The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), on Monday, said it would address the demands of Nigerian youth protesting police brutality and harassment across the country.
For the past two weeks, thousands of youth have been on the streets demanding an end to police brutality, disbandment of the dreaded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian police and comprehensive reforms.
The protests have disrupted activities, with cases of violence recorded in many cities. As of Monday, about 12 deaths have been recorded in the ongoing protests.
The federal government conceded to the protesters by first dissolving the notorious police unit and replacing it with a department known as Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team.
The protesters have, however, not yielded ground as they continue to occupy the streets and call for other institutional reforms.
Governors speak
In a statement on Monday signed by the chairman of the NGF, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, the NGF said “governors have endorsed the demands by demonstrators for improved governance”.
It said they also agreed to set up a Judicial Panel of Enquiry to receive all cases of police brutality by officers of the disbanded SARS Unit.
“Each State is also expected to kickstart a compensation mechanism for all victims,” the governors said.
Mr Fayemi also listed other resolutions reached by his colleagues.
“Governors thereafter resolved to: condemn the attack on Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State by armed persons while he was addressing anti-police brutality protesters in the state capital Osogbo; protesters are encouraged to engage with the government appropriately at both the national institute level to ensure that the protests are not taken over by hoodlums who are instigating a breakdown in law and order in many parts of the country.
“Activate a Judicial Panel of Enquiry to receive all cases of police brutality by officers of the disbanded SARS Unit. Each State is also expected to kickstart a compensation mechanism for all victims.
“Endorse the call by demonstrators for improved governance predicated on an enforcement regime that takes into cognizance the fundamental human rights and liberties of all citizens in the country;
“Act on all the Demands made by the EndSARS protesters raising some concerns with the shifting nature of the demands which creates uncertainty on the exact expectations and ultimate goal;
“Finally, appeal for the call off of protests as a continuation grossly exposes the fragile economic fundamentals of the country; particularly as criminal elements and hoodlums have hijacked the protests by maiming innocent citizens, looting and destroying properties.”
The Military has dismissed claims that the Army Special Operation, Exercise Crocodile Smile VI, set to be launched on October 20 is meant to stifle the #EndSARS protesters.
Recall that over the weekend, the Nigerian Army announced that beginning from October 20, it will commence a program tagged ‘Exercise Crocodile Smile VI’. The military said the exercise is aimed at enhancing the safety and security of the country. Read here.
According to the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Sagir Musa, the exercise was traditionally scheduled in the last quarter of every year to checkmate all forms of crimes and criminality as the end of the year approaches. He explained that this year’s exercise is intended to be more all-encompassing to include cyber warfare exercises designed to identify, track, and counter negative propaganda in the social media and across the cyberspace.
Brushing your teeth whenever you leave your home may help ward off Covid-19, a dentistry professor has claimed.
Professor Martin Addy, of the University of Bristol, argued toothpaste has the same chemicals as antibacterial hand gel.
This, he claimed, could kill the coronavirus if it enters through the mouth, stopping it from replicating and causing illness. It could protect others by cutting down the viral load in the mouth, which research has suggested may be linked to how contagious a person is.
Transmission of the coronavirus between people is mostly through droplets from coughing or sneezing, which can be picked up from surfaces. But the virus doesn’t only cause an infection through the mouth — it can enter the body through the nose and eyes, doctors say.
Professor Addy claimed people should brush their teeth every time they leave their home, such as when they do their food shop or exercise.
And he called for the Government to encourage the public to clean their teeth more often in the same way as they recommend face-mask wearing and hand washing.
Mouthwashing has also been suggested to remove viral particles from the mouth and prevent an infectious person from spreading it to others.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Professor Addy said: ‘Toothpaste contains the same detergents as those found in handwash gels recommended.
‘The antimicrobial action of toothpaste in the mouth persists for three to five hours and, thereby, would reduce the viral load in saliva or infection by viruses entering the mouth.’
He added: ‘For the vast majority, the timing of tooth brushing should be focused when they are about to go out of their homes for exercise or shopping.
Mouthwash could stop coronavirus transmission, according to scientists in Germany.
Virologists led by Ruhr-Universität Bochum, in west Germany, tested eight mouthwashes with different ingredients that are available in pharmacies or drugstores in Germany.
They mixed each mouthwash with virus particles and an interfering substance, which was intended to recreate the effect of saliva in the mouth. The mixture was then shaken for 30 seconds to simulate the effect of gargling.
