Yuletide: Nigerian govt declares three days public holidays

 

The Federal Government has announced a three-day public holiday for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The work-free days include Friday, the 25th, Monday, the 28 of December 2020 as well as Friday, January 1, 2021 respectively.

Dr Shuaib M.L Belgore, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, announced this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja to mark the Christmas and New Year celebrations respectively.

The statement added that Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior approved the dates on behalf of the Federal Government.

Aregbesola also urged Christians to adopt the creed of Jesus Christ on faith, hope and love.

The minister, while admonishing all Nigerians to remain focused, determined, patient and patriotic, expressed confidence that 2021 would be a better year for all Nigerians as he urged Christians to use the yuletide period to pray for Nigeria.

He said, “We must emulate the life of humility, service, compassion, patience, peace and righteousness that the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ signified, that will be the best way to know Christ and celebrate his birth.

“The Minister who reiterated the Federal Government’s avowed commitment to the fight against armed banditry, kidnappings and other crimes and criminalities in the country, called on Nigerians to support the efforts of the security agencies by providing them with information that will enhance intelligence gathering.”

The statement added, “He wished all Nigerians and Christians in particular, a happy Christmas and New Year Celebrations.”

- DAILY POST

’60 percent’ of Borno primary school teachers unqualified

 The committee on verification and biometric data capture of local education authority staff in Borno says 60 percent of primary school teachers in the state lack requisite qualifications.

Shettima Kulima, chairman of the committee, disclosed this while submitting the committee’s report to Babagana Zulum, the Borno governor, on Wednesday.

According to Kulima, out of the 26,250 screened, only 10,103 possessed the requisite teaching qualifications.

Kulima explained that during the screening, the committee discovered anomalies such as staff with fake certificates, those due for retirement but had refused to leave the system, questionable appointment letters, underaged teachers, and those working in multiple places.

“Some are working in two or three places; Biu local government area is leading in the number of such workers,” he said.

“Maiduguri metropolitan council is leading in workers with fake certificates with about 700 of them, followed by Jere local government area with 336.

“Konduga local government area has the highest number of those with questionable appointment letters, while Ngala leads with underaged employees.”

He noted that the committee proffered 30 recommendations, including staff motivation in order to sanitise primary education in the state.

Kulima said the committee was able to reduce the monthly wage bill of primary school teachers after the screening from N693.1 million to N427.8 million.

Receiving the report, the governor lauded the committee for a thorough job and assured them of his administration’s commitment to sanitising the system.

While noting that education is the bedrock of development, Zulum said his administration places a high premium on education and would not compromise on quality, particularly at the primary school level.

“Let me assure you that government will engage in the recruitment of quality staff, and we will ensure that teachers are motivated,” Zulum said.

“One of your recommendations is staff motivation. We will give you the responsibility to fish out the hard-working teachers for a reward.”

- THECABLE

Christmas: There is hunger, desperation in Nigeria – Dunamis Pastor, Paul Enenche cries out

 Paul Enenche, the Senior Pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, has lamented the living condition of Nigerians.

Enenche said that there was severe hunger and desperation in Nigeria.

The clergyman spoke at the church’s headquarters, Glory Dome in Abuja, yesterday, when a large crowd besieged the church for Christmas welfare packages.

Speaking on the welfare distribution, the trained medical doctor said: “You must watch this video clip of the food distribution today. It may make you cry too.

“It depicts the level of hunger and desperation in the land that only the help of God can alleviate.”

This is coming at a time the Senior pastor of Awaiting The Second Coming Of Christ Ministry, Adewale Giwa, had urged President Muhammadu Buhari to give the N400 billion proposed for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines to poor Nigerians.

Pastor Giwa had appealed to the Federal Government to look for ways to tackle hunger among Nigerians instead of spending such huge money on vaccines.

- DAILY POST

Nigerian Bala Muazu loses bid to recover $880K, €60K seized in Kenya

 

A Nigerian, Bala Muazu, nabbed with $880,000 and €60,000, along with N64,000 at Jomo Kenyatta Airport has lost the bid to recover the money.

Justice James Wakiaga on Wednesday rejected Bala’s application for the return of the money.

Wakiaga said it was immaterial, at this stage, whether he declared the currency in Nigeria before boarding the plane to Nairobi, en route Dubai.

