Ogun state police command has kicked as commercials banks in Ijebu-Ode area of the state refused to open for business over fear of being attacked by armed robbers.
Our corresponnet gathered that the banks have since Monday down tools following letters allegedly sent to a number of them by suspected robbers.
It was further gathered that the fear of the bankers weren't unconnected with the way a number of the banks were robbed some years ago, resulting in loss of lives .
The banks have insisted on not opening their branches except the Ogun government assist the police with armoured personnel carriers to be mounted on the brink of their branches.
Some residents of Ijebu-Ode who pleaded anonymity said many had been travelling to places like Sagamu, Abeokuta et al. to deposit or withdraw money.
A Point-of-Sale operator lamented that the event portends “great danger” for him et al. within the business in Ijebu-Ode.
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“We withdraw money from banks to pay our customers and that we also deposit within the bank once we have large sums of cash in our kitty.
“If the banks aren't opening, it'll negatively affect us. In fact, it's affecting me already. I’ve been getting to Sagamu to form withdrawals. It is bad.”
When contacted, the State PR Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed the event .
Oyeyemi said the bankers were just entertaining fear where there's none.
He said, ” I don’t see any reason for that action . Honestly , there's no reason for it in the least . The police called them and assure them of their safety. The police are posted everywhere. They saw the presence of the police. they're now claiming that the Armoured Personnel Carirer there has fault. Even, if Armoured military vehicle has fault, is it not the police which will still operate it ?”
Fast-rising Nigerian singer, Temilade Openiyi, popularly referred to as Tems, said that she didn’t realise how far she had come till she left Nigeria.
She said this via her verified Instagram page on Saturday, as she celebrated the one year anniversary of her debut EP For Broken Ears
Tems wrote, “GANG, It’s one year of For Broken Ears today. Really seems like ages ago. I cannot tell it all what the foremost High has finished me. Turned me into a trailblazer.
“Though we are all mad, I even have decided to not disguise anymore. I didn’t realise just how far I even have come till I left home. Nigeria does that to you.
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“I pray we all see the facility we've but we’re only too busy disguising. No more. I enter the door with my full chest.
If you're seeing this, own your madness. And let your light shine. many thanks for the abundance of affection . I appreciate you GANG.”
This comes a couple of days after Tems met with global superstar Rihanna at l. a. within the us .
Tems gained international recognition for featuring in Wizkid’s groundbreaking song, “Essence”, which gained major success within the Made in Lagos album.
Garnering the eye of yank stars like Snoop Dogg and Kylie Jenner, “Essence” became fashionable the American audience earlier this year.
The remixed version of the song featured Canadian popstar, Justin Bieber, who tagged it as, ‘song of the summer.’
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance within the November 6 poll in Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has unveiled his manifesto.
The former Governor of the financial institution , who presented his his contract with the people of the state if elected at the Dr Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, the capital on Saturday, said no candidate within the race was his match.
He said his target was to satisfy the a million votes mark within the election.
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He said, “I thank APGA for the ticket it gave me on Midsummer Eve , and therefore the over 50 support groups who for years continued to clamour on behalf of me to aspire for the governorship position.
“They are demanding on behalf of me to return and run, a number of them are people across party lines, and a few who aren't even politicians are calling me and saying that after the tenure of Governor Willie Obiano, the simplest thing which will happen to Anambra is on behalf of me to return and continue. Anambra people want APGA to continue.
“We will compete and contest for each vote and that we won't take your votes without any consideration . Our target is to succeed in the one million-vote mark. There are people that know that albeit they carry a gun, Anambra people won't vote for them. they're carrying money around and buying expired politicians.
“Anambra is APGA, and APGA is Anambra. Anambra isn't Imo. they assert they need to attach us to the centre, and it's idiocy for them to speak about getting to the centre because I’m already within the centre. I serve during this government (federal), so once they mention getting to centre, they're talking about coming to satisfy us. I’m already at the centre and that i enter and out of Aso Rock, so once they mention getting to the centre, they're coming to satisfy me, because I’m there already.”
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday departed ny for Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
The President arrived the us last Sunday before the 76th United Nations General Assembly, held at the planet body’s headquarters.
He is expected to arrive Nigeria on Monday.
Buhari on Friday spoke to world leaders within the morning session on the theme of the Assembly and other global issues.
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The theme for the 76th session is, “Building Resilience Through Hope – To get over COVID-19, Rebuild Sustainably, answer the requirements of the earth , Respect the Rights of individuals and Revitalise the United Nation’’.
Buhari also had held bilateral meetings with variety of world leaders, delegations and heads of International Development organisations.
The Nigerian leader met with the President of Burundi, Evariste Ndayishimiye, held meeting with Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the planet Trade Organisation and also attended the UN Food Systems Summit.
He also held a bilateral meeting together with her Majesty, Maxima Zorreguieta, Queen of Netherlands and took part at hybrid High-Level event, tagged “Transformative Actions for Nature and People”.
China's financial institution has declared all transactions involving Bitcoin and other virtual currencies illegal, stepping up a campaign to dam use of unofficial digital money.
