Blog

NAN-H-89
Journalists
Maiduguri, Sept. 15, 2016(NAN) Mr Abdulwaheed Odusile the President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), on Thursday, said Nigerian journalists must be respected, protected and adequately remunerated for the sustenance of democracy in the country.

Odusile made the remark at a workshop for journalists and information managers organised by the 7 Div of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri.

He said journalists must also be guaranteed access to information in the course of performing their duties.

He added that “journalists must be respected, protected and adequately remunerated, if we are serious about the sustenance of this democracy.

“Journalists should also be guaranteed access to information in the course of performing their duties.

“However, they should also use such information responsibly to ensure peace, promote growth, development and national unity.”

Odusile’s paper, delivered at the occasion, dwelt on “Understanding the Role of the Media in Promoting Peace in a Conflict Environment.”

He lamented that Nigerian journalists faced difficulties in accessing vital information from security personnel due to the lack of synergy between the two parties.

“One of the major constraints faced by the media is access to information, especially in conflict areas.

“This is where workshops like this come in, I believe this is an opportunity for security personnel to understand journalists and their ways, vice versa.”

He said that the workshop was aimed at bridging the gap between the military and journalists to better working relationship.

“If security personnel know and understand how journalists work, they will appreciate them and know when and how to engage with them to disseminate information, same applies to journalists.”

He said that journalists working in conflict areas like the North-East also faced numerous dangers.

“For the kind of environment and situation that we find ourselves in Nigeria today, especially in the North-East, journalists in the course of carrying out their assignment are faced with so many dangers.”

The president of the union likened the plight of Nigerian journalists to what happened to their colleagues in similar dangerous situation around the world.

He added that many journalists were killed, injured or harassed in war zones, either targeted by one side or caught in crossfire of violence.

Odusile said that the International Federation of Journalists had taken steps to minimise the risks faced by journalists in conflict areas.

He added that since the media had great role to play in national building, journalists must be well renumerated by their employers.

“The media has a vital role to play in nation building, by being active partners in the implementation of development processes.

“However, there are constraints facing the media which include the lack of conducive working environment, poverty, poor remuneration and the lack of training.

“As a way forward, we call for enhanced conditions of service for journalists and other workers in the media in the country.” (NAN)
ABI/DUA/HA
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(Edited by Dada Ahmed/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu)

NAN- HG-10
Change
Lagos, Sept. 16, 2016 (NAN) Mr Olajide Bello, a  law lecturer at the University of Lagos on Thursday said change in attitude to sexual and domestic violence should be predicated by men.

He said this at an event organised by the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team to celebrate its two years anniversary.

The theme of the event is “Promoting Positive Masculinity; Men as Flagbearers in the Fight to end Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.”

Bello, who is a human rights lawyer, said that men were the the principal culprits of sexual and gender-based violence, adding that men must participate in any concerted effort at reducing this violence.

He added that “men should change their perception against women and they should also stop thinking that women are second hand citizens.

“Women should also be accorded same respect after all they were also created by God.

“It is high time men accept to be in equal status with women.

“There should be clearly defined equality between males and females in schools, work places and homes, so as to reduce the crime.”

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, gave assurance that the command would deploy male officers to gender desks so as to take part in the campaign against  sexual and domestic violence.

Owoseni further  said that male officers would be encouraged to take part in capacity building and ending sexual and gender-based violence.

“We want to say that the presence of police officers here today is to show our testimony and demonstrate our commitment toward domestic and sexual violence issues.

“Irrespective of whatever stigma, the police carry the burden and we will make sure that offenders face the wrath of the law.”

He also  stressed the need to continously sensitise men at the grassroots, where sexual and gender-based violence was commonplace.

Sexual violence was more traumatic than some criminal cases, therefore, we have to break the silence within our communities, he added.

“More awareness programmes should be taken to Churches, Mosques, traditional rulers and rural areas,” he advised.

The Coordinator of the organisation, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, also urged women and girls to speak out against any violence against them.
(NAN)
TAL/OSA/HA
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(Edited by Shittu Obassa/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu)

NAN-AE-12
Cleaning
By Chidinma Agu
Lagos, Sept. 15, 2016 (NAN) The Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare, on Thursday, said the state-wide Operation Clean Lagos will resume on Sept. 16.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Tunde Awobiyi, the Director of Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Environment.

