Boat carrying illegal immigrants in Tunisia capsizes

Tunisian authorities have said that a boat carrying illegal migrants from Tunisia to Italy capsized on Saturday leaving one person dead. They added that six other people were missing at sea.

The boat sank off the coast of Thyna near the port of Sfax in the morning, Moez Triaa, a spokesman for Tunisia’s civil protection unit, told AFP. He said that a total of 20 Tunisians were on board the stricken boat. He revealed that the body of one of them was retrieved from the sea while search operations are underway for six other passengers.

He said that authorities arrested 11 people who were aboard the vessel, while two others managed to escape.

Meanwhile a spokesman for the National Guard told Mosaique FM, a private radio station, that its forces had arrested 223 people this week who tried to cross the Mediterranean illegally to Europe.

The migrants included 94 sub-Saharan Africans, the spokesman, Housemeddine Jebabli, said.

Thousands of young Tunisians make the often deadly sea crossing to Europe each year, driven by high unemployment at home.

According to Europe’s coast guard service Frontex the number of illegal migrants trying to make their way to Europe fell by 85 percent in April compared to the previous month. Frontex linked the drop to the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Court remands suspect over alleged murder

An Ado Ekiti Chief Magistrates’ Court has remanded a 36-year-old man, Kehinde Awosusi, in police custody over the alleged murder of one Mr Ojo Oluwatuyi.

The defendant, charged to court by the Ekiti State Police Command, is standing trial on a charge of murder.

When the matter came up in court on Thursday, the police prosecutor, Inspector Caleb Leranmo, alleged that the defendant committed the offence on April 19 in Erinjiyan-Ekiti. Leranmo, while stating how the alleged murder occurred, said,

“The deceased hit the defendant’s mother with his motorcycle. When the defendant got to the scene of the incident, he (the defendant) smashed a plank on the head of the deceased. The deceased died before he got to the hospital.”

According to him, the offence contravened Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

Leranmo said the case file had been duplicated and forwarded to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution for advice.

The plea of the defendant was not taken. The Chief Magistrate, Mr Abdulhamid Lawal, ordered that the defendant should be remanded in police custody, pending issuance of legal advice. The chief magistrate adjourned the case until June 10 for mention.

Singer Flavour flaunts his 2020 Lexus LX 570

Musician, Chinedu Okoli better known by his sobriquet ‘Flavour,’ has kept Nigerians at the edge of their seats with beautiful soul-soothing melodies emerging from his unique voice.

A quintessential African singer, Flavour entered the music scene with his first album “N’abania” in 2005. But it was in 2010 that he rose to prominence on the wings of his album ‘Uplifted’ which featured tracks like; Adamma, Oyi (remix) Nwa Baby.

Born in Enugu State, music for Flavour has been a natural flair as he was already playing the drums for his church choir at age 13. The multi-instrumentalist has his music genre cutting across Igbo highlife, hip hop, RnB and soul. The success his albums have gathered globally has made him one of the most sought after acts from Africa. He has collaborated with other high profile artistes like Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Chidinma, M I, Phyno, P-Square, Kcee, Tekno and many others.

Flavour is also a recipient of many awards in his more than a decade in the entertainment industry.

Earlier this month, the singer and songwriter took to his social media to share a video of his latest car, a Lexus LX 570 being off-loaded from the container at the port and also shared pictures of the luxury ride.

Badminton star decries poor facilities

Nigeria’s number one badminton player, Anuoluwapo Opeyori, has said that he respects Mauritian foe and Africa’s number one, Georges Julien Paul, but believes he can give him a run for his money if he also trains in world-class facilities like the world’s number 78.

African number two Opeyori, silver medalist at the 2020 African Badminton Championship in Egypt, insists Paul has an edge over him because of his exposure to top-class training facilities in Malaysia.

“The edge he has is the facility, training in a world class facility in Malaysia. It is a challenge for me but, I am dedicated to what I do. And the federation too is trying a lot.

George trains in Malaysia, and he is exposed. You know, training in Malaysia and playing against the former number one, who is a Malaysian, will definitely give him the edge.

They still ask us how we did it, training in Africa and still rising in the world rankings. I just laugh, it is something of pride, we’re built for this and we have talents,” he told reporters.

Badminton’s fortune has risen in the country in recent times and Opeyori expects it to continue, recounting the promises made by sports minister, Sunday Dare, towards other sports in the country.

“In his statement, he said he is there to make all sports equal, there is going to be equal attention and, so we stand by what the Minister said. He knows what is going on in the sports world and he is ready to make it right.”

Cross River State Medical Association warns against resumption of religious gatherings

Earlier, Governor Ben Ayade had announced the lifting of ban on religious gatherings after about two months due to COVID-19 outbreak.

The Nigerian Medical Association, Cross River State branch, has warned the state government against the opening of religious activities. The association also called for more testing of suspected persons in the state.

