News & Announcements

Senegal’s former Prime Minister, Aminata Toure says she will keep fighting against a possible third term for her former boss, President Macky Sall, who remains silent on his intentions regarding the 2024 presidential election.

Toure was stripped of her seat in parliament this week — a move she says is based solely on her decision to oppose a potential candidacy by President Sall.

“I believe President Macky Sall should not run for a third term. We both campaigned for the 2016 constitution which clearly says that no one can run for more than two consecutive terms,” Toure told VOA French to Africa in an interview this week.

In removing Toure from parliament, Senegal’s ruling coalition cited her decision to leave the party, under which she was elected.

Toure told VOA that her former colleagues violated article 60 of the constitution by not notifying her in advance and not organizing a hearing. “I heard it from the radio,” she said, calling the decision illegal.

Toure has been highly critical of the ruling party since her bid to lead the parliament failed in September, and she has accused President Sall of failing to support her.

Toure, who has announced her candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, says President Sall is attempting to keep his main opponents from running.

Opposition member Ousmane Sonko, who also has announced his candidacy for the election, is facing rape charges, and a judge has ruled that he should stand trial.

Sonko denied the accusations and told VOA French-to-Africa Monday that the charges are a political conspiracy aimed at keeping him from running.

“Macky Sall must come to his senses,” he told VOA.

The president has not said publicly whether he will run again or not. His supporters say Sonko’s legal troubles are a private matter and the government has nothing to do with it.

Many political observers say a third run for President Sall could rock a country that has been considered a beacon of democracy and stability in a West African region plagued by coups and militant attacks.

The Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal Sitting In Osogbo has declared former governor Adegboyega Oyetola As the lawful winner of the July 16th, 2022 Eelections, having found proof of over-voting.

The Tribunal then nullified the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke of the state. 

The Tribunal ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Gov. Adeleke.

The tribunal decided this during the judgement delivered on Friday. 

Hassan Sule, the son of Abdullahi Sule, the governor of Nasarawa State, passed away.

According to reports, the governor’s son passed away in Lafia late on January 26, 2023.

The deceased was Governor Sule’s eldest son, who wed his first wife, Hajiya Sule, in June of last year.

This is stated in a statement provided to journalists in Lafia on Friday by Ibrahim Addra, the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary.

The statement read, “His Excellency, Abdullahi A. Sule, the Governor of Nasarawa State, on behalf of his family, announces the sudden demise of his son, Hassan Sule, whose sad event occurred on Thursday January 26, 2023.

“Hassan died at the age of 36.

“The late Hassan will be laid to rest in Gudi, Akwanga Local Government Area today, Friday at 10am.”

Safiyanu Andaha, the executive chairman of Akwanga Local Government Area, has expressed his astonishment over the death of the governor’s son and offered his condolences to his family.

“On behalf of my family, Akwanga LGA and the people of Mada land, I wish to extend our deepest condolences to Governor Abdullahi Sule, his family and the entire Gudi traditional council for this irreparable loss.”

On Thursday, President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) began a two-day official visit to Katsina, the state where he was born, where he officially opened a number of state-run projects.

However, a youth demonstration denouncing the poverty in the nation was held on his first day in the state.

A short while after the President opened the Kofar Kaura Underpass in Katsina, the youth organized their protest.

After Buhari left the area, the demonstrators made a scene near the Kofar Kaura Underpass by hurling stones at the throng.

The guys also built bonfires along Yahaya Madaki Way, close to the underpass, while yelling, “We don’t need you,’ ‘We no go do,’ in Hausa.

A viral video depicted a group of young people violently criticizing the government as they clashed with few police officers on the street.

This development occurs 72 hours after Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s nominee for president, was stoned during a rally for his campaign in Katsina by unidentified thugs.

According to reports, the thugs flung stones outside the campaign headquarters, damaging a number of cars.

“Our candidate had met with women in a town hall and then held a hugely successful rally at the Muhammad Dikko Stadium. However, on his way to the airport, hoodlums attacked the car our candidate was riding in with heavy stones from his driver’s side causing substantial damage to the vehicle,’’ the Head of Media, Obi/Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Diran Onifade, disclosed in a statement.

