Headline

38 Years After, DSS Removes Top Journalist From Watchlist

Published

2 years ago

May 12, 2022

Editor

The Department of State Security, DSS, has removed journalist, Lanre Arogundade, from watchlist.

Arogundade was featured for 38 years in the DSS list but the Director-General of the Service, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, said that his name has been removed.

Addressing a delegation from the Nigerian chapter of the International Press Institute (IPI Nigeria) who visited him in Abuja, Mr. Bichi said the DSS acted based on a long-time watchlist.

Arogundade, director of the Lagos-based International Press Centre (IPC), has since February 10 been detained by officers of the DSS after he arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, upon his return from Banjul, The Gambia.

Bichi, while providing more details said the journalist was put on the list during his days as the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).

Arogundade was NANS president between 1984 and 1985 while he was student at the Obafemi Awolowo University. President Muhammadu Buhari was Nigeria’s head of state at the time.

The DSS DG said after Arogundade was initially removed, there arose another case of mistaken identity triggered by a request by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).

According to Mr. Bichi, “We don’t intercept people willfully at airports. We do so based on requests from other government agencies who may have issues with the persons affected”.

The DSS DG spoke on Mr Arogundade’s case after the IPI Nigeria delegation condemned the journalist’s treatment by the secret service while also raising other cases of harassment of media professionals by the agency.

Responding to the other issues about violation of the rights of journalists, which were raised by the IPI Nigeria delegation, the SSS boss emphasized the need for close collaboration between the media and the Service.

He said this was necessary to address many of the ‘misconceptions’, because “our mission is peace”, and that though a security outfit, “the SSS is too friendly” to be antagonistic of the media.

Earlier in his remarks, the President of IPI Nigeria, Musikilu Mojeed, lamented the rising incidents of violation of the rights of journalists while performing their constitutional duties of upholding the people’s right to know and holding governments, individuals and corporations accountable.

Citing the 2021 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Mr Mojeed lamented the ranking of Nigeria as one of West Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists, who he said are often spied on, attacked, arbitrarily arrested or even killed.

He reiterated the commitment of IPI Nigeria in ensuring credible and independent journalism, media freedom, freedom of speech and the free flow of news and information, saying, “We will always stand firm and resist any measure or action that threatens these matters and principles for which we stand”.

He said all oppressive and repressive policies and actions directed at the media must be resisted so as not to allow authoritarianism, poor governance and corruption to thrive in Nigeria.

“As we all know, Section 22 of the Nigerian Constitution is clear in compelling “the press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media to, at all time, be free to uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people,” he said.

He appealed to the SSS DG to educate and prevail on officers and men of the Service all over the country to desist from harassment of journalists, and that they should also not allow themselves to be used by politicians, public office holders and other individuals who happen to be on the wrong side of media reporting.

“Such (aggrieved) individuals should be advised to seek redress in court instead of coming to the SSS (to complain),” Mr Mojeed added.

The president informed his host that IPI Nigeria would henceforth demand accountability in any case of harassment of journalists in the country.

“For a start, we are opening a black book to document all security personnel and other individuals involved in the harassment of journalists in Nigeria,” he said. “The records so gathered will be shared periodically with embassies, and all relevant international and human rights groups across the world. We will use the records for intense advocacy with a view to getting perpetrators to be held accountable one way or another.”

Those in the IPC Nigeria delegation to the SSS headquarters included its Secretary, Ahmed I. Shekarau; the Director, Digital Media, Voice of Nigeria (VON), Hajia Sani; the General Manager/CEO of Trust TV, Ibrahim Shehu; a director with Ambience Blue Communication, Tunde Ipinmisho; Deputy Editor, 21st Century Chronicle, Catherine Agbo; and Ag. Editor, Peoples Daily, Sunday Ode.

Headline

Disregard Claim Of Me Bringing Investors To Nigeria – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Published

5 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

The Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has denied sending a WhatsApp message claiming she’s bringing investors to Nigeria due to Tinubu’s “commendable policies”.

A message had been circulating on Whatsapp alleging that former Minister of Finance has been contacted by President, respected instutitions and investors who congratulated her because Nigeria has finally found a “focused leader.”

Anything forwarded to you purporting to be a WhatsApp message from me is fake – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala debunks news claiming she?s bringing investors to Nigeria due to Tinubu?s ?commendable policies?

Reacting via her X handle, Okonjo-Iweala described it as fake. She wrote;

‘’It’s been brought to my attention that another FAKE message has been manufactured and is being forwarded on WhatsApp in my name. I want to make clear that this fake message is not from me. I am pleased that those who know me instantly recognized this as fake.

“Thanks to friends who brought this to my attention. Please be aware that I do not use WhatsApp broadcasts, thus anything forwarded to you purporting to be a WhatsApp message from me is FAKE.

“This is a bad example of the use of social media. I want to warn those in the business of manufacturing FAKE messages, that they will not succeed.”

Headline

Moment Man Falls 40 Feet Onto Police Van After Climbing Building For ‘Drugs Stash’ [VIDEO]

Published

6 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Editor

This is the shocking moment a man fell 40 feet onto a police car and landed on the concrete road after climbing a building for a “drugs stash”.

