The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • Independent candidacy: ECOWAS Court dismisses suit against Nigeria

    Independent candidacy: ECOWAS Court dismisses suit against Nigeria

    THE Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) Court of Justice has dismissed a suit by Obinna Umeh and six others, challenging Nigeria’s laws, which bars independent candidacy in election contests.

    A three-member panel of justices presided by the court’s President, Justice Edward Asante, held that Nigeria did not breach any convention or charter.

    The case was brought before the court in November 2018 by Obinna Umeh, Kenneth Roberts, Dr. Matthew Oguche and Emmanuel Agada.

    They urged the court to compel Nigeria to allow independent candidates to contest in elections.

    They argued that the mandatory membership of political parties as pre-requisite to contest elections infringed on their right to vote and be voted.

    They argued it also infringed on their human rights as enshrined in the African Charter and Universal Declaration on Human Rights, International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a signatory.

    However, Nigeria argued that the ECOWAS Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit which has direct bearing on its constitution.

    READ ALSO: No division in ECOWAS over single currency, says Onyeama

    The community court said it had examined all treaties and protocols that Nigeria is signatory to and it were clear the country had not erred in its laws.

    The presiding judge also said it was only a matter of common sense that giving the population and diversity of Nigeria, allowing for independent candidacy will be almost impossible to handle.

    “Law also in a way goes with common sense. It is clear that a country with a population of over 200 million, if in an election, 400 people decide to contest the presidency, you are going to have a ballot paper of over 50 pages.”

    “That is why the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as the Electoral Laws thought it wise to make people belong to such groups.

     

  • 172 Nigerians evacuated from Uganda, Kenya arrive at Abuja  

    172 Nigerians evacuated from Uganda, Kenya arrive at Abuja  

    NO fewer than 172 Nigerian evacuated from Uganda and Kenya arrived yesterday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja at about 10:20 am local time.

    The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), in a statement by Mr. Gabriel Odu of its Media, Public Relations, and Protocol Unit, said the evacuees arrived through Air Peace Flight B777-200 from Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

    According to Odu, some of the evacuees disembarked at the airport in Abuja and others proceeded to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

    READ ALSO: Groups condemn harassment of Tarkwa Bay evictees

    “The exercise was put together by our mission in Nairobi, Kenya in collaboration with the Mission in Kampala, Uganda.

    “All evacuees tested negative to #COVID19 and will now proceed on 14 days self-isolation as mandated by @NCDCgov, @Fmohnigeria and PTF on #COVID-19,” he said.

  • Court sentences Iranian dissident blogger to death

    Court sentences Iranian dissident blogger to death

    Agency Reporter

    The prominent Iranian dissident and blogger Ruhollah Zam was sentenced to death on Tuesday by a revolutionary court in Tehran.

    Court spokesperson Gholam-Hussein Ismaili said Zam can still appeal to the country’s highest court .

    Revolutionary courts in Iran preside over espionage cases and threats to national security.

    Zam stands accused of using his website, Amad News, to spread propaganda against Iran’s leadership and to provoke protests against the regime, some of which turned violent.

    In particular, he was said to have strongly condemned alleged irregularities in the 2009 presidential election which saw the re-election of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

    READ ALSO: Blogger behind fake ‘EFCC Cell’ tweet gets N1m bail

    The blogger then emigrated to France via Malaysia. Zam had also conducted several interviews with Farsi-language broadcasters abroad, in which he expressed sharp criticism of the Iranian leadership.

    According to media reports, the blogger was allegedly lured to neighbouring Iraq by Iranian security forces, where he was reportedly arrested last autumn and taken to Iran to stand trial.

    Since then, Zam has pleaded guilty in several court hearings and asked for forgiveness.

