12/15/17

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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The Kano State Government says it has empowered no fewer than 50,000 youths with various skills through training programmes across the 44 local government areas of the state  since 2015.
The Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, Malam Adamu Unguwargini, disclosed this in an interview in Abuja on Friday.
Unguwargini said that the empowerment programmes were under the government’s new Social Intervention Programme tagged: “Madogara Matasa’’.
According to him, the programme which started at the onset of the Ganduje administration, is to expose youths to various skills such as carpentry, plumbing, panel beating, car repairs and vulcanising.
The governor’s aide said that the State Government had also concluded arrangements to start a new skill acquisition programme that would empower various sets of 30,000 youths monthly across all the 44 local governments.
“This measure will go a long way in complementing the efforts of the Federal Government toward addressing unemployment among youths in the country.
“As you know, white collar jobs are limited, so we want to stimulate the entrepreneurship spirit in our youths in order to liberate them from poverty and enable them to be self-reliant.
“This is the best way to go and believe me the measure will propel small and medium-scale endeavours that are a crucial component of Gov. Ganduje’s economic agenda.
“The idea is to make youths gainfully employed, so that they do not become a nuisance to the society,’’ Unguwargini said.
He further disclosed that in 2016, 72 youths were sponsored by the state government for training in various fields of automobile engineering at the Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Learning Centre in Kaduna.
He said that the beneficiaries had since completed the training and were now training other youths in the state.
The governor’s aide said that the government would soon commence training of females in automobile engineering.
“Recently, under our empowerment programme, we spent N208 million to empower 5,200 tea vendors selected from 484 wards in the 44 local government areas of the state.
“The Kano State Government gave each of the beneficiaries N40,000 worth of empowerment packages such as beverages, noodles, pasta, margarine, eggs and cooking oil to improve their business.
“Our government attaches so much importance to empowerment of its residents because the beneficiaries will become self-reliant at the end, thereby boosting the economic status of the state,’’ Unguwargini said.
These initiatives, he said, would not only take the youths off the street, it would also enhance security of lives and property in the state.
NAN/LR News
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Nigerian Army Court Marshal on Friday sentenced a soldier, Lance Corporal John Godwin, to death over the murder of five civilians at Yamteke community of Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno.
The President of the court, Brig.-Gen. Gbemiga Adesina, said at its sitting in Maiduguri that Godwin was charged with murder punishable under Section 106 (a) of the Armed Forces Act (Cap A-20), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004.
Adesina said the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that the soldier committed the offence and guilty as charged.
He added that the court in its judgment took into consideration the presentations and submissions of the prosecution to treat Godwin as first time offender.
He explained that the court found the accused person guilty as charged and sentenced him to death, adding that the ruling was, however, subject to ratification by appropriate authorities.
The Lead Prosecution Counsel, Lt. Col. NO Nyaro, had earlier told the court that troops of the 122 Task Force Battalion on Nov. 13, 2015, rescued 22 civilians at Yamtake village in Gwoza.
He explained that the rescued civilians included five males, nine females, five boys and three girls.
Nyaro argued that the convict fired three shots at each of the rescued men and killed them while they were undergoing investigations by the military personnel in the area.
The Court Martial also convicted and sentenced one other soldier, Sgt. Innocent Ototo, to life in prison after conviction for manslaughter.
Ototo was convicted for torture, which resulted to the death of a 13-year-old boy, Master Yakubu Isa, at Zabarmari village of Maiduguri Local Government Area.
The prosecution told the court that the convict had on May 15, 2015, beat up and rubbed pepper on the body of the minor, whom he accused of stealing his cell phone, arguing that the boy died while in detention at the military guard post in the area.
Corporal Benjamin Osaji, an accomplice in the torture and murder of the minor was also sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The court also sentenced Private Sunday Onwe to 20 years jail term for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
Two other soldiers, Ayuba Jonathan and Bitrus Yunana were also sentenced to five year imprisonment each.
The two were convicted for illegal possession of ammunition.
The president of the Court Martial said the offences contravened the Nigerian Army Rules of Engagement (ROE), Nigerian Laws and Geneva Conventions which Nigeria is a signatory.
Adesina admonished troops to adhere strictly to the ROE and Human Right Laws in the ongoing counter-insurgency campaign in the northeast.
The court adjourned sitting until to Jan. 11.
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The United States Government through the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) has set aside a total of $9.6million to control malaria in Sokoto State.

United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria in a statement on Friday said 2.9 million bed nets valued at $8.1 million has been set aside for distribution with an additional sum of $1.5 million for logistics in the state.

