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Tag: protest

  • BREAKING: Police arrest Mr Macaroni at Lekki tollgate

    BREAKING: Police arrest Mr Macaroni at Lekki tollgate

    Popular comedian Debo Adebayo aka Mr Macaroni has been arrested by Police operatives at Lekki toll gate.

    Macaroni joined the protest against the planned reopening of the Lekki toll gate following alleged killing of protesters on October 20, 2020.

    He was seen in a video he posted in a police van.

    https://twitter.com/i/status/1360497332320673792

    WITHIN NIGERIA had earlier reported how dozen of protesters were arrested at the lekki toll gate.

    Recall that armed police officers on Friday embarked on a show of force across the city, reiterating its call for protesters to stay away from the tollgate.

    While on Saturday morning, dozens of armed police officers were stationed at the tollgate awaiting any protesting group.

    Details later…

  • Suspected internet fraudsters block Osogbo/Ilesa expressway over incessant arrest by EFCC operatives in Osun

    Suspected internet fraudsters block Osogbo/Ilesa expressway over incessant arrest by EFCC operatives in Osun

    Youths suspected to be internet fraudsters on Tuesday morning blocked Osogbo/Ilesa expressway to protest incessant arrest by security agencies especially EFCC operatives in the state.

    WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that the youths also stormed the Ilesa West Local Government Secretariat and made bonfire on the road to express their grievances which later halted free flow of traffic along the busy road.

    It was also learnt that the bonfire was made at the entrance of the Ilesa council office as the suspected internet fraudsters surround the bonfire.

    According to report, the protesters were protesting against the recent arrest made by the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The protesters alleged that the officials of the anti-graft agency invaded the hotel lodged in and arrested some of their colleagues.

    Motorists plying the expressway were said to have been stranded owing to the road blockage

    Some of the road users, who know the terrain, had made u-turn for other route.

  • PHOTOS: Women protest, block major roads in Edo over herdsmen crisis

    PHOTOS: Women protest, block major roads in Edo over herdsmen crisis

    A large number of Uromi women in Edo state on Wednesday have protested against the Fulani’s living in the state and demanded that they must leave their community.

    This is coming barely 24 hours after Yoruba activist, Sunday Igboho stormed Yewa North Local Government, Ogun state to chase Fulani herdsmen away as a result of incessant kidnapping and killings in the community.

    The Uromi women whose pictures and videos have gone viral can be seen chanting #FulanimustGo.

    The women said they can no longer go to their farms, due to the fear that they may be killed by herdsmen.

    They were seen blocking major roads in the town.

    See Photos:

  • NASU, SSANU to embark on 3-day protest over IPPIS, others

    NASU, SSANU to embark on 3-day protest over IPPIS, others

    The Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) have threatened to embark on a three-day protest on Jan. 12.

    The unions in a circular jointly issued on Sunday in Abuja said that the planned strike was to protest the non-implementation of an agreement reached with the Federal Government.

    The unions under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) issued the circular to all branch chairmen of the unions in the universities and Inter-university centers.

    The circular was signed by General Secretary of NASU, Mr Peters Adeyemi and president of SSANU, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim.

    Adeyemi said that a JAC meeting was held on Jan. 8, where the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached and signed with the Federal Government on Oct. 20, 2020, was reviewed.

    He listed the agitations of the unions to include inconsistencies in the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS) payment, non-payment of Earned Allowances (EA), and non-payment of arrears of minimum wage.

    He also fingered the delay in the renegotiation of Federal Government, NASU and SSANU negotiation of 2009, as part of the agitations.

    According to him, other demands are the non-payment of retirement benefits of out-gone members, teaching staff usurping headships of non-teaching units in clear violation of conditions of service and establishment procedures.

    Adeyemi also decried the neglect and poor funding of state universities and the non-constitution of visitation panels for universities.

    He added that in view of this development, the JAC, therefore, directed that a general meeting of its committees in all branches of universities and Inter-university centres be mandatorily held on Jan. 11.

