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The police have arrested a Togolese, Dominic Samson, 31, for allegedly sleeping with underage girls.
He was said to have given them N50 each after the exercise.
Samson was arrested last Monday around 8:50am by Ejigbo Police Station Divisional Police Officer Olabisi Okufowobi, a Chief Superintendent (CSP) following a complaint by the father of one his victims, a 15-year-old girl.
According to a statement issued on Monday by Police spokesman, Chike Oti, a CSP, Samson was caught sleeping with the 15-year-old girl by neighbours at their 28 Olusesan Street, Ejigbo home.
The neighbours informed the girl’s father, who had gone out to his place of work.
The man reported the matter to Ejigbo Police Station
Oti said: “Based on his complaint, the DPO, a female officer, interrogated the victim and she confirmed the report. She confirmed that the suspect did not only defile her but sodomised her by having anal sexual intercourse with her. She further revealed that she was not the only victim of the suspect’s indecent sexual behaviour . She named five other victims who are within 13 to 15 years age bracket
“All the victim’s except the sixth had been identified, interrogated and their statements recorded. The girls said the suspect sometimes bring all of them together in one room for an orgy and thereafter give them a cash reward of N50 each.”
According to him, the victims had been taken to the Mirabel Centre where the doctor’s report confirmed that the victims were indeed defiled as alleged.
The Commissioner of Police (CP) Imohimi Edgal, Oti said, urged parents to be mindful of their children as that is the only panacea to the rising cases of sexual exploitation and abuse of children.

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 Lasisi

Nigerian boxer, Aliu Bamidele Lasisi recorded his eighth professional victory after beating Artid Bamrungauea in their bantamweights fight at the King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Lasisi who is sponsored by Top8 and fights for Round 10 Boxing Club in UAE, defeated Bamrungauea by unanimous referees’ decision in their 8-Round bout which was one of the six undercard fight at the Muhammad Ali trophy final,.
The victory also saw the Nigerian made history in the process by becoming the first man to win a professional boxing bout in Saudi Arabia.
In a chat with NationSport, ‘Lucky Boy’ as he is fondly called by his admirers, said he remained focus as he eyes more pro victories.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank my fans for the great support; we did it again making it 8-0 unanimous decision under the card of Muhammad Ali trophy final. I also want to thank Round 10 Boxing Club Top8 Yachts and Boats Rental for the great support you guys giving me. Right now I want to perform my Umrah (the non-mandatory lesser pilgrimage made by Muslims to Mecca, which may be performed at any time of the year) and I will return to training immediately after that.
“I will continue to train hard and remain focused with my boxing career here in UAE because I still have a long way to go. I pray to God to always crown my efforts with success,” the Qatari-based pugilist told NationSport .
High point of the night saw British Callum Smith beat his compatriot George Groves in stunning seventh round stoppage to become the new WBA super middleweight champion.
Smith claimed the WBA Super world super-middleweight title, while retaining his WBC Diamond belt and picking up the vacant Ring Magazine bauble and the Muhammad Ali Trophy.
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Liberian President and former football star George Weah awarded ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger with the country’s highest honour in a ceremony on Friday.
The award, it was disclosed, was for services to African football that included launching Weah’s own acclaimed career.
Wenger found Weah playing for Cameroon’s Tonnerre Yaounde and brought him to French side Monaco in 1988.
The move paved the way for the striker at some of Europe’s top clubs, including AC Milan, Paris St Germain and Chelsea.
In 1995 Weah was named World Footballer of the Year and won the Ballon d’Or, still the only African to win either award.
“You proved yourself as a teacher when you revolutionised forever the approach of scouting young talents all over the planet, particularly throughout Africa,” Weah said of Wenger during a ceremony in the capital Monrovia.
Wenger was named a Knight Grand High Commander of the Humane Order of African Redemption, the highest rank in Liberia’s Order of Distinction.
Fellow coach Claude Le Roy, who first told Wenger about Weah’s talent, also received the award on Friday.
Thousands of spectators clapped and cheered as Wenger received his medal in a hall at the national stadium adorned with the national red, white and blue.
Thousands more listened to the ceremony on the radio in the stadium, once a shelter for people displaced by a civil war that ended fifteen years ago.
Weah’s footballing successes helped launch his political career back home.
His unlikely rise, from kicking a ball on the dusty streets of a Monrovia slum to world fame, won him support in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Development in the West African country has been hobbled by the 14-year civil war that ended in 2003 and an Ebola outbreak which killed thousands from 2013-16.
Read Also: Liberians divided on Arsene Wenger honour
He succeeded Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president after a landslide election victory in December last year.