According to him, the operation will complement an earlier campaign initiated by Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode.

He stated that “this state-wide operation which will last till end of December is being co-ordinated by the Enforcement and Advocacy Department of the ministry, headed by Dr Abiodun Afolabi.

“Other agencies involved in the operation include LAWMA, KAI, the Civil defence Corp and other security agencies.

“The exercise, code-named ‘IBILE’ crusade, (acronym for the five divisions of the state, Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe), will restore the old glories of Lagos.

“There will be simultaneous carting away of all demolished illegal structures by LAWMA operatives.

“The gains of the exercise will be sustained by the Ministry’s six Zonal Zero Tolerance offices and men of the KAI Brigade.”

The director noted that the renewed exercise became urgent because of unfavourable rainfall predictions by the meteorological agency and threat posed by obstruction of drainage channels with illegal structures and wastes.

He stated that the violation of the zero tolerance policy on environmental infractions had been obstructing traffic, walkways and road setbacks
despite serial notices served on them.

According to him, the clean-up operation will take-off state-wide from 10 a.m. till 4 p.m. in all the five divisions of the state. (NAN)
ACA/HA
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(Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu)

NAN-H-85

Communique

By Asowata Omosun

Lagos, Sept.15,2016 (NAN) The National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), has urged the Federal Government to immediately halt its plan to concession the four major airports in the country.

The union made this known in an eight-point communique issued at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Ilorin, Kwara.

A copy of the communique which was signed by NUATE’s General Secretary, Mr Olayinka Abioye, was made available to newsmen in Lagos on Thursday.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika, had on Sept. 6, told newsmen that there was no going back on the concession of the Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt Airports.

Sirika had argued that the move would ensure that the airports were properly managed, while the government would still retain their ownership.

Abioye’s communique faulted the plan to concession the four airports which it described as the cash-cow out of the 22 airports owned by the Federal Government.

“The NEC in-session therefore calls for immediate stoppage of the concession of Nigerian airports to avoid industrial crisis that may arise as the government has failed to carry along stakeholders on this germane matter,” he said.

He urged the aviation agencies, including the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), to improve the welfare of their workers.

Abioye’ also advised government to appoint a substantive managing director for NAMA and restructure its directorates in consonance with the provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

On the state of the economy, the communique advised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to take more concrete steps toward alleviating poverty across the nation.

“The NEC in-session sympathises with the government over the continued slide to recession of the nation’s economy but encourages it to remain focused in its quest for nation building.

“This can be achieved by engaging more in social dialogue with critical stakeholders in the country and setting the machinery in motion to deploy experts into freeing our economy from the jaws of economic recession,” he added. (NAN)

ASO/OFN

(Edited by Felix Nwadioha)

NAN-H-84

Declaration

By Emmanuel Afonne

Abuja, Sept. 15, 2016 (NAN) A former Minister of Sports, Bala Ka’Oje, has said that the incumbent Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has no right to declare `state of emergency’ in the sector.

Ka’Oje spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday following a recent comment by Dalung that he would declare a state of emergency in the sports sector.

NAN reports that Team Nigeria’s poor outing at the Rio 2016 Olympics had necessitated the minister’s comment after the country won only football bronze at the Games as against the five medal he promised.

Ka’Oje said that the minister declaring state of emergency in sports meant that he had enough money to pump into the sector and turn it around without necessarily involving President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him, only the president has the authority to declare state of emergency in any sector of the economy since he alone can approve the funds needed for any serious transformation.

“Is good to declare a state of emergency but is the minister the president of the country; it’s only the president that has the right to do that in any sector he likes for it to make meaning.

“This is because only the president know where and how to get funding to achieve the desired result of the declaration of emergency in that sector.

“So, if a minister declares a state of emergency, where will he get the money to fund the declaration apart from the normal budgetary provision he gets annually.

“We know that the major ingredient in sports development is funding,’’ Ka’Oje said.

He urged the minister to think of returning the National Sports Commission (NSC) and ensuring that a law backing its establishment was passed in the National Assembly.

The former minister noted that government and private individuals would be willing and convinced to invest their money in sports when they know that there were laws backing NSC. (NAN)

EMAF/OFN

(Edited by Felix Nwadioha)

NAN-H-83
Summit
By Lizzy Agbaji
Abuja, Sept. 15, 2016 (NAN) The UN General Assembly has called for a high level summit of Heads of States and Governments to address the issue of large movement of refugees and migrants and find ways to tackle their plights.