    Political commentators therefore expect the death sentence to be overturned during his appeal.(dpa/NAN)

  • Philippine’s panel reviewing thousands of drug-war deaths

    Philippine’s panel reviewing thousands of drug-war deaths

    Agency Reporter

    The Philippine Government on Tuesday said it had quietly been reviewing more than 5,000 deaths that occurred during its aggressive years-long crackdown on drugs, the country’s justice minister said.

    In a statement to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council’s session in Geneva, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said an inter-agency panel conducting the review would come out with a report by the end of November.

    The panel, headed by the Department of Justice, has been “quietly conducting a judicious review of the 5,655 anti-illegal drugs operations where deaths occurred,’’ Guevarra said.

    The evaluation was independent of the national police’s internal mechanisms, he told the meeting.

    “The panel intends to engage affected families, provide them with legal options and assistance in criminal prosecution of law enforcers who have overstepped legal bounds in their operations,’’ he added.

    READ ALSO: ‘Children have been traumatised by Philippines abusive drugs war’

    “This review mechanism will not only reinforce accountability on the drug campaign. It will tighten the web of existing mechanisms to prevent cases of impunity,’’ he added.

    UN human rights Chief, Michelle Bachelet, told the top UN rights body in Geneva that her Human Rights Office concluded that there had been near-total impunity for police killings of drug suspects, indicating unwillingness by the state to hold to account perpetrators of extrajudicial killings.

    According to a report that she presented to the Human Rights Council, at least 8,663 people have been killed since the Philippines launched its campaign against illegal drugs in 2016.(dpa/NAN)

  • Belgian king apologises to DR Congo for colonial-era cruelty

    Belgian king apologises to DR Congo for colonial-era cruelty

    Agency Reporter

    Belgian King Philippe has expressed regret for the acts of cruelty committed during the years that his ancestor, Leopold II, presided over what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as his personal property.

    In a letter to DRC President Felix Tshisekedi on Tuesday, Philippe wrote for the first time of his deep regret for these past injuries, the pain of which is also revived by the discriminations that are all too present in our societies.

    The 60-year-old monarch also apologised for the suffering and humiliation caused after the end of Leopold II’s administration of the Congo Free State (1885-1908) when the country became Belgian Congo.

    DRC marks the 60th anniversary of the declaration of independence from its former colonial power on Tuesday.

    Historians estimate that the population of the Congo Free State may have halved to around 10 million people during the years Leopold II presided over the territory as his private property.

    The country and its people were exploited for natural resources, including rubber.

    After the violent death of African-American George Floyd in police custody in the U.S., there have also been demonstrations against racism in Belgium in recent weeks.

    READ ALSO: Belgian coach outlines Ndidi’s sterling qualities

    Protests were also directed against monuments from the colonial era, especially statues of Leopold II.

    (dpa/NAN)

  • COVID-19: Egypt reopens mosques after 3 months

    COVID-19: Egypt reopens mosques after 3 months

    Cairo- Mosques reopened on Saturday in Egypt after a three-month shutdown as the country relaxed restrictions imposed to contain an outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

    The government has allowed daily prayers again in mosques amid health precautions, but has kept suspended the larger Friday prayers for Muslims and Sunday church services for the country’s Christian minority.

    Egyptian media on Saturday showed images of Muslim worshippers inside local mosques, using personal prayer rugs and observing distancing as part of government-imposed measures to curb the spread of the virus.

    The worshippers also wore mandatory protective face masks.

    READ ALSO: Egypt announces new oil discovery at Gulf of Suez

    According to reopening regulations, mosques have to open their doors 10 minutes before each of the five obligatory daily Islamic prayers and close, at most, 30 minutes after the prayer ends in order to allow time for disinfection of the sites.

    The Awqaf Ministry, which is in charge of mosques in Egypt, has said that religious lessons in mosques are halted as a health precaution.

    The Coptic Church said yesterday that it decided to postpone for two weeks the reopening of churches in Cairo and Alexandria – Egypt’s second-biggest city – due to high virus infections.

    “At the time, the situation will be reviewed,” a church spokesperson said in an online statement.

