so we have to emerge winners regardless of how long it takes.— ThompsonDgreat (@greatofum) October 28, 2020
#TwitterLawSuit Justice in progress. Thank you Tope. Mr. Adamu will be facing a United Polity he last week tried to divide along ethnicity – North/South.Even @SERAPNigeria was concerned too, asked for co-plaintiff and promised to file one. Yet to see proof.— Sydney (@rejreign) October 28, 2020
DOCUMENTS: Lawyer Commences Defence Against Ex-Presidential Aspirant, Adamu Garba, Over Suit Seeking Twitte… by Sahara Reporters on Scribd
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CAF President, Ahmad, Tests Positive For COVID-19
President of the Confederation of African Football, Ahmad Ahmad, has tested positive for Coronavirus and has begun self-isolating at a hotel in Cairo, Egypt.
This was contained in a statement on the website of the continental football governing body on Friday.
According to the statement, Ahmad, who is also a FIFA Vice President, had been in Morocco for the Confederation Cup club final on Sunday and started showing mild flu symptoms after returning to Egypt on Wednesday.
“The President after his arrival to Cairo on October 28 presented mild flu symptoms and submitted to the COVID-19 protocol.
”Today, the test results are positive and the President immediately self-isolate for at least the next 14 days at his hotel.
“All those who have come into contact with Ahmad over the past seven days, especially during his trip to Morocco for the Confederation Cup, have been informed and requested to take the necessary measures.”
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Lagos Court Remands Seven Men In Prison For Allegedly Gang-raping 11-year-old Girl To Death
The Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Friday remanded seven men at the Ikoyi Custodial Centre for allegedly gang-raping a minor.
The men, who allegedly gang-raped an 11-year-old girl to death are Ajom Tabi, 37; Omobolanle Olowookere, 41; Aliu Bilyamin, 24; Emmanuel Okon, 24; Bolarinwa Olamilekan, 24; Badmus Abdulateef, 20; Azeez Quadri, 22; and Sunday Odunayo, 22.
The police preferred a three-count charge of rape, murder and defilement against the suspects.
Chief Magistrate O.G. Oghre did not take the plea of the suspects pending legal advice.
She ordered the police to return the case file to the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
The magistrate, however, admitted Olowookere (the second suspect) to bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties each in like sum after her counsel, Spurgeon Ataene, told the court of her non- involvement in the case.
The magistrate adjourned the case until November 18 pending legal advice.
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Again, Governor Sanwo-Olu Adjusts Curfew Times In Lagos
Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu
The Lagos State Government has again reviewed the restriction of movement in the state.
A 24-hour curfew declared on October 20 was eased on Sunday with movement allowed from 6:00am to 8:00pm.
Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu
However, the hours have been reviewed and movement is now allowed from 6:00am to 10:00pm.
Gbenga Omotoso, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, in a statement on Friday urged Lagosians to go about their businesses in peace.
The statement reads, “The Lagos State Government has announced a further relaxation of the curfew imposed after the breakdown of law and order, following the hijack of the peaceful #EndSARS protests.The curfew will now be from 10pm till 6am.
“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu praises Lagosians for observing the curfew, which is expected to restore normalcy in our communities. He urges all Lagosians to go about their businesses in peace, even as they shun ‘actions that can threaten our unity’.”
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Inspector-General Of Police Tells Officers To Protect Themselves Against Attacks
Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has told officers to protect themselves against attacks.
Adamu, who spoke when he visited the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, Abuja, said officers must protect themselves because they are humans and also have rights.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu.
The police boss, who also condemned the #ENDSARS protest, said the demonstration was an attack targeted at the police to demoralise officers, PUNCH reports.
Adamu said, “The unity of this country lies in the support that is given to police officers because if you are demoralised, the tendency is for criminals to take over the public space and the country is relying on us to make sure that the public space is not taken over by the criminals. So no amount of provocation, no amount of insult would make us shy away from our responsibilities.
“Inasmuch as we are aware that the government is behind us; so, we would encourage you to keep performing your duties. We would encourage you to be professional, to be civic, but if anybody touches you, if anybody comes to assault you, you can also protect yourself.
“When we talk of human rights, the police are human; so, the rights of police officers would also be protected.”
He added that the police was sending legal messages to all Nigerians that officers had the right to protect themselves in order not to be endangered.
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#ENDSARS: Lagos Panel Pays ‘Unscheduled Visit’ To Military Hospital Over Lekki Shootings
Members of Lagos state’s Judicial Panel of Inquiry driven in a bus to the gate of the Military Hospital Lagos.
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry has paid an unscheduled visit to the Military Hospital in Ikoyi area of the state over the killings of protesters in the state.
The panel visited the hospital to find out whether corpses of protesters killed were dumped at the hospital.
Members of Lagos state’s Judicial Panel of Inquiry driven in a bus to the gate of the Military Hospital Lagos.
