Former Nigeria’s President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has congratulated Mr. Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., President-Elect of the United States of America, (USA) over his victory at the presidential poll that held on Tuesday.
Biden was declared winner on Saturday after maintaining a wide lead with Trump, the incumbent president trailing behind.
In the congratulatory letter, titled: “Message of Congratulations to U.S. President-Elect, Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect, Kamala Harris, Obasanjo said “it is victory of good over evil.
‘I join millions in the United States of America and in the rest of the world who felicitate with you, President-Elect Joe Biden, for your victory. It is victory of good over evil and it is not victory for you and the people of America alone, but victory for most people of the world, majority of whom watch helplessly as the world that had been steadily and painstakingly built since the end of the Second World War was being pulled down’.
He added; “it is not victory for you and the people of America alone, but victory for most people of the world, majority of whom watch helplessly as the world that had been steadily and painstakingly built since the end of the Second World War was being pulled down.”
According to the letter, “Not that the world was perfect and equitable but it was reasonably predictable with some measure of rule of law and respect for international agreements and treaties.”
The former president added that “President-Elect Joe Biden must restore confidence in the role of America as the largest economy in the world which has a very significant responsibility for the peace, security, stability and progress of the world.”
While also felicitating with the Vice President-Elect, Kamala Harris as the first female Vice-President of the U.S., Obasanjo said: “We in Africa are proud of her success. The first African-American President of the U.S., Barrack Obama, has Kenyan DNA in him and I am reasonably sure that the first African-American female Vice President-Elect of the U.S. will have some Nigerian DNA in her as most of those taken to the Caribbean from Africa went from Nigeria of today”.
Former Attorney-General of the Federation/Minister of Justice, (SAN), has denied being briefed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to freeze accounts of EndSARS Promoters.
There were reports yesterday that lawyers representing the CBN, led by Aondoakaa, had allegedly obtained the order freezing the accounts of 20 #EndSARS promoters for 90 days.
The order was said to have been obtained pursuant to a motion ex parte filed by the CBN before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
But a statement Friday by Aondoakaa’s Head of Chambers, Abdul Ter Kohol, said the CBN did not brief Aondoakaa to freeze the accounts of EndSARS members.
Kohol added: “He (Aondoakaa) is not in a position to know the membership of EndSARS because he never received any instructions from CBN relating to EndSARS members. All the Documents filed at federal High Court Abuja in respect of the case are public documents which can be verified or obtained. CBN cannot engage Aondoakaa verbally.”
The statement challenged the online publication that accused Aondoakaa of being hired by the CBN to freeze the EndSARS supporters accounts to produce a copy of such instruction by the CBN, adding, “launching such unfair attack on the person of chief Michael Aondoakaa appears to be pursuing long perceived personal vendetta and blackmail.”
The said suit to freeze the accounts listed the 20 defendants as Bolatito Oduala, Chima Ibebunjoh, Mary Kpengwa, Gatefield Nigeria Limited, Saadat Bibi, Bassey Israel, Wisdom Obi, Nicholas Osazele, Ebere Idibie, Akintomide Yusuf, Uhuo Promise, Mosopefoluwa Odeseye and Adegoke Emmanuel.
Others include Umoh Ekanem, Babatunde Segun, Mulu Teghenan, Mary Oshifowora, Winifred Jacob, Victor Solomon, and Idunu Williams.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 365 concerned Nigerians have filed an application before the Federal High Court, Abuja, asking the court to “reject a suit by a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress [APC], which seeks to shut down Twitter, prevent it from operating within the Nigerian cyberspace, and ultimately restrict the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and media freedom in the country.”
SERAP and 365 concerned Nigerians are asking the court “for leave to be joined in the suit as parties, and to be heard as of right, as provided for under the Nigerian Constitution, 1999 [as amended], the Fundamental Rights [Enforcement Procedure] Rules, 2009, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.”