  • Drama as Magistrates block governor’s office, protest over 24-Month unpaid salaries

    Drama as Magistrates block governor’s office, protest over 24-Month unpaid salaries

    A protest was staged by magistrates in Cross River state on Monday at the Governor’s office over the non-payment of their 24 months’ salaries.

    WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that  magistrates who came from the 18 local government areas in the state to Calabar, the capital blocked the second gate leading to the governor’s office.

    They carried placards with inscriptions such as: ‘No Bliss, no blush, we are not crystallised nor olumposized, Cross River State magistrates in penury’, and ‘We have right to employment’; ‘Magistrates in Cross River State are thrown out of their rented apartments, Ayade pay us’.

    Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved magistrates, the Chief Magistrate to the Cross River State Government, Solomon Abuo, said the protest was their last resort.

    He stated, “We are protesting the non-payment of our 24 months’ salaries; this is January and we have been discharging our duties to the state government.

    “We have courts that we are heading and we have been working for the state government to bring about peace and tranquillity to the society yet, the governor does not deem it fit to pay us our salaries despite our entreaties, pleas, letters, correspondences and screening upon screening.

    “After our employment and swearing in, we have undergone further four screenings and each of them the governor ignores the report requesting him to pay us our salaries. So, this is our last resort.

    “Right now, we have 30 magistrates affected across the 18 LGAs of the state. Funny enough, the governor’s local government has the highest number of 11 magistrates, who are affected, and the state does not care.

    “Is it wrong for one to serve the state? As judicial officers, are we supposed to go through this kind of humiliation? That’s the question we want an answer to.”

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    Abuo added, “We are all family men with children in school; we cannot pay our children’s school fees. Last year, one of the magistrates was arraigned before a fellow magistrate for inability to pay rent. Most of us can’t pay our rents; we are squatting with colleagues.

    “Our prayer is that our 24 months’ salaries be paid with immediate effect, otherwise we will continue this protest and stop sitting in courts until we are paid.”

    Governor Ben Ayade and his deputy, Prof. Ivara Esu, were not in the office during the protest and no government official addressed the protesting magistrates as of the time of filing this report

  • PHOTOS: FG arraigns Sowore and four others over New Year’s eve protest

    PHOTOS: FG arraigns Sowore and four others over New Year’s eve protest

    Omoyele Sowore and four others have been arraigned by the federal government on Monday, January 4 at the Magistrate Court in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja for leading a protest against bad governance on New Year’s Eve in Abuja.

    WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that Sowore and the four others are being arraigned on three charges of Criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, and attempting to incite others against the government.

    Recall that the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Sowore had earlier before the protest charged Nigerians on Twitter to hold a crossover protest by picking up a candle and a placard showing their grievances against the Buhari administration.

    This is not the first time Sowore will be arrested. In 2019, he was arrested and detained for over 100 days for calling for a #RevolutionNowProtest.

    See Photos:

  • Sowore will sue Nigeria police for torture, says Falana

    Sowore will sue Nigeria police for torture, says Falana

    Popular lawyer and activist, Femi Falana on Saturday stated that he had received instructions from the Convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, to sue the Nigeria Police Force for torture.

    This was contained in a statement released by the popular lawyer.

    According to Femi Falana, his client was maltreated, tortured, and subjected to dehumanising conditions in contravention of the Anti-Torture Act.

    Recall that Omoyele Sowore was arrested on New Year eve for leading a protest against the Federal Government in Abuja.

    Sowore was arrested on New Year eve for leading a protest against the Federal Government in Abuja.

    Falana said: “Since Mr. Sowore’s fundamental right to dignity has been recklessly violated by the police, we have his instructions to press for charges against all the officers who subjected him to physical and mental torture in contravention of the letter and spirit of the provisions of the Anti Torture Act of 2017.”

    He said the force was waiting for “orders from above” before releasing the activist.