    Copts make up the majority of Egypt’s Christians.

    In recent weeks, Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, with nearly 100 million people, has seen a surge in virus cases.

    So far, health authorities have reported 62,755 coronavirus infections resulting in 2,620 deaths.

    The government has also allowed the partial reopening of businesses in an attempt to mitigate the economic impact of the virus.

     

     

  • Trump deletes video with ‘white power’ slogan, after backlash

    Trump deletes video with ‘white power’ slogan, after backlash

    Agency Reporter

     

    U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted and then deleted a video in which his supporters could be heard repeating a “white power” slogan, in the latest instance in which the president was accused of inflaming racial tensions.

    The phrase is often used by far-right white nationalists and prompted a backlash from within the president’s own Republican Party.

    The tweet came as the country is going through an intense national conversation about race and discrimination, in the wake of police violence and the death of George Floyd.

    There have been protests around the country for weeks under the Black Lives Matter banner.

    The video shows Trump supporters shouting the slogans.

    Trump attached a comment saying: “Thank you to the great people of The Villages,” referring to a retirement community in Florida where the scene was filmed.

    Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican member of the Senate, was quick to denounce the president.

    Read Also: Trump has imprisoned himself in the White House

    “He should not have retweeted it and he should just take it down.

    “The entire thing was offensive,” Scott said on CNN.

    The White House later explained the deletion of the tweet, which had been up for nearly four hours, saying the president was unaware of the audio content.

    “President Trump is a big fan of The Villages. He did not hear the one statement made on the video.

    ”What he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a brief statement.

    The president has been accused of worsening racial tensions in the country over the course of his time in the White House, while failing to promote a reconciliation programme.

    In recent weeks he pushed for a tough crackdown against the sometimes violent protests against injustice and police brutality. (dpa/NAN)

  • Why UN must be results-focused at 75, by Muhammad-Bande

    Why UN must be results-focused at 75, by Muhammad-Bande

    By Bola Olajuwon, Assistant Editor

     

    UNITED Nations (UN) General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande has emphasised the needs for the global community to be results-focused as it marked the 75th anniversary of the signing of its charter.

    According to him, more than ever, the world needs a strong UN development system and effective collaboration between the UN and international financial institutions.

    Muhammad-Bande noted that in pursuit of inclusive multilateralism, the world must continue to create space for civil society and ensure the full participation of voices that have gone unheard for too long: those of women, youth, indigenous persons and people with disabilities.

    “This is a moment of reckoning for our shared planet and shared future. This is a time for action, ambition and partnership.

    “Three-quarters of a century ago, sceptics doubted the resolve of the members of the United Nations. Cynicism did not prevail then, nor will it now,” the UN General Assembly President said in his remarks in an online commemoration of UN Charter signing.

    He encouraged the global community to interact with UN panels, to discuss the principles and relevance of the UN Charter, the increased need for international cooperation and Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

    Muhammad-Bande lamented that the event took place as many people suffer and bear great losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    He, however, said the UN drew strength from those who have persevered in the past, in the face of great despair.

    “This includes the penholders of the UN Charter, who dared to imagine a better world defined by peace and equality.

    “On June 26, 1945, leaders gathered in San Francisco to sign the Charter of the United Nations, thereby establishing an international organisation of unrivalled reach and legitimacy, with a new rules-based world order at its core.

    Thus, the United Nations was created to, among other things, save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

    “Today, 75 years on, we will hear from each regional group of the UN, and from the principals of its main organs.

    “The General Assembly is the primary deliberative, policy-making and representative body of the United Nations, a parliament of humanity, based upon equality of voice and vote.

    “It is a forum to share perspectives, forge partnerships and build consensus. The Assembly provides a space where Members can generate understanding and reach compromise,” he said.

    According to him, the General Assembly resolutions reflect the aspirations of humanity, paving the way for the normative development of international law with far-reaching ramifications across a wide range of issues affecting the people we serve.

