Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
Irate youths on Thursday burnt down a Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) patrol vehicle at Uya-Oro junction in Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.
The angry youths staged the protest when some NCS personnel attempted to clamp down on a vehicle allegedly carrying five bags of imported rice.
Latest Reality Metro reports that while the NCS vehicle was chasing a car with the contraband (rice), the car ran into commercial cyclists carrying three passengers.
A witness, who pleaded anonymity, said one of the three passengers died, living others injured.
He said the accident happened at about 3 p.m.
The angry youths later went berserk after a failed attempt of the customs personnel to arrest the car carrying the five bags of alleged imported rice.
Reacting to the issue, the Akwa Ibom Police Public Relations Officer, DSP MacDon Achebe, confirmed the incident.
He said that a customs vehicle tried to stop a car carrying contraband and the driver refused to stop.
“The customs personnel shot at the car and in an attempt to escape, it ran into a commercial cyclist,” Achebe said.
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday signed into law the `Not Too Young To Run’ bill and raised eyebrow on the non-reduction of the age limits for senators and governors as originally proposed by sponsors of the bill.
The President, who signed the bill in company of members of the `Not Too Young To Run’ movement at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also jokingly appealed to the young people to postpone their campaign (presidential ambition) till after the 2019 general elections.
The bill was passed by the National Assembly in July 2017 to alter Sections 65, 106, 131, 177 of the Constitution, to reduce the age qualification for president from 40 to 30; House of Representatives membership from 30 to 25 and State House of Assembly membership from 30 to 25.
The bill, however, maintained the age qualification of 35 years for the positions of senator and governor as against 30 years as originally proposed by the sponsors of the bill.
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“Surprisingly, the age limits for senators and governors were not reduced, as originally proposed by the sponsors of this Bill. This is an issue that may need to be addressed going forward.
“Nevertheless, your focus and contributions have now successfully increased the quality and maturity of Nigerian democracy and expanded the playing field for youth participation in politics.
President Muhammadu Buhari (M) Sponsor, ‘NOT-TOO-YOUNG-TO-RUN BILL’ (NTYTR-B) in the Senate, Sen Abdulazeez Mutala-Nyako (3rd R) Sponsor, NTYTR-B in the House of Representatives, Rep Tony Nwulu (2nd R) Leader NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN GROUP, Mr Samson Itodo (6th L) after the signing into law of the NTYTR-B by President Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.
“You, the young people of Nigeria, are now set to leave your mark on the political space, just as you have done over the decades in entrepreneurship, sports, art, media entertainment, technology, and several other fields.
“You are undoubtedly Nigeria’s most important resource – not oil, not agriculture, not solid minerals – but you and all of us. Your energy, intelligence and talent are what will drive and develop Nigeria, long after we are all gone.’’
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He said that the signing of the bill provided him with an opportunity to affirm that his Administration would continue to do everything in its power to make Nigeria work for the young people.
“You may all know that the Bill I just assented now becomes an Act of the National Assembly.
“Thus, it may be tempting for you to think of this as the end of the journey.
However, it is only the beginning; there is still a lot of work ahead, towards ensuring that young people take full advantage of the opportunities provided not only by this constitutional amendment but also through Nigeria’s boundless prospects.’’
Buhari enjoined the youth to inculcate the spirit of self-help, adding that those who completed their training should not just sit down and wait for government or private sector to employ them.
He urged them to be innovative and turn their hands to any legitimate work that would enable them to sustain themselves.
“You may have noticed already that every one of you represents one of our 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. This is because today is about preparing for the bright future of our country.
“I am confident each one of you will transform Nigeria in your own way – whether through media, agricultural enterprise, economists, engineers, or as lawmakers in your states or at federal level, or as state governors – and even someday, as President. Why not?
“But please, can I ask you to postpone your campaigns till after the 2019 elections!’’
In his remark, Coordinator of the “Not Too Young To Run” movement, Samson Itodo thanked President Buhari for assenting to the bill, saying that with the signing, the president had succeeded in writing his name in the history books of Nigeria.