“I think Wenger deserves it. If he had not spotted ambassador Weah in those days, he would not have reached this level,” said university student Cynthia Kollie.
Some took issue with the awards, saying the president’s choice was based on personal ties rather than on what the recipients did for the country.
“President Weah is bestowing our nation’s highest honour on his two former football coaches who have made no direct impact or contributed to Liberia’s collective interest,” said Martin Kolle, a student.

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The Director General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Dame Julie Okah-Donli, said on Monday that at least 10,500 Nigerians have been rescued from Libya.
This number includes the 3,500 rescued by the Federal Government and over 7,000 repatriated from the North African country by the International Organization for Migration (IMO).
She said the agency has so far recorded 359 convictions against traffickers since inception and 43 this year alone.
The NAPTIP chief added that 10 potential Russia- bound human trafficking victims were rescued at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on their way out of the country.
Address journalists in Abuja at a press conference to mark the agencies 15th anniversary and the 2018 World day against human trafficking, Okah-Donli said NAPTIP has written to the Ministry of Sports, inviting people who returned from the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia to report at its office.
She said: “With regards to Libya, so far we gave been able to rescue 3,500, IOM has rescued over 7,000 and it is a work in progress. So giving figures might not be doing justice because almost every week we have returnees to Nigeria. So it is not easy to just pin a figure at it because we may get a plane tomorrow or next.
“For the reintegration of the victims, we have 10 shelters. We give them psychosocial support, those who want to go to school were given the opportunity and those who want to acquire some skills, they do that. We reintegrate them back into the society at the end of the day.”

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Emeka Ndukwu, 46, a Nigerian-American based in Maryland, has been sentenced to four years in prison for engaging in business e-mail scheme and conspiring to launder more than $900,000 proceeds of scams.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in a statement, said Ndukwu tricked seven companies in the United States and abroad into wiring more than $900,000 into accounts controlled by various co-conspirators.
“A co-defendant, Chuka Mbonu, 33, of Nigeria, remains at large,” the U.S. authorities said.
FBI said: “Ndukwu, a dual citizen of the United States and Nigeria, pleaded guilty in April 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of money laundering conspiracy.
“He was sentenced by the Honourable Timothy J. Kelly. Following his prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release.
“The judge also ordered Ndukwu to pay $791,870 in restitution to the companies.
“Additionally, Judge Kelly ordered Ndukwu to forfeit a 2014 Mercedes-Benz GL450 and to pay a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $429,848, representing the share of the criminal proceeds that Ndukwu personally obtained”.
According to documents filed at the time of the plea, Ndukwu participated in an ongoing conspiracy from 2013 through 2017 to receive and launder the proceeds of various cyber frauds, primarily arising from business e-mail (“BEC”) compromise schemes.
In a typical BEC scheme, a co-conspirator tricks a company into transferring large sums of money into accounts controlled by others participating in the scheme.
Using fake e-mails, often containing forged sender addresses, co-conspirators impersonate someone connected to the victim company and deceive an employee of that company into wiring funds.
Soon after the wire transfers are completed, the co-conspirators drain the bank accounts and launder the criminal proceeds.
“This particular conspiracy targeted at least seven companies in the United States and overseas, including victims in Texas, Illinois, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, and China.
“The victims were fraudulently induced into sending $916,056 in wire transfers to accounts controlled by Ndukwu and other co-conspirators.
“The funds were then laundered through transactions conducted in Washington, D.C. and other jurisdictions, including layering through shell company accounts and accounts controlled by co-conspirators,” the FBI said.
According to the court documents, Ndukwu used false aliases and forged Nigerian passports to facilitate these schemes, and he used encrypted messaging to communicate with co-conspirators.
Ndukwu was indicted in December 2017 and has been in custody since his arrest that month.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Brown and Michael Marando are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist C. Rosalind Pressley, while former Assistant U.S. Attorney Natalia Medina participated in investigating the case. (NAN)
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EIGHT critically endangered black rhinos are dead in Kenya after wildlife workers moved them from the capital to a new national park, the government said at the weekend, calling the toll “unprecedented” in more than a decade of such transfers.
Preliminary investigations point to salt poisoning as the rhinos tried to adapt to saltier water in their new home, the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife said in a statement, describing how the animals likely became dehydrated and drank more salty water in a fatal cycle.
The ministry suspended the ongoing move of rhinos and said the surviving ones in the new park were being closely monitored.
The loss is “a complete disaster,” said prominent Kenyan conservationist Paula Kahumbu of WildlifeDirect.
