Excitement in Nigeria as Okonjo-Iweala gets reappointed WTO DG – Newstrends
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Excitement in Nigeria as Okonjo-Iweala gets reappointed WTO DG

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Okonjo-Iweala

Excitement in Nigeria as Okonjo-Iweala gets reappointed WTO DG

World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was reappointed Friday for a second term, in the shadow of the coming return of Donald Trump and his disdain for international trade rules.

Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and the first African to head the WTO, was the only candidate in the race, and had been all but assured a second term.

The organisation’s 166 members “today agreed to give incumbent Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala a second term as director-general,” the WTO said in a statement.

The 70-year-old Nigerian’s reappointment was approved by consensus during a special meeting of the organisation’s General Council, held behind closed doors, the WTO said.

Her current term ends in August 2025, and the appointment process for the next mandate had initially been scheduled to take months.

But with Okonjo-Iweala the only candidate, African countries called for the process to be speeded up, officially to facilitate preparations for the WTO’s next big ministerial conference, set to be held in Cameroon in 2026.

The unstated objective is to “accelerate the process, because they did not want Trump’s team to come in and veto her as they did four years ago”, said Keith Rockwell, a senior research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation.

The common practice of appointing directors-general by consensus made it possible in 2020 for Trump to block Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment for months, forcing her to wait to take the reins until after President Joe Biden entered the White House in early 2021.

– Fear of a void –

The overwhelming support for Okonjo-Iweala’s second term came “not so much (because) everyone loves Ngozi”, a source close to the discussions told AFP.

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Rather, members were “worried that if she doesn’t get reinstated, then it’s possible that the administration in Washington would slow things (or) block other contenders”, leaving a void at the top, the source said.

“The alternative of no-one leading the organisation is unacceptable to them.”

Rockwell, a former WTO spokesman, told AFP that speeding up Okonjo-Iweala’s reappointment “creates tensions in the relationship with the United States, for sure — tensions which would probably have been there under any circumstances, but now this raises the stakes”.

During Trump’s first term, the WTO faced relentless attacks from his administration, which crippled the organisation’s dispute settlement appeal system, and also threatened to pull the United States out of the organisation altogether.

And Trump has already signalled he is preparing to launch all-out trade wars, threatening to unleash a flurry of tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico on his first day in office on January 20.

“The festival of tariffs announced to date shows that he has no intention of following any rules,” said Elvire Fabry, a researcher at the Institut Jacques Delors think-tank.

“The United States would not even need to withdraw from the WTO,” she told AFP. “They are freeing themselves from the WTO rules”.

In this context, the WTO chief will have “a firefighter role”, she said.

– ‘Very difficult’ –

It will be a question of “saving what can be saved, and making the case that there is no real alternative to the WTO rules”, said another source close to the discussions on speeding up Okonjo-Iweala’s reappointment.

“It will be a very difficult mandate, with little certainty about what will happen.”

Rockwell noted that the WTO’s problems were not solely linked to Washington.

“It is a time right now in which application of the WTO rules has deteriorated,” he said.

“You can’t blame all of this on the United States. That’s true of many other members as well.”

Dmitry Grozoubinski, author of the book “Why Politicians Lie about Trade”, agreed.

“Governments are increasingly turning to trade measures to address issues like national security, environmental competition, and re-industrialisation, and policymakers aren’t as moved as they once were by arguments that their ideas violate the letter or spirit of WTO commitments,” he told AFP.

“If president-elect Trump makes destroying the WTO a priority,” he said, the organisation’s “options will be limited as the institution is not built to withstand overt demolition from within its membership”.

Since taking the WTO reins, Okonjo-Iweala has tried to breathe new life into the fragile organisation, pushing for fresh focus on areas like climate change and health.

But pressure is growing for WTO reform, in particular of the moribund appeals portion of its dispute settlement system, which collapsed during the first Trump presidency as Washington blocked the appointment of judges.

 

Excitement in Nigeria as Okonjo-Iweala gets reappointed WTO DG

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Court strikes out Bobrisky’s fundamental rights suit against EFCC

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November 29, 2024

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Popular Nigerian cross-dresser, Idris Okuneye, widely known as Bobrisky

Court strikes out Bobrisky’s fundamental rights suit against EFCC

Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has dismissed a fundamental rights suit instituted against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, by Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju (a.k.a Bobrisky) alleging breach of his rights by the Commission and seeking  N200million damages.

