News & Announcements

Since 2017, Mozambique’s northernmost province of Cabo Delgado has been the scene of a conflict between authorities and radicalized fighters. 

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi meet at the Pentagon, on Sept. 22, 2023.

Austin also thanked him for signing the Maputo Accord for Peace and National Reconciliation in 2019, which facilitated ending years of conflict in his nation.

Austin expressed a commitment to work together with Mozambique “to eliminate the causes of conflict and to expand security in the region.”

“Terrorism remains a significant threat to regional security. And both of our countries have suffered from terrorism. And we are in this together. So we’re deeply grateful for your partnership to counter violent extremist groups in northern Mozambique and your cooperation with the Southern Africa Development Community, The European Union and others shows the power of partnership in combating violent extremism.”

“I wish to thank you most sincerely and President Biden and the government of the United States of America for the support we have been enjoying in different areas ranging from the economy, health, and security.”

President Filipe Nyusi and Lloyd J. Austin III, who met at the Pentagon, also exchanged views on domain awareness and strengthening maritime security.

China’s Qixi Festival, akin to Valentine’s Day, has traditionally been a significant occasion for Chinese couples to tie the knot.

Celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Chinese lunar calendar, it commemorates the love story of Zhinu and Niulang in Chinese mythology.

This year, a marriage registration office in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, attempted to livestream marriage ceremonies on August 22 to mark the festival. However, few couples showed up, leading to an empty registration hall and sparking discussions on China’s declining marriage rates.

Despite government efforts to promote marriage, trends indicate fewer people are choosing to marry, marrying later, divorces are rising, and more individuals are opting to stay single.

Younger generations feel that traditional marriage expectations are increasingly at odds with their modern lives.

Economic factors, familial pressures, and changing societal norms are influencing these shifts.

Factors like job insecurity, high property costs, and a preference for personal freedom are among the reasons cited for delaying or avoiding marriage altogether. Some individuals also view marriage as a source of potential conflict and prefer to avoid it.

Additionally, shifts in education, economic opportunities, and personal choice have impacted attitudes towards marriage in contemporary China.

The “singles’ economy” has emerged to cater to individuals who choose to remain unmarried, offering various services and experiences tailored to independent living.

Marriage’s centrality in life has diminished, giving way to a multitude of lifestyle options.

While societal and governmental emphasis on marriage continues, personal choice and individual pursuits increasingly shape romantic and relationship decisions in China.

Obasanjo Thinks He Has Power Of Life And Death-Estranged Wife, Taiwo Martins 
..Says He is Rigid

The estranged wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Taiwo Martins, yesterday branded him Nigeria’s real problem and the greatest impostor of all time.

Ms. Martins, who was disclaimed by Obasanjo earlier this week after she pleaded with Nigerians to forgive him for his public dressing down of traditional rulers in Iseyin, Oyo State, said the Ex-President “arrogantly believes that he has the unchallengeable power of life and death and to render totally useless whoever tries to point out any error of his or doesn’t agree to any of his rigid almighty posture of methodology in handling issues.’

In disclaiming Ms. Martins, Obasanjo admitted that she has two children for him but is neither his wife nor a member of the Obasanjo family.

The former president, who spoke through his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, said: “Her posturing as Chief Obasanjo’s wife is false and that of an impostor. Nobody makes a statement on behalf of the Obasanjo family except Chief Obasanjo or people delegated by him to do so.

“It must be noted that the state of health of Ms. Martins is known to all and sundry, and whatever she says or does have nothing to do with Chief Obasanjo as an individual or the Obasanjo family as a whole.”

But responding to the disclaimer in a lengthy statement yesterday, Ms.Martins said: “For the records, I want the world to know that Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is the greatest impostor of all time, the liar, the deceiver who now equates himself to the Almighty God and who now arrogantly believes that he has the unchallengeable power of life and death and to render totally useless whoever tries to point out any error of his or doesn’t agree to any of his rigid almighty posture of methodology in handling issues.

“Once Daddy Obasanjo sees you as his perceived enemy who will not dance to his tune 100%, he would go all out to destroy you. He would do all within his highly toxic evil network to destroy whoever offers a word of respectful caution to him.

“From a very poor humble beginning, God gave Daddy Obasanjo all that anyone could ever want in life and took him to the pinnacle in the Army and in the government of Nigeria.

“Since you left Dodan Barracks, you have been fighting all Presidents who came after you, seeing, talking, addressing them as no good. You have rubbished, abused, insulted, criticised, humiliated, fought, and ridiculed every President who came to power.