According to a report by Kenya’s The Nation newspaper, the judge said the application, which was before the court was for preservation of the money, pending conclusion of investigations to establish the source and legality of the money and whether Assets recovery Agency (ARA) will file a petition for forfeiture to the state.

“In the final analysis, I find no merit in the application for variation of the orders herein at this stage, which I hereby dismiss with costs in the cause,” the judge said.

The Nigerian made the application for the release of his money, so that he could proceed with his journey to Dubai.

He claimed the Kenyan government was only interested in his money and thereafter, deport him.

Muazu argued that he has not been charged with any offence and the money should therefore be released.

“All the respondent is concerned with is to confiscate my hard-earned money and have me deported,”he said in an affidavit.

The Nigerian was detained on December 4 on his way to Dubai while carrying the huge cash in his handbag.

He had arrived through Kenya Airways flight KQ535 from Lagos and was waiting for connecting flight KQ310, to Dubai.

Justice Wakiaga later directed the funds be handed to the ARA for preservation but the Nigerian said he declared the money in Lagos before boarding the flight to Nairobi.

“At the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, I declared the currency and was cleared by customs for travel.

“I checked in the consignment and as is the usual norm in international travels, my next declaration point would have been Dubai International Airport,” he said.

Muazu said he was surprised Kenya Airways cleared him back in Lagos with “undeclared currency” only to pounce on him in Nairobi.

“The intention at the time could have been only to deprive me of my money,” he said.

He accused the officials of confiscating all his documents including the customs clearance forms from Lagos, his passport, currency declaration acknowledgement from Dubai, as well as a declaration letter from Shah Jewellery Trading LLC.

He attached to the application, a letter from Ahammed Shuhaib, a partner of Shah Jewellery, who claims to own the money and he was just an agent.

The ARA opposed the application, saying the documents Mr Bala tabled were suspect as some were dated a day after he had been intercepted at the JKIA.

- PM NEWS

Report: Kankara boys contradict FG, say ransom was paid for their release

 

Testimonies from some of the abducted Kankara boys have revealed that ransom was paid before they were freed, The Wall Street Journal is reporting.

This is contrary to the claim by the federal government that no ransom was paid to free the 334 kidnapped students.

WSJ, in a report on Wednesday, quoted three of the 344 boys interviewed as saying that the kidnappers told them a ransom had been paid for their release.

It also quoted someone who was familiar with talks between the kidnappers and the government as saying a sizable sum was paid in three batches for the boys’ freedom.

The students were kidnapped from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, in Katsina state, by suspected bandits on December 11, 2020.

After their release on December 17, 2020, Garba Shehu, senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, said the rescue operation was facilitated by repentant bandits.

Bello Matawalle, governor of Zamfara, also said the state was able to secure the release of the abducted schoolboys through the help of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) and repentant bandits.

WSJ reports that one of the boys were forced to eat raw potatoes and bitter kalgo leaves to survive.

“They threatened to release only 30 of us when the N30 million initial ransom was paid,” the report quoted 16-year-old Yinusa Idris to have said.

“They even took 30 of us away on motorcycles ready to release.”

It also quoted Imran Yakubu, a 17-year-old who was also abducted, as saying that the kidnappers told them “One million naira must be paid per each student…or we will recruit or kill you”.

Narrating the ordeal, WSJ wrote: “There were more than 100 armed men in the school courtyard. They were shining bright flashlights and streaming into the pastel-coloured buildings”.

“The gunmen, some on foot, others on motorcycles, ordered the boys to walk in a long column, hitting anyone who walked too slowly with a whip or rifle butt.

“At one point, when the guards were looking at the sky, two students close to the back of the convoy tried to slip away. The hostages were all told to halt so they could watch their classmates being punished.

“The older one’s hands were tied to a tree and he was beaten. Water was poured on his body in the early morning so that he could feel the freezing cold.”

While narrating the role of the military in the rescue operation, the defence ministry said the troops closed in on the abductors from four different fronts.

- THECABLE

UN condemns killing of 59 media workers

 

The United Nations condemned the killings of ”at least 59 media workers in 2020”.

UN said in a bid to stand up for access to information and factual reporting “as a public good”.

On average over the past decade, one journalist has lost their life every four days, according to the UN Educational, Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in a statement on Wednesday.

Although 2020 saw one of the lowest tolls in years, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, said that rarely, if ever, had journalism been so relevant to democracy and to the protection of human rights, as the world continues battling the coronavirus and the ‘infodemic’ that surrounds it.