Friday's notice complained Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital currencies disrupt the economic system and are utilized in money-laundering and other crimes.
"Virtual currency derivative transactions are all illegal financial activities and are strictly prohibited," the People's Bank of China said on its website.
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The price of Bitcoin fell quite 9 percent per cent, to US$41,085, within the hours after the announcement, as did most other crypto tokens. Ethereum skidded almost 10 per cent, falling from US$3100 to around US$2800.
Chinese banks were banned from handling cryptocurrencies in 2013, but the govt issued a reminder this year. That reflected official concern cryptocurrency mining and trading might still be happening or the state-run economic system could be indirectly exposed to risks.
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Promoters of cryptocurrencies say they permit anonymity and adaptability , but Chinese regulators worry they could weaken the ruling Communist Party's control over the economic system and say they could help to hide criminal activity.
The People's Bank of China is developing an electronic version of the country's yuan for cashless transactions which will be tracked and controlled by Beijing.
Regulators in other countries have increasingly warned that cryptocurrencies need greater oversight. In the US, Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has said that investors need more protection within the cryptocurrency market, which he called "rife with fraud, scams and abuse" and compared to the "Wild West."
The SEC has won dozens of cases against crypto fraudsters, but Mr Gensler says the agency needs Congress to offer it more authority and funding to adequately regulate the market.
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Regulators in China have also been trying to rein in cryptocurrency mining, an energy-intensive process whereby specialised computers generate digital currencies. As a result, miners are moving operations out of China.
Two years ago, China alone accounted for around three-quarters of all the electricity used for crypto mining, far and away the foremost within the world, consistent with the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption index. By April of this year, before the newest crackdown, China's share had fallen back to 46 per cent. that also towers over the No. 2 country, the us , at but 17 per cent.
The Nigerian currency, naira has hit an all-time low after exchanging for N530 against the dollar, at the parallel market on Thursday.
The local currency, which stood at 526/$1 on Tuesday, fell to 530/$1 at the parallel market on Thursday from 528/$1 on Wednesday.
The naira dipped to 720 against the pound at the parallel market from 717/£1 on Wednesday, while the euro rose to N620 from N616 on Wednesday.
At the I&E window, the naira weakened further to 411.67/$1 on Thursday from 411.50/$1 on Wednesday, according to FMDQ Group.
No less than 55 per cent to 60 per cent of Nigerian forex transactions are traded at this window, which is used by the CBN and most exporters and investors, according to Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited.
“It serves as not only a source of price discovery but also a barometer for measuring potential and actual CBN intervention in the market. Some of the exchange rate determinants are balance of payments, capital inflows and trade balance,” the FDC said.
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A driver was forced to flee her burning car when the Toyota Corolla erupted in flames during Adelaide's morning commute.
The car ignited on Marion Road, South Plympton just after 7.30am, with the woman forced to pull over into a carpark and jump clear as witnesses rushed over to check on her and help try and put the fire out.
"The flames grew and the fire got bigger and a couple of popped tyres with the young fella hanging over the fence trying to put it out, was a bit scary," witness Steve Troy told 9News.
Firefighters arrived a short time later and extinguished the flames.
An engine fault is believed to be the cause of the fire and the car was completely destroyed.
Rare footage of two female Southern Right Whales and their calves resting along the New South Wales South Coast has been captured by the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) member Daryn McKenny.
Both calves didn't stray far from their mothers as they leisurely swam in the teal waters.
One of the calves rested themselves on its mothers back before returning to be by her side.
Distinct white marks known as callosities were spotted on the whales. The shape and pattern of the callosities are unique to each Southern Right whale as the patterns stay with them from birth.
A pod of dolphins also joined the whales, leaping and diving close by.
Despite being solitary mammals, Southern Right Whales occasionally migrate in pairs as shown in the footage. They swim slowly and don't remain in one place for a long period of time.
The whales have been spending a few days resting before recommencing their migration to the southern waters of the Southern Ocean for feeding.
Using the word 'mate' in conversation has been found not increase trustworthiness, a new study reveals.
The study, published in Human Ethology, has revealed people without an Australian accent are considered less trustworthy.
The author of the study, Dr Cyril Grueter from University of Western Australia's School of Human Sciences, said his research team set out to find out why Australians frequently interjected their conversations with the salutation 'mate' and if using the cultural idiom fortified connections between people.
Dr Grueter and his colleagues also researched whether Australians discriminated against speakers with accents other than Australian-English.
"We were specifically interested in the situation in Australia where you can hear all sorts of accents and it's customary to use the term 'mate' to address people," Dr Grueter said.
Dr Grueter also added that accents were "a pertinent social marker and can shape group preferences; non-native speakers are often perceived less positively than native speakers in domains such as integrity and solidarity."
Researchers conducted a psychological experiment that involved the recording of six speeches by three male speakers, which were differentiated by accent and use of the word 'mate'.
Kabirat Olokunde, a Nigerian migrant worker, planned to spend her birthday with friends in the city of Abu Dhabi. Instead, she turned 28 in a frigid prison cell, one of about 700 Africans imprisoned by Emirati authorities without charge.
