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Akungba Crash: FRSC Confirms 16 dead, Wants Markets Relocated

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Akintomide Aroso
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Akungba Crash: FRSC Confirms 16 dead, Wants Markets Relocated

The Federal Road Safety Corps has urged local governments in the country to relocate markets from highways.

FRSC Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, made the call in a statement on Sunday by the Public Education Officer of the corps, Bisi Kazeem.

The Corps Marshal decried the road traffic crash at the Ibaka area of Akungba Akoko, Akoko South-West Local Government Area of Ondo State on Saturday evening.

The statement confirmed that no fewer than 16 people died in the accident.

The statement read, “In a sustained efforts towards making the highways safer and eradicating all incidences of road traffic crashes and its attendant fatalities, Oyeyemi has urged Administrators of Local Governments in the country to relocate markets from the highways.

“This will help the existing operational efforts of the FRSC towards enhancing the safety of the entire motoring population.”

Lamenting the huge loss of lives and damage to properties, Oyeyemi said, “The fatal crash involved a total of 23 people comprising of 11 male adults, three male children, seven female adult and two female children.

“Out of the 23 people involved, a total of seven people comprising of three male adults, three female adult and one male child were rescued with different degrees of injuries and taking to the hospital.

“While 16 people got killed comprising of eight male adults, two male children, four female adult and two female children and the dead bodies have been deposited at Specialist Hospital Ikare and General Hospital Iwaro Oka mortuaries respectively by FRSC emergency rescue teams.”

Oyeyemi stated that the relocation of the markets is urgent, adding that “the Corps is concerned with the rising statistics of innocent citizens who have lost their lives as a result of building markets close to the highways and has since initiated impact oriented operational strategies to curb the menace.

He however lamented that the strategies no matter how good will not yield desired results if the government at the grassroots did not rise to the responsibility of relocating those markets.

Commiserating with the families of the victims, the Corps Marshal advised road users to be more disciplined, maintain their vehicles regularly and maintain prescribed speed limits at all times especially crowded places like markets.

Aubameyang Penalty Gives Arsenal Victory At Old Trafford

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Akintomide Aroso
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Aubameyang Penalty Gives Arsenal Victory At Old Trafford

Arsenal won away at Manchester United in the Premier League for the first time in 14 years as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s penalty earned a thoroughly deserved 1-0 win for the Gunners on Sunday.

United’s run without a home win in the league stretches to six games as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men sink to 15th in the table.

Starved of the chance to counter-attack by the visitors’ disciplined set-up, United were far from the threat that thrashed RB Leipzig 5-0 in the Champions League in midweek.

Arsenal have struggled for goals of late, but were gifted the chance to win the game by Paul Pogba’s mis-timed lunge on Hector Bellerin and Aubameyang’s first league goal since the opening day of the season moved Mikel Arteta’s men up to eighth.

Victory also ended a run of 29 games without a win away from home for Arsenal against their ‘big six’ rivals stretching back to January 2015.

The day started in sombre fashion for United as they remembered former great Nobby Stiles, who died at 78 this week, and confirmed the news that another legend of the club Bobby Charlton is suffering from dementia.

On the field, there was precious little to lift the mood at Old Trafford as United again failed to shine on their own patch.

In his 100th game as United manager, Solskjaer stuck with the 4-4-2 system that demolished Leipzig in such stunning fashion.

However, Arsenal were not so easily opened up on the counter-attack as Arteta’s side again just lacked a cutting edge up front to turn a disciplined performance into a more convincing win.

Aubameyang had not scored a Premier League goal since signing a new three-year contract six weeks ago and prior to his penalty endured another frustrating day in front of goal as he could not stretch far enough to turn home Bellerin’s dangerous low cross at the back post early on.

Mason Greenwood fired low into the feet of Bernd Leno from Marcus Rashford’s pass in a rare sighting of United’s front two in the first half.