The pandemic has been a “perfect storm” that has affected press freedom worldwide, Ms Azoulay said adding that “protecting journalism is protecting the truth”.

With 22 killings each, Latin America and the Caribbean, together with Asia and the Pacific, registered the highest number of fatalities among journalists.

This was followed by the Arab States Region with nine deaths and Africa with six.

Impunity for crimes against journalists has continued to prevail in nearly nine out of 10 cases, despite a small improvement in 2020, UNESCO said.

The 2020 UNESCO Director-General’s Report on the “Safety of Journalists and the Danger Impunity”, published to coincide with the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, provided insight into the patterns of killings of journalists over the past two years, the statement said.

The launch of the report was accompanied by a high-impact global awareness-raising campaign from UNESCO, Protect Journalists, Protect the Truth.

“All too many killings still occur and non-fatal attacks and harassment continue to soar. 2020 brought to the fore the dangers facing journalists as they report on protests such as Black Lives Matter demonstrations and other movements around the world”, said UNESCO.

Earlier this year, the agency identified 125 protests in 65 countries at which journalists were attacked or arrested, between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2020.

Twenty-one of these events took place during the first half of 2020, but the number of incidents has gone on rising during the second half of the year.

Additionally, said UNESCO, the safety of women journalists remains a major source of concern.

“Targeted for their profession and gender, women journalists are particularly affected by online harassment and gender-based violence.”

Challenges to the safety of journalists were exacerbated by COVID-19, the statement said.

“The crisis it unleashed has threatened the very viability and survival of professional media outlets, due to the associated advertising revenue loss, creating “an even more precarious environment for media workers with new challenges to their right to seek, receive and impart information.”

Additionally, in many countries, emergency legislation and measures adopted to curtail the spread of the virus have served as an alibi to restrict freedom of expression and of the press, the agency noted.

Journalists have also been prosecuted for exposing the failings in how governments have handled the pandemic.

Together, these conditions have formed what many have called a “perfect storm”, UNESCO added, leading to fear that the profession of journalism risks facing “extinction”, as noted in the agency’s brief Journalism, Press Freedom and COVID-19.

The statement said to face these challenges, UNESCO has reinforced its awareness-raising programmes and engaged with the judicial systems worldwide to fight impunity.

It has also reinforced the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity; produced rapid and reliable information about the challenges, and increased capacity-building opportunities for journalists and other media workers.

PANA/NAN

Kidnappers demand N50m from relatives of 70-year old retired journalist

 

Kidnappers of Mr. Mike Oguguo Ndu, a 70-year-old retired journalist have demanded the sum of N50 million for his freedom.

A relative of the victim, Mr John Ndu, also a journalist working with Anambra State ministry of information, told DAILY POST that his uncle Mike was kidnapped on Monday around Okene in Kogi State, while travelling to Abuja to see his sick wife.

His nephew, John Ndu said strange people using strange phone number on Tuesday called the victim’s brother, Joseph, to demand a ransom of N50 million for his release.

While recounting the story of Ndu’s kidnap, John said, “Mike Ndu was alongside other passengers, kidnapped by suspected bandits at Okene, Kogi State.

“He boarded Wazobia commercial bus in Onitsha, to visit his sick wife in Abuja, but his journey was thwarted by some bandits who diverted their bus into a bush.

“The bus took off from Onitsha to Abuja around 7:20 am last Monday, 21th December, 2020.

“Throughout his journey, his family members were in contact with him, until around 3 pm, when his phone was no longer reachable.

“Nobody heard from him again till, Tuesday, 22nd December, 2020, when a strange number called his elder brother, Sir Joseph. C Ndu, demanding for a ransom of N50 million or his brother, Mike would go down.”

John said the children of PA Ndu, resident in Abuja have visited the transport company, Wazobia park in Gwagwarada Abuja, where the Manager, one Mr Ifeanyi Smart said the company would assist with every useful information.

John added, “The 70 years old Mike Ndu From Ogbunike in Oyi Local government area, is facing health challenges including diabetes and hypertension, which may be aggravated by his present ugly condition. He is equally on daily medication.

“We call on Nigeria security agencies to deploy their intelligence network, to assist the family in rescuing our father and uncle.”

DAILY POST gathered that until his retirement, the victim, Ndu worked with Monitor Newspaper and Enterprise Magazine in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State. He also worked with Madonna Fm Okija and Our Nation Newspaper, Onitsha.

- DAILY POST