Conservationists in Africa have been working hard to protect the black rhino sub-species from poachers targeting them for their horns to supply an illegal Asian market.
In moving a group of 11 rhinos to the newly created Tsavo East National Park from Nairobi last month, the Kenya Wildlife Service said it hoped to boost the population there. The government agency has not said how the rhinos died. Fourteen of the animals were to be moved in all.
“Disciplinary action will definitely be taken” if an investigation into the deaths indicates negligence by agency staff, the wildlife ministry said.
“Moving rhinos is complicated, akin to moving gold bullion, it requires extremely careful planning and security due to the value of these rare animals,” Kahumbu said in a statement. “Rhino translocations also have major welfare considerations and I dread to think of the suffering that these poor animals endured before they died.”
Transporting wildlife is a strategy used by conservationists to help build up, or even bring back, animal populations. In May, six black rhinos were moved from South Africa to Chad, restoring the species to the country in north-central Africa nearly half a century after it was wiped out there.
Kenya transported 149 rhinos between 2005 and 2017 with eight deaths, the wildlife ministry said.
According to WWF, black rhino populations declined dramatically in the 20th century, mostly at the hands of European hunters and settlers. Between 1960 and 1995 numbers dropped by 98 percent, to fewer than 2,500.
Since then the species has rebounded, although it remains extremely threatened. In addition to poaching the animals also face habitat loss.
African Parks, a Johannesburg-based conservation group, said earlier this year that there are fewer than 25,000 rhinos in the African wild, of which about 20 percent are black rhinos and the rest white rhinos.
In another major setback for conservation, the last remaining male northern white rhino on the planet died in March in Kenya, leaving conservationists struggling to save that sub-species using in vitro fertilization.
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•French President Emmanuel Macron making a speech at the conferment of the highest French National honour, Commandeur ordre national de la Legion d’honneur (Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour) on Globacom Chairman Mike Adenuga Jnr. (left) at the Alliance Francaise Ikoyi, Lagos...yesterday. With them are: Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd right); President, Alliance Francaise Lagos, Mrs. Tosin Alabo Bakare (right); Adenuga’s daughter, Mrs. Bella Adenuga-Disu (2nd left) and former Edo State Governor Lucky Igbinedon (3rd left)

FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron has told Nigerian youths to be actively involved in politics to change the country’s narrative.
Describing politics as important, the French president said only Nigerians could change their image and that of the country before the comity of nations.
Macron, who was accompanied by Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, threw the challenge Tuesday night when he visited the Afrika Shrine in Ikeja at an event tagged: “Celebrate African Culture”.
The event was attended by former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, former Ogun State Olusegun Osoba, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, Fela’s lawyer Femi Falana and others.
Macron noted that the future of Africa and the task of making it great rested with Africans, stressing that the youths have a crucial role to play.
“Africa needs a new generation of Africans to share the new narrative about Africa all over the world,” he said.
According to him, politics is important because it is a tool to change the society. He described the Afrika Shrine as an iconic place of strength, music and culture.
The late Fela, he said, was a politician, who wanted change for the society.
“I am very happy to be here. Let me remind you that this place – Shrine – is a music place as well as politics, which is needed to change the society. So, I will say to the youths, politics is important, be involved.
“The Shrine is a cultural hub, an iconic hub and it is very important for me first on a personal level, and that is why I want to say with a lot of humility that I recognise the importance of this place, I recognise the place of culture in this current environment,” he said.
Macron announced the launch of the 2020 African Cultures Season in France. He said the event would help create a unique face for African culture in Europe.
“I discovered Nigeria and a lot of my friends are here. I discovered Lagos and I discovered the shrine. This place is an iconic place and it is a place where the best of music is given. I have to say my main memories about this place are friends, proud people, proud of their culture, proud of their art and music. I have a very different view of Africa than a lot of other people in Europe,” he said.
Macron stressed the need for Africa and Europe, especially France, to build a new commonality.
The African Cultural Season 2020 in France, Macron said, will be about promoting African culture in Europe, adding that the event will be for Africa and by African artistes.
“It will include people with fashion, African movies, new generation of artistes will be coming from Africa and it will be organised by them to show Europe and France the real culture of Africa.
“The event will be financed by African leaders. It will not be sponsored by France or European businesses, but by African businesses; it is brand new. This season is a unique one and it will be the new face of Africa in Europe organise by Africans, providing what you like and what you have here,” he said.
Ambode said the President’s visit was expected to signal the dawn of a new collaboration between France and Lagos State in the quest to make the state the culture and entertainment capital of Africa.
