NGE warns Police: Stop spate of journalists' abduction - ITREALMS

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*Say Cyber Crimes Act not enacted to persecute journalists

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has condemned the spate of abduction and arrest of journalists in the country by security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police Force, under the guise of enforcing the Cyber Security Act, and warned of the consequence of such illegal actions on press freedom, reports ITREALMS.

The professional body of media executives and senior editors also warned of the dangers of allowing certain territories of the Nigerian states falling into the hands of terrorists and bandits, and expressed optimism that the federal government has all it takes to flush out these enemies of the country, and guarantee peace and security of the country and its people.

Abduction trauma: Mrs Rex David speaks out after ordeal - ITREALMS

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Weeks after her harrowing ordeal at the hands of her captors, Mrs. Hajara, wife of Hon. Mgbang Rex David, has broken her silence to share the ongoing trauma and fear gripping her and her family.

The recent abduction, which kept her in captivity for several days, has left lasting scars, rendering her unable to resume normal life or feel safe in her own home.

Ambazonia accuses Nigeria of abduction, demands release of President, 10 others

ITREALMS:

...  Indicts UK, UN, EU of negligence

The Interim Government of the former British Southern Cameroons known as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia has accused the Nigerian government of abducting its President, Julius Ayuk Tabe and 10 others, reports ITRealms.

Ambazonia, ITRealms also gathered, accused the United Kingdom (UK) as the root-cause of current negligence, while the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) were accused of abandonment.

According to the Secretary for Communication & IT, Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Mr. Chris Anu, the people of the former British Southern Cameroons noted with dismay, that since the abduction d at gunpoint on January 5th, 2018, the President, Julius Ayuk Tabe and 10 other members of his Cabinet have not been granted access to any lawyers and family members by the Nigerian government. “which we are now aware that in complicity with the Cameroon regime in Yaoundé, engineered their abduction.”

They equally condemned vehemently, the fact that the Nigerian Government, more than a week after the abductions has not as much considered a press statement on the abductions even when the majority of those abducted are duly registered refugees in Nigeria.

“Nigeria is a signatory to International conventions on human rights, and to be acting recklessly as it is doing in this case, is a bridge of those conventions,” he said.

Further, they called on the “Nigerian authorities to immediately effect the unconditional release of our President and the 10 others abducted along with him on January 5th.”

“We are demanding for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Nfor Ngala Nfor, Dr. Fidelis Nde Che, Dr. Henry Kimeng, Prof. Che Awasum
Dr. Cornelius Kwanga, Mr. Tassang Wilfred, Dr. Ojong Okonghor, Barrister Nalowa Bih
Barrister Shufai Blaise Berinyuh and Barrister Eyambe Elias.

“We would like to bring to the attention of the Nigerian Government, and the world at large the fact that these victims abducted in the guise of fomenting trouble in the nation of Cameroon are not Cameroonians. They are Ambazonians. And as long as the Cameroon Government continues the military occupation, assault, rape, killings and the savagery on property in the Ambazonian territory, our resolve to launch a campaign aimed at economic divestment in la Republic du Cameroun will not relent.

“We will target foreign companies that do business in La Republique du Cameroun and whose revenue supports Mr. Paul Biya’s corrupt and inefficient functionaries. It is time for Western Governments to pass a Cameroon Divestment Act that will force their governments to cut investment ties with companies doing business in La Republique du Cameroun. But if they don’t, our actions will definitely force them to do so.”

He insisted that the Interim Government will like to make this clarification; The Cameroon crisis isn’t about secessionists or separatists, as is being widely reported.

“Ours is rather a classic problem of a failed decolonization from British colonial rule. If Britain had granted Southern Cameroons independence like all other colonial powers did to their territories, this problem would not be here now. So let it be made plain and clear, Ambazonians are not separatists or secessionists, we are freedom fighters in the order of Nkrumah, Lumumba, Awolowo, Azikiwe, John Garang, Nyerere etc., fighting colonization by La Republique du Cameroun. The Union between La Republique du Cameroun and the Southern Cameroons was never consummated,” he lamented.

