News
ECOWAS Should Partner AU, UN in Mediation with Niger, Burkina-Faso, Mali, Advises Stakeholders

ECOWAS Should Partner AU, UN in Mediation with Niger, Burkina-Faso, Mali, Advises Stakeholders
By: Michael Mike
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been advised to partner with the African Union(AU), the United Nations (UN) and the Diaspora Community to intervene in the mediation process with the three Sahelian countries of Niger, Burkina-Faso and Mali in the ongoing plan of bringing them back into the regional bloc.
The call was made on Thursday in Abuja at a forum organised by the West Africa Democracy Solidarity Network (WADEMOS) and Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) Ghana with the theme: “Strengthening Response to Democratic Recession in West Africa: The Role of the Diaspora Community.
In a communique issued at the end of the forum, the failure of ECOWAS in its recent mediation efforts with Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso was recognized, and a call was made that the regional body should partner with the African Union, the United Nations and the Diaspora Community to intervene in the mediation process.
ECOWAS was urged to improve on its communication strategy and clearly communicate information to the citizens of the community, as the majority of citizens in the Alliance of Sahelian States (AES) are not aware of the implication of the exit from ECOWAS.
A request was made to ECOWAS to deploy an all-female delegation to mediate with the military leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, bearing in mind that an all-men delegation has not worked in recent time.
The participants at the forum agreed to continue to support ECOWAS as an agent of integration of the peoples of the region, calling on the regional body to reinvent itself in promoting the ECOWAS of the People. Support the immediate constitution of ECOSOC which aims to promote the ECOWAS of the People.
The communique further read: “We reiterate our strong opposition to the overbearing colonial legacies and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) in the domestic affairs and the peacefully established status of territories of the region.
“On the need for complementarity, we call for the full participation and involvement of the Diaspora Community, CSOs, and other critical stakeholders in decisions affecting the people of the region.
“Appeal to the military leaders of the Alliance of the Sahelian States to remain in the ECOWAS. while calling for the immediate restructuring of ECOWAS: ensuring checks and balances are effective. Condemn the structure where power is concentrated in the Heads of States over the ECOWAS Parliament and the Regional Court.
“Recommend a strong CSO and diaspora network to mobilize resources for advocacy and for the protection of human rights in the region and demand a more democratic region that is able to meet the needs of the people, we immediately call for immediate closure of the gap between the citizens and the leaders. We demand that ECOWAS be more responsible and more responsive to the needs of citizens.
“Call for the defense of human rights activists, especially women who face a double challenge as human rights defenders. In addition, women will be more vulnerable with the exit of the AES.
“Support calls for two-term limits for ECOWAS heads of state and government, while condemning all unconstitutional changes of government in the region, including changes to a country’s constitution to extend the tenure of presidents. Urge ECOWAS to openly condemn member states violating its Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
“Urged ECOWAS to develop a mechanism of communicating early warnings/compliance/response to democratic recession in the region.
“Recommend unconventional ways e.g. DemoCratic (the arts) to advocate for good governance in the ECOWAS region.”
The participants are expressed worries that “the last two decades have seen manifestations of democratic backsliding that is escalating in all forms and scope and the decision of the military governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to withdraw from the ECOWAS bloc and the submission of a one-year formal notice of their withdrawal to the Commission, citing ECOWAS’s deviation from the ideals of its founding fathers and Pan-Africanism after nearly 50 years of existence.”
They lamented that the withdrawal of these states will threatens the continuation of several significant interventions, projects and programmes, including the Regional Food Security Reserve, which hosts stocks for about 52% of the regional stock; the Regional Support Programme for Pastoralism in the Sahel, financed by the World Bank to the tune of USD215 million for the three states; the Sahel Regional Irrigation Support Programme, financed by the World Bank, to the tune of USD103.43 million for the three states; the Regional Food System Resilience Support Program, funded by the World Bank, to the tune of USD230 million for the three states.
Other things to be adversely impacted include the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Market project, which links all member states to a regional electricity grid for improved access to electricity; the withdrawal could result in the halt or suspension of ECOWAS projects and programmes worth over US$500 million; Logistical hurdles for the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and its potential to weaken the long-term goal of establishing a single currency for all ECOWAS members; and a decline in foreign direct investment, negatively impacts on the private sector and women in the informal sector of the economy.
ECOWAS Should Partner AU, UN in Mediation with Niger, Burkina-Faso, Mali, Advises Stakeholders
News
Tipper truck kills several traders in Jalingo market crash

Tipper truck kills several traders in Jalingo market crash
By: Zagazola Makama
A tragic road accident occurred on Saturday at the popular Mile 6 Market in Jalingo, Taraba State, when a tipper truck loaded with shaft sand lost control and rammed into a crowd of traders and shoppers.

Zagazola learnt the incident, which happened around midday, resulted in multiple fatalities and left several others injured. The exact number of casualties is yet to be confirmed as emergency responders continue rescue operations and assessment of the scene.

Sourcessaid the truck was speeding when one of its front tyres suddenly burst, causing the driver to lose control. The vehicle veered into the busy market area, knocking down people and structures along its path.

“It happened so fast,” said Musa Ibrahim, a local vendor. “The truck was on speed and after the tyre burst, the driver couldn’t control it. It just rammed into the crowd.”
Security operatives and medical personnel arrived swiftly at the scene to evacuate the injured to nearby hospitals. The body of the deceased has also been recovered, while efforts are ongoing to identify victims and notify their families.

