The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Over 21,000 children missing in Gaza, says Save the Children

    Over 21,000 children missing in Gaza, says Save the Children

    AS many as 21,000 children in Gaza are estimated to be trapped under the rubble, detained, buried in unmarked graves, or separated from their families, Save the Children said yesterday.

    The British advocacy group said the latest waves of displacement caused by Israel’s offensive in Rafah – where thousands of Palestinians were seeking refuge – have separated more children from their families.

    In its newly published report, Save the Children said it was “nearly impossible to collect and verify information under the current conditions in Gaza”.

    “Save the Children estimates approximately 21,000 children are missing in Gaza,” the report said.

    “At least 17,000 children are believed to be unaccompanied and separated and approximately 4,000 children are likely missing under the rubble, with an unknown number also in mass graves.”

    An unknown number of children have been “forcibly disappeared” including some who were “detained and forcibly transferred out of Gaza”, with their whereabouts remaining unknown.

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    More than 14,000 children have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out on October 7, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry and UNICEF.

    Gaza’s Education Ministry put the number of children killed at 15,000 earlier this month.

    Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East, Jeremy Stoner, called for an independent investigation to be conducted and for those responsible to be held accountable.

    “Families are tortured by the uncertainty of the whereabouts of their loved ones,” he said. “No parent should have to dig through rubble or mass graves to try and find their child’s body.

    “Gaza has become a graveyard for children, with thousands of others missing, their fates unknown.”

    At least 37,600 Palestinians have been killed since the war started following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel which killed more than 1,200 people. The report said 33 Israeli children have been killed during the conflict.

    It added that about 250 Palestinian children are also missing from the occupied West Bank in the Israeli military detention system. Their families are unable to confirm their locations and well-being due to an increase in restrictions on visits since October.

    Save the Children also called for a ceasefire.

    “We desperately need a ceasefire to find and support the missing children who have survived and to

  • NiDCOM boss hails Shoyemi’s election as NHS governor

    NiDCOM boss hails Shoyemi’s election as NHS governor

     Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has congratulated Dr. Olufemi Segun Shoyemi on his election as Governor, South Tees Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust.

    In a congratulatory message, the NiDCOM boss hailed Shoyemi for being a good ambassador of the country.

    Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement by Abdulraman Balogun, Head of Media, Public Relations and Protocol units, described the victory of his election as the governor of NHS Foundation a demonstration of his acceptability based on hard work, dedication and doggedness in the discharge of previous responsibilities assigned to him.

    The statement reads: “Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), has congratulated Dr. Shoyemi on his election as governor, South Tees Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust.

    “In a congratulatory message, the NiDCOM boss described the victory of his election as the governor of NHS Foundation a demonstration of his acceptability based on hard work, dedication and doggedness in the discharge of previous responsibilities assigned to him.

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    “Dabiri-Erewa noted that the feat has placed Dr. Shoyemi’s name in the Council of Governors with South Tees Hospital, NHS Foundation, urging the younger generations to emulate his footsteps of striving for success always.

    “We sincerely appreciate you for being a good ambassador of our dear country, bringing glory to our nation and making us proud. We pray you keep the flag flying always. Once more, congratulations,” Dabiri-Erewa prayed.

    “Dr. Shoyemi, a specialist in Public Health hails from Lagos State, had his early education and  degrees in the West. He obtained his PhD at Bayero University Kano and a Master’s degree in adult Nursing from Plymouth University, UK.”

  • Israel air raid on Gaza clinic kills senior Palestinian health official

    Israel air raid on Gaza clinic kills senior Palestinian health official

    Palestinian medics and rights advocates have denounced the killing of a top medical official in Gaza by the Israeli military, accusing Israel of systematically targeting the health system in the besieged enclave.

    Israel bombed a clinic in Gaza City late on Sunday, killing Hani al-Jaafarawi, Gaza’s director of ambulances and emergency, and four other people.

    The targeted clinic, which offered general health, paediatric and dental services, was also put out of commission by the Israeli attack.

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    “The Israeli war jets bombed the clinic and destroyed its rooms completely,” said Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Algoul, reporting from Gaza City.

    “The blood of the people who were targeted is still on the floor, while now, thousands of patients are in danger after the clinic lost all of its facilities as a result of the Israeli raid.”

    Eyad Zaqout, director of the emergency department at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, told Al Jazeera on Monday that by killing al-Jaafarawi, Israel removed “a pillar” from the territory’s collapsing health system.

