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SUNDAY VANGUARD, NOVEMBER 20, 2022, PAGE 5
From left: All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu; a party leader, and Delta State governorship candidate of the party, Senator Ovie
Omo-Agege, among others, during the APC rally in Warri, Delta State, yesterday.
SOLDIER KILLING OF AID WORKER IN BORNO:
Military launches probe, colleagues say undeterred
by murder
By Ndahi Marama
AMID wide condemna
tion trailing the alleged
killing of an aid worker with
the United Nations (UN), Alen
Mulutega, an Ethiopian national
by a soldier at a military
base in Damboa Local Government
Area of Borno State on
Friday, the military command
in Nigeria said it has commenced
investigation to unravel
the circumstances surrounding
the unfortunate incident.
In a statement by the Theatre
Commander of the Joint Task
Force, North East 'Operation
Hadin Kai', Major General
Christopher Musa, and made
available to the newsmen
through his spokesman, Major
Samson Zhakom, the military
authority sympathized with
the United Nations, UN, over
the killing of Mulutega.
The statement read: "The
Theatre Commander, Maj Gen
CG Musa, on behalf of the officers
and men of Joint Task
Force (NE) Operation Hadin
Kai, expressed sincere condolence
to the representatives of
the Non- Governmental Organizations
in the North East, Mr
Trond Jenson, Head of Office
OCHA- Nigeria and his team
over the loss of one of their staff
who was shot by a soldier and
for the injury sustained by the
co-pilot.
"The Theatre Commander
also relayed condolence messages
from the Chief of Defence
Staff, CDS and the Service
Chiefs after which a minute silence
was observed in honour
of the deceased.
"The TC assured the officials
that the Military Police, MP, has
commenced an investigation
By Anayo Okoli
THREE policemen have
been killed by gunmen
at Agbani, the headquarters
of Nkanu West Local Government
Area of Enugu State.
The killing occurred, yesterday
morning, at a roundabout
close to the Agbani Divisional
Police Station, which is a
short distance from the community’s
main market.
The policemen were said to
be on a stop-and-search
duty at the spot when the gunmen
attacked and killed
them.
From left: Chairman, ICLED Business School, Prof Olajumoke
Familoni, presenting ‘Africa’s Most Outstanding
Payment Solutions Company of the Year Award 2021/2022’
to Xpress Payments’ Group Head, PTSP Business, Ibiyemi
Okuwoga; Group Head, Agency Banking, Bolaji Oladoja;
and Managing Director, Dr Markie Idowu, during the Pan
African Int’l Conference and Awards in Lagos.
•Slain aid worker
to unravel the circumstances
with the promise that they
would be carried along
throughout the process. He then
requested they extend the condolence
message to the family
of the deceased.
"The team appreciated the
prompt response by the troops
on the ground for their prompt
response and the immediate
medical attention offered to the
co-pilot including the recovery
of the corpses to Maiduguri for
further necessary action.
"Additionally, the team leader
thanked the Theatre for
reaching out to them as soon
as the incident occurred and
disclosed that the co-pilot involved
in the incident is rapidly
responding to treatment at the
hospital.
"Relatedly, the two parties
agreed that the sad incident will
not affect the cooperation, support
and harmonious relationship
existing between them. The
meeting was held at the Command
Guest House, Maiduguri.”
INGO reacts
Meanwhile, the International
Non-Governmental Organisation
Forum, INGO, community
has condemned the
murder. INGO, in a press statement
by its Media and Communication
Adviser, Ademilola
Adesanya, said it was deeply
saddened by Friday’s gruesome
incident that led to the
death of their member.
“Our thoughts and condolences
are with the family of our
departed colleague; we also
wish a quick recovery to the pilot
working with the United
Nations who was injured in this
unfortunate attack”, the statement
said.
"NGOs remain committed to
working around the clock to
provide life-saving assistance to
those in dire need of aid in
North-East Nigeria and beyond,
despite the prevailing insecurity
and challenges. We are
confident that the government
will timely investigate yesterday’s
(Friday) incident and take
necessary action. We appreciate
their outreach in support of
the humanitarian community
in this difficult moment.
