By sdnonline

The International Press Centre (IPC) has frowned at, and totally condemned police brutality against Eniola Daniel, a reporter with The Guardian Newspaper while performing his duty at Apapa-Oshodi, Lagos on Sunday, February 28, 2021.

Information of the police unwarranted brutality collated by the IPC Journalist Safety Alert Desk, describes the inhumane treatment of the Nigeria Police Force, who physically and mentally assaulted Eniola, while covering the activities of a government taskforce at Apapa-Oshodi expressway in the early hours of Sunday.

Eniola’s personal belongings and work tools were destroyed and vandalized during the unfortunate incident.

The Executive Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade said, “This incessant action or excessive use of force against journalists and civilians is dangerous to our democracy and a major threat to press freedom. Such acts of brutality also violate the fundamental human rights of the journalist.

We urge the men of the Nigerian Police Force to be mindful of events around the world and not continually create an environment where journalists will be afraid to work and discharge their duties effectively and efficiently.”

IPC therefore called on the authorities at the Nigeria Police Force to take adequate and swift measures to bring to book those who violated the journalist while putting in place machinery to compensate Eniola Daniel for this inhumane treatment.

The organisation also called on the Nigeria Police Force to step up the training of its officers to be more respectful and courteous while discharging their duties saying they should be reminded constantly that the primary responsibility of the police is the protection of citizens including journalists and every other civilian.

By sdnonline

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has condemned in the strongest of terms the remarks made on Arise TV last Wednesday,. 24th February, 2021, by Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi where he labeled Journalists as criminals for calling bandits criminals saying we do not see any correlation between journalism and criminality.

Specifically, Sheik Gumi said “you are emphasising on criminality, I don’t know. Even the Press (journalists) are criminals too because they are putting oil into fire [sic]. These people are listening to you, don’t address them as criminals”. It is instructive to note that one of the gangs that was recently interviewed by Nigerian journalist, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz and published in Daily Trust of today where the bandit leader insisted on being introduced properly as “Kachalla Halilu Sububu Seno, Leader of all Terrorists. He is the Leader.” Yet Malam Gumi insists they are not criminals.

In a statement by the NUJ National President,Chris Isiguzo this unnecessary and unprovoked attack on members of the media by a hitherto respected cleric who decided to embark on strange errands, is unacceptable and it is becoming clearer now that he is pursuing a different agenda. We equally recall a recent statement credited to Sheik Gumi where he was inciting bandits, by encouraging religious biases among soldiers on the battlefield.

“We are more shocked that the same Sheik Gumi who has used the media to speak to leaders and to advance the course of his mission to the bandits across the Northwest, is at the same time attacking the Journalists for simply describing bandits as criminals.

“Sheik Gumi’s attempts to seek amnesty for killers and abductors of innocent citizens, especially school children is most unfortunate.

“We invite Sheik Gumi to explain to Nigerians why despite his recent negotiations with bandits in Zamfara State, the criminals have continued maiming, killing, raping and kidnapping innocent citizens, including the 300 female Students just abducted in the same State.

“In saner climes, Sheikh Gumi, a non-state actor involved in negotiations with criminal elements, should have been behind bars, but alas, thanks to the weaknesses of our Leaders, he continues with his reckless comments and forays into bandit territory unabated,” he said.

Iziguso declared that by insulting the Press as “Criminals” Sheikh Gumi has exposed himself the more as an intolerant person who will not want his activities closely scrutinised by the media. It is instructive to remind Sheik Gumi that by embarking on such an errand and choosing to speak for the bandits, the Press will continue to scrutinise his activities and also hold him accountable for his actions as enshrined in the Constitution.

“His reaction was totally unacceptable, dishonourable and reprehensible and we demand a retraction of his untoward, irritating and awkward utterances which negate simple decorum and civility. We therefore caution him to remember that “riding the tiger might be an exhilarating experience but the consequence are bound to be unpleasant.” He should thus be guided,” he said.

“We equally invite the global community to document the utterances and actions of Sheik Gumi and to hold him to account for any bandit related mishap that may happen to Journalists around the country,” the statement read.

By sdnonline

The Lagos State Government will shut down the Third Mainland Bridge from midnight Friday, 26th to midnight Saturday, 27th February, 2021 for equipment removal having completed the replacement of the 12th expansion joint.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde stated that the total closure of the bridge was slated to enable the contractors move the equipment used during the rehabilitation process off the bridge completely to allow both the Oworonshoki and Adeniji bound lanes open fully to traffic.

Oladehinde therefore, advised Motorists from Ogudu, Alapere and Gbagada to use Ikorodu Road, Jibowu and Yaba as alternative routes, while Iyana Oworoshoki-bound traffic from Lagos-Island, Iddo, Oyingbo, Adekunle and Yaba are enjoined to use Herbert Macaulay Way, Jibowu and Ikorodu Road as alternative routes.