“Are you the only Ex-President we have in Nigeria? All our former Presidents, General Babangida, General Abdulsalami, General Yakubu Gowon, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, etc., they do not fight their children or wives nor ridicule people here and there in our nation.

“All our former Presidents in Nigeria comport themselves with dignity; they don’t fight nor rubbish every successive President we have as you do.

“Well, it must be noted that any leader like you who justifies indecency, the humiliation of leaders, talks and acts like a tout or an area boy with uncouth mannerisms, shows us his mental state that he is mentally deranged and there are more than enough pieces of evidence from your behaviour and public utterances.

“For the records, my mental state is in perfect condition. I salute you sir, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the Great Legend of Hell tormenting Nigeria and Africa.

“It is because l voluntarily left you, which no wife of yours has ever done, that you want me insane or bedridden.

“Many times, you have done the unimaginable to me, crippled all my business ventures, and tried to label me insane, but God made me to triumph over all your schemings.

“That l am still alive is a great sorrow to you. That l am still breathing without one naira from you is still a great pain and suffering to you.

“Have you not begged me many times in the past to come back to you? Yet, you query the state of my mental health.

“You loved me very much in the past, to the extent of even beating your first wife in the house because she insulted me. It is still very painful to you that l left you and l am still alive. God has kept me.

“When l couldn’t cope, I ran out and left your home because you were to push me mad.

“Didn’t you take me round several houses you own that l should pick one and live there instead of departing from your life completely? Didn’t you also bring a car to me which l returned to you?

“All this l did when l told you l didn’t want to have anything to do with you again.

“Didn’t you make me sit down publicly on your lap at the commissioning of your farm for the press to take photos of us and the photo was all over Nigeria in all the newspapers?

“It is said hell hath no fury as a woman scorned, but it is appropriate to say hell hath no fury like an Ex–President scorned and now your ego is brutally scorned and deeply hurt because l left you and you are now humiliating yourself, not me.

“How many wives did you marry officially with all marriage ceremonies performed? Please tell the world.

“I repeat again with all respect to you sir that you are the impostor, who like Satan is masquerading as a solution to problems which you have created for us in Nigeria and Africa.

“You are the real problem troubling the land of Nigeria, the people of Nigeria, troubling families and homes and the society at large.

“Edide e jo ko”: Oyo monarchs will respond to Obasanjo, Olugbon declaresYar’Adua: Obasanjo still seems befuddled“God gave you long life, good health, made you famous, gave you wealth, made you three times President of Nigeria, yet you couldn’t give us beautiful roads and 18 or 24 hours electricity which others could build on. All you do is fight, fight, fight every President who comes to power after you instead of embracing them as your loving children to be mentored, supported and guided by you to give us excellent service that will bring comfort to us all in the whole nation.

“The only leaders you couldn’t cage or render impotent in Africa are the current Presidents of Nigeria, Tinubu and that of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.

“I am using this medium also to plead with Nigerians to help President Tinubu to succeed so that Nigeria can be turned into another beautiful Kigali in Rwanda.

“Can you stand before God Almighty to say you did not rig PDP into power in the South West and other states, fraudulently removing ex-Governor Osoba and others out of power with power of incumbency because you were then the President?

“It was only the current President Tinubu – then governor of Lagos State you couldn’t bring down, and God is still making Tinubu to triumph over you publicly. Power belongs to God not you.

“Why now are you claiming the 2023 election was flawed? Why do you want to create 3rd world war in Nigeria because Peter Obi didn’t win?

“Daddy Olusegun Obasanjo was made President in 1999 by the North. Generals Babangida, Abdulsalami, my twin brother Chief Kenny Martins and many others provided you the money, the people, the support nationally and internationally and all the needed resources and platforms to become President, and you betrayed them all. You rewarded them with evil.

“Ex-President Obasanjo treated them all very, very badly. He didn’t win the election. When he wanted 3rd term, God shoved the evil, ungrateful Obasanjo out. Today, he will not allow us to breathe. I also prayed and fasted for you not to die.

“Daddy Olusegun Obasanjo, stop your rantings; you are an old wounded, dying roaring lion. Stop barking. Let me and my children live. Stop afflicting me and my children because you now hate me.

“Let us breathe in Nigeria. God will judge you soon. My family and I have supported you powerfully.

“At close to 90, you are fighting President Tinubu. You fought Yar’Adua, you fought Jonathan, you have fought every President in Nigeria since you left Dodan Barracks. Are you the only Ex-President we have in Nigeria?

