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EU Provides Additional €1 million in Humanitarian Funding for Flood, Cholera in Nigeria

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EU Provides Additional €1 million in Humanitarian Funding for Flood, Cholera in Nigeria

By: Michael Mike

The European Union has allocated €1 million in emergency humanitarian funding to Nigeria to support the country’s response to the ongoing floods and cholera epidemic.

According to a statement by EU on Friday, this funding will help humanitarian partners on the ground deliver essential aid, including shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene services, and healthcare to those most affected by both crises.

According to the statement, in response to the devastating floods which have impacted Kogi, Delta, and Anambra States in October, the EU is providing €500,000 to support essential humanitarian activities in Nigeria.
The statement said the three states remain among the most affected. In several locations, the risk of flooding persists, as the water level remains high due to the river flow and to the soil saturation. The floods have affected over78,000 people and severely damaged thousands of houses and destroyed crops nearing harvest, particularly in areas affected by the convergence of the Niger and Benue Rivers.

It said the current funding will assist in providing food, shelter, water, sanitation, and protection services to the affected populations. Furthermore, this funding will allow anticipatory action with the replenishment of emergency stocks to be used in case of new floods occurring in the future.

Earlier in September this year, the EU had already allocated €1.1 million to humanitarian partners working in the Northeast and Northwest Nigeria as part of its response across West and Central Africa to address the impacts of flooding in the region.

The statement said in addition to the ongoing floods, Nigeria is also grappling with a cholera epidemic that has significantly impacted the health and well-being of affected populations, particularly in flood-prone areas. The cholera outbreak has been exacerbated by the floods, especially in regions with inadequate sanitation and poor access to clean water.

To support the response, the EU is allocating €500,000, with the hardest-hit areas include the northern states of Borno and Yobe, where overcrowding in displaced persons’ camps and unsafe water conditions have fueled the spread of the disease.

The statement added that this funding will be used to strengthen Nigeria’s health system through humanitarian partners by supporting medical care, water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions, covering case detection activities, establishing cholera treatment centers, and launching vaccination campaigns to curb the outbreak.

Nigeria is currently facing the twin challenges of widespread flooding and a cholera outbreak. The floods, which have affected over 1,3 million people across the country, continue to pose significant risks to both lives and livelihoods. The cholera outbreak, aggravated by poor sanitation and water contamination, threatens to further strain Nigeria’s health system. In response, the EU is working alongside Nigerian authorities and humanitarian organizations to provide urgent relief and to ensure early recovery for affected communities.

These additional funds bring the total EU humanitarian funding for Nigeria in 2024 to € 48,7 million focusing mainly on the Northeast and Northwest, affected by conflict and insecurity and with alarming rates of people in food crisis and children suffering from life-threatening malnutrition.
The European Union and its Member States are the world’s leading donor of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity with people in need all around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.

Through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department, the European Union helps millions of victims of conflict and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the European Union provides assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.

EU Provides Additional €1 million in Humanitarian Funding for Flood, Cholera in Nigeria

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Tipper truck kills several traders in Jalingo market crash

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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

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Former Footballer, 4 Others Arrested, Over 22.6kg Cocaine, Meth Seized at Lagos, Enugu Airports

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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

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Armed bandits abduct resident in Bature Daji, in Niger narrowly miss vigilante target

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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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