Itodo said the youth would continue to contribute their quota towards the development of the country by upholding the values integrity and accountability.
“We, as young people, hereby make a commitment that we will remain patriotic, upholding the values of integrity and accountability and also contribute our own quota to rebuilding this country and bringing it back to the path of economic and political progress,” he pledged.
Itodo, however, frowned at those three states — Kano, Lagos and Zamfara — whose Houses of Assembly refused to pass the “Not Too Young To Run bill”.
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
The Ugandan parliament on Thursday passed a law imposing a tax on people using mobile social media networks in an attempt to increase revenue, but rights groups say the levy is actually aimed at silencing dissent.
The tax for users of WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook is minimal, at 200 Ugandan shillings (five cents) a day, but adds up to about 18 dollars a year – not a small amount of money in the impoverished East African country.
“As a government, we thought it would be good to impose taxes on some aspects of the social media,” deputy government spokesman Shaban Bantariza told dpa Thursday, the day after parliament passed the law.
He added that “government is installing infrastructure like WiFi in areas around the country and it will not do this without our contribution through taxes.”
It was not quite clear how the tax would be implemented, but 24 millions Ugandans – about half the population – have access to the internet, according to the Uganda Communications Commission, mostly through mobile phones.
However, human rights groups expressed concern over the move, which reportedly came about after long-time leader Yoweri Museveni said social media helped spread gossip.
“This tax is detrimental to the enjoyment of freedom of expression,” said Livingstone Sewannyana, director of Uganda’s Foundation for Human Rights Initiative.
“Its prohibitive. It shows the repressive nature of the state which is amassing as much revenue as it can to its advantage,” he added.
During the 2016 elections, social media networks were shut down because people were using them to communicate and mobilize anti-government demonstrations. dpa/LR News
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
Ahmed Gabdo, An Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), has cautioned parents against smoking cigarettes close to their children to safeguard their health and future development.
Gabdo, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri on Thursday as the world celebrates “No Tobacco Day” said the warning had safeguard the health of children.
Gabdo said that many parents who smoked near their children and wards, exposed them to many risks and varieties of health challenges in future.
He said that children whose parents smoked, were more prone to coughing, wheezing and asthma attacks than children whose parents do not smoke.
“They also tend to have higher rates of pneumonia and bronchitis; smoking, not only impacts your cardiovascular health, but also the health of those around you, who do not smoke.
“Exposure to second hand smoke carries the same risk to a non-smoker as someone who does smoke. Other risks include stroke, heart attack and cancer, among other diseases.
“Cigarettes contain about 600 ingredients and when these ingredients burn, they generate more than 7,000 chemicals, many of which are poisonous and at least 69 of them are linked to cancer,” he said.
A smoker, Musa Bashir, who claimed he had been in the business of puffing cigarette for about 17 year, said doing so removed pain, anger and anxiety.“I was introduced to smoking by my friend and sincerely speaking, cigarette is my closest companion.
“I enjoy smoking, especially when I eat and when I am worried, it cool off my temper.
“Doctors say there are side effects, but for all these years, it has been an immune-booster to me.
‘ I am thinking of quitting, but I needed a job. I need to engage myself in positive activities that will keep me away from my friends who are also smokers. That way, I can stop,” Bashir said.
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
Arkady Babchenko faked his death
Ukrainian authorities revealed on Wednesday that they faked the death of a Russian journalist to catch someone they suspected of attempting to kill him.
This came less than a day after the reported death of Arkady Babchenko gripped Ukraine watchers as they tried to make sense of what seemed like the third sensational death of a journalist in just a few years.
Q: Who is Babchenko?
A: Babchenko, 41, is a Russian national who was a soldier during the country’s wars in Chechnya in the 1990s. He made his name in literary circles with his descriptions of brutality employed by the Russian army in its fight with the Chechens.
