Nigeria petitions CNN over #EndSARS report, threatens legal action – Newstrends
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Nigeria petitions CNN over #EndSARS report, threatens legal action

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4 years ago

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The Federal Government has petitioned the Cable News Network (CNN),  demanding an immediate investigation into its report on the recent Lekki tollgate incident.
The FG threatened to take a legal action if it failed to act on the petition.
In the petition addressed to Mr Jonathan Hawkins VP, Communications, CNN Centre Atlanta, Georgia US, the government said if the international media organisation failed to carry out its demand, it will “take any action within its laws’’ to prevent the CNN from aggravating the #EndSARS crisis.
The petition dated November 23, 2020 and signed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was made available to newsmen in Abuja.
It urged the network to determine the authenticity and conformity of the report to basic standards of journalism.
CNN in its report had alleged that it ”uncovered that Nigerian security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters” at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos, during the #EndSARS protest.
The report entitled ‘How a Bloody Night of Bullets Quashed a Young Protest Movement’ was aired on November 18 by the international news organisation.
The petition read in part,
“We write to put on record that the report did not just fall short of journalistic standards; it reinforces the disinformation that is going around on the issue.
“It is blatantly irresponsible and it is a poor piece of journalistic work by a reputable international news
organization.
“In the first instance, the report did not live up to the most basic of the core principles of journalism – balance and fairness.’’
It said the CNN failed to exhibit the journalism ethic of balance and fairness in the report but slanted the story to favour the reporter’s desired conclusion.
It stated, “Rushing to air such a momentous story without presenting the government’s side is inexcusable and indefensible.
“CNN said it contacted over 100 protesters and family members, but did not speak to one official of Nigeria’s federal government.
“While CNN said there was no response from the army and that officials of Lagos State would not speak in view of the Judicial Panel that is investigating the matter, it did not say what effort it made to speak with any official of the federal government.
“The truth is that CNN did not even attempt to reach the federal government.
“Nima Elbagir, who presented the report and most probably led the investigation, is conversant with the Minister of Information and Culture, who is also the spokesman for the Federal Government of Nigeria, yet did not say that she even tried to reach the minister.
“It is therefore strange, to say the least, that she would rush to air such an important ‘investigation’ report without getting the government’s side.’’
The minister claimed the CNN was not present at the Lekki tollgate on the night of the incident but relied heavily on unverified footages it harvested from social media.
He said the government was baffled by the CNN position that it stood by its story and ”our reporting was carefully and meticulously researched” despite all evidence to the contrary.
Mohammed said DJ Switch; one of CNN’s star eyewitnesses in its ‘investigative’ reporting, is not credible because her story on the Lekki tollgate shooting has changed several times.
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Nigerians in diaspora fume over Trump birthright citizenship policy

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13 hours ago

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January 23, 2025

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Donald Trump

Nigerians in diaspora fume over Trump birthright citizenship policy

Nigerians in diaspora have condemned the move by President Donald Trump to cancel citizens by birth as guaranteed in the American constitution, saying an executive order alone was not enough to amend a constitutional provision.

They argued that in the end, it would be up to the US courts and the Supreme Court to decide on the legality or otherwise of Trump’s move.

President Trump had signed an executive order on assumption of office, Monday, seeking to end the age-long citizenship by birth among many other orders that aimed to reverse the President Biden-policy era.

The executive order seeks to stop automatic U.S. citizenship for children born on American soil to parents who are in the country unlawfully or on temporary stay.

The Executive Order states that the federal government will no longer issue documents recognizing U.S. citizenship to children born to parents who are in the country unlawfully or temporarily. The order specifies that it will apply to children born in the U.S. after 30 days from the date of the order.

The order has drawn immediate legal suits with 22 Democratic states and some civil rights groups filing court actions to stop the implementation.

However, reacting to the development, Mr. Ralu Ajekwe, who resides in the USA, said though the move might have been contrived to protect the national interest, the key thing to be considered was the legality of the order.

“Is it in line with extant laws? Is an executive order enough to amend a constitutional issue? One thing I will tell you though is that a government exists to protect the national interest of the state, both in local and international relations.

”This means that it has to take a stand that aligns with its goals, values, and objectives. If Trump has banned citizenship by birth, the questions should be: What are his goals and objectives?; Does it align with the interests and values of the American people?

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” Are Americans happy with the policy? Does it lead to the greatest happiness of the greatest numbers?. If all the above is yes, then he is doing the right thing.  Another thing I think we should look at is the legality of the policy,” he stated.

Speaking in the same vein, a diaspora Nigerian and a legal practitioner based in Canada, who declined to be named, dismissed the move, describing it simply as showmanship.

“There are two things with Trump: One is grandstanding or showmanship for his base or supporters and another is what would be legal. There is a limit to executive orders,” he said.

Citing a deviation from the 14th Amendment, he asserted that what Trump was trying to do was to introduce the concept of a parent’s temporary status or lack of permanent residency as qualification for US citizenship.

He stated that the US constitution used the wording: “All persons born… in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”  Can children of temporary residents not be subject to the jurisdiction of the US?

“There is an exception though. The children of people on the diplomatic mission are not usually citizens of the US (and Canada) due to their diplomatic immunity, privileges, conventions and practices.

“I think that executive order will be challenged. It will be up to the US courts or Supreme Court to determine. If the court determines against Trump, those who lost their citizenship while the policy is in force will regain their citizenship.

“Judiciary will have a final say and as such, there is no full details on that immigration policy till the legal challenges are decisively determined by the courts. Anything else would likely be posturing and grandstanding.

“Now, as to the illegal migrants or undocumented migrants, which is also mentioned in the order, the constitution did not say their children can not be citizens. The overarching phrase: All persons born may work in their favour as well.

