United Nations Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) has urged Democratic Republic of the Congo to protect refugees and asylum-seekers following a shooting incident in Kamanyola on Friday which left scores killed and about 94 others injured.
The incident took place after Congolese soldiers fired live rounds at Burundian protestors in the eastern part of the country, many of whom UNHCR believes were refugees and asylum-seekers.
The protest, reported to be initially peaceful, allegedly started after a small group of Burundians were detained by Congolese authorities, creating fears they were going to be deported to Burundi.
“This is a devastating tragedy. It should never have happened,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, who welcome the announcement from Congolese officials of intention to launch an inquiry into the incident and called for it to be detailed.
“We need to establish facts and determine responsibility and make sure that such an incident never happens again.”
UNHCR had deployed a team to the area on Saturday to work with the medical staff of a partner organization in the local hospital to provide life-saving medical assistance to the injured.
So far, some 57 people with critical injuries were evacuated to Goma and the nearest city of Bukavu, while another 37 are being treated in Kamanyola.
The UNHCR team on the ground reports a tense situation with over 2,400 Burundians seeking protection next to the small MONUSCO (the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo) base in Kamanyola.
Reports say, they are too afraid to go back to the locations where they have been staying. Some refugees have expressed the wish to move elsewhere in Congo. UNHCR is working with local authorities to find a suitable location.
DRC hosts more than 43,700 refugees who have arrived from Burundi since 2015.
After months of attending to preliminary objections and legal fireworks, a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, will on Thursday, 21st September, 2017 commence hearing on a Ten Billion Naira (N10b) defamation suit instituted against controversial Lagos lawyer, Emeka Ugwuonye, by the former husband of missing Abuja business woman, Charity Aiyedogbon, Mr. David Aiyedogbon.
The Court had in May, 2017, adjourned to September 21, 2017, after resolving all issues around preliminary objections and motions filed by the defendant.
It is expected that at the resumed hearing on Thursday, Aiyedogbon will give an oral evidence in support of the already submitted electronic evidence, in compliance with relevant sections of the Evidence Act.
Ugwuonye had earlier filed a motion challenging the twenty thousand Naira (20,000.00) fine slammed on him by the Court for refusing to move an earlier motion he filed challenging the jurisdiction of the Court.
He had also prayed the Court to reinstate the motion earlier struck out, saying his absence in previous sittings to move same was not deliberate.
All the issues relating to preliminary objections are now resolved in favour of the plaintiff, clearing the air for the commencement of the substantive suit.
The crux of the matter is that David Aiyedogbon approached the Court to seek redress following the alleged refusal of Ugwuonye to desist from posting materials he considered defamatory on his Facebook group, The Due Process Advocates. He also wrote Mr. Ugwuonye through his lawyers, demanding an apology and retraction, but he refused to heed, leaving Mr. Aiyedogbon with no option, but to approach the court to seek justice.
Ugwuonye had falsely accused Mr. Aiyedogbon of having a hand in the sudden disappearance of his estranged wife, Charity Aiyedogbon; an unsubstantiated claim that compelled Mr. Aiyedogbon to institute the N10b suit against him.
In addition to the Ten Billion Naira damages, the Suit, with number CV/2750/16, between David Aiyedogbon (Plaintiff) and Emeka Ugwuonye (Defendant) on defamation of character, before Justice Peter Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court 14, Apo, Abuja; also prays that the defendant be ordered to pay for the cost of the litigation.
The Plaintiff is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction “restraining the Defendant, his Agents, Privies, Associates or whosoever called” from making further defamatory publications against him and his family members.
Mr. Ugwuonye is accused of posting severally on The Due Process Advocates (DPA), a Facebook group, claiming to have evidence of the involvement of the missing Charity Aiyedogbon’s ex-husband, David Aiyedogbon in her sudden disappearance. One of the posts reads in part:
“I now have overwhelming evidence that Mr. David Aiyedogbon killed his wife, Chacha. David has an idea of the kind of evidence at my disposal.”
