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Again, CSOs stage mass protest against EFCC chairman, Bawa in Lagos

Published

2 years ago

February 12, 2023

Over 100 Anti-corruption Civil Society Organisations and thousands of their members and supporters staged a massive protest in Lagos on Saturday in continuation of their call for the removal of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, over alleged continued disobedience of court orders.

Leaders of the Anti-corruption groups, who began what they described as a “Week Long Protest Against Politicisation of the EFCC, Disobedience of Court Orders and Infringement on Human Rights of Nigerians” on Friday, said many CSOs called to join the struggle after the maiden press conference held in Lagos.

The CSOs were joined by senior lawyers at the rally, staged through the streets of Ikeja, through Ikeja City Mall, ending at the Oregun Junction, in Ikeja, Lagos.

They noted that they were aware of the persistent pressure on and intimidation of the Nigerian media to underplay the dissatisfaction of the anti-corruption CSOs with Bawa, stressing that no amount of intimidation would make them give up their collective struggle against corruption and leaders undermining the struggle.

Spokesperson for the Transparency and Accountability Group, Ayodeji Ologun, who spoke on behalf of the anti-corruption CSOs, said the Coalition of Anti-corruption Organisations, could not watch the country’s legal system being bastardised by the selfish interests of a few, insisting that if Bawa was bent on playing politics, he should get a membership card from any of the political parties.

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He said the need to press home their grievance strongly and call for the removal of the EFCC boss was founded on the realisation that some anti-democratic elements were drawing the civil societies back in the fight against corruption.

According to the CSOs, the fixation of the EFCC boss on certain individuals and institutions “when grievous petitions capable of bringing the economy down are left unattended, gives the anti-corruption war, under the leadership of Mr Bawa, a dangerously political colouration.”

Ologun said, “We are beginning to see anti-democratic elements within the democratic process, who are daily drawing us back in the fight against corruption. This is a coalition of different civil society organisations against corruption. For a while now, we have observed the EFCC Chairman flagrantly disobeying court orders. And we believe that he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. If you are at the helm of affairs of an anti-graft body and you find it difficult to obey court ruling, such a person is a law breaker. You cannot be in charge of taming corruption in the county and you yourself would be a culprit of disobeying court order.”

“One of the essences of leadership is obeying the tenets of democracy and the rule of law and key to that is court ruling. If Bawa has, in the last few months, continued to disobey court orders, he is unfit to sit at the helm of that body and we are calling for his sack,” he declared.

Executive Director, Centre for Public Accountability, Olufemi Lawson, who called on the media to be partners in the struggle for a better society by resisting intimidation, said, “We are not unaware of the persistent pressure on the media to downplay what is happening currently at the EFCC. This is just one of the series of actions that we are going to be undertaking as Nigerians. We will not relent until the Commission begins to toe the path of the rule of law.

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“We cannot run a society on the wish and aspirations of a man. It must be consistent with the provisions of our law. And if there is negative pressure on the media, then we will not accept it. We are glad that the media has refused to compromise and we will continue this struggle until the President overhauls the EFCC. The biggest form of corruption is disobedience to the rule of law.”

On his part, Declan Ihehaire, of the Activists for Good Governance, said if Bawa had been committed to prison for disobeying court order, he must go to prison.

“We have found out that as young as Bawa is, he has refused to obey court orders and he wants to send people to prison. And we are saying you can’t be sending people to prison when you fail to obey the court order that says you must taste the prison for disobedience. You have been convicted three times by competent courts and three times, Bawa has refused to obey. He is not fit to be in office. Bawa must go,” he said.

Leaders of the anti-corruption CSOs that began the call for the removal of Bawa include the Chairman, Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran; Executive Director, Zero Graft Centre, Kolawole Sanchez-Jude; Chairman, Coalition Against Corruption and Bad Governance, Toyin Raheem; Executive Director, Centre for Public Accountability, Olufemi Lawson; and Ahmed Balogun of Media Rights Concern.

Others are Ologun Ayodeji,

Transparency and Accountability Group; Declan Ihehaire, Activists for Good Governance; and Ochiaga Jude, Centre for Ethics and Good Governance, among many others.

Saturday’s protest was also led by Barr. Cletus Okedube, Barr. Johnson Areola, Barr. George Sanda, among a host of other notable activists.

Eagle

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TikTok removes 2.4 million videos by Nigerian users in Q4 2024

Published

3 hours ago

March 31, 2025

Trends Admin

TikTok removes 2.4 million videos by Nigerian users in Q4 2024

Bytedance’s short video platform, TikTok, said it removed 2.4 million videos posted by Nigerian users in the fourth quarter of 2024 for violating its content policy.

According to the platform, Nigeria was among the top 50 countries where videos violating its policies emanated from in Q4.

