By Rita Iliya

The Victims Support Fund (VSF), in collaboration with the Niger Government has launched the distribution of food items to 3,000 victims of terrorism in the state.

Gov. Umaru Bago, while speaking at the inauguration of the VSF 2023 Improving Livelihood and Empowering Communities in Minna on Friday,  said the partnership was to support the weak and victims of terrorism and other forms of vices.

Bago, represented by his deputy, Mr Yakubu Garba, said victims of terrorism were faced with various challenges ranging from poor hygiene to lack of access to education and economic downturn.

“The predicaments are alarming and all hands must be on deck to reverse the ugly trend,” he said.

He reiterated the state government’s commitment to ensuring that lasting peace and security was restored to the various communities.

The governor also called on VSF to expand its scope to reach out to victims of flood and other public health issues with a view to reaching a wilder populace.

Earlier, Prof. Nana Tanko, Executive Director, VSF, said that 3,000 households from Lapai, Shiroro and Kontagora Local Government Areas would benefit from the food items.

She listed the items for distribution to include rice, beans, vegetable oil, sugar and seasoning.

Tanko disclosed that VSF had developed a strategy for the next three years to support victims of terrorism as well as expand its intervention to Taraba, Kaduna, Katsina, Benue and Niger.

She said that the organisation was making effort to build resilience of victims to enable them to go back to their communities.

In his remarks, Ahmed Suleiman, the state Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, said the ministry would partner VSF to bring support to victims of terrorism in the state.

One of the beneficiaries, Sadiya Mohammed, appreciated the VSF and the Niger government for the support, adding that the gesture would help alleviate their sufferings. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Deborah Coker and Isaac Ukpoju

By Nefishetu Yakubu

The Edo State Human Capital Development Programme (HCD) on Friday charged journalists to adequately report the three thematic areas of the HCD to enable beneficiaries understand the benefits that are inherent in the programme.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that HCD Programme is a project of the National Economic Council (NEC) with it Core Working Groups working on three thematic areas of health and nutrition, education and labour force participation.

The Regional Consultant, South South HCD, Mr Olusoji Adeniyi, gave the charge at a two-day Media engagement and HCD reporting for media agencies, held in Benin, the Edo capital.

Speaking on the topic, “Accelerating HCD base in Nigeria”, Adeniyi said the three thematic areas of HCD were poorly reported, adding that stakeholders and communities were not aware of the benefit of the programme.

He noted that the media needed to say more about what government was doing through the HCD to enable communities become aware of the benefit of education and other thematic areas of the programme.

“The training is to build the capacity of media agencies and also to introduce the components of HCD to journalists to avoid misconception.

“The essence of the workshop is to let you know that HCD is a life cycle of a child which begins from the womb, the health of the mother, breastfeeding, nurturing of the child and the educational status of that child.

“It involves the opportunity for the child to become employable through the skills learnt. During the period, they were exposed to adolescence to young adults who would contribute to the labour force of the country.

“So the media need to engage the communities to let them know that a child that is wondering around during school hours, is a child that is likely to drop out of school and needs to be corrected and taken back to school.

“We want people to understand that a child that is going to be fully developed to contribute to the economy of the nation starts from when the child is in the mother’s womb

“It covers when the child is born in a facility that has the right kind of birth attendants so that we do not loose the child and mother to infant and maternal mortality,” he said.

According to him, “we are in Edo where bronze casting has become obsolete and the media need to educate the people on the need to revive it because it has put Edo on the world map.

Adeniyi, however, disclosed that a total of 260 journalists have so far been trained in the south south region on HCD programme.

Also speaking, the Edo HCD Focal Person and Managing Director, Edo Skills Development Agency, (Edojobs), Mrs Violet Obiokoro, stated that Gov. Godwin Obaseki had invested in HCD and was working with its three thematic areas.

Obiokoro, however, lamented that all of the improvement recorded so far by the governor in the state in the thematic areas have been under reported.

“The governor has done a lot in these areas but they are under reported and as a result, people are not aware of what government is doing,” Obiokoro said.

According to her, “I want to appeal to you all to begin to look into these areas and help us report what government is doing.

“It is about time we begin to report these activities and collect data by ourselves instead of waiting for people to report and collect data for us.”

A plenary was held with HCD thematic Focal Persons from the ministry of Health, Education and Edojobs to discuss the impact of HCD thematic areas in the state. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Vincent Obi

By Alex Enebeli

The President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has said that his heart bleeds as a result of the killings in Igboland.

Iwuanyanwu disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Enugu.

He said, “My heart bleeds at the sad events in Igboland where Igbos are killing fellow Igbos.

“I am equally very distressed by the rate at which the Nigerian security operatives are killed not only in Igboland but all over the country.

“Worse still is the suspected reprisal attack where innocent Igbo sons and daughters from Mbano in Imo state have found their lives and means of livelihood completely destroyed.

This situation, he said, is completely unacceptable to him, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide and “Indeed unacceptable to all honest, right-thinking and patriotic Nigerians.

“I condemn it in strong terms,” the Igbo leader said.

He said he would be sending a team immediately, under the Chairmanship of C. J. Ihemedu, the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Imo State Chapter, to give him a comprehensive report on the matter.

“I call on the Federal Government to fish out the perpetrators of this heinous crime and make sure they face the law.

“I also urge the Federal Government to put in place necessary security measures to forestall the reoccurrence of this sad event,” he said.

He noted that similar incidents had occurred in all the states of Southeast, adding that as at now there seemed to be no solution as the matter is even getting worse.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo is right now undertaking a total transformation of Igboland and by this transformation, more job opportunities will be created in the zone for school leavers; and infrastructure for business men and women.

