The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Saudi Arabia

  • Thieves should have their hands chopped off – Jaime Rodriguez

     

    Jaime Rodriguez, a Mexican presidential candidate said in a televised debate on Sunday,that thieves should have their hands chopped off, provoking disbelief from a moderator and setting off a storm of comments and jokes on Twitter.

    Rodriguez, an independent known as “El Bronco,” who is trailing in opinion polls, made the proposal during a discussion about corruption in the first televised debate among the five presidential candidates ahead of the July 1 election.

    “We have to cut off the hands of those who rob. It’s that simple,” said the 59-year-old, adding that he would ask Congress to pass a law backing his idea.

    Taken aback, the moderator Denise Maerker twice asked him if he was speaking literally, before checking again that he really meant what he had said.

    “That’s right. That’s right,” he replied.

    Memes based on Rodriguez’s comments rapidly spread through Twitter, among them an image of his face superimposed on a picture of what appeared to be an Islamist militant chopping off a man’s hand.

    “El Bronco” was trending ahead of the other candidates on Twitter during the debate.

    Crime and corruption are top issues in the election campaign, with candidates under pressure to offer a way to end massive public graft and lower the number of murders from historic highs.

    Rodriguez’s comments followed a long discussion about a proposal by election front-runner Andres Obrador to explore a vaguely defined amnesty to end a drug war, in which about 200,000 people have been killed in a decade.

    The idea is unlikely to gain much support in Congress, but if it were adopted would be a major shift in approach for Mexico, which prohibits the death penalty and torture.

    “It is not a bad thing, countries that have left corruption behind have done it,” said Rodriguez, without giving details.

    Saudi Arabia and Iran are among a handful of countries in the world that permit amputation as a punishment.

    It was not immediately clear if the punishment envisaged by Rodriguez would be limited to public officials convicted of graft or apply to criminals generally.

    Elected in 2015 as Mexico’s first independent governor, Rodriguez has taken leave from the job to run for president.

    He is in fifth place in most opinion polls.

    NAN

     

  • Revealed: Trafficked Nigerian girls turned into slaves in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, others

    Many Nigerian girls trafficked to Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Oman and other Arab countries to work as maids have been turned into slaves, The Nation has learnt.

    Among the victims are those identified as Iya Ibeji, Ayo, Monisola, Adejoke and Adefolakemi, who were said to have been trafficked to Saudi Arabia on December 30, last year.

    Adefolakemi, The Nation learnt, was battling chronic depression and had collapsed twice at her master’s place because she was being made to work from 5am to 9pm, denied freedom and usually locked inside the house.

    The victim, who was being threatened by her traffickers for insisting that she wanted to return to Nigeria, was asked to pay 18,000 Riyals (about N1,728,776) or serve her master for two years.

    According to her, she was lured by her secondary schoolmate, Adetutu Kassim, who took her to meet one Olori Omolara, alias Mama T of LT Travel and Tours with the promise of a job and good salary. She said: “They told me that they would get a job for me and I would earn good salary. They never told me they were taking me to Saudi Arabia for modern slavery.

    “Adetutu is in Oman, another Arab country. She took me to meet Mama T and Mama T now took me and some other girls to a hotel in Abuja, where we met an Arab agent called Ashiraf.

    “We were taken to a hospital, to a doctor at Wuse for medical checkup, and on December 30, we left Nigeria through Ethiopian Airways.

    “Before we left Nigeria, Olori said I had to pay her the first two months of my salary. I agreed to. They said my sponsor in Saudi Arabia paid for my ticket and visa and so I would have to go and work for the person. But when we arrived Saudi Arabia, I fell sick and they said my sponsor rejected me.

    “They then gave me to another family, who said the paid 16,000 Riyals to the agency to take me. I was taken to the woman’s house, and she said that I would be on monthly salary of 750 Riyals. She said I was not allowed to go out.