Then they measured the virus titer, which is a value given to the quantity of virus in a volume of fluid, in this case saliva.
Three mouthwashes reduced it to such an extent that no virus could be detected after an exposure time of 30 seconds. More research is needed to understand whether this actually prevents spread of the virus, and how long the effect lasts.
The team headed by Toni Meister said their research does not prove mouth rinses are suitable to protect against catching the coronavirus, or treating it.
Ms Meister said: ‘Gargling with a mouthwash cannot inhibit the production of viruses in the cells, but could reduce the viral load in the short term where the greatest potential for infection comes from, namely in the oral cavity and throat – and this could be useful in certain situations, such as at the dentist or during the medical care of Covid-19 patients.’
Researchers in Lima, Peru, also encouraged mouthwash for dentistry procedures to protect against the coronavirus.
Andrea Vergara-Buenaventura, Department of Periodontics, Universidad Científica del Sur, looked at the evidence for a range of conventional antiseptic mouthwashes used in dentistry for protecting against infectious diseases.
She and colleagues concluded in their paper: ‘Within the limitations of this brief review and despite little clinical evidence, we suggest the use of preprocedural mouthwashes in dental practice to reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral load from previous dental procedures and to reduce the cross-infection risk while treating patients during the pandemic.
‘Research is urgently needed to determine its potential for use against this new virus.’
Professor Addy said antibacterial agents in toothpaste could help eliminate the coronavirus if enters via the mouth. In theory, this would make it less likely to cause illness, but has not been proven.
Researchers have said cutting down the dose of virus the person is exposed to may reduce the risk, and severity, of disease.
And the amount of virus exposure at the start of infection is also linked to a higher viral load, which relates to how infectious a person is to others.
Members of the Oxford Covid-19 Evidence Service Team in March: ‘The initial dose of virus and the amount of virus an individual has at any one time might worsen the severity of Covid-19 disease. The amount of virus exposure at the start of infection – the infectious dose – may increase the severity of the illness and is also linked to a higher viral load [in infected patients].’
It isn’t the first time Professor Addy has promoted the idea of brushing your teeth more often to reduce the risk of Covid-19.
In a previous letter to the British Dental Journal in April, Professor Addy said he was surprised the dental profession had not been promoting teeth brushing as a preventative approach to coronavirus.
He wrote: ‘From my own knowledge and listening to experts, a major source of droplets are derived from saliva.
‘I am therefore somewhat surprised that our profession has not been promoting oral hygiene, through toothbrushing with toothpaste, in the preventive approach to Covid-19.
‘The majority, if not all toothpastes, contain detergents, which confer significant antimicrobial properties to the product, indeed the same detergents are present in many hand washing formulations, recommended against coronavirus.’
He said the Government should be encouraging everyone to brush their teeth for two minutes, twice a day.
Although everyone should be brushing their teeth twice a day already, Professor Addy said many who are at a greater risk of Covid-19 fail to do so, such as the elderly who may rely on a carer.
Professor Addy did not go into detail about which chemicals in the toothpaste may be protective against the coronavirus.
Triclosan is an antibacterial agent commonly added to toothpastes in order to prevent plaque build-up.
The majority of antibacterial soaps contain triclosan, though other chemical additives are also common.
Triclosan is a controversial chemical that’s been banned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016.
It said there was insufficient information on the long-term health effects of 19 antibacterial chemicals and a lack of evidence on their effectiveness, banning them from products in America from 2017.
Professor Addy also addressed the idea of using mouthwash more often to protect against Covid-19, in his BDJ letter.
He promoted chlorhexidine products specifically due to their ‘antiviral action’. But he admitted there is little research to prove they will be effective against the coronavirus.
However since then, a study by scientists at Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, found SARS-CoV-2 was suppressed for two hours after applying chlorhexidine, suggesting it may be able to control Covid-19 transmission.
They concluded: ‘Chlorhexidine mouthwash was effective in reducing the SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the saliva for a short-term period.’
Mouthwashes are used for rinsing the mouth before a dentistry procedure to reduce germs in aerosols and spatter produced during dental procedures.
Coronavirus particles are coated with a fatty membrane which protects the genetic material inside.
It can be broken down by antibacterial gel and soaps, but not necessarily mouthwash.
The World Health Organization rubbished the idea that mouthwash was protective in February.
It said some brands or mouthwash can eliminate certain microbes for a few minutes in the saliva in your mouth.
‘However, this does not mean they protect you from 2019-nCoV infection,’ WHO said, before the coronavirus was given its formal name of Covid-19.