    Falana wondered why his client would be denied bail for two consecutive days because he was alleged to have breached the COVID-19 protocols.

    Sowore, who was covering an event at the time of his arrest, had insisted that he did not breach any of the COVID-19 regulations.

    Falana said: “He (Sowore) had been badly beaten and locked up in a detention facility along with armed robbery suspects.

    “The police officers who arrested Mr. Omoyele Sowore at Abuja on December 31, 2020, subjected him to severe beating and left him with bruises all over his body.

    “As if that was not enough he has been locked up in the midst of armed robbery suspects at a notorious detention facility called abattoir, maintained by the disbanded Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in Abuja.”

  • Former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani reacts to arrest of Omoyele Sowore

    Former Kaduna senator, Shehu Sani reacts to arrest of Omoyele Sowore

    Former Kaduna Central Senator and critic, Shehu Sani has reacted to the arrest of a former presidential candidate and founder of RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore.

    Recall that Omoyele Sowore was arrested alongside other activists during a protest which was organised in Abuja against the Nigerian government in the early hours of Friday.

    According to Sahara Reporters report, police officers attacked and arrested the protesters during a peaceful procession to mark the New Year in Abuja.

    Reacting, Sani, in a tweet via his Twitter account on Friday, described Sowore’s arrest as unhelpful to the nation’s image.

    “The case of @YeleSowore; it’s unhelpful to the nation’s image and its constitutional democracy when peaceful protesters are treated in the most cruel and uncivilized manner by the state apparatuses.

    “The new year’s door is opened with a hammer instead of the key,” Sani tweeted.

  • PHOTOS: Outrage as Nigerian man ‘suffering from serious mental illness’ is shot dead by police in Ireland

    PHOTOS: Outrage as Nigerian man ‘suffering from serious mental illness’ is shot dead by police in Ireland

    Tragedy as an Irish Police (gardaì) reportedly shot dead a Nigerian-Irish man suffering from ‘serious mental illness’ on Wednesday, December 30 in Clonee, Co Dublin.

    A report by the Irish Times disclosed that the victim identified as George Nkencho, 27, threatened a person in a shop in Hartstown with a knife. About 15 gardaí then responded to reports of a man with a knife at the local shopping centre.

    Upon arriving at the scene, gunshots were fired from an official Garda firearm after an attempt to resolve the situation.

    The 27-year-old was shot at least three times at the Manorfield Drive in Clonee, West Dublin. He was pronounced dead after being transferred to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown.

    In a statement, the Irish authorities confirming the shooting and said Mr. Nkencho was involved in two separate incidents in the Hartstown Shopping Centre.

    The gardaí said he had threatened members of the public and an unarmed gardaí with a knife.

    The statement read:

    “Uniform, unarmed Gardaí responded to the scene and observed a male in possession of a knife. The male continued to threaten members of the public and unarmed Gardaí with the knife.

    “Gardai followed the male on foot and in vehicles from the Hartstown Shopping Centre towards Manorsfields Drive, Dublin 15. During this period Gardaí were engaging with the male and encouraging him to drop the weapon.

    “Members of the Armed Support Unit arrived at a scene in Manorfields Drive, Dublin 15.

    “The Armed Support Unit were also threatened with a knife and implemented a graduated response where the use of less-lethal force options (taser and OC spray) was initially administered in an effort to resolve the incident. The less-lethal use of force options were unsuccessful.

    “At approximately 12.35pm a member of the Armed Support Unit discharged a number of shots from his official firearm shooting the male.

    “The male was treated at the scene by Garda Armed Support Unit paramedics and Dublin Fire Brigade paramedics and transferred to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown.”

    Justice Minister Helen McEntee described the fatal shooting as “extremely traumatic.”

    “Yesterday’s events were extremely traumatic for everybody involved,” McEntee said today.

    Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, the minister said: “Obviously, this is an extremely upsetting loss, George’s life. It’s a tragedy for his family and I want to express my sympathies to them and to everybody impacted by yesterday’s events.

