Thursday, September 8, 2016
Video - Nigeria's army claims arrest of Avengers militant group leader
The Nigerian army claims it has arrested a suspected leader of the Niger Delta Avengers, as well as other suspected militants accused of attacking oil and gas infrastructure. Isaac Romeo and two others were detained over the weekend in Calabar, the capital of Cross River state in the Delta region. Authorities say they picked up a fourth man on Tuesday in Edo, north of Delta. He's thought to be responsible for last month's attack on a pipeline operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company and energy giant Shoreline.
Video - Nigeria's trade deficit narrows 44% in the second quarter
Nigeria's export trade has increased by over 60% to $5.9 billion in the second quarter of the year. Latest data from the national bureau of statistics shows the the trade deficit narrowed 44% as the value of exports surged after a devaluation of the naira. However, the rise was not enough to help the economy avoid a recession. Low oil prices have hammered vital public finances and the naira -- prompting foreign investors to flee bond and equities markets, causing chronic dollar shortages. Meanwhile, exports were dominated by crude oil, which contributed 79.7 percent of total exports. Imports rose 38.1 percent in the second quarter, with machinery and appliances, vehicles and aircraft parts and petroleum products making up the bulk of the numbers.
80% of Nigerian women in Italy are victims of sex trafficking
About 80 percent of Nigerian women and girls, who arrive Italy, are sex trafficking victims, according to Vatican news agency, Agenzia Fides. “Hundreds of thousands of people fall victim to human trafficking every year in Africa alone,” said Monsignor Ignatius Ayau Kaigama at an international conference against human trafficking organised by Christian Organisations Against Trafficking in Human Beings, COATNET, and Catholic Charity Caritas, Abuja.
"Of the overall number of victims, 79 percent are sexually exploited and the majority are women,” said Kaigama, who is the Archbishop of Jos and President of the Nigerian Bishops Conference.
"Of the overall number of victims, 79 percent are sexually exploited and the majority are women,” said Kaigama, who is the Archbishop of Jos and President of the Nigerian Bishops Conference.
He added: “The remaining 21 percent are coerced into forced labour, and the majority of these are men. “In some parts of West Africa, the majority of trafficking victims are children under 18.
This conference must find a way to put an end to child labour in all its forms.” He also called on the Federal Government “to declare human trafficking a national disgrace, and to take urgent and long-lasting measures to address its root causes. “This, in light of recent reports that 80 percent of Nigerian girls that reach Italy, do so for reasons of sex trafficking.”
Father of former MEND militant killed during military incursion
The father of a former Nigerian militant leader has died from injuries suffered during a government military campaign in the oil-producing Delta region, a family spokesman said, raising the possibility of an inflaming of hostilities.
Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo, the 84-year-old father of rebel leader Government Ekpemupolo, died at a hospital in Warri from injuries sustained during military incursions into his community, Paul Bebenimibo, a spokesman for the son, known as Tompolo, said.
Tompolo was a commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a group that spearheaded attacks on oil and gas installations in the Delta region in the early 2000s until a government amnesty program halted clashes by offering contracts to protect pipelines and oil production equipment.
A wave of attacks on oil and gas facilities kicked off not long after an arrest warrant was issued for Tompolo in January on charges of corruption.
Godspower Gbenekama, a community leader in Tompolo's home area, said doctors had tried in vain to save the father by amputating a leg.
"We have appealed for calm but it is very painful considering the circumstances that led to his death," he said.
"His leg was amputated because he could not gain immediate access to hospital and treatment after the injury because of the lock down after and during the period of the invasion," he said, referring to a search of his community by the army hunting Tompolo.
"By the time the military left our area it was too late," he said.
Comment from the government was not immediately available.
The violence has shut down more than 700,000 barrels per day of oil output and exacerbated an economic crisis in a nation reeling from its first recession in two decades. Tompolo has denied any involvement in the attacks on oil and gas infrastructure, as well as the corruption charges. He remains in hiding.
While oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said talks were progressing with militants over a ceasefire, the army is waging a campaign aimed at stamping out attackers. Locals have criticized the efforts as heavy handed, and said they risk fuelling more dissent, while other groups have said they run contrary to the ceasefire talks.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Niger Delta Avengers, the group that has claimed responsibility for bulk of the attacks this year, but recently declared a ceasefire, said the army campaign will "undermine any genuine disposition from your government toward restoration of tranquility in the Niger Delta."
Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo, the 84-year-old father of rebel leader Government Ekpemupolo, died at a hospital in Warri from injuries sustained during military incursions into his community, Paul Bebenimibo, a spokesman for the son, known as Tompolo, said.
Tompolo was a commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), a group that spearheaded attacks on oil and gas installations in the Delta region in the early 2000s until a government amnesty program halted clashes by offering contracts to protect pipelines and oil production equipment.
A wave of attacks on oil and gas facilities kicked off not long after an arrest warrant was issued for Tompolo in January on charges of corruption.
Godspower Gbenekama, a community leader in Tompolo's home area, said doctors had tried in vain to save the father by amputating a leg.
"We have appealed for calm but it is very painful considering the circumstances that led to his death," he said.
"His leg was amputated because he could not gain immediate access to hospital and treatment after the injury because of the lock down after and during the period of the invasion," he said, referring to a search of his community by the army hunting Tompolo.
"By the time the military left our area it was too late," he said.
Comment from the government was not immediately available.
The violence has shut down more than 700,000 barrels per day of oil output and exacerbated an economic crisis in a nation reeling from its first recession in two decades. Tompolo has denied any involvement in the attacks on oil and gas infrastructure, as well as the corruption charges. He remains in hiding.
While oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said talks were progressing with militants over a ceasefire, the army is waging a campaign aimed at stamping out attackers. Locals have criticized the efforts as heavy handed, and said they risk fuelling more dissent, while other groups have said they run contrary to the ceasefire talks.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Niger Delta Avengers, the group that has claimed responsibility for bulk of the attacks this year, but recently declared a ceasefire, said the army campaign will "undermine any genuine disposition from your government toward restoration of tranquility in the Niger Delta."
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Video - Third case of polio has been confirmed in Nigeria
A third case of polio has been confirmed in Nigeria, again in the north-eastern state of Borno. The area was recently won back from jihadist group Boko Haram.
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