Nigeria

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the re-opening of schools in the country.

But only primary and secondary school students in their final years will be allowed back into classrooms to enable them prepare for crucial examinations.

Travel between Nigeria’s different states will also be allowed from 1 July, as part of the gradual easing of the lockdown measures imposed in March.

But a nightly, nationwide curfew from 22:00 local time to 04:00 remains in place, according to a media aide of President Buhari.

However, earlier on Monday the head of Nigeria’s task force on Coronavirus, Boss Mustapha, suggested that the authorities might reimpose a total lockdown in 18 of the country’s 774 Local Government Areas.

He said those 18 areas alone account for about 60% of Nigeria’s total number of cases – possibly requiring a “precision lockdown” for mass testing.

Nigeria has recorded 24,567 cases of the virus with 565 deaths.

Source: BBC

There were 717 rapes in Nigeria between January and May this year, amounting to one rape every five hours, the country’s police chief says.

Mohammed Adamu described rape as a serious and wicked offence and urged Nigerians to report any case.

Speaking to journalists after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential palace in Abuja, the police chief said that 799 suspects had been arrested and 631 had appeared in court.

But Mr Adamu did not speak about the sentences or number of convictions. Activists are concerned that not many trials result in someone being found guilty.

Some of the recent victims were allegedly murdered after being raped prompting a series of protests across Nigeria demanding action from the authorities and communities.

The police chief said security agencies are partnering with non-governmental organisations in the areas of training, working with victims and evidence gathering for successful prosecutions as part of efforts to tackle the issue.

An inspector of police, Adekunle Ilesanmi, has been killed by a sergeant, Okema Azuquo, in the Oke-Odo area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that Azuquo was quarreling with some tenants over the time to close the gate of their place of residence on Dosumu Street in the Agbelekale area of Oke-Odo when Ilesanmi intervened and attempted to subdue him.

Out of annoyance, Azuquo was said to have pounced on the inspector and dealt him several machete blows on his leg and other parts of his body.

A co-tenant, Ayodele Eyitayo, was said to have also sustained an injury on his face during the attack, which occurred last Thursday.

Our correspondent learnt that some good Samaritans, including neighbours, rushed Ilesanmi and Eyitayo to a nearby hospital for treatment.

While Eyitayo was treated and discharged, Ilesanmi was placed on admission due to the severity of the injuries he sustained.

However, despite efforts by doctors to save his life, Ilesanmi died on Sunday.

Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said the sergeant was quarreling with other tenants over the time to close the gate to the house, adding that the inspector, who was also a tenant in the house, intervened to stop the sergeant and was butchered in the process.

For preventing the sergeant from killing his co-tenants, Elkana said the state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, paid tribute to him for his courageous act, while commiserating with Ilesanmi’s family.

He stated that the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, Yaba, had been assigned to take over the case, adding that Azuquo had been arrested and would be charged after an investigation into the incident had been completed.

Elkana said, “The CP, Hakeem Odumosu, pays tribute to the police inspector, who sustained deep cuts and died while preventing an unruly sergeant from killing his co-tenants.

“On Thursday, June 4, 2020, around 8:10pm, one Azeez Adebayo of No 8. Dosumu Street, Agbelekale Oke-Odo, reported at the Oke-Odo Police Station that one Sergeant Okema Azuquo, a tenant in the same house, returned home and engaged other tenants in a fight over gate closure and inflicted machete cuts on one Inspector Adekunle Ilesanmi, who was also a tenant in the house and was trying to stop the sergeant from harming other civilian tenants.

“Ayodele Eyitayo, a tenant in the house, sustained a minor injury in his face. A team of policemen led by the Divisional Police Officer was promptly deployed in the scene. The injured persons were taken to hospital for treatment, while the sergeant was arrested. While Ayodele Eyitayo was treated and discharged, the inspector was admitted due to the severity of the injuries he sustained.

“The inspector, however, died on Sunday, June 7, 2020, while on admission. The homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Panti, has taken over the investigation. The suspect will be charged as soon as investigation and disciplinary proceedings are concluded.”

The Lebanese Government on Thursday said it has suspended issuing working visas to Nigerians seeking to work in Lebanon, particularly for domestic work.

Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Houssam Diab made this known chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) Abike Dabiri-Erewa paid him a courtesy call in his office in Abuja.

Amb. Diab stated that the suspension started since May 1, as a result of complaints of abuse by some employers, as well as the case of the video of Peace Busari, a Nigerian lady, auctioned for sale for $1000 on Social media in April this year, went viral.

He said the man who committed the act is not a Lebanese, but a Lebanese resident and has since been charged to court in Lebanon. He said the suspension was to stem the tide for such categories of workers pending the time the procedure would be properly harmonized with the Ministry of Labour, in line with best practices of managed and orderly migration.

Thus far, the Ambassador said the Lebanese government in conjunction with the Lebanese community in Nigeria had brought back 69 out of 79 Nigerians allegedly stranded back to the country.

He explained that the remaining 10 Nigerians, who would be transported home soon after the Covid-19 lockdown, have some pending legal cases and would be repatriated home once they are through with their cases.

He clarified that the Embassy and the Lebanese community paid over $150,000 USD to evacuate the 69 Nigerians and also paid for their 14 days quarantine, adding that they were not in Lebanon illegally but were abused by their employers who also breached the working agreement and did not have money to bring them back.

He assured that the Lebanese government will not condone maltreatment of foreign nationals and anyone found guilty will face the necessary penalty.

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa called on the Ambassador to ensure that whatever cases the 10 Nigerians left behind were being charged with, should be expeditiously dealt with so they can return home.

She said the Commission would work with the Ministry of Labour to have an effective and efficient t managed migration, a working scheme where verification and certification must be provided between agents, employers and prospective employees that would protect the rights of workers in any country.

The Chairman commended the Ambassador for his assistance especially in evacuating 69 Nigerians and the safe release of the Nigerian lady who was advertised for sale on social media.

Corroborating the Ambassadors disclosure about the lady who was put up for sale and safely rescued by the Nigerian mission, in Lebanon, Dabiri Erewa confirmed that the rescued lady had secured another job in Lebanon and was not ready to return home as at now.

The highlight of the meeting includes a resolution by both the Lebanese Ambassador and the Chairman, NiDCOM, to work for effective collaboration between the Lebanese Diaspora and the Nigerian Diaspora.

Case load passed the 10,000 mark on May 31 with 307 new cases pushing Nigeria past the line only crossed till date by South Africa and Egypt. With 10,162 cases, Nigeria is only behind leader South Africa (32,683 cases) and Egypt (24,985 cases).

The Presidential Task Force, PTF, yesterday held their weekly briefing with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidency.

SGF and leader of the PTF, Boss Mustapha said they presented a report to Buhari in which they made recommendations on reopening places of worship, schools and businesses across the country.

“But you know that Mr President is the only one that can take decisions in respect of that. In the framework, the states are sub-nationals; they have their own responsibilities too.

So, it is in the exercise of those responsibilities that they met with religious bodies and agreed on the protocols and guidelines on how to open up. But in the framework of the national response, we are taking that into consideration,” he said.

The SGF stressed a long-held position by the PTF that the states governments will take responsibility for the next phase of the lockdown relaxation.

Confirmed cases = 10,162

Number of deaths = 287

Recoveries = 3,007

Active cases = 6,868

Nigeria’s Air Force Institute of Technology, based in Kaduna, has unveiled locally made ventilators that it hopes will be a game changer in the country’s fight against Covid-19.

“The ventilators will go a long way to help not only coronavirus patients but also others with respiratory illnesses,” the leader of the research team, Captain Osichinaka Ubadike, told the BBC.

He said materials for the ventilators were all sourced locally in the northern state of Kaduna.

A ventilator takes over the body’s breathing process when disease has caused the lungs to fail, which can happen with Covid-19.

This gives the patient time to fight off the infection and recover.

Nigeria currently has nearly 9,000 cases of coronavirus and some say the figures could be much higher as testing levels are still very low across the country.

Source: BBC

More Nigerians are dying because they are not receiving hospital treatment for other diseases than are killed by the coronavirus itself, the head of the country’s Covid-19 task force says.

Boss Mustapha told a media briefing that it was sad and unacceptable that both private and government hospitals were rejecting patients because of fears of contracting Covid-19.

