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Four given jail terms for Amsterdam violence against football fans

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Dutch authorities spoke of "hit-and-run" attacks across the centre of Amsterdam early last month

Four given jail terms for Amsterdam violence against football fans

Four rioters have been given short jail terms for violence against football fans visiting Amsterdam for a Europa League match between Ajax and Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Sefa Ö, 32, was handed the longest sentence of six months in jail by Amsterdam district court, while another man was given 10 weeks and two others a month’s detention each. A fifth defendant was given a community service order under the Netherlands’ juvenile law.

The judge said a prison sentence for the four was appropriate given the seriousness of the actions and the context in which they took place.

The riots broke out in several areas of the Dutch capital in early November and led to international condemnation.

The five defendants sentenced on Tuesday were the first to be tried for hit-and-run attacks that erupted in the early hours of 8 November, after incidents that took place over two days.

The court said that there was a lot of video evidence showing Maccabi fans facing extreme violence, and also pointed to footage of supporters pulling down Palestinian flags as well as chanting slogans against Arabs. Taxis were also vandalised by the fans.

The court chairman added that there had already been unrest in the Netherlands because of the war in Gaza.

While the court took “the context” of the events into account, it said there had been “no justification for calling for and using physical violence against Israeli supporters”.

Sefa Ö was found to have given a karate-type kick to one victim, causing him to fall against a moving tram, as well as taking part in several other attacks.

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The trial saw video footage appeared to show him kicking and hitting victims on Dam Square, Damrak and Zoutsteeg, and prosecutors said he had played a leading role in violence that had nothing to do with football.

Rachid O, 26, who was given 10 weeks in jail, was found to have taken part in a WhatsApp chat group called Buurthuis2, on which he referred to intended victims as “cowardly” Jews who he would never again get the chance to attack.

More than 900 people were in the group and thee court said the chat had been used to pass on information to “commit violence against people of Jewish descent and/or supporters of Maccabi Tel Aviv”.

Umutcan A, 24, was also found to have kicked one of the victims several times while taking part in an attack with other men and then kicked another fan on the ground. CCTV footage had shown him attacking several Maccabi fans, as well as grabbing one fan by the throat and seizing his football scarf.

He had written in messaging groups about a “Jew hunt” but told the trial he did not harbour hatred towards Jews.

Karanveer S, 26, had already been convicted of assault in 2022 and the court noted that did not deter him from taking part in last month’s attacks.

The youngest of the five, Lucas D, 19, was found to have used violence against a police officer and taken part in a separate Snapchat group calling for violence against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.

The five all have two weeks in which to appeal.

The court said he had an illegal, high-explosive “cobra” firework in his possession at the time of his arrest. Prosecutors had called for Lucas D to be given a jail term.

Chief prosecutor René de Beukelaer had earlier rejected suggestions that the attacks had amounted to terrorism, because he said it was not the aim of the group to instill fear in the people they were targeting.

However, he did say there were instances of antisemitism exchanged on a messaging group.

“I can well understand that the Jewish community in Amsterdam was left afraid because of this violence, but that’s different from saying that was the goal of the suspects,” he told Amsterdam’s AT5 TV channel earlier this month.

 

Four given jail terms for Amsterdam violence against football fans

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Islamic group postpones launch of Sharia court in Oyo

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Islamic group postpones launch of Sharia court in Oyo

The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria has announced the indefinite postponement of the inauguration of a Sharia Court of Law in Oyo State following widespread online criticism.

In a statement released on Tuesday by Imam Daud Igi Ogun, the Khadimul Muslimeen of Oyo Kingdom, the Islamic group confirmed that the event, initially scheduled for January 11, 2025, would no longer hold as planned.

The proposed establishment of the Sharia court had sparked significant outrage on social media, with many Nigerians expressing concerns over its implications in a multi-religious and culturally diverse state like Oyo.

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The group said, “On behalf of the Oyo Muslim indigenes, this is to inform the general public that the inauguration ceremony of the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (Oyo branch) previously scheduled for January 11th, 2025, at the Muslim Community Islamic Center, Oba Adeyemi High School Road, Mobolaje Area, Agbongangan, Oyo, has been suspended until further notice. Islam portrays peace!”

Recall that the group’s flier announcing the launch of the court in Oyo state had gone viral causing an outrage among Nigerians especially those from the South region you argued that the same measure used in the North cannot be adopted there.

According to the flier, the court was expected to launch on January 11, 2025, at the Muslim Community Islamic Centre, Oba Adeyemi High School Road, Mobolaje Area, Oyo.

Islamic group postpones launch of Sharia court in Oyo

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Lagos council to rename road after Seyi Tinubu

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Seyi Tinubu

Lagos council to rename road after Seyi Tinubu

The Oshodi-Isolo Local Government is set to rename Liverpool Road in Oshodi-Isolo after Seyi Tinubu, the son of Mr. President Bola Tinubu.

Chairman of the council, Kehinde Oloyede, explained that the decision was “borne out of his immense contributions to youth and community development.

According to Oloyode, in a statement shared on the LG’s X handle by his media aid, “All is now set for the renaming of Liverpool Road in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government after the son of Nigeria’s President, Amb. Seyi Tinubu.”

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When contacted to confirm the claim, one of media aides to the Chairman of Oshodi –Isolo council said, The road, which is strategic to Oshodi and one of the major roads linking Oshodi/Apapa Expressway and connecting the international airport, “would soon be commissioned and renamed in Seyi Tinubu’s honour at a date to be announced.”

Oloyode, claimed “The road was a lion’s den, as no one could dare pass it either during the day or at night.”

He, however, noted that upon his assumption of office, the criminal elements, who had been using the road as a hideout before its reconstruction were all chased away.

 

Lagos council to rename road after Seyi Tinubu

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I stole from hospital because of hunger — Suspected cultist

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I stole from hospital because of hunger — Suspected cultist

A 25-year-old alleged cultist, Borokini Ayodeji, has said that he resorted to stealing because of hunger and a lack of support from family members.

Ayodeji, who was arrested and paraded by the Ondo State security outfit codenamed Amotekun, in Akure, lamented that he was abandoned hence he ventured into stealing to survive.

In an interview, the suspect confessed to being a member of the Eiye confraternity.

He admitted stealing from a government general hospital in Akure, the state capital out of hunger.
Th suspect who said that he was a trained tailor, noted that he resorted to stealing because of poverty and lack of support to establish his craft.

Also paraded was a 16 year old secondary school student in Akure, (names witheld) who confessed to raping a 24 year old neighbour at knifepoint.

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According to his statement, the crime was unprovoked, and he expressed remorse for his actions.
In an interview, the suspect said: “I don’t know what came over me. I regret my actions.”

Parading the suspects, the state commander of Amotekun, Adetunji Adeleye, said that 29 suspects, with seven others currently under interrogation, were arrested for various offences ranging from rape and burglary to attempted murder.

Adeleye said that the arrests were the result of intensified patrols and intelligence gathering across the state.

He assured residents of the Corps’ commitment to maintaining peace and curbing criminal activities, particularly during the festive season.

He said: “Among these, a notorious member of a vehicle and motorcycle theft syndicate, known for disassembling stolen vehicles and selling them as scrap outside the state, was apprehended.
“The operatives also arrested a serial house breaker who had been jailed twice in the last three years.

“Shockingly, he resumed burglary activities within two weeks of his release from the prison.”
He said that to ensure safety during the yuletide season, 1,200 personnel had been deployed across the 18 local government areas of the state, supported by regular patrols and show-of-force exercises.

 

I stole from hospital because of hunger — Suspected cultist

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