The governor said the event was also about celebrating African culture, which was a positive step for France as it sought to rebuild its relationship with Africa.
There were also Art Exhibition, Fashion Show, display of Nollywood scenes, presentation of a painting of Fela to Macron by Ambode as well as pencil frame artwork of Macron done by 11-old old Kareem Olamilekan drawn within two hours.
Highpoints of the night include performances by dance group, Footprints of David, music artistes, Yemi Alade, Charlotte Dipanda from Kenya and a brilliant performance by Femi Kuti to bring the event to a close.
The event presented an opportunity for Macron and Ambode to interact with musicians, artists, fashion designers and film makers.
Macron also yesterday officially unveiled a French Cultural Centre, Alliance Francaise, at Ikoyi, Lagos.
He said the centre was part of the measures to scale up the relationship between France and Nigeria.
The French president assured Nigerians of the commitment of the government and people of France to development of infrastructural projects in Lagos.
Ambode expressed optimism that the historic visit will go a long way to break any barriers between Nigeria and France as well as foster greater collaboration for economic, social and cultural growth.
The governor said his administration was delighted to host Macron and his visit would also signal a new era between both countries, especially for Lagos where talents in the arts and creative industry abound.
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hajj





A yet-to-be-identified man yesterday committed suicide by throwing himself off the roof of the Grand Mosque in Islam’s holiest city of Mecca.
The state news agency, SPA, quoted the police as saying:”A foreigner threw himself from the roof of the Grand Mosque in Mecca” to the courtyard below, “resulting in his instant death.”
The body was transported to hospital, with an investigation underway “to determine the victim’s identity, what led to the act and how he was able to commit it despite the existence of a metal fence,” SPA said.
Last year, a Saudi man tried to set himself on fire in front of the Kaaba but was stopped by security forces.
Every year, millions of Muslim pilgrims from across the world travel to Mecca and Medina, Islam’s second holiest site, also in western Saudi Arabia.
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ZumaFormer South African President Jacob Zuma told thousands supporters outside court in Durban yesterday that his opponents were telling lies and he would be proved innocent in a corruption case against him.
Speaking in Zulu in his home province, Zuma said that the judiciary and politicians believed that he did not have rights.
“The truth will come out. What have I done?” Zuma told the cheering crowd.
“I am innocent until proved guilty.”
The Durban High Court adjourned until June 8 the case of corruption in a 2.5 billion arms deal dollars, filed against Zuma.
Zuma’s legal team and lawyers for the state agreed to the postponement to give both sides time to prepare their submissions relating to charges against Zuma, including fraud, racketeering and money laundering.
The 75-year-old, whose scandal-plagued nine years in office were marked by economic stagnation and credit downgrades,faces 16 charges including fraud, racketeering and money laundering.
Zuma denies any wrongdoing and is challenging the decision to prosecute the case, a dramatic development on a continent where political leaders are rarely held to account for their actions before the law.
Wearing a dark suit, a smiling Zuma waved to crowds of supporters and reporters as he climbed the steps of the High Court in Durban shortly before 0700 GMT.
Zuma, who was forced to resign by the ANC last month, was at the centre of a 1990s deal to buy billions of dollars of European military hardware to upgrade South Africa’s post-apartheid armed forces.
The deal was mired in scandal and controversy from the start, with many inside and outside the ANC questioning the spending given the massive social issues, from health to education, Nelson Mandela’s party had to address after coming to power in 1994.
Fallout has cast a shadow over South African politics ever since.
Zuma was deputy president at the time. Schabir Shaikh, his former financial adviser, was found guilty and jailed in 2005 for trying to solicit bribes for Zuma from a subsidiary of French arms company, Thales.
The company is facing charges in the same case.
Charges against Zuma were filed, but then set aside by the National Prosecuting Authority shortly before he successfully ran for president in 2009.
The charges were re-instated in 2016.
Since his election nine years ago, his opponents have fought a lengthy legal battle to have the charges reinstated.
Zuma countered with his own legal challenges.
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DogA Staffordshire Terrier mixed-breed dog was set to be put to sleep after autopsy results on Friday confirmed it mauled its owners to death in the German city of Hanover.
The incident, which shocked Germany and prompted a debate about the rules of dog ownership, saw a 52-year-old woman and her 27-year-old son die as the result of the attack in their apartment.
Fire rescue workers captured the dog when they broke into the flat after being alerted by the woman’s daughter
late Tuesday.
The daughter contacted authorities after couldn’t reach either family member and spotted the lifeless body of her
brother through the window of the flat.