Buhari had finished the ceremony and left when the youth stormed the underpass and started shouting, ‘Bamuyi,’ ‘Bamuyi’ (We are not interested.)

The well-known Alaba International Market in Lagos was closed to shoppers and sellers on Thursday without a Permanent Voters Card (PVC).

The management instructed that buyers and traders without PVCs be barred from the market.

Alaba, which is typically crowded, was essentially vacant on Thursday because anyone who did not have their voter ID was denied entry, and the entrance was sealed to ensure that nobody disregarded the order.

In a video that was shared on social media, some guys were seen at the entrance checking people’s identification before letting them enter the market.

Similar events occurred last year when all stores were locked to facilitate voter registration and Permanent Voters Card (PVC) collection in advance of the 2023 national elections.

Naja’atu Muhammad, a former member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), has disclosed how her husband was murdered.

Bala Muhammad, her deceased husband, was allegedly dismembered and burned alive.

Muhammad revealed this in a Thursday interview with AIT.

The former APC leader admitted that she continued where her husband left off the day she discovered his body and made a commitment to always act in accordance with her conscience.

She continued by saying that she had made a commitment to act solely in God and Nigeria’s best interests.

Narrating how her husband was killed, Muhammad said, “My husband, late Bala Muhammad was chopped into pieces and burnt alive for his opposition and what he was saying.

“The day I identified that body, that was the day I decided I will continue where he stopped.

“What I am trying to say is that I always follow my conscience. I will always do things for God and my country and not for myself.

“Those who think that they can lie for peanut should wait for their end. All the problems we are having in this country are a result of hoping to get something.”

The Abia State Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Prof Uche Ikonne has reportedly died of multiple cardiac arrests.

A statement from the family said the deceased until his death was recovering after taking proper treatment in the United Kingdom but relapsed a few days ago leading to multiple cardiac arrests from which he didn’t recover.

This was announced in a statement by his son, Dr Uche Ikonne, on Wednesday.

The statement read, “I regret to announce the death of my dear father, Prof Eleazar Uchenna Ikonne, who died at the National Hospital Abuja today January 2023.

“Further details and arrangements would be made known to the public after deliberations and meetings are made within the family.”

A 20-year-old man spoke in court about how, after joining the Illuminati cult, he killed his grandmother.

After appearing before Mombasa principal magistrate Vincent Adet in Kenya, Abdulaziz Ali Swaleh made the confession.

He claimed that soon after joining the group, he received instructions to murder his grandma.

Swaleh said; “It’s true l killed her. I’m sorry, l ask for forgiveness but l only did it after joining Illuminati.” 

The murder suspect also said that he had mental health issues following the crime and now needs medication to treat his anxieties.

He added; “My mind is not okay, l feel disturbed and this is because there are drugs that l often use, l need them.” 

According to preliminary investigations, the suspect killed his grandmother on January 21, 2023, as she slept, since she wouldn’t give him money to buy drugs.

Through prosecuting attorney Hillary Isiaho, police constable Mohammed Mapenzi of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) informed the court that the defendant was a suspect in a murder case where it is alleged that he killed his grandmother by slicing her throat with a kitchen knife.

The magistrate made a decision about the case and mandated that the suspect be held at the central police station for 14 days so that officers may finish their investigations.

He also mandated that the suspect take a mental evaluation.

In Port Harcourt, Rivers State, some angry e-hailing drivers have accused medical staff at a facility of incompetence that led to the death of their colleague, Kelvin Edonoge.

The drivers sung songs of solidarity and demanded justice for Kelvin as they staged a protest in front of the hospital on the Ken Saro-Wiwa Road in Port Harcourt.

According to information obtained, the deceased went to the hospital on Monday to have a mass in his neck surgically removed.

The 32-year-old reportedly experienced difficulties soon after the operation that caused him to begin internally bleeding.

The protester who spoke amid the incensed motorists did not provide his name, but he claimed that when the bleeding began, Kelvin’s surgeon was nowhere to be found.

He said, “He (Kelvin) brought himself here with his wife for a minor surgery due to a slight growth in his neck. He was admitted. He came out of the surgery and then the surgeon left.

“After two to three hours, according to the wife, he started bleeding. Then, he couldn’t speak again. They tried their best to reach out to the surgeon but he wasn’t picking up.

