Many people were feared dead in a road accident that occurred at Igbelajewa Village, along the Ilesha-Akure Expressway, on Monday, when a truck carrying diesel lost control, spilt its content and caught fire.
About seven vehicles, including an 18-passenger commercial bus were reportedly burnt.
Spokesperson for Osun Command of Nigeria Police Force, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the accident, saying the number of the victims could not be ascertained yet.
Details later…
President Muhammadu Buhari has finally broken silence on the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria.
In a one minute video which was shared on his Twitter account, he told Nigerians that the disbanding of SARS was the first step towards a total reformation of the the Police Force.
He also expressed his sorrow at the killing of Jimo Isiaq, an observer of the protest in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, who died after being hit by a stray bullet from the police.
Nigerians have for the better part of ten days been protesting the use of excessive force by the police and undue harassment faced by youths at the hand of security forces.
The disbanding of SARS is only the first step in our commitment to extensive police reforms in order to ensure that the primary duty of the police and other law enforcement agencies remains the protection of lives and livelihood of our people. pic.twitter.com/XjQMSr3jlm
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) October 12, 2020
A bystander caught up in the #EndSARS protest around Barracks, Ojuelegba, lost his life, after being hit by a stray bullet.
“Then while we were trying to figure out the next steps they shot at us again”.
Videos on social media show the body of an unidentified man laying motionless with medical personnel performing first aid treatment on the victim, but to no avail.
This follows the trend of the Nigerian police cracking down on protesting Nigerian youths. This latest killing follows the murder of Jimoh Isiaq, a student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, who was shot dead in similar circumstances by the police on Saturday, 10th of October.
Nigerian Youths have taken to the streets, both home and abroad, and social media to protest the excesses of the dreaded SARS unit.
The Nigerian government has extended the suspension of the new electricity tariff by one week.
James Momoh, the chairperson of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), said this when the ad hoc Technical Committee on Electricity Tariff submitted its interim report at a reconvened meeting between the Federal Government and Organised Labour on Monday in Abuja.
The new tariff was earlier suspended for two weeks and ended at midnight on October 11. It started when the organised labour suspended the planned industrial action over agitation on the hike in electricity tariff on September 28.
The committee, chaired by Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour, is to examine the justification for the new policy.
Mr Momoh said the one-week extension is to enable the committee to review and work out modalities for the implementation of the agreement reached on the electricity tariffs structure.
Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, while reading a resolution reached between the Federal Government, Organised Labour and the Ad Hoc Technical Committee on Electricity Tariff, said that adoption of the work plan for effecting the resolutions has been reached.
Mr Ngige said the resolutions adopted would be implemented by all stakeholders within the week by Sunday, October 18.
According to him, the amendments to the resolutions adopted include:
“Using of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) VAT proceeds to provide relief in electricity tariff. This is to leverage on the VAT from the NESI, the increases experienced by customers due to the transition to the Service Based Tariff will be reduced.
“That is Band A – 10 per cert reduction, Band B – 10.5 per cert reduction and Band C – 31 reduction,” he said.
On the acceleration of National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), it was adopted that for the distribution of the first one million meters, the Ministry of Power was to liaise with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA).
He added that they are to start work by October 12 to accelerate the roll out of meters with a target of December 2020.
The minister, therefore, said that the meeting agreed that it would work towards bridging the metering gap.
“The Federal Government committed to provide six million meters and NERC is expected to compel the DISCOs to meet the metering needs of the customers,” he said.
Mr Ngige also said on the resolution adopted for the Local procurement for Meters for National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) that organised labour would to work with government to improve and ramp up local production capacity.
He also said that the resolution adpoted on salary protection for electricity workers was that NERC should ensure that the personnel costs of electricity workers should be placed on first-line charge on the Primary Collection Account.
He added that the process would commence from Monday, October 12.
“On the issue of mandatory refund for any over billing during system transition by the DISCOs that NERC should implement immediately within October.
‘While on the freezing of customer band migration during the interim period that the revised NERC order will include specific guidelines on freezing band migration,” he said.
Mr Ngige also noited that the resolutions adopted for Phase two for the extensive review of key sector reforms include that the ad hoc committee would work from October 12 to December 12, to ensure that all outstanding issues are resolved and implemented.