The bed nets will be distributed in all 23 local government areas of the State.


“The bed nets, valued at $8.1 million will be distributed in all 23 local government areas of the State.  The U.S. Government also provided an additional $1.5 million for logistics, including transportation of the bed nets, community mobilisation, and training of workers to distribute the bed nets.  These nets and support for the distribution are a gift from the American People to the People of Sokoto State,” the statement read in part.

The distribution according to the US government is necessary to create increased access to health services, especially for the poor and because Malaria is a leading cause of illnesses in Nigeria.

“This bed net distribution is significant to scale up access to malaria prevention within every household in Sokoto State. Malaria is one of the leading killers of children and a leading cause of illnesses in Nigeria, particularly during the rainy season when the mosquito population increases,” the statement read.


The statement said further that, since 2011, the U.S. Government has spent more than $420 million to control malaria in Nigeria. Over 50 percent of U.S. Government funding for malaria goes into procuring and distributing insecticide-treated bed nets, malaria diagnostic kits, and malaria medicines.
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Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.

The Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 Amendment Bill 2017 passed recently by the senate makes it mandatory for use of card reader and banned manual accreditation, when it becomes a law.
According to the amendment, House of Representatives aspirants are now to pay N1,000,000 and those for State Assembly will pay N500,000.
The law stated there shall now be full biometric accreditation of voters with Smart Card Readers and/or other technological devices, as may introduce for elections by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).
It states that presiding officers must now instantly transmit accreditation and results from polling units to various collation centres.
“Presiding Officer who contravenes this shall be imprisoned for at least 5 years (no option of fine).
“All presiding officers must now first record accreditation data and polling results on INEC’s prescribed forms before transmitting them. The data/result recorded must be the same with what they transmitted.’’
According to the amendment, INEC has unfettered powers to conduct elections by electronic voting.
Besides manual registers, INEC has been mandated to keep electronic registers of voters.
“INEC is now mandated to publish Voters’ Registers on its Official website(s) for public scrutiny at least 30 days before a general election and any INEC staff who is responsible for this but fails to act as prescribed shall be liable on conviction to 6 months imprisonment.
“INEC is now mandated to keep a National Electronic Register of Election Results as a distinct database or repository of polling unit by polling unit results for all elections conducted by INEC.
“ Collation of election result is now mainly electronic, as transmitted unit results will help to determine final results on real time basis.
“INEC is now mandated to record details of electoral materials – quantities, serial numbers used to conduct elections (for proper tracking),’’ the amendment stated.’’
The bill states that a political party whose candidate dies after commencement of an election and before the declaration of the result of that election now has a 14-day window to conduct a fresh primary in order for INEC to conduct a fresh election within 21 days of the death of the party’s candidate;
“Political Parties’ Polling Agents are now entitled to inspect originals of electoral materials before commencement of election and any Presiding Officer who violates this provision of the law shall be imprisoned for at least 1 year.
“No Political Party can impose qualification/disqualification criteria, measures or conditions on any Nigerian for the purpose of nomination for elective offices, except as provided in the 1999 Constitution.
“The election of a winner of an election can no longer be challenged on grounds of qualification, if he/she (winner) satisfied the applicable requirements of sections 65, 106, 131 or 177 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and he is not, as may be applicable, in breach of sections 66, 107, 137 or 182 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. [For example, a person’s election cannot be challenged on the ground that he did not pay tax, as this is not a qualifying condition under the Constitution.]
“All members of Political Parties are now eligible to determine the Ad-Hoc Delegates to elect candidates of parties in indirect primaries. The capacity of party executives to unduly influence or rig party primaries has been reasonably curtailed, if not totally removed.
“Parties can no longer impose arbitrary nomination fees on political aspirants. The Bill passed prescribes limits for each elective offices.’’
Accordingly, the bill recommended N150,000 for a Ward Councillorship aspirant in the FCT; and States; N250,000 for an Area Council Chairmanship aspirant in the FCT; and Council Chairmanship in other LGAs of States; and N500,000 for a House of Assembly aspirant.
It prescribed N1,000,000 for a House of Representatives aspirant; N2,000,000 for a Senatorial aspirant; N5,000,000 for a Governorship aspirant; and N10,000,000 for a Presidential aspirant.
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The Yobe state government has distributed the sum of N21 million to 150 fire victims in Nguru town, one of the commercial cities of the state.

The Permanent Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Idi Jidawa, while supervising the distribution in Nguru said the government’s gesture is aimed at providing support for the victims as they start their lives all over again.

