UAE may reverse visa restriction on Nigerians today amid airline’s ban

Barring any last-minute hitches, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will today, review the visa restriction placed on Nigerian travellers, following the ban of Emirates Airlines from the most populous black nation.

Sources at the company’s office in Lagos confirmed that the issue was being reviewed, and the “right” diplomatic approach taken.

This came as aviation stakeholders commended the Federal Government for going “tough and playing tit-for-tat with countries that would not accept Nigerian travellers into their domains.”

The Federal Government, following pressure from some quarters, banned Emirates Airlines from Lagos and Abuja airports, effective today, over refusal to grant fresh visa applications submitted by Nigerians.

The government earlier banned European carriers, with the exception of British Airways, over travel restrictions.

Emirates officials said: “We have met with the Nigerian government on this issue, and we assured them that we will resolve it. We are presently working on it.”

“I hope this issue will be resolved before Monday. One thing I will assure you is that the issue will be resolved earlier than expected,” a manager said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Finchglow Travels, Bankole Bernard, said assurances had been given on the matter.

He noted that Nigeria was third-biggest market to Emirates, adding that the UAE would do everything to sustain their operations.

“UAE should have resolved this matter long ago. The ban means that they will lose the market, and they know the implication. A market lost is never easily regained. Right now, we are certain that the ban will only affect Monday flights, and hoping that things will be normal by Tuesday,” he added.

The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, at the weekend, via his twitter handle, announced the suspension of Emirates Airlines from Nigeria, saying the ban would take effect from today.

“Emirates Airlines’ situation was reviewed, and they are consequently included in the list of those not approved, with effect from Monday, September 21, 2020,” he said.

The President Muhammadu Buhari administration had in August warned that Nigeria would activate the principle of reciprocity in granting permission to airlines to resume operations in the country as it reopens its airspace.

It said the decision was informed by the embargoing on flights from Nigeria by some nations.

Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, Angolan TAG, Air Namibia and Royal Air Maroc were not approved to operate flights into the country.

Aviation stakeholder, Julius Akintunde, said the measures were in the best interest of the economy.

Also speaking, Secretary-General of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd), urged that the reciprocity should be done with caution in order for the Nigerian market not to be undermined by neighbours.

The Guardian

Nigerian state says rapists will face surgical castration

The governor of Nigeria's Kaduna state has signed a law saying men convicted of rape will face surgical castration, and anyone raping a child under age 14 will face the death penalty.

Gov. Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai said the "drastic penalties are required to help further protect children from a serious crime."

Reported cases of rape in Nigeria have risen dramatically during the months of coronavirus restrictions. Women's groups have called for tougher action against rapists, including the death penalty.

Kaduna state's new law is the strictest against rape in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.

The state's newly amended penal code also says a person convicted of raping someone over age 14 will face life imprisonment.

The previous law carried a maximum penalty of 21 years imprisonment for the rape of an adult and life imprisonment for the rape of a child.

A woman convicted of rape of a child under 14 faces the removal of her fallopian tubes.

By Sam Olukoya

CTVNEWS

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Jihadists kill 11 villagers in northeast Nigeria

Jihadists aligned to the Islamic State have killed 11 villagers in two separate attacks in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state, militia leaders said Wednesday.

Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in several pickup trucks opened fire on Wasaram, 90 kilometres (55 miles) from regional capital Maiduguri on Tuesday, killing eight villagers and injuring 20, they said.

Three villagers were also killed in a separate attack in Auno earlier that day.

“We recovered 11 bodies from the two attacks which occurred yesterday in Kaga district,” militia leader Ibrahim Liman told AFP.

The insurgents had accused the villagers of alerting troops about their movement on their way to rob traders in the nearby town of Ngamdu, he said.

Soldiers intercepted the jihadists and engaged them in a gun battle, forcing them to retreat, said militiaman Umar Ari, who gave the same death toll.

“They (ISWAP) attacked the village on their way back, accusing residents of informing soldiers about their movement to rob local traders at the weekly market”, Ari told AFP.

Earlier on Tuesday, ISWAP fighters slaughtered three farmers that they seized as they worked on their fields outside Auno village, 65 kilometres away, the militia leaders added.

ISWAP, which split from Boko Haram in 2016 and initially focused on attacking the military, has increasingly been targeting civilians, in particular abducting and killing motorists at bogus checkpoints on highways.

Meanwhile, eight people were injured late Tuesday when gunmen from a rival Boko Haram faction ambushed a civilian convoy under military escort outside the town of Banki near the border with Cameroon, security sources told AFP.

“Four of the victims were taken to a hospital in Mora on the Cameroonian side because of the severity of their injuries,” said a security source, who asked not to be identified.

The decade-old jihadist insurgency in mainly-Muslim northern Nigeria has claimed 36,000 lives and forced two million others to flee their homes.

The conflict has spilled over to Cameroon, Chad and Niger, prompting a regional military force to be formed to fight off the insurgents.

 CGTN

Unicef condemns jailing of 13 year old for 10 years Nigeria for 'blasphemy'

The UN children's agency Unicef has called on the Nigerian authorities to urgently review an Islamic court's decision to sentence a 13-year-old boy to 10 years in prison for blasphemy.
The boy was convicted in August of making uncomplimentary remarks about God during an argument with a friend in northern Kano state.
Kano is one of 12 Nigerian states practising the Sharia legal system alongside the country's secular laws.
Muslims form the majority in the north.

The 13-year-old's sentencing "negates all core underlying principles of child rights and child justice that Nigeria - and by implication, Kano state - has signed on to", said Peter Hawkins, Unicef's representative in the West African state.
On 9 September, the boy's lawyer, Kola Alapinni, said he had filed an appeal against the judgement.
"This is a violation of the African Charter of the Rights And Welfare of a Child. A violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," he added.
He told the BBC that no date had been set for the appeal to be heard in court. 

BBC

Video - Challenging conditions hamper Nigerian medal hopefuls

Nigeria para-athletes have put the disappointment of the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics behind them and are now focused on showcasing their talent in Japan next year if everything goes according to plan. However, they are preparing for the Games under challenging conditions as CGTN's Deji Badmus reports.