    Mentioning the activities of assembly, its president explained: “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by a GA Resolution in 1948.

    Read Also: COVID-19: Egypt reopens mosques after 3 months

     

    The Paris Climate Agreement, a feat of multilateralism, began in embryonic form as a General Assembly resolution.

    “At the fiftieth (50th) anniversary of the United Nations, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the most authoritative and comprehensive formulation of the principle of self-determination.

    We continue to promote equality and dignity for all, including through the GA-mandated International Decade of recognition, justice and development for People of African Descent.

    “At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, member states adopted GA resolutions, which called for solidarity and global access to medicines and medical equipment. Currently, there is an omnibus resolution under negotiation to address all aspects of our response to the pandemic.

    “The membership has taken historic steps to enable the UN to operate during this period by adopting decisions under silence procedure.

    “Intergovernmental negotiations on the Declaration for the commemoration of the seventy-fifth (75th) anniversary of the United Nations continued throughout this period.

    “This has ensured business continuity as we herald the beginning of the Decade of Action and Delivery to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

    “In 2015, the membership of the General Assembly pledged to leave no one behind and shift the world onto a path of sustainable development and prosperity for all.

    Now, we must fulfil our commitments to finance sustainable development, and engage business leaders to align with the principles for responsible business of the UN Global Compact.”

  • Nigeria admits error over Ghana demolition

    Nigeria admits error over Ghana demolition

    Our Reporter

    Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has said officials of Nigerian High Commission in Accra, Ghana, committed an error that culminated in the demolition of a structure within the premises of the High Commission.

    The minister noted that the officials failed to take necessary action to get requisite documents for ownership of the parcel of land the structure was built on.

    But he emphasised that such error was not an enough reason for the pulling down of the building by a Ghanaian businessman last weekend.

    Onyeama said the Ghanaian government had assumed responsibility for the demolition and promised to rebuild the structure to its original level.

    The minister, who addressed reporters on the resolution between Nigeria and Ghana on the demolition, said the Nigerian High Commission failed to obtain legal title for the land, which it had paid for in Year 2000.

    Besides, the minister said it also failed to obtain necessary approvals before erecting the building.

    “It was clearly a mistake on our side. What the Ghanaians said is that owing to the fact that our High Commission did not obtain a lease, following the allocation letter they got after paying for the plot of land, nor did we proceed to obtain a land title certificate and we didn’t even get a building permit for the new property.

    “When other people came claiming ownership of the land, the commission did not see anything in the register because the lease title had not been obtained. It is clearly an error on the side of our High Commission.

    “We would learn from that. But clearly, our documenting and record-keeping and processes would need to be sharpened. In terms of how we deal with our officers, this is something that happened in 2000. That was 20 years ago.

    “The officials are no longer in service. We rather just learn from our mistake and ensure we have more rigour whenever we are engaging in legal issues in all our missions.

    “The Ghanaian government has directed the necessary administrative procedures that were not followed should be done now, meaning that title deeds be formerly given to the High Commission of Nigeria since the documentary proof acknowledged by the Ghanaian land registry of receipt of payment on the property has been done many years ago.”

     

     

     

  • Fed Govt evacuates 167 Nigerians from South Africa

    Fed Govt evacuates 167 Nigerians from South Africa

    Our Reporter

     

    THE Federal Government has evacuated 167 Nigerians from South Africa and are now enroute to Nigeria, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama said.

    Onyeama, in a series of tweet on his handle @GeoffreyOnyeama, said the Nigerians had already departed the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

    “The evacuees who are returning onboard Air Peace, are to first arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport before proceeding to Lagos.

    “Evacuation Update: @flyairpeace conveying 167 Nigerians just departed O.R. Tambo International Airport Johannesburg, South Africa for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    “Forty-five passengers will disembark in Abuja, and thereafter the plane will leave for Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos with 122 passengers,” he twitted.