Humanity Watch

  Dr Faisal Shuaib, Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has confirmed that COVID -19 vaccines have been deployed and states would start receiving them on Monday. Shuaib made the confirmation at the daily national briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja. Nigeria took delivery of about four million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as part of an overall 16 million doses planned to be delivered in batches over the next few months. The vaccines are being provided by COVAX, an unprecedented global effort to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. He said: “All t hings being equal, the delivery of the vaccines will be completed tomorrow. “The delivery of the vaccines to the states is predicated on satisfactorily meeting the conditions to keep them safe and potent. “’ We are designating Vaccine Accountability Officers (VAOs) in the states and Local Government Areas (LGAs) to closely monitor the management and u

O peratives of Edo State Police Command, have finally rescued one of its senior officers, ASP Clement Amoko, who was kidnapped in the early hours of Sunday. Amuko who is attached to the State Investigation Bureau (SIB), was kidnapped Sunday morning, by some gunmen at his residence, at Ogida quarters in Benin City. An anonymous source said that the news of his abduction thoroughly embarrassed the command, when it became public. Operatives of the command however mobilized full force, to ensure that the victim is rescued unhurt. It was gathered that a combined forces of the tactical and strike units of the command carried out the rescue operation. The Command’s spokesman, DSP Princewill Osaigbovo, who confirmed Amoko’s rescue on Monday, said he is receiving treatment in the hospital, due to the beating he received in the hand of his abductors. “I can tell you that he has been released and he is receiving treatment while he has also been reunited with his family,” he said.

  The national president, Atyap Community Development Association, (ACDA) Comrade Silas Adamu and his daughter have died in a ghastly auto crash along Abuja – Kaduna highway. It was gathered that his Wife sustained various degree of injuries. A closed ally to the ACDA who confirmed the incident  said the incident occurred at around 2-3pm Monday when he was returning to Kaduna from Abuja. According to him, the fatal accident occurred near Toll-Gate shortly before Gonin Gora in Chukun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The source said Silas was also the National Secretary of Nigeria Medical Association of Nigeria was in the vehicle with his wife and daughter when they ran into a truck. The corpse have so far been deposited at St Gerrard Hospital.

  A Non-governmental  Organisation (NGO), Every Woman Agriculture Empowerment Initiative (EWAEI) has called on the government at all levels to prioritise women in their agricultural plannings in the interest of food security in the country. EWAEI national President Comfort Echo Babalola made the call at the Award and Magazine Launch organised in commemoration of this year’s International Women’s Day Celebration during which over 100 women who have in one way or the other affected lives through their private agricultural initiatives were presented awards and encouraged to do more. Highlighting the challenges faced by women in the agriculture sector, Babalola said it had not been easy for women to access grants and even loans due to excessively stringent conditions. “It is not also easy for women to acquire land on their own. These are some of the challenges faced by we women farmers, and women contribute over 70 per cent in the agricultural value chain, right from the farm to the store

  T en million additional child marriages may occur before the end of the decade, threatening years of progress in reducing the practice, according to a new analysis released by UNICEF. A release by UNICEF titled ‘COVID-19: A threat to progress against child marriage’, on International Women’s Day, warns that school closures, economic stress, service disruptions, pregnancy, and parental deaths due to the pandemic are putting the most vulnerable girls at increased risk of child marriage. The global body said even before the COVID-19 outbreak, 100 million girls were at risk of child marriage in the next decade, despite significant reductions in several countries in recent years, and that in the last ten years, the proportion of young women globally who were married as children had decreased by 15 per cent, from nearly 1 in 4 to 1 in 5, the equivalent of some 25 million marriages averted, a gain that is now under threat. “COVID-19 has made an already difficult situation for millions of gi

  Global Integrity Crusade Network (GICN), has call on the National Assembly to as a matter of urgency pass the Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC) Bill, pending before the two legislative chambers.   GICN is a pro-democracy anti-corruption and justice sector Civil Society Organization (CSO) in Abuja fighting against corruption, terrorism and economic sabotage in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. The Nigerian Peace Corps The CSO is also working to implant integrity, justice, transparency and peace in the society with a view to promote sustainable development for the overall benefit of the masses. In a statement at the weekend, the President, Barr Edward Ejembi Omaga, noted that the high level insecurity in the sub-regions of the country characterised by kidnappings, wanton destruction of property and killing of innocent citizens with reckless abandon. He stated that upon its passage and subsequent assent by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian Peace Corps would go a long way

  Socio-political activist and co-convener of the Bring Back Our Girls movement, Aisha Yesufu has reacted to Sahara Reporters publisher Omoyele Sowore’s appearance in court on Tuesday. Sowore stormed the premises of a magistrate court sitting in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja with a supporter dressed as a native doctor. The #RevolutionNow convener shared pictures of his arrival in court on Twitter with the title of Ola Rotimi’s book The Gods are Not to Blame as caption. Reacting in a Twitter post of her own, Yesufu said Sowore is mad man and asking him what he was doing. Court workers, journalists, policemen, and other visitors were stunned at the presence of Sowore’s ‘native doctor’, with many breaking out in laughter. Sowore is standing trial along with others over allegation of unlawful assembly and incitement, following a protest in the Abuja. He was arrested alongside four others on New Year’s Eve for organising a candlelight procession in Abuja. The prosecution alleges that the defendants ca