“I wish, on behalf of all Igbos worldwide, to express our deep sympathy to the families of the security men who were gruesomely murdered.

“We also sympathise with our people in Mbano whose shops and houses were destroyed during the reprisal attack.

“I pray the Almighty God to take control of events in Igboland so that we will once more enjoy peace, happiness and prosperity in our land,” Iwuanyanwu said. (NAN)

Edited by Vincent Obi

By Fabian Ekeruche

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has donated 1800 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to street sweepers of the Lagos Waste Management Authority in Lagos.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mrs Folashade Kadiri, Director, Public Affairs, LAWMA, and made available to newsmen on Friday in Lagos.

Kadiri said that the Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, appreciated the gesture, describing it as the beginning of a robust partnership between both agencies.

He said that the kits comprised 600 reflective jackets, 600 face masks and 600 safety cones, largely for the use of LAWMA’s highway sweepers.

Gbadegesin said that LAWMA was committed to ensuring the effective management of marine waste.

Kadiri also quoted the NIMASA’s Director-General, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, as saying that the gesture was part of the agency’s Corporate Social Responsibility.

Jamoh said that there was the need to significantly enhance highway sweeping efforts.

Represented by the Deputy Director of finance, Mr. Samuel Ajayi,  Jamoh said that the maritime agency was committed to safeguarding both maritime and environmental interests.

The event was attended by LAWMA’s senior management staff. (NAN)

Edited by Christiana Fadare

By Diana Omueza

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) remains committed to working with government at all levels in the pursuit of peace and harmony in Nigeria.

Dr Chris Kwaja, the groups Country Manager of USIP, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja to commemorate the International Day of Peace (IDP), observed around the world on Sept. 21.

The 2023 theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the Global Goals.

Kwaja said “this day is a reaffirmation of our believe in peace as the most viable pathway to a secured and stable world.

“The focus should be about the international day of peace, and the commitment of USIP to work with all actors, government, non governmental, communities and individuals.

“This is towards building peace and restoring trust across all levels of society in Nigeria,” he said.

Kwaja said that peace was a public good that should be treasured by all regardless of religious, ethnic, gender, political and socio- cultural inclinations.

The USIP country manager said that peace was a factor that defined the shared humanity and should be preserved at all cost.

According to him, as government invested in public safety and security, attention should also be given to investments in peacebuilding.

This, he said was by empowering the youths, women and Persons with Disabilities(PWDs), as key levers of peace.

“The same attention should be accorded community level actors working for peace at the grass root.

“Good governance which represents a major pillar of peace should also be upheld by leaders at all levels as a key vehicle for trust building between the government and its citizens,” he said.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Sadiya Hamza

 Five suspected Russian spies – Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Ivan Stoyanov, and Vanya Gaberova – are scheduled to face espionage charge at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, London, U.K. next Tuesday, says a report released on Friday.

The five spies, who are Bulgarian nationals, were accused of conspiring to gather information that would be useful to an enemy between August 2020 and February.

They allegedly worked for Russian security services to surveil targets in the U.K. and the rest of Europe.

During a search of properties occupied by the defendants in London and Norfolk, police found fake passports and other phony IDs for the U.K..

Other phony IDs were for; Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece and the Czech Republic.

Investigators believed that Roussev was the alleged leader of the spy ring that made the forgeries himself.

The spy ring was uncovered by the Countre Terrorism Command of London’s Metropolitan Police.

Police in the U.K. previously charged three suspected Russian military intelligence officers with an assassination attempt of a double agent and his daughter with the nerve agent Novichok.

The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich remained detained in Russia on espionage charges. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Cecilia Odey/Salif Atojoko

European Union states received 25 per cent more asylum applications in June 2023 compared with June 2022, the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat said on Friday.

In June, 83,385 people applied for international protection in one of the bloc’s 27 member states.

The figure is however lower than in autumn 2022, when around 100,000 monthly application were filed in the EU, according to Eurostat data.

In line with previous months, Syrians were the largest group of people seeking protection in the EU in June 2023, followed by Afghans, Venezuelans and Colombians.

Germany, Spain, France and Italy together received around 75 per cent of all asylum applications in June 2023.

Compared to the population of each EU country, Cyprus received the highest rate of applicants, followed by Austria, Eurostat said. (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ummul Idris/Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

Addis Ababa, Sept. 22, 2023 (Xinhua/NAN) The number of people arriving in Ethiopia due to the conflict in Sudan has reached 81,095, according to the UN migration agency.

As of Sept. 16, a total of 81,095 crossings had been made by returnees, refugees and asylum seekers from conflict-affected Sudan to its neighbour, Ethiopia, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said.

Of the total number of crossings, 37,515 are Ethiopian nationals, 28,177 are Sudanese nationals, and the remaining 15,403 are third-country nationals, the IOM said.

The crossings started on April 21 shortly after the onset of the conflict in Sudan, mainly through the Metema and Kurmuk Ethiopia-Sudan border entry points, the United Nations had previously said.

Sudan has been witnessing clashes between the country’s armed forces and the paramilitary forces in the capital of Khartoum and other areas since April 15. (Xinhua/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ummul Idris/Buhari Bolaji

By Isaac Aregbesola

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested six suspected internet fraudsters in Bauchi.

Its Spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren said in a statement in Abuja

According to  him, the suspects are  Okeychuku Ani, Rousham Danjuma, Iloabuchi Sideofor, Emmanuel Adibeh, Onyedikachi Iwanze and Elijah Simon.

“ They were arrested on Saturday, September 16, 2023 in their hideout at old Government Reservation Area, GRA, Bauchi, Bauchi State.

“Their arrest was based on actionable intelligence on their suspected involvement in internet- related offences.

“They will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng).