Nigerian Army Arrests Two Soldiers For Molesting Physically Challenged Person, Warn Other Officers Against Human Right Abuses

By

-

09/02/2017

Nigerian Army says it has arrested its soldiers who molested a physically challenged person in Onitsha, south east of the country.

On Wednesday a video went viral on the social media, showing how two Nigerian soldiers were molesting a physically challenged person for wearing military camouflaged.

A statement by military spokesman, Sani Kukasheka Usman, confirmed the arrest.

It says, “The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a video clip in which two soldiers were seen maltreating a physically challenged person for allegedly wearing a camouflage shirt.

“We wish to inform the public that the incident took place on Tuesday 7th February 2017, at Onitsha, Anambra State.

“In line with our zero tolerance for acts of indiscipline and unprofessional conducts especially in relation to violation of human rights, we wish to further state that the soldiers involved have since been identified and apprehended.

“They have also been charged for assault by their Commanding Officer.

“Similarly, troops have been warned to desist from such acts that infringe on human rights and cast serious aspersions on the good image of the Nigerian Army.

“The public should please regard this ugly incident as an isolated case which is not true reflection of the Nigerian Army,” it says.

Nigeria: Kaduna, Aid Foundation Provide Information To Youths On Employment And Empowerment

By

Africaprimenews

-

08/02/2017

0

By Longtong Ibrahim

Kaduna (Nigeria) – In a bid to tackle youths unemployment and idleness, the Kaduna state government in collaboration with aid foundation and support from Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP), have organized a town hall meeting with youths of the state, providing them with information on government employment and empowerment opportunities in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The meeting themed, ‘Increasing Accountability and Inclusion’ was aimed at creating a platform for youths to engage with all youth Employment and Empowerment MDAs so as to asked questions on how they can benefit from government programs.

Speaking during the meeting On Tuesday In Kaduna, North-west Nigeria, the permanent Secretary, Kaduna State Ministry of Youths, Sports and Culture, Musa Adamu, said the essence of the program was to create a platform where youths of the state can be in the picture of what government does so as to key into, for their benefit.

He said some of the young people don’t know what government has but with this offer, it creates an opportunity for them to know what is done at each government MDAs; saying, “The key thing here is providing information on activities of various MDAs towards youth empowerment and employment programs for the youths to harness, encouraging inclusive governance.”

Also speaking, Director General, Bureau for Public Service Reform in the Ministry, Bashir Mohammed, noted that the program also intends to bring out ways for youths to know where to find engagements in the ministry’s website as well as opportunity for interaction with government.

He added that the state has various plan in terms of employment and empowerment opportunities targeted at the youths, as government is trying to expand the state’s economy by inviting many investors into the state.

While making his remarks, Executive Director of aid foundation, Emmanuel Bonet, noted that communication is key to security, as such when more youths are aware of the plans government has for them, they become interested as they are carried alone and are engaged – thereby reducing youth restiveness which results to violence.

“Technical group come to tell them what they do and all the processes; they can ask questions where necessary to enhance trust,” he posited.

He added that his Foundation works with Ministry of Youth and Sports Development as well as NSRP because their activities centered on youths. “We are working to see how youth restiveness can be curbing because it easily leads to conflicts.”

Some of the MDAs that made presentations on their activities and how the youths can benefit include; The National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Ministry of Agriculture, Kaduna state Rehabilitation Board, and the Kaduna State Traffic and Environmental Law Enforcement Agency (KASTELEA).

Nigerian Muslim Women Network Frowns At Practice of Female Genital Mutilation

By

Africaprimenews

-

08/02/2017

0

By Iyakale Yakubu

Jos (Nigeria) aa Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN) has condemned Female Genital Mutilation and calls the attention of religious bodies, families and agents of socialisation to take responsibility in raising the girl-child the right way instead of practicing the ‘barbaric’ act.

Leader of the FOMWAN in Plateau state, north central Nigeria,, Mairo Sani, while observing the annual International Day for Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Jos said,“The traditional practice of Female Genital Mutilation should be revisited to stop the harmful practice; I think efforts are being made to include this in the constitution so that the public complies. The rights of these children should be protected and their future enhanced.”

According to her, the girl- child would be morally sound if the home, school, Religious formations and society as major agents of socialization inculcate in them good moral virtues and teachings not the practice of FGM.

By World Health Organization (WHO) standard, Female Genital Mutilation comprises of all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

In 2016, it reported that “more than 200 million girls and women alive have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated.