  • Labour would make UK ‘illegal migration capital of world’, says Sunak

    Labour would make UK ‘illegal migration capital of world’, says Sunak

    Labour would make the UK the “soft-touch illegal migration capital of the world”, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has claimed as the Conservative Party highlighted its plans to cut illegal and legal immigration.

    The Tories claim Keir Starmer’s proposals to curb migration would let thousands more into the UK each year.

    Mr Sunak criticised Mr Starmer’s “illegal migration amnesty and sweetheart deal with the EU”, in a desperate bid to reduce Labour’s stubborn double-digit opinion poll lead before the July 4 general election.

    The Conservatives repeated their pledges to halt illegal migration, including “running a regular rhythm of flights to Rwanda to provide an effective deterrent, starting in July, until the boats are stopped”.

    But the opposition replied with, “instead of the gimmicks, Labour will get a grip” on the issue.

    It accused the Tories of “desperately inventing lies” about their policies.

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    The number of migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel hit a record for the first six months of a calendar year – at 12,901.

    The tally of crossings since Mr Sunak, who promised to “stop the boats”, became Prime Minister in October 2022 is fast approaching 50,000.

    The Tories also vowed to bring into force the Illegal Migration Act, which became law last year, to “stop illegal migrants from bringing spurious claims to stop their removal”, and return more people with no right to be in the UK to their own country.

    On cutting legal migration, the party repeated its plans to introduce a cap on the number of work visas and allowing Parliament to vote on where the limit should be set.

    If re-elected, the Tories would commission the independent Migration Advisory Committee to recommend an annual level, and automatically raise the salary threshold for skilled workers and the family income requirement in line with inflation.

    Net migration – the difference between the number of people legally arriving in the UK and leaving – hit 685,000 last year.

    That is more than three times higher than the figure at the time of the last election, when the Conservatives promised to cut overall numbers in their 2019 manifesto.

    “Migration is too high and the Conservatives have a clear plan to get it down,” Mr Sunak said.

    “Labour would rip up our plan on day one by scrapping the Rwanda scheme, despite countries across Europe looking to it themselves to deal with their own migration pressures.

    “Labour’s only alternative is an illegal migration amnesty and sweetheart deal with the EU that would see Britain taking even more illegal migrants from the continent – the opposite of what Britain needs.

  • Somalia accuses Ethiopian troops of illegally crossing shared border

    Somalia accuses Ethiopian troops of illegally crossing shared border

    Somalia’s UN envoy accused Ethiopian troops on Monday of illegally crossing the countries’ shared border and confronting local security forces.

    “Somalia reaffirms its commitment to respecting the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and good neighbourliness,” Abukar Osman told the 15-member Security Council.

    “And we expect Ethiopia to do the same by reconsidering its memorandum of misadventure without any further delay.”

    Because of Ethiopia’s “destabilising actions” in the wider region, Mr Osman said that Mogadishu has had to postpone from July to September the withdrawal of troops with the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia.

    Atmis is expected to conclude operations in the country on December 31 after 17 years in the country.

    The force was first sent to help drive Al Qaeda-linked Al Shabab out of the Somali capital and to support the internationally recognised federal government.

    The AU force is operating under a UN mandate to counter a resurgence of Al Shabab and to train Somali security forces.

    Tension is rising between Addis Ababa and Mogadishu, fuelled by an agreement signed in January between Ethiopia and Somaliland, a self-declared republic in northern Somalia.

    Ethiopia said it would formally recognise the Republic of Somaliland in exchange for 20km of access to the Red Sea for Ethiopian naval forces, leased for 50 years.

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    Shortly afterwards, the Arab League convened a ministerial-level emergency session at the request of Somalia, reaffirming that Somaliland is an integral part of the country and categorically rejecting the January agreement.

     Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 but remains internationally unrecognised despite its claim to independence. It is in a strategic location close to the Gulf of Aden and the southern mouth of the Red Sea.

              The Arab League requested Algeria, as the only Arab member of the UN Security Council, to “mobilise necessary support to issue necessary resolutions affirming the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia”.

    The acting special representative of the UN Secretary General, James Swan, expressed concern to the council about the agreement, which he said has “created tensions in the Horn of Africa at a time when the region faces other crises”.

  • Court to hear Amaewhule/ Oko-Jumbo suit June 28

    Court to hear Amaewhule/ Oko-Jumbo suit June 28

    The Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State,  fixed June 28 for hearing the case seeking to sack Speaker Amaewhule-led House of Assembly, following the lawmakers’ alleged defections to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The Presiding Judge, Justice Steven Dalyop Pam, heard the suit instituted by the BOOT Party against Amaewhule and 24 others, despite a petition to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, by Amaewhule seeking the transfer of the matter to another court.