However, the highest number of violations were recorded in the United States, which has the largest number of videos removed at 8.5 million.

ikTok disclosed this in its latest Community Guidelines Enforcement report, which indicated that a total of 153 million videos were removed globally in the period under review.

The company said the top 50 markets in terms of policy violations accounted for approximately 90% of all content removals for the quarter.

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The removed content was said to have violated one or more of TikTok’s policies, which center around Integrity and Authenticity, Privacy and Security, Mental and Behavioural Health, Safety, and Civility, among others.

Accounts removal

In the period under review, TikTok said it removed a total of 211.5 million accounts discovered to be either fake or owned by people suspected to be under 13 years of age.

Fake accounts constituted the largest number of deleted accounts for the period. According to the report, a total of 185.3 million fake accounts were removed.
In addition, 20.5 million accounts suspected to be owned by users under the age of 13 were removed, while 5.6 million accounts were removed for other reasons not stated.

“We remain vigilant in our efforts to detect external threats and safeguard the platform from fake accounts and engagement.

“These threats persistently probe and attack our systems, leading to occasional fluctuations in the reported metrics within these areas.

“In Q4 2024, we also updated the way we classify fake likes and followers removed over time, which contributed to some of the overall increases observed in these categories.

“This update better reflects the scale of our existing work to promptly identify and remove any accounts, content, or activities that seek to artificially boost popularity on our platform,” the company stated in the report.

TikTok removes 2.4 million videos by Nigerian users in Q4 2024

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Two children killed, 20 injured in Gombe stampede – Police

Published

3 hours ago

March 31, 2025

Trends Admin

Gombe State Police Command Spokesman, ASP Buhari Abdullahi

Two children killed, 20 injured in Gombe stampede – Police

The Police Force Gombe State Command has confirmed the death of two children following a stampede at the Gombe main Eid Ground.

The Command’s spokesperson, Buhari Abdullahi, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Gombe.

According to Abdullahi, the incident occurred at about 10:45 a.m. at the exit gate of the Eid Ground, immediately after the conclusion of Eid prayers.

“The stampede was caused by inadequate exit access, as a large crowd, primarily women and children, rushed to leave the venue.

“The situation, worsened by intense heat, led to the unfortunate incident,” he said.

He said that 22 individuals were affected and were immediately taken to hospitals for medical attention.

“Regrettably, two of the victims, a four-year-old boy, and six months old baby girl, were pronounced dead by doctors while receiving treatment,” Abdullahi added.

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He extended the command’s condolences to the bereaved families and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

“The police urge Eid Ground managers to ensure that all entrance and exit gates remain open to facilitate smooth movement, especially after prayers,” he advised.

In a related development, Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State has condoled with the families of the deceased and those affected by the tragedy.

In a statement issued by his media aide on Sunday, the governor directed a thorough investigation into the circumstances that led to the stampede, with the aim of preventing future occurrences.

“The safety and well-being of our citizens remain a top priority. The state government is committed to learning from this incident and implementing corrective measures,” Yahaya said.

He also directed that all medical expenses for the injured victims be fully covered by the state government to ensure their recovery and well-being.

Two children killed, 20 injured in Gombe stampede – Police

(NAN)

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Wike’s achievements will translate into electoral success for APC in 2027, says Tinubu

Published

3 hours ago

March 31, 2025

Trends Admin

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike.jpg

Wike’s achievements will translate into electoral success for APC in 2027, says Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has praised the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for his outstanding performance, expressing confidence that his achievements could translate into electoral success for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 FCT elections—despite Wike still being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Tinubu made the remarks at the State House, Abuja, on Sunday during a traditional Sallah homage by a delegation of prominent FCT residents to mark Eid-el-Fitr celebrations.

The President commended Wike’s leadership, noting that several infrastructure projects initiated under his administration, have significantly improved the lives of Abuja residents.

“I must thank the Honorable Minister of FCT. It’s worth it. It is nothing other than a privilege to be the landlord of every one of us in Abuja,” Tinubu said.

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He recalled a conversation where Wike requested exemption from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to enable greater financial flexibility for FCT projects.

Tinubu humorously recounted his response:”I asked him, ‘Would that give me an opportunity for my party (APC) to win the election in FCT?’ If this thing goes too much in your favour, you will lose your job!’”

“Today, we are living in peace, and security is improving. The hunger is coming down. Food prices are lowering. Our people are looking for results, and Wike has delivered,” Tinubu added.

Tinubu noted that despite being from the South-South, Wike is successfully driving progress in the Northern-dominated FCT.

“Surprisingly, Nyesom Wike is not from the North. He’s not a Hausa man. Yet his ability to work in the centre of the North is yielding fruits. That is a great reflection of our diversity that we must use for prosperity.”

The President urged Nigerians to embrace unity, stating that, regardless of ethnic and religious differences, progress is only possible through collaboration and shared purpose.