Protest: GOCOP condemns attacks on journalists by security agents, says act undemocratic - ITREALMS

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The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) condemns, in very strong terms, the serial attacks on journalists covering the #EndBadGovernance nationwide protest, describing the act as undemocratic and repressive.

GOCOP notes that journalists are partners in national development as well as critical stakeholders in the advancement of democracy and civil liberties and therefore deserve to be protected, and not suppressed as the security agents tried to do during the protest.

Osun Voters League condemns sponsored protest against Dr. Layonu @Ede - ITREALMS

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The Osun Voters League (OVL) has condemned the recent protest held against Dr. Ismail Abiodun Saka Layonu in Ede, Osun State, reports ITREALMS.

The protesters, ITREALMS gathered, had accused Dr. Layonu of being one of the legal counsels of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who they believe played a key role in upturning the victory of Senator Demola Adeleke at the Tribunal.

NUJ leads Champion staff to protest over unpaid 54 months salaries - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

For unpaid 54 months salary arrears, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lagos State Council on Friday, led former staff of Champion Newspapers to protest at Oriental Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, venue of 2020 Champion Newspapers Excellence Awards, reports ITREALMS.

The protest against the management of the Newspapers was led by the Council Chairman, Dr. Quasim Akinreti as well as the National Trustee of the Union, Mr. Sylva Okereke.

It was gathered that as the protest was going on, the management of Champion Newspapers threatened to arrest the Council chairman and his team of protesters, who were unperturbed over the threats by the police and management of the hotel. 

The protesters claimed that the Publisher of the Newspapers, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and the Managing Director of the Company, Mrs. Nwadiuto Ihekanwa have been considered very insensitive to the plights of the past and present staff of the company, as over 25 staff have so far died due to non-payment of over four years salaries. 

It was gathered that despite selling the property of Champion Newspapers to Promasidor company for N2.5 billion, the heartless management refused to pay the over N100m owed to the staff. Protesters were seen carrying placards with inscriptions, "No Pay, no award! Madam, You're Wicked!! You have enslaved our members!!!

Others read in part, “Champion management you're heartless! Pay us our money" and “Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu enslaved our members.”

ITREALMS recalls that the 2020 Champion Newspapers Excellence Award was expected to attract at least two governors, including Governors Ayade and Ugwuanyi. Other recipients include, the CEO Airpeace, the GMD of Zenith Bank, Seplat and Globacom among others.

Chuks Egbune/DoP

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Chieftaincy: Protest rocks Iwo, family demands justice - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Barely a week after assuming office, Gov. Isiaka Oyetola of Osun State may have recorded his first public protest as members of the Baale Olatifede family, Olatifede village in Iwo Local Government Area of Osun State on Friday staged a peaceful protest, urging the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Akanbi, to respect the tradition by installing the eldest male in the family as baale of the community, reports ITREALMS.

They made the call during a peaceful protest against a purported plan to install a younger candidate over Rasaki Akande, a septugenarian who is the eldest and the most popular candidate for the position. 

The Baale Oloba Olatifede family members, who took to the streets in Iwo town on Friday morning, displayed placards bearing messages such as: "We appeal to Kabiyesi Oluwo to approve the installation of Rasaki Akande as our Baale,"; "Baba Akande is our choice; let's follow tradition,"; "We are for peace and justice. Pa Akande for fairness".

Speaking on behalf of the group, the leader of the protesters said: "Our message is clear and we are taking to the streets as well as the palace to ventilate our demand. We are appealing to our royal father, the Oluwo of Iwo, to acede our demand as his subjects. 

"There are procedures set by our forefathers in filling or nominating candidate to the stool of Baale of Olatifede. Filling the position should, ordinarily, not generate controversy because there is an agelong practice of installing the eldest male in the branch of the family whose turn it is to produce occupant for the stool." 

