BLEAK CHRISTMAN: WIDESPREAD HARDSHIP, HIGH COST OF FOODSTUFFS IN NIGERIA

 

Many Nigerians are lamenting the high cost of food items, forcing them to buy little for a huge amount.

For many Nigerians, the Christmas season is a time to be merry, a period to give, share the love and receive the same. This is usually expressed through the gifting of valuable items to friends, loved ones, colleagues among others.

At this period, the aroma of the varieties of dishes coupled with the scent of seasoned meat is a major feature of the kitchen.

However, the Christmas celebration for the year 2020 seems bleak. Many Nigerians are lamenting the high cost of food items, forcing them to buy little for a huge amount.

SaharaReporters spoke with some traders and other Nigerians about the situation.

Grace Onyebuchi, who deals in foodstuffs such as rice and beans alongside her husband seemed downcast when she was approached by our correspondent. Her store, which is usually packed with customers during Christmas, was deserted except for the display of the wares.

When Onyebuchi was asked for the price of a tin of rice, she muttered an amount and her husband screamed from behind, "If you don't know the cost of the market, ask me! Did we buy it at that amount?"

Onyebuchi, whose entrepreneurial spirit had been downplayed, moved to one side of the store, leaving her husband to attend to customers.

She later told SaharaReporters that the low sales turnout had discouraged business owners. For her, this year's Christmas is not like previous ones.

"Let me be sincere with you, people are not really coming out to buy foodstuffs like they did in previous years. And I won't blame them, it's just that there is no money out there, so what will they use to buy? The few that come out to buy food items are buying little. We are only getting customers now because people must eat."

She, however, said the cost of food items had even reduced unlike how it was during the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. "The prices of rice and some other food items are still better now unlike during the lockdown but you can't compare the situation to what we experienced around previous Christmas seasons. How much was a bag of rice last Christmas?"

Another businessman, Joshua Fashola, who sells frozen foods couldn't hide his anger, bellowing: "Na person wey get money dey buy plenty things for Christmas (It is somehow who is rich that can buy lots of things for Christmas)."

According to him, people are not really buying chicken and turkey that are commonly purchased during Christmas because of the state of the economy in Nigeria.

"People are struggling and you know, we are really worried and scared of what might possibly happen in January. What if things get more expensive?" he said.

Joshua said though the cost of frozen foods keeps increasing, money is not being pumped into the economy at the same rate. "There's no money in circulation, so people can't really spend like they used to. A pack of turkey that I bought for N12, 000 just two days ago now costs N14, 500. Imagine the cost now, within how many days, and this will likely affect the sales price."

He said as a Christian who would also be celebrating Christmas, he would only manage his resources so as to survive in 2021.

The situation was the same for Elizabeth Onimen. Her head was delicately placed on the plank behind a heap of yams. At first glance, she appeared to be taking a nap, but on a closer look, it became obvious that Elizabeth was exhausted and discouraged by the low sales of the day.

According to her, Christmas Eve has always been her best sales day for the year but this year, the situation was different.

"Today is the 24th, just a day to Christmas and my wares are still this much," she lamented. 

"I restocked yesterday and I'm supposed to have sold all my wares. In the past, I'd have gone to restock this morning but I still have lots of wares."

She blamed worsening insecurity in the country for the hike in the cost of food items. "If only the government could tackle the issue of insecurity, especially the ones targeted at farmers, things would be better. They are killing farmers so many of them are scared to go to their farms. If it were in previous years, you would have seen trucks coming in from the North with yams and potatoes in large numbers but things are really bad this year."

She pleaded with the government to tackle banditry and kidnapping in the North so that food items would become more affordable.

Just like it is traders, it is for teachers. James Eneche, a teacher, had a worried frown on his face when asked how he would be celebrating this year's Christmas with his family.

"Things have really not been the same. This period of the year used to be the most cherished every year. But that was when things were affordable. With the situation of things in the country, my meagre salary can barely feed my family. I only hope that things improve come 2021," he said.

Several Nigerians have also taken to Twitter to comment on the situation of things.

A Twitter user whose handle is @Akortainment wrote: "Christmas didn't come this year. We just dey force am (We are only forcing it)." 

In the same vein, another Twitter user, @Footsoldier_1, wrote: "Its December 24 and I still cannot afford to buy feathers, let alone a whole chicken. My account balance has been in the Intensive Care Unit receiving treatment."