Governor Ben Ayade had announced the lifting of ban on religious gatherings after about two months due to COVID-19 outbreak. Ayade said he made the decision after plea from religious leaders.

Reacting to the lifting of the ban, the medical association urged the state government to review its policy, saying the guideline for the reopening of worship centres goes against the social distance guideline. The group said,

“Our concern is that the order stipulates the number of worshippers to be limited to the sitting capacity of the church/mosque.

The usual sitting capacity of most worship centres does not allow for physical distancing of at least one metre that reduces the risk of transmission of COVID-19.

We advise that this policy should be reviewed, taking into cognisance physical distancing and local peculiarities of various worship centres.”

Frowning against the low number of tests carried out in the state, the medical association said the Cross River State Government currently had no listed NCDC designated Molecular Laboratory Testing Centre in progress or completed on the NCDC Molecular Laboratory Network.

It added that the only available NCDC Laboratory catchment for Coronavirus testing for Cross River State is at Irrua, Edo State. It added,

“Irrua is about 447.9km (7h 50min) from Calabar when compared to Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, another testing centre that is 188.9km (3h 17min) from Calabar, which also shares a boundary with Cross River State.

The present situation makes sample transportation very expensive and cumbersome occasioned by restrictions in interstate movement.

We use this medium to call on NCDC to change the testing centre of Cross River State from Irrua to Abakaliki."

Journalist arrested, charged to court for allegedly criticising Lai Mohammed

The Nigeria Police Force has arraigned a journalist, Rotimi Jolayemi, also known as Oba Akewi, before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

Jolayemi was arrested on May 6 over a poem, which was considered critical of Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

Before the journalist turned himself in to the police, the minister ordered the arrest of his wife, Mrs Dorcas Jolayemi, and two of the media practitioner’s brothers, John and Joseph, who were all locked up for eight, nine and two days respectively.

We gathered that the police filed a one-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/104/2020 against the journalist on May 22, 16 days after he was detained.

The offence, according to the police, was contrary to section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015. The charge sheet reads,

“That you Jolayemi Oba Akewi ‘m’ aged 43 years on or another the 14th day of April, 2020 at Osola compound Ekan nka, Kwara State within the jurisdiction of this honorable Court did send a audio message through your android phone device to a group WhatsApp platform known as “Ekan Sons and Daughters” and which went viral immediately after it was posted for the purpose of causing annoyance, insult, hatred and ill will go the current Hon. Minister of Information and Culture, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Culture committed an offense contrary to section 24(1)(b) of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015.”

Lagos State discharges 45 COVID-19 patients

The Lagos State Government has discharged 45 COVID-19 patients from its isolation facilities to reunite with the society after making full recovery and testing negative twice.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu made this known in a statement on Saturday.

Sanwo-Olu said 19 of the patients were discharged from the Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, three from Onikan, eight from Agidingbi, seven from Lekki, one from Eti-Osa and seven from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH Isolation Centre.

He said the latest figures brings the number of patients successfully managed and discharged from the state’s isolation facilities to 707. He said,

“19 are from the Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba; three from Onikan; eight from Agidingbi; seven from Lekki; one from Eti-Osa (LandMark) and seven from Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Isolation Centres.

With this, the number of patients successfully managed and discharged from our Isolation facilities has risen to 707.

As we look forward to more great news in the coming days, I urge you all to take responsibility and play your part for a #COVID19FreeLagos #ForAGreaterLagos.”

Activist exposes Chief Judge's involvement in child trafficking

Human rights activist, Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho, has accused the Chief Judge of Delta State, Marshal Umukoro, of victimisation by evicting him from his house over child trafficking allegation he levelled against him.

Aghogho alleged that he was unlawfully evicted from his rented apartment on Friday in the Abraka area of the state by court baliffs, members of Abraka vigilante and Divisional Police Officer of Abraka Police Station, Hassan Jimoh, on the orders of Justice Umukoro.

Reports uncovered how the Chief Judge was working in conjunction with Emmanuel Dolor in trafficking children from the state.

He said in a bid to silence him and sweep the allegation under the carpet, the Chief Judge decided to hijack his case with suit number UNACC/384T/18, which bordered on tenancy matter at Ughelli North Area Customary Court in the state.

The activist alleged that Justice Umukoro forwarded all his petitions calling for the probe of child trafficking allegations by the National Judicial Commission to Chairman of the Area Customary Court, Attienie Harrison, and Department of State Service in Asaba. He said,

"The case upon which the unlawful eviction of 22/5/2020 was relied upon is still pending at NJC with a petition dated 7/10/19 and another dated 26/11/19 at the Code of Conduct, Abuja, with the said Ughelli North Area Customary Court Chairman among the subjects.

Same case is still pending at the High Court of Justice, Ughelli, with suit number UHC/63/2020 where both the CJN and Delta State CJ are parties.

This is a ploy by the CJN/NJC to silence me in order to permanently kill the allegation of child trafficking levelled against the CJN/NJC and Delta State Chief Judge."