Babchenko, who now lives in Kiev, has also openly criticized Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s southern Crimea region and the ongoing pro-Russian separatist rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
Q: How did Ukraine fake his murder?
A: Ukrainian authorities said Babchenko was fatally shot outside his home in Kiev on Tuesday and said Russia was to blame.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman called Babchenko a “true friend of Ukraine who told the world the truth about Russian aggression.” “And so they killed him,” Groysman said in a post on his Facebook page.
Babchenko showed up alive the next day at a press conference organized by the head of the government’s main security agency, the Security Service of Ukraine.
Babchenko apologized to his wife and others who had mourned him.
Q: What do we know about the suspect?
A: Russian special services recruited a Ukrainian citizen who convinced an acquaintance, a former participant in Ukraine’s Anti-Terrorism Operation, to kill Babchenko for 30,000 dollars, the Ukrainian agency’s head, Vasyl Hrytsak, told reporters.
The organizer was tasked with purchasing weaponry and ammunition on the black market from the conflict areas in eastern Ukraine, Hrytsak said.
His agency released a video of a middle-aged man being detained by undercover officers on a crowded street in broad daylight. He has been identified only by the initial “G.” Only the side of his face is visible in the video.
Q: What was the reaction to the stunt?
A: The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said after the surprising press conference that “the best news is that Babchenko is alive,” according to a statement on her Facebook page.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it was relieved that Babchenko is alive, and demanded that Ukraine explain why it felt it needed to lie to the world.
“Ukrainian authorities must now disclose what necessitated the extreme measure of staging news of the Russian journalist’s murder,” the organization said in a statement.
Reporters Without Borders issued a statement expressing its “deepest indignation after discovering the manipulation of the Ukrainian secret services.”
“It is always very dangerous for a government to play with the facts, especially using journalists for their fake stories,” the statement said.
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said Thursday he was leaving the Spanish giants, just days after winning the Champions League for the third year in a row.
“I have taken the decision to not continue next year as Real Madrid coach,” the Frenchman told a hastily convened press conference, before adding he was not looking for another club to coach.
“This club deserves to continue to win and needs a change,” he said, adding that he believed the “moment has come.”
“After three years the club needs another discourse, another method of working,” he added
“I don’t see myself continuing to win this year and I am a winner, I don’t like to lose,” added Zidane, who was under contract with Real until 2020.
“I have thought a lot about this decision and I can’t go back on it.”
Real beat Liverpool 3-1 in the final in Kiev on Saturday, making Zidane the first coach in history to win three successive Champions League titles.
Zidane, 45, has now won nine trophies since replacing Rafael Benitez in the Santiago Bernabeu dugout in January 2016.
He was flanked at the press conference by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez who said Zidane’s announcement was “totally unexpected”.
Latest Reality Blog is a legal blog where you are updated on online latest news, gist, entertainment, events, motivational text, and genue articles.
Following the meeting, Mr Trump tweeted a photo of himself with a stoic Kardashian in the Oval Office.
“Great meeting with [Kim Kardashian] today, talked about prison reform and sentencing,” Mr Trump tweeted.
Kardashian left the White House in an SUV that was parked inside the White House grounds, which CNN notes is an unusual level of access and courtesy provided since most VIP guests have to walk through a gate before they are able to get to their vehicles.
“I would like to thank President Trump for his time this afternoon.
“It is our hope that the President will grant clemency to Ms Alice Marie Johnson who is serving a life sentence for a first-time, non-violent drug offence,” Kardashian wrote on Twitter after the visit.
Kardashian has spoken out about prison reform previously, and has been campaigning for the pardon of Johnson, a nonviolent drug offender who is serving life without parole for those crimes.
Kardashian’s interest in the subject was sparked by a viral video posted by Mic, which described the difficult circumstances and case facing Johnson, a great-grandmother.
The White House has said that one of Mr Kushner’s focus in the administration is to negotiate prison reform a priority, however it does not appear that sentencing reforms to keep non-violent drug offenders out of jail are on the table. LR News