See what one of the escaped prisoner from the Benin correctional facility had to say, the rot is bigger than we can imagine! #EndSARSpic.twitter.com/XSYODuNj6g
The General Overseer of Living Faith Ministries aka Winners Chapel International, David Oyedepo, has endorsed the ongoing #EndSARS protests in the country against the excesses of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Before its disbandment, SARS, a police unit, was known for its human rights abuses and extra-judicial killings.
Mr Oyedepo, during a sermon video on Sunday morning circulated online, stated that the Nigerian youth have the right to express their displeasure on the current state of affairs in the country.
He said he had been silent on the issue so far because he warned Nigerians in 2015.
“Every man has a right, legitimately so, to express their displeasure and pains
“I kept quiet for a while because in 2015 I warned this nation, vehemently, consistently, because I saw the dangers ahead and you can tell. The most gruesome season in the history of the nation is the last 5 years where lives have no value, wanton killings here and there.”
“Now they have faced the youth and because they don’t know who is next, they have the right to say ‘enough is enough’. Any system that has no value for human lives is irrelevant. If they were killed when they were youths, would they be where they are today?”.
“It would be a sacrilege to shoot the protesters who are not looting, who are not ravaging”.
President Muhammadu Buhari has described former military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, as “a gallant patriot whose commitment to national unity is beyond comparison in the annals of our chequered history.”
The president stated this in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Sunday to mark the occasion of Mr Gowon’s 86th birthday.
Mr Buhari said that “the role General Yakubu Gowon played in our political history and infrastructure development is etched in stone and cannot be rewritten.
“As young military officers, many of us regarded General Gowon as our role model because of his patriotism, commitment to unity and his humility.
“Nigerian civil war brought out the most brilliant qualities of Gen. Gowon as a visionary leader who put the interest of Nigeria before his own personal interest.”
The president noted that the former Head of State led a very impressive national reconciliation effort at the end of the civil war in order to heal the bitter emotional and psychological wounds of the fratricidal conflict.
“General Gowon is one of the fairest leaders I have ever known who has inspired so many future leaders.
“Even in the context of Africa, many leaders in the continent draw inspiration from his adroit handling of the outcome of the civil war through his policy of ‘No Victor, No Vanquished’,” he said.
According to him, “as he marks 86 years of age, Nigerians cannot forget Gowon’s immeasurable contributions to the unity and development of Nigeria”.
“May God continue to bless him with more good health and the needed strength in understanding his ongoing spiritual engagements and service to humanity.”
The chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has reacted to the arrest of End SARS protesters in Cairo, Egypt.
Nollywood actress, Toyin Abraham had on Sunday raised the alarm that Nigerians protesting in Cairo were arrested by Egyptian Police on Saturday.
She said, “Aunty Abike @abikedabiri please we are waiting to hear from you ma. The peaceful protesters that were arrested in Cairo should be released.”
Reacting, Dabiri in a tweet on Sunday said the Nigerians who were arrested, protested without permit.
She further stated that the Nigerian Embassy was engaging the Egyptians authorities.
Dabiri wrote, “Nigerian mission did not call the Police. In Cairo, gatherings without permits are banned. In Egypt you can’t even travel from one part of the country without a permit to travel from the state you live. They have their own rules which they strictly enforce.
“However, the mission will be engaging with the Authorities to see what can be done.
“The Egyptian police dispersed them, then traced them to a very far place. They didn’t arrest them at the mission. They came in a bus driven by an Egyptian.
“The driver has also been arrested. The mission will do all they can. Egypt is very very strict with their laws.”
Defence Minister, Bashir Magashi, has warned End SARS protesters against national security breach.
He advised them not to allow their agitation be hijacked by people with ulterior motives.
The retired General gave the caution in Abuja on Sunday, when the Coordinator, Buhari Campaign Organisation (BCO), Danladi Pasali led the national and state officials on courtesy visit.
Mohammad Abdulkadri, Magashi’s special assistant on media, gave details of the meeting in a statement.
Magashi told the group to fortify their flanks and ranks against peneration of mischief makers capable of causing distraction and division.
The minister advised them to use their structure in all states and local government areas to gather intelligence and channel it to the authorities for action.
BCO Coordinator, Danladi Pasali hailed the Magashi and the ministry for his contribution to the Nigeria’s peace.
Pasali assured that the body will offer relevant information to help security agencies burst actions capable of undermining security.