‘You should be a uniting, loving figure, tolerant, respecting, caring, loving us all, uniting all in Nigeria and Africa, uniting families.

“He wants to be the only great man standing in Nigeria and Africa. The road to Ota and Abeokuta was the worst during his reign as President and his house is in Ota. He saved money that should have been deployed to turn Nigeria into Dubai for inflation to catch up with us.

“He is the longest serving President in Nigeria who should have given us massive, beautiful infrastructure, which successive leaders could have built on with ease.

“He spent eight years, wanted a third term, but was chased out by God and till today, he is still lying that he never wanted a third term. He lies about my health and so he is a pathological liar and a deceiver.

“He didn’t give us good roads, or constant electricity, the best healthcare or reduced taxes for manufacturing and production.

“You are the one driving away great, beautiful developments from Nigeria and Africa from your secret covenant with Satan.

“At close to 90 years of age, you are heaping great insults, contemptuously correcting highly revered kings in our Yoruba land as if they were worthless.

“When l advised you to bring all your wives together for a meeting so that we can know one another and you listened and you brought us together with your first wife in attendance, you didn’t bring your current Mrs to the family meeting even though she has had her one child for you then.

“Which wife can truly say she has not seen hell in your hands? They cannot talk because you will strike them and the child they have for you off from your will.

“Before l round off, l want to beg again for forgiveness from all the Oyo kings, Council of Kings, Yoruba Council Worldwide and the entire Yoruba race worldwide.

“Please, l am humbly appealing again, don’t take out vengeance on any of us, my children, myself or my lineage all because of the neurotic, humiliating, deeply hurtful behaviour of Baba Obasanjo.

“All the families of Baba Obasanjo are afraid of him. Please humbly and genuinely plead with the Yoruba race worldwide – forgive us.

“Everyone can see how he came out to prove to the world his true self by his ill-thought reaction to my humble appeal to the kings for forgiveness.”

The police have exhumed the corpse of the deceased musician, Ilerioluwa Promise aka Mohbad.
This was confirmed by the Lagos command PPRO, Ben Hundeyin via his Twitter handle.
According to him, an autopsy will commence immediately as announced earlier in order to assist them in their investigation of the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of the musician.
Furthermore, eyewitnesses have revealed that fresh blood was sighted in his coffin.

Lines of hundreds of trucks stretch back many kilometres close to Benin’s northern border with Niger, their cargo wasting and their drivers going broke after weeks stranded at the closed frontier.

Almost two months since a coup ousted Niger’s president, the trucks blocked in Malanville at Benin’s border are the most striking symbol of the fallout Niger’s neighbours are suffering from sanctions imposed on Niamey.

After the 15-member West African bloc ECOWAS banned trade with Niger and threatened military action to restore democracy, the new junta also blockaded a bridge border crossing with Benin.

Nigerien driver Mahamat Kabirou Amadou left Benin’s economic capital Cotonou for Niamey 50 days ago and now sits stuck in Malanville.

Not only has the coup and border closure cut him off from his country and family, but weeks of rain and sun have rotted his cargo of rice.

“We are tired and sick. We’ve let our assistants go because we were starting to run out of enough cash,” the 35-year-old driver said.

“We gradually sold all the diesel in our tanks just to eat.”

ECOWAS — the Economic Community of West African States — imposed hefty sanctions against Niger after rebel elite soldiers on July 26 overthrew Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected president.

Negotiations to restore civilian rule have yet to bear fruit, with the junta demanding a three-year transition and ECOWAS calling for Bazoum’s immediate return.

Wary of long transitions after coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, ECOWAS says a possible intervention in Niger is still a last option.

Already one of the world’s poorest nations, the sanctions are squeezing Niger hard. Food prices have spiked about 21 percent, with the UN warning more people are at risk of severe food insecurity.

Earlier this month, the UN said 7,300 tons of food aid destined for Niger was stuck in transit because of border closures.

Malanville now resembles a parking lot packed with container trucks and buses that once transported passengers across the border.

Drivers sleep under trucks, play cards and try to endure the seemingly endless wait for a resolution.

Nearby, on the bridge connecting Malanville with Gaya in Niger, four container trucks blockade the bridge and sandbags reinforce the military positions there.

“Our boss’s money is finished. Hunger is getting to us,” said Koudjegah Justin, 18, a Togolese driver’s assistant. “We ask the Beninese government to help us by opening the border. We want to cross.”