In unparalleled mass arrests, the workers were jailed with "no legal justification" on the night of June 24-25, and later started being deported, said ImpACT International for Human Rights Policies and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor.
UAE flag flies over a boat at Dubai Marina, Dubai, United Arab Emirates May 22, 2015.REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah "I celebrated my birthday in chains, with no mattress," Olokunde told Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from the Lagos, Nigeria, where she was deported on August 3.
"I still have the trauma in me," added the single mother, who had been working as a bus attendant and caretaker at an international school in Abu Dhabi.
She was deported without access to her belongings, and is now jobless and unable to support her son, siblings and parents.
The Abu Dhabi government communications office, and the Nigerian embassy in Abu Dhabi, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the rights groups' report, published on Thursday.
The Gulf monarchy, a regional trade and tourism hub and one of seven emirates which form the United Arab Emirates (UAE), tolerates little criticism.
Human rights groups have previously documented the imprisonment of hundreds of activists, academics and lawyers in the UAE, often following unfair trials on vague charges. The UAE has dismissed those accusations as false and unsubstantiated.
The UAE is home to nearly 10 million people, more than 80% of whom are expatriates who send remittances home to their families, according to the United Nations.
Workers from developing countries often live in shared residencies in Abu Dhabi with separate wings for different nationalities, like La Gym, where Olokunde was arrested. African and Asian workers have highlighted stigmatisation and racism in the past, but the two rights groups said the June raid was a marked escalation.
"The scale of this racially motivated deportation is completely unprecedented," said Michela Pugliese, a migration researcher at Euro-Med Monitor.
"The victims and other migrants who aspire to work safely in the UAE have had this right unjustly revoked. Its consequences will be felt for years to come."
The investigation, based on interviews with more than 100 migrant workers, found that Abu Dhabi's Rapid Intervention Forces (SWAT), Criminal Investigation Department and police carried out mass arrests in at least four apartment buildings.
The subsequent forced deportations were illegal, Pugliese said, as many of the workers had valid residency permits and work visas and were denied due process or access to their personal property.
About 100 individuals remain in detention, and more African workers have been arrested in recent weeks, Pugliese added.
The two human rights groups said they sought clarification from the UAE interior ministry on the reasons behind the arrests and deportations, but received no response.
Migrant workers told researchers that the arresting units used excessive force against them, including stun guns, and touched women's bodies inappropriately.
Olokunde said she was arrested in shorts and a bra, and was not allowed to dress before being transported to the jail.
When she and other women went on a hunger strike to demand justification for their arrest, they were chained for seven days, including her birthday, Olokunde said.
Two workers who spoke to the Thomson Reuters Foundation said they slept on the floor in large, group cells, but were not given masks to protect against COVID-19 infection.
In jail, the report said, detainees were denied access to health care and sanitary pads while women had their periods.
The rights groups said detainees were not granted access to lawyers or told why they had been arrested - but some were indirectly accused of prostitution, which is a crime in the UAE.
During her single, brief interrogation, Olokunde said she was asked, "How much do you charge for a massage?" According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), migrants are entitled to challenge their arrest in their country of residence.
"The abuses outlined demonstrate that migrants have had their rights to due process violated, and their detention conditions could amount to ill-treatment," said Rothna Begum, HRW's women's rights researcher in the Middle East.
"It is horrific that the UAE authorities appear to be conducting a secret campaign of mass arrests of African migrants, without any clear legal basis for such arrests or detention," she added.
Kenneth Rubangakene, a 31-year-old Ugandan clerk who had lived in Abu Dhabi since 2017, also said he was taken from his La Gym apartment to prison.
He said guards scanned his fingerprints and retinas without explanation, chained his hands and feet for three days, and imitated the sound of a couple having sex, asking if he had ever heard that noise at La Gym.
"They told us Africans are spoiling their country, they want to get rid of Africans from the street, we Africans are stupid," he said.
He was deported from Dubai International Airport on July 29, according to a printed booking confirmation that Rubangakene shared with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, which he said was given to him by prison guards.
"It was so shameful at the airport. You are arriving in a prison uniform, in prison sandals," he said.
The Ugandan embassy in Abu Dhabi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rubangakene said he has about 6,000 dirham ($1,634) stuck in a bank account in the UAE that he cannot access, as his bankcard - along with teaching certifications he would need to apply for new jobs - all remained in his room.
"I came back with nothing. I'm starting from zero," he said.
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Two graduates of Osun State University (UNIOSUN) have been killed in an accident on the Lokoja-Abuja Road.
It was learnt that two others sustained injuries in the accident the graduates had on their way to report at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps in Kaduna and Kano states.
A 21-day orientation course in camps across the country is part of the requirements for graduates to fulfil to partake in the mandatory one-year service to Nigeria.
It was gathered that three of the graduates were posted on Wednesday by the NYSC to Kaduna State while one was posted to Kano, to undergo the orientation course, when the crash occurred.