    “I do not have permits. She said I had to work daily from 5am to 9pm, and I was entitled to an hour break. I had to endure the unbearable conditions the first two months so that I could pay Olori.

    “I paid the money. The woman I worked for was the one who sent it through Western Union. She never showed receipts but she told me she had sent the money and Adetutu usually acknowledged that Olori had received the money since I was not in contact with Olori.

    “After paying the two months, I told them I wanted to go back home, but they refused, saying that I must pay 18,000 Riyals or work for the woman for two years before I could be freed. They took me to the police station and threatened to deal with me. But I told them that my health was failing and I could not continue with that kind of work. They refused to listen.

    “I have been put under house arrest. They even sent a Nigerian woman to come and convince me to stay, and that if I refused, they would hand me over to the police and I would be gang-raped and sent to prison.

    “I am going through hell here. The other girls are also not finding things easy but it seems they are still paying Olori because they said they were still in debt and have to continue suffering until they finished paying their debts.

    “Honestly, this is modern slavery. I accepted the job when I was told because I felt since it was abroad, it would be better than Nigeria. I did not know that these people treat others like animals.

    “When I complained to my madam that the work time was too much (16 hours daily), she agreed to give me an hour break, which was between 3pm and 4pm. But she later changed the break time to 10am-11am, saying she discovered that I used to rest when she was at school teaching.

    “Please, I am begging Nigerian government to come and take me out of here before I die. My health is failing. Every day, I clean seven rooms, three toilets, two parlours, a kitchen and a big compound about four times. I wash and iron daily too. Now, I cannot even stand again because my legs are shaky.

    “I wake up at 3:30 am every day and would work from 5am to 9pm. What kind of life is that? They said that is the law in Saudi. The woman tried to seize my phone the other day to stop me from communicating with my family. I don’t have a telephone number.

    “I don’t have a SIM card. I chat on WhatsApp through my Nigerian line through the internet in the house. She has threatened to turn off the internet to cut me off.

    “She said I cannot go anywhere unless my family paid her 18,000 Riyals. I told her to ask the agency she gave money to because they did not give me anything.

    “I do not know anywhere here. I am not allowed to go out. Even if I want to throw waste, her son must accompany me. It’s slavery, modern slavery. Where will I get 18,000 Riyals?

    “I am afraid here that something might happen to me. I fear that I might not return to Nigeria again. I fear I might die here. I am losing my mind.

    “I think an agency in Saudi contacts Olori and she supplies girls to them. I don’t know their arrangements, but I know that at the end of the day, they are the ones benefitting while the girls are miserable, exploited.

    “The woman I work for is Famita Mana AlDossari. They live in Alkhobar, after Dammam. Dammam is a popular state in Saudi. I need help please.”

    Our correspondent contacted Ashiraf and Omolara on telephone and they assured that the victim would be returned, only to contact the agency in Saudi to pressure her into submission.

    Ashiraf said the girls were denied freedom in line with Saudi laws, adding that he was unaware they were subjected to such work conditions. He also said he was unaware Omolara collected money from them, insisting that anyone who wanted to come back would be returned without delays.

    Omolara also denied extorting or exploiting the girls, claiming that she only wanted to help them earn a living.

    In a telephone conversation with our correspondent, Omolara said she was rallying round to get a ticket for the victim. But in a recorded conversation, she accused the victim of threatening her with a journalist, adding that she would only  be  released  if  she  paid  the  18,000

  • ‘Black Panther’ to break Saudi Arabia’s 35-year cinema ban

    There are indications that trending Marvel’s superhero blockbuster ‘Black Panther’,  will help open the first movie theater in Saudi Arabia on April 18, ending a 35-year ban on cinemas.

    Marvel’s record-breaking superhero blockbuster, which has already amassed north of $1.2 billion since launching in February, will herald Saudi Arabia’s long-awaited return to the cinema world.

    It will be the first film to screen to the public in a movie theater in the country since it lifted a 35-year cinema ban.