But Solskjaer would have been content just to get to half-time on level terms as Willian struck the bar for the visitors after a well-worked one-two with Aubameyang before Bukayo Saka headed the best chance of the half over the bar.

Arsenal continued to pose the greater threat after the break as Aubameyang curled wide the sort of half-chance he has made his speciality from the edge of the box before the outstanding Thomas Partey stung the palms of David de Gea.

Solskjaer’s change of shape has been seen as a way of getting Pogba back into the team alongside Bruno Fernandes.

But a moment of ill discipline from Pogba finally gave Arsenal the breakthrough 21 minutes from time as the Frenchman needlessly dived in to clip Bellerin inside the box.

Aubameyang kept his cool to break his scoring drought by sending De Gea the wrong way and score Arsenal’s first goal in the Premier League for 277 minutes.

The visitors then held out doggedly with the closest United coming to an equaliser when Mohamed Elneny and Leno combined to turn Donny van de Beek’s cross onto their own post.

AFP

Buhari Commiserates With Turkey, Greece Over Earthquakes

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Akintomide Aroso
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Buhari Commiserates With Turkey, Greece Over Earthquakes

President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic (Greece), Kyriakos Mitsotakis, over the reported earthquakes in their two countries in which many people died.

The Nigerian leader’s condolence message was contained in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Sunday.

Buhari commiserated with the bereaved families in Turkey’s city of Izmir and Greece’s island of Samos.

He condoled with the two countries as they strive to recover from the earthquakes.

“The government and people of Nigeria stand in solidarity with Turkey and Greece in this trying period, as they deal with the unmitigated fallouts of the natural disaster,’’ the president added.

He prayed for the repose of the souls of the dead and wished the injured quick recovery.

Thousands Stage Show Of Support For Embattled Thai King

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Akintomide Aroso
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Thousands Stage Show Of Support For Embattled Thai King

Thousands of royalists thronged to Bangkok’s Grand Palace Sunday for a glimpse of the Thai king, a massive show of support after months of protests calling for an overhaul of the government and reform of the monarchy.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn sits at the apex of Thai power, his influence permeating every aspect of society.

But the once-unassailable institution faces unprecedented challenges from a growing pro-democracy movement, some of whose leaders call for reforms including an end to draconian royal defamation laws.

On Sunday, royal devotion was on display as thousands wearing yellow shirts the royal colour waited near the Grand Palace clutching portraits of King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida.

“We will live loyally, die faithfully,” chanted the crowd as he emerged from the palace to greet them. “Long live the King!”

Zigzagging through the crowd, the inscrutable monarch received flowers from his supporters, at one point saying “thank you” and signing his portrait, according to footage from local media.

The king — who spends long periods of time in Germany — has been in the kingdom in recent weeks to mark a Buddhist holiday and the anniversary of his father’s death.

The visit has coincided with non-stop demonstrations from mostly young activists, who have staged guerilla rallies drawing thousands to Bangkok’s most traffic-clogged intersections as a show of defiance.

While the movement is leaderless, they are united in their demand for the removal of Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former military chief who came to power after staging a coup in 2014.

But calls for reform of the monarchy have drawn a backlash from Thailand’s conservative bloc, rousing royalist groups to stage their own rallies.

“We came here to show our loyalty to the king,” said Bin Bunleurit, a Thai former actor who decried the students’ demands.

Controversially, the students have also called for a clear accounting of the palace’s finances — which the extremely wealthy king took control of in 2018 — and for the monarch to “stay out” of politics.

“It is not reform, it is about overthrowing the monarchy,” Bin insisted to reporters outside the palace.

So far, pro-democracy protests have remained peaceful, but scores of students and activists have been arrested and charged — some with the serious crime of sedition.

Over the weekend three high-profile student leaders were released on bail, only to be swiftly accosted as authorities attempted to re-arrest them on another charge.

A scuffle with plainclothes police landed them in hospital.

On Sunday night one of the trio, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, pledged in a Facebook post that they would keep pushing for their goals.