Following endorsement by Twitter Chief Executive Officer, Jack Dorsey of the #EndSARS campaign last month, a former Presidential aspirant of the APC, Adamu Garba, filed a suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1391/2020 seeking to compel the Nigerian Communications Commission [NCC] to stop the operation of Twitter International Company in Nigeria.
But in the application filed last Friday, SERAP and 365 concerned Nigerians stated: “This application is brought in the public interest. It is important to grant the reliefs being sought, for the sake of justice, and the fundamental rights of people to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and media freedom, and as millions of Nigerians will be affected by any orders that the court may make in this suit.”
According to the suit, “The Nigerian government has legal obligations under sections 39 and 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, and articles 9 and 11 of the African Chapter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights of everyone to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and media freedom.”
SERAP and 365 concerned Nigerians are arguing that “The determination of this suit will impact our capability to use Twitter social media platform to carry out our work to promote transparency and accountability, and respect for socio-economic rights of Nigerians, as well as seriously undermine people’s fundamental rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and media freedom.”
The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Opeyemi Owolabi, read in part: “SERAP and 365 concerned Nigerians have shown sufficient legal interest to warrant the granting of this application, as this will serve the interest of fair hearing, guaranteed by section 36 of the Nigerian Constitution, and natural justice rule of audi alteram partem, meaning that in any dispute the court must hear the other side.”
“SERAP, 365 concerned Nigerians and other Twitter users will be grossly affected if the orders being sought by Mr Garba are granted by the court, as his suit is seeking to undermine the constitutionally and internationally recognized rights of people to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and media freedom.”
“SERAP is a registered Twitter user with the handle @SERAPNigeria which it uses to carry out its work to promote transparency and accountability and respect for socio-economic rights of everyone, especially the socially and economically vulnerable sectors of the population.”
“SERAP and 365 concerned Nigerians seek to be joined as Respondents and to be heard as of right, in line with the Nigerian Constitution and the provisions of Order XIII Rule I of the Fundamental Rights [Enforcement Procedure] Rules 2009. Under paragraph 3(d)(e) of the preamble to the Rules, we are not required or expected to disclose by affidavit any interest in the matter.”
“SERAP and 365 concerned Nigerians are also seeking an order directing Mr Garba to serve and provide us with all the originating processes and papers filed in this suit, and for such further orders or orders as this court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.”
It would be recalled that some African countries like Burundi and Sudan have in the past shut down social media in waves of repression in these countries.
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), Lagos State Attorney-General (A-G), has ordered the release of 253 persons arrested by police over their alleged roles in the unrest following the #EndSARS protests. The A-G said in a statement that his office had determined that there was a nondisclosure of a prima-facie case against the 253 persons by the police. The statement, signed by Mr. Kayode Oyekanmi, Director of Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Justice and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, said 92 persons would, however, be prosecuted. The A-G said the police had, between Nov. 4 and Nov. 5, forwarded 40 case files to the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) in respect of the 361 persons arrested in respect of crimes that occurred in connection with the protests. “Legal advice has been issued in respect of all the 40 case files received. “As of Nov. 6, the Directorate has been able to despatch legal advice in respect of 81 persons that are being charged to the various courts. The others will be despatched to court on Monday, Nov. 9. “Out of the 361 persons, the DPP shall be prosecuting 92 persons for different offences ranging from arson, stealing, breaking into buildings, armed robbery, and murder. “The office has advised that 253 persons be released forthwith for non-disclosure of a prima facie case. “In the meantime, two case files in respect of 16 persons have been advised for further investigation by the police,” the statement said. The A-G in the statement assured members of the public that his office would ensure that those arrested by the police are treated in accordance with the due process of the law. Onigbanjo also noted that his office remained committed to maintaining the rule of law and ensuring peace and order in the state.
The US is haunted by the spectre of a technologically dominant China – and keen to ensure it never materialises. And yet, given China’s fundamentals, there is little the US could do to hamper, let alone arrest, its progress.
BERLIN – Elections tend to bring differences to the fore. That is certainly true of the United States’ recent presidential election, in which votes are still being tallied. Among the most bitterly contested elections in the country’s history, the outcome will have profound implications for many aspects of US policy. And yet there is one issue on which both parties seem to agree: the need to “stop” China.
