A human rights activist of Yoruba ethnicity named Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo but popularly known as Sunday Igboho (because he hails from the Igboho clan of Oyo State) is at the forefront of these activities.

For as long as I can remember, several articles, news, pictures, and videos have been circulated unveiling the untold brutality that a certain sect of people called the Fulani Herdsmen in Nigeria have meted out on those living in or around any place or space they choose to invade.

Such is the case of the Yoruba people of Ogun state whose indigenes have been killed, maimed, had their women raped, farms destroyed, properties plundered and people kidnapped for huge ransoms by the Fulani Herdsmen. Severally, they have cried out to the government securities for help but there has been nothing done to stop further brutality or halt its occurrence.

Sunday Igboho (with the backing of voodoo, according to witnesses and evidence) then decided to take laws into his hands since no government directive was given to curb the violence. He then gave the Herdmens a quit notice to leave the Yoruba lands alone and return to their own lands since they could not live in peace.

When the date given for the quit notice expired, he and his supporters went into the Fulani settlement in Ogun State and had a confrontation with them accompanied by the Police Area Commander in that division. This confrontation led to a violent outburst that resulted in 2 people losing their lives. In an aftermath of events, the mob vandalized and burned down some of the properties belonging to the Seriki (chief) of the Fulanis, this also led to an act of similar revenge taken out on Sunday Igbohos house.

A cite taken out of the webpage of the Guardian newspaper said this: Speaking with journalists… He said: “We observe there is an injustice from the herdsmen because they are close to the Federal Government. Any Fulani herdsman who engages in kidnapping should be flushed out.”

A British Nigerian political activist known as Nnamdi Kanu; who has been at the forefront fighting for the independence of the Igbo ethnic people made a post on the 23^rd of January saying:

“Before your very eyes, Nigeria is turning to a pathetic APARTHEID State, mercilessly implementing the supremacy of one tribe over all others. And you do nothing. Incredible!”

Amidst all these, there has not been any solid order made for or against the banditry and incessant killings in the areas the Herdsmen have ravaged.

In an interview carried out by the Punch Newspaper, Sunday Igboho made this statement: “We are Yoruba people in our own right, we can fight for freedom. Our fathers and brothers were killed by herders while our people die in silence. Our mothers and sisters are raped, farmlands are vandalized and crops are eaten up by their cattle. They kidnap and take big ransom. Just as the case in Igangan, our people in Ogun could not bear it any longer, so they called for help. That was what happened.”

When asked if he had discussed with the governors on how to handle the issue of the herdsmen menace, he had this to say:

“No, but obviously if they call me for a meeting to discuss the burning issue of security to end the impunity by the killer herders, I shall gladly oblige. I am ready for any genuine approach to stopping the herders’ madness against our parents, brothers, and sisters in Yorubaland. Why should our people, harmless for that matter, be going through all the horrible experiences without getting justice? And everybody folds their arms, looking on as if nothing is wrong.”

What seems to be utterly fascinating is the authority and audacity with which Sunday uses to go about his fight for justice even at the expense of his life, making bold declarations and authoritative statements such as an excerpt taken from www.idomavoice.com which says: ‘In an interview with PUNCH on Sunday, Igboho said no human being can kill him and he will not be distracted. The Yoruba warlord was quoted as saying, “I am not afraid of anything or anyone but God. God is the owner and controller of every soul. It is only God who can kill me. No human being can kill me, so I cannot be afraid of any mortal.’

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Nigeria is among the 5 most populous countries in the sub-region and currently leads the board. Yet, barely 50% of her population has access to electricity. Those who do, experience power supply outages 60% of the time.

According to a report released by World Bank Indicators, by 2030, there will still be about 650 million people without access to electricity. Nine out of ten of them will live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Additionally, in a report by one of the country’s most-read newspapers, PUNCH said that there has been no significant improvement in the electricity generated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria since 2015.

ANED (Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors) is a body dedicated to Advocacy on issues of common interest and relevance for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. Recently it released a briefing blaming the lack of improvement for the year 2020 on the impact of the COVID-19, and partially on the increasing number of electricity users.

Due to this ever-decreasing production of electrical energy, it is a norm and has become almost compulsory for every family and business owner to procure a power generating machine to substitute for lack of power.

The costs of owning a standard generating set ranges anywhere from $100 to thousands of dollars. That, of course, is excluding the cost of purchasing the fuel needed to power it regularly.

Providing more insight into this issue is the following taken from a report on npr.org:

“Jonathan Phillips, director of the Energy Access Project at Duke University… says Nigeria’s power problems date back decades to the country’s early days of independence, when the government set up a heavily subsidized electrical grid.

The energy system was often a prime target for corruption, he says, and has never been able to generate enough profit to offset the massive cost needed to build enough new power plants and distribution lines to keep up with the country’s rapidly growing population.

As a result, he says, Nigeria has one-fifth the total power supply of North Carolina, with a population of 200 million people, 20 times the state’s — and blows through up to $8 billion per year on diesel fuel for generators.”

While Nigeria is a land of opportunities, the issue of an unstable power supply continues to crumble start-ups. As a result, many never make it through their first 3 years of business.

While it is uncertain whether the root cause is from corruption, a misappropriation of funds, or rapid overpopulation, the fact still remains that it must be solved.

The post Nigeria’s Electricity Supply Crisis appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

According to a report released by the Washington post: ‘Amnesty International said it has recorded 82 cases of SARS abuses over the past three years, including beatings, hangings, mock executions, sexual assault and waterboarding.’