The IG of Ambazonia, he said, will continue worldwide campaigns for Southern Cameroons’ right to self-determination and continuous nonviolent protest within Cameroon until our dream of a completely free and independent Ambazonia is achieved. “Nothing less.” 

Abducting our leaders isn’t going to deter us, it will only just spur us the more. And killing, arrest, torture, rape and even a hundred thousand more refugees will not deter our resolve. 

He insisted that they have battled the injustice forced upon them by the British Government for 56 years.

“If the international community thinks we are now ready to let go at this juncture, it is mistaken. If the UN, EU, Commonwealth, the AU, the US and British governments want to stop a bloodbath in Cameroon, the time is now, not tomorrow. Every one of us, 8 million Ambazonians will be killed before our territory will be made part of Cameroun again,” he maintained.

Uboshe Ubhoshe/GEE

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Abduction: Mrs Margaret Emefiele regains freedom

ITRealms:

Barely 48 hours after her abduction, the abducted wife of Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs. Margaret Emefiele, was reportedly released before midnight on Friday, reports ITRealms.

Sources close to the family and CBN headquarters in Abuja, confirmed this to ITRealms saying that Mrs. Emefiele met with her family members before midnight on Friday.

ITRealms recalls that Mrs Emefiele was abducted Thursday in the noon, September 29, 2016, and action that left two of her security aides injured following shots from the abductors.

The Emefieles hail from Delta State, just as ITRealms gathered that Mrs. Emefiele was abducted from a neighbourhood between Edo and Delta boundary town on her way to Delta from Lagos State where the family residents for a weekend engagement.

ITRealms at press time could not ascertain whether the family paid the N100m demand made on her when the kidnappers contacted her husband, the governor of CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele at the earlier hours on Friday.

Although a few Nigerians who reacted to the release commended the effort of security agencies, even as they were in tandem that the ransom allegedly must have been paid to warrant Mrs. Emefiele immediate release from the kidnappers dean within 48 hours.

Ayo Omidele/GEE

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•Pix Mrs. Emefiele

Bring Back Our Girls group plans 2nd commemoration in Lagos

ITRealms:

The Lagos branch of the Bring Back Our Girls group has outlined plans to host a weeklong second commemoration of the abduction in the centre of excellence, wondering how much longer they have to wait, reports ITRealms.

A press statement made available to ITRealms and endorsed by Ms Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, Mrs Aisha Oyebode, Ms Ayo Obe, Mrs Habiba Balogun, Ms. Yemi Adamolekun, Mrs Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Mrs Ngozi Iwere, Mr Olalere Babasola, Mrs Adwoa Edun, said they recall with dismay, the April 14, 2014 abduction of the 276 female students of Government Secondary   School, Chibok in Borno State by Boko Haram.

According to hm, about 57 of them managed to escape on their own while 219 remain in captivity with Boko Haram close to 2 years later.

“Outraged about the lack of government response, Nigerian citizens mobilized and took to the streets to demand the immediate rescue of the girls,” part of the press statement read.

In the initial weeks following the abductions, they said, there were protests in Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Abuja, Enugu, Ekiti supported by friends and supporters around the world – London, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Paris, Germany and Nairobi to name a few.

“On Thursday, April 14, 2016, will mark exactly 2 years of their unfortunate sojourn in captivity! How much longer must we wait before they are rescued?,” they group said.

As concerned stakeholders and citizens of this country, the Bring-Back-Our-Girls (BBOG) advocacy group has highlighted the plight of these innocent girls even at a global level and engaged the government and other agencies in a constructive manner to secure the rescue of the girls. Our advocacy methodology include a daily sit-out in Abuja, weekly sit-outs in Lagos, Oshogbo, and Ibadan; visits to relevant stakeholders and development of tools like the Citizens’ Solutions to End Terrorism and the Verification, Authentication and Reunification System (VARS).

The BBOG family in Nigeria has engaged on a continuous basis various stakeholders including State Governors; the previous Chief of Defense Staff & National Security Adviser; various UN agencies; Ambassadors of our neighbouring countries and met twice with President Muhammadu Buhari on this matter. Sincerely, we had expected more and will continue to demand more from government than the rhetorics of lack of intelligence and other excuses.

#ChibokGirls: #731DaysGone. #NeverToBeForgotten #HopeEndures

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