“Statistics have shown that there is a drastic drop in the percentage of attention being paid to other ailments not related to Covid-19,” he said.

“Truth be told, we are having more deaths from non-attendance to other diseases than even Covid-19,” he said.

Mr Mustapha did not give the number of those who have died because of non-attendance at medical facilities.

But some hospitals have completely shut down, saying they lack personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff.

The main doctors’ association has told its members not to treat patients showing symptoms of Covid-19 without adequate PPE.

There have been reports of sick people who have been turned back at the gates of hospitals over fears that they had coronavirus.

Nigeria has nearly 9,000 confirmed cases of the virus although experts say very little testing has been done so the true figure is likely to be much higher?

Source: BBC

Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Nigeria now total 8,915.

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control made this known late on Thursday night, May 28.

According to the Center, Nigeria recorded some 182 new cases to push its tally to 8,195.

It says deaths related to the virus have risen to 259, with 2,592 persons discharged so far.

Breakdown of new cases

Lagos-111

FCT-16

Akwa Ibom-10

Oyo-8

Kaduna-6

Delta-6

Rivers-5

Ogun-4

Ebonyi-4

Kano-3

Plateau-2

Gombe-2

Kebbi-1

Kwara-2

Bauchi-1

Borno-1

Source: en.as.com

With skyrocketing prices of food items resulting from COVID-19 pandemic gari has emerged as the food item in highest demand, especially among low-income workers in Sokoto.

Gari, a popular staple food in Nigeria, is used as a main dish or accompaniment.

“Both the white and yellow varieties are in high demand, more than the other commodities around,” a grain seller at Gagi roundabout, Abubakar Dan Baba, told Caliphate Trust.

“Before the coronavirus pandemic, gari was not as much in demand among low-income earners. They preferred the low-quality local rice but with the prevailing situation, the food choice has shifted to gari.”

While a bag of low-quality local rice, which hitherto sold at N29,000, is now N35,000, the highest-rated gari previously sold at N7,000-N8,000 is now sold at N16,000. The other varieties, Egede from Benue and Odobo from the southwest, were sold at N5,000 but now cost N8,000, while the price of Dan Tambuwal gari from Sokoto rose from N4,000 to N6,000.

A low-income earner, Mallam Ali, said: “Gari is in high demand because it is economical and easier to prepare for consumption.

“I don’t know how life would be without gari since prices of rice and other staple foods have skyrocketed. The price of gari has risen too, but it is still more affordable than others. People like me need gari for sustenance.”

A housewife, Aisha Abubakar, said: “Compared to most other food items, gari symbolises the cheapest and easiest way to tackle hunger. It is more so now with the social restrictions and everybody at home.

“There are different ways we deploy gari as a meal – gari soaking; gari salad, a mixture of gari, kuli-kuli and cooked moringa leaves; as an accompaniment with beans and beans based foods. Some people use it to make eba, a Nigerian swallow dish but we prefer to use maize to make our tuwo.”

Another resident, Mallam Usman Tijani, said: “I make sure we have gari in the house. Anytime food is delayed, my wife uses gari to stop the children’s naggings and they calm down immediately. We only ensure availability of sugar and kuli-kuli to enrich it.

“For me, gari is a blessing to many people who cannot afford rice, and we are many in Nigeria, Corona aside.”

However, a visit to the gari depot at the Sokoto Central Market showed virtually empty storehouse following high sales. Except for two stores that had adequate stock, all other stores were almost empty.

A 75-year-old gari dealer, Malam Nuraini Abubakar, who has been in the business for 42 years, said supply of gari has temporarily stopped and that they were waiting for a fresh supply.

“Previously, at least 100 trailer load of gari was offloaded at the depot weekly, but now only 50 trailer load is a released weekly,” Abubakar stated.

“People all over the country rush for gari, Sokoto inclusive, and that is why we cannot get supplies now that we need it. Customers from across the country, besiege farmers in the South West to get supply. This shows that gari is now a hot commodity all across the country. ”

But the dealer observed that in Sokoto, people do not eat gari during Ramadan, which is just a few days away. “That is the reason we didn’t get supply around this time.”

He said: “Immediately after Ramadan normal activities would pick up and there is going to be enough to fill up all available storage you see around here.”

Source: allafrica