    The news makes Disney and its regional distribution partner in the Middle East, Italia Film, the first to officially release a movie in the kingdom as it undergoes dramatic reforms.

    The film will be given a gala premiere on April 18 in Riyadh at the first AMC-branded cinema, which was announced Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

    The 620-seater theater set to open less than four months after the ban lifting was announced in December is a converted symphony hall in the King Abdullah Financial District, and is the first of hundreds of cinemas planned to open in the next decade.

    Black Panther is set to play for five days in Riyadh and will be swiftly followed by Avengers: Infinity War, which is being given a day-and-date release on April 26.

  • Spying on spouse’s phone in Saudi Arabia now carries $133, 000 fine

    Spying on your spouse’s phone in Saudi Arabia now carries a 133, 000 dollars fine and up to a year in prison, under a new law that aims to “protect morals of individuals and society and protect privacy’’.

    The punishment would apply to both men and women in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom, according to a statement on Tuesday by the ministry of culture.

    It could tend to protect husbands from their wives.

    As in many other parts of the Muslim world, Saudi Arabia laws on divorce, inspired by scripture, often required wives seeking alimony to provide evidence of abuse or sexual promiscuity.

    A husband’s phone could be a rich source of such evidence.

    The Anti-Cybercrime Law, says “spying on, interception or reception of data transmitted through an information network or a computer without legitimate authorisation” is a crime.

    It imposes a penalty up to 133, 000 dollars, prison or both.

    “Social media has resulted in a steady increase in cybercrimes such as blackmail, embezzlement and defamation, not to mention hacking of accounts’’, the ministry said.

    A similar law on the books in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates also bars the practice, carrying a minimum three-month prison term and 817 dollas fine.

    The oil-rich and tech-obsessed countries are among the most avid social media users in the world, but traditional values remained ascendant, even in courts.

    Reuters/NAN

  • Saudi govt to ensure gender equal salaries – Crown Prince

    The authorities of Saudi Arabia are working on legislation that will equalize women’s salaries with men’s salaries, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.

    “We are working on an initiative, which we will launch in the near future, to introduce regulations ensuring equal pay for men and women,” the crown prince said in an interview with the CBS broadcaster.

    According to bin Salman, these measures will increase the proportion of working women from 22 per cent currently.

    The crown prince admitted that women in his country do not yet have full rights, but noted that he considers women and men equal.

    The change in the social status of women is part of the Vision 2030 strategy of the Saudi Arabian authorities.

    Earlier in March, the Kingdom allowed women to serve in the armed forces. A total of 140 positions were opened, and 107,000 applied to those positions.

    Read Also:  Saudi Arabia to end discrimination against women

    In addition, women were allowed to work in restaurants, and in prosecution.

    In 2017, Saudi authorities lifted a ban on driving cars for women.

    Permission will come into force in June this year.

    Women were also allowed to attend public entertainment events.

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed a series of major changes that touched the country’s economy, social and political spheres, since King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud took the throne in 2015.

    A significant role in the reform process in the country belongs to Mohammed bin Salman, who was appointed as Crown Prince in June 2017.

    NAN

     

  • Forbes keeps Saudis off billionaires list after corruption purge

    Forbes keeps Saudis off billionaires list after corruption purge

    Forbes magazine said on Thursday it was excluding all Saudi Arabian tycoons from its annual list of the world’s richest people after dozens of top businessmen from the oil-rich-kingdom were detained in a crackdown on corruption last year.

    Most detainees were released after reaching settlements with the authorities, who say they arranged to seize more than 100 billion dollars in assets through such deals.

    But the government has provided few details about who was netted in the sweep, what they were accused of and how much they gave up.

    Forbes said earlier in the week that it was “impossible to know definitively who gave how much to whom and when”.

    The magazine said it had removed the 10 Saudi billionaires who made the cut last year, including those detained in the crackdown like Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

    Talal is said to be with wealth previously valued at 18.7 billion dollars and Mohammed al-Amoudi, whose treasure stood at 8.1 billion dollars.