The US government – and, increasingly, the European Commission – now largely believes that China has secured its economic and technological gains unfairly, thanks to its government’s pervasive influence over the economy. Geostrategists often push this view, imagining that a government can achieve technological superiority by investing in the fashionable sectors of the day.
But a more thorough analysis shows this to be misleading, at best. The most “successful” grand economic-development plans usually go with the grain, focusing largely on targets that, given the economy’s fundamentals, would be achieved anyway. Crediting state intervention when those targets are met is thus inappropriate.
Japan provides a cautionary tale here. During its post-1945 growth spurt in the 1970s and 1980s, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) acquired an almost mythical global reputation for the apparent success of its efforts to channel resources toward strategic sectors. Many countries were advised to emulate its model.
But in the 1980s, Japan’s real-estate bubble burst, and growth slowed significantly. As it turned out, many of the sectors MITI supported had not actually succeeded. What had really been driving Japan’s growth was not MITI’s prescience, but a high savings rate and the rapidly increasing education level of a disciplined workforce – much the same factors that have driven China’s development.
Until fairly recently, China’s leaders seemed to understand the limits of state intervention. In fact, the Communist Party of China’s general advice to authorities was to scale back the state’s involvement in the economy, because state-owned enterprises (SOE) generally remain far less efficient than private firms, and only about one-third as profitable.
And yet, while SOEs continue to underperform, compared to private firms, China’s leaders have radically changed their views on intervention. Now, the conventional wisdom is that the country owes its progress – and, indeed, its emerging global dominance – in some high-tech sectors to the state’s guiding hand.
The true driver of China’s success, however, is its high savings rate – nearly 40% of GDP, or more than twice the rate in the US and Europe. This gives China massive resources for investment in establishing the fundamentals for technological leadership. Notably, the country has made enormous investments in improving both the quantity and quality of education.
Regarding secondary education, China has already fully caught up with the West in attendance. And testing by the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment suggests that Chinese secondary-school students are far better at solving problems than their American or European peers.
Moreover, tertiary education – the real key to technological leadership – has exploded in China over the last two decades. According to the US National Science Foundation, China now produces more than twice as many engineers, and more peer-reviewed science and engineering publications, than the US. Similarly, it has surpassed the European Union in spending on research and development, and on current trends, it should catch up to the US over the next decade (some think it already has).
The US is haunted by the spectre of a technologically dominant China – and keen to ensure it never materialises. And yet, given China’s fundamentals, there is little the US could do to hamper, let alone arrest, its progress. Huawei is just one example of a firm that has capitalised on China’s pool of millions of engineers to develop new products. Even if the US manages to destroy Huawei, many other Chinese high-tech companies are destined to emerge, driven by the same talent.
The so-called dual-circulation strategy that is set to shape China’s next Five-Year Plan is perfectly in line with the aforementioned fundamentals. As China’s economy grows, it is naturally becoming less reliant on exports, and its newly minted engineers will master a growing number of technologies. In other words, the government’s plans for the coming years would probably materialise, even without state intervention.
By contrast, the US strategy – which begins with an economic “decoupling” from China – has little chance of success. To be sure, the decoupling itself might be feasible. But it would also be counterproductive.
Trade always implies a two-way dependency. And while the US might like the idea of being “liberated” from China by severing trade ties, it would pay a high cost for “liberating” China from it. Shutting Chinese suppliers out of the US market provides an implicit subsidy to higher-cost producers. Ultimately, the effect of reducing bilateral trade would be equivalent to that of Trump’s failed tariffs against China: an implicit tax on US consumers.
And for what? Limiting China’s access to some key US technologies might make a difference in the short term, but it is unlikely to slow down China’s development appreciably. The sheer scale of the human and financial resources China will be deploying over the next decade means that it is well positioned to dominate many high-tech sectors, with or without US inputs.
