The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sudanese

  • Olympic Eagles beat Sudan 5-0 qualify for AFCON U-23 tourney

     

    Nigeria U-23 team Tuesday at the Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba took their Sudanese counterparts to the cleaners thanks to a 5-0 demolition in front of appreciative fans.

    The Imama Amapakabo tutored side had lost the first leg by a lone goal in Al-Merreikh with Walaa Eldin Musa’s 45th minute goal making the whole difference. But the return leg turned out to a nightmare for the Sudanese as the Nigerian boys went goal crazy  starting with Taiwo Awoniyi’s 8th minute opener which

    Leveled aggregate at 1-1. Awoniyi’s goal turned out to be a ginger as Nigeria from then on took charge with Ndifriek Effiong scoring a brace.

    The team grabbed two more goals to seal the victory at 5-1 aggregate.  The victory hands Nigeria qualification to the Under 23 AFCON in Egypt in November. The tournament in Egypt will be an 8-team championship   with two teams expected to qualify for Tokyo 2020.

    Taiwo Awoniyi opened scoring in 5-0 defeat of Sudan

    An elated oach Coach Amapakabo gave kudos to his boys for rising to occasion. The team according to him will not be afraid of any opponent in Egypt adding that the target is to pick Olympic ticket.

    “I had the full complement of my team and the boys played well and deserved to win.  We will be heading to Egypt with one thing in mind which is to pick Olympic ticket” he enthused.

     

     

     

  • Amuneke’s Sudanese club eyes playoffs

    Emmanuel Amuneke has said he hopes his Sudanese club Khartoum Al Watani will qualify for the championship playoffs on Monday.

    The former FC Barcelona winger said he is worried about his team’s poor show on home ground.

    “We have not been getting the kind of result we want at home. If not, by now we should have been top of the Sudanese League. But we must have to keep fighting. Our objective is to finish among the top bracket going into the playoffs,” he told SCORENigeria.

    The Sudanese Premier League will go on break after next week’s round of matches.

  • South rebels demand ransome of $200,000 to release Kenyan pilots

    South rebels demand ransome of $200,000 to release Kenyan pilots

    South Sudanese rebels are holding two Kenyan pilots and will not release them until 200,000 dollars is paid to the family of a civilian killed when their plane crashed, a rebel told reporters on Tuesday.

    Lam Gabriel, the rebels’ deputy spokesman, said: “the plane crashed in Akobo, in the Greater Upper Nile region, two weeks ago.

    “When the plane crashed, it took a life. There was a lady that was killed and also there were some animals killed.

    “The relatives of the lady and the owners of the cows are complaining they want compensation.

    “They (Kenyan leaders) have to write an official letter to Dr. Riek Machar and it will come to us to inform of an order, then we will release him.”

    Read Also: Sudan hosts 140,000 S. Sudanese refugees

    Machar, the country’s former vice president, is the head of the largest rebel faction but has been held under house arrest in South Africa since 2016.

    South Sudan’s military spokesman confirmed the two pilots were being held.

    “The plane had a technical problem. It crash-landed and killed a person on the ground,” said Brig.-Gen. Lul Koang.

    “The (rebel) SPLA-IO-appointed governor of the area has demanded the ransom of 200,000 dollars which is beyond normal compensation for any person killed,” he added.

    The Kenyan foreign ministry said it was unable to comment.

    Oil-rich South Sudan has been riven by civil war since 2013.

    The conflict has displaced a third of the population, shut down most of the oil production and wrecked the economy.

    Reuters/NAN

  • ANA condemns persecution of Sudanese writers

    Nigeria’s largest writers body, the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), has condemned dissolution of the Sudanese Writers Union [SWU].

    It decried the action of the Government of the Republic of Sudan, in which acting through the Ministry of Culture, forcibly dissolved the Sudanese Writers Union [SWU], with cultural activities banned in the run up to local elections.

    According to a statement signed by ANA Publicity Secretary (North), Mr Richard Ali, the association described the act as “gross violation of human rights guaranteed by international law”, stating it has followed a pattern of interference in the activities of writers and intellectuals by the Government of Sudan.

    It read: “It would be recalled that the activities of the Sudanese Writers Union were banned for a sixteen year period and were only reorganised as recently as 2006. We condemn the persecution of our brothers and sisters in the Sudan categorically. The Association of Nigerian Authors states that the actions of the Government of Sudan are entirely unacceptable and the Association of Nigerian Authors stands firmly in solidarity with the Sudanese Writers Union in this time of censorship and oppression.”

    Describing the contributions of Sudanese writers as priceless, ANA raised fears over after effect such censorship on the literary and cultural heritage of the polity.