Neighbours said that the man was seriously ill and had been so since childhood. His mother was apparently a
wheelchair user.
The dog, named Chico, is in an animal shelter in the nearby town of Langenhagen and will be euthanised.
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Julius Bio




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Opposition candidate and former military junta leader Julius Bio was sworn in as Sierra Leone’s new president late on Wednesday, just hours after the elections commission announced his victory in a tight run-off poll.
He now faces the difficult task of rebuilding the impoverished West African nation’s economy that was dragged down by the world’s deadliest Ebola epidemic and a global slump in commodity prices.
Representing the Sierra Leone People’s Party ( SLPP ), Bio won 51.81 per cent of votes cast in the March 31 poll, according to results announced by the National Electoral Commission ( NEC ) on Wednesday.
He defeated former foreign affairs minister and ruling All People’s Congress ( APC ) candidate Samura Kamara, who had held a slight lead based on partial results earlier in the day but in the end garnered 48.19 per cent.
Dressed in traditional white robes, Maada Bio was sworn in just before midnight at a hotel in the capital Freetown, raising in the air the Bible upon which he swore the oath of office to the cheers of supporters.
“This is the dawn of a new era. The people of this great nation have voted to take a new direction,” he said in a speech following the short ceremony in which he made an appeal for national unity.
“We have only one country, Sierra Leone, and we are all one people.”
Bio, who briefly ruled Sierra Leone as head of a military junta in 1996, replaces outgoing President Ernest Koroma, who could not seek re-election due to term limits.
The largely peaceful election process has come as a relief for the country of seven million people, who in the 1990s endured a brutal civil war fueled by the diamond trade and notorious for its drug-addled child soldiers and punitive amputations.
SLPP supporters packed into the NEC headquarters on Wednesday, and following the announcement of the election results party officials urged the Maada Bio’s backers to remain calm.
“Celebrate responsibly. Do not disturb your neighbour. Victory for all men, not victory for some.
“Everyone in, no one out,” the party’s campaign manager Ali Kabba said.
Opposition supporters, confident of victory, sang and danced in the streets of Freetown on Wednesday evening hours before Bio was officially declared the winner.
“I feel happy about the results. I am here because my president Julius Maada Bio has won the election in this country,” said Adolfus Kargbo, among a group of SLPP supporters chanting Maada Bio’s name.
Reuters/NAN
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Few days after the sack of U.S. Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson by President Donald Trump,
FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has been
suspended for lying to investigators reviewing the
bureau’s probe of Hillary Clinton’s email server.
The sack made possible by the Justice
Department, dealt a big blow to McCabe, as his
firing came just days before his retirement and a
guarantee of lifetime pension.
“Pursuant to Department Order 1202, and based
on the report of the Inspector General, the
findings of the FBI Office of Professional
Responsibility, and the recommendation of the
Department’s senior career official, I have
terminated the employment of Andrew McCabe
effective immediately,” Attorney General Jeff
Sessions said in a statement.
“After an extensive and fair investigation and
according to Department of Justice procedure, the
Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
provided its report on allegations of misconduct
by Andrew McCabe to the FBI’s Office of
Professional Responsibility (OPR),” Sessions said.
“The FBI’s OPR then reviewed the report and
underlying documents and issued a disciplinary
proposal recommending the dismissal of Mr.
McCabe. Both the OIG and FBI OPR reports
concluded that Mr. McCabe had made an
unauthorized disclosure to the news media and
lacked candor − including under oath − on
multiple occasions. Read also
The FBI expects every employee to adhere to the
highest standards of honesty, integrity, and
accountability. As the OPR proposal stated, ‘all
FBI employees know that lacking candor under
oath results in dismissal and that our integrity is
our brand.’”
McCabe hit back in a fiery response of his own.
“This attack on my credibility is one part of a
larger effort not just to slander me personally, but
to taint the FBI, law enforcement, and intelligence
professionals more generally,” McCabe said.
“It is part of this Administration’s ongoing war on
the FBI and the efforts of the Special Counsel
investigation, which continue to this day. Their
persistence in this campaign only highlights the
importance of the Special Counsel’s work.”
McCabe’s firing marked stunning fall for a man
who was No. 2 at the bureau for a time under
Comey, ran it and even was reportedly on
President Trump’s short list for the directorship.
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 Saudi Arabia







A UN rights watchdog on Monday called on Saudi Arabia to end discriminatory practices against women, including its pervasive system of male guardianship and give them full access to justice.
After reviewing the deeply conservative kingdom’s record, the independent experts welcomed recent decisions to allow women to launch their own businesses and to lift a de facto ban on them driving a car, set for June.