“When we got the news of this inferno, we deployed our assessment team and they did their job timely in line with emergency response policies and you can see we are now here to respond to the immediate needs of the victims.

“This might not be a direct compensation to the losses inquired but will be a means of support to help the victims regain their means of livelihoods,” Idi Jidawa said.

He urged the beneficiaries to use the money in rebuilding their means of livelihoods and charged the Local Government Authority to provide access roads in the market for quick response to emergencies, noting the fact that the market had suffered series of fire outbreaks in the past.

“I want to call on the victims to make the best use of the money given to them by the state Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, and to ensure that they commence their trades and return to full business better than before”

The Chairman Nguru Local Government Area, Ali Maidami, appreciated the timely response of the state government and commended SEMA for being professional in handling the issues of the victims.

“Let me on behalf of the people of my Local Government thank the state Governor for his frequent response to all the emergency issues that have befallen us in the recent past.


“It has been flooding or one fire disaster or the other but the governor has been responding frequently and timely too. We are indeed grateful for all these” Ali maidami said.
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Nigeria had the second largest HIV epidemic in 2016, with over 196,000 adolescents representing 10 per cent of the global burden said to be living with HIV/AIDS, according to a World Health Report.
The report was given by Mrs Esther Samuel, The Chief Matron, Lagos State Ministry of Health, at a programme by a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) Lisa Demi Project, in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Lisa Demi Project, initiated in the U.K., seeks address the sexual health issues through Talks, Counselling and Entertainment among others.
The programme, held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium Surulere, Lagos on Thursday, and title “ Let’s Talk about Our Sexual Health’’, is targeted at teenagers between the ages 14 to 24.
Speaking on the dangers of unrestrained sexual activities among the youths, Samuel said the statistics from the health sector remained a concern.
“Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic. About 3.2 million people Nigerians were living with HIV in 2016.
“In Nigeria, over 196,000 adolescents, representing 10 per cent of the global burden, are said to be living with HIV/AIDS.
“Also, 230,000 babies were born by girls aged 15 to 19 in 2015. This is a frightening report. However, 1 million STIs are acquired every day,’’ she said.
Relaying the statistics further, Samuel said that the world was groaning under the heavy burden of sexually transmitted diseases.
“Each year, there are estimated 357 million new infections, while globally more than 2 million 10 to 19-year-olds are living with HIV.
“About one in seven of all new HIV infections occur during adolescence. In the U.S., 21 per cent of the adolescents had drunk alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse.
“About 85 per cent of these youths live in developing countries, while we also have 32 per cent of Nigerian population as youths which half (48.6 per cent) of adolescents aged 15 to 19 are sexually active.
“About 1 in 5 of sexually active females and 1 in 12 sexually active males had already engaged in sexual intercourse by the age of 15,’’ she said.
Samuel said that the alarming statistics should call for urgent action so as not to lose the bulk of the productive population to untreatable diseases such as STDs and STIs.
“These are real figures which should bring something to our mind and it is no other thing than fear, and a call to action, especially among our youths.
“Our youths must be cautioned to refrain and advise. They all need to be guided not to waste their lives on what is worth waiting for.
“The youths should start to avoid something they call a little thing that does not matter but are sexual behaviours such as kissing, keeping secret friendships and others.
“We should focus on health education and STI prevention through school seminars, clubs, social media, parents, peer groups and proper counselling when STDs are detected early,’’ she said.
Report Says that the event has in attendance over 1,000 students drawn from schools in Lagos.
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Amb. Jeremy Issacharoff

The Israeli ambassador to Germany has expressed his country’s disappointment that Berlin does not want to follow the US example and recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“Yes, I’m disappointed by that,” Israeli Ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff told Funke media group newspapers in remarks released early Friday.
US President Donald Trump sparked a diplomatic firestorm last week when he recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and decided to move the country’s embassy there, upending decades of US policy.
Following Trump’s announcement last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her government does not support Trump’s stance, as Jerusalem’s status ought to be determined as part of a two-state solution.
Trump had done nothing but state the reality in Jerusalem, Issacharoff asserted.
Issacharoff said he felt that peaceful settlement between Israel and the Palestinians was only possible if Jerusalem was recognized as the Israeli capital.
Israel views all of Jerusalem as its “unified” capital while the Palestinian Authority government says that East Jerusalem, which contains Jewish, Muslim, and Christian holy sites and over 300,000 Palestinian residents, must be the capital of a future Palestinian state.(dpa/LR News).
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