“The Nigeria INGO Forum
and its 54 members reiterate
their commitment to support
those in need and to collaborate
with all concerned parties
to continue improving the operational
environment of aid
organizations and their staff”.
3 policemen gunned down in Enugu,
residents lament killings
The gunmen were said to
have continued to shoot sporadically
into the air as they
fled the scene, scaring residents
and traders in the area.
In a viral video of the incident,
some sympathizers are
heard lamenting incessant
attacks on policemen serving
Mohammed Haruna asks the media to hold
decision-makers accountable
INEC Resident Electoral
Commissioner and former
media chieftain, Mallam Mohammed
Haruna, has called on
the media to extend its focus on
accountability beyond politicians
and hold responsible every
person or group whose decisions
and actions affect society
Ṡpeaking at the Media
Roundtable on The Accountability
Imperative: Why and How
to Hold the Politicians’ Feet to
Fire’ organised by FrontFoot
Media Initiative, Lagos, at Bon
Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Haruna said
various other persons beyond
politicians decide issues for society.
The INEC Commissioner
MultiChoice Unwraps Holiday Channel
for DStv and GOtv Subscribers
THIS festive season, DStv
and GOtv subscribers
will have access to a special
holiday channel packed with
all their favorite content as
MultiChoice, the leading
Pay-TV operator in Africa, is
adding a special holiday channel
to its lineup of channels.
The channel called The Holiday
Channel will feature a
range of entertaining shows,
concerts, festivals, and Christmas
carols, making it the perfect
place for family fun this holiday
season. The channel will
be available on Ch. 198 on DStv
and Ch. 53 on GOtv.
MultiChoice has a long history
of providing fun, educating,
and family-friendly entertainment
via its various channels on
DStv and GOtv. The addition of
the Holiday Channel is in line
with the company’s commitment
to providing quality entertainment
for all viewers during
the festive season.
Some of the content that
will be aired on the Holiday
in Enugu by gunmen.
A voice of an unidentified
young man is heard in the video
lamenting that one of the
victims was his brother.
The gunmen were reported
to have escaped towards Ugbawka
community of the
Council.
Channel include the Akwa
Ibom, Uyo Christmas Carol
Festival, The Experience,
Lagos, Carnival Calabar,
Afrimma, Dakar (Feed),
among other exciting holiday
shows. This channel is
sure to become a favorite
among festival and concert
lovers during the holiday season.
Speaking on the thought
behind this year’s Holiday
Channel, the Head of Content,
Multichoice, West Africa
Dr. Busola Tejumola, said,
“We are excited to add the
Holiday Channel to our lineup
of channels on DStv and
GOtv. This channel aside
from being in line with our
commitment to providing
best-in-class entertainment,
will also provide our viewers
with hours of festive entertainment
that they can
enjoy as they reconnect and
bond with their families during
the holiday season.”
stated, “Big Business, Big Labour,
Big Pharma, and, of
course, Big Media, etc., all
make decisions that affect people.
Therefore, we must go beyond
the Constitutional enunciations
for the Media to hold
the Government accountable
to the public and hold every institution
whose decisions and
actions impact people and society
to account for their decisions
and actions”.
The FrontFoot Media
Roundtable featured many distinguished
personalities in the
media and politics including a
former two-term governor of
Cross River State, Mr Donald
Duke, Dr Patrick Dele Cole, Mr
Lade Bonuola, a former editor
and Managing Director of The
Guardian, Mr Dan Agbese, one
of the founders of Newswatch
magazine, and Mrs MotunrayoAlaka,
Executive Director
of the Wole Soyinka Centre for
Investigative Journalism. Others
included Dr (Mrs) NwadiutoIheakanwa,
managing director
of Champion Newspapers
who also represented the
Newspaper Proprietors Association
of Nigeria and Mr Bolaji
Adebiyi, vice president South-
West of the Nigerian Guild of
Editors. FrontFoot directors
Sully Abu, Emeka Izeze and
Sonala Olumhense hosted the
event.