    “This is not something that we see happen in this country very often, but what will happen now is that there will be an investigation, there will be a GSOC investigation into what happened and what has taken place.”

    McEntee said gardaí “understand the concerns and the anguish that has been raised” by the shooting, and are engaging with the local community.

    “I really can’t say anything more than there will be an investigation, the matter will be looked at, but obviously it’s extremely upsetting and traumatic to everybody involved.

    “I want to again extend my sympathies to to everybody who has been impacted, in particular his family.”

    A video of the incident has been circulated widely online, but the family of the victim have appealed for people to not share footage of the incident online.

    In a statement, Mr Nkencho’s sister Gloria said her brother was “suffering from serious mental illness and those who knew him know the type of person he was, he was not a thug nor a criminal”.

    “Thank you all for your condolences and prayers. My siblings and I have witnessed the most traumatic experience of our lives as our brother was shot in front of us.

    “My family greatly appreciate everything everyone is doing. I kindly ask to refrain from sharing the video of the shooting. It is not something I wish to be reminded of.”

    Earlier today, a protest took place outside a garda station in Dublin with protesters calling for the arrest of the officer who shot Mr. Nkencho and says they want to receive daily updates on the investigation into the incident.

    The protesters held signs saying ‘Black Lives Matter’  and ‘Justice For ‘George Nkencho.’

    See Photos:

  • Rivers State: Youths barricade Halliburton’s premises with fetish objects to protest sack of workers

    Rivers State: Youths barricade Halliburton’s premises with fetish objects to protest sack of workers

    Score of youths from Oginigba, the host Community of American oil services, Halliburton, in Trans-Amadi, Obio/Akpor local government area, of Rivers State early Wednesday morning stormed the entrance to the company.

    The youths claimed that they were protesting the sack of some of the firm’s workers who were indigenes of the community

    The protesting youths who also claimed to be members of National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN placed fetish materials like palm leaves, native pots among others to barricade all entrances to the company’s premises.

    It was learnt that Comrade Ihunwo Chijioke, the Chairman of National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) Rivers State chapter and South-South zone was at the scene and was trying to initiate a process of negotiation between the protesting youths and the company.

    It was also gathered that policemen, with not less than five vehicles were mobilised to the scene to ensure that no violence erupts at the place.

    However, no representative of company came out to address the protesting youths or meet with their representatives.

    Meanwhile in a press statement signed by Amadi Eze, his Senior Special Assistant on (Media & Publicity) Chijioke condemned the sack of Rivers State youths by Halliburton.

    He said sometime this year, 2020, Halliburton sacked some youths of Rivers State for no substantial reason and without any take home benefit. All attempts have been made for Halliburton to rescind on their decision all to no avail.

    “It is horrific that Halliburton a supposedly global brand, would descend low to carry out a barbaric treatment on it’s workers at this time when people are finding it difficult to survive. The Chairman is certain that Halliburton will never contemplate talk less of exercising the cruel, underhand and servile treatment it mete out to Rivers State youths in it’s employment to it’s staff in the United States or European countries where it maintains operations.”

    The Chairman NYCN said it is sure that Halliburton would never attempt to infringe on the laws of western countries where it is operating. The Chairman is at loss why Halliburton would decide to deploy double standards in it’s treatment of Rivers State youths in it’s employment. It is difficult to understand why Halliburton believes that Rivers State youths should be treated with disdain while workers from other regions are to be pampered and given high regard in the company.

    According to Ihunwo “In view of this culture of arbitrariness, discrimination, high handedness, impunity, disrespect and sack of Rivers State youths, the Chairman demand that Halliburton must recall the Rivers State youths sacked from it’s employment, render an unreserved public apology for the inhumane treatment meted against Rivers State youths and set in motion mechanisms for the restatement of the sacked workers or face a full blown protest by the entire youths of Rivers State

    The Chairman also call on the Rivers State Government to intervene swiftly to avoid an unnecessary disruption and hemorrhage on the state economy.