In another post, Ugwuonye is quoted as saying: “this is the headless and dismembered body of Charity Aiyedogbon (posting a corpse on his DPA Facebook page). DPA has been able to identify this as her body within the limits of resources at our disposal.”
Continuing, on the 28th of June, 2016, he is quoted as posting: “I will describe David as a low-life and cold-blooded murderer of his own wife. The only reason I would not go further to describe David in the most despicable language that he rightly deserves is that I would rather focus my argument on points that would lead to justice for Chacha.”
In an earlier reaction to Ugwuonye’s allegation, Mr. Aiyedogbon washed his hands over the disappearance of the woman and wrote his accuser, through his lawyers, demanding an apology, failure which he would institute a suit against him for defamation of character.
The letter dated 21st June 2016, titled: “Defamation of the character of David Aiyedogbon; demand for apology,” signed by his lawyer, Obiora Iloand made available to newsmen, expressly states: “It is our instruction to demand an unqualified apology from you to our client through our chambers for the defamatory publications you have made of and concerning our client.”
Aiyedogbon went a step further by writing a reminder to him, reiterating the issues raised in the earlier letter. The second letter dated 12th July, 2017, signed by Chinenye Ofoegbu, of Ogbulafor chambers and made available to newsmen, expressed his readiness to drag him to Court, in an event that he failed to apologize and issue a retraction.
It is instructive to note that as at today, Mr. Ugwuonye is yet to produce any evidence to substantiate his allegations against Mr. Aiyedogbon.
Impeccable sources reveal that Mr. Aiyedogbon’s lawyer, Tony Ogbulafor may have also filed a personal suit against Mr. Ugwuonye for wrongly accusing him of giving a bribe (in an envelope) to a Police man to detain him, at the peak of Police investigations.
As the whereabouts of Charity Aiyedogbon remain unknown, I join millions of Nigerians to demand that Emeka Ugwuonye provides his “overwhelming evidence” regarding what happened to Chacha or get prosecuted for false information, criminal conspiracy and defamation.
The ‘missing’ Charity Aiyedogbon
It is about eighteen months since the sudden disappearance of an Abuja-based business woman, Charity Aiyedgbon. She was declared missing by her Facebook friends. Charity, popularly known as ‘Chacha’, is said to have gone missing since the 9th of May, 2016.
Following allegations by Lagos lawyer, Ugwuonye, linking him to the disappearance of Charity, former husband of the missing woman, Mr. David Aiyedogbon washed his hands over the disappearance of the lady and wrote his accuser, through his lawyers, demanding an apology, failure which he would seek legal redress.
He also addressed newsmen in Abuja, wherein he urged the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to investigate the allegation against him, describing it as “cruel, criminal and untrue”, stressing that his estranged wife Charity left their matrimonial home on the 28th of May, 2014, noting that since then, he had neither heard from her, nor had any dealings with her.
While the controversy lasted, a Civil Society Organisation, Coalition against Crime (CAC) called on Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to arrest Lagos-based lawyer, Ugwuonye to explain his role in the disappearance of Charity Aiyedogbon.
The Petition to the Inspector General of Police reads in part: “…Charity Aiyedogbon is said to have been missing since the 9thth of May, 2016 and one Emeka Ugwuonye claims he has evidence that the woman is dead and was murdered. He also posted a photograph of a dead person, part of whose body was dismembered. How can Police be looking for a missing person and someone says he has a clue and he has not been invited or arrested?”
Following the intervention by the Civil Society Organisation, the Police eventually arrested Mr. Ugwuonye and later released him on bail, after questioning, while investigations continued.
Several developments aided Police investigations. First, those believed to be close to Chacha are quoted as saying that she went missing on the 9th of May, 2016, but her lawyer, Barrister Nsikak Udoh, handling a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lokoja on 29th April, 2016 against 29 respondents, including her biological children and former husband, claimed she (Chacha) came to his house on the 18th of May, 2016 (eight days after her purported disappearance) and one of his staff accompanied her to Federal High Court, to sign and depose to an affidavit in support of the ex-parte motion filed along with the case. How could someone who was declared missing on the 9th of May reappear on the 18th and then disappear again?
Today, it has been established that Chacha’s signature was forged; as the lawyer, Nsikak Udoh has recanted. He says he did not see Chacha, contrary to his earlier claim. He confessed to the Police that he forged Charity’s signature in an affidavit he filed in court. Apparently, Charity was not behind the filing of the suit, but her lawyer, Nsikak Udoh. He therefore lied on oath. Both himself and the Commissioner for oaths in the Federal High Court, Abuja judicial division, risk being prosecuted by the Police for forgery and perjury.
The suit purportedly filed by Chacha at the Federal High Court, Lokoja, wherein Barrister Nsikak Udoh represented her has been decided in favour of David Aiyedogbon. The Court held that the plaintiff had no locus to have instituted the action. I am still at a loss, as to why the Police has not commenced the prosecution of the duo of Nsikak and the Commissioner for Oats for their roles in forging the signature of the missing woman. Are forgery and perjury no longer offences in our laws?
Another puzzle is that a corpse, said to have been dismembered beyond identification was allegedly seen in Abuja on the 12th of May 2016 and Mr. Ugwuonye claimed it was Chacha’s body. Till date, who has identified the corpse as that of Chacha? Impeccable sources say a DNA test conducted on the body revealed otherwise. Children of the missing woman have also chorused on several platforms that their mother was NOT dead.
More so, the missing Chacha has an ongoing case of forgery. A suit instituted in a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT High Court 8) on the 14th of March, 2016, with suit number CV/1231/16, between Messrs. Chibuzor Ogugua and Chigozie Eme (plaintiffs) and Mrs. Charity Aiyedogbon (defendant), made eight prayers to the Court. The last prayer reads: “an order of the Honourable Court directing the defendant to pay the plaintiffs the sum of 200,000,000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira) as damages for the losses suffered on the ground of the unauthorized and fabricated Valuation Report by the defendant.” Could that be part of the reasons why Chacha got ‘missing’?
For Ugwuonye, the last is yet to be heard about how he got involved in the matter. He claimed to have been in the United States of America as at the time of Chacha’s disappearance and only came into Nigeria in June, 2016, after being briefed to handle the matter, but his call log betrayed him, showing that he was in Abuja on the 10th, 11th and 12th of May, 2016; same time Chacha is said to have got missing. Private investigators and telecommunication service providers revealed that he made calls around Jabi area of Abuja, up till midnight same 10th and 11th and departed Abuja on the 12th of May, 2016. He also made calls around Transcorp Hilton area of Abuja on the 10th of May and one wonders if it is a mere coincidence that it was at the same spot that the principal suspect, Chukwujekwu Ezeugo claim he dropped the missing woman around the same time.
In addition, Ugwuonye made calls around Chukwujekwu’s house in Wuse zone 6 same period. Is there no cause for reasonable suspicion that the calls suggest a ‘movement’ between them? Ugwuonye departed Abuja on the 12th of May, 2016; same day he claimed to have seen the purported dismembered body. When confronted by the Police in Abuja with evidence of his movement and call logs, he owned up, claiming he forgot that he was around.
Today, Chacha’s car has been recovered, following a tip-off by one of the suspects that were in Police custody, IK Ezeugo. The car was found in Enugu, Enugu state by the Police, in the residence of one Uche, with its Plate Number and particulars already changed. Again, Chacha’s two handsets have been recovered. We await explanations from those that were in possession of Chacha’s car and handsets on their roles, accomplices and her whereabouts.
It also baffles me why the families of the missing Chacha and Jekwu (on exile) are not looking for them. It is only natural that if one is missing, his/her family members will make efforts to look for them, but for the family of Chacha, ‘life goes on’. There is God oooooooo!