The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a UN-sponsored awareness day that takes place February 6 each year since 2003. This year’s theme was “Building a Solid and Interactive Bridge between Africa and the World to Accelerate ending FGM by 2030.”

This is a movement for the rights of women and their bodies, as well as the protection of their physical health – which can be dangerous to them and can even cause death in some cases.

Nigeria has banned female mutilation in 2015, but the practice is till on going part of the country.

Nigeria Plans To Fight Recession Through Investors

By

Africaprimenews

-

08/02/2017

0

By Winifred Bulus

Nigerian government says it has taken further steps to tackle the current recession in the country by motivating investors in sensitive sectors to promote economic growth and make the country self-sufficient.

The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma in a statement by his Media Adviser, Akpandem Jamess is working in accordance with the objective of the Economy Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) being developed by Government to arouse the country’s economy.

The senator told a group of Russian investors called the Renaissance Capital Group, in Abuja, food production and raw materials’ provision, power and petroleum resources development as well as industrialization and would give incentives to investors that would perform accordingly.

The three sectors according to him are sensitive to economic growth and sustainability and independence with agriculture providing food and raw materials for industries, power to help industries and petroleum resources for industrialization.

Growth and development in this sector will boost the economy and get to small scale business in the country.

The Minister of State in the Ministry, Zainab Ahmed, said infrastructural development will go a long way in the realization of economic growth in the country as part of the 2017 budget.

She also said, vigorous and well-planned strategies, right level of human capacity and policy modifications will promote the success of the economic sector.

The Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Capital in Nigeria, Temi Popoola, acknowleged the task at hand and commended the government for admitting the challenges ahead as opposed to previous government that had been covering things up.

“We’ve seen a lot more of honesty to the scale of problems and challenges at hand”.

Somali Farmers Cut Back On Family Meals As The River Shabelle Runs Dry

By

Africaprimenews

-

08/02/2017

0

Halimo Aden Hussein has been keeping back a portion of the supper she cooks in the evening to feed something for breakfast to her three children and her husband. Since the river Shabelle in their village of Balbaley dried up, Halimo has not managed to find any work on local farms as the land is all bone dry.

Halimo, 27, and her husband used to depend on the $3 a day they could earn working in other people’s farms or picking fruit. Now they are reduced to begging for credit from the local shop where they used to buy their goods.

“We sometimes cook rice with oil borrowed from the shop, or maize other times, and we make it something that we can eat twice,” Halimo said.

The river levels in this part of Afgoye district in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region started to look dangerously low last month.

Mayow Omar Ali, a farmer, told Radio Ergo he is worried about this month’s school fees for three of his children. In January, the fees of $4 per child were paid by one of his friends.

Mayow used to be self-sufficient from his five-hectare farm. He normally transported the vegetables he grew to sell in Afgoye and Mogadishu. Now, since his land turned dry, he is relying on odd labour jobs that come up. The family has three sacks of maize and one bag of beans left for cooking.

“I leave home every day looking for a job on other people’s farms. Most of the times I come back empty-handed, but on the days I get a job like lemon picking I make 100,000 Somali shillings ($4.3). I use this to buy other things for the family to eat,” he said.

Mayow estimates that he made an unrecoverable loss of seven million Somali shillings from the investments this season in his farm. He is determined to plant farm again, though, when water becomes available.

Abdullahi Hassan Abdi, deputy head of social affairs for Afgoye administration, told Radio Ergo about 57 hectares of farmland along the side of the river had dried up, affecting a large number of households.

Radio Ergo’s local reporter in Afgoye said people all along the river Shabelle were saying the water had disappeared. Children are to be seen playing football in the dry river bed.

The river is usually at its lowest level in January and February. The next Gu rainy season in April is also predicted to be poor.

Source: https://radioergo.org/en/blog.php?article_id=2663

Nigeria: Federal Road Safety Agency Exonerates Self From Extortion In Kaduna

By

Africaprimenews

-

08/02/2017

0

By Longtong Ibrahim

Kaduna (Nigeria) — The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), in Kaduna state, northwest Nigeria has exonerated itself from Extortion accusation in the state.

On Tuesday, the State Government accused the Federal Agency of mounting unnecessary road blocks leading to needless traffic congestion in the city and other major towns, an act that led the government to abolish its own Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO).

In a Statement Governor’s spokesman says, “The council acted following complaints that FRSC officials were acting in ways reminiscent of the VIO that was dissolved by the state government following widespread unease at their acts of disrespect for the public and penchant for extortion.”