    “As the largest writers body on the continent, founded by Chinua Achebe, and currently with 28 chapters and over 5000 members in and outside Nigeria, ANA is committed to nurturing development through Creativity and the provision of spaces for the intercourse of ideas. We are fully aware of the contributions of Sudanese writers, including voices like Tayeb Salih, Taban lo Liyong and Leila Aboulela, to the literary and cultural heritage of Sudan and African peoples. This priceless credibility is grossly harmed by the Government of Sudan’s unfortunate attempt at censorship and the muzzling of free speech and of the creative imagination,” it stated further.

  • SIASIA TO SUDANESE: It’s do or die for Eagles

    SIASIA TO SUDANESE: It’s do or die for Eagles

    Former Nigeria national team coach Samson Siasia believes the Super Eagles will fail to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) if they don’t beat Sudan in their third qualifying game.

    Siasia, who managed the Super Eagles between 2010 and 2011, was sacked after failing to lead the side to the 2012 AFCON co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

    The former Nantes striker has now declared that the reigning African champions will fail to qualify for the 2015 edition of the competition in Morocco if they fail to beat Sudan in Khartoum on October 11.

    “If we lose to Sudan in our next game, we are out. There is no way we will qualify after that,” he told supersport.com.

    Nigeria will go toe to toe with Sudan in their next two internationals – home and away- and Sisaia reckons that dropped points in even one of the fixtures would harm Nigeria’s chances of reaching the 2015 AFCON finals in Morocco.

    “(Nigeria national team head coach Stephen Keshi) just has to ensure he wins the next two matches against Sudan to keep us alive,” he said.

    Nigeria won the 2013 AFCON title in South Africa.

     

  • Why Sudanese President wasn’t arrested, by Foreign Ministry

    Why Sudanese President wasn’t arrested, by Foreign Ministry

    •’Al-Bashir, participants have immunity in line with AU practice’

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday explained why Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was not arrested in Nigeria. It said by the statute of the African Union (AU), he was supposed to enjoy immunity like other delegates.

    It also said al-Bashir was in the country under the auspices of the AU and the nation owes an obligation to respect the decision of the continental body.

    The ministry said the presence of al-Bashir is a matter between the AU and the international community.

    The Ministry made the clarifications in a statement in Abuja against the backdrop of controversy trailing the presence of al-Bashir in Nigeria for the AU Summit,

    It said Nigeria is standing by the 2009 Resolution of the AU that the UN Security Council should defer the proceedings initiated against President al- Bashir in accordance with Article 16 of the Rome Statute of the International Crime Commission (ICC).

    The statement said: “With respect to the participation of H E President Omar Hassan El-Bashir of the Republic of The Sudan, it should be emphasised that Nigeria, as an active member of the continental body, is under an obligation to comply with the decision of the African Union on the Special Summit.

    “The decision to hold this Summit was taken by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. Therefore, member states do not require the invitation from Nigeria to attend. “Indeed, standard Host Country Agreements for such Summits grant privileges and immunities to all foreign participants expected at the conference, including obligations on the part of host countries to provide all the necessary facilities for the entry and exit to participants.

    “President al-Bashir was therefore in Nigeria under the auspices of the African Union, based on the Assembly decision to convene the Special Summit in Abuja, to deal with three diseases that together constitute a heavy burden on member states.”

    The Ministry urged Nigerians not to make an issue out of al-Bashir’s trip to Nigeria.

    It added: “Any attempt to make an issue out of the attendance of President al- Bashir at the AU Summit will only serve to unnecessarily shift focus away from the important objectives of the Special Summit.

    “It is, therefore, a matter between the African Union and the international community.”

    The Ministry said the Federal Government decided to stick to the 2009 resolution of the AU urging the UN Security Council to defer action against al-Bashir.

    “For the records and avoidance of doubt, Nigeria’s position in this regard is consistent with the AU Assembly decision adopted at the 13th Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government in Sirte, Libya on 3rd July, 2009, as it concerns President al-Bashir of The Sudan.

    “In this regard, it is worthy to recall that following the lack of action on the request by the African Union to the UN Security Council to defer the proceedings initiated against President al- Bashir in accordance with Article 16 of the Rome Statute of the ICC, the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government decided inter-alia that the “…AU Member States shall not cooperate pursuant to the provisions of Article 98 of the Rome Statute of the ICC relating to immunities, for the arrest and surrender of President Omar El-Bashir of The Sudan…”

    “The AU decision further reiterated its request to the UN Security Council and appropriate response is still being awaited to-date. As a responsible member of the AU, Nigeria has a duty to take full cognisance of this decision in the overall interest of Africa.”