The conclusion is clear: The next US administration should accept China’s continued economic and technological rise. It may not like the idea of China overtaking the US – a milestone that will probably be reached within the next decade. But further attempts to stave off that outcome would be not only futile, but also very costly. (Project Syndicate)
•Daniel Gros is Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies.
“My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters,” Harris wrote in her 2019 memoir, The Truths We Hold. Today, she’s the first female; first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect of the United States.
Kamala Harris’ history-making win represents the millions of women in the demographics — often overlooked, historically underrepresented and systematically ignored — who are now the recipients of that new power for the first time in the country’s 200-plus-year history.
In a video to the President Elect which she posted on her twitter account, the California senator joyfully exclaimed: “We did it, we did it Joe. You’re going to be the next president of the United States!”
Her words are about him but the history of the moment is hers.
Just over a year ago, as the senator from California hoping to win the Democratic nomination for presidency, she launched a potent attack on Joe Biden over race during a debate. Many thought it inflicted a serious blow on his ambitions. But by the end of the year her campaign was dead and it was Mr Biden who returned the 56-year-old to the national spotlight by putting her on his ticket.
“It is a big reversal of fortune for Kamala Harris,” says Gil Duran, a communications director for Ms Harris in 2013 and who has critiqued her run for the presidential nomination.
“Many people didn’t think she had the discipline and focus to ascend to a position in the White House so quickly… although people knew she had ambition and star potential. It was always clear that she had the raw talent.”
What she has demonstrated from the moment she took the national stage with her pitch for the presidency – is grit.
The many identities of Kamala Harris
Born in Oakland, California, to two immigrant parents – an Indian-born mother and Jamaican-born father – her parents divorced when she was five and she was primarily raised by her Hindu single mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist.
image captionKamala as child with her mother and younger sister Maya
She grew up engaged with her Indian heritage, joining her mother on visits to India, but Ms Harris has said that her mother adopted Oakland’s black culture, immersing her two daughters – Kamala and her younger sister Maya – within it.
“My mother understood very well that she was raising two black daughters,” she wrote in her autobiography The Truths We Hold. “She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as black girls and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud black women.”
Her biracial roots and upbringing means she embodies and can engage with and appeal to many American identities. Those parts of the country which have seen rapid demographic change, enough change to alter a region’s politics, see an aspirational symbol in her.
But it was her time at Howard University, one of the nation’s preeminent historically black colleges and universities, which she has described as among the most formative experiences of her life.
Her words to students at Howard, when she returned to address graduates in 2017, took them on a journey from the Ferguson race protests of 2014 to the halls of Capitol Hill in just one sentence:
“You students have joined the fight for justice – you protested,” Ms Harris said. “From the streets of Ferguson to the halls of the United States Congress, you have lived the words of James Baldwin, ‘There is never a time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment, the time is always now.'”
But she also operates with ease in predominantly white communities. Her early years included a brief period in Canada. When Ms Gopalan Harris took a job teaching at McGill University, Ms Harris and her younger sister Maya went with her, attending school in Montreal for five years.
Ms Harris says she’s always been comfortable with her identity and simply describes herself as “an American”.
She told the Washington Post in 2019, that politicians should not have to fit into compartments because of their colour or background. “My point was: I am who I am. I’m good with it. You might need to figure it out, but I’m fine with it,” she said.
Kamala, ‘Momala’, history-maker
In 2014, Senator Harris married lawyer Doug Emhoff – now a fixture at her campaign stops – and became stepmother to his two children.
Last year she wrote an article for Elle magazine about the experience of becoming a stepmother and unveiled the name that would then come to dominate many headlines that followed.
“When Doug and I got married, Cole, Ella, and I agreed that we didn’t like the term “stepmom.” Instead they came up with the name “Momala.”
They were portrayed as the epitome of modern American so-called “blended” family, an image the media took to and one that occupied many column inches about how we talk about female politicians.
On becoming vice-president-elect, she is unlikely to lose this nickname but many argue she should also be seen and recognised as the descendant of another kind of family and that is the inheritor of generations of black female activists.