He assured that traffic management personnel would be deployed along the affected routes to minimize and address any traffic impediments during the closure.

Commending Lagosians for their cooperation during the prolonged repair works of the bridge, the commissioner assured that the bridge is now safe for use by all and sundry.

=By sdnonline=

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Tuesday flagged off the enrolment of another 21,000 indigent residents of the state to a regime of free healthcare services under the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund Programme.

The flag off, which took place in Ogbondoroko area of Asa local government, came barely six months after the administration onboarded 10,000 vulnerable people into its healthcare insurance scheme.

Beneficiaries of the free healthcare services are spread across the 16 local government areas of the state.

“Today’s flag off of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund Programme in our state is another pointer to the dawn of a new Kwara. Under this programme, 21,000 indigent Kwarans will henceforth benefit from 100 percent free healthcare services for antenatal, baby delivery, surgeries, high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, emergencies, chronic and non-chronic diseases,” AbdulRazaq said shortly before handing the cards of the free services to the indigents at an event attended by top government functionaries including Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi and Speaker of the House of Assembly Salihu Yakubu-Danladi.

“This is one of the beautiful fruits of the counterpart funds that we paid and continue to pay since coming on board in 2019. Besides, we were able to key into the BHPF programme because we have made our health insurance active through funding as well as our proactive steps to bring our primary healthcare under one roof.

“On our own (last September), we enrolled 10,000 indigents to the state health insurance scheme while additional 10,000 will be onboarded in the next six months. Added to the 21,000 now being added through the BHPF programme, our administration would have given free access to comprehensive healthcare to at least 41,000 indigents/vulnerable people within a space of nine months. This 100 percent health subsidy is unprecedented in the history of our state.

“The target of this administration is to make Kwara the go-to destination for qualitative healthcare and other areas. That journey has begun already. Various projects and initiatives are underway to not only restore the glory of the state but to also place Kwara above its peers in the northern region. When our ICU facility is completed at the IGH, it will be the largest and the best in central Nigeria. We are also investing in infrastructure for dental and eye care to best our contemporaries in the region.

“We are doing these for posterity. However, we need the support of everyone to succeed. To make our state great again, everybody has a role to play — government, the masses, and the bureaucracy. I urge all of us to work for a legacy that will outlast us and make life a lot better for the people.”

=By sdnonline=

Lagos State Taskforce on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods has shut 16 illegal, substandard and unregistered pharmacies, patent medicine stores and premises at Ajegunle and Alaba Suru axis of Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government area of the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi who disclosed this on Tuesday while reviewing report of the monitoring, inspection and enforcement exercise carried out by the Task Force through the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate Unit (PIU) of the Pharmaceutical Services Directorate of the Ministry of Health, stated that the sealing of the affected pharmacies and patent medicine stores was in accordance with the provisions of Section C34 of the Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Miscellaneous Provision Act of 1999.

He explained that the affected pharmacies and patent medicine shops were sealed for offences bordering on operations without license, engaging unqualified persons to man and dispense drugs to unsuspecting citizens, operating beyond scope through sale of ethical products and displaying and storing drugs in unconducive environments which compromises the potency of the drugs, rendering them ineffective.

The Commissioner however stressed that only licensed patent medicine vendors are authorized to sell drug products in their original and approved pack size as produced by the manufacturing companies noting that the law prohibits wholesaling of drugs by patent medicine vendors and prohibits wholesalers from retailing drugs.

While noting that the recent operation of the taskforce was coming on the heels of the war being waged against fake drugs and illegal drug shops, Abayomi warned that the activities of the State Task Force on Fake Drugs would not only be sustained, but intensified until operators in the sector adhere strictly to the provisions of the law on running of pharmacies and patent medicine shops, in order to safeguard the health of the citizenry.

He stressed that the State Government remains committed to putting a halt to the ugly trend of having unqualified personnel deal with drug and will continue to insist that the environment for the dispensation of medical care should be suitable for the promotion and maintenance of good health.

Speaking in the same vein, Director Pharmaceutical Services in the Ministry, Dr. Mosunmola Beckley said that the State Government will not relent in its efforts to stop the inherent dangers associated with the operations from unlicensed pharmaceutical outlets and drug shops.

She added that the Task Force has been re-energized to intensify the on-going war against fake, expired and substandard drugs being peddled by unlicensed and illegal premises.

“This closure is thus part of the government’s renewed efforts to sanitize the drug distribution system and curb proliferation of fake drugs in the State” She said.

Beckley disclosed that an investigative meeting would be held with owners of the sealed premises to make further inquiries on the status of the sealed premises and to notify them of the procedures and appropriate conditions to be met for reopening in line with government regulations.