The information is contained in a statement issued by Mr Hanson Tamfu, the External Relations Officer, UN High Commission for Refugees in
Nigeria, made available on Thursday in Abuja.

Tamfu stated that the high level summit scheduled to hold on Sept. 19 at the UN Headquarters in New York, U.S., was a historic opportunity to come up with blueprint for better international response on the issue.

He noted that the maiden summit was aimed at bringing countries together behind a more humane and coordinated approach in addressing issues related to refugees and migrants movement.

He added that it was currently a watershed moment to strengthen the governance of international migration and create a more responsible and predictable system toward responding to large movement of refugees and migrants.

The summit would be attended by Heads of States and Governments, ministers, leaders from the UN system, civil Society organisations, the private sector, international organisations, the academia, among others. (NAN)
LIZ/HA
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(Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu)

NAN-H-82
Trader
By Omuboye Sukubo
Port Harcourt, Sept. 15, 2016 (NAN) The Nigeria Union in South Africa said on Thursday that a Nigerian petty trader, Monday Okorie, was killed in Potchefstroom, North West Province of that country, on Tuesday.

Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, the President of the Union, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on phone from Pretoria, South Africa, that the victim was an indigene of Agwu in  Enugu State.

He said that on receipt of the report, some national officers of the union travelled to the North West Province to investigate the incident.

Anyene said that initial investigation showed that some unknown assailants shot and killed Okorie.

He said that the incident had been reported to the South African Police Department and other government agencies.

According to Anyene, 20 Nigerians resident in the city were initially arrested by the police for protesting the murder  and  allegedly causing public violence.

He said some of the Nigerians had been released after investigations while the nine charged to court were granted free bail.

Anyene stated that the incident had been reported to the Nigerian Mission in South Africa and had been assured that there would be follow-up investigations.

“ Nigeria Union is satisfied with investigations done so far by the South African police.

“Our people and government are not happy with the way cases involving Nigerians in South Africa are being handled, vis-a-vis the high success rate of prosecution of crime in South Africa.

“ We told Nigerians resident in the province to remain law abiding and allow the police to carry out a thorough investigation of the incident,” Anyene said. (NAN)
OAS/MEMO/OJO
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(Edited by Mike Mbonye and controlled by Mufutau Ojo)

NAN-H-78
Security
By Aliyu Inuwa
Maiduguri, Sept. 15, 2016(NAN) Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno has advised the military to develop more robust relationship with the media to boost its success in the ongoing war against terrorism in the North-East.

Shettima gave the advice at a workshop on the Media/Military Relationship, jointly organised by the 7 Div. Nigerian Army and the Borno council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Maiduguri on Thursday.

He said that the military must also begin to take the media into confidence in some of its operations to avoid speculations.

Shettima said that unlike most developed countries, Nigerian military was yet to have a concrete partnership with the media on sensitive reportage.

He recalled that the American media delayed report on the visits of President Barrack Obama to troops on frontline zone, based on an understanding with the security agencies.

“I have asked myself many times that, why it is those in developed countries, Presidents and other leaders will go to places like Afghanistan and Iraq to meet with their soldiers at the battle fronts.

‘’However, such visits would not be instantly reported by media houses like the CNN, BBC, New York Times, Aljazeera, Reuters, AFP and other media establishments.

“Reports about these visits would mostly be made public only days after the visit of the Presidents,’’ he said.

He added that reports would be published when the media was sure that the safety of the Presidents at the front lines in Afghanistan would not be compromised.

“A lot of us have heard how the CNN reported meetings between President Obama and troops in battle fields, only days after such visits.

“The International media completely shielded Prince Harry when he was fighting as a soldier and member of the British troops in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2008.

‘’He was only reported 10 weeks into his deployment after leaving dangerous point in Afghanistan. Let us now compare this with a classical situation in Nigeria.

‘’When President Goodluck Jonathan was said to be planning to visit Chibok in 2014, the trip was instantly revealed by virtually all Nigerian media houses.

‘’The visit was supposed to be a secret one in order not to compromise the safety of the President, given the strength of the Boko Haram at that time.

“What was it that made the International media conceal President Obama’s and Prince Harry’s visits to Afghanistan.

