The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yinka Omorogbe

  • CSO commends Obaseki, others for domesticating open governance partnership

    A civil liberty organisation, African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), has commended Edo State Government for demonstrating commitment to the Open Government Partnership (OGP), tailored towards promoting transparency and accountability in governance.

    In a media briefing to commemorate the 2019 OGP week in Abuja, programme coordinator, Centre LSD, Uchenna Arisukwu, commended Edo, Kaduna, Kano, Anambra, Ebonyi, Abia, Enugu, Niger, and Adamawa for signing up to and domesticating the OGP and developing a state-level action plan.

    Arisukwu explained that as OGP will “ensure transparency is adhered to in procurement systems.”

    Recall that the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) decorated Governor Godwin Obaseki, with the Open Government Champions Award, for implementing policy actions to promote fiscal transparency, anti-corruption, access to information, citizen engagement, accountability in governance and for leading the OGP campaign in the South-South region.

    Other members of the Obaseki-led administration decorated by ANEEJ for advancing principles of OGP, include Chief of Staff to the Governor, Chief Taiwo Akerele, and Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of the state, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe.

    Checks showed that Edo State Government signed and deployed open government portal in partnership with the World Bank eight years ago.

    In addition, the state government is deploying energy and resources to improve the ease of doing business in the state, embracing Information Communication Technology (ICT) to make government processes stress-free.

     

     

  • VAP Law: Edo First Lady, Attorney General charge Police on enforcement

    Wife of the Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, has charged the Police in the state to ensure strict enforcement of the Violence Against Persons (VAP) Law.

    Mrs. Betsy gave the charge during a march to protest acts of violence against persons in the state, which coincided with the signing of the VAP Law by the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

    The protest was also held against the inhuman treatment meted to a young girl, Miss Ada Favour, over allegations that she stole a mobile phone.

    Also, the Edo State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, urged the police to ensure that they properly prosecute cases of crimes against persons, even when they go against the grain of societal acceptance, noting that justice must be served in all cases.

    Mrs. Obaseki said the state governor is gender-friendly and would work to advance the interest of women, adding, “We have a gender-friendly governor, and for these things to be happening in his time, it shows that they are about to end. We have to know that we have a governor who loves to promote women issues.”

    She urged the Police to ensure a thorough investigation of the assault on Miss Ada Favour and ensure that justice is served on the matter.

    On the abuse of the young girl, she said, “So, we want to condemn from the debt of our hearts and with every iota of our being, violence, indecent and inhuman acts, especially against women and children. We as women in Edo State, join our voices with the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), a Non-Government Organisations (NGO), and other stakeholders to condemn the act.

    Speaking on the need to be thorough in investigations, Prof. Omorogbe told the police commissioner, “We know that you are a partner with us. We welcome that and value the relationship. But what we want is to ensure, particularly in the justice sector, that justice is truly served. We want you to ensure the right investigation.

    “We don’t want our cases botched. Very often, when we are dealing with gender violence or violence that is treated as being the norm in society, the Police often mess it up because they don’t even see that it is a problem in society.”

    Governor Obaseki, last Tuesday signed the Violence Against Persons (VAP) Bill into law, to address all forms of violence and protect vulnerable members of the society.

    Signing the bill in Government House, Benin City, he noted that he was aware that the bill touches on fundamental practices among the people, assuring that he was not only signing the bill as a formality, but will ensure it is implemented to the letter.

    “We will not stop here by just signing the bill into law, but will commence the much difficult work of implementing it to the letter. It must be noted that this bill has been in consideration for over six to eight years but the time has come for us to have a law like this VAP Law, to protect the most vulnerable and weak in our society.

    “As a government, we have aligned with the Federation of Women Lawyer (FIDA)’s purpose and objective and therefore have no hesitation in signing the bill into law,” he said.

  • Pepper in vagina saga: No phone was missing, Police CP

    Edo State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosun, has declared that investigation into the missing phone saga that led to pepper being inserted in the vagina of a female sex worker showed that no phone was actually missing.

    The sex worker identified as 24 years old Favour Ada Friday was beaten and  stripped naked by her accusers and raw pepper inserted into her vaginal despite her repeated denial that she didn’t steal any phone.

    She was beaten after a native doctor through magical means said she was the person that stole the phone.