The Public Relations Officer of the University, Ademola Adesoji, told The Punch that immediately the accident occurred on Wednesday, the survivor contacted the institution.
“And we immediately informed the management of National Youth Service Corps Scheme.
"Four of our ex students were involved. Three of them are male and one female. Two died in the accident. But we spoke with the two that survived and monitored their movement up to hospital.
"Our Students Affairs Unit also notified the NYSC leadership and the management of the scheme responded immediately. The two that died were heading to Kaduna NYSC Orientation Camp. The four of them travelled in a vehicle they hired from Osogbo," he said.
Adesoji expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased on behalf of the university management.
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A former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell has expressed fear that the recently acquired Super Tucano fighter jets may be hijacked by bandits and terrorists.
Mr Campbell relates his prediction to the fall of the Afghanistan government and the takeover of similar high-grade military jet fighter by the Talibans.
The Afghan government had also acquired 23 Super Tucanos from US to combat the Talibans but with the collapse of the Afghan government and the fall of Kabul, not all of the aircraft have been accounted for. Some Afghan pilots flew their planes out of the country. However, at least one Super Tucano is now in the hands of the Taliban.
Mr Campbell who wrote for CFR, explained the instances of how terrorist groups seized other military equipment in Nigeria, expressing worries on whether the aircraft will be used to combat terrorism or used against other targets such as the Biafran agitators or Delta militants.
“Though it seems unlikely at present, there is also the potential that a Super Tucano could fall into the hands of a jihadi terrorist group.
“Now that the Super Tucanos are part of the Nigerian Air Force, an issue will be how they are used. Will they be used only against jihadi terrorists in the North, or will there be the temptation to use them against other targets, such as Biafran separatists, Delta militants, or even cattle rustlers? Broader use increases the potential for civilian casualties.
“A Biafran separatist movement, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is suing to block the sale in a Washington, D.C. court,” he said.
Nigeria separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) had sued U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over the sale of attack planes.
IPOB said the Nigerian government will use the warplanes to attack its supporters.
Also some critics, human rights groups and some members of the U.S. Congress had opposed the sale of the aircraft to Nigeria, citing the constant abuse of human rights by the regime of Muhammadu Buhari.
NAF officially inducted the six A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets on Tuesday, to aid its fight against insecurity in the country. Nigeria was said to have purchased the A-29s at about $500 million through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. The American embassy in Abuja had described it as the largest sale in sub-Saharan Africa.
During the induction ceremony of the Super Tucano jets where journalists were denied entrance, U.S. Department of Defence leaders who were also present said that the “aircraft will assist the Nigerian Air Force in their fight against violent extremist organisations including the Islamic State West Africa Province.”
U.S. is providing $36.1 million in infrastructure as support at the Kanji Air Base, where the Super Tucanos will be housed a statement by the embassy disclosed.
No few than 64 Nigerian pilots have been trained at an American air force base on how to handle the aircraft.
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Years of coal mining in some communities in Enugu State and attendant negligence of those mining sites are now leading to dangerous environmental degradation that threatens those communities. In this report, Ben Aroh, who visited Enugu North, Udi and Ezeagu local government areas of Enugu State where the mines are located, captures the fears of the residents and threats posed by the abandoned coal mines.
Mr Onoh's house located between colliery and Amuzam mines.
‘We are sandwiched by landslides’
Anthony Onoh and his family are marking time—their only home, sandwiched by abandoned mines, may sooner than later be swallowed by the mines. When it will happen is what they don’t know.
Onoh’s home is situated between Amuzam and Colliery, both at Ngwo in Enugu North Local Government Area, Southeast Nigeria, where the defunct Nigerian Coal Corporation (NCC) had mined coal. Coal mining in Enugu started in 1916, eight years after coal was discovered, and long before Nigeria made a discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity at Oloibiri in 1956 in the present-day Bayelsa State.
The house, Onoh says, is showing signs that its days are numbered, but he and his nuclear family has nowhere to relocate. “We live here because we don’t have options. We access our house through impassable routes. The foundation of our building is cracking and falling off. Surely, it will fall if nothing is urgently done to remedy the situation,” he said.
“By our right is the abandoned Colliery mine,” he continued. “Behind us is the Amuzam site. We can’t farm here anymore. There are no more sources of livelihood here. When we built this house, the gully was not spreading with this pace.”
Mercy, Anthony Onoh’s wife, says they see every day as the last for their house because the approaching erosion occasioned by the abandoned coal mines recently pulled down the perimetre fence of the house.
“A few days ago, the remaining part of our fence fell down,” Mercy Onoh said. “Our cries have not been listened to at all. Some property owners around here left many years ago because of the dangers therein. You wake up and see that a part of your house has collapsed.
“You can see that we are surrounded by gullies. Environmental officials have been coming. Some said they came from Abuja. But nothing much has been done. The Enugu State government is trying, but the speed this gully is spreading demands more action.”
Like Onoh’s family house, a worship centre, Rivers of Life Int. Mission Centre, sited near the Colliery landslide, is also waiting to be consumed by the threatening gully erosion. “The fear is that the gully is expanding daily without the corresponding intervention. If nothing is done urgently, this church may be pulled down. This is not our prayer,” says a member of the centre who identified himself as Nnamdi.
