400 Nigerian citizens languish in Chinese prisons

Nigeria's Ambassador to China Aminu Wali says 400 Nigerians are languishing in Chinese jails and that one of them was executed by lethal injection last month.

Wali told a group of Nigerian journalists in Beijing yesterday that most of the convicts were tried for hard drug related offences.

He added that another Nigerian had recently had his death sentence suspended and could finally have it commuted to life imprisonment due to the intervention of the embassy.

"Something is wrong with our value system", he said, adding that he was arranging a stakeholders' meeting with leaders from a geo-political zone in Nigeria where most of the convicts came from.

He lamented that the embassy usually got to know about this group of Nigerians only after they had been arrested.

"As we speak, one of my consular officers is on a prison visit to meet convicted Nigerians or suspects still undergoing trial.

"This embassy was earlier today informed of another arrest and before the end of the day, up to five such letters may be received here," Wali said.

The ambassador said he was visiting Nigerian convicts in Chinese prisons personally on quarterly basis and ensuring that they were fairly comfortable by donating money for their needs.

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U.S.,Germany, France, Canada Shut Embassies in Nigeria

AS a fall-out of the August 26, 2011 suicide bomb attack on the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja, leading Western nations have continued to shut their embassies and consulates in the country.

The latest nations to shut down both their embassies in Abuja and consulates in Lagos are the United States, Germany, Canada and France, which closed shop Monday evening.

UN bodies like the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO), Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which are housed within the bombed UN Building have already closed operations.

This is just as the UN yesterday day maintained that only 23 people died in the Friday attack.

Giving details of the casualties, via a statement, the United Nations Country Team in Nigeria (UNCT) explained that of the 23, 11, including 10 Nigerians and one Norwegian, were UN staff; nine were non-UN staff and three were persons yet to be identified per- sons.

The latest closures follow the decision of the British Government to close its High Commission in Abuja and Consulate in Kaduna on Monday morning. Unconfirmed reports said the commission may relocate to either Ghana or South Africa.

The Western governments may have decided to close their offices despite assurances Monday evening to members of the Diplomatic Corps by both the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Hafiz Ringim, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Olugbenga Ashiru, that everything would be done to guarantee their safety.

A statement on the U.S. website reads: 'Today is a public holiday, before now, the security was never like this. I think the bomb blast caused it', he said.

In observance of the Eid-el-Fitr non-working public holiday declared by the Nigerian government, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja and Consulate in Lagos will be closed for business on Tuesday, August 30 and Wednesday, August 31.

'Visa applicants who had an interview scheduled for one of those days will be contacted with a rescheduled date.

When The Moment visited the embassy, it discovered that the embassy's security personnel, had barricaded all the roads leading to the embassy, subjecting motorists passing through their vicinity to mild checks.

A passer-by, who identified himself as Anthony Udoka, told The Moment that he observed that additional security checks have been introduced since the bomb blast at the UN building last Friday.

A statement from the United Nations Country Team in Nigeria (UNCT), said identification was ongoing as well as investigation at the premises by the appropriate authorities.

The statement reads in part: "The death toll stands at 23: eleven UN staff -10 Nigerians and one Norwegian, nine non-UN staff and three unidentified others. 26 injured persons remain in hospitals and clinics in the Nigerian federal capital'.

'Every effort is being made to reconcile known facts about non-UN staff on site, such as contracted services, cleaners, security guards, and visitors.'

It also confirmed that eight members of staff on life support systems were evacuated to South Africa on air ambulances on Sunday.

'Four other critically-injured staff were also airlifted to South Africa on Monday,' it said.

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Abuja Blast - UN to Conduct Global Threat Review

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has said the world body will soon conduct a global threat review following Friday's bomb blast at its office in Abuja. The attack claimed no fewer than 23 people while more than 80 were wounded.

Ban, in remarks to the UN Security Council and a closed-door special session of the General Assembly later on Tuesday in New York, said the UN will "also undertake a full review of the incident and our security measures at UN House."

He promised to share the results of the review with member states "at the first opportunity."

The secretary general said the suicide bomb attack in Abuja was the second major "terrorist attack" on UN premises this year.

In April, seven UN staff were killed in Mazai-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, after a mob enraged by Koran burning in the U.S., stormed a UN compound in Afghanistan.

Ban, who addressed the 193-member General Assembly for the first time after he dispatched two senior UN officials to Abuja, described the UN building in Abuja as "a well built structure with robust security measures."

"What we know is that this attack was the work of a suicide bomber who rammed a sport utility vehicle at high speed through the exit gates of the UN compound," he said.

"The UN House in Abuja, home to 26 UN agencies and programmes, is a well built structure with robust security measures.

"This attack is therefore cause for serious reassessment, not just in Nigeria, and not just at high threat locations, but worldwide," he added.

Ban vowed that the world body would not be deterred from continuing its work, saying " the goal of the UN must be to stay and not leave in difficult security conditions."

"We must carry out our vital work, not lock ourselves behind fortresses," he stressed.

He pledged that the UN would do everything possible to assist the victims of the attack and their families.

Ban also announced that one young Norwegian woman named Ingrid Midtgaard from Oslo was among the 11 UN staff killed in the attack in Abuja.

"Clearly, the UN and our people are being targeted more and more often by terrorists worldwide.

"Too often, it seems we are considered a "soft target. The security of our staff working overseas must be paramount.

"We must draw the lessons learned from Abuja and together we must commit the effort and resources to implement them," he said.

He announced that the Deputy Secretary-General would hold a town hall meeting in New York on Thursday to discuss the tragedy.

Ban thanked the Nigerian government for its assistance in the aftermath of the attack and praised the courage and dedication of the UN team in Abuja.

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NDLEA Arrests 103 Drug Traffickers

The Akwa Ibom State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said it arrested 103 suspected drug traffickers in the state in the last eight months. The suspects were made up of 87 males and 16 females.

The command also seized 643.78kilogrammes, 90.4-grammes, and 98.1grammes respectively of cannabis; cocaine and heroine as well as 46 litres of a combination of alcohol and cannabis sativa.

Disclosing this while parading 12 other suspected drug traffickers, including two septuagenarians and a cripple, in the latest arrest, the State Commander of NDLEA, Mrs. Josephine Obi, said 16 other suspects were still on the run.

“Our investigations have revealed that the youths are made to undergo a period of apprenticeship for a year or two, and are settled or rewarded on graduation with two bags of cannabis Sativa to go and set up their own business in another location.

“The dealers continue to use the strategy of selling drugs at public centres like schools, restaurants, clubs, hotels and stadiums in order to avoid the risk of being arrested in their private houses. One Iniobong Archibong was arrested in Aka 1 Primary School and 7.5g of cocaine, 43.6g of heroin and 1.8g of cannabis sativa were recovered from him,” she said.

According to her, large acres of cannabis farms had been destroyed in Ikot Ekpene, Ikono and Ini local government areas of the state. She called on members of the public to support the agency in the fight against drugs by reporting suspected peddlers.

She explained that no fewer than 65 persons had been counselled, two persons rehabilitated, one under rehabilitation while five others were on the waiting list for rehabilitation.

Obi said the septuagenarians were in the habit of recruiting the aged, unemployed youths, minors and physically-challenged persons as agents for their drug activities while they stay out of sight to escape arrest.

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