Unfortunately, the Police has not made any progress in locating/arresting the principal suspect, Jekwu Ezeugo, who has also not been seen since after the disappearance of Chacha. Reports say he was the person that dropped Chacha at Transcorp Hilton and indeed, the last person to see her. Jekwu is said to have escaped to a neighbouring African country.
One other puzzle is the fact that all the suspects in Chacha’s case are from Enugu state (the missing Chacha’s maternal home). Both Chacha and Jekwu are from Orba-Nsukka, in Enugu State. All other suspects, including Emeka Ugwuonye are also from Enugu. Like someone earlier asked, is Chacha’s disappearance an Enugu project? Only time shall tell!
While we wait patiently for the unfolding drama, the Police must realise that Nigerians and indeed the world are watching. We also await the prosecution of other suspects; as, at the moment, only Ik Ezeugo is presently being prosecuted for his complicity in hiding Chacha’s car. Waiting endlessly on the matter does not help the course of justice.
Ultimately, the time has come for Ugwuonye to come forward with his ‘overwhelming evidence’ linking David Aiyedogbon with the sudden disappearance of his former wife.
It is either he opens up on what he knows about the whereabouts of Chacha and his allegation of the involvement of her former husband or face the course of justice.
As for gimmicks to either frustrate or delay the ongoing defamation suit, I can only wish him well. One thing is sure: he that asserts must prove.
Destiny Ugorji is an Abuja-based Public Affairs analyst. You can reach him on: destinyugorji3@gmail.com.
Kaduna (Nigeria) — Some members of All Progressives Congress (APC) known as Kaduna APC Democratic Elements, have vowed to resist any attempt to smuggle El-Rufai as sole candidate of the party without passing through the rigorous democratic processes embedded in the party Constitution and the Nations extant laws.
“We shall emphasize that no shunting and skipping of processes will be tolerated in our party and if other States can do it, Kaduna State is a different place entirely,” the group observed in a statement.
AFRICA PRIME NEWS gathered that an APC meeting of stakeholders from 255 wards of Kaduna state had endorsed the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and governor Nasiru El-Rufai in the 2019 elections.
A statement signed by Victor Asat and Ahmed Idris, Chairman and Secretary respectively said, “It should be noted that during the meeting, a voice vote was put in place to pass a vote of confidence on the administration of Buhari, all and sundry voted aye, when it came to the administration of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the voice that dominated the hall was Nay. Instead of the signatory of the said communiqué to let go of that section, they shamelessly reported that Mallam has been endorsed as the party’s sole candidate. There was no endorsement in last Saturday meeting, the selected leaders of our party passed a vote of no confidence on EL-RUFAI led administration in the state.
“Our attention has been drawn to a purported communiqué written by some APC members elected and appointed to various offices of the party and public trust and turned representatives of the Governor’s self-centered interest alleging that the All Progressives Congress in the State has endorsed Governor Nasir El-Rufai as sole candidate of the party for the 2019 General Election as Governor.
“The communiqué is not only laughable but worrisome to all lovers of democracy that are wondering if those behind the said endorsement are aware that the Military returned to barracks and what they intend to achieve is akin to Late Abacha’s self styled but failed transition program, where he decided who gets what.
“It is more worrisome that Mallam Uba Sani that worked hand in hand with Late Gani Fawenhimi as Pro democratic element has a hand in the making and approval of such a sham that portraits the APC as one without internal democracy, after all the framers of our Electoral Act and our beloved APC Constitution included in each case for a Primary Election as a mandatory part of democratic process that binds with no body to occupy any political office by shunting this process.
“It is most unfortunate that this desperation was exhibited at the time material that many competent persons within the fold of our beloved party have since indicated interest to contest for the coveted position of the State Governor and expect the present Governor to start preparing himself to join them in the race and canvass for votes if he is still interested not for him to set up or proudly accept it from the so called stakeholders meeting that was devoid of many other critical stakeholders of the APC in ranks of Dr. Tom Maiyashi, Isah Ashiru, Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed, Haruna Saeed, Kajuru, Mikiah Tokwak, Alhaji Tijjani Ramalan, Amb. Sule Buba, Sen Shehu Sani and etc and also Sen Suleiman Hunkuyi that attended on his own volition in order to send a message of caution to the organizers of the meeting.