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The visit was done after an earlier visit to the Lekki Toll Gate, scene of the protest where the shooting took place.
The panel was initially denied access to the morgue of the military hospital but insisted on visiting the mortuary to aid their investigation in the matter.
VIDEO: Soldiers Denying Lagos Judicial Panel Of Enquiry Access Into Military Hospital Upon Arrival To Inspect Mortuary, Threaten To Get Aggressive#EndSARS #LekkiMassacre #LekkiTollGateShooting pic.twitter.com/avyGDqcs8v— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) October 30, 2020
The morgue and some part of the hospital was empty as the military claimed the facility had been under renovation since October 2019.
SaharaReporters had published that at least 20 bodies of EndSARS protesters massacred at Lekki Toll Gate by operatives of the Nigerian Army on October 20, 2020, were on Friday secretly moved to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) mortuary in Yaba.
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EXCLUSIVE: How Nigerian Army Secretly Moved 20 Lekki Massacre Victims To IDH Mortuary
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#ENDSARS: Lagos Panel Finds Bullet Shell At Lekki Toll Gate
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry has discovered at least four bullet shells at the Lekki Toll Gate, scene where soldiers from the Nigerian Army opened fire on peaceful #ENDSARS demonstators in Lagos.
This is as the Nigerian Army denied that its soldiers shot at the protesters.
The panel embarked on a visit to the toll gate as part of the ongoing process in giving restitution to victims of SARS brutality and related extrajudicial abuse.
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BREAKING: Lagos Judicial Panel Visits Lekki Toll Gate For Inspection
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At the toll gate, the panel led by Dorris Okuwobi, discovered not less than four bullet shells at different locations at the toll gate.
BREAKING: Lagos Judicial Panel Visits Lekki Toll Gate For Inspection | Sahara Reporters #LekkiTollGateShooting pic.twitter.com/EYUdNidnIG— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) October 30, 2020
The inspection was done by the panel in the presence of members of the public including journalists.
The bullet shells will serve as evidence in the ongoing enquiry by the panel.
SaharaReporters had published that at least eight people were killed by the soldiers with the corpses taken away to cover the incidence.
The newspaper had also published that the soldiers were called in by the Lagos State Government, a report that was later confirmed by the Nigerian Army despite initial denials.
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E2%80%99s-time-call-out-lai-mohammed%E2%80%99s-social-media-paranoia-david-hundeyin It’s Time To Call Out Lai Mohammed’s Social Media Paranoia By David Hundeyin
David Hundeyin
In January, Minister of Information Lai Mohammed gave an interview to the German broadcaster DW where he comprehensively and repeatedly denied all knowledge of the “Protection from Internet Falsehood & Manipulation” bill, also known as the “Social Media” bill. When DW’s Tim Sebastian asked him point blank “Are you in support of this bill or not?” Mr. Mohammed’s answer was “I’m not even aware of that bill.”
Given the year that 2020 has turned out to be, one would be forgiven for forgetting that January 2020 and right now are just 10 months apart – what a difference 10 months can make. Between Mohammed’s DW interview and when you are reading this article, there has been a global pandemic that upended the world. There has also been a series of regulatory attempts to push through different aspects of this “Social Media Bill,” culminating in an NBC Code amendment that successfully sidestepped the legislative process and implemented certain key aspects of the bill.
In this column 3 months ago, I wrote that the 6th NBC Code Amendment – which was publicly championed by a certain Lai Mohammed – would end up being a trojan horse for authoritarianism and muzzling of speech in Nigeria’s media space. Now in October 2020, the metaphorical gloves on Mr Mohammed’s hands have come off entirely. Channels TV, Arise TV and AIT have been fined huge sums of money for covering the #EndSARS protests, and the NBC has publicly issued a North Korea-style edict instructing broadcast stations not to “embarrass the government.”
Whereas 10 months ago, he looked Tim Sebastian in the eye and claimed that he knew nothing about such a bill, he appeared before the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon singing a completely different song.
What on earth is Mr. Mohammed so scared of?
Speaking to the House, Mohammed claimed among other things, that social media must be regulated and filtered in the manner of the People’s Republic of China. According to him, this is to ensure that young Nigerians are not misled by “Fake News,” and parody content, which he claimed, they are unable to differentiate from credible news. In Mr. Mohammed’s personal opinion – which he wants to base public policy on – a paternalistic authoritarian internet infrastructure must be installed by the state to save us misguided children from ourselves.
David Hundeyin
I personally find this argument woefully inept, maliciously false and infuriatingly patronising at the same time. In what capacity does Mr. Mohammed imagine that he is some kind of Victorian governess who decides what “children” in their 20s and 30s should and should not have access to, based on his subjective and completely unscientific personal opinion about our ability to parse truth, parody and falsehood? Who told Mr. Mohammed that young Nigerians do not already parse these things at a far higher level than he does?