    The party and other plaintiffs in suit number FHC/PHC/269/2024 are praying the court to declare the seats of Amaewhule and 24 others vacant for defecting from the Peoples  Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.

    The suit has been dragging since  December as parties are locked in legal fireworks, with the PDP and the APC seeking to be joined in it.

    But the court was confronted on Monday with a petition by Amaewhule and addressed  to Justice John Tsoho, seeking the reassignment of the case to another court.

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    Justice Pam, who read the petition in the open court, noted that the petitioner, Amaewhule, prayed the CJ of the High Court, to stop the hearing process and transfer the case to another court.

    Pam noted that the petitioner claimed in the petition that the court refused to allow other interested parties to join the suit.

    But the lawyer to the BOOT Party, Mr. Reuben Wanogho, told the court that the petition was aimed at arresting the ongoing case and urged the court to discountenance it.

    Wanogho averred that the petition that was not served on the parties was impudent, adding: “I urge your Lordship to totally discountenance the petition as it is targeted at arresting the proceeding.

    “If your Lordship bows to this letter, then you have allowed the litigants to determine pending applications before the court even before they are heard.

    “It is not part of our jurisprudence that the determination of motions for joinder will form the bases for the transfer of cases. The application is a slap to the temple of justice and all of us who are workers in that temple.”

     PDP National Legal Adviser Adeyemi Ajibade(SAN) insisted that there was no intention by the court to shut out anyone from joining in the suit, adding that the petition was ill-intended.

    However, the lawyer to the 1st to 25th defendants in the suit, Ferdinand Orbi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, denied knowledge of the petition by his client.

    He prayed the court to adhere to the petition and stop further proceeding if the letter was addressed to the CJ of the court.

    Orbi said: “I know nothing about the petition, even though it was written by the 15th defendant. Be that as it may my lord, if the letter is addressed to your Lordship, then there may be grounds to consider the submissions.

  • Rivers crisis: Pro-police protests rock 21 council secretariats

    Rivers crisis: Pro-police protests rock 21 council secretariats

        •  Court to continue with suit seeking removal of Amaewhule, 24 others despite petition

    Supporters of ousted local government chairmen yesterday held peaceful protests in support of the police that have taken over the 21 local government secretariats in Rivers State.

    The police are on guard to maintain law and order at the secretariats, pending the decision of the Court of Appeal on the litigation involving Speaker Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly and factional Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo.

    The protests were organised to counter the earlier plans by the state chapters of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which had unfolded plans to protest against the police.

    The Labour unions, however, cancelled the move after the intervention of the newly inaugurated caretaker chairmen, who warned against the demonstrations and declared support for the police.

    In Ikwerre Local Government Area, Dr. Samuel Nwanosike, who led the protesters to the point of police barricade and described himself as the properly elected chairman of the council, told the Police Area Commander of Ikwerre LGA that they would never disobey the police.

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    Nwanosike, who led hundreds of others comprising men, women and youths said they only decided to embark on the peaceful demonstration, following information that some labour leaders had mobilised to harass the police out of the council.

    He said the failure of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to conduct council elections compelled the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly to amend the law to grant six-month tenure extension to the chairmen.

    He said: “I am still serving this council. Today I have five months and 25 days remaining in office by the laws made by Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.

    “ We got credible information that those, who are members of the caretaker committees in the name of civil servants and who want to be judges in their own matters, had gone to connive with hoodlums to come and intimidate and harass the police to leave the council.

    “Nothing on earth will make us break the laws of Nigeria and nothing on earth will make us disobey your orders. We have been patient with the Nigerian police even when it hurts us we still understand that the Constitution is the grund norm and the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.

    “If the judiciary had said all parties should maintain the status quo, we don’t think it will be reasonable for NULGE to come and disobey the order of the Inspector-General of Police and the state Commissioner of Police.

    “We are not here to foment trouble but if they want to take their luck too far, we are here to state that we own this council. I and this men and women here laboured and inconvenienced ourselves to rebuild this council from scratch when these hoodlums struggling to enter this council embezzled all that was available to them and refused to work for this council.

    “Today the council is a beautiful edifice, an envy of all and everybody is doing everything to come and occupy it. It is a good thing but what we are saying is we didn’t create the lacuna that is happening today.