“She is heir to a legacy of grassroots organisers, elected officials, and unsuccessful candidates who paved this path to the White House. Black women are seen as a political force of nature in democratic politics and the Democratic party,” Nadia Brown, associate professor of political science and African American studies at Perdue University, told the BBC.
Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, and Septima Clark are some of the names she follows in the footsteps of, Ms Brown argues.
“Her win is historic but it is not hers alone. It is shared with countless black women who made this day possible.”
Between the left and the right
Her career as a prosecutor is what made her a politician but brought with it political benefits and risks.
She began work in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and became the district attorney – the top prosecutor – for San Francisco in 2003, before being elected the first woman and the first black person to serve as California’s attorney general, the top lawyer and law enforcement official in America’s most populous state.
She gained a reputation as one of the Democratic party’s rising stars, using this momentum to propel her election as California’s junior US senator in 2017.
image captionHarris began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office in Oakland, California.
But straddling the line between pleasing left-leaning California Democrats and being a politician for a nation where the left does not decide who gets to be president has been hard.
She gained favour among progressives for her acerbic questioning of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but as a presidential candidate for the Democratic Party her adept debate performances were not enough to compensate for poorly articulated policies.
Walking the fine line between the progressive and moderate wings of her party, she ended up appealing to neither.
Despite leftward leanings on issues like gay marriage and the death penalty, she faced repeated attacks from progressives for not being progressive enough.
During her bid for the presidential nomination University of San Francisco Law Professor Lara Bazelon wrote a withering op-ed saying that Ms Harris had largely dodged progressive fights involving issues like police reform, drug reform and wrongful convictions.https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.36.2/iframe.htmlmedia captionHarris and Biden clash over his race record
“Kamala is a cop” became a common refrain on the campaign trail, spoiling her attempts to win over the more liberal Democratic base during the primaries.
But those same law enforcement credentials proved beneficial on the national stage when Democrats needed to win over more moderate voters and independents.
She was “someone with a law enforcement background, and perceived in her own state as being insufficiently progressive… and trying to project an inauthentic self,” Mr Duran says, but adds “that looks very different in a vice-presidential slot”.
And now, as the US grapples with an ongoing racial reckoning and there is scrutiny over police brutality, Ms Harris has taken a front row seat, using her sizable microphone to amplify progressive voices.
image captionKamala Harris endorsed Joe Biden two months after quitting the race
On talk shows, she calls for changes to police practices across the US, on Twitter, she calls for the arrests of the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman from Kentucky, and she speaks frequently about the need to dismantle systemic racism.
She has the law enforcement background but in addition to that she has often said that her identity makes her uniquely suited to represent those on the margins.
Now she has the chance to do just that and from inside the White House.
Photo of girl for illustration purpose only. Courtesy, Pinterest
By Adesida Adewumi MD
I just finished observing my siesta in the afternoon. I woke up and started preparing to go to the hospital for my afternoon call when Mrs. Victoria’s call came in. She sounded very distressed.
“Doctor, help me. My daughter just drank a whole bottle of shaving cream” seriously sobbing on phone.
I asked her to calm down so that we could make progress as every minute counted.
I asked her “did you see her drinking it or you just saw the bottle in her hands” “
“As I came to the bathroom I met her drinking it” she answered in more distress.
“Okay, can you ascertain how long ago she drank it and how much she drank” I asked quickly.
She replied crying more loudly “Doctor, I don’t real know but her father just bought the bottle yesterday and right now it is empty with just little on the floor. Doctor, help me. What do I do?
“How old is she?” I asked
“Three years old doctorrrrrr,” she was crying uncontrollably.
“Right now, what did you observe is unusual about her?” I quickly asked.
She replied distressfully “Doctor, I think she is feeling a little drowsy, I don’t know. Doctorrr, I am finished. Doctor, can I put hand in her throat to make her vomit the shaving cream” she asked in fear.
“Do not try it, please”, I promptly answered.
“My mother-in-law is suggesting we give her red oil and some herbal mixture she brought from the village”.