“If the people do not step back, we will not step back,” he wrote.

Issa Aremu: Textile Alone Can Generate 2.5 Million Jobs

By
Akintomide Aroso
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Issa Aremu: Textile Alone Can Generate 2.5 Million Jobs

Mr Issa Aremu, Vice President of IndustriALL Global Union, has said that the textile industries alone can generate over 2.5 million jobs in Nigeria if rejuvenated.

To President Muhammadu Buhari, Aremu said the current government could create 100 million jobs over the next 10 years with the resuscitation of the textile industries.

Aremu made the call on Saturday in Lokoja at a one-day interactive session on the 5-year policy Trust of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) – (2019-2024). The session was organized by the CBN, in collaboration with Organised Labour and other stakeholders.

He said that through the CBN intervention in cotton production, the narratives have changed from cotton shortages to cotton abundance and the country should no longer import cotton from Benin Republic.

Aremu, who is also the General Secretary, National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NVTGTWN), said, “Now, the challenge is that many gineries have come back and are ginning the cotton seeds. They will then move to milling, weaving, spinning and the final product.

“You won’t believe it, uniforms for the Nigeria Customs Services, Police and the Army are produced in Bangladesh and India.

“Consider the security implications among other things. You know what, the few textile industries remaining have the capacity to produce them (the uniforms).

“We can even use it to kick-start new factories and you can imagine if we all agree that uniforms of primary and secondary school children should be produced locally, many of the garment factories will come back and this will get youths gainfully employed,” he said.

Aremu suggested that other sectors like construction and pharmaceuticals, should be rejuvenates for optimal performance.

For instance, he said “We like to drive exotic cars in Nigeria but we do not have factories where these cars can be manufactured. When properly rejuvenated, the factories for Volkswagen, Peugeot, Fiat, trucks in Kano, Styer in Bauchi can create decent jobs in these areas.”

Finance Minister: We Have Failed Our Children

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Akintomide Aroso
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Finance Minister: We Have Failed Our Children
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has urged parents to instill family values in their children as a way to save the country from degeneration.

The minister made the call on Saturday in Kaduna during a stakeholders’ engagement with 77 district heads, religious and community leaders from the 23 Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.

“We are calling the attention of parents that we have failed our children in the sense that the kind of values we use to have is no more.

“We need to remind ourselves that our children need to be upright and that this criminality going on, on daily basis, is not for their benefits and the benefit of the state and country.”

The minister appreciated efforts by the Kaduna state government in managing security issues in the state.

Ahmed told the stakeholders that the Federal Government has created a N75 billion entrepreneurship support fund, to enable youths in the country grow their businesses and be economically independent.

The minister explained that the fund would support the youth to actualize their innovative and enterprenueral ideas, be productive and employers of labour.

Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Environment, Dr. Muhammad Mahmud, called for collective efforts to tackle the security challenges in the country.

He urged the stakeholders to support government in addressing the security challenges and unemployment in the country.

The minister advised the youths to be self reliant, by focusing on skills acquisition and not depending on government.

Mahmud urged the leaders to be advocates of peace in their respective communities in order to bring about meaningful development.

Earlier, the Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, appealed to the stakeholders to sensitise their communities on the need to always uphold the law in all their conducts.

According to her, the state government will remain resolute in dealing with any lawlessness and criminal acts.

She also condemned the recent spate of looting and destruction of public and private properties.

“These mob actions are unreasonable and intolerable,” the deputy governor said.

She expressed the hope that the interactions would lead to understanding and collective efforts to develop the state.

“As good citizens, it is part of our civic duty to support government in the development of the state.

“So, we need this interactions between the government, traditional and religious institutions that allow us to reason together.

“It is agreed that there are problems, but government is doing all it can to address them. I urge all on the need to join forces to save the society from those seeking to destroy it.

“This is a responsive government and we have listened to the demands of our people and are doing our best to address them,” the deputy governor added.

