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Envoy Says Palestinians Awaits CJ ruling in few days
Envoy Says Palestinians Awaits CJ ruling in few days
……..Enjoins International Community to Call Israel to Order
By: Michael Mike
The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abu Shawesh has said that his country is awaiting the pronouncement of the International Court of Justice on the Israeli continous bombardment of Gaza in few days.
Shawesh also appealed to international community to join in calling for a halt to Israeli military action on Palestinians which has led to over 25,000 death since 7th October 2023 retaliation attack.
Shawesh said: “South Africa (SA) has brought the matter to the court as a matter of extreme urgency and with a priority and stipulation to order Israel to halt and suspend its onslaught campaign in order to protect the Palestinian people and preserve the evidence.
“We expect to hear the decision in the coming days. We must wait until then to know whether the court is convinced by the evidence that SA presented.”
The envoy while also commending South Africa for instituting the case at The Hague, explained that “in its application to the ICJ, South Africa based its accusation both on actions taken by Israel throughout the war and controversial comments made by Israeli officials regarding Palestinians in Gaza and how they should be treated.”
He argued that Israel is a signatory to the Genocide Convention adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948 and is therefore subject to the jurisdiction of the ICJ, a UN organ, and its rulings. Under the terms of the convention, Israel is obligated to send representatives to the court following the submission of a filing against it.
Shawesh said: “At the outset, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to the political leaders and people of South Africa for their strong moral stance and for standing steadfastly in support of international law and justice by suing Israel for its genocide of the Palestinian people, the occupying power, before the United Nations International Court of Justice. In this regard, we also urge all countries that side with Israel’s acts of genocide and are neglecting to condemn Israel’s war crimes to acknowledge what is actually happening and to review their moral and legal position.
“Three things cannot be hidden for long: the sun, the moon, and the truth. The truth is that the behavior of the Israeli government is in fact forms of genocide against the Palestinian people.
“South Africa submitted an 84 page document crammed with devastating evidence that Israel is breaching its legal obligation under the 1948 international Genocide Convention. The Convention defines genocide as the “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
He noted that: “This definition is wholly applicable to the Israeli political and military leaders’ declared positions, and which prove the intent and their military acts on the ground prove the Israeli government is violating and breaching the Convention. The declaration of the Israeli Prime Minister reminded the Israeli population about the Old Testament and of the carnage of Amalek and to “spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and suckling.”
He said the Israeli war minister Gallant has vowed that “Gaza won’t return to what it was before – we will eliminate everything,” adding that Israel’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure has also pledged “they will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave this world.”
He explained that: “On January 11th, the ICJ court listened first to South Africa and the following day to the lawyers representing the Israeli Occupation. We all know that discussing this case and issuing a final verdict may take many years to come, all with a lot of investigation.”
He however lamented that: “On the 103rd day of the Israeli frenzied genocide campaign against the Palestinian people, the casualty numbers are growing and growing and many respected international governmental organisations issued countless reports that we can all refer to for the accurate statistical information.
“Between 7 October 2023 .. 12 January 2024, at least 23,708 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 60,005 Palestinians were injured.” “Since 11 October 2023, the Gaza Strip has been under an electricity blackout, after the Israeli authorities cut off the electricity supply and fuel reserves for Gaza’s sole power plant were depleted.” “Since 7 October 2023 …and as of 12 January 2024, 333 Palestinians have been killed, including 84 children, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem…. Of those killed in the West Bank (333); 324 were killed by Israeli forces, eight by Israeli settlers and one by either Israeli forces or settlers .… The number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2023 (507) marks the highest number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since OCHA started recording casualties in 2005”. “Since 7 October 2023 …and as of 12 January 2024, 4,176 Palestinians, including 631 children, were injured in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Of them, 4,046 have been injured by Israeli forces, 109 by settlers and 21 by either Israeli forces or settlers.”
Shawesh decried that: “Israel is waging a war of starvation and pushing the Palestinian economy faster towards the already clearly ravaging disaster. For the third month in a row, Israel refuses to transfer the Palestinian clearance funds to the Palestinian government, leaving it unable to pay its employees’ salaries and other financial obligations.
“The lack of drinking water in the Strip has become a matter of life and death.
“Residents are currently forced to drink unclean well water, which is contributing to the spread of transmitted and infectious diseases, especially amid the power outage and overall water supply shortage”.