 In a judgment delivered on Thursday, November 28, 2024, Justice Owoeye held that Bobrisky’s claims of encroachment of his rights lacked merit with no credible evidence to justify the reliefs he sought from the court.

One of the reliefs sought was an “ an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Respondents” from harassing, declaring him wanted,  arresting or detaining him “whether by themselves, their officers, servants, agents…”.

In another relief, Bobrisky prayed the court to award the sum of N200million against the EFCC as damages he allegedly suffered from the activities of the Commission regarding his arrest and trial.

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After evaluating all the reliefs he sought,   Justice Owoeye ruled that   “having evaluated the evidence placed before this Court by the Applicant, it is evident that the Applicant has failed to provide credible evidence to justify the award of the declaratory and injunctive reliefs sought by him”.

The judge further stated that,  “in the final analysis,  I hold the claims of violation of fundamental rights against the 1st and 2nd Respondents were not made out of the affidavit evidence placed before this Court.  The claim of the Applicant against the 1st to the 2nd Respondents hereby lacks merit and is liable to be dismissed. It is accordingly dismissed”.  The judge also refused to award any damage against the EFCC.

Bobrisky had dragged both the EFCC and the National Assembly before the court and all the reliefs he sought were thrown out.  He was originally arrested by the EFCC on April 4, 2024 by the Commission for Naira abuse. His arrest eventually led to his six months  conviction  by Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on April 12, 2024.

 

Court strikes out Bobrisky’s fundamental rights suit against EFCC

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Police arrest 5 suspected trans-border arms dealers, recover 5 Israeli rifles, others

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November 29, 2024

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Police arrest 5 suspected trans-border arms dealers, recover 5 Israeli rifles, others

Operatives of the Nigerian Police have arrested 5 suspected trans-border arms dealers during a major operation in Zamfara State.

A statement signed by Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the suspects were arrested on 18th November, 2024, with several arms recovered from them.

The statement reads : “The Nigeria Police Force in its unyielding resolution and unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all citizens, continues to work tirelessly to prevent and combat all forms of crime and criminality.

These relentless efforts are paying off, as the Force has successfully made the arrest of five (5) suspects involved in trans-border gun running. The suspects identified as Adamu Noma ‘m’, Matthew Audu ‘m’, Andrew Poyi ‘m’, Aminu Sani ‘m’, and Aminu Talha ‘m’ were apprehended by the operatives of the FID-IRT on the 18th of November, 2024 in Zamfara State.

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Upon arrest and conducted search, 10 locally fabricated Ak-47 rifles, 5 Isreali Ak-47 rifles, 1 revolver pistol, 1 pump action rifle, 20 rounds of Ak-47 ammunition, and 1 welding machine for fabrication of rifles were recovered from the suspect.

These feats, and several more recorded by police operatives across the country are indications of the steadfastness and commitment of the current police leadership to decimate and subdue criminal activities and insecurity in general in the country.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, PhD., NPM., has re-echoed his directive to operatives of the Force, particularly, tactical units, to mop up every illegal arms and ammunition, and see to the total dismantling of local manufacturers of illicit arms and ammunition and dangerous weapons by all means. ”

 

Police arrest 5 suspected trans-border arms dealers, recover 5 Israeli rifles, others

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Army releases investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo

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39 minutes ago

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November 29, 2024

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Fisayo Soyombo

Army releases investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo

The Nigerian Army has released investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo.

According to the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), this development followed an intense media campaign advocating for his release.

In a social media post on Friday, FIJ revealed that the 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, had detained its founder, Fisayo Soyombo, for three days.

“The 6 Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt has been detaining our founder, Fisayo Soyombo, for three days. Journalism is not a crime,” FIJ wrote.

In its response, the Nigerian Army, through the Acting Deputy Director of 6 Division Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Danjuma, stated that Soyombo was arrested at an illegal bunkering site.

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Confirming Soyombo’s release on Friday evening, FIJ in a post via X said: “We can confirm that our founder @fisayosoyombo has now been released by @HQNigerianArmy, following the intense media campaign you all mounted.

“FIJ acknowledges the Nigerian Army’s deliberate mischaracterisation to suggest an involvement in “illegal oil bunkering”. FIJ will also address this statement appropriately.

“Our immediate concern is regarding the safety of ‘Fisayo Soyombo in view of extensive information sharing with the Army on his fieldwork during the period of his detention. We are assessing the situation and hoping that his safety will not be jeopardised after release.”

 

Army releases investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo

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