Coal mines abandoned after civil war
When it was discovered, Nigerian coal was exported to neighbouring Ghana, United Kingdom, Egypt and South Africa. But the production was crippled by the discovery of other sources of energy, Nigerian Civil War, and unsuccessful privatization attempts. “Nigeria Civil War negatively impacted on coal production,” the Nigerian Tourism Board was quoted in a report.
Coal Camp, Enugu State.
Following the war, production never completely recovered and coal production levels were erratic. Attempts at mechanizing production ended badly, as both the implementation and maintenance of imported mining equipment proved troublesome. It adversely affected production. After the civil war, the Nigerian coal industry has not been able to return to its peak production of the 1950s, the tourism board stated.
Several privatization attempts−to salvage the coal mining sector−including the one by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 up until 2004, did not bring back the fortunes of the once-flourishing industry. All these, including the selling-off of its assets by the NCC to settle debts owed its staff members, meant that the mines were forever abandoned.
The abandoned mines are now threatening human existence; and residents of the affected areas are helpless. “It is pathetic that we have been abandoned since coal became less fancied in this country,” Mr Onoh said. “My father told me that our area was a centre of attraction during the coal exploration. Thousands of people earned their living here.”
Gully leading to Coal camp
‘Flood washed away our relatives, homes before government’s interventions’
Amuzam, one of the abandoned coal mines, is littered with relics of collapsed buildings. Residents say the once-lively community could have gone into extinction because of the coal mines, but for the reclamation by the Enugu State government and the World Bank.
“You can see many collapsed storey-buildings. Some people also lost their lives. I recall a few that were swept by floods. Some of their corpses were never recovered. The outcry forced government’s intervention,” a resident, Paulinus Ossai, told our correspondent. He added that, “Without the reclamation done by the state government in collaboration with the World Bank, Amuzam would have gone into extinction.
Collapsed building at Amuzam
“The construction company did a good job in filling the gullies. But many affected areas are yet to be covered.”
Communal efforts to reclaim their lands yielded little or no result, says John Enwu, a community leader. Their farmlands have equally been taken over by the environmental degradation that the abandoned coal mines have brought.
“Our farmlands and residential buildings were destroyed before this reclamation,” Enwu told our correspondent. “Another community which this ecological problem has adversely affected is Umueze-Asata, where farmlands have been washed away and getting very close to residential buildings.”
James Eze who lives in the same community shares his experience: “We tried all that we could. The erosion has gone beyond our local efforts. We dig holes just to slow down water pressures and water currents. We also fill bags of cement with sands just to hedge it off, but the water pressure is always too much.”
At Okpuno-Nsude in Udi Local Government Area where Okpara mines are located, residents live in constant fear during rainy seasons. Unlike Amuzam, the intervention at Okpuno-Nsude is still in the pipeline.
This hitherto agrarian community has become a ghost of itself as the landslides spread meteorically. The natives adopt various erosion-control measures to curtail it, but it keeps spreading. “We are worried that the underground tunnels that have been there for many years may cave in one day,” Sheddy Ozoene, a native of the village, said.
Titus Ozoani, another villager, corroborates Ozoene and said they live in fear. “We live in fear every day. Through communal efforts, we plant bamboo trees to ameliorate the situation. Although it curbs the excesses, a lot need to be done,” he told our reporter.
Bamboo trees planted in gullies to check erosion expansion at Okpuno Nsude
“There was a time the authorities of the World Bank came to supervise it. Ever since then, we have remained expectant. They are yet to return again. This erosion has killed our farming activities. The effect is devastating,” he said.
At the moment, the state government, under the Enugu State-Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), a World Bank assisted project, is carrying out reclamation, channelling, and remediation at Colliery gully erosion site. It is being handled by Anbeez Services Ltd. The work at Amuzam gully site was also carried out by the same company.
Walking in the shadow of death
Seven communities under Agbaja cultural zone−Nsude, Obioma, Amuzam, Nachi, Eke, 9th Mile, and Ngwo−all with abandoned coal mines, have an undetermined and dangerous hollow beneath them.
Leaders of the areas, known as Agbaja Leaders of Thought, engaged the services of environmentalists and geologists. They say they were told that there are danger zones that could cave in like earthquake. They are demanding the mining maps to determine these red zones.
Agu Gab Agu, a professor of law and secretary of the group, says the mines were shut hurriedly without due processes. Agu blamed the Nigerian government for failing to do the right thing in reclaiming the affected areas at the time the coals were shut down.
“These mines were shut hurriedly without due processes,” he said. “Usually, when mines are being closed, there should be props or trees to hold the openings in the bowel of the earth. They are large openings that when they start to cave in, they will bring down everything on their top.
“The mines travel many kilometres, as far as Ebe, Obioma, and Nachi. So we are on top of them without knowing that the underneath is hollow. Some communities, like Nsude, will soon cave in.”