“It is absolutely inhumane to see countries with the largest military naval forces in the world moving to protect shipping and trade lines in the Red Sea, but we do not see them moving or even raising their voices to stop the acts of genocide taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories that we are seeing on the news. What makes matters worse, is that many of these countries are fully complicit in the ongoing genocide in Palestine by providing Israel with military means and ammunition, in addition to unconditional and unlimited political support.
“More than 90 per cent of the population is now suffering from acute food insecurity, and many are on the brink of avoidable human-made famine. We recall that starvation of the civilian population
as a method of war is prohibited.”
Envoy Says Palestinians Awaits CJ ruling in few days
News
VP Shettima Mourns Borno Terror Attack Victims, Says No Religion Endorses Killing Of Innocent Lives
VP Shettima Mourns Borno Terror Attack Victims, Says No Religion Endorses Killing Of Innocent Lives
By: Our Reporter
Ahead of his trip to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, Vice President Kashim Shettima , has expressed grief over the death of 25 persons killed in the multiple explosions in different locations across Maiduguri, the Borno State capital on Monday.
He pointed out that no religion sanctions the killing of innocent lives, as the sanctity of human life remains a core tenet of major world faiths.
VP Shettima, who spoke on Tuesday during the closing of the Annual Ramadan Tafsir at the State House Mosque, Abuja, prayed Almighty Allah to grant the souls of those killed in the terror attack in Maiduguri eternal rest, reward them with Aljannah firdaus and give their family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Praying Almighty Allah to also vanish all agents of terror from the surface of the earth, the VP said, “May the lives of innocent souls – 25 of them – that lost their lives in Maiduguri last evening rest in peace. May Allah grant their souls eternal rest and reward them with His Aljannah firdaus, and may Allah also grant their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.
“May Allah bring this madness to an end. No religion sanctions the killing of the innocent. Whatever that is motivating them, may Allah either guide them on to the right path or May Allah vanish them from the surface of the earth.”
The Vice President emphasised the need for all Nigerians to continue to pray for the country across every sector, as well as pray that the Almighty should continue to grant President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and members of his team wisdom, courage, sincerity and equity in service.
He noted that each season of Ramadan reminds Muslims of a truth that power often tries to hide from man, and that no sit is permanent, just as no office is ultimate and no human being stands above his dependence on his creator.
VP Shettima said, “In the presence of Allah, the distance between the mighty and the unknown vanishes. What remains is character, what remains is accountability, what remains is what we did with the trust placed in our hands.
“This is why gatherings such as this matters. They rescue public lives from arrogance; they retain soul to scale; they teach those entrusted with authority that the nation is not built by policy alone but by conscience; not by proclamation alone but by restraint; not by ambition alone but by fear of Allah.”
The VP called on the Muslim faithful to continue to live in the teachings and lessons of the month of Ramadan, as the final days of Ramadan begins to sleep through their fingers.
“The question before us is not whether Ramadan is ending. The question is whether its teachings will continue to live in us after the moon has changed.
“It is quite easy to cut the head when the atmosphere is charged with devotion. The harder task is to carry it into ordinary days, into the market, into the office, into the home, into the chamber of power, and into the private corners where only Allah sees what we are doing, ” he noted.
While drawing from the lessons of Ramadan, the Vice President said the holy month had thought the Muslim faithful that pity without mercy is noise and worship without service is incomplete.
“So, as we close this year’s Tafsir, let us not return to the habits that weaken our common lives; let us not go back to bitterness, to reckless speech, to indifference dressed as sophistication. A believer doesn’t spend the whole month learning only to become a captive again of anger, greed and division.
“Nigeria needs homes where children encounter good examples before good advice. Nigeria, indeed, needs leaders in every spare who understand that influence is a trust, not a license, ” VP Shettima said.
He paid growing tribute to the Chief Imam of the State House Mosque, Sheikh Abdulwaheed Suleiman Abubakar, and his lieutenant for conducting the Tafsir with wisdom, calm hearts.
Earlier, the Chief Imam prayed for sustainable peace and development of Nigerian and the success of the Tinubu administration’s policies and programmes.
The cleric emphasised the need for leaders at all levels to continue to discharge their responsibilities with the fear of Allah for the process and development of the country.
