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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
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Zulum Appoints Ali Mamman Shuwa as BRTV General Manager

Zulum Appoints Ali Mamman Shuwa as BRTV General Manager
By: Our Reporter
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved the appointment of Ali Mamman Shuwa as the substantive General Manager of Borno Radio Television (BRTV).
Until his elevation, Shuwa served as Director of Current Affairs at the station. A seasoned broadcaster with over three decades of experience, he has held several key editorial and managerial positions at BRTV.
Born in 1970 in Maiduguri, Shuwa began his education at Abbaganaram Primary School before proceeding to the Arabic Teachers’ College, Maiduguri, where he obtained a Grade II Certificate in 1988. He later acquired a Diploma in Civil Law from BOCOLIS, an Advanced Diploma in Journalism from the International Institute of Journalism, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Maiduguri.
Shuwa began his career with BRTV in 1992 as a News Editor and Translator. Over the years, he rose through the ranks, serving as Current Affairs Officer, Controller of News and Current Affairs, Assistant Director, Deputy Director, and most recently Director of Current Affairs.
The Secretary to the State Government, Bukar Tijjani, announced that the appointment takes immediate effect. The outgoing Acting General Manager, Umar Gazali, will return to his previous position at the station.
Governor Zulum congratulated Shuwa on his appointment and commended Gazali for his stewardship while wishing him success in his future endeavours.
Shuwa, an ethnic of Shuwa Arab from Dongo village in Mafa Local Government Area, is widely travelled and has represented BRTV at numerous workshops and seminars.
Zulum Appoints Ali Mamman Shuwa as BRTV General Manager
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VP SHETTIMA AT NES ANNUAL CONFERENCE: President Tinubu’s Bold Reforms, Proof Of Political Will In Economic Policy

VP SHETTIMA AT NES ANNUAL CONFERENCE: President Tinubu’s Bold Reforms, Proof Of Political Will In Economic Policy
*Says, Africa can turn supply chain disruptions, trade protectionism, into opportunities for economic transformation
By: Our Reporter
The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has said the courageous and unavoidable reforms being undertaken by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which are currently fixing Nigeria’s structural weaknesses, are a proof of the power of political will in economic policy.
Accordingly, he called on African nations to embrace the knowledge economy, saying it is a bridge to transform the continent’s economic growth and development through productivity beyond outdated explanations.
The Vice President who stated this on Tuesday in Abuja during the opening session of the 66th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) noted that while Nigeria is not immune to the economic morass Africa had long been enmeshed in, the nation’s comforting prospect is that it currently has a President with a listening ear.
“Nigeria is, of course, not exempt from Africa’s economic tragedies. But our silver lining is the listening ear of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Under his leadership, this administration has embarked on bold and inevitable reforms to address structural weaknesses that others before us only paid lip service to.

“These reforms testify to the power of political will in economic policy. Their painful but necessary consequences remind us that a malignant disease can only be cured by painful surgery. The wounds are temporary, but the recovery is permanent,” he stated.
VP Shettima stressed the need for African nations to get rid of the old-fashioned approach to their economy and embrace structural transformation if they must revive human capital challenges and reverse unemployment on the continent.
He said, “We live in a world where a random citizen in Daura can outsource his services to a corporation in Dallas without seeing the inside of a plane or leaving his bedroom. But to catch up with this changing world, Africa must embrace structural transformation that reinvents its human capital and reverses unemployment.

“Poverty must be confronted head-on for the promise of this continent to be realised in the lives of our people. There is no justification for the low per capita income that afflicts our nations amidst the resources at our disposal.”
Senator Shettima observed that though “geopolitical conflicts, trade protectionism, supply chain disruptions, the energy transition, and the disruptive rise of artificial intelligence” may all seem like a threat to the continent’s economy, they are opportunities in disguise.
“They all paint a gloomy outlook. But each threat is also an opportunity in disguise. This is why a society such as yours exists: to light the path of a continent even in the darkest night,” he explained, just as he pointed out it is the mandate that the Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society has been given “to find new pathways to solutions,” while the nation awaits the recommendations.

The Vice President noted while the Tinubu administration did not claim the ongoing reforms would be easy, it has always acknowledged the inflationary impact of the reforms as well as the “spillovers from global crises into our economy,” which explains why President Tinubu “has remained committed to investment-friendly measures and social protection programmes to cushion the vulnerable.
“Policies in transportation, healthcare, and education have been deliberately targeted at reducing inequality because these are the sectors that affect the weakest among us,” he added.
The VP commended the President of the Nigerian Economic Society, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju and his team for challenging the nation “to reflect on what decades of policy failures and vulnerabilities to global risks have created for Africa.