Saudi Arabia is still one of the most restrictive countries for women in the world.
It has no women ministers and retains a guardianship system requiring women to have a male relative’s approval for important decisions.
In its conclusions, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) urged the Saudi government to “abolish practices of male guardianship”.
It should enforce a recent order that would entitle all women to obtain a passport, travel or study abroad, choose their residency, and access health care “without having to seek their guardian’s consent’’.
“We asked for the abolition of the system, because even though they said they had passed a law, we realised that in practice the system still continued,’’ Hilary Gbedemah, a panel member, said.
A Saudi delegation told the panel in February that it had implemented rules and laws tailored to traditions and religious values that allowed women more independence as they played a growing economic role.
Laws concerning justice and child protection had been strengthened.
But the experts said that Saudi Arabia should implement a comprehensive strategy to “eliminate patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes that discriminate against women’’.
Rape and all forms of violence against women should be made crimes under Saudi law, they said.
Child marriages, forced marriages and the compulsory dress code for women should be ended, it said.
Women should have the right to choose their dress and not face violence or threats by the religious police and their male guardian.
Discussion of the guardianship issue had been “very wide’’ with the delegation, Gbedemah said.
“We saw it where women were deemed to be disobedient to their guardians, where they needed their consent to marry, where the guardians could enforce dress codes, and in the area of domestic violence,” she said.
“So, in a nutshell, these are the four important areas that we asked for follow-up on, within two years,” she said.
Gbedemeh, asked about the planned lifting of the ban on driving, said: “Even if it is symbolic, it is a positive step.
“Because for so long it was taken for granted that women could not and would not drive.
“I am positive that once this is done, it will open the gates for leverage for removal of other restrictions,” she said. (Reuters/NAN)
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 British Russia 2018 World Cup






Russia’s foreign ministry said on Monday that British threats to boycott the 2018 FIFA World Cup would damage ties with Moscow and hurt world sport, Interfax news agency reported.
The British government it would respond decisively to any Russian government’s involvement,  in the wake of the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in England.
Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier on Monday it was “highly likely” that Moscow was responsible for the attack.
Some British officials have suggested boycotting the Russia-hosted World Cup later this year in response.
“We want to emphasize once again: such provocative statements, which fan anti-Russian hysteria, only complicate relations between our countries and are blow to world sport,” Interfax quoted the ministry as saying in a statement. (Reuters/NAN)
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Zuma





South Africa’s embattled President Jacob Zuma last night resigned his office with immediate effect.
He made the announcement in a televised address to the nation.
Earlier, Mr Zuma’s governing African National Congress (ANC) told him to resign or face a vote of no confidence in parliament today.
The 75-year-old has been under increasing pressure to give way to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, the ANC’s new leader.
Mr Zuma, who has been in power since 2009, faces numerous allegations of corruption.
His resignation came at the end of a long speech in which he said he disagreed with the way the ANC had acted towards him.
He said he did not fear a motion of no-confidence, adding: “I have served the people of South Africa to the best of my ability.”
Mr Zuma also said that violence and division within the ANC had influenced his decision to step down.
“No life should be lost in my name and also the ANC should never be divided in my name. I have therefore come to the decision to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect,” he said.
“Even though I disagree with the decision of the leadership of my organisation, I have always been a disciplined member of the ANC.
“As I leave I will continue to serve the people of South Africa as well as the ANC, the organisation I have served… all of my life.”
The ANC issued a statement saying Mr Zuma’s resignation provided “certainty to the people of South Africa”.
Mr Zuma, a former member of the ANC’s military wing in the days of apartheid, rose through the ranks of the party to become president. He led the country for more than a third of its time after apartheid.
But he leaves office with several scandals hanging over him, and with South Africa’s economy in dire straits.
The Parliament will today elect Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa into office as President.
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Serena Williams has revealed her excitement following confirmed Nigeria ladies’ participation in the Bobsledding event of the forthcoming Winter Olympics for the first time.
Serena who made a U- turn last minute over her initial desire to compete in the Australia Open, further revealed that she watched a video of the Nigerian Three-women team which were chilling according to her.  Taking to her verified twitter account, the 23 Grand Slam winner said” This video literally gave me chills, I am so excited to watch Nigeria compete in the winter Olympics bobsledding race the first time an African country has ever competed in bobsledding!”
The video watched by the American tennis super star and mother of one, could be one titled “Nigeria Women’s Bobsleigh team celebrated in new beats by Dre advert”
Nigeria’s trio of Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga are set to make history at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, thus stamping Nigeria on the world map as the first African country to compete in the sport at the winter Olympics.