VP Shettima Mourns Borno Terror Attack Victims, Says No Religion Endorses Killing Of Innocent Lives
News
IGP Visits Maiduguri Bombing Sites, Assesses Security Measures
IGP Visits Maiduguri Bombing Sites, Assesses Security Measures
By: Zagazola Makama
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has visited victims of the recent IED explosions in Maiduguri and assessed the security situation at key attack sites, underscoring the force’s commitment to public safety.
The IGP visited the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), where casualties of the bomb blasts are receiving medical attention. He commiserated with victims and their families, assuring them of the Nigeria Police Force’s resolve to identify and dismantle networks responsible for the attacks.

Following the hospital visit, he proceeded to the Maiduguri Monday Market, one of the sites targeted by the terrorists, for an on-the-spot security assessment. The visit included interactions with local security personnel to review operational preparedness and strengthen coordinated response measures.
The IGP also visited the Borno State Government House and the State Police Command Headquarters as part of ongoing engagements to enhance collaboration between federal and state security agencies.

He emphasized that security has been significantly tightened across Maiduguri and its environs, with increased patrols, surveillance, and joint operational deployments aimed at preventing further incidents. Residents were reassured of the force’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property in the aftermath of the attacks.
IGP Visits Maiduguri Bombing Sites, Assesses Security Measures
News
Save us From Heavy Trailers Killing Our People… Muna Garage Residents Cry Out to Zulum
Save us From Heavy Trailers Killing Our People… Muna Garage Residents Cry Out to Zulum
By: Bodunrin Kayode
Residents of Muna axis after customs area in Maiduguri have called on Governor Babagana Zulum to save them from the excesses of heavy duty vehicles who deliberately clog the international highway leading to Gamboru Ngala council area on a daily basis.
Some of the residents who spoke to this reporter after a recent crash which almost killed all the occupants of a commercial “Keke” regretted that the road traffic authorities in the state have not given this international highway the priority it deserves in terms of traffic management due to it’s prominence.
A careless trailer which was parked along the road close to the Alkome police hospital had narrowed the road for another trailer and a Keke nappe which struggled for the little space remaining all driving towards the Muna Garage area when a brush occurred and a sudden bang from the back by a third trailer which almost killed all the occupants of the keke nappe.
Some of the commuters came out alive from the crushed Keke with minor wounds while a particular man had his forefoot crushed almost hanging away from the ball of one of that very foot.
It was a bloody weekend for the commuters as blood from one of them flowed freely into the Keke and on the tarred road leading to Muna while onlookers rushed to see if anyone survived the crash.
Since no security personnel showed up within the first 30 minutes of the crash, the wounded were rushed to a nearby hospital while the trailer cleared from the road to ease traffic movement.
Most of the eye witnesses were enraged by the incident with some blaming it on the Keke riders while others castigated the trailers who insist on parking on the shoulder of this international route which should be free from these kinds of challenges.
Baana, a vulcanizer who says he has spent over three decades on this axis of the town called on Governor Babagana Zulum to as a matter of urgency build a massive modern trailer park for the heavy trucks so that they will stop parking along the road while they wait for clearance in the morning to embark on their journeys to Ngala and beyond.
“Lack of a modern trailer park is the main reason why we keep recording lingering accidents on a daily basis here with countless of people being wounded and are not recorded in the government statistics.” He stressed.
For mallam Isa, a teacher inside the suburb behind Alkome police Hospital, the Governor should as a matter of urgency sign an executive fiat to stop trailers from parking on main roads like this one leading to Mafa,Dikwa and Ngala.
” We are calling on the Governor to invoke an executive order based on section 5 of the 1999 constitution by banning all trailers from parking on the trunk A roads leading to Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
” This is because, apart from endangering the lives of commuters, prolonged stay on the tarred roads cause a lot of damage to the roads which the Governor has dualized after destruction by insurgency.”
Mallam Isa also called on Federal and State Road Safety managers in the state to create a road side emergency station along this route that would be assisting them in clearing accident victims in the road throughout the week and even during the weekend.
“look at this accident that just happened, they are all guilty of one offence or the other. But I equally blame the Keke riders because if they have respect for human lives, they will not be contesting for right of way with heavy duty trailers.
” These trailers are very wicked people. They use their big structures to block and entrap people only to be begging for mercy when the damage has been done.
” Their excesses are as grave as that of the keke napep people. The Federal Road Safety and the Borno traffic management authorities should increase their fines further to serve as deterrent on the rest.
Save us From Heavy Trailers Killing Our People… Muna Garage Residents Cry Out to Zulum
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