The stakeholders tasked the government to do more in securing the lives and property of the people.

They appreciated the government for its efforts so far in managing the security situation across the state, and requested that such interface be held quarterly, to address emerging challenges.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Dr Fayemi Kayode, and Governors of Sokoto and Jigawa, Aminu Tambuwal and Badaru Abubakar, respectively, attended the event.

LPPC Calls For 2021 SAN Rank Applications, Charges Applicants N600K

By
Akintomide Aroso
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0
LPPC Calls For 2021 SAN Rank Applications, Charges Applicants N600K

The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee has called for applications for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria for the year 2021.

Each applicant, according to a notice for the call for applications signed by the Secretary of the LPPC and Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Hadiza Mustapha, is to part with a non-refundable processing fee of N600,000.

The notice seen by our correspondent on Saturday comes just as the LPPC is rounding off the process of selecting the successful lawyers for the conferment of the rank for the year 2020.

The LPPC had on September 23 released the first shortlist of 137 candidates who applied for the SAN rank in 2020.

The final list is to emerge after the interview of the candidates comprising 116 advocate and 21 academic applicants, among other selection procedures.

The LPPC made “a formal call for SAN applications preparatory to the award of the rank for the year 2021” in a fresh notice which it stated was issued in line with “the combined provisions of Section 5 (2) of the Legal Practitioners Act, Laws of the Federation 2004 and Regulation 9, Guidelines of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee 2018.”

According to the notice all completed application forms together  with mandatory supporting documents (bound together) must be submitted to the  LPPC secretariat on or before January 31, 2021 at 4pm.

“As a corollary to the above, any submission after the deadline of January 31, 2021 at 4pm, shall be treated as a non-submission,” the notice added.

ARMY: Why We Won’t Reveal Soldiers Deployed In Lekki Toll Gate

By
Akintomide Aroso
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ARMY: Why We Won’t Reveal Soldiers Deployed In Lekki Toll Gate

The acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations and 81 Division’s spokesperson, Major Osoba Olaniyi, has said the military will not disclose the number of its personnel deployed in the Lekki toll gate.

It was reported that soldiers shot peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki tollgate on the night of October 20, 2020.

Though the army initially denied involvement in the Lekki shootings, it later disclosed that its officers were invited by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to enforce a curfew imposed on the state last Tuesday.

But a lawyer, Nurudeen Yusuf, had sued the Lagos State Government and others, arguing that “death is not a penalty for violating curfew.

“And that as of the time the shooting commenced, the curfew declared had not been in force. It was supposed to commence at 9:00 pm on that day, being 20th of October, 2020.”

While Amnesty International claimed that 10 persons allegedly died, an eyewitness, DJ Switch, said about 15 protesters died. But the authorities are yet to release any official figures of casualties.

In an interview with, he explained it would be unprofessional to release the number of personnel deployed.

Asked the number of personnel involved, Olaniyi said, “It is against operational security. We don’t give that. It is against the policy of operational security. There is no problem here. The picture some people paint, as if we are fighting with the state government, is wrong.”

He also explained that it was not the duty of the judicial panel to invite the Army to answer questions regarding the reported shooting of unarmed protesters at the Lekki toll plaza.

Olaniyi stressed that the army intervened in the Lekki tollgate incident based on a request from the Lagos State Government and that it would only appear before the panel based on same directive from the state government.

He said, “If we receive a letter from the state, we will go. Are we not under civil authorities? Are we not part of Nigerians? Have you forgotten that we did not go there (Lekki tollgate) on our own?

“It is not the duty of the members of the panel to tell us that. If the state wants the (81) Division to come, they will write and we will oblige. See, if they have written to the division, it is our duty to go. It is not for them to go through the media as if we are scared of coming.

“It is the state government that constituted that panel of inquiry. So if anybody needs to get in touch with us to come, it is still the state and not members of the panel.”