    “With greater clarity regarding their wealth, some might eventually return to the ranking,” Forbes said.

    The magazine’s Middle East edition said in a separate statement on Thursday that the wealth of Saudi billionaires was believed to have increased from 42.1 billion dollars last year.

    It was so, due to the rise in oil prices and capital markets globally but would be excluded due to the reported asset seizures.

    Alwaleed, who told reporters in an interview hours before his release in January that he did not expect to give up any assets to the government, sued Forbes in 2013, alleging the magazine had under-valued his wealth.

    The magazine listed 2,208 billionaires worldwide in 2018, up from 2,043 in 2017.

    Reuters/NAN

  • Saudi Arabia imposes levy on frequent Nigerian pilgrims

    Saudi Arabia imposes levy on frequent Nigerian pilgrims

    Saudi Arabia has imposed a compulsory levy equivalent of N163,000 on each  prospective Nigerian pilgrim, who has performed Hajj or Umrah in the last two years.

    It also introduced a five per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on all services, excluding food items and medical drugs.

    Mr. Abdullahi Mukhtar, the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), said the affected pilgrims are to pay SR2000, an equivalent to N163,000.

    It is exclusive of the substantive fare for the 2018 Hajj which is yet to be announced by the federal government.

    Mukhtar spoke in Sokoto yesterday at a sensitization campaign organized by the Commission for prospective pilgrims and officials of the Pilgrims Welfare Agencies (PWA), from Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States.

    The levy, according to him, was announced by the Saudi Arabian Hajj Ministry and it became fully effective during the 2017 Hajj exercise.

    The Chairman, who was represented by the National Commissioner in Charge of Operations, Alhaji Abdullahi Sale, said that the campaign was organized to intimate the nation’s prospective pilgrims.

    “This is on the need to ensure the early completion of their hajj fares on or before the end of March, 2018, as it would enable the commission and the various PWA, to make early and efficient arrangements.”

    He said that the event was also organized to intimate the prospective pilgrims on the introduction of biometric data capturing of all Umrah and Hajj pilgrims by the Saudi Arabian authorities.

    He added that  three centres have been opened in Kano, Lagos and Abuja, for the data capturing, “although efforts were on by the commission to ensure the increment of the centres.”

    The Chairman, Forum of PWA in Nigeria, Alhaji Abubakar Sarkin Fawa Danbo, commended the commission for organizing the event, saying that various PWAs jn Nigeria were working round the clock to ensure the success of the 2018 hajj exercise.

    Alhaji Muntari Maigona, PWA Chairman Sokoto state, called on the commission to allow the various states pilgrims welfare agencies to deploy medical Doctors and other medical staff to accompany the pilgrims during the hajj exercise.

    He lamented that the existing arrangements on pilgrims feeding should be improved, while the companies in charge of such gesture should be increased.

    “So, 24 states houses of assembly are still working on it, many of them are already holding public hearing on it. That is what is going on.

    “For example, Sokoto State just conducted public hearing on the bill between Tuesday and Thursday last week.

    “Gombe has just called for memorandum from its citizens on Local Government Autonomy Bill. Others also deferred it to hold public hearing and for further discussions before they vote and forward it to Chairman, Conference of Speakers.

    “It is just that only eight so far have voted for it among 10 states who have fully considered it. It is possible that we will still get the 16 states, out of the remaining states that have not voted on Local Government Autonomy Bill.

    “We can see that it has not been rejected. So, we can’t say local government autonomy has been rejected. It is still work in progress,” the NULGE president explained.

    He said Dogara cannot be blamed for the speculation arising from his statement, because of the complexity of the ongoing constitution amendment process.

    “This important observation is necessary so that it would not give wrong signal to the remaining 24 states still working on the Local Government Autonomy Bill to perhaps think that since the bill has been rejected, there is no need to debate and vote in its favour again.”

    He appealed to them to vote in favour of Local Government Autonomy.