    Three persons including head of vigilance group in Ugbiyoko community, Mr. Lucky Igbinovia popularly known as One Man squad, Joel Otoghile and Iyamu Kingsley have been remanded in prison custody over the saga.

    Odumosun who spoke while addressing female protesters led by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and Edo State Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, said the victim was accused of stealing the phone just to extort money from her.

    Read Also: Oyo police read riot act to politicians

    He assured the protesters that the police would carry out thorough investigation to ensure the case is not thrown out by any judge.

    Chairperson of FIDA, Barr. Iryn Omorogiomwan, urged the CP to ensure investigations are expedited so that all the suspects are convicted if found guilty.

    Edo State First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, said the crime against Favour shocked human conscience and would not be tolerated by Edo people.

    Mrs. Obaseki said her husband was very upset and angered by the incident.

    Governor Godwin Obaseki who immediately signed the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) bill into law assured that law would take its course.

    Obaseki condemned the action and said his administration would not cover anybody no matter how highly placed.

  • Human Trafficking: Edo takes campaign to Abudu

    … urges residents to report traffickers

    The Edo State Commissioner for Justice/Attorney General of the state and Head of the State Taskforce against Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration, Professor Yinka Omorogbe, has urged Edo people and residents in Orhionmwon Local Government Area to report suspected human traffickers to the taskforce.

    The taskforce was established by Governor Godwin Obaseki in August 2017, to check the high incidence of human trafficking and illegal migration in the state

    At an advocacy programme organised by the task force in Abudu, headquarters of Orhionmwon Local Government Area, Prof. Omorogbe said the state government was fully committed to tackling human trafficking by creating jobs for youths in the state, urging residents in the area to report suspected traffickers to the taskforce for investigation and subsequent prosecution.

    “Human trafficking is a bad business. Don’t get involved or allow yourself to be trafficked by those looking for young men and women to be exploited. We are informing you so that you won’t learn the hard way. Many others who have gone and returned are gnashing their teeth now.

    “Our children undergo slavery there. We have records of thousands of Nigerians who were killed or missing in the Sahara Desert, Libya or Mediterranean Sea.

    Read Also: 2019: Edo APC battling with defection

    “But the traffickers don’t tell you the hard life your children undergo there; how they are kidnapped in connivance with them. Parents and other relations end up sending money from here to Libya. They only tell you their success stories that are not true. Beware of the antics of the traffickers,” Omorogbe told guests at the event.

    According to her, the state has received over 3,883 Libya returnees between November 2017 and July 2018, adding that Governor Godwin Obaseki was worried that more than half of the returnees from Libya were from the state, with Orhionmwon Local Government Area taking the lead in the state.

    The Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Mr. Osaze Osemwegie-Ero, who also spoke at the advocacy programme, said the governor was working round the clock to change the narrative by investing massively in human capital development.

    Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Anti-Human Trafficking Issues, Mr Solomon Okoduwa, assured that the taskforce would sustain the campaign.

    Okoduwa urged parents, religious leaders as well as the international community to partner with the state government in the fight against human trafficking and illegal migration, noting, “We have over 4,000 Libya returnees as I speak, but we are saying this must not be allowed to continue.”

  • Human trafficking: Obaseki lauds EU, Benin Monarch

    As Taskforce clocks one year

     

    The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Wednesday saluted the roles of the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II and the European Union in the fight against human trafficking and illegal migration in the state, in the last one year.

    Obaseki gave the commendation while taking stock of the activities of the Edo State Task Force against Human Trafficking, during its one-year anniversary, at the Weekly State Executive Council Meeting at the Government House, in Benin City.

    The governor, one year ago, initiated a multi-pronged fight against human trafficking, few months into assumption of office, deploying a mix of approaches to curb the ugly trend.

    “We believe that if we tackle the issue of poverty by making people more comfortable, they will not want to travel illegally. For us as a government, we have encapsulated the challenge of migration as one that is driven by under-development.

    “We thank the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II for his support and responsiveness, which have been praised by the World. This has shown that trafficking and prostitution are not in our culture,” the governor said.

    He expressed his gratitude to the European Union, Christian Association of Nigeria and Muslim leaders for their support in ensuring that the menace of human trafficking is tamed.

    Earlier, Chairman of the taskforce, Prof. Yinka Omorogbe, during her presentation, said that they have received 3, 883 returnees, who have benefited from the state government’s reintegration package.