Haruna is a Fellow of the
Newspaper Proprietors Association
of Nigeria, the Nigerian
Guild of Editors, and the African
Center for Democratic
Governance. A former managing
director of the New Nigerian
newspaper and renowned
columnist, Haruna charged
journalists to equip themselves
with knowledge of three critical
rules for reporting political
developments in the country.
The INEC chief submitted:
“As the leader in holding not
just politicians but all other
groups accountable to the people,
the Media must be guided
by knowledge, ethics (integrity,
courage, professionalism, impartiality,
etc.) and civility. The
first step the Media must take
in holding politicians accountable
to the public is to be knowledgeable
about politics and
everything else it reports. This
should start with knowing the
rules that guide our politics.”
He listed the three rules that
“constitute the most critical elements
of the country’s Electoral
Legal Framework” as the
1999 Nigerian Constitution, the
Electoral Act 2022, and the Independent
National Electoral
Commission’s (INEC’s) Election
Regulations and Guidelines
2022.
Other documents to enable
proper reporting of the Nigerian
electoral race include Manuals
for Election Officials, political
party constitutions, and
case laws, Mallam Haruna
added.
In his paper, ‘It’s good governance,
stupid’, Haruna disagreed
with the widespread
view that the constitution is
flawed because the Military
wrote it and that it is only federal
in name but unitary in reality.
He submitted: “Both claims
are false. The Military has never
written any of our Constitutions,
certainly neither the current
1999 Constitution nor that
of 1979. Both were written by
civilians, mostly elected, with a
few nominated. Both drafts
were subjected to public hearings
in all the nooks and corners
of this country before they
were promulgated into law. Yes,
the Military held a veto over
both, but in promulgating each
into the country’s supreme law,
they hardly changed their substance.
“As for the claim that
the Constitution is unitary in
fact, if not in theory, nothing
could be further from the truth.
This claim has led to the popular
fallacy that what Nigeria
needs is “true federalism”. A
federation is simply a system
of Government in which a written
constitution distributes
power and responsibility between
a national government
and a number of state or regional
governments".
UNIBEN alumni hold awards, dinner Dec 4
UNIVERSITY of Benin
Alumni Association
(UBAA), Lagos Branch holds
its Annual Award of Excellence
and Dinner at 2.00pm
on December 4, 2022 at
Sheraton Hotels & Towers,
Ikeja.
A statement by branch
chairman, Pharm. Stephen
Onojomete, and secretary, Mr.
David Osiezagha, said the
event will be chaired by Elder
Obukaroro Ovadje and Prof.
Lilian Salami (vice chancellor
of the UNIBEN) as the special
guest of honour and Mother
of the Day. A keynote address
on the benefits of the
2022 electoral reforms will be
delivered by Mr. Mike Igini,
immediate past INEC Commissioner,
Akwa Ibom State.
Shortlisted for awards are
some alumni who have excelled
in their professions and
contributed immensely to national
growth as well as UN-
IBEN and UBAA, including
Pharm. Josephine Ehimen,
Prof. Chris Imumolen, Gabriel
Ogbechie, Engr. Olatunji
Akinwunmi, Victor Onyenkpa,
Janet Adenrele, Rita
Michael-Ojo, Dr. Cynthia
Gregg, Olumide Akpata and
Mitchell Elegbe.
Others are Ernest Uduje,
Grace Omo-Lamai, Dr. Kayode
Thomas, Osayande Igiehon,
Stanley Amuchie, Kendall
Ananyi, Wole Adeniyi,
Henry Oroh, Dr. David Isiavwe,
Wole Abu,
Managing Director, Augustine
Okwah
Manager, Pharm Henry
Edo Chukwura, Kayode Akiode,
Franklin Erebor, Major-
Gen. Henry Oburo, Bashir
Bello, Engr. Andy Olotu, Comrade
Razaq Obe, Onome Joy
Adewuyi, Maj-Gen. Adamu
Jidda, Brig-Gen. Henry Oburo,
Brig-Gen. Eruwa Emiko
(Rtd), Engr. Nedo Osayande
and Mike Igini among others.