A communique addressed to the Oluwo, signed by the head of the Oloba Olatifede family, Staff Sergeant AbdulMojeed Agbaje (retd.); Secretary to the ruling family, Pastor Isiaka Akanji; and Community Leader of Oloba Olatifede, Hon. Sunday Salawu, reads in parts: 

"There is a norm and tradition. The eldest son (in the ruling family is) to fill the vacant stool of Baale.

"Unless the eldest son is mentally retarded or not of sound mind or when a candidate is seen to have bad antecedent, the eldest son should fill the vacant stool of Baale."

Akande explained that there should be no contention on the rightful person to fill the vacant position because "as the eldest person I am unarguably the next baale. The family took a unanimous decision to forward my name to Kabiyesi (Oluwo) but it appears is making moves to circumvent the agelong tradition. 

"The entire community and its council, the Oke Oba Parapo adopted me as the next baale, so there is no room for arguments about the whole matter.”

Meanwhile, Morufu Adewale, younger half brother to Akande, who is the eldest son, said in a telephone interview that he was well qualified for the position as a bonafide member of the family. 

Insisting that he is the best candidate for the position, Adewale said: “I am the preferred candidate. I left the village (Olatifede) 31 years ago and still met it the same way; nothing has changed since then. Akande who is claiming right to the position is hated in the village. I will spend my time and money on the village as baale.”

While addressing the procession at the palace of the Oluwo, the Secretary to the Oluwo assured the people of the readiness of Oba Akanbi to ensure that justice and peace were guaranteed.

The secretary said the interest of the people would be addressed appropriately without fear or prejudice.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Pix: Gov. Isiaka Oyetola of Osun State

Internet censorship: Cyber experts protest plans to reverse Title II

ITRealms:

Cyber Security experts have warned that Internet connection may be slow today, July 12^th as part of the protest declaring the “Battle to save the Internet” reports ITRealms exclusively.

Internet censorship, they said, is growing around the world, and it's happening in America too, hence, July 12th has been chosen globally to protest against this.

The experts largely based in the United States under the aegis of Virtual Private Network Mentor (VPNMentor) alleged that the Chairman of the American Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Ajit Pai is proposing a reversal of Title II.

According to the group, Title II is a section in the 1934 Communications Act of the United States that ensures the government monitors all Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

They pointed out that taking the above that away would mean internet providers could block or slow down whatever websites they choose.

“This could potentially cause a lot of websites to lose traffic and revenue, and it changes the freedom of the internet,” the group said on its protest.

As a protest, VPNMentor noted that websites are going to slow down their loading time to demonstrate what it would be like “if we reverse Title II.”

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Nigerian parents protest sexuality education in curricula

ITRealms:

Over 815 parents have endorsed petition to the Federal Government against the introduction of ‘Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) allegedly smuggled into the school curricular in Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

This is coming barely 24 hours after the petition was set up in an online petition at Citizengo by the Project for Human Development. As at the time of going to the press, the petition has received over 815 endorsements.

The petitioners alleged that the Comprehensive Sexuality Education smuggled into school curricula was an imposition on public schools without parental consent, lamenting it was aimed at luring hapless school children into sexual perversity, as students in open classroom are taught the various techniques of "safe-sex".

They alleged that children, nieces and nephews are taught how to wear the condoms, give oral sex, as well as masturbate in classrooms.

According to the petitioners, this is an abuse of the right of the Nigerian child and a betrayal of trust delegated to the Ministry of Education and its agencies.

They also urge other Nigerian parents to stand up to be counted in this protest by saying “NO to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in Nigerian schools today.”

Uj. N. Dominic/GEE

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Protest over N1.2bn special overtime unjustified – Finance Ministry

ITRealms:

The Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Budget Office of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, has described as unjustified, the staff protest over the N1.2 billion special overtime, reports ITRealms.