“Come to think of it, most of the undocumented migrants are trying hard to be subject to the jurisdiction of the US through their action to or inaction to stay in the US albeit illegally. Most are pleading with the US to grant them a stay.  Can one safely argue that the undocumented migrants are not subject to the jurisdiction? He stated.

Peter Obiora, online editor at InvestAdvocate, who lives in the United States, said: “It cannot work that way except they change the constitution on that. The constitution supersedes any other executive order. So, before that can happen, it has to be changed in the constitution.

“There would be a barrage of lawsuits on this. He touted that idea the first time he came in and it was shot down, this time around, he’s back with it. But there’s no way Trump can stop birthright citizenship except through constitutional amendment.  I don’t see him actualising this until his tenure ends.”

Johnpaul Nwafidelie, who is resident in Canada, explained it was a way to control immigration into the United States.

He explained that Canada was also working on a similar policy action but was going through the parliament.

He advised Nigerians who want dual citizenship for their children to go through the right channel, given the current order in place.

“My point is that Nigerians took advantage of birthright citizenship while it lasted. So, now that it has changed, people should follow the current policy to get it if they so desire.

”It worked good for foreign nationals but is no longer working because it gives citizenship to the wrong people who shouldn’t have been allowed to stay in the country due to crime and terrorism.

“So, it’s a way they want to control the immigrants into the country. Like I always said, no door is shut, it’s just a change in process. So, whoever wants it should be patient enough to go through the right path and still get it,” he said.

 

Nigerians in diaspora fume over Trump birthright citizenship policy

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Abuja-Kaduna road: Infiouest not Infoquest awarded contract, active, says Minister Umahi

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2 days ago

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January 22, 2025

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Abuja-Kaduna road: Infiouest not Infoquest awarded contract, active, says Minister Umahi

Minister of Works, David Umahi, has clarified that the contract for Section 2 of the Abuja-Kaduna highway was awarded to Infiouest International Limited, not Infoquest Nigeria Limited as stated in a Daily Trust report of Tuesday.

The minister stated this at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, stressing that the contractor given the project had the capacity to deliver.

Daily Trust had published the status of Infoquest generated at 22:21 (Monday, January 20, 2025) as showing inactive.

The firm was reported to have got “No objection” from the
Bureau of Public Procurement ( BPP)
for the rehabilitation of a section of the
road at N252.89 billion.

It reported a source familiar with the procedures and operations of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, as well as extant laws governing awards of contracts, as saying Infoquest had never paid tax and hurriedly registered as a tax-paying entity in the early hours of Tuesday.

“As of yesterday (Monday), there was no record. It was registered today (Tuesday) with all the details,” the source said.

But the minister also in a statement issued by his media aide, Orji Kalu Orji, said the ministry had no business relationship with Infoquest Nigeria Ltd, but has a contractual relationship with Infiouest International Limited.

He said Infiouest International Limited was “corporately active and is absolutely in compliance with all legal requirements and regulations set by the Companies and Allied Matters Act.”

The statement described the Daily Trust report of Tuesday as “mischievous”.

It said it was a deliberate orchestration to malign the ministry and undermine the efforts of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration in revolutionising road infrastructure development, and to “demarket the company that has proven capacity in road construction.”

It demanded a public apology to be published in at least five national dailies “for unjustifiably publishing falsehoods against the Ministry of Works.”

The statement said that the ministry was facing a coordinated onslaught of “falsehood, blackmail, and gang-up by adversaries to the policy of the government because of the ministry’s insistence on a new order of value for money, quality assurance, and best practices in project pricing and execution.”

He urged the public and the media to join in what he called “a desirable fight against national sabotage by some contractors”.

During his press conference, the minister described Infiouest International Limited as capable of completing the Abuja-Kaduna highway as the company had conducted several projects in the country.

“Some of its equipment is leased to Julius Berger Construction Company,” Umahi added.

“We want the public to know that we are facing a backlash. Corruption is fighting back.

“ut I want the public to know that our hands are very clean and those who are demarketing us, we have not collected any kobo from anybody, we are insisting that the taxpayers should have value for their money,” he said.

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Avoid confrontation with Trump, Bolaji Akinyemi tells Tinubu

Published

3 days ago

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January 21, 2025

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Avoid confrontation with Trump, Bolaji Akinyemi tells Tinubu

 

A former Nigeria’s Minister of External Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has advised President Bola Tinubu to avoid confrontation with Donald Trump, the newly inaugurated 47th president of the United States.

He also said Nigeria is not part of the focus of the 78-year-old most powerful president and that the country should not expect anything extraordinary from the Trump presidency.

Akinyemi spoke Monday night on a Channels Television programme, Politics Today, on how to relate with the US president.

The former minister said Tinubu should devise means of dealing with Trump “even if he does things that annoy or step on the interests of Nigeria”.

“If I were President Tinubu, I would try to steer clear of antagonising him because there is nothing a bully likes better than taking on people who are not strong enough to resist him,” Akinyemi said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Monday.

“You know there is that African proverb that if you are not strong enough to take on a bully and you take him on, you are just even going to suffer more for it.

“That’s the advice I will give President Tinubu: try and avoid having a confrontation with him even if that means that he does things that annoy or does things that step on the interests of Nigeria. There are ways in which you could address his reaction without confrontation,” he said.

Prof Akinyemi faulted the inaugural speech of Trump as uninspiring, “shocking and depressing”.

The octogenarian said rather than rallying the world for peace, Trump took time to threaten the rest of the world with a bouquet of hostile policies including tacking back Panama Canal, renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, tariff wars, and others.

Akinyemi said the US president would “soon learn that there are repercussions to policies, to jingoism”, adding that the world is “in for a rough ride for four years” of the Trump presidency.

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