(Note: the images below in this article were shared on Whats app and other social media platforms and obtained by this reporter on the scene in Nigeria.)

What started locally in Lagos (the former capital of the country) sprung across every state of the nation within 24 hours.

In less than 48 hours Nigerians in diaspora joined the same #EndSars protest with local and international celebrities like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Cardi B, Yara Shahidi and others showing concern, additionally a lot of social media influencers have extended their voice to the cause.

The democratic nominee for President of the United States, Joe Biden, also had this to say, “The United States must stand with Nigerians who are peacefully demonstrating for police reform and seeking an end to corruption in their democracy”.

At around 2 pm on the 20^th of October 2020 some men were spotted removing the security cameras stationed where the Lagos Lekki protest was ongoing. When questioned, they answered they were directed to do so.

During the late hours the same day the LED billboards providing light where shut down and the streetlights were turned off.

A few minutes later, while the protesters where singing the countries national anthem, a bloody massacre blew out as the group of #endsars protesters were shot at by some troops of the Nigerian army.

This left hundreds scrambling for their lives, some dead and some seriously injured.

According to a report by Amnesty International, ‘At least 12 people killed at Alausa and Lekki Toll Gate Lagos, Hundreds severely injured, CCTV dismantled to cover murder’.

Protesters had to run and hide. Those severely injured could not be treated as, it was reported, the military persons on the scene would not allow the ambulance and paramedics get access to the people.

The countries’ Vice president Yemi Osinbajo said on twitter : “My heart goes out to all the victims of the Lekki shootings, and also the policemen and all other men and women who lost their lives in the past few days in different parts of Lagos & other states”.

Stephane Dujaric, spokesman for the United Nations Secretary General said in a statement that “He condemns the violent escalation on 20 October in Lagos which resulted in multiple deaths and caused many injuries. He expresses his condolences to the bereaved families and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured…. He reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to support national efforts towards finding a solution.”

In a twist of events, during the protest a warehouse was found, at the Mazamaza community of Amuwo Odofin Local Government, hoarding tons of food which was supposed to have been distributed to the residents during the covid-19 national lockdown.

On the 22^nd of October the president of the country Muhammadu Buhari made a nationwide speech to calm and end the protest. The speech was, however, accepted with mixed feelings as the president did not address the killing of the protesters #Lekkigenocide, nor did he address the hidden covid-19 palliatives found in the warehouses.

So far, Nigerians have had a lot of lives lost, a lot of properties vandalized, and a lot of voices forcefully silenced.

The post A New Nigeria #EndSars appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

The OPWS is a full-scale military operation unit that collaborates with other security agencies to restore law and order to densely terrorized communities with their focus on Northern Nigeria.

Formed in May 2018, the OPWS draws its forces from the Army, Air force, Police, Navy, DSS, among others. On Wednesday the 26^th of august, the Defense Headquarters announced that the group put a stop to the gruesome activities of the Dural Salam gang that has been a menace to the society for a long time.

The news of the gang’s surrender was made public during a statement by Mr. John Enenche, the Coordinator of the Defense Media Operations. 

Mr. Enenche, a Nigerian army major general, also stated that while the OPWS were surrounding the terrorists, their operations patrol intelligence team was able to uncover a makeshift bomb-making factory used by the gang to build locally made ammunitions.

According to Mr. Enenche, the troops were able to recover several local materials used in the factory. He stated, “In the course of the operation, troops recovered several Improvised Explosive Device making materials at the location including 2 scales, 6 rocket launcher bombs, one bag of fertilizer, half a bag of gun powder, 10 locally made hand grenades, one Rocket Propelled Grenade bomb fuse, one locally made Rocket Launcher, 2 Improvised Explosive Devices, 13 Improvised rocket bombs, amongst others.”

He also stated that the terrorist camp was destroyed and several of them fled into the surrounding forests as the troops implored all measures to hunt them down.

The terrorists that were apprehended totaled 410 and they surprisingly included women and children. The gallant troops of ‘Operation Whirl Stroke’ were commended for their notable achievement by the Military High Command. They were also urged to continue curtailing the criminal activities prevalent in Northern Nigeria.

The post Nigerian Special Forces Capture Terrorists and Destroy Bomb Facotry appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

A Covid-19 test is part of the standard screening process that is carried out on anyone who is to come in contact with President Trump. Governor DeWine and the State’s lieutenant governor, Jon Husted were tested for the virus, DeWine tested positive but Mr. Jon tested negative to the virus.

Governor DeWine was supposed to meet the President at the tarmac of the Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. After testing positive, he went back to Columbus where he and his wife Fran will remain.

Despite the positive result, he is currently showing no symptoms of the virus.

Governor DeWine also made an official statement saying, “As part of the standard protocol to greet President Trump on the tarmac in Cleveland, I took a COVID test. I tested positive. I have no symptoms at this time. I’m following protocol and will quarantine at home for the next 14 days.”

According to a statement released by the White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere, “The president wishes Gov. DeWine a speedy and full recovery and commends the job he’s doing for the great state of Ohio.”

The 73-year-old Governor who is the latest politician to test positive for the virus has always been a strong voice in the fight against the Corona-virus. He once won praises from health practitioners and even rebukes from his critics. As part of his measures to slow down the virus, the Buckeye state was one of the first to close all schools in accordance with the pandemic regulations.

“We know how hard he’s been working to keep Ohioans safe, and this is just one more reminder that this virus can impact everyone,” the Ohio Democratic Party chairman said in a statement. According to the state department of health, Ohio had 91,171 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and is seeing about 1,200 cases a day.

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