Aghogho alleged that all adoption procedures in the state were in gross violation of the Child Right Act 2003 vis-a-vis the Delta State Child Right law 2008 and the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015.

He added that the Ministry of Women Affairs in the state under the supervision of the Delta State Judiciary headed by Umukoro was using the following bank accounts: ECO Bank 2152023855, Zenith Bank 1011047631, for the purpose of child trafficking/illegal adoption of children in the state.

The activist also said that his life was in danger as he had been threatened with arrest. He therefore called on Nigerians and international community to come to his aid in safeguarding the life of innocent children being sold by government officials.

Breaking : 64 bank accounts linked to BVN of Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly

At least 64 bank accounts have been discovered to be linked to the Bank Verification Number of Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.

We discovered that the accounts registered with various names, are being used to siphon public funds in Lagos.

The BVN: 2296663231, reveals that Obasa operates accounts with multiple names in Polaris Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Ecobank Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, United Bank for Africa, First City Monument Bank and Wema Bank.

To conceal his identity, the Speaker changed his name and date of birth in some of the accounts.

Aside from using Ajayi Mudashiru Obasa, he also used Obasa Abdulrahman Gbadunola and Gabriel Adedoyin Savage to register some of the bank accounts.

Some of the companies linked to the BVN include Adesav International Ventures, Fabric Splash Ventures, Swifthill international Ventures and Quick Solution International.

Others are Quick solution International Ventures, White Honey Enterprises, Cream on Ice Services, A.B DELCO Nigeria Company, and Fabric Splash Ventures, Skye-Macosh Company, Swifthill International Ventures, Silver Section Global, Davedab Global Ventures and Jose-Macosh Company and De Kingrun.

In a series of reports in recent weeks, we found out how Obasa awarded contracts to himself using different companies owned by him and how he got the Assembly to approve N258m for printing of invitation cards for the inauguration of lawmakers two months after the event held.

The online publication also exposed how he approved various sums running into several millions of through various guises.

UN Sec-Gen hails Africa's response to COVID-19

United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has described Africa’s response to the Coronavirus outbreak as remarkable.

Guterres in a statement said most African countries have moved rapidly to deepen regional coordination, deploy health workers and enforce quarantines, lockdowns and border closures as measures to tackle the virus. The statement said,

“The African continent’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has provided valuable lessons for the rest of the world in meeting this challenge. Most African countries have moved rapidly to deepen regional coordination, deploy health workers and enforce quarantines, lockdowns and border closures.

Governments and health authorities are also drawing on the experience of HIV/AIDS and Ebola to debunk rumours and overcome mistrust of officials, security forces and health workers.

Nonetheless, continued vigilance and preparedness are critical as the virus remains a threat to life, livelihoods and health across the continent.

Many countries across the continent have enjoyed strong economic growth in recent years. Standards of living have risen; the digital revolution has taken hold; and the African Continental Free Trade Area is moving from vision to reality.

This is now at risk, as COVID-19 aggravates long-standing inequalities and deepens hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease. Millions could be pushed into extreme poverty. Tourism, remittances and demand for Africa’s commodities are already declining, and the opening of the trade zone has been delayed.

The United Nations, and I personally, stand in total solidarity with the people and governments of Africa, and with the African Union, in tackling COVID-19. UN agencies, country teams, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian workers are providing training, expertise and other support. United Nations solidarity flights have delivered millions of test kits, respirators and other supplies.

The policy brief just issued by the United Nations calls for urgent international action to strengthen Africa’s health systems, maintain food supplies, support education, protect jobs, keep households and businesses afloat, and cushion the continent against lost income and export earnings”.

The UN Chief said since the start of the pandemic, he has called for a global response package amounting to at least 10 per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product. In his words,

“For Africa, that means more than $200 billion as additional support from the international community. I also continue to advocate a comprehensive debt framework -- starting with an across-the-board debt standstill for countries unable to service their debt, followed by targeted debt relief and a comprehensive approach to structural issues in the international debt architecture to prevent defaults.

It will also be essential for African countries to sustain their efforts to silence the guns and address violent extremism – and I welcome African support for my call for a global ceasefire. Political processes and elections in the coming months offer potential milestones for stability and peace.

And African countries, like all countries, must have quick, equal and affordable access to any eventual vaccine and treatment for COVID-19. These must be considered global public goods.

Women will be central to every aspect of the response. Stimulus packages must prioritize putting cash in the hands of women, increasing social protection and targeting them for grants and loans. Creating jobs, training and educational opportunities for Africa’s young people must be another central goal.

Many difficult decisions will need to be taken as the pandemic unfolds; it will be essential for governments and health authorities to build and retain the trust and participation of their citizens. The response to this pandemic must be based on respect for human rights, the rule of law and the dignity and equality of all.

These are still early days for the pandemic in Africa, and disruption could escalate quickly and spread uncontrollably. Global solidarity with Africa is an imperative – now, and for recovering better.”