He also said the resolution adopted on gas pricing was that the Group Managing Director was co-opted into the Technical Committee to assist with the purpose.
He added that on resource capacity, the Managing Director, NEMSA, is also co-opted into the Technical Committee to work with NERC on the metering assignments.
LASEMA officials trying to rescue persons trapped in a collapsed building at 60 Odo, Str. Obalende, Lagos, on Sunday.
The death toll from the collapsed building in Lagos has risen to seven, an official has said.
ConcourseNews reported the collapse of the building in Obalende area on Sunday with an official saying four people had been confirmed dead.
However, the Director-General of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, has now confirmed that seven people have died in the collapsed building.
Mr Oke-Osanyintolu made the confirmation as the LASEMA Response Team tried to clear the debris of the building.
He said that the uncompleted building, at 60 Odo Street, Obalende, Eti-Osa Local Government Area, partially collapsed and injured 15 people.
“Immediately we received a distress call at about 4:30 p.m. on the incident, we activated our emergency response team and all responders headed for the scene.
“Rescue operation is still ongoing while initial findings are as follows: 10 casualties treated with minor injuries, five severely injured persons exhumed from the remains and transferred to hospital,” he told the News Agency of Nigeria.
Mr Oke-Osanyintolu said that seven fatalities were discovered, six male and one female.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the body of another male victim was discovered at about 8:14 p.m., bringing the total number of fatalities to seven.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to impose, on Monday, a tiered system of further restrictions on parts of England as the COVID-19 outbreak accelerates, though anger is rising at the cost of the stringent curtailment of freedoms.
He will then hold a news conference alongside England’s chief medical officer and his finance minister.
Mr Johnson’s three-tiered local lockdowns will include shutting bars, gyms, casinos and bookmakers in some areas placed into the “very high” alert level, probably across the north of England, British media reported.
“The purpose of these measures is to get the virus under control,” Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said.
“The point of moving to this tiered system is so that in those most highly affected areas, we have got measures in place to control the virus.’’
Mr Dowden said there was academic research that showed the risk of spreading the virus was higher in hospitality settings such as bars and restaurants.
He said he hoped the measures would get the virus under control by Christmas or sooner.
But hospitality businesses say they are being pushed towards collapse by the government’s restrictions.
The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), a UK trade body, said on Sunday that the industry has taken legal action to prevent lockdown measures from being imposed.
“The industry has been left with no other option but to legally challenge the so-called ‘common sense’ approach narrative from government, on the implementation of further restrictions across the north of England,” NTIA CEO Michael Kill said.
“These new measures will have a catastrophic impact on late night businesses, and are exacerbated further by an insufficient financial support package,” the statement read.
After being criticised for mixed messaging as the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths increase, Johnson will again go to parliament and the country to ask for support for a new approach to stem the spread.
Britain recorded 12,872 new cases on Sunday and has officially registered 42,825 deaths.
Northern England has been particularly hard hit by a new surge that has forced local lockdowns as students returned to schools and universities.
Mr Johnson, under pressure from parts of his Conservative Party over some COVID-19 measures, is reluctant to repeat a national lockdown that would further hurt a struggling economy, but has been urged to act by medical officials.
(Reuters/NAN)
The United Kingdom has told the federal government to respect the rights of protesting Nigerians amid the ongoing #EndSARS protests.
Catriona Laing, British high commissioner to Nigeria who commended the federal government’s decision to disband the special anti-robbery squad (SARS), stated that the IGP’s commitment to ensure accountability for human rights violations is essential to restoring public confidence.
She asked the federal government to respect the rights of protesters while also urging them to remain peaceful during the protests.
Laing tweeted;
Welcome the government announcement on the future of #SARS – an important first step. The IGP’s commitment to ensure accountability for human rights violations is essential to restoring public confidence in @PoliceNG
Hearing reports of violence affecting ongoing protests. Urge authorities to respect the right to protest and protestors to remain peaceful. @UKinNigeria
Shortly after Mohammad Adamu, the inspector-general of police, disbanded the special anti-robbery squad (SARS), Francis Ogbonna, a cameraman with ARISE TV, was assaulted by operatives of the force.