But in a reaction, Kaduna Sector Commander, Francis O. Udoma, said, the only money collected from motorist by his Agency are fines from violation of road orders, stressing that, violators are issued tickets to pay such monies directly to the bank account, which neither him nor any of his staff were signatories to.

He explained that any officer found collecting bribe, or involved in any corrupt practice is always dismissed.

Udoma added that, what people see as exploitation of road users is far from the truth, saying the agency only impound vehicles and request owners to install speed limiting device, explaining that, out of 109 vehicle apprehended this year, only 19 were able to fix the device.

He added that, if all motorist can fix their device the rates of road accidents would be reduced to the barest minimum.

On orders issued by the Kaduna State Security Council to quit the roads in Kaduna and other major towns of the state, Udoma stated that, this is not the first time Governor Nasir El-Rufai directed them to vacate, saying it is the second time now, and they are complying with the order.

“The governor said we should quit the town that KASTELEA would take care of the town, he is the number one citizen and we are obeying his order,” he noted.

Nigeria: Kaduna Bars Federal Road Safety Agency From Creating Traffic Bottleneck On State Roads

By

Africaprimenews

-

08/02/2017

0

Iliya Kure
Kaduna (Nigeria) — Kaduna State Security Council has barred Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) from creating unnecessary checkpoints and indiscriminate stoppage of vehicles for inspection in Kaduna metropolis and other urban centres in the state – an act the Council say, “creates needless traffic bottleneck on state roads.”

FRSC Officers have been stopping vehicles in the metropolis at various spots including major junctions and roundabouts, creating congestions on the road, and heavy traffic hold up.

A statement by Governor’s spokesman, Samuel Aruwan says “The council acted following complaints that FRSC officials were acting in ways reminiscent of the VIO that was dissolved by the state government following widespread unease at their acts of disrespect for the public and penchant for extortion.”

The Security Council has advised the FRSC personnel to direct their energies in ensuring safe travel, especially on highways such as the Abuja-Kaduna expressway, which records high accidents due to bad shape of the roads and over speeding.

Currently, the Federal Government doesnot have a road in Kaduna metropolis, having acceded to requests from the Kaduna State Government and redesignated the Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway (the Western Bye-pass) and Ahmadu Bello Road as state roads.

The statement says “Residents complain that FRSC officials create needless traffic bottleneck on these state roads.”

Public Relations Officer of FRSC, Kaduna Sector Command, Ms. Ambisa could not pick her calls when contacted by our reporter, nor respond to his text message.

Use Mosque For Primary Education, Nigerian Emir Urges Northern Leaders

By

Africaprimenews

-

08/02/2017

0

One of Nigeria’s Northern Emirs, the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has advised states in Northern Nigeria to use Mosques to offering primary education instead of constructing more classrooms in the midst of scarce resources.

According to him, since there are many Mosques in the region and across local government’s areas, they could function as primary schools during the day time while in between afternoon and evening obligatory prayers can be observed.

Sanusi who spoke during the combined graduation of 2,000 in-service teachers under the Kano state Teacher Upgrade Training Programme, maintained that the idea was feasible and cost-saving.

A statement by the Director General, media and Communications, Government house, Kano, Salihu Tanko Yakasai, quoted the Emir to have said: “By so doing, we can limit the amount we spend on school infrastructure and devote the funds to training of teachers, which is among the critical factors that lead to positive leaning outcomes.”

As proof that the idea will work, he stated that during a visit to Fez, a city in Morocco some time ago, he visited a mosque which, besides its traditional function as a place of worship, was also conveniently serving as a university with a structured course outlines and lecturers.

The Emir noted that the separation of mosques from teaching of formal education contributed significantly to the notion among misguided people, that Islam is against western education. He, however, expressed happiness that for the first time, the government of Kano state has understood that, the problem of education is not principally about infrastructure and teaching materials, but placed emphasis on teacher capacity building for better leaning outcomes.

While making his remarks, the Kano state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje told the gathering that Kano has over 3 million pupils in public primary schools, with over 52,000 teachers and 6,000 public basic education schools, but confronted with multiple challenges, including that of infrastructure.

Ganduje noted that, despite the current economic hardships, there are still ongoing construction of new schools, more school renovations, procurement and provision of essential teaching and learning materials.

“We are surely obliged to continue to demonstrate our commitment to the development of education in the state.

“By the end of year 2017, all unqualified basic education teachers in Kano State will become professional teachers through Teacher Upgrade Program and other in-service Training opportunities,” he stressed.

Africa Prime News

Africa Prime News

Africa Prime News

Africa Prime News

Currency Exchange Rates

Africa Prime News

About us

Company

The latest

Subscribe