  • Human trafficking: NAPTIP hands over 17 victims to relatives

    Human trafficking: NAPTIP hands over 17 victims to relatives

    The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP ) says it has handed over 17 victims of the 18 intercepted at a clinic in Maitama, Abuja to their relatives.

    The Head of Press and Public Relations, Mr Josiah Emerole said this in Abuja on Wednesday.

    Emerole explained that out of the 18 persons, 17 of them were victims of human trafficking while the remaining one person held by his agency was a suspected agent.

    We recall that the Abuja Environmental Protection Board ( AEPB ) intercepted 18 suspected victims of human trafficking at a clinic in Maitama on Feb. 22 before it handed them over to NAPTIP.

    Mr Muktar Ibrahim, Head of Information and Outreach of AEPB had explained that 18 women were apprehended at a clinic and diagnostic centre in Maitama around 8 p.m. by a team of AEPB officials on night patrol.

    The women, who were purportedly on their way to Saudi Arabia, were allegedly directed by their traffickers to conduct some medical tests before they embarked on the journey.

    The NAPTIP’s spokesperson said that the agency handed the victims over to their relatives with a condition to provide them whenever they were needed as the case was still under investigation.

    He said that the agent was still being held by NAPTIP while the suspected traffickers were at large.

    According to him, his agency will do everything possible to arrest the suspects and bring them to book.

    Emerole noted that none of the victims had valid documents including international passports.

    He said that nine of the victims were from Kano state, four from Katsina, two from Nasarawa, two from Kwara and one from Jigawa state.

    NAN

  • Saudi crown calls to support Afghan peace process

    Saudi crown calls to support Afghan peace process

    Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday called on all parties to the conflict to support the peace process in the conflict-hit Afghanistan, local media reported on Friday.

    Salman expressed support to the peace process during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia by Mohammad Atmar, the advisor to Afghan president on national security.

    Read Also:  Saudi Arabia lifts ban on cinemas

    “Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in his meeting with National Security Advisor Mohammad Hanif Atmar called on all parties involved in the conflict to support the process to get it back on track,” Tolo television quoted a statement of Atmar’s office as saying.

    Taliban militants who have always rejected joining the government-backed peace process in the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan and instead want direct talks with the U.S. government, have yet to make comments.

    NAN

     

  • Monarch marks 10th anniversary on throne

    The Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Lawal has pledged his commitment to grassroots development. He stated this while addressing reporters in his palace in Ede, Osun State on preparations for his 10th anniversary on the throne of his ancestors.

    The monarch said he would support any project that would make life meaningful for his subjects.

    Oba Lawal noted that a leadership position could only be meaningful if there is transparency, accountability and concern for people’s welfare.

    According to him, the major challenge the people, especially the less-privileged are experiencing, is poverty.

    Oba Lawal promised to support programmes that will alleviate the suffering of his subjects.

    The Timi also vowed to ensure continued phenomenal growth and advancement in Ede Town and Osun State during his reign.

    Also, the Chairman of the 10th Anniversary Committee, Prof. ‘Siyan Oyeweso said: “The Kabiyesi has been able to maintain peace and security in Ede since he assumed the throne of his forefathers 10 years ago.

    “We owe the relative peace and security being enjoyed in the ancient town of Ede to his peace and security initiatives through traditional means and the co-operation of his subjects.”

    According to him, the monarch was also concerned about the welfare of his people in the Diaspora through constant engagement with those in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United States of America (USA) and others.

    “There are rapid socio-economic developments during Oba Lawal’s reign. In his time, the Ilori College of Education, Adeleke University and Redeemer’s University all in Ede, were established as part of education developments.

    “This gives a global relevance to the community and has placed it on a global map of education development. The students’ population and workers who patronise infrastructure facilities in the town also boost its economy relatively.

    “Also, the Spring Time Development Foundation, Ede, a non-governmental association, which gives scholarships to make education available to the less-privileged individuals, was founded during the monarch’s reign.