Regional fallout

Niger shares southern frontiers with ECOWAS members Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Benin, but it is also a major trading route with other nearby members of the bloc such as Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast.

ECOWAS sanctions suspend all commercial transactions with Niger under the control of a military junta.

For Ghana, the sanctions have caused a shortage of onions as Niger was a key exporter in West Africa. It also hit supplies of beans and millet.

Before the coup, a 100-kilo (220-pound) sack of onions was selling at US$61 in Ghana, but now it is $105.

About 20 trucks would arrive daily from Niger at Adjen Kotoku Onion market near Accra before. Now only a few can make the trip.

“Most of them are stuck at the borders,” said Yakuba Akteniba, president of an onion sellers association. “By the time most of them get here the onions are already rotten. It’s killing our business.”

Traders in Nigeria’s northern border communities with Niger also said they were feeling the economic fallout.

“The last two months have been particularly hard for our town due to the near collapse of trade,” said Mohammed Aliyu, a trader in the border town of Illela, Sokoto state.

“We rely on cross-border interactions for our mutual survival but that has been cut.”

A trickle of drivers would take illegal routes to make it over the border, he said.

A bag of rice which cost 28,000 naira ($36) before the border closure now sells for 42,000 naira. Local markets also sourced much of their livestock from Niger.

‘Too much suffering’
With the land route from Niger to Benin closed, many have turned to informal motorised canoes and boats ferrying passengers across the River Niger that divides them.

Prices for the 30-minute journey have jumped tenfold on high demand, operators said.

Boats used to transport fuel across the river, but that trade has dried up due to increased security presence, so operators say they are making the most of the border closure.

Boats transport everything they can fit in — motorbikes, food, livestock, people. Moto-taxis and cars wait on riverbanks to transport passengers.

“It’s the only way to get to the other side now,” said Chabi Nourou, a baggage handler. “There is really too much suffering.”

The President, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Tajudeen Baruwa, and 24 other executive members arrested by the Nigerian Police for sundry allegations have regained freedom after meeting their bail conditions in Federal Capital Territory Abuja.

The NURTW members’ bail was said to have been made possible, barely one week after their arrest, following the intervention of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) leadership led by Joe Ajaero.

Baruwa and others’ release was disclosed on Friday by the NLC through a short statement released on its official social media handle, alerting members that their intervention has yielded the desired success.

According to the statement, Congress Intervention Secures the release of the Duly Elected Leadership of the National Union Of Road Transport Workers, NUTRW who were arrested, Intimidated and Maltreated For no just cause.

The Struggle Continues”.

This came barely 24 hours after an Abuja Magistrate Court granted Baruwa, who was detained by the Nigerian police with three other national officers and 21 others in the Federal Capital Territory bail.

The NURTW national president was reportedly granted bail by the court after the Nigerian police secretly arraigned the accused yesterday.

It was gathered that the police had secretly taken them to court with the hope of remanding them in prison custody but they were finally granted bail.

They were arrested by the police over a clash by factions of the union on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, in Abuja.

They were arrested on Wednesday, September 13 following an invitation by the FCT Commissioner of Police, Haruna Garba and later detained at the office of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) located in Guzape, over a clash by factions of the union in Abuja.

The labour union accused the police of taking sides with one of the factions in the crisis rocking the union’s leadership.

This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by the NURTW Acting President, Kabiru Minjibir while reacting to the illegal arrest and detention of Baruwa and his executive members.

The statement asked how the police could descend so low as to take sides with Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya’s (aka MC Oluomo) group, adding that the faction was backed by the government for carrying out daylight coup d’état in the union.

NLC expressed worry about the action of the police in releasing Alhaji Tajudeen Badru Agbede, after staging a violent attack on the union’s secretariat.

The statement noted that NLC had warned the police on the matter but they persisted in their unlawful intervention by providing cover for those imposing themselves on the union.

It said the union engaged the police in discussions and reached an understanding on a roadmap towards peace to safeguard lives and property but “it is disheartening that their concerns were not heeded and the roadmap not implemented”.

China stands ready to enhance practical cooperation with Sierra Leone in various fields and jointly promote world peace and development, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said Thursday.

Han made the remarks in New York while meeting with Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

China and Sierra Leone are good brothers and good friends with sincere friendship and mutual support, and the two sides have always supported each other firmly on issues concerning the other’s core interests and major concerns, Han said.

In recent years, the two countries have enjoyed close high-level exchanges and fruitful practical cooperation in various fields, he said.

China congratulates Sierra Leone on being elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period of 2024-2025, said Han.