“No!”.
“So, doctor, what can we do right now?!” she asked crying.
“Okay, Mrs Victoria do you have milk at home? Please give her a little amount and rush her to the hospital now. I will be on my way to the hospital to meet you right away. Please also come with the container of the shaving cream”, trying to calm her down all would be well.
Shortly, I arrived hospital. Mrs Victoria also arrived, carrying the child running inside emergency room crying profusely. I collected the child from her, attended to her and admitted her. I also collected the container of the shaving cream from her to check the content to guide on the antidote to give. We did all the necessary treatment and made the child poopoo out the shaving cream and observed the child for 48 hours before we finally discharged them.
Smile returned to the face of Mrs Victoria, again, after two days on admission.The child was fine now. So as I was about to discharge them, I asked Mrs Victoria more about the incident, especially where all the adults in the house were when the child was in the bathroom alone drinking shaving cream.
She answered shamefully and regretfully that all of them were watching a TV reality show in the sitting room. Then she went further to blame the child for being too active, too.
“Doctor, this child is too stubborn. She doesn’t stay in one place. None of my other children are like this girl, doctor “.h
After listening attentively to all the defence of Mrs Victoria, I invited her inside my consulting room to counsel her.
I asked her first to tell me everything she knew about safeguarding children at home to prevent them from accidentally poisoning themselves. She told me the little she knew. Then I went ahead to educate her as below:
▪︎Always follow instructions for usage of any medical or cosmetic products. There are always warnings on all household products and medicines. Take them seriously
▪︎Keep cosmetics, medications, and other healthcare products out of reach of children in child-proof containers. It’s always best to lock them up. Never underestimate your child’s ability to climb.
▪︎Store potential poisons in their original containers.Do not transfer them to food containers like milk jugs, coffee cans, or soda bottles.
▪︎Keep food and potential poisons separate; store them in different cabinets. Children can mistake the identity of products that look alike to them.
▪︎Return all products and medications to storage immediately after you finish using them.
▪︎Keep your children in sight all the times or make sure a careful adult is with them at all times to make sure they are not somewhere in the house drinking poison. When the house is quiet and you cannot see them, please quickly look for them, they may be somewhere in the house drinking or eating poisonous things.
▪︎Safely discard — into a sealed, outdoor trash can — all household products and medications that are are expired.
▪︎Be especially at alert at grandma’s house. Older people medication bottles are not childproof.Grandmas are also more likely to leave their medications out in the open.
▪︎Keep indoor plants out of reach; some may be poisonous and children may eat them
▪︎Keep children away from areas that have been sprayed recently with pesticides or insecticides
▪︎ Lastly, call your family doctor immediately you discover your children have accidentally drank or eaten any household product or medications they should not drink or eat.
I asked her if there were any questions. She said no.
She was very happy with the counselling as they were discharged to go home. She promised to abide by all the tips to safeguard the children at home. I asked the mother to bring her back one week after to see how she was doing.
As she left my consulting room and they both left the hospital, many lessons started running through my angry mind. Let me share the lessons with you below:
1. How can you have small children at home and all of you the adults at home were busy watching a TV reality show and forgot about them. This is unforgivable.
2. How can you blame a three years old child for eating or drinking whatever his or her hands found on the floor or blaming him or her for being too active.This, too, was unacceptable.
3. Then, as a father, how can you leave your shaving cream carelessly on the floor of the bathroom with children roaming the house. This, too, is a big mistake to be avoided at all cost, at all times because lives of some precious little beings are at stake.
4. Lastly, every family should have a family doctor that is committed to their families that they can call anytime in case of emergencies like chidren’s accidental poisoning to know the first aid to give before bringing the child to the hospital.
▪︎ Dr. Adewumi is a Family Medicine consultant, based in Kano. Follow him on Facebook at “FROM INSIDE MY CONSULTING ROOM “; his health page on YOUTUBE and INSTAGRAM @doctorhealtheducation; on Twitter @doctorhealthed1; and on WhatsApp at: +234 (0)806-864-9694. He gives daily education on health plus free daily consultation.