The trio, are all from sprinting backgrounds, and are also the first African team to make it into the bobsleigh after a Go Fund me campaign backed their training and qualification campaign.
Pilot Adigun competed in the 100m hurdles at London 2012 while Onwumere ran for Nigeria at the IAAF World Relays in 2015. Omeoga, who will compete with Onwumere for the brakewoman spot, ran for the University of Minnesota.
The Nigerian team who are likely to be the cynosure of eyes at the event said they are determined to leave their foot print on the sand of history on one hand and encourage others to banish fear in their lives and be ready to venture into any area of life and make a mark.
“Our goal is to create a legacy where people will never be limited by the fear of the unknown.”
Interestingly the Nigerian team will be competing against their Jamaican counterparts Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian and Carrie Russell who are making a debut at the event 30 years after their men featured at the event.
Carrie Russell was a 2013 World Championships gold medalist in the 4x100m relay while Audra Segree also sprinted on the world stage.
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Calabar










The Association of Cross River State Local Government Pensioners has given the state government a one-month ultimatum to defray their entitlements else their entire 5, 600 members would occupy and shut down Calabar, the capital city.
Chairman of the Association, Comrade Bassey Okosin, addressing reporters in Calabar yesterday stated that the pension board if properly managed, could properly manage itself without assistance from Paris Club Refunds, bailouts or any other such funds.
Okosin said over N9billion is being owed pensions and gratuity is being owned them since 2007.
“We would mobilize all our 5,600 members from the 18 local government of the state. We would sleep in the governor’s office, in the house of assembly. We would live with the Governor, the Speaker, the ministries, departments and all the relevant agencies until the give us our money so we can go. We have taken a decision to pack our loads to live in all the offices that responsible for the payment of these entitlements until further notice. This is not threat but likely going to happen in the next one month. We use this medium to appeal to government and all our relations based in Calabar to make adequate arrangements for our needs. It is our belief that all will prefer to take care of us this way than pay for us to take care of ourselves,” Okosin said.
A statement by the chairman made available to reporters, read in parts, “In a press release credited to the Commissioner for Finance, it was stated clearly that the bailout funds and the Paris Club Refund was used among others in the payment of arrears of pension and gratuity in favour of pensioners in the state.
“My response to this will be restricted to local government pensioners and I speak on good authority that up till today not even a dime has been paid to any local government pensioner in the state in the name of pension arrears nor gratuity from the bailout nor Paris Club Refund. All efforts made in this direction have been ignored by the relevant agencies of government.
“About 600 names of local government pensioners that were omitted by the consultant during the 2016 personnel audit exercise is still outstanding. This was deliberate to enable the consultant collect their percentages, which was supposed to be based on savings made from the exercise.
“The elderly men and women were deprived their pension for a period ranging from two to six months as a result of that exercise. Every documentation/verification of those names have been done for over a year now but nobody appeared to bother about it. This is different from arrears of pension generated by administrative bottleneck, where a person is retired and the process of computing entitlement will linger for between 6 months to two years. When eventually it is ready for payment. Only the current month is paid, while the rest is classified as outstanding arrears.
“As at today, over 9 billion is outstanding in respect of arrears of pension and gratuity covering the period 2007 to 2018 in favour of local government pensioners. They have been denied these entitlement on account of lack of funds, the bailout fund and Paris Club Refund we are told those not include local government pensioners and no reason has been advanced for this, but we still expect that the right thing will be done alleviate the suffering of our members.
“Where does the local government pensioners belong? Which fund is expected to clear these outstanding arrears? Is local government pensioners not part of this state? If so why disparities when it comes to their welfare, whereas welfare of other services is given without stress. That of local government pensioners must always have one excuse or the other.
“We however appreciate Governor Ben Ayade in ensuring pensioners are paid regularly and up to date and pray that it should be sustained. We use this medium to also observe that while employment had stopped for over five years now, retirement rather increases at the average of 35 retirees per month.
“The nominal roll has increased to 5, 600 pensioners with a corresponding pension bill of over N342 million. Given the steady increase in number of retirees subvention to the pension board should have monthly increase to take care of the increases. Gratuity fund similar to that proposed for the state should be set up from where monthly remittances should be made to cater for this aspect of entitlement for local government pensioners.