    “Our governor refused to conduct elections as provided by law and you know in governance there is no vacuum. We are here to state that as long those miscreants don’t come here we will continue to stand by the side eat and drink”.

  • Foundation calls for partnerships to sustain sickle cell programs

    Foundation calls for partnerships to sustain sickle cell programs

    The Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN) has called for strategic partnerships to ensure the sustainability of its sickle cell disorder programs nationwide.

    The  appeal was articulated in a communique developed by stakeholders following a symposium and press conference to make the 2024 World Sickle Cell Day.

    Observed globally on June 19, World Sickle Cell Day raises awareness about sickle cell disease (SCD).

    National Director/CEO of SCFN, Dr. Annette Akinsete, who read the communique, emphasized the critical need for governmental commitment to controlling SCD in Nigeria.

    She noted that the government alone cannot manage this responsibility, stressing the importance of broader partnerships.

    “Sickle Cell Disorder should be declared a national emergency to address the challenges faced by warriors,” she said.

    It highlighted advancements in treatment and cure, including new drugs, non-pharmacological aids for pain management, and gene therapy, which must be made accessible to SCD patients through collaborative efforts.

    The communique underscored the importance of global partnerships as outlined in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 17.

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    It called for an inclusive approach within Nigeria, involving public-private partnerships, religious communities, and other stakeholders to unite in this cause.

    Established 30 years ago, SCFN is a non-governmental organization dedicated to all facets of sickle cell programs, including advocacy, research, prevention, treatment, care, welfare, and cure.

    One of its notable initiatives, the ‘Wait-List Initiative of SCFN,’ aims to alleviate the financial burden on individuals with SCD.

    “The initiative will provide sustainable treatment and care across Nigeria by enrolling patients in a comprehensive database, covering services such as daily routine drugs, wound dressing for leg ulcers, hospital admission expenses, and rehabilitation for stroke patients,” the communique said.

    It also called for increased advocacy to educate Nigerians on the importance of knowing their genotype and to combat discrimination and stigmatization against individuals with SCD.

  • Bandits kill Usmanu Danfodiyo varsity Deputy VC

    Bandits kill Usmanu Danfodiyo varsity Deputy VC

    Bandits have killed the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), Prof. Yusuf Saidu.

    Prof. Saidu was UDUS Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Research, Innovation and Development.

    The attack was reported to have occurred while Prof. Saidu was travelling from Sokoto to Kaduna State.

    According to information in circulation, the university don was said to have been killed by bandits around Kucheri town near the Zamfara State and Katsina State border.

    As of the time of filing this report, security operatives in Zamfara and Katsina states are yet to make statements regarding the incident. 

    The Usmanu DanFodiyo University announced Prof. Saidu’s death in a brief statement on its official Facebook page Monday evening.

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    The University described the Professor’s demise as a great loss to the entire academic community. 

    The statement reads: “Innalillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajiun. The death has occurred of Prof. Yusuf Saidu, the current Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research Innovation and Development Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. He was attacked and killed by bandits on his way to Kaduna from Sokoto State.

    “Prof. Saidu was remembered as a man of integrity, religion, dedication, and courage. 

    “His untimely death is a significant loss to the university community and the broader academic world. “May Allah accept his soul and forgive his sin, but this is a painful loss to all members of the University community and the Academia at large.”

  • Nigeria’s public debt hits N121.67tr, says NBS

    Nigeria’s public debt hits N121.67tr, says NBS

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in the first quarter (Q1 2024) Nigeria’s external and domestic debt hit N121.67 trillion.

    This was contained in its document titled: “Nigerian Domestic & Foreign Debt Q1 2024.”

    The Bureau noted that it rose by 24.99% from N97.34 trillion in the Q3 2023.

    NBS said: “Nigeria’s public debt stock which includes external and domestic debt stood at N121.67 trillion (US$91.46 billion) in Q1 2024 from N97.34 trillion (US$ 108.23 billion) in Q4 2023, indicating a growth rate of 24.99% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.”

    The report said the total external debt stood at N56.02 trillion (US$42.12 billion) in Q1 2024, while total domestic debt was N65.65 trillion (US$49.35 billion). 

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    NBS noted that the share of external debt (in naira value) to total public debt was 46.05% in Q1 2024, while the share of domestic debt (in naira value) to total public debt was 53.95%. 

    Lagos State, said the bureau, recorded the highest domestic debt in Q1 2024 with N929.41 billion, followed by Delta with N334.90 billion.

    It added that Jigawa state recorded the lowest domestic debt with N2.07 billion, followed by Ondo with N16.40 billion.