Nnamdi Kanu drags Buhari govt, Kenya to international tribunal, demands freedom

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Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has dragged Nigeria and Kenya before an international tribunal over his rearrest and rendition.

Kanu is demanding to be restored to his initial state before rearrest.

The IPOB leader, through his counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, petitioned the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights over his rearrest.

Kanu said he was a free man before his rearrest, hence the tribunal should restore that status.

A statement by Ejimakor said the Nigerian and Kenyan governments must give an account of the extraordinary rendition of the IPOB leader.

‘Nnamdi Kanu didn’t jump bail, will prove how FG made him flee Nigeria’ – Lawyer, Ejimakor

According to Ejimakor: “A few days ago, I commenced a continental legal action against Nigeria and Kenya before the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, demanding accountability for the extraordinary rendition of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.

“Both countries also have extradition laws that prohibit this sort of reprehensible conduct that saw Kanu to Nigeria.

“Particularly, extraordinary rendition is expressly prohibited under the African Charter, where It provides in pertinent part that “A State may not transfer (e.g. deport, expel, remove, extradite) an individual to the custody of another State unless it is prescribed by law and in accordance with due process and other international human rights obligations. Extraordinary rendition, or any other transfer, without due process is prohibited”.

“A victim of extraordinary rendition is entitled to remedies mandated by the Charter.

“Therefore, among many other reliefs, I requested that Kanu be restored to his state of being before the rendition, which state of being was that he travelled to Kenya on his British passport and was duly admitted as such and as a free man.

“Further, that no valid territorial jurisdiction can issue from an act of extraordinary rendition because Kanu is, technically speaking, still in Kenya.

“I also requested the Commission to adopt other urgent measures as the Commission sees fit in the circumstances to protect Nnamdi Kanu in the interim.

“Any nation that dabbles in extraordinary rendition has unwittingly brought impediments to her territorial jurisdiction. So, Nigeria, whether it admits it or not, has triggered a hornets’ nest that has, for the first time, brought the international legal order to bear on the matter of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.”

A few weeks ago, Kanu was rearrested and repatriated from an unspecified African country.

Though the Nigerian government has been silent on the country, it is widely believed that Kanu was nabbed in Kenya.

Since his return, the IPOB leader has been in custody of the Department of State Services, DSS, following an order by Justice Binta Nyako of an Abuja Federal High Court.

On Monday, DSS, however, failed to produce Kanu in court due to logistics reason.

Against this backdrop, Justice Nyako had adjourned the matter till October.

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Lagos debunks herdsmen attack on community

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13 hours ago

August 8, 2021

Online Editor

Lagos State Government has dismissed an alleged attack by herdsmen on Odo Egiri community in Eredo area of Epe Local Government as untrue.

A section of the media had in May reported the alleged invasion of the community and its farmland, forcing farmers and residents to flee. The reports followed a petition by one Ali Moibi-Balogun family, seeking the intervention of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to reclaim the occupied farmlands by the herdsmen.

However, the Ministry of Agriculture said diligent investigation into the matter revealed that the false report was the fallout of a tussle between two rival families over landed property.

The letter signed by the Director, Legal Unit, Mrs. Bukola Akanni on behalf of the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, reads in part: “After critical review of the facts of the case, the office (ministry) is of the view that the crux of the allegation and counter-allegation is rooted in land issues between the two parties.

“It has also been established based on the investigation from the office that the issue of Fulani herdsmen settlement in Odo-Egiri community of Eredo Local Council Development Area in Epe Local Government is a mirage and the possibility of it leading to the crisis has been erased.”

Accordingly, the concerned community leaders in a petition forwarded to the Lagos Police Command by their counsel, Babatunde Jinadu, demanded that Ali Moibi family should be prosecuted for raising false allegations under the pretext of herdsmen’s invasion.

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Nigeria to begin administering second batch of COVID-19 vaccines on August 10

The Federal Government has announced that it will commence the inoculation of the second batch of COVID-19 Moderna vaccines on Aug 10.

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13 hours ago

August 8, 2021

Online Editor

Nigeria will begin administering the second batch of COVID-19 vaccines from August 10, the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19 said yesterday.

The Director of Press, PSC on COVID-19, Willie Bassey, made this known in a statement issued in Abuja.
He said the commencement of the second batch vaccination is pertinent as the country battles the third wave of the pandemic.

“The PSC has received over four million doses of Moderna vaccine donated by the U.S. Government to Nigeria.
“In view of the above, the inoculation is scheduled from Tuesday, August 10, at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, off Airport road, Abuja,” he said.

The federal government on August 1 received 4.08million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the United States.

The vaccine doses were received by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on behalf of the federal government and stored at the country’s National Strategic Cold Store near Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.

The Moderna vaccine had been listed for emergency use by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
It is the second batch of vaccines received by Nigeria after the country had run out of the initial four million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine received from the COVAX facility.

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Foursquare’s ex-General Overseer Wilson Badejo is dead

The Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria has announced the death of its former General Overseer (G.O), Dr Wilson Badejo, aged 74.

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Online Editor Foursquare's ex-General Overseer Wilson Badejo is dead

Former Foursquare Gospel Church’s General Overseer, Dr. Wilson Badejo is dead.

He died at the age of 74, the church announced in a statement.

The National Secretary of the church, Rev. Yomi Oyinloye, said in a statement that Badejo, who was the church’s G.O between 1999 and 2009, died on Saturday after a brief illness.

“He was a great achiever, an accomplished servant of God, a role model, a bridge builder, mentor, teacher par excellence, an apostle and respected family man.

“Dr Badejo served the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria in several ministerial capacities, crowning his stewardship at the apex as the General Overseer of the Church from 1999 for 2009.

“He was a man of many parts who was able to unlock socio-cultural gateways, and in the process successfully endeared several friends and loved ones from all walks of life across the divide,” the church said.

Oyinloye said that the church was greatly saddened by the loss but encouraged members to take solace in the fact that the late G.O. lived a fulfilling, God-fearing and impactful life.

According to him, Badejo left behind an indelible mark in the heart of everyone who came his way.

Oyinloye called for prayers for the family of the deceased and the Foursquare Gospel Church in this trying time.

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