  The Federal Government has approved the establishment of SIM swap centres by Mobile Network Operators, MNOs, across the local government areas of the country. The approval was disclosed during a meeting of the ministerial Task Force on the NIN-SIM registration chaired by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami. During the meeting, the federal government also approved the extension of the tenure of National Identity Number, NIN, enrolment Agent Licenses for MNOs from 1 to 5 years. A statement jointly signed by Ikechukwu Adinde, Kayode Adegoke, Director, Public Affairs Head, Corporate Communications, Nigerian Communications Commission and Nigeria Identify Management Commission, respectively, said the steps were to simplify the enrolment process for agents of NIN. The statement reads partly: “A number of resolutions were taken at the meeting, including the following: Approval was given to MNOs for the establishment of dedicated SIM Swap Centres acr

S ustainable Initiative for Nurturing Growth (SING) Nigeria said it has secured endorsement and partnership with over 50 House of Representative members to undergo a nationwide intensive training on Creative Intelligent Technology (CIT) and Digital Skill Development (DSD) for youth. This was contained in a press statement made available to Humanity Watch by the Executive Director of the Foundation, Idris-Etanami Usman who said that the need to ensure rapid digital inclusion and skill up of the nation’s youthful population has become urgent if the nation must address unemployment and insecurity. Idris-Etanami said that the rising youth unemployment figures which has been aggravated by the outbreak of the covid-19 virus necessitated that the nation must make concerted move to tap into the rich potentials of the digital space. “It suffices to note that the pandemic which has further worsen the nation’s unemployment figures which stood at 21.7 million unemployed graduates as at the end of

  Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom has vowed to arrest and prosecute the killers of Terkura Suswam, the elder brother to the former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam. This was contained in a statement released by Ortom’s Chief Press Secretay Terver Akase, on Wednesday in Makurdi. “The killers of Chief Terkura Suswam, elder brother to the Senator representing Benue North East, Senator Gabriel Suswam, must be apprehended and brought to justice,” the statement said. The governor also assured security operatives in the state of his maximum support to apprehend the killers and ensure justice is served as he stressed that his government will not surrender Benue to criminals. “The governor said his administration will give security operatives maximum support to ensure that killers of Dr. Suswam are arrested and made to face the consequences of their action. ” “Gov. Ortom stressed that his administration will not surrender Benue to criminals, and gives assurance that killers and kidnap

  The Federal Government of Nigeria has insisted that the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccines currently in the country have not been allotted to rich Nigerians. The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this while featuring on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ programme on Wednesday. He said President Muhammadu Buhari has made it clear that the COVID-19 vaccines are meant for all Nigerians. Nigeria, on Tuesday, received 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and shipped via the COVAX facility. According to Shuaib, “We’re protecting the vaccines very closely. We have increased security around the vaccines to make sure that unauthorised access is not possible. “So, we are waiting for NAFDAC. We feel that they’re going to do all of the checks that are necessary, and once they give us the green light, we will be ready to roll out the vaccines.” When asked

 Governor Bello Mohammed Matawalle of Zamfara State has vowed to arrest any politician who enters the state with the intention to use thugs to forment trouble. According to him, there is nobody that can claim to be above the law of the land, vowing that he had drawn a battle line with the enemies of peace in the State. Governor Matawalle disclosed this at the Government House in Gusau, the state capital when the Nigeria Governors’ Forum’s delegation led by Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State visited him over the release of 279 school girls in Zamfara State kidnapped last Friday. “These power drunk politicians cannot stay in Abuja, Kaduna or anywhere in Nigeria and be instigating crisis and be sponsoring terrorism in the state, killing thousands of innocent citizens of the state for selfish interest,” he warned. The Governor cautioned that nobody is a sacred cow or untouchable, stressing that he is now in charge of the affairs of Zamfara State, challenging any of the politicians to da

  No fewer tha n 32 persons who violated the COVID-19 guidelines by not wearing face masks in Edo state have been sentenced to community services by a mobile court on Monday, March 1. The Edo government has made it mandatory for residents to wear face masks and obey other COVID-19 protocols in order to curb the spread of the virus. Uyi Omoruyi, the Prosecuting Counsel, said that 32 people were arrested within Benin metropolis and they pleaded guilty to the offence. Rusberth Imafidon, the Chief Magistrate, directed the convicts to carry out community services in line with the Correctional Centre of Non-custodian regulation. The punishment includes clearing drains, shrubs, picking of trash, compulsory community sensitisation and grass cutting among others. Mr. Imafidon noted that the offenders should be punished for three hours for two days to serve as a deterrent to other violators. He, however, did not give them the option of a fine. He ordered that correctional officers should supervi

  One of the abducted schoolgirls of Zamfara Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, said the captives threatened to kill, fry and eat them if they misbehaved. Hafsat Anka stated that they trekked over a long distance from the school, had a stopover for some hours before they reached their destination. “There was no clean water or good food, and we felt we had already spent years even though it was our first day and the bandits kept firing into the air to scare us. “They were very young boys with one elder they called Kasalle or Yaya who gave them instructions, and he was the one that stopped them from touching any of us,” Hafsat stated. According to her, the bandits wore military uniforms and claimed they defeated the security officials by invading the school and successfully whisking the girls away. Hafsat, who said she was happy for being rescued, pointed out that she would continue her studies but as a day student. NAN

  President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will pick dates on which they will be vaccinated publicly, with the first batch of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. About four million doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in Nigeria on Tuesday. The Executive Director,    National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this at the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 briefing on Monday in Abuja. Shuaib said that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and chairman of the PTF on COVID-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, would liaise with other key strategic persons to fix the date for the public vaccination aimed at protecting Nigerians against the COVID-19 pandemic. “I once again assure Nigerians that all necessary safety and quality control measures have been put in place for the arrival, storage and successful administration of the vaccine in the country. ”There is going to be a small ceremony, chaired by the Chairman of the PTF o