Bio asked Han to convey his best wishes to President Xi Jinping, and thanked China for its selfless assistance to Sierra Leone over the years, noting that China is a trustworthy good friend of the Sierra Leonean people.

Sierra Leone adheres to the one-China principle, and is ready to enhance practical cooperation with China in various fields and jointly safeguard the legitimate interests of developing countries, Bio said. 

UNAIDS has named the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Fatima Maada Bio, as a UNAIDS champion for the empowerment and engagement of adolescent girls and young women in Sierra Leone.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, confirmed the appointment during a meeting with Mrs. Maada Bio and her husband President Julius Maada Bio at the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly taking place in New York.

“I am delighted to welcome Her Excellency Mrs. Fatima Maada Bio to the UNAIDS family as a champion for adolescent girls and young women,” said Ms. Byanyima.

“The First Lady is a strong advocate for the empowerment of women and girls. I look forward to continuing to work together to end gender inequalities that drive HIV including sexual and gender-based violence, and to ensuring that our girls and young women have all the information and knowledge they need to lead healthy lives.”

Mrs Maada Bio is a leading advocate for the Hands Off Our Girls Campaign, a movement launched by President Maada Bio in December 2018 to ban early child marriage and end sexual violence against women and girls.

In 2022, she spearheaded the adoption of the first-ever World Day for the Prevention of, and Healing from Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Violence, which is commemorated annually on 18 November.

Mrs. Maada Bio is also a champion of Education Plus, an initiative launched by UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNFPA and UN Women to prevent HIV infections through free universal, quality secondary education for all girls and boys in Africa, reinforced through comprehensive empowerment programmes.

“My hope is for a future where all women have equal rights,” said Mrs. Maada Bio. “Where women and men can sit at the same table and make decisions together, where women are given the space to lead.

That is my hope because then we will know that real equality has arrived for us all.” 

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

The exhumation of the body of the late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba, also known as Mohbad, on Thursday was verified by the Lagos State Police Command.

The nurse who allegedly gave the deceased musician an injection before his passing on Tuesday, September 12, was also detained by the police, PUNCH Metro has learned.

In an exclusive phone contact with our correspondent on Thursday, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the public relations officer for the Lagos State Police Command, verified the new developments.

“Mohbad’s corpse has been exhumed today, and an autopsy will begin as soon as possible,” Hundeyin said.

However, responding to a further inquiry by our correspondent concerning arrests made by the police in connection with the late singer’s death, Hundeyin added, “I can’t answer questions on the arrests yet, because I don’t have that update. However, the nurse is in our custody; I can confirm that.”

Idowu Owohynwa, the commissioner of police for Lagos State, had received instructions from the acting inspector general of police, Olukayode Egbetokun, to launch a prompt and thorough inquiry into Mohbad’s untimely death.

Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force’s public relations officer, announced the news in a late-Saturday-night official communication.

Adejobi said, “The acting Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, has issued a direct and urgent directive to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, instructing him to initiate a swift and comprehensive investigation into the tragic passing of Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba, widely known as Mohbad.

“This directive was conveyed during a brief but crucial discussion at the Police Airwing Hangar, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday, September 16, 2023. He tasked the CP to quickly and effectively unravel the truth behind the tragedy as there have been understandable concerns and speculations surrounding the circumstances of his untimely demise.

“The Nigeria Police Force hereby earnestly urges any family members or close associates possessing valuable information pertaining to this case to come forward and cooperate with the Lagos State Police Command to ensure that justice is served and the circumstances surrounding Mohbad’s demise are thoroughly examined.

The election of Governor Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party in the March 18 governorship election has been upheld by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal based in Enugu State.

The Labour Party and its candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, had their petitions rejected by a three-member tribunal panel headed by Justice Kudirat Murayo, who insisted that they were unable to provide any evidence to support their claims.

The National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate is not a requirement to run for governor, the tribunal ruled in dismissing the petitioners’ request.

Mbah’s reinstatement as the legitimately elected governor of Enugu State is being contested by Edeoga for a number of reasons, including the submission of a fake NYSC discharge certificate and excessive voting.

The panel, in its Thursday ruling on the petition, however, dismissed the claim of the faked NYSC certificate, stating that “NYSC discharge Certificate is not a qualification for governorship.”

The court queried “Assuming that the NYSC discharge certificate of the second Respondent as claimed by the Petitioners was forged, is the NYSC Certificate a qualification to contest for Governor in Nigeria according to the constitution? The answer is no.”