They are apprehensive of what could happen soon. So they are seeking to have the map of the area. “We have commissioned some work by environmentalists and geologists on that,” Agu says. “Our query is that those who did this thing should give us the maps. We want to know the danger zones.
“Nobody can discountenance that the problem of Ugwu Onyeama may be part of this development. If it passed through 9th Mile, with the ongoing development there, it means that one day, it will just go down. Most of those lands may not be useful to the owners again. They ought to be restituted.”
Nigerian Mining Act 2007, although does not specify the penalties for non-reclamation of mined areas, is explicit in ensuring standard practices at mine zones, particularly by those who worked on the mines.
Chapter Four of the Act, entitled ‘Environmental Considerations and Rights of Host Communities, states that, “The minister shall by order require the grantee of a mining lease to restore any area in respect of which mining operation has been, is being, or is to be carried out, on or after the date on which this Act comes into operation.
“Where land which is subject of a mining lease has been exploited, the reclamation of mined-out areas shall be restored by the applicant under the condition of its grant, otherwise the relevant provision of section 10 of this Act shall apply.”
Government Interventions
Barr Vincent Egechukwu Obetta, project coordinator of Enugu State-NEWMAP, revealed that, “The project intervention on the erosion areas in Ngwo communities has commenced with the award of contracts for the six sites.”
However, for that of Ugwuto-Nsude, the project was successfully handed over on October 2018, on completion, to the host community, Obetta further said.
Investigations by this newspaper show that intervention work is ongoing at four fingers of the abandoned mines located at Isata, Colliery, St Theresa’s and Amuzam, although at a snail’s pace.
This, according to findings, is a result of paucity of funds towards the counterpart funding scheme. “The reclamation of Amuzam and ongoing works at some other affected sites of the landslides show that Gov Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has not forgotten these areas,” a local source who did not want to be named said.
A publication of Enugu State-Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project shows that former governor Sullivan Chime paid a counterpart fund of N30 million and another N30 million in 2013, and later approved N200 million in 2014 for NEWMAP projects as counterpart funds with the World Bank.
– This story was produced in partnership with Civic Media Lab under its Grassroots News Project
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The court-ordered routine visit of the lawyers representing the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu took another dimension as the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) prevented them from seeing him yesterday.
According to a statement issued by Kanu’s lead counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor and obtained by SaharaReporters on Friday, the DSS said "that the person assigned to receive us during yesterday's visit was on a special assignment.” Nnamdi Kanu Ejiofor stated that he was in the secret police’s office with a constitutional lawyer from the United States (US), Bruce Fein, but they were prevented from seeing the separatist leader despite meeting formal notification and existing procedures on visitation.
Fein had in May filed a lawsuit on behalf of IPOB in the US to revoke the six A-29 Tucano fighter jets sold to the Nigerian government and also block the remaining six from being conveyed to the country.
Both Ejiofor and Fein were not allowed to see Kanu on Thursday.
Ejiofor, in the statement, described the action as “ridiculous and a clear violation of the court order on guideline for visiting our client, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”
The statement read, “Yesterday's court-ordered visit to our client, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was aborted by the officials of the State Security Services (also known as the Department of State Services, DSS) for a reason we find extremely ridiculous.
“Following the arrival of Mr. Bruce Fein, a foremost American trained Constitutional Lawyer and IPOB's Attorney in the United States of America, the game obviously took an interesting twist.
“Despite our formal notification to the Service, in line with the existing protocol, and in compliance with the Court-Ordered guideline, the officials of the Department of State Services came up with an excuse, 'that the person assigned to receive us during yesterday's visit was on a special assignment', and as such, the visit cannot be conducted.
“This is not only ridiculous but a clear violation of the Court Order on guidelines for visiting our client, Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“For the records, we have been consistently visiting our client on the specified days and time of the week, and there hasn't been any time we were denied access to him on the ground that an individual assigned to receive us was not available.
“Needless to mention, that no one individual has been specifically assigned to receive us on any of the visits. They are fully aware that the visit takes place every Monday and Thursday.
“Thankfully, we have another date for Monday, and we do hope that this individual will be available on Monday to receive us, whilst we have taken steps to formally bring this latest infraction to the attention of the Court.
“We will continue to update you all, while we continue to urge for your relentless prayers and understanding. We are winning, you can be assured.
“Thank you all and remain blessed.”
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"This means people approved to travel into WA from Victoria will have to have proof of a negative COVID test in the 72 hours prior to departure, proof of at least one vaccination dose, use the new G2G now app, and undergo COVID tests on days 2 and 12," Mr McGowan said.
Mr McGowan said his message to any Western Australians in Victoria who want to come home is "do it now".
The premier also said tougher testing requirements for truck drivers would come into effect from next week after two COVID-19 positive drivers from NSW made their way into the state.
"From next week, all truckies from high or extreme risk jurisdictions who want to enter WA will have to have returned a negative PCR test undertaken within the prior three days," he said.
"Truck drivers who have not had a test will not be allowed to enter."
Western Australia recorded zero new local coronavirus cases overnight.