Similarly, singer, Folarin Falana, popularly known as Falz, using his Twitter handle, @falzthebahdguy, wrote: "This Christmas is somehow."

Replying to what Falz wrote, @AmandaM14393356 (Amanda Martins) wrote, "Yes. It's the worst I have ever experienced. No hope for food sef. Please God, let my 2021 be better than 2020. Compliments of the season, Sir."

Also, @UncleBiodun wrote: "Everything is just like normal thing. I don’t think this year Jesus birthday go sweet o (I don’t think this Christmas will be great)."

Similarly, @FLOwithFLORA wrote: "We’re in the middle of a pandemic so obviously this Christmas will be somehow, guys. We’ve been through a lot this year as a country and as individuals; it’s bound to be somehow."

Likewise, @ChefUchy wrote: "This Christmas really dey somehow. Na garri person go drink tomorrow be that ooo (This is Christmas is different. It looks like it is garri I will take tomorrow). Nothing (is) sure."

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Credit: Saharareporters

HOW COVID-19 MAY CHANGE CHRISTMAS IN AFRICA AMID SECOND WAVE

Africa may be one of the least affected continents by the novel coronavirus. But measures have been put in place that could change your Christmas plans this year.

The continent has recorded more than 2.5 million cases since the pandemic began, with some 59,770 deaths. A second wave has also been reported in some countries over the last few weeks.

Here is a breakdown of what is happening in some African countries.

South Africa

The country has the most COVID-19 cases on the continent, with over 930,000 infections and more than 24,000 deaths since the outbreak began in March.

And on Tuesday, the health minister warned a new variant of the coronavirus, known as 501.V2, is driving a surge in cases.

According to health officials and scientists leading the country’s virus strategy, the new variant, is dominant among new confirmed infections, with higher numbers of confirmed cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

The government announced tougher lockdown restrictions, such as the limited sale of alcohol and the closure of beaches in areas identified as hotspots.

On Wednesday, The UK health minister announced there were two cases of another new variant in Britain.

Both are contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa, he said.

As a result, the UK is placing restrictions on travel from South Africa.

Tunisia

Tunisia has reported over 120,000 coronavirus infections and more than 4,000 deaths.

Tunisia has suspended all air travel with Britain, Australia and South Africa, citing fears of a new coronavirus strain. Travel is also banned between Tunisia's regions.

And it will ban all events, that include celebrations for the new year. It will also extend its night curfew until January 15.

Kenya

Facing an increase in coronavirus cases in October, the government extended a nationwide curfew until January 2, meaning it is not possible to be out after 22:00. Public gatherings are also banned.

Schools are also mostly closed until 2021.

Kenya has recorded over 94,000 infections with over 1,000 deaths since the virus outbreak.

Rwanda

Coronavirus cases spiked in December. The country has seen over 7,000 cased and 59 deaths since the outbreak.

The government advises not to meet in large groups and keep a two-metre distance. Bars and nightclubs are closed.

Democratic Republic of Congo

The DRC imposed a curfew from 21:00 to 05:00 as cases soared in December.

There is also a ban on public gatherings of more than 10 people.

Schools also closed earlier for the Christmas holidays.

The DRC has recorded just over 14,000 covid cases and over 350 deaths from the disease since the epidemic was officially declared in March.

But it has seen a steady increase in recent weeks.

President Felix Tshisekedi said the second wave was caused mainly by the importation of cases from foreign countries and the relaxation of preventive measures.

Congo-Brazzaville

Residents in Congo-Brazzaville will be locked down on December 25 and January 1 as infections rise, authorities announced on December 22. On the 24 and 31 December bars and restaurants will be open until 19:00 only.

Residents in the cities Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville have been living under a curfew of 23:00-05:00.

Land borders have also stayed shut.

More than 6,000 cases have been reported since March.

Nigeria

Africa's most populous country has reported almost 80,000 infections since the outbreak, with more than 1,000 deaths.

In response to an uptick in cases, Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, ordered schools to shut indefinitely.

Concerts, carnivals and street parties have also been banned.

President Buhari has urged all citizens to be vigilant and stay safe over the festive season.

"Non-essential trips and large social gatherings should be avoided or shelved completely," he said.