The driver of the truck has been apprehended and is currently in custody as investigations continue into the cause of the crash.
End
Crime
Former Footballer, 4 Others Arrested, Over 22.6kg Cocaine, Meth Seized at Lagos, Enugu Airports

Former Footballer, 4 Others Arrested, Over 22.6kg Cocaine, Meth Seized at Lagos, Enugu Airports
…72-year-old Grandma, Beninese, Ithers Nabbed in NDLEA Raids in Delta, Kwara, Lagos
By: Michael Mike
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a former football player Segun George Hunkarin along with his businessman partner Ntoruka Chinedu over attempt to smuggle a consignment of cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
According to a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, Chinedu who is a frequent flyer known for conveying clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey, was the first to be arrested upon his arrival at the Lagos airport last Tuesday, when his carry-on bag was searched, 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grammes were seen to be concealed therein.

Babafemi said investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on Ethiopian Airlines flight but transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.
He said further checks revealed that an accomplice who turned out to be the former professional footballer, Segun Hunkarin, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport carpark to collect the consignment from him. Hunkarin who had stayed years in Brazil playing for football clubs was promptly tracked and arrested at the carpark.

In his statement, Hunkarin was said to have claimed that while playing professional football in the South American country, he had only trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia but has never brought any to Nigeria.
Another Europe based businessman Amen Okoro was last Friday arrested by NDLEA operatives at the Lagos airport while attempting to traffic 5,000 pills of tramadol 225mg packaged as known malaria drugs such as Lonart, Amatem and Aluktem to Spain.
He was intercepted at the departure hall of terminal 2 of the airport during the outward clearance of passengers on Royal Air Maroc flight to Spain through Casablanca.

Babafemi said Okoro, who is into freight and logistics business between Europe and Nigeria, claimed that on his arrival in Spain, he would have taken a train to France where he resides and from there send the tramadol consignment to Italy for retailing.
At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) Enugu, Babafemi said NDLEA operatives last Friday intercepted a Maputo, Mozambique based bar attendant Ezenwaka Chibuzor. A search of his luggage led to the discovery of 17 cardboard size parcels of methamphetamine weighing 17.500 kilogrammes and three parcels of cocaine weighing 3.05 kilogrammes.
He revealed that the 38-year-old suspect was coming from Johannesburg, South Africa via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Ethiopian Airlines flight when he was interdicted and subjected to a search during which the illicit drugs concealed in bedsheets packed in his bags were discovered.
He noted that another passenger on board the same Ethiopian Airlines flight, 54-year-old Azu Kpodar was also intercepted at the Enugu airport by NDLEA operatives. When Azu, who arrived from Sao Paulo, Brazil, was searched, a liquid soap plastic container marked YPE, was discovered in his luggage. The substance was promptly taken for analysis at the NDLEA forensic and chemical laboratory, Enugu where the substance tested positive to cocaine.

The substance which turned out to be liquid cocaine weighed 1.250 kilogrammes, the
suspect who is a toy seller in Brinquedo, Sao Paulo, Brazil, claimed he purchased while shopping for his wedding ceremony in Nigeria.
NDLEA operatives at the Seme border area of Badagry in Lagos last Tuesday intercepted a 26-year-old Beninese Vode Jean-Luck while trying to smuggle 69 balls of skunk, a strain of cannabis with a gross weight of 29.5 kilogrammes from Benin Republic into Nigeria.
In Kwara state, a notorious drug dealer Mary Oladele (a.k.a Iya Nafi) was arrested last Wednesday when NDLEA operatives raided her base in Omu-Aran in Irepodun local government area of the state where various quantities of skunk, tramadol and flunitrazepam were recovered from her.
Babafemi said a 72-year-old grandma Mrs. Christy Ejaro was last Tuesday arrested by NDLEA operatives at Niger CAT area of Warri, Delta state, with several sachets of skunk packaged in retail size recovered from her.
The spokesman said the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands equally continued across the country in the past week.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), while commending the officers and men of MMIA, AIIA, Delta, Kwara, and Seme commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, equally praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for ensuring a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
Former Footballer, 4 Others Arrested, Over 22.6kg Cocaine, Meth Seized at Lagos, Enugu Airports
News
Armed bandits abduct resident in Bature Daji, in Niger narrowly miss vigilante target

Armed bandits abduct resident in Bature Daji, in Niger narrowly miss vigilante target
By: Zagazola Makama
Armed bandits in large numbers stormed Bature Daji community in Niger in the early hours of Saturday, abducting a resident while narrowly missing their original target, a local vigilante member.
Zagazola Makama gathered that the incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. when the attackers invaded the residence of one Dani, a known vigilante operative in the area. He was reportedly the primary target of the assault but managed to escape.
However, the gunmen kidnapped one Attahiru Ibrahim, popularly known as Sarki Daji, from the same neighborhood and whisked him away to an unknown destination.
Local sources revealed that the assailants later moved toward Gorogawu Village, a border community near the Republic of Benin, raising concerns of cross-border movement and security challenges.
A joint team of security forces, including military and other operatives, has launched a pursuit operation to rescue the victim and apprehend the attackers.
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