Health officials confirmed there are currently 10 active cases in the state, two in hotel quarantine – two diagnosed in WA and two cases diagnosed in NSW – and eight crew members from the MV Ken Hou vessel.
The two NSW truck drivers who were confirmed positive cases on August 27 remain in hotel quarantine and 25 contacts linked to them have returned negative test results and remain in home quarantine.
Influencer Nadia Bartel says she is "embarrassed and remorseful" after the release of a video allegedly depicting an illegal gathering and illicit drug use, which has been circulating on social media.
Police this afternoon announced they were investigating "a video currently on social media depicting a gathering of people and alleged illicit drug use".
"Victoria Police is making enquiries into the video," a spokesperson said.
DHHS has also confirmed it is "liaising with Victoria Police in relation to the alleged incident".
The official statements come after a video of the well-known Melbourne model and business owner gathering in a bathroom with at least two other women was shared to Instagram.
In the video she can be seen snorting what appears to be white powder from a plate.
It is alleged Bartel was illegally gathering with the women during Melbourne's lockdown, in which home visits are banned.
The video has since been deleted by the woman who shared it.
This evening Bartel posted a message on her Instagram account.
"Hi everyone, I have let you all down by my actions," she wrote.
"I take full responsibility and I am committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in future.
"To my family and friends, my business partners and the public health workers trying to keep us all safe, I am embarrassed and remorseful.
"I am truly and deeply sorry. I hope I can earn your forgiveness and, in time, your trust."
A New Zealand man with COVID-19 who allegedly fled a quarantine facility walked almost 10 kilometres to his south Auckland home, but the escape posed no risk to public health, the Deputy Prime Minister says.
The alleged absconder is facing court proceedings under COVID-19 legislation after leaving the Novotel & Ibis Ellerslie in the early hours of Thursday.
On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said CCTV showed the man hid in a bush during an early-morning break from his room before fleeing.
He was at large for around 10 hours, but Mr Robertson insisted there was no risk to the public because the man did not come into contact with anyone on his way home.
During a COVID-19 update, Mr Robertson went on to detail some of the man's movements before he left the site.
The man had been identified as a close contact of another case and received notice that he had tested positive on Wednesday while he was exercising alone at a park.
He picked up a car from the house of a friend who was already a contact and in isolation, and dropped the car to his own home, Mr Robertson said.
Later in the day the man was again contacted by Auckland Regional Public Health Service, and he agreed to be transferred to an MIQ facility, which happened in the evening.
Between 9.40pm on Wednesday and 11.04pm (AEST) Thursday, the man was captured on CCTV leaving his room three times.
He left the facility via a fire stairwell, before hiding in bushes, skipping two fences and departed the facility at 11.07pm, Mr Robertson said.
Mr Robertson said CCTV footage confirmed the man walked home and had no contact with any other person.
Members of the man's bubble noticed he was missing at 8.30am and advised police and Defence Force staff on site who immediately checked the room and began searching.
Police outside the facility were advised at 9.10am, and they went to his Ōtāhuhu address, 13 kilometres to the southeast of Auckland's CBD, where negotiations were conducted, Mr Robertson said.
"There was no risk to public safety through this incident," Mr Robertson said.
He said while it was clearly regrettable, the incident was being fully investigated.
When Mr Robertson was questioned why the public wasn't informed by the prime minister at Thursday's update, he said it would have been "irresponsible" as an active police operation was underway.
Mr Robertson again said there was no risk to public safety because the man didn't come into contact with anyone on his way home.
Brigadier Rose King, joint head of managed isolation and quarantine, previously said the man appeared to have escaped from the facility by jumping two fences.
The alleged absconder is now in Jet Park quarantine facility, 15 kilometres south of the Auckland city centre in Māngere, with a guard stationed permanently outside his door.
"Security measures are in place at all facilities, but we are doing a review into in this situation to fully understand what happened and if any improvements need to be made as a result. We will continue to make more information available as we gather the facts," she said.
Ms King described it as a disappointing and unacceptable breach.
Of nearly 170,000 people through MIQ, there have only been 12 incidents involving 16 people absconding and since the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment took control of the system on July 13, there have been no other COVID-positive absconders.
This story originally appeared onstuff.co.nzand has been republished with permission.
There are 43 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the Auckland region.
Nine are in intensive care or high dependency care units. Three are on ventilators.
To date, 33 people in the outbreak have recovered.
There are now eight sub-clusters in the outbreak, the largest of which remain the Assembly of God Church in Māngere (347 confirmed cases) and the Birkdale social cluster associated with Case A (74 cases).
Of Friday's reported cases, 25 have been epidemiologically linked to the cluster. Three continue to be investigated.
To date, there have been 747 cases in Auckland and 17 in Wellington linked to the Delta community outbreak, after Case A was detected on August 17.
As of 9am Friday, there were 261 locations of interest linked to the outbreak.
This number is also decreasing day-on-day.
There continue to be no unexpected wastewater detections across New Zealand.
Regarding the alleged abscondee from the Novotel MIQ facility, Mr Robertson said "obviously something has gone wrong here".