    Prof. Omorogbe explained that the taskforce’s data showed that 80.17 percent were independent migrants between 18 and 25 years of age, which is alarming, as they are members of the active population.

    Read Also: Obaseki awards contracts for construction of roads

    In a report released to mark its one-year anniversary, the taskforce said the state government received 3883 persons from Libya, noting that the holistic approach includes receive the victims; provision of medical diagnosis and assistance; contact and reunion with family; security screening, investigation and protection, vocational training and empowerment and payment of stipends.

    The taskforce added that it has intensified advocacy in areas where human trafficking is endemic, as “it has fought the scourge through various strategies including vigorous investigation and prosecution of traffickers and their accomplices; the eventual passage of a state law against trafficking in humans; various measures to aid understanding of the nature and causes of this menace.

    “We have engaged communities where trafficking is prevalent, to proactively discourage the practice through knowledge exchanges, and appropriate training packages ranging from basic education to assistance with establishing business. The entire programme is anchored on efficient data collection, analysis and research” Prof. Omorogbe said.

  • I am happy to be back, says 17 years old Libya deportee

    I am happy to be back, says 17 years old Libya deportee

    A 17-year old girl identified as Blessing Sunday has narrated how she survived harrowing experience in the desert in her quest to get to Europe.

    Blessing was among the 147 Nigerians that were recently deported from Libya and was brought to Edo State by the Edo State Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force headed by Professor Yinka Omorogbe.

    The Task Force took delivery of 83 deportees and lodged them in a hotel with a view to rehabilitate them.

    She was all tears when she spoke of how her father sold his belongings to raise money to bail her after she was abducted and kept in a cell in Libya.

    Blessing stated that she dropped out school in Junior Secondary School I and went to learn a skill in hair dressing before a woman offered to assist her to travel abroad.

    She said several persons in the three Hilux vans they boarded from Kano to Libya died due to starvation and thirst.

    “When we got to Libya, I was kidnapped. They made me go call my father and he sold his property to set me free. I am the last child of the family and we don’t have anything at home now.

    “There was no food or water in the trip. You see people dying. We bought provision and water and I managed my own in order to survive. My father sold all his property to enable me get to the seaside. I didn’t enter boat on the sea.”

    Another returnee who gave his Micheal Ogbebor and had Plaster of Paris on his two hands said he broke his two hands when the ‘White house’ in Suprata they were staying was attacked.

    Micheal said he used to wash cars in Lagos from where he raised the sum of N300,000 with which he traveled to Libya.

    “We met problem in Libya. I spent eight years to save the N300,000 I used to travel. In Libya, people were always kalabushing each other. That is tracking each other boat. I have not entered the boat when I was rescued and brought back. I wanted to jump from a storey building when I fell.

    “They came and saw that I was finished so they left me. It was the UN that came and took me to the hospital.”

    Barr. Omorogbe who doubles as the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice said the gesture of the state government was to show that there were good things here.

    She stated that the deportee would be kept in the hotel for some days.

     

  • Edo Assembly directs EIRS boss to furnish house with financial details

    Edo Assembly directs EIRS boss to furnish house with financial details

    The Edo House of Assembly on Monday directed the Chairman, Edo Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), Mr Igbinidu Ineh, to provide it with financial details of the service, within two weeks.

    The Speaker, Adjoto Kabiru, gave the directive when Ineh presented the 2017 budget performance of the service to the House.

    Kabiru said the brief presented by the chairman was not detailed enough.

    “The Internal Revenue Service is purely a financial based agency, so you have to go back and prepare a more suitable brief and present to the House within two weeks,’’ he said.

    The House also received brief from the Commissioner for Justice, Yinka Omorogbe, who informed it that plans were underway to constitute a citizen rights centre in the state.

    Omorogbe said that the centre, if constituted, would serve as an alternative dispute resolution.

    Meanwhile, Kabiru has constituted two ad-hoc committees.

    The first committee, led by Chris Okaeben, (APC Oredo West) was mandated to visit industries ahead of the presentation and passage of 2018 budget.

    The second committee, led by Mr Roland Osoro, (APC Orihionmwon South) was mandated to carry out assessment of all ongoing projects in the state.

    The House committee Chairman on Health, Justin Okonoboh, (APC Igueben), was also directed to meet with all the heads of primary health care centres in the local government areas to review their state of existence.

    NAN