Officers and men of the Police Force have been given marching orders to defend themselves, other Nigerians, as well as public and private property against attacks, a statement from the Police High Command has said.
According to the Force spokesman, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Frank Mba, Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, ordered the deployment of all legitimate force to protect lives and property of citizens including police officers and personnel of other law enforcement agencies and their families, and to prevent attacks on private/public assets from any violent person(s) or group(s) operating under any guise.
He adds, “The IGP restates that Command Commissioners of Police and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police should resist all riotous elements forthwith and checkmate any form of violent/riotous protests in line with Section 33 (1) & (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which among other things provides for the use of such force as is reasonably necessary – (a) For the defence of any person from unlawful violence or for the defence of property; (b) In order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; or (c) For the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny.
“The IGP affirms that the Force will not tolerate a repeat of the horrendous attacks and killings, arson and wanton destruction, and looting of public and private assets witnessed during the recent violent protests in some parts of the country.
“He warns that the Force shall deploy the full weight of the law and legitimate force (if necessary) in preventing a reoccurrence.
“Recall that in the wake of the ENDSARS protests and the violence that emanated therefrom, a total of fifty-one (51) civilian fatalities and thirty-seven (37) civilian injuries were recorded, while a total of twenty-two (22) policemen were gruesomely murdered and twenty-six (26) others injured by the protesters.
“Two hundred and five (205) police stations, corporate facilities and private property were attacked, burnt or vandalized.
“The IGP assures law abiding citizens across the country of the Force’s renewed and unwavering commitment to their safety and security especially as we approach the yuletide. He calls for the collaboration and support of citizens in the ongoing reforms of the Force.”
Joe Biden has won the race to become the next US president, defeating Donald Trump following a cliff-hanger vote count after Tuesday’s election.
The BBC projects that Mr Biden has won the key battleground of Pennsylvania, propelling him over the 270 electoral college vote threshold required to clinch the White House.
The Trump campaign has indicated their candidate does not plan to concede.
The result makes Mr Trump the first one-term president since the 1990s.
The BBC’s projection of Mr Biden’s victory is based on the unofficial results from states that have already finished counting their votes, and the expected results from states like Wisconsin where the count is continuing.
The election has seen the highest turnout since 1900. Mr Biden has won more than 73 million votes so far, the most ever for a US presidential candidate. Mr Trump has drawn almost 70 million, the second-highest tally in history. (BBC)
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the deployment of “all legitimate force” to protect lives and property of citizens including police officers and personnel of other law enforcement agencies and their families.
Force spokesman, Frank Mba, made the disclosure in a statement on Saturday.
He said the move is to prevent attacks on private/public assets from “any violent person(s) or group(s) operating under any guise”.
“The IGP restates that Command Commissioners of Police and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police should resist all riotous elements forthwith and checkmate any form of violent/riotous protests in line with Section 33 (1) & (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which among other things provides for the use of such force as is reasonably necessary – (a) For the defence of any person from unlawful violence or for the defence of property; (b) In order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; or (c) For the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny,” the statement said.
“The IGP affirms that the Force will not tolerate a repeat of the horrendous attacks and killings, arson and wanton destruction, and looting of public and private assets witnessed during the recent violent protests in some parts of the country.
“He warns that the Force shall deploy the full weight of the law and legitimate force (if necessary) in preventing a reoccurrence.
Mba recalled that in the wake of the EndSARS protests and the violence that emanated therefrom, a total of fifty-one (51) civilian fatalities and thirty-seven (37) civilian injuries were recorded, while a total of twenty-two (22) policemen were murdered and twenty-six (26) others injured by the protesters.
“Two hundred and five (205) police stations, corporate facilities and private property were attacked, burnt or vandalized,” the police spokesman said.
“The IGP assures law abiding citizens across the country of the Force’s renewed and unwavering commitment to their safety and security especially as we approach the yuletide.
“He calls for the collaboration and support of citizens in the ongoing reforms of the Force.”
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