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Credit: By Pascale Davies

 

PRESIDENT BUHARI - I WON'T ALLOW A REPEAT OF #EndSARS PROTESTS

President Muhammadu Buhari

Buhari disclosed this on Tuesday at a meeting of the National Security Council.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he will not allow a repeat of the #EndSARS protests that rocked the country recently.

Buhari disclosed this on Tuesday at a meeting of the National Security Council.

Recall that the #EndSARS demonstrations across the country turned violent on October 20 after Nigerian soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters, who had converged at the Lekki Toll Gate.

Across Lagos and other states in the country, vehicles, government buildings and private properties were razed and looted.

The incident triggered a global outrage, with calls for justice echoing from different parts of the world.

Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi, who spoke with journalists at the end of the meeting, said President Buhari assured Nigerians that he will carry all relevant stakeholders including the youth along in the process of maintaining peace in the country.

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LAGOS POLICE THREATENS TO CLOSE AFRICAN SHRINE OVER HOSTING OF MEETING ON #EndSARS

 

The programme, which is organised by Seun Kuti, son of Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday at the African Shrine.

The Lagos State Police Command has threatened to close the African Shrine, Ikeja, over the hosting of a programme to evaluate the achievement, lessons and tasks arising from the recent #EndSARS protest.

The programme, which is organised by Seun Kuti, son of Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday at the African Shrine.

The police have now threatened to close down the place if the programme went ahead.

Seun revealed that the police invited his sister and threatened to shut down the facility if the meeting holds.

In a letter to the Kuti family and manager of the African Shrine, the police said the programme was not welcome and will be tagged a deliberate action to sabotage the restoration of peace in Lagos.

The police cited the recent violence arising from the #EndSARS protest as its reason for ordering the suspension of the programme.

“It is on this premise that I write that such a gathering or meeting planned to be hosted at your venue is not welcome at this perilous time when the security of the nation is trying to find her feet to stabilize all threat to life and properties.

“You are hereby warned to suspend such gathering as any infraction that may emerge from this gathering will be tagged a deliberate action to sabotage the transition and restoration of the peace in Lagos State by the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force,” the letter to the Kuti family partly reads.

Reacting to the letter by the police, Seun said he will go ahead with his programme but at a different venue.

He also queried why the government was hinged on infringing on the rights of the people to freedom of association, adding that it was an undemocratic act.

He said, “I respect my family’s decision not to hold the event but I will still go ahead with all the other organisations to launch the Movement of the People tomorrow and start our political resistance to the tyranny of this oppressive regime.

“This is a meeting, just a meeting of organisations and they are basically banning the right of association. Why are they afraid of the people organising? What is democratic about this act?

“The last time we tried to launch the government quickly called curfew and this time they have used threats but you can’t stop the will of the people.”

A wave of street protests swept across Nigeria in October as young people poured out to demand an end to police brutality and bad governance in the country.

In a bid to break the peaceful demonstrations, the government sent in armed thugs and security operatives, who unleashed terror on the people.

The climax came on October 20 when the Lagos State Government drafted in soldiers of the Nigerian Army to attack demonstrators at the Lekki Toll Gate area of the state.

According to Amnesty International, over 10 persons lost their lives following the attack by the soldiers.

A Judicial Panel of Inquiry has been established by the Lagos Government to unravel the incident of October 20 and brutality by personnel of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

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Credit: Saharareporters

JUST-IN: GERMANY DEPORTS THIRTY-TWO NIGERIANS

 

The returnees, who are all males, arrived Nigeria aboard a chartered aircraft belonging to Envelope Airline about 2.30pm.

About 32 Nigerians repatriated from Germany on Thursday arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, from Dusseldorf Airport.

The returnees, who are all males, arrived Nigeria aboard a chartered aircraft belonging to Envelope Airline about 2.30pm.

The deportees were sent back to their home country for committing immigration-related offences, immigration sources said.

Many of the deportees were said to be confused and disoriented on their arrival as their relatives were not aware of their coming and hence nobody was at the airport to receive them.

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UNIBEN RAPE, MURDER VICTIM, UWAILA OMOZUWA, BURIED IN EDO

 

Omozuwa was buried on Friday at the Third Cemetary in New Benin with family members, friends and well-wishers in attendance.

Uwaila Omozuwa, a 100-level Microbiology undergraduate at the University of Benin, Edo State, who was gang-raped and killed by her attackers, has been buried.

Omozuwa was buried on Friday at the Third Cemetary in New Benin with family members, friends and well-wishers in attendance.