“I urge all participants to take their role in this conference not as a scholarly exercise but as a continental and national assignment—one expected to salvage Africa’s economies from their fragile status,” he further stated.
Earlier, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, applauded VP Shettima’s significant contributions in the realization of the economic reforms of administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bagudu assured the NES that it will be fully integrated in all of the ministry’s programmes, especially the preparation and implementation of the development plan and the recently approved Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme.
Also, the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Mukhtar Maiha, presented potentials in Nigeria’s livestock sector, estimated at several billions of dollars, offering opportunities for economic diversification.
The Minister expressed readiness to partner with the NES to brainstorm on the “brilliant ideas” needed to implement President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the livestock sector, which he described as “the next crude oil.”
For his part, the President of the NES, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju reiterated the society’s commitment to collaborating with the Tinubu administration to actualise the goal of genuine economic transformation and national development.
He said the NES under his leadership has undertaken reforms aimed at repositioning the body to act as “a bridge between research and policy, a centre for mentoring the next generation of economists, and a trusted partner in Nigeria’s pursuit of sustainable development and Africa’s transformation.”
Highlighting the milestones of his administration, Prof. Adenikinju said under his watch, the NES “established chapters in the across 36 states, FCT and the Diaspora, to ensure national reach and grassroots engagement; Created the NES Women’s Wing and Students’ Wing, to broaden inclusivity and representation,” among others.
He added that the reforms have transformed the society into a modern, inclusive, and globally connected professional body while preserving its core identity as Nigeria’s foremost economic think-tank.
On his part, the Director of the African Development Institute, Dr. Eric Kehinde Ogunleye said the African Development Bank remains committed to the development of Africa and Nigeria, even as he stated that “Nigeria occupies a strategic position in moving the African continent forward.”
Ogunleye commended the Tinubu administration for its bold reforms aimed at achieving structural and economic transformation as well as inclusive growth.
Charging the audience regarding investing in people, he advised: “Let us rethink how we invest in people because these are the people who represent the greatest assets of the continent.”
Other dignitaries who graced the event include the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Tope Fasua; Chairman of the Ministry of the Board of Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr Shamsudeen Usman, Nigeria’s first Professor of Capital Market Studies, Uche Uwaleke; representatives of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso.
VP SHETTIMA AT NES ANNUAL CONFERENCE: President Tinubu’s Bold Reforms, Proof Of Political Will In Economic Policy
News
NSCDC Launches Manhunt for Killers of 8 Operatives

NSCDC Launches Manhunt for Killers of 8 Operatives
By: Michael Mike
The Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Professor Ahmed Audi has launched a Special Intelligence Squad operations to comb the entire Edo Forest and arrest killers of eight of his men, and rescue the kidnapped Chinese expatriate.
The NSCDC Operatives were ambushed last Friday night at Okpella in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State while on duty to ensure the safeguarding of Critical Infrastructure and protection of lives and property at the BUA Cement Company in Edo State.
It was reported that the gallant Operatives fought vehemently in a three hour gun duel where eight men were lost with four expatriates working at the quarry session of the Company rescued.
The Commandant General had earlier commended the resilience, diligence and dedication of the NSCDC men who paid the supreme price and lost their lives in the unexpected ambush attack.
However, a joint guard operation with other security agencies and deployment of the CG’s Special Intelligence Squad,Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT), Special Protection Units, amongst others, to be headed by the Commandant, CG’s Special Intelligence Squad, CC Dandaura Appollos,have been deployed to the area with an express order to effect possible arrest, rescue the kidnapped expatriate, and consequently bring the perpetrators to book.
The CG also appealed to the public to kindly aid the Corps with any useful information that will assist in tracking down the perpetrators.
He also assured that the security of the BUA Company environment has been upscaled to ensure adequate protection of all Indigenous workers, the Expatriates and the critical assets and infrastructures.
He said: “The Corps will not succumb to any form of threats or be deterred by the activities of subversive elements and evil perpetrators who carried out the heinous attack but rather be focused and re-strategize in discharging its statutory mandates.”
He further noted that the Corps will continue to engage the community in civil relations as a non kinetic approach to tackling the overwhelming security challenges and any other form of crisis in the area.
NSCDC Launches Manhunt for Killers of 8 Operatives
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