A press statement made available to ITRealms by the Director of Information at the ministry, Mr. Salisu Na’Inna Dambatta, said the joint protest by some staff of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Budget Office of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, to back a demand for the payment of an unofficial allowance totaling N1.2 billion has been brought to the attention of the Management of the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Dambatta, said the management wishes to state that the payment of what the protesting staff called a Special Overtime (SOT), was stopped by the last administration in 2014 on the ground that it was not listed in any extant government Circular, Financial Regulations or the Public Service Rules.

According to him, the sum of N1.2 billion computed by the staff union for payment could not have been budgeted for in 2016 in the first place, and not only  because of the paucity of funds, but  also the fact that the SOT allowance was not part of the remuneration in the Federal Public Service.

According to Dambatta, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Budget Office of the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, do not individually or collectively, owe any of their personnel their salaries.

“In view of the foregone, the Management of the Federal Ministry of Finance wishes to categorically state that the protests have no justifiable grounds,” Dambatta said.

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UNILAG: 300-level Accounting student electrocuted, colleagues on rampage

ITRealms:

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) students whose colleague, Oluchi Anaekwe, a 300-Accountancy student, was electrocuted in the university campus, have launched a protest, marching round the premises and barricading the gates, ITRealms reports.

Oluchi whose twin sister is said to be a 400 level student in the same institution, was electrocuted about 7p.m. while walking along the "New Hall" bus stop when a high voltage electric cable fell off the pole and landed on her.

Immediately, the student was rushed to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), but was confirmed dead by hospital authorities.

ITRealms investigation revealed that more students were seen walking beside  the fallen cable with rain drizzling over it as students walk closely along the path of the tragedy. 
Although firefighters were called to the scene, they soon left after taking the victim from the scene leaving the entire area without cordoning it off or placing caution tape around it.

According to students who witnessed the incident, they have been witnessing some electric sparks off the cables on the same electricity poles recently on the campus. The university authorities were silent until the collapse of a high tension cable that killed the female student, Tuesday, ITRealms learnt. 

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Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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1 year after: Give us our girls back, alive – BBOG

ITRealms:

“When will we stop? Until our girls are back and alive!...” Those were the words of The #BringBackOurGirls group as they march out today in protest as part of its one Week Global Action events aimed at commemorating the one year the Chibok girls were abducted from their school in Borno State, reports ITRealms.

ITRealms learnt that the march took off at the Unity Fountain, as the group walked through the Federal Secretariat to the Police Headquarters and back to the Fountain while distributing its pamphlets, including its Citizens’ Solution to Terrorism, to the public.

According to one its members, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, who led the group, the protest was to remind the government and Nigerians that 219 Chibok girls were still in the hands of their captors even as the days are rounding up to a year when the incident occurred.

In a recent development, ITRealms gathered that a Nigerian woman have confirmed to BBC that more than fifty of the girls abducted by Boko Haram last year were seen alive three weeks ago. According to the woman, who lived under the terrorist groups rule in Gwoza, the girls were seen in Islamic attire, being escorted by the militants.

“They said they were Chibok girls kept in a big house,” said the woman. “We just happened to be on the same road with them,” she added.

Meanwhile ITRealms learnt that the president-elect, General Mohammadu Buhari, has stated that he does not know the whereabouts of the Chibok girls and cannot guarantee that his government when sworn-in will be able to rescue them.

Speaking in commemoration of BBOG, he pledged that with absolute certainty, starting on the first day of his administration Boko Haram will know the strength of the collective will and commitment to rid this nation of terror, and bring back peace and normalcy to all the affected areas.

“This new approach,” Buhari said, “must also begin with honesty. We do not know if the Chibok girls can be rescued. Their whereabouts remain unknown. As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them.But I say to every parent, family member and friend of the children that my Government will do everything in its power to bring them home.”

ITRealms recalled that today, April 14 marked the first year since the 276 girls were kidnapped by the members of Boko Haram from their school in Chibok, Borno state, whereas some of them have reportedly returned.

Daniel Nsolibe/GEE

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