I will remind Mr. Mohammed for instance, that in my previous career iteration, I was a creative engine behind “The Other News,” on Channels Television, West Africa’s first primetime political satire TV show. This was a show whose premise was entirely based on understanding the finer points of satire, parody and comedic exaggeration vis-a-vis factual news. It was also one of the most successful shows on Nigerian television with over 2 million weekly viewers chiefly drawn from the under-35 demographic. Who says that young Nigerians need to be spoon fed what is allegedly good for them by a nanny state? Is that a scientifically established fact? Or is that Mr. Mohammed’s unsubstantiated personal opinion like everything else he said before the House on Tuesday?
If Mr. Mohammed simply dislikes the freedom that social media has given young Nigerians to access and share information in real time, which enables them organise massive movements for societal change like the recent #EndSARS protests, he should own it publicly with his metaphorical chest. Lai Mohammed is neither a schoolteacher who gets to decide for us what we should and should not consume, nor is he in any kind of moral position to pontificate about “Fake News” or the potential of social media to amplify dangerous messages.
His antecedents as the Publicity Secretary of the APC prior to the 2015 election are well known. He had no problem leveraging social media to amplify all manner of messaging that was both overtly untrue and genuinely dangerous. Rightly, he was never harassed or prevented in any way from putting out what he put out, because Nigeria is a constitutional democracy with freedom of speech and freedom of association clearly enshrined in the 1999 constitution. His antics in his current position are also known to the world.
How exactly he thinks that running a democracy and giving the state control over information and speech can be married into one harmonious entity is anybody’s guess.
‘Fake News’ is a fictitious problem contrived by Lai Mohammed
Listening to Lai Mohammed constantly go on and on about “Fake News,” one would get the impression that 1) The government he is part of is making serious, well-intentioned, good faith efforts to get citizens well informed by credible sources, and 2) “Fake News” is some sort of existential epidemic threatening the very corporate existence of Nigeria. In actual fact, neither of these ideas is anything remotely close to true.
First of all, the Nigerian government itself is Nigeria’s largest fake news factory. Lai Mohammed himself is the country’s single most vocal and prolific purveyor of the exact sort of falsehood he is supposedly campaigning against. The instances are too many to explore comprehensively in this column, so I will mention just three instances where Mr. Mohammed has put blatant fiction into the news cycle.
During his January interview at DW, when he was asked about the social media bill, he claimed with a straight face that there was no such bill before the Nigerian parliament. This claim in fact, was categorically not true. Fake news, you might call it.
On May 6, 2016, in response to a question about the president’s foreign trips during an appearance at Liberty Radio Kaduna, Mr. Mohammed claimed that Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd) was “being invited by world leaders” because “they have the confidence to discuss with” him “the issue of the looted funds.” In fact, not a single world leader ever expressed a thought remotely close to this, and Gen. Buhari was in fact traveling on Nigeria’s tab. Fake news!
In a Channels TV interview on June 1 2016, when asked about the tomato scarcity crisis at the time, Mohammed claimed that “2 tomato harvests had been lost due to Boko Haram activity,” with the inference that it was a situation beyond the government’s control. In fact, the scarcity was caused by the Tuta Absoluta tomato pest which ravaged Nigeria in 2016. I would call that fake news!
So who is going to hold Lai Mohammed accountable for these and dozens of other falsehoods he has put out over the past 6 years? Who is going to regulate Mr. Mohammed’s internet access with a China-style Golden Shield firewall and block his access to social media so as to stop him from spreading “Fake News?” Who is watching the self-appointed watcher?
Sincerely want to fight fake news? Here’s how
The work done by organisations such as the Centre For Liberty has repeatedly shown using case studies from around the world that fake news is a problem that is best targeted by working toward making populations more informed. It is not a problem to be solved by engaging in an unintelligent game of whack-a-mole. This has been established through the experience of Rodrigo Duterte’s government in the Philippines, our fellow third world state. He publicly stated that any new legislation to police free speech “would violate the right to freedom” which is enshrined in the country’s constitution.
In the UK, Sweden and Finland, the approach to dealing with fake news varied from setting up a Rapid Response Unit to identify and refute it, to public education about how to identify it. In Sweden, the government devised an awareness campaign for journalists and the public led by the Civil Contingency Agency (MSB), which taught them to spot influence peddling by foreign state actors like Russia. In Finland, evaluation of news and fact-checking behavior was introduced to the school curriculum in 2014. Why Must Nigeria’s case always be different?
In case Mr. Mohammed is not aware by the way, his Chinese-style government-vetted internet dream is easily circumvented using a VPN. It might surprise him to know that my Chinese friends from school who are now back home in China still communicate with me on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. Us pesky kids will never stop having tricks up our sleeve with which to outsmart troglodyte states that try to enforce North Korean-type information restrictions when we are in the internet age.
So this is a personal callout to Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information.
Stop it already.
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