‘’What was it that made our major media houses to act differently by revealing President Goodluck Jonathan’s planned visit to Chibok.”

The governor said that he later realised that the American security agents had good working relationship with and reposed confidence in the international media houses, hence the development.

“The International media establishments are told well about the plan and requested to give blackouts or delay report instead of real time.

“If you compare that strategy with our case, it becomes clear that we mostly try to hide important steps from the Nigerian media.

‘’We try to beat the media by keeping our plans away from them, with a wrong notion that our journalists do not have the capacity to know that which we hide from them.

“The worst assumption any News-Maker can ever have is to assume that any journalist lacks the capacity to find out what is being kept away from the journalist.

In the relationship between the newsmaker and the journalist, the Newsmaker mostly wants to be the one to give out what he wants the journalist to know.

On the other hand, the job of the journalist is not to just to report what the newsmaker tells, but also to be more curious about what the newsmaker didn’t tell.

‘’What the newsmaker doesn’t want to tell and why he doesn’t want to tell. This is always the mindset of a good journalist.

‘’So, what is the way out? The way out is to tell the journalist the whole story, the whole truth and seek his or her understanding in managing the truth.” (NAN)
ABI/DUA/OFN
Edited by Dada Ahmed//Felix Nwadioha)

NAN-DS-14

Refineries

By Yahaya Isah

Abuja, Sept. 15, 2016 (NAN) The Nigerian Navy on Thursday said it had raided more illegal refineries and arrested 11 suspected oil thieves.

This is contained in a statement signed by its Director of Information, Commodore Christian Ezekobe, in Abuja.

“In continuation of the Chief of Naval Staff’s (CNS) campaign tagged `Operation Zero Crude Oil Theft (Zero COT)’, more illegal refineries have been destroyed in the Niger Delta region.

“This time, a patrol team deployed by Forward Operation Base (FOB), Escravos in Delta conducted several raids on illegal refinery sites around Jones, Sara and Oporoza Creeks in Warri South LGA of Delta.

“During the raids, the team arrested 11 suspects and destroyed 13 ‘Cotonou boats’ laden with suspected stolen crude oil.

“The team also recovered two speed boats and a Cotonou boat carrying 20 tanks of different capacities measuring a total of 160,000 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas oil (AGO).

“Other items recovered from the criminals include six outboard engines and four pumping machines,’’ the statement said.

It added that in a similar operation by NNS PATHFINDER in Rivers, patrol teams intercepted and destroyed some speed boats and several drums of illegally refined AGO, mostly around Onne in Rivers.

“Specifically, six speed boats conveying about 30 drums of various sizes laden with illegally refined AGO were destroyed between Sept. 10 and Sept. 11.

“The arrested suspects are being interrogated and would be handed over to the appropriate prosecuting agency for further action,’’ it said. (NAN)

YI/OPI/OPI

Edited by Olisa Ifeajika

NAN-DS-13
Baby
By Moses Omorogieva
Lagos, Sept. 15, 2016 (NAN) The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr Fatai Owoseni, on Thursday said the Police had arrested a 31-year-old woman who allegedly abandoned her day-old-baby on the street.

Owoseni, who gave the suspect’s name as Ifunayan Eme, an indigene of Enugu State, said she was arrested on Tuesday during the Eid-el-Kabir holiday.

He said the woman allegedly gave birth to the baby girl at No. 1, Prince Bello Street, Ajagbandi in Ojo Local Development  Area Council of the state.

The police chief said the suspect allegedly wrapped the baby and dumped it on the street, adding that the police was able to trace her after investigation.

“The baby is now in the Police Cottage Hospital located at Ikeja Police College for proper care.

“We are trying to reach A government agency that would rehabilitate the woman,’’ he said.

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) the suspect claimed she abandoned the baby because of hardships.

Eme, who claimed to be married with three children before, stressed that she had separated from her husband, but got pregnant for another man who denied responsibility.

She, however, claimed that she abandoned the baby at the gate of her residence after giving birth to her at about 1 a.m., alleging that her neighbours alerted the police.

“After I gave birth to the baby in the public toilet in our house, I wrapped the baby with a bag and dropped her outside our gate and went inside to sleep.

“I never thought of checking my baby again. I just wanted someone to find her and take her nothing more,’’ she said. (NAN)
(Edited by Shittu Obassa and controlled by Abdullahi Yusuf)

MIO/OSA/AMY

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