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UN alerts to spread of Al-Queda, ISIS across Africa
Terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, are spreading and wrecking havoc across the African continent, United Nations counter-terrorism chief, Vladimir Voronkov, has alerted.
He said this while briefing the security council on the eve of the fourth commemoration of the international day of victims of terrorism on Thursday at the UN headquarters, New York.
Presenting the secretary-general’s latest report on the threats posed by terrorist groups, Voronkov said al-Qaeda and Islamic State, also known as Da’esh, are exploiting the pandemic to regroup.
He said the terrorist groups have been adapting to new technologies and moving into some of the world’s fragile regions and continue to pose a threat to peace and security globally.
He said Da’esh was exploiting the disruption, grievances and development setbacks caused by the pandemic to regroup, recruit new followers and intensify its activities both online and on the ground.
“Today, we face transnational terrorist threats like Da’esh and al-Qaeda that are enduring and able to adapt to new technologies,” Voronkov said.
“But (they’re) also expanding to individuals and groups that commit terrorist attacks connected to xenophobia, racism and other forms of intolerance.”
He said the world is currently witnessing a rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan “which could have far-reaching implications” around the globe.
He cited Da’esh’s expanded presence in that country and pointed out that several members of the Taliban have been designated as terrorists by the security council.
“We will need to ensure that Afghanistan is never again used as launching pad for global terrorism,” he said.
While Da’esh remains focused on reconstituting its capabilities in Iraq and Syria, Voronkov said the most alarming development in recent months is the group’s relentless spread across the African continent.
He said the ‘Islamic State in the Greater Sahara’ has killed several hundred civilians since the start of 2021 in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic while the group’s ‘West Africa Province’ will likely gain from the weakening of Boko Haram, with additional spillover of terrorists and foreign fighters from Libya.
He said the expansion of Da’esh in Central Africa, and especially in northern Mozambique could have far-reaching implications for peace and security in the region.
“A global response is urgently needed to support the efforts of African countries and regional organisations to counter terrorism and address its interplay with conflict, organised crime, governance and development gaps,” Voronkov said.
Voronkov also cited the continued detention of thousands of individuals with alleged links to terrorist groups as another factor exacerbating the threat.
He said deteriorating conditions in detention facilities and displacement camps in north-east Syria, in particular, were serving as a rallying cry for terrorist activities.
He said, “They have already fuelled instances of terrorist radicalisation, fund-raising, arms smuggling, training and incitement to terror.”
He urged member states to voluntarily repatriate all concerned individuals, with a particular focus on children.
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Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark
Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark
Elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, says the former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, administration was nothing to write home about.
This is even as he asked the embattled former governor to surrender himself to the authorities.
Bello has been in the news for days on end over money laundering and financial impropriety.
He was declared wanted after he evaded the economic and financial crimes commission (EFCC) who had stormed his Abuja residence to apprehend him.
Speaking on Bello’s time as the governor of the middle belt state, Clark, who is the leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, stated that state sponsored violence, corruption, civilian repression and political killings were rife when Bello was in office.
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Clark also pointed out that Bello is still running the show in Kogi state as he is currently spending third term in power through the incumbent governor, Ododo, who he planted in office.
“Yahaya Bello is just being stubborn. He has been living very very rough…having a very rough government, corruption, killing of people in the place during elections and so on,” Clark said during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday.
“There’s time for everything and it has come for him to answer questions. He should go to court. He should go to court to answer the substance of the case, where did he get the money from?
“Is it true or not that the money he paid to the American school belongs to him or belongs to the government of Kogi State?
“The behaviour of the new Governor shows Yahaya Bello is in power for the third time. Ahmed Ododo is just running after him.
“I just want to plead with Ododo to do the needful so that the youth in this country will have something to fall upon.”
Yahaya Bello govt spending third term in office through Ododo – Clark
News
‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim
‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim
Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, says he is not in the business of whipping up ethnic sentiments or amplifying Nigeria’s fault lines to gain socio-political mileage.
Obi said this reaction to comment made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, at an event on Wednesday on the Lagos-Calabar road project.
Obi has been vocal in his criticism of the road project, calling it a misplaced priority as it is not what Nigeria needs at a time of lean resources and plethora of challenges begging for drastic solution.
Umahi while speaking at the event said Obi’s position on the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project amounted to pitting Nigerians of Eastern extraction, who are majorly Igbos, against the government of President Bola Tinubu.
He also accused Obi of demolishing property without compensating those affected when he was Anambra governor, Obi was inciting South Easterners against the government
“When His Excellency Peter Obi was the governor. He made a statement saying, “Any infrastructure that stands in the way of the road must go. And there would be no compensation paid.” That’s what he said,” Umahi said.
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“And I think he’s inciting some of the South-East people that are not well informed. He is inciting them. And gets them into trouble,” he added
Reacting to Umahi’s allegation of divisiveness and sedition in a statement on Wednesday, Obi opined that he is a preacher of peace and advocate of unity who always wants what is best for the country.
Obi, who described criticisms that he is inciting Igbo against Tinubu’s government as baseless, stated that he won’t wallow in the murky water of divisive ethnic politics like many of his contemporaries and opponents do.
He stated, “My focus is on fostering constructive dialogue and inclusivity, rather than engaging in divisive politics, Claims of incitement are baseless distractions. I have always advocated unity and advancement, refusing to partake in reactionary divisive politics.
“I refuse to be reduced to the level of those who wallow in ethnic politics. Worse still, I have never and can never descend so low as to base my political aspirations on any sectional or ethnic interest.”
The former Anambra governor also said there were no comparisons between the demolition he did when he was governor and what the Tinubu-led government was currently doing.
‘Unfounded accusation’ – Obi slams Umahi over instigation of Igbo against Tinubu claim
News
NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m
NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced a significant increase in the maximum deposit insurance coverage levels for Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions, effective immediately.
During a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, NDIC Managing Director Bello Hassan disclosed, “For Deposit Money Banks, the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000, would provide full coverage of 98.98% of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20%. In terms of the value of deposit covered, the revised coverage would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 25.37% compared with the current cover of 6.31% of the total value of deposits.”
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Hassan further explained, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for primary mortgage banks from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.99% of the total number of depositors and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 43.10% of the total value deposits from the current cover of 40.60%.”
Additionally, Hassan noted, “The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage for subscribers of Mobile Money Operators from N500,000 to N5,000,000 per subscriber.”
NDIC jacks up deposit insurance cover from N500,000 to N5m
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