“By this instance, the symptoms of the disease that aborted PDP’s vision aimed at governing this Nation for 60 years has manifested its ugly head in Kaduna Chapter of our party. This we won’t allow to grow and spread. We will continue to apply the right drug until the symptom vanishes. We desire to see our party rule this nation far beyond PDP conceived sixty years, this is only possible if we allow internal democracy thrive. Our openness and internal democracy was largely responsible for our successes during the 2015 general elections, we can’t do otherwise as 2019 draws nearer.
“We wonder if, it is the same crowd that booed the governor during the Saturday purported stakeholders meeting are the same people that endorsed him. If the governor is afraid of the shadows of his numerous anti peoples policies and his inability to provide security for lives and properties for the populace in the state and how he neglected leadership of the party at all strata, he should quietly take a bow and leave the stage for people with widespread acceptability. There is no law that says a governor must contest for second term even when he is sure of losing the election. This is a governor that is only popular amongst his family, friends, imported aides and consultants largely without electoral value.
“The communiqué has further proven that the governor and his bandwagon are still been hunted by the monster they created during the failed Election of National Delegates ahead of the forth coming non elective convention. If it were not so, they can’t be seeking for endorsement of the erstwhile falsification of delegates list in the name of July/August, 2017 Congress results in September, 2017.
“We stand by the true stakeholders of our party in both Akida, Kaduna Restoration Group and our elected representatives that distanced themselves from this sham, while the Governor and his team should prepare for election, as the said National Delegate list that they referred to as being accepted and endorse has no place in the APC Constitution and the Guideline issued by the National Headquarters of the APC and therefore cannot be accepted by majority of party faithful in the State.
“Not even the INEC shall accept endorsement of the Governor in September, 2017 as a candidate for 2019 General Elections by a crop of the party Ward and LGA Executives that their tenure is elapsing by December, 2017 and the State Executive by March, 2018 and because the return of most of them is contemplated we advice them to go and seek for their returning ticket from the people that gave them the mandate to be party officers at the 2014 Congresses, instead of dissipating their energy in favour of the Governor that neglected them for almost a period of three years now from the time they gave him this current unexpired trust.
“We shall not accept whereby the Governor should cluster with our beloved President Muhammadu Buhari to hold the jugular of this State, as the President is not threatening the civil servants working under his jurisdiction with mass sack neither is he having a long necklace of unpaid allowances and salaries hanging on his neck as the Governor has despite the quantum of monies accrued to him and therefore Mr. Governor should be ready to answer his surname and repercussions of his actions and inactions of including dismissal of Districts and Village Heads, refusal to pay Scholarship to student from his inauguration to date and as well as the threat he directed at the traders for trying to evict them to demolish their markets without payment of compensation but for the intervention of the High Court.”
Kaduna (Nigeria) — Nigerian students have express delight with decision by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its two months strike, describing it as a welcome development to the educational sector of the country.
The decision to suspend the strike followed a meeting between ASUU and the minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige saying both parties had come to the end of deliberation on the matter.
“We have made lots of progress and agreed on the Union’s demands and we produced what we called ‘Collective Agreement of Action’, but ASUU calls it Memorandum of Action because they want implementation,” he said.
Some of the students who spoke with AFRICA PRIME NEWS expressed delight that the strike did not take a long time as envisaged by some of them.
Paul Adamu from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria said, “lt has not been easy staying at home not knowing when you will resume your academic activities. Honestly, it has been very devastating all these while living a hopeless life not knowing when the strike will be called off.
“I personally want to commend efforts of both the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the federal government made towards ensuring that academic activities of universities in the country resume without any delay.”
Rose Peter of University of Maiduguri said that both ASUU and the federal government have shown they have listening ears to the cry of students and other stakeholders towards finding lasting situation to the lingering challenges universities are going through in the country.