The enforcement exercise was carried out in collaboration with the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Pharmacists’ Council of Nigeria (PCN), Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Federal Taskforce on fake drugs and the Police Officers from Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Task Force) of Lagos Police Command.

=By sdnonline=

The International Press Centre (IPC) has called for the immediate release of The Punch journalist, Okechukwu Nnodim, who was abducted by gunmen at about 11p.m on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, at his residence in Abuja.

The Punch on Thursday, February 4, 2021 reported: “Nnodim’s wife, Oluchi, explained that her husband was working on his laptop when five strange men scaled the fence and entered their compound while ordering them to open the door. She said the gunmen fired several shots at the windows and subsequently pulled down the burglary proof after which they forced open the front door”.

The Punch further quoted Oluchi as saying that her husband asked her to stay with the children in their room. She heard the men asking her husband to bring out money, but he told them he did not have money in the house. The abductors took their phones and marched Nnodim out of the house.,”

“The spate of insecurity in the country should be of serious concern to all adding that it is very disturbing that journalists and media practitioners have also become easy targets,” IPC Executive Director, Lanre Arogundade said.

He enjoined the security agencies to do all they can to ensure that Nnodim is set free without being harmed in any way.

=By sdnonline=

A former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a chemical company, Eunisell Ltd, Kenneth Amadi, was on Wednesday, February 3, 2021, arraigned by the Federal Government before Justice Mohammed Liman of a Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged N2.9 billion fraud. He was docked alongside a firm, IDID Nigeria Limited.

The defendant’s arraignment on a 5-count charge bordering on the alleged offence was coming more than a year after the charge was filed in 2019. This was due to Amadi’s continuous absence in court to take his plea.

Prior to the defendant’s arraignment, the court had turned down a request by his lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), through a motion, to have the charge quashed for being an abuse of court’s process.

Drawing the court’s attention to the motion, which was filed on February 2, 2021, Etiaba argued that it was brought pursuant to Section 36 (5) of the Constitution as well as Sections 1 (1) and 221 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).

He added that the purpose of the motion was for the court to filter the proof of evidence and other documents attached to the case to ensure that the accused person was not punished unjustly.

“The provisions of ACJA are subject to constitutional provisions and anything that will curtail the rights of the defendants must be guard against by the court. The provisions of the Constitution is superior to ACJA’s provisions. This motion is deeply rooted in the Constitution,” the silk further added.

Responding, FG’s lawyer, Aderonke Imana, while expressing her opposition to the motion said the business of the day was the arraignment of the accused person.

She argued that the motion can only be looked into by the court after the arraignment.

She said: “We are objecting to the motion. Section 396 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) stated that such a motion can only be taken by the court after arraignment. The charge has been filed since 2019 and the defendant has never shown up in court before today. We urge the court to order the reading of the charge to the defendant.”

In a Bench ruling, Justice Liman held that there is no way the arraignment of the defendant can infringe on his fundamental rights. He noted that arraignment is only a part of criminal proceedings and not an aspect of trial.

“The process of arraignment does not involve the proof of facts and whatever decision was taken by the defendant will determine the trajectory of facts. The defendant’s lawyer misconstrued the spirit behind Section 36 (5) of the Constitution. I don’t see how the defendant’s arraignment can infringe on his fundamental rights.

“In the circumstance, I hereby ordered the defendant to be arraigned and the motion to quash the charge will be taken at a later date,” Justice Liman held.

The defendant was subsequently arraigned on a 5-count charge of alleged N2.9 billion fraud. He however pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

In the absence of any opposition from the prosecution’s lawyer, Imana, the defendant was admitted to bail by Justice Liman in the sum of N20 million and a surety in the same amount.

According to the judge, the surety must have landed property within the jurisdiction and the location must be verified by the registrar/bailiff of the court.

In granting the bail, Justice Liman ordered the defendant’s lawyer, Etiaba, to sign an undertaken that his client will perfect the bail conditions within 14 days.

At this point, the lawyer while responding to the judge’s directive disclosed that he is no longer interested in pursuing the motion for quashing of the charge.
The motion was consequently struck out by Justice Liman.

Further hearing in the matter has been fixed for March 10, 2021, for definite trial of the defendant.

The charges against the defendants include receiving and obtaining by false pretence, with intent to defraud, the sum of N2,900,000,000 belonging to Eunisell Ltd, from A-Z Petroleum Ltd and AMMASCO International Ltd; omitting making full and true entry thereof in the books and accounts; suppression of data in respect of the financial transfer to Eunisell Ltd; and converting same amount without authority to create sufficient deposits to promote the credibility of his own company (IDID Nigeria Limited).

The offences are contrary to section 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other fraud related offences Act, CapA6, laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and punishable under section 1(3) of the same Act.