Prior to the interment, a funeral service was held for her at the RCCG, Peace Sanctuary, Edo Province 10 Headquarters, located along WAEC Road, Aduwawa. 

Recall that late Uwaila, who was 22 years old at the time of her death, was gang-raped, beaten, inflicted with head injuries and abandoned for the dead inside a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in the state. 

She died three days after the attack at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital while recovering from injuries sustained during the attack on her. 

The deceased had been using the hall of the RCCG situated at Osa-Amadasun Street, Ohovbe Quarters in Benin, the state capital, to study her book. 

In August, the police arrested and paraded six persons, who were later identified as Nelson Ogbebor ‘m’(27); Tina Samuel ‘f’ (45); Collins Uligbe ‘m’ (24); Mary Ade ‘f’ (45); Valentine Akato ‘ m’ and Nosa Osabohien ‘m’(31) in connection with the crime.

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#EndSARS: PRESIDENT BUHARI AUTHORISED DEPLOYMENT OF SOLDIERS TO RESTORE ORDER AT LEKKI TOLL GATE, ARMY COMMANDER TELLS PANEL

 

At least 10 protesters were killed in the Lekki plaza shooting on October 20, according to Amnesty 

Weeks after the shooting of peaceful demonstrators in Lagos, the Nigerian Army has admitted that President Muhammadu Buhari in his capacity as Commander-In-Chief authorised the deployment of soldiers to maintain law and order at the Lekki Toll Gate area of Lagos.

At least 10 protesters were killed in the Lekki plaza shooting on October 20, according to Amnesty International.

The army had maintained that its troops were not at the site but later said soldiers were sent to enforce a curfew. 

Appearing before the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Saturday, Ahmed Taiwo, a Brigadier-General of the Nigerian Army, said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu could only have made a request but only the President and Commander-In-Chief can authorise the deployment of soldiers.

Taiwo claimed that the events that culminated in the incident of October 20 at the Lekki Toll Gate had its remote causes in the wider #EndSARS protest and its immediate causes in the lawlessness that ensued from October 18.

He explained that the attack made the governor to call on the army to interfere in the crisis and due to the urgency of the situation, Sanwo-Olu imposed a 24-hour curfew, which was to commence at 4:00pm on October 20 but was later shifted to 9:00pm.

Taiwo said, “Due to the urgency of the security situation in the state, the governor declared a 24-hour curfew which was supposed to start at 4:00pm. They wanted everyone off the streets to deal with the hoodlums, but after some observations, the timing was shifted to 21:00 hours, but this timing was not communicated to the Nigerian Army.

“Be that as it may, we the Nigerian Army had already immediately deployed the 65 Battalion under the 81 Division Garrison to forestal all further violence and loss of lives. It is important to note that this deployment of troops contrary to reports, was done throughout Lagos to activate Phase 4 of the Internal Security Operations.”

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JUSTIN: SENIOR ADVOCATE OF NIGERIA FEMI FALANA SAYS, LETS THE GUILTY BE AFRAID

 

To the Guilty, Be Afraid. Be very afraid!

Mr. Joseph Nwaegbu/Pathfind Attorneys/MNBI and their shadowy minders and paymasters obviously think that the ICC is a forum for frivolities, especially of the type we have gotten accustomed to in Nigeria… They will sooner or later know that the ICC is not such a place. I welcome them to pursue their petition. I move around the world and I have easy and undisturbed passage.

From December 12 to 14, 2015, a massacre of our compatriots took place in Kaduna. The group targeted by the massacre has put the number at over 1000. The sheer scale of the genocidal event is however imaginable to independent minds by a subsequent disclosure, by the secretary to the Kaduna State government, in an official submission to a Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the incident, of the secret burial, in mass graves, of 347 of the victims. According to this official, 191 of the corpses, taken from the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria, were buried in a mass grave in Mando area of Kaduna State. The same fate befell 156 other corpses conveyed from the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria. The offence of the victims? Well, no more than that they were members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), adherents of the Shi’ite interpretation of the religion of Islam, who, in the course of a peaceful protest, denied the right of way to a commander of the Nigerian Army.