“The operational guidelines on the management of local government pension board provided for local government pensions funds to be created from where the following remittances should be made; 15 per cent of local government annual budgets or monthly allocation; 2.5 per cent of local government personnel emoluments to be remitted by the state; reimbursement by the state for their retirees that are drawing pension from the local government pension board; subsidy to the board by the state from time to time; and reimbursement from the Federal Government for their retirees that are enjoying pension from local government pension board.
“From the provision, local government pensions board does not require a bailout or Paris Club Refund to manage the board, if all agencies ensure that actual percentages prescribed by this provision are remitted to the letter, but there is apathy on the part of all those whose responsibility it is to implement this directive, thereby subjecting the board to artificial shortage of fund, which renders local government pensioners helpless.”
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The Federal Government’s special delegation, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, is in Tripoli, the Libyan capital to evacuate Nigerians trapped in that country.
The Head, Press and Public Relations of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Mr Josiah Emerole said the delegation left the country yesterday.
Emerole said the “others members are the Director-General, NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli, and Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Diaspora Matters,’’ he said.
He said that the delegation departed the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday at 9:20a.m on-board the Nigeria Air Force Flight N5FGS.
Nigerians in Libya








According to him, facts finding mission on the level of the enslavement of Nigerians in that country would be part of their engagements in Libya.
He said that they would also engage the Libyan Authorities, Nigerian officials and Nigeria citizens living there, as well as International organisations working on migration issues in Libya.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that following reports of the enslavement of Nigerian Migrants in Libya, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the evacuation of all Nigerians trapped in the country back home.
The President also set up a team led by the Foreign Affairs Minister to work out modalities for carrying out the mass evacuation.
Since then, some high level meetings have been held among various Federal Government Agencies with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, presiding.
Emerole quoted the NAPTIP’s Director-General as saying that, “the Agency is ready to assist victims of human trafficking who will be returning to Nigeria to get properly reintegrated back into the Nigerian Society.
’”Our Counsellors are fully ready to receive the returnees and give them the needed psycho-social assistance for proper reintegration into the society.
“We will also help them with all the necessary tools to sustain themselves including vocational training and education assistance.
“This will be done with assistance from Government, Corporate bodies and the international organisations.
“This is not the time for anybody to stand aloof and watch the Federal Government to do it alone; all hands must be on deck now.  Doing nothing will affect all of us,” she said.
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Israel set a higher threshold on Tuesday for any
future vote on ceding parts of Jerusalem to the
Palestinians.
Palestinians wanted the eastern part of the city
for a future independent state.
The amendment passed by the Israeli parliament
to existing legislation raised from 61 to 80 the
number of votes that would be required in the
120-seat Knesset to approve any proposal to
hand over part of the city to “a foreign party”.
The amendment, long in the legislative pipeline,
comes less than a month after U.S. President
Donald Trump angered the Palestinians, Middle
East leaders and world powers by recognizing
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
U.S. negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians have been frozen since 2014 but, if
ever resumed, a special Israeli parliament majority
to approve handing over parts of Jerusalem could
complicate efforts to reach a peace accord.
Trump’s Dec. 6 decision touched off protests in
the region and the Palestinians have said
Washington can no longer serve as a peace
broker.
A U.S. bid to revive negotiations, led by the
president’s adviser and son-in-law, Jared
Kushner, has so far shown no progress.
“The authority to relinquish parts of the land is
not in the hands of any Jew, nor of the Jewish
people,” said Naftali Bennett, head of the far-right
Jewish Home coalition party, which sponsored the
legislation.
Palestinian officials were not immediately
available for comment on the new amendment,
which passed by a vote of 64 to 52.
Opposition head Isaac Herzog said Jewish Home
was leading Israel “toward a terrible disaster”.
The status of Jerusalem is one of the most
sensitive issues in the decades-old Israeli-
Palestinian conflict.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle
East war and annexed it in a move not recognised
internationally.
It says the entire city is its “eternal and
indivisible” capital.
Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the
capital of a future state that would also include
the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
Likud party unanimously urged legislators in a
non-binding resolution to effectively annex Israeli
settlements built in the West Bank.
Political commentators said the decision might
bolster right-wing support for Netanyahu, who
could seek a public mandate in an early election
while he awaits possible criminal indictments
against him on corruption suspicions. He denies
wrongdoing.
Parliamentary elections are not due until
November 2019 but the police investigations in
two cases of alleged corruption against
Netanyahu and tensions among coalition partners
in his government could hasten a poll.
Some commentators, pointing to an existing law
that already sets a similar high threshold for
handing over territory in a land-for-peace deal,
have said Jewish Home was essentially
competing with Likud for support among the
right-wing base. (Reuters/NAN)

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