She called on the federal government to ensure that the agreement reached with ASUU are strictly adhered to for steady and uninterrupted academic activities in public universities.
A student, who want to remain anonymous, said steps be taken to ensure that there is a law that prohibit all Nigerians from sending their children abroad, stressing that it would be the only way for government to be serious with education in the country.
Abdullahi Ibrahim, a stakeholder, noted that the way strikes are being carried out do not speak well of the seriousness of government towards tackling various challenges confronting Nigerians, “We should be sincere as a people to take serious and ensure those coming after us lead the affairs of the country the seriousness it deserves, ” he observed.
The long awaited domestication of the Child Rights Act, otherwise called Child Protection Bill pending in Kaduna State House of Assembly, might receive legislative attention when the Assembly resumes from its recess, official of the Assembly said.
The bill if passed to law, will among other things, protects children in the state, especially the voiceless and vulnerable ones against child trafficking, abuse, Labor and other social vices in the society.
Recall that in his effort to ensure the law is domesticated in the state, Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, in 2016 sent a draft bill of the Act to the state Assembly for passage, the bill has since passed first and second readings and public hearing on the bill has been conducted by the assembly.
Unfortunately, nothing is being said about the bill, this has led to several advocacy push to the legislators by different Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), media and professional organizations such as League of Professional Online Journalists (LEPOJ), calling on the assembly to fast track the enactment of the law.
However, when some members of LEPOJ, met with the Kaduna State Assembly, House Committee Chairman on Information, Hon. Nuhu Shafalafiya at the weekend, he raised the hope that the bill will get first hand attention once the house resumes in October.
He disclosed that the delays in passing the bill to law was not intentional and that it was as a result of some conflicting issues that needed to be thoroughly dealt with before allowing it to become law.
According to Hon. Shafalafiya, “this bill is dear to the heart of the governor and also the heart of the members of the assembly, so we don’t want to make mistakes, there are some many conflicting issues there.
“You have to consider our norms, our religion, our tradition and our culture and you don’t do a law that people will not obey.
“So what we are doing is a thorough job so that when we come out with the bill, it will be presentable.”
The Lawmaker added that the bill is currently before the committee who are already working on it, saying “just like other bills that are with the committees, like the SIECOM Bill, Local Government Reforms Bill, the School Management Bill, they are all with the committees.”
Biafra Independence Movement, BIM, has called on the federal government to urgently convene a sovereign national confab to give opportunity to component units in the country to determine their future.
The group accused the federal government of using brute force to keep component units in the country together against their will, adding that it is a matter of time before the nation disintegrates.
BIM’s National Director of Information, Sunny Okereafor, who stated this in Aba, lamented that the launch of the Operation Python Dance II exercise has exposed the federal government’s bias in handling issues concerning the South East and South South zones of the country.
“We cannot continue to be part of a forced union, the federal government should urgently convene a sovereign national conference to allow these component units determine if they want to be part of the federation or not. No forced marriage can last.
There can’t be different laws for the same people. From the launch of operation python dance II exercise, it is clear that the President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to use force to suppress the agitation for an independent state of Biafra.
“MASSOB/BIM will no longer accept this double standard where the murderous Fulani herdsmen and Boko Haram are tolerated while Biafra groups agitating for independence must be killed. Fulani herdsmen have wrecked havoc, killing farmers and raping women in Nimbo Uzo Uwani, Agatu and other places, yet no operation python was declared.
“The entire Southern Kaduna was almost wiped off; there was no Army to declare operation python. There is no crisis in the South East zone to warrant the setting of operation python. It is all part of the larger plot by Buhari to continue to intimidate, marginalize, suppress and kill people of the zone.”
BIM warned Igbo youths to be cautious and refrain from playing into the hands of what it described as the enemies of Biafra, who will not hesitate to massacre them under the guise of keeping peace in the zone.