“When he finally picked up, he told them he was far away and that he could not come back. Now, the resident doctor on ground could not do anything, and this young man died between 6pm and 4am; somebody who came in alive was rolled out dead.”

Several people’s lives were positively impacted by the victim, according to a different demonstrator who only went by the name Dan.

Dominic, Kelvin’s father, described the circumstances of his son’s death as sad, but claimed that Kelvin wasn’t given enough care by the surgeon, nurses, and other medical professionals.

In order to ensure that his son’s death was not in vain, the grieving father swore to pursue justice in court.

Dominic said, “They just did it as if he was an armed robber or someone unknown. The operation was not successful and it was not the will of God to kill my son.

“The management has never invited me or my wife to say this was what happened. They never did. I paid for the ambulance. I will contact a lawyer and take up the matter.”

It was reported that during the protest, armed police officers blocked the hospital’s entrance to keep the demonstrators from entering the building.

An employee of the hospital’s customer service department who gave his name as Chima stated he was unable to comment on the situation.

When asked for a spokesman’s contact information, he merely said, “You can come tomorrow (Thursday).”

Grace Iringe-Koko, the state police public relations officer, stated that the command had not yet received a report of the incident.

“Did they report the matter to the police? If they haven’t, that is the first thing to do, and then we will take it from there. For now, the command is yet to get such a report,” she stated.

Due to the ongoing abuse of its members, the Association of Resident Doctors at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital in Nnewi has started a five-day warning strike.

The organization said that the strike would begin on Wednesday and that all medical services at the facility would be suspended.

After an emergency general meeting, it revealed this in a press release that was signed by the President, Dr. Ndukwe Chinwe, and the General Secretary, Dr. Egbue Obiora.

More than 100 people attended the gathering, it was added.

The group condemned the persistent assaults and attacks carried out by hospital patients’ relatives that have gone unchecked.

They bemoaned the fact that one of its members had been viciously assaulted, degraded, and tortured by the family of a deceased patient on Sunday for more than two hours before the hospital security team and administration finally intervened.

It said that the call for a strike came after its members were physically assaulted and experienced a close call with death at the hands of patients’ relatives.

It said that because the attacks had lasted for so long and the physicians had continued to suffer from humiliation, they had no alternative but to go on a warning strike to raise awareness of their condition.

A near-death experience and physical assault suffered by one of its members prompted an emergency general meeting of the Association of Resident Doctors at NAUTH, Nnewi, on January 24, 2023. Over 100 people attended the meeting, which made the following observations:

“That on January 22, 2023, our member (internal medicine resident) went to review his patient at the male surgical ward, where he met nurses who were resuscitating another patient through CPR. 

“In a bid to save the patient, our member joined in the resuscitation. Unfortunately, the patient died and the doctor was subsequently brutally assaulted by the deceased patient’s relatives. 

“He endured over two hours of this torture and humiliation before the late intervention of the hospital security outfit and Management. 

“While the Supreme Congress of Association of Resident doctors NAUTH, Nnewi acknowledges the efforts of NAUTH management to condemn the incident and ensure that the assailants were arrested by the police, amidst other measures, we, however, feel that more needs to be done to send a strong and clear message as a deterrent to all to ensure that assault on any doctor does not happen again. 

“We, therefore, resolved as follows: A five-day total shutdown of clinical and emergency services has been issued by Congress, commencing from (6 am Wednesday) January 25, 2023, and ending on (8 am Monday) 30th January 2023.

“The Congress insists that Management should ensure prosecution of the culprits involved in this dastardly act so as to serve as a deterrent to others in the future. 

“The security architecture of the hospital needs to be overhauled and replaced with able-bodied unarmed local vigilante or civil defence operatives. 

“Management as a matter of urgency needs to recruit more resident doctors and medical officers so as to increase manpower and improve service delivery. 

“Management should enforce strict adherence to visiting time, and no patient relative should be allowed in the ward outside of the visiting time. 

“The resolutions listed above will be reviewed at the next Ordinary General Meeting in the next one month and Congress will decide on the way forward. 

“We urge Management to promptly attend to our resolutions as listed above in the next one month to avert any further industrial action.”