According to Ferdinand Duruoha, a reporter of ARISE TV who was with Ogbonna, the incident occurred shortly after Adamu announced the dissolution of SARS.
Some crew members of the TV station were at the briefing where the IGP announced the ban on SARS.
Duruoha narrated how his colleague was assaulted by the police while they were trying to get the reactions of some protesting youths on the disbandment of SARS.
“We took the IG’s message live on Twitter banning SARS, and on returning from that particular interview, we saw some youth along the road, protesting,” he said.
“While we where trying to speak to them and get their takes on the IG’s message, we where attacked by policemen who brutally assaulted Francis and broke his camera.
“This is the result of that brutalisation. I am about taking him to the hospital but then we just need to get this as a sign of evidence of what the police has done.”
There have been reports of attacks on protesters since the #EndSARS campaign began last week.
Police brutality continues. ARISE News cameraman beaten up by policemen shortly after the IG’s speech disbanding SARS. #EndSARS #PoliceBrutality #PoliceBrutalityInNigeria #EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeria #ReformNigeriaPolice pic.twitter.com/vqdELtLOdk
— ARISE News Feed (@ARISEtv) October 11, 2020
247nnu had reported how police dispersed a crowd of protesters with live bullets, water cannons and tear gas.
Despite the “disbandment” of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force, #EndSARS protesters on Monday morning hit the Lekki Toll Gate section of the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos State, to resume demonstrations.
The development led to early morning gridlock as commuters and motorists on their way to work were on standstill.
ConcourseNews had earlier reported that after days of protests against the brutality and extrajudicial killings by SARS operatives, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on Sunday afternoon, announced the disbandment of the police unit.
Adamu said a new policing arrangement to replace the now-defunct police unit would be announced “in due course”, adding that all officers of the disbanded SARS have been redeployed with “immediate effect”.
But the protesters on Monday want the police authorities to carry out psychological evaluation and re-training of all disbanded SARS officers before they are redeployed.
They demand the release of all arrested protesters, justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their families.
They also want increased salaries for police officers as well as the establishment of an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct within 10 days.
Details later…
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday declared the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, the winner of the election held in the 18 local government areas of the state on Saturday.
The Chief Returning Officer for the election, Prof Idowu Olayinka, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, declared Akeredolu the winner of the poll having scored the highest number of votes.
The APC national leadership, in its swift reaction, said the Ondo State governor’s victory was an indication of the success of its moves to reconcile the party members.
Akeredolu polled 292,830 votes to defeat the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, who came second with 195, 791 votes. The Deputy Governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi, who contested on the platform of the Zenith Labour Party, came a distant third with 69,127 votes.
Olayinka said, “I hereby certify that I am the returning officer of the Ondo State election, and that the election was conducted and the candidates received the following votes.
“Oluwarotimi Akeredolu got 292,830, Eyitayo Jegede got 195,791 and Agboola Ajayi got 69,127. That Oluwarotimi Akeredolu secured the highest number of votes among the 17 contestants. Moreover, he was expected to score 25 per cent in two-thirds of the state, but he scored it across the 18 local government areas.
“Consequently, having satisfied the requirements of the law, I hereby declare Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, the winner and he is hereby returned elected.”
Akeredolu won in 15 out of the 18 local government areas of the state while Jegede won in three local government areas and the deputy governor did not win in any, including his local government of origin.
The national leadership of the APC, in its reaction, described Akeredolu’s victory as a testament of the genuine reconciliation efforts of the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led caretaker committee of the party.
In a statement titled ‘APC Hails Rotimi Akeredolu’s Ondo Governorship Reelection Victory,’ signed by the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, in Abuja, on Sunday, the party expressed gratitude to the electorate in Ondo State.
It also singled out the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who is the leader of the party as well as Buni for rallying party members and supporters to work collectively towards ensuring victory for the party.
The statement read in part “Governor Akeredolu’s reelection is indeed testament to the inclusiveness, genuine reconciliation and peace the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led APC Caretaker Committee has ensured among party ranks in Ondo State, other chapters and the party in general.”
Earlier in a similar statement titled, ‘Akeredolu, Obaseki’s victories defined APCs ideology-preference for physical infrastructural ideology development-APC National Campaign Council,” signed by the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria, Osita Okechukwu, the council said the people voted for continuity.
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