I am not a Shi’ite or a member of the IMN. But I am a human being and a Nigerian. Just like the victims were. I remembered the regrets of Martin Niemoller regarding the do-nothing attitude of those who should have known better, when the warning signals of the darkness that eventually enveloped humanity under the jackboots of the Nazis and their superior-race ideology began manifesting. According to Niemoller:

First they came for the socialists

and I did not speak out –

because I was not a socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists

And I did not speak out –

Because I was not a unionist

Then they came for the Jews,

and I did not speak out –

because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak for me

The event of December 12, 2015, happened just a few months into the first term of our current democratic rulers. As morning shows the day, events since then have shown it was a precursor of things to come, as Martin Niemoller poignantly warned those who would rather sit in their comfort zone and watch while evil stalks their land because they are either the evildoers or are wallowing under a false sense of assurance of their own position. I feared that unless we shouted and called-out the perpetrators, they would be emboldened to match from Shi’ites to non-Shiites, to anyone who happens to hold a view different from the one they cherish, or who dares look at their god-head with eyes other than that of worship and devotion.

The latest has been the use of men of the Nigerian Army to wage genocidal attack on peaceful and unarmed #EndSARS protesters, especially at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos. A full-scale war declared illegally in Port Harcourt has claimed the lives of scores of unarmed civilians.

Martin Niemoller was right, and I was right to follow his admonition by speaking out loud and taking up the cause of my fellow human beings and fellow citizens, the victims of the genocide that took place in Kaduna. Kaduna has been followed with several occurrences of similar nature in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Crocodiles have smiled, while the Python has danced, winced, cried, raged and roared across the length and breathe of Nigeria, gobbling-up citizens who dared to be different or ask for accountability. The latest has been the use of men of the Nigerian Army to wage genocidal attack on peaceful and unarmed #EndSARS protesters, especially at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos. A full-scale war declared illegally in Port Harcourt has claimed the lives of scores of unarmed civilians.

Never on my own side have I ever used anything other than the law to resist the attempts return us to 1984. For instance, when these elements suddenly woke up one morning in October 2019 and gave to themselves the power to go on the streets to conduct military operations against civilians, under the guise of a so-called Operation Positive Identification, I instituted the Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1939/19 with a view to bringing them back to the path of constitutional rectitude. In the case, the Federal High Court declared such operation illegal. The presiding judge, the Honourable Justice Aikawa issued a restraining injunction and said:

“It would be outside the powers of the 3rd Respondent (the Nigerian Army) for it to parade the streets in the rest of the country and demand citizens to show their identity cards and the like. If there is any security need for that, my view is that it should be left in the hands of the police, which is the security agency vested with these functions as spelt out by Section 4 of the Police Act.”

It was because they have no respect for the rule and the duly constituted courts that these elements have persisted in dabbling into politics and civil affairs, as recently shown in their deployment of soldiers in full battle gear and war formation against peaceful protesters. They should learn from their counterparts in the U.S.A who, despite all encouragements by the president of the country, refused to run such errands for those in transient political authority.

Just as the Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry has not thwarted the efforts at the international level to bring the powerful individuals responsible for the Kaduna genocide to book, the current exertions by those responsible for the latest use of men of the Nigerian army to massacre peaceful protesters are sure to be in vain.

Thanks to the advancement in science and technology, it has been impossible to bury or sweep under the carpet the Kaduna genocide, because the world has moved beyond what obtained in 1984 when the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) were the major means of information gathering and mass dissemination of news. And thanks to the international community, there has also come into existence the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, by which state actors can be held accountable for crimes such as was perpetrated in Kaduna in December 2015. So, thanks to this international convention, the era of the Unknown Soldier is long dead and buried. It is now no longer possible for any state actor to use his or her control of the executive or influence over judicial levers of state power to sweep crimes of these magnitudes under the carpet. Just as the Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry has not thwarted the efforts at the international level to bring the powerful individuals responsible for the Kaduna genocide to book, the current exertions by those responsible for the latest use of men of the Nigerian army to massacre peaceful protesters are sure to be in vain.

I hear that those who (by virtue of the state offices they hold relative to these matters) are sure to be called upon by the ICC for explanation are going about trying to divert attention away from themselves. I even hear that one such attempt has, in a complaint to the ICC, named me, Femi Falana, as responsible for allegedly instigating the violent #EndSARS protests that led to the killing of innocent citizens, wanton destruction of properties and other heinous crimes against humanity in Nigeria. According to online reports, the alleged petitioner is Joseph Nwaegbu, Esq. a senior associate of Pathfind Attorneys on behalf of Make Nigeria Better Initiative (MNBI).