The person was tested as they were a close case, and originally agreed to be transferred to MIQ.
CCTV shows the individual left their room three times.
On the final time, they departed the facility at 11.07pm.
The person then walked home, CCTV shows. There are no locations of interest as a result of this walk home, he said.
Mr Robertson said officials have advised there is "no risk to public safety" as a result of this incident.
More than 89,000 COVID-19 vaccines were administered across the country yesterday.
To date, more than 3.6 million doses of the vaccine have been given, including 2.4m first doses and 1.2m second doses.
Slightly less than 12,800 tests were carried out across the country in the past 24 hours.
Of these, 6460 were done in the Auckland region.
Dr McElnay said officials were seeing an "expected drop off" in tests because time has gone on in lockdown, and most people who attended locations of interest have already been tested.
The large number of tests early on in this outbreak was largely driven by people who had been to locations of interest, she said.
However, officials encouraged people to continue coming forward for testing – as it was important to understand whether the outbreak is under control, she said.
This story originally appeared onstuff.co.nzand has been republished with permission.
An urgent appeal is underway to identify a man wanted for questioning over the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl at a pool north of Melbourne.
Victoria Police have today released images of the man following the incident in January.
Detectives said a 16-year-old girl was playing water volleyball with friends at an aquatic centre on Central Park Avenue in Craigieburn just after 2pm on January 10 when they were allegedly approached by two men.
Former chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has been named Australian Father of the Year ahead of Father's Day on Sunday.
Professor Murphy, who is now the Secretary of the Department of Health, is best known for his role in Australia's management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave the professor a shout-out during his media conference today, praising him for his contribution to keeping Australia safe.
The award acknowledges his work supporting Australians through the pandemic and his dedication to his family.
"Being named Australian Father of the Year is a huge and unexpected honour," Professor Murphy said.
"Fatherhood is a unique and humbling experience that has changed me profoundly, and informed my values to have a stronger focus on family and community.
"A truly wonderful part of fatherhood has been the joy of reliving aspects of it again as a grandparent."
The Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expelled the party’s Caretaker Chairman of Yola South Local Government Area, Adamawa State, Sulaiman Adamu.
His expulsion from the party takes immediate effect.
SaharaReporters Media
This was contained in a statement titled “APC Expels Yola South LGA Caretaker Chairman, Alhaji Sulaiman Adamu,” signed by the party’s National Secretary, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, in Abuja, on Thursday.
He explained that the decision was part of the resolutions reached at the 16th meeting of the CECPC held at the Party’s National Secretariat, Buhari House in Abuja on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.
Akpanudoedehe said, “The CECPC received and deliberated on the report of his infractions and recommendations of the 7-member disciplinary committee set up by the Adamawa State Working Committee to investigate the offences committed by Alhaji Sulaiman Adamu against the interest of the party.
“Recall the viral video in which Alhaji Sulaiman Adamu made unwholesome utterances on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Leader of the Party.
“He was also found guilty of bringing the image of the party to disrepute thereby creating doubt on his leadership quality and loyalty to the party.
“The CECPC calls on party members to always demonstrate self-discipline and restraint by desisting from acts and utterances that are inimical to the interest of the party."
SaharaReporters had reported that Adamu, in leaked audio, said he wished the deadly COVID-19 had killed President Muhammadu Buhari.
Adamu, who made the remark during a meeting of some APC chieftains, said if he was asked to choose between Buhari and the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, he would rather go for the latter.
Sources revealed that high-profile party members at the meeting included the immediate past Governor of Adamawa State, Muhammadu Bindow, and the immediate past Speaker of Adamawa State House of Assembly, who is the incumbent member representing Yola South constituency in the state House of Assembly, Kabiru Mijinyawa.
Other APC stalwarts present at the meeting are Yusha’u Adamu who served Bindow as adviser and Abubakar Sirimbai, who is a former development area chairman.
Sources privy to the development said the meeting took place on Sunday, August 8, 2021, at the residence of the former Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, under the Bindow administration, Mustapha Barkindo-Mustapha.
In the leaked audio clip, the APC chieftains were heard making spiteful and denigrating remarks against Buhari without let or hindrance.
“I don’t know why coronavirus did not kill Buhari. If the president is placed side by side with Osinbajo, I will pick Osinbajo and leave Buhari,” the chairman was heard lamenting in Fulfulde.
Also lambasting the president, Abubakar Sirimbai, said, it is better for the “accursed president” to die so that Osinbajo could take over power.
“It is better for the accursed president to die so that his deputy can assume the reins of power. We sold our properties to help the president win the election. We bought underwear, braziers, and cosmetics which we used to give him a makeup. If I’m averse to Osinbajo becoming the president, may God not give me the privilege of living till evening.
“Buhari has achieved nothing in Adamawa in the last six years. APC in Adamawa thrives on the legacies of Bindow. We heard that Buhari used to be extremely happy whenever he learnt someone has gone bankrupt. We can’t be worshipping him like others,” Sirimbai was quoted as saying.
Also, the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mijinyawa in apparent approval of what others said, added that “Osinbajo is our own.”
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