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Osinbajo Advocates Legislation Against Female Genital Mutilation

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Osinabjo To Attend NGF Induction For Elected Governor In Nigeria

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, says there is need for state Houses of Assembly with high prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation(FGM) to legislate against the practice.

Osinbajo expressed this view during an interaction with a team from Pearls Africa Foundation on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa.

Pearls Africa Foundation is a Lagos-based social enterprise that promotes the cause and advancement of young girls and women using technology.

The three girls in the team—Okpose Ayajenu, Mariam Matti and Moriat Alade, all built tech-based project/ websites through which they tried to solve already identified problems of their societies.

Their respective projects are Makoko Fresh App, built by Ayajenu to connect fishermen and lovers of seafood, Hope Basket, by Matti to connect beggars and donors and Break the Blade Website, built by Alade to stop FGM.

The vice-president said that what the girls were doing was innovative and should be encouraged.

“Ordinarily it should be a crime to practice FGM, I think one of the things you should do is to write the state Houses of Assembly; and ask them to pass laws making it a crime punishable by a prison term to practice FGM.

“That is one of the quickest means of bringing peoples’ attention to the issue, the advocacy is good but it will be better if the states pass laws, these things are within the jurisdiction of state governments.

“This is very innovative; it is encouraging to see young girls, who are very sharp, very innovative, it requires commitment and a lot of hard work.

“Sometimes you might find you are not getting as much attraction as you want within the period that you wanted, so you really need to be devoted over a long time, you need to be focused. People want to see that you are there.

“For the Hope Basket, I do not know how you are going to store the things; that is a challenge, you also need a standard for some of the things people might give, people can just come and dump some rags,’’ he said.

Earlier, Mrs Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin, Founder, Pearls Africa Foundation, said that the essence of the visit was to intimate the vice president with the activities of the foundation.

She said that the foundation promoted various initiatives for girls and women, citing `Girls Coding’ where girls were taught computer programming to enable them identify problems in their immediate environment and provide solutions to them.

“For instance, the three girls are team leaders of different projects.

“When they identify these problems, we merge them based on common interests.

“For instance the Makoko Fresh App sold over N200, 000 in less than two months, connecting buyers and sellers of seafood,’’ she said.

(NAN)

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Third Explosion In A Week Rocks Dansadau-Gusau Road, Claims Lives Of Travellers

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Tragedy struck yet again on the Dansadau-Gusau road as another explosion killed multiple travellers on Friday, marking the third such incident in less than a week.

The explosion occurred between Dansadau to Malele road, causing significant damage.

A resident of the area who pleaded anonymity for security reasons told Channels Television that a truck vehicle conveying about 100 bags of grains and passengers to Dansadau market hit an improvised explosive device (IED) planted along the route, resulting in a devastating explosion.

Authorities and locals have yet to confirm the exact number of casualties, but the resident said several travellers killed during the blast.

“Till now, we are yet to confirm the exact number of people killed, we are waiting for the people from Malele community to give us the actual figures,” the source said.

“The incident happened around 8:30 am, the distance between the scene of the explosion to Dansadau is just few kilometres.”

The source added that the second explosive planted by the terrorists was discovered by the troops who defused it.

“The soldiers who rushed to the scene of the bomb discovered another bomb that was yet to detonate, they used their machine to check and took it inside the bush to defuse it,” he stated.

The recurring blasts have heightened fears among residents and commuters, who now consider the highway a death trap.

Just two days ago, a similar incident claimed the lives of six persons, sparking widespread calls for urgent government intervention.

The police authorities in the state had earlier accused the newly formed terror group Lakurawa as the mastermind of the recent explosions that occurred along the Dansadau-Gusau Road.

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Nigeria’s Economy Still Facing Crisis, CBN Admits

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The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Yemi Cardoso has acknowledged that Nigeria remains in a financial and economic crisis, a situation inherited by the current CBN administration.

Speaking at the 14th Annual Bankers’ Committee Retreat in Abuja, Cardoso explained that the role of the bankers’ committee remains critical towards addressing the challenge as well as reflating the economy.

The CBN boss said that the nation faces challenges in how to address poverty, rising inflation, infrastructure deficits, insecurity, and unemployment, among others.

He called on members of the bankers’ committee to reflect on the past year’s challenges and devise actionable tools to address them effectively.

On his part, the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs Tope Fasua expressed concerns over excess charges by point of sale operators (PoS) while calling on the apex bank as well as deposit money banks to make cash available at all ATM points.

The three-day event brings together key players in the banking sector and has the theme “Contract and Commitment to National Development and Economic Growth”.

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Alleged Mass Killings: NHRC Demands Justice For Victims

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A member of the NHRC Governing Council, Kemi Okonyedo, speaks in Abuja on December 6, 2024 at the presentation of the report from the investigative panel on human rights violations in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East, to the army.


The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has demanded justice and accountability for civilian victims who were allegedly killed by operatives of the Nigerian Army in the Abisari community in Borno state.

A member of the NHRC Governing Council, Kemi Okonyedo, made the demand at the presentation of the report from the investigative panel on human rights violations in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East, to the army.

The report had vindicated the military of forced systemic abortions administered on women but indicted them of intentionally killing civilians in the Abasari community

Okonyedo is demanding that those affected, be compensated.

“The killing of civilians in Abisari remains a grave violation that demands justice, accountability and immediate action,” she said.

“These are not abstract issues, they are real. Lives affected are real, families impacted exist, and communities impacted are still suffering and must be acknowledged and addressed.

“The recommendations of the panel provide a roadmap for addressing these violations, holding perpetrators accountable and ensuring that similar violations do not occur in the future.

“Among the panel’s key recommendations is compensation for the victims of the Abisari killings with the Federal Government ensuring that the families and communities affected are provided adequate reparations.”

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