Mr Joseph Nwaegbu/Pathfind Attorneys/MNBI and their shadowy minders and paymasters obviously think that the ICC is a forum for frivolities, especially of the type we have gotten accustomed to in Nigeria (like, government and government officials hiring praise-singers or protesters to counter-balance genuine protesters!). They will sooner or later know that the ICC is not such a place. I welcome them to pursue their petition. I move around the world and I have easy and undisturbed passage. I hope the shadowy minders and paymasters of Mr Joseph Nwaegbu/Pathfind Attorneys/MNBI are able to do likewise. In fact, I challenge them to dare!

To the Guilty, Be Afraid. Be very afraid!

Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), writes from Lagos.

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BREAKING: NIGERIAN PETROL PRICE INCREASED TO N168 PER LITRE

 

The memo said the new ex-depot price would take effect from Friday (today).

The Petroleum Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, has increased the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol to N155.17 per litre from N147.67 per litre, a report by PUNCH said.

The PPMC disclosed this in an internal memo with reference number PPMC/C/MK/003, dated November 11, 2020, and signed by Tijjani Ali.

The memo said the new ex-depot price would take effect from Friday (today).

The ex-depot price is the price at which the product is sold by the PPMC to marketers at the depots.

In its PMS price proposal for November, the PPMC put the landing cost of petrol at N128.89 per litre, up from N119.77 per litre in September/October.

It said the estimated minimum pump price of the product would increase to N161.36 per litre from N153.86 per litre.

The National Operation Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Mike Osatuyi, in a telephone interview said the over N7 increase in ex-depot price would translate into an increase in pump prices.

He said, “The implication of the increase in the ex-depot price is that there is going to be an increase in the pump price. We are expecting the pump price to range from N168 to N170 per litre.

“Crude oil price is going up.” 

He noted that the Nigerian Government had fully deregulated petrol prices.

Following the deregulation of petrol prices in September, marketers across the country adjusted their pump prices to between N158 and N162 per litre to reflect the increase in global oil prices.

Petrol price band had also risen from N121.50–N123.50 per litre in June to N140.80-N143.80 in July and N148-N150 in August.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said in September that the government had stepped back in fixing the price of petrol, adding that market forces and crude oil price would continue to determine the cost of the product.

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BREAKING: JOE BIDEN WINS UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

 

Biden had been neck to neck with incumbent President, Donald Trump, in what has been considered the tightest race in American election history.

Joe Biden, Democratic candidate in the United States presidential election, has won the race to the White House to become the 46th President of the America.

He won by clinching Pennsylvania, a battleground state.

Biden had been neck to neck with incumbent President, Donald Trump, in what has been considered the tightest race in American election history.

Throughout his campaign, Biden preferred socially distant events as part of his efforts to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, which was the focal point of his race.

He berated Trump for hosting packed rallies, which he described as “Super Spreader” events violating every Coronavirus safety guideline.

Biden will lead a very divided America alongside his running mate, Kamala Harris.

Harris makes history as the first female Vice President of the United States of America.

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EXCLUSIVE: HOW NIGERIAN ARMY SECRETLY MOVED 20 LEKKI MASSACRE VICTIMS TO IDH MORTUARY

 

SaharaReporters gathered that the Lekki massacre victims were moved to the IDH mortuary after a postmortem examination was conducted on their bodies at the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.

At least 20 bodies of EndSARS protesters massacred at Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos by operatives of the Nigerian Army on October 20, 2020, were on Friday secretly moved to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) mortuary in Yaba. 

SaharaReporters gathered that the Lekki massacre victims were moved to the IDH mortuary after a postmortem examination was conducted on their bodies at the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja. 

The IDH mortuary is beside the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital (68 NARHY), a military health facility in Yaba.

SaharaReporters recall that soldiers had last week Tuesday opened fire on the protesters, who had converged at the Lekki Toll Gate to protest against police brutality.

The incident triggered a global outrage, with calls for justice echoing from different parts of the world.

It was gathered that before the shooting started, some officials uninstalled the Closed Circuit Television cameras in the area.

The electricity at the protest area was also disconnected to prevent demonstrators from filming the attack.

Minutes later, heavily armed Nigerian Army personnel moved into the scene to complete the plan.

By the time sounds of their guns died down, dozens of protesters had been killed.

Though Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, blamed ‘forces beyond our control’ for the attack, the Army in a statement later revealed that the soldiers were invited to the scene of a protest by the governor.