Teacher To Lagos Judicial Panel: I Lost 2 Pregnancies In SARS Custody

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Akintomide Aroso
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Teacher To Lagos Judicial Panel: I Lost 2 Pregnancies In SARS Custody

A teacher, Mrs Ndubisi Obiechina, has narrated how she lost two pregnancies while in custody of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) over a suspect to which she was distantly acquainted.

Narrating her ordeal before the Lagos State Judicial Panel on EndSARS protest, Ndubisi said that she was detained and tortured along with her husband, Okwuchukwu, for 22 days by SARS in 2017.

“They brutalised me in the name of interrogating me. As a pregnant woman, I did not eat or drink for one week and in the process I lost the baby.

“It was later after I left SARS that I went to the hospital that I found that the baby was gone, and I had to flush it out,” she said.

The teacher identified some of the SARS officers who allegedly tortured the couple as Phillip Rieninwa, Christian and Haruna Idowu.

She said she was pregnant again during her husband’s second arrest, adding that Okwuchukwu was released following an order of the Federal High Court in Lagos.

“Due to the emotional trauma, I lost my second pregnancy. We sued SARS at the Federal High Court and we were awarded N2 million damages for the torture and brutality.

“Since then they have not paid the money. The case was taken to the Appeal Court and it was dismissed and till now they (SARS) have not done anything,” she said.

Ndubisi alleged that SARS officers also collected N50,000 from her husband, while the duo had to bail themselves with a total of N400,000 from SARS custody.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a copy of the judgment the couple obtained against SARS was admitted into evidence by the nine-member Judicial Panel.

The Chairman of the panel, Retired Justice Doris Okuwobi, noted that hearing of Obiechinas’ petition had to be adjourned because names of some SARS officials had been mentioned.

“Those SARS officers have to be brought here so that we can hear their own side of the story. This petition is adjourned to Nov. 10,” she said.

US Special Forces Rescue Kidnapped American In Nigeria

By
Akintomide Aroso
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US Special Forces Rescue Kidnapped American In Nigeria

US military forces rescued an American citizen in Nigeria, the Pentagon said on Saturday, days after he was kidnapped by gunmen in the south of neighbouring Niger and apparently taken across the border.

The hostage, Philip Walton, was abducted Monday night on the outskirts of Massalata, a village about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border with Nigeria.

Walton is safe and in the care of the US State Department, the Pentagon said in a statement. US forces did not suffer any casualties in the rescue operation, it added.

“The United States is committed to the safe return of all US citizens taken captive,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a separate statement.

“We delivered on that commitment late last night in Nigeria, where some of our bravest and most skilled warriors rescued a US citizen,” he said.

President Donald Trump hailed the rescue operation.

“Big win for our very elite U.S. Special Forces today. Details to follow!,” he tweeted.

Niger’s Defence Minister Issoufou Katambe had earlier confirmed the hostage release to AFP without giving details about how he had been freed.

Local officials had said this week that the kidnappers had called the man’s father to demand a ransom, though the family did not confirm this.

Walton had been living in Massalata with his wife and child for two years, according to his father, who himself has been in Niger for nearly 30 years.

Niger lies in the heart of the vast Sahel region, which is struggling with a jihadist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes.

US forces have two drone bases in Agadez and Dirkou, in northern Niger. Their aircraft provide significant support to the French anti-jihadist Barkhane force.

In October 2017, four American Special Forces soldiers and five Nigerien soldiers were killed in an ambush in Tongo Tongo, near Mali, in southwestern Niger.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

Several Westerners are currently being held hostage in the region, including American aid worker Jeffery Woodke, who was kidnapped in the central town of Abalak in 2016 and is believed to be in neighbouring Mali now.

Three Europeans, including 75-year-old French charity worker Sophie Petronin, were released by their captors in Mali earlier this month under a prisoner swap arranged by the Malian government.

In August, six French aid workers and two Niger citizens were killed in the Koure wildlife reserve west of Niamey, in an attack claimed by the so-called Islamic State group.

(AFP)

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