Gombe (Nigeria) – A new Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu has assumed duty in Gombe State northeast Nigeria, with a promise to protect the lives and property of people in the state.
He promised to sustain the vision and mission of the police as being propagated by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and called on the government and people of the state to continue to cooperate with the police by timely provision of useful information to enable the command discharge its responsibilities effectively.
In a valedictory speech, the outgoing state Commissioner, Austin Iwar expressed gratitude for a successful tenure devoid of controversy or embarrassment to either his person or the force.
He described the state crime prevention and community safety strategy initiated during his tenure as a landmark achievement that resulted in managing crime in the state to a satisfactory level.
Iwar said that, as a result of the awesome support from both the government and people of the state, coupled with the hard work and commitment of the officers of the command, Gombe recorded a 20 per cent decrease in crime from January to August 2017 compared to the corresponding period in 2015.
He cited instances where cases of armed robbery decreased from 45 in 2015 to 37 in 2017; culpable homicide reduced from 12 , Rape from 60 to 39, kidnapping 15 to 7, terrorism 10 to 0 while other offences saw a reduction from 884 to 729 all within the same period.
The outgoing CP also disclosed that from a peak of 1,026 cases in 2015, the command under his care saw to the reduction of offences committed in Gombe State to 819.
He said it was under his command that the notorious Political thugs known as (Kalare) was restrained, forcing several youths to denounce the sect, while the recalcitrant members fled into hiding.
“Our social crime prevention programme driven by the Gombe State Youth Empowerment Programme assisted tremendously in reducing crime.
“The skills acquisition programme delivered reformed hundreds of youths who hitherto were a menace to society. Hundreds of such rescued miscreants are now responsible citizens,” he said.
He appealed to the officers and men of the command to extend the same support to the new CP.
Lack of financing for nourishing school meals from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), has put more than 1.5 million vulnerable children across West and Central Africa risk going to school hungry or dropping out altogether.
The WFP’s regional programme faces an US$76 million funding gap, the agency warned as experts were meeting in Montreal for an annual forum on child nutrition, co-sponsored and hosted by the Global Child Nutrition Foundation, WFP’s Centre of Excellence against Hunger and the Breakfast Club of Canada.
The repercussions are dramatic, since the hearty and nutritious WFP-provided lunches and snacks are the only meal many youngsters eat all day. More broadly, the funding crunch puts at risk a whole generation, with broader spill-over effects on national economies and development.
“By failing to fully fund school meals, we are collectively short-changing the next generation and Africa’s future,” said WFP West and Central Africa Regional Director Abdou Dieng. “School meals are one of the best investments the international community can make to ensure a head start for young children in some of the world’s poorest countries.”
That’s the case in conflict-torn Central African Republic, where WFP’s school meals programme, aimed to reach more than 200,000 youngsters, is only half funded. Yet more critical is the case of Burkina Faso’s programme, reaching nearly 83,000 children – and 0 percent financed.
In Niger, where WFP school meals reach more than a quarter of a million pupils, the programme is only 19 percent funded, while Senegal’s programme only five percent. Other particularly at-risk countries include Liberia, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, but the funding dearth stretches across the region.
“We are talking about some of the hungriest and most vulnerable children,” Dieng said. “This is a crisis for education, but also a crisis for nutrition and food security which are the fundamental pillars of development.”
Overall, the programme plans to reach nearly 2.2 million youngsters over the 2017-2018 academic year, often in areas with extremely high levels of hunger and malnutrition. Without proper financing, most of these young students will end the school year hungry.
Studies show the meals help improve attendance and performance rates. They are also a key incentive for parents to send their children – particularly girls– to school and to keep them there.
While some governments and agencies lead or complement WFP’s programme in the West and Central Africa, in many areas the agency is the sole or main provider of school meals. Over the years, however, WFP has shrunk its coverage for lack of funds.
United Nations Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) has urged Democratic Republic of the Congo to protect refugees and asylum-seekers following a shooting incident in Kamanyola on Friday which left scores killed and about 94 others injured.