Also soldiers involved in the operation confirmed they were 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 Sanwo-Olu.

While the governor insisted that there were only two recorded deaths and no bloodstain at the scene of the protest, military sources told SaharaReporters that no fewer than 30 protesters died as a result of the shooting.

Meanwhile, a human rights advocacy group, Amnesty International, has released a timeline of the Lekki shootings, which it said followed an on-the-ground investigation into the incident.

In the timeline published on Wednesday, the rights groups said it uncovered how soldiers from Bonny Camp opened fire on protesters.

The new timeline of the incident chronicled from how the protest was peaceful, through the firing of gunshots, and up to the statement from Governor Sanwo-Olu that the army was responsible for the shooting.

 

Amnesty International said its investigation had confirmed that the Nigerian Army and police killed peaceful protesters in Lagos.

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Credit: Saharareporters

BREAKING: LAGOS JUDICIAL PANEL VISITS LEKKI TOLL GATE FOR INSPECTION

The visitation was done on Friday by the panel when its members resumed sitting.

T he Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry has made a visit to the Lekki Toll Gate, the scene of the protest where personnel of the Nigerian Army opened fire on peaceful #ENDSARS protesters.

The visitation was done on Friday by the panel when its members resumed sitting.

At the resumption of the panel, Chairman of the Lekki Concession Company in charge of Lekki Toll Gate was called to give evidence of what transpired at the scene.

The man said though it had compiled its evidence including footage from what happened on the 20th of October, it is not ready to present its evidence.

He requested that the panel adjourn its sitting.

The panel, however, declined his requests and demanded that a visit will be made to the toll gate.

The panel and members of the public are presently at the toll gate as at the time of filing this report.

Recall that on 20th of October 2020, soldiers had opened fire on peaceful #ENDSARS protesters.

SaharaReporters revealed that the soldiers were called in by the Lagos State Government.

Not less than eight persons were killed with many left injured.

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Credit: Saharareporters

 

ITALIAN POLICE ARREST 73 MEMBERS OF NIGERIAN MAFIA GROUP IN MAJOR BUST

 

The group leader, 50-year-old Emmanuel Okenwa aka ‘Boogye’, was also arrested in the operation carried out by more than 200 Italian policemen in Turin and Ferrara.

I talian Police have arrested about 73 members of a notorious Nigerian mafia group called Arobaga Vikings or Norsemen Kclub International.

According to Italian newspaper, ANSA, the group leader, 50-year-old Emmanuel Okenwa aka ‘Boogye’, was also arrested in the operation carried out by more than 200 Italian policemen in Turin and Ferrara.

It is organised into local cells called Decks and present in many Italian cities.

National leaders of the mafia, which deals mainly in prostitution and drug trafficking were arrested.

They included Boogye’, an AfroBeat DJ and the self-styled “King of Ferrara”.

In all, 31 people were arrested in Ferrara. A further 43 were taken into custody in Turin including several women, who allegedly ran prostitution rackets.

Bologna preliminary investigations judge, Gianluca Petragnani Gelosi said the Vikings’ criminal plan was to “violently annihilate” other Nigerian crime outfits and take over their turf.

Interior Minister, Luciana Lamorgese said the police guard against criminal organisations and their illegal trafficking was high even amid the COVID emergency.

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NIGERIA: AT LEAST 14 SOLDIERS KILLED IN AMBUSH BY BOKO HARAM

 

ABUJA, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 Nigerian security personnel were killed when Boko Haram group ambushed a convoy of vehicles in which government officials were driven in the northeastern state of Borno, local media reported on Saturday.

The attack near Monguno town in the restive northern state occurred on Friday while the officials were on their way to Baga, another town, where hundreds of returning Internally Displaced Persons were to be received.

Eight policemen, three soldiers, and four Civilian Joint Task Force personnel died in the attack, local online newspaper Premium Times reported, citing security sources.

The security team was deployed to provide escort to the local officials.

Channels Television, a local broadcaster, also reported that an armoured personnel carrier belonging to the police, as well as state government vehicles, were hijacked in the attack.

The attack on Friday was the second of its kind in that northern state, stirring great concern. The Monguno area in Borno is believed to be dangerous and has witnessed many abductions by the terrorist group in the past.

Nigerian authorities are yet to react to the latest Boko Haram attack.

Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria since 2009, extending its attacks to countries in the Lake Chad Basin. Enditem

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Credit: Africanews.com

JUSTIN: NIGERIAN MIGRANT WORKER BURNED ALIVE IN LYBIA

 

An inflatable boat with 47 migrants on board is pictured while being rescued by the Dutch-flagged Sea-Watch 3 off Libya's coasts on January 19, 2019.

Three men stormed a factory in Tripoli, doused a Nigerian worker in petrol, and set him on fire, according to a statement by the Libyan interior ministry, in a new reported attack on migrants in the north African country.

The United Nations has described the man's death "another senseless crime against migrants in the country."

A statement by Tripoli's interior ministry on Wednesday said the suspects -- all Libyan nationals -- had been detained for the attack on the man, who has not been named.

The ministry cited witness testimony that described the men storming the factory and setting the Nigerian man on fire.

"We are horrified by the killing of a Nigerian migrant worker in Tripoli, #Libya by three men yesterday. The young man was burned alive, in yet again another senseless crime against migrants in the country," tweeted Federico Soda, head of the UN's International Organization of Migration mission in Libya. "Those responsible must be held to account."

NGO Sea-Watch 3 rescued 47 migrants on board a rubber boat off Libya's coast on January 19, 2019.

War-torn Libya has repeatedly been accused of being a hostile environment for migrants and refugees, many of whom pass through the country in an attempt to reach safer shores in Europe.

Many of these migrants are intercepted by European authorities and returned to Libya.

Last month, Amnesty International released a report detailing "horrific cycles of abuses" of migrants in Libya, including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and rape.

The rights group says that the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the abuse.

"Instead of being protected, they are met with a catalogue of appalling human rights abuses and now unfairly for the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic on deeply racist and xenophobic grounds," said Diana Eltahawy, the rights group's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said in the report.

"Despite this, even in 2020 the EU and its member states continue to implement policies trapping tens of thousands of men, women and children in a vicious cycle of abuse, showing callous disregard for people's lives and dignity."

In August, over 45 migrants died in a shipwreck off of the Libyan coast. More than 7,000 people making the perilous journey have been returned to Libya in 2020, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Thousands of these are believed to end up in detention centres in parts of Libya controlled by the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli.

In 2017, a CNN team witnessed a dozen men being sold in a slave auction in Libya, which opened an investigation into the slave markets.

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I'LL ATTEND TRIAL WHEN DOCTOR CERTIFIES MY KNEE HAS HEALED–Maina

photo credit Sahara reporters

 The chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, has said he will resume his trial only when his doctor gives him a clean bill of health.

Maina, who claimed to be suffering from knee injuries, spoke in a recorded video clip which circulated online on Thursday.

The about six-and-a-half-minute-long video clip showed him fielding questions from an unseen "journalist" who claimed to have embarked on an "independent investigation" to verify if Maina had jumped bail as being speculated in the media.

Maina was shown lying in a bed as he fielded questions, with his son, Faisal, who is also being prosecuted for separate charges, seated beside him.

The left knee, which he claimed was injured, was not shown in the clip, Punch reports.

Maina, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly laundering N2bn, has been absent from court on seven consecutive occasions since September 29, 2020, when his trial was scheduled to have resumed.

On October 2, Borno South Senator Ali Ndume, who stood surety for Maina to enable him to get bail, told Justice Okon Abang that he could no longer find the defendant.

But Maina, who was in hiding for about two years before he was re-arrested by the EFCC last year, said in the video clip that he had not absconded from his ongoing trial.

Asked when he would resume his trial, he said, "The doctors are here. You need to ask the doctors. But what they told me was that I would need six to seven weeks for recovery."

But when asked further if he was ready for his trial, he said, "Of course I am ready, as soon as I am healed."

"They told me that the next knee cap, they may not be able to do it here," Maina added.

Asked to respond to specific allegations that he had jumped bail, Maina said, "You have done your independent investigation. You were able to get my location Punch reports.

"Now, you have seen me. You have seen the situation, and you can tell whether or not I am running away from my trial."

Maina also alleged that the judge had in the course of the trial shown bias against him, citing an occasion when the judge asked him to stop gazing at him.

He said, "My lawyer asked him why, and he said 'I don't want him to look at me because I have a wife and children, and I want them alive'. Does that suggest that looking at him would kill his wife and children?"

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Credit: Saharareporters