by Admin | Jul 20, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Hundreds of Boko Haram suspects in Cameroon are being brutally tortured by security forces, Amnesty International said in a new report published Thursday. The human rights group alleged “horrific and widespread torture at 20 sites, including four military bases, two facilities run by intelligence services, a private residence and a school.” Using dozens of testimonies, corroborated with satellite imagery, photographic and video evidence, the report ‘Cameroon’s secret torture chambers: human rights violations and war crimes in the fight against Boko Haram’ documents 101 cases of incommunicado detention and torture between 2013 and 2017, at over 20 different sites. “We have repeatedly and unequivocally condemned the atrocities and war crimes committed by Boko Haram in Cameroon. But, nothing could justify the callous and widespread practice of torture committed by the security forces against ordinary Cameroonians, who are often arrested without any evidence and forced to endure unimaginable pain,” said Alioune Tine, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “These horrific violations amount to war crimes. Given the weight of the evidence we have uncovered, the authorities must initiate independent investigations into these practices of incommunicado detention and torture, including potential individual and command responsibility.” In a statement by Isa Sanusi, head of media of Amnesty International’s Nigeria office, the organisation said it had written to the Cameroonian authorities in April 2017 to share the report’s findings, but no response was provided and all subsequent requests for meetings were refused. Amnesty International estimates that Boko Haram has killed over 1,500 civilians in Cameroon since 2014, and abducted many others. The group has killed more than ten times...
by Admin | Jul 20, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI A mob has reportedly set ablaze buildings of two banks – Sterling and Diamond – located in Apapa, Lagos, after a policeman attached to one of the banks allegedly shot dead three tanker drivers. An eyewitness, Omega Male, confirmed the incident which happened on Wednesday via his Twitter handle. The unidentified policeman was said to have objected to the parking of a tanker in front of the bank, after which a brawl ensued between him and the driver. He reportedly shot the driver dead while two other drivers who tried to intervene were also said to have been killed by the policeman. Angered by the incident, the mob, most of which were said to be the drivers’ colleagues, reportedly set the bank on fire and the nearby Sterling Bank building. Sarumi Ridwon, another Twitter user, also tweeted the development. Another eyewitness told PM news that other banks in the area, especially those on Warehouse Road, have closed down for business to avoid any attack from the mob. Security operatives, including anti-riot policemen, have been deployed to the area to quell the...
by Admin | Jul 20, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI An Osun State High Court in Osogbo on Wednesday sentenced a 40-year-old man, Kayode Adedeji, to death by hanging for robbing a woman of N3,420 on April 25, 2009. Prosecuting counsel from the state ministry of justice, Elisabeth Alabi, had told the court that Mr. Adedeji robbed one Omowumi Adebayo at Bolorunduro area in Ilesa, armed with a knife at midnight. The prosecution also claimed that the robber also had other dangerous weapons during his attack on Mrs. Adebayo’s residence. Adedeji was said to have fled the scene of the robbery but was trailed and arrested by some members of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, in the area. He pleaded not guilty to the one count charge of armed robbery when he was arraigned about eight years ago and was granted bail. Alabi, the convict abused the bail privilege by committing another offence which led to his remand in Ilesa prison. She argued that the offence was punishable under Section 11(2)(A) CAPR II, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004. The presiding judge, Kudirat Akano, found Mr. Adedeji guilty of the crime and convicted...
by Admin | Jul 20, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Telephone conversations by Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Petroleum Resources Minister, have revealed that she deliberately connived with her business partners to steal Nigeria’s oil money. As Petroleum Minister between 2010 and 2015, Mrs. Alison-Madueke used her influence to facilitate illicit business opportunities for Messrs. Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore, who used shell companies to receive billion-dollar contracts to sell Nigeria’s crude oil. The oil swap contracts were the controversial Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) through which middlemen were used to sell Nigeria’s crude oil in exchange for refined products. The telephone conversations were intercepted by US prosecutors tracking money laundering and hefty bribes paid out to Mrs. Alison-Madueke and are contained in an assets forfeiture court process filed against the former minister and Messrs. Omokore and Aluko by the US Department of Justice in Houston, Texas. Atlantic Energy Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries, Drilling Concepts Limited (AECD) and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited, owned by Messrs. Omokore and Aluko, were deemed ineligible for the multi-billion oil contracts they got and were, eventually, found to performed obligations stated in the agreements. In a recorded phone conversation with Mr. Aluko, US prosecutors quoted Mrs. Alison-Madueke as saying: “We stuck our necks out regarding the SAA and we supported it.” Conversations between Diezani and Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore This was in apparent reference to a February 2014 report issued by the then Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr....
by Admin | Jul 20, 2017 | Blog |
Follow @NigeriaPI Controversy has arisen over the death of a 29-year-old graduate of the University of Bauchi, Kolawole Idowu, at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja. Family members of the victim said although Kolawole died at LASUTH, they believed his condition was worsened by doctors at the Ikeja Medical Centre, a private facility on Allen Avenue, Ikeja. PUNCH Metro gathered that Kolawole, who concluded his youth service in Lagos sometime in April, took ill a few days afterwards. He was reported to have complained of “teary eyes and body pains” and had gone to the Ikeja Medical Centre, which was the family hospital. It was gathered that like other children of the family, he was born at the hospital. After a doctor allegedly recommended some malaria drugs and later an eye drop, the situation was said to have worsened, leading to his admission to the hospital. Our correspondent was told that the hospital later said he was manifesting signs of a mental illness and began treating him for “psychosis.” When there was no improvement, the hospital was said to have referred him to LASUTH, where he went into a coma and later died at the Intensive Care Unit. The victim’s brother, Kunle, told PUNCH Metro that his late brother’s medical condition was not handled properly at the medical centre, adding that he was given some injections which affected his health. Kunle alleged that the injections made him to misbehave, saying anytime the effect of the injections wore off, he would regain his senses, run back home and beg to be taken away from the hospital. He explained that...
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