The alleged drug dealer was trying to escape from police when he decided to jump from an apartment building in northern Brazil on Sunday night, May 12.

In response to the arrest of a teenager for drug-related offences in Marechal Floriano, the Espirito Santo Military Police launched an operation targeting neighbourhood drug dealers.

Authorities apprehended a 17-year-old youth carrying cocaine as he was making his way to the building to sell it to a 31-year-old man. The officers then had their attention drawn to a noise coming from an apartment building.

When they looked up at a window on the third floor, they saw two men attempting to escape.

One of the individuals involved jumped out, landed on the rear-view window of the police SUV and quickly ran away. But the escape didn’t work out as well for his 26-year-old accomplice.

In footage captured on a smart phone video, he is seen trying to climb down before losing his balance and hitting his head on the window.

He ended up on the floor beside the police car.

The unnamed suspect was quickly taken to Dr. Arthur Gerhardt Hospital by the Military Police for treatment of trauma. He was then moved to São Lucas Hospital and handed over to the police.

The suspect will be moved to a nearby jail once he is fit and ready to leave.

During the home search cops seized 295 crack rocks, 45 packages of cocaine, 10 grams of crack and 189 grams of cocaine paste, as well as $116.

The man who was supposedly meeting the teenager to buy drugs was released as cops lacked sufficient evidence to accuse him of actually making the purchase.

Meanwhile the teen admitted to drug trafficking in a logbook and was released to his family.

Watch a video from the scene below.

Tentou fugir da polícia e acabou se dando mal, em Marechal Floriano – ES pic.twitter.com/WCCoLd0f5U
— Narc_CAPIXABA (@Espirito0Santo) May 13, 2024

Headline

B-I-Z-A-R-R-E! Man Missing For 26 Years Found Alive In Neighbour’s House

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2024

Editor

An Algerian man, Omar Bin Omran, who went missing at the age of 17, 26 years ago following an alleged kidnapping, has been found alive in his neighbour’s house.

According to Daily Mail on Wednesday, Omar was discovered in a hole in the ground within a sheep pen, concealed under stacks of hay.

Omar, one of nine children, disappeared in the city of Djelfa, Algeria, 26 years ago. His family believed he had been killed during the civil war that ravaged the nation in the 1990s and early 2000s.

According to reports, Omar was found less than 200 meters from his family’s home. A 61-year-old neighbour is now in police custody after Omar, now 45, was rescued on May 12.

Footage was shared on social media and broadcast on Algerian television networks of the moment that he was found in what appeared to be a hole in the ground, described by authorities as a sheep pen, within the home of his alleged captor.

The blurry video shows torchlights shining into a pit surrounded by hay as Omar furtively looks up, seemingly in shock at the search party surrounding him, with stray pieces of straw in his hair.

Other images have since been circulated of the bearded man emerging from the hole, thought to be a sheep pen, and of him as a teenager, sitting with a dog and with young children before he disappeared.

According to the Algerian newspaper El Khabar, his dog recognized his scent and stayed near where Omar was held. It was alleged that the captor poisoned the dog to ward the family off.

Omar went missing in 1998 while heading to a vocational school. He was found after the captor’s brother aired grievances on social media, reportedly over an inheritance dispute.

This led Omar’s family to search the neighbour’s house, where they found him. The captor attempted to flee but was restrained and arrested.

Tragically, Omar’s mother died in 2013 without knowing the fate of her son. Reports suggest Omar was informed of his mother’s death while in captivity.

A relative said on Facebook: ‘Thank god my cousin was found. Bin Imran Omar is in good health after 26 years of disappearance. Awaiting details of the case and investigations.’

Public prosecutors in Djelfa, a mountain city of around 500,000 people around 140 miles south of coastal capital Algiers, say Omar will receive psychological care after being rescued as they vowed to get him justice.

‘The Djelfa Attorney General’s Office informs the public that on May 12 at 8 pm local time, it found victim Omar B, aged 45, in the case of his neighbour, B.A., aged 61,’ they said in a statement.

A court official in Djelfa was quoted as saying: “Two days ago, on 12 May 2024, the Public Prosecutor’s Office received, through the regional department of the National Gendarmerie in El Jadid, a complaint against an anonymous person claiming that the complainant’s brother, Omar bin Omran, who has been missing for about 30 years, is in the house of one of his neighbours, inside a sheepfold.”

Following this report, the General Prosecutor of the Court of Idrisiya in the province of Djelfa ordered the National Gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation and officers went to the house in question.

He added: “The Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered that the victim receive medical and psychological treatment, and the suspect will be presented to the Public Prosecutor’s Office immediately after the completion of the investigation.”

Officials have promised the ‘perpetrator of this heinous crime’ will be tried with ‘severity.’

The suspect, a civil servant, lived alone but was often seen buying enough food for two people. A neighbour recounted to Algerian TV station Bilad that Omar’s mother died without knowing her son was so close by.

Questions have arisen about why Omar did not call for help during his captivity. Some reports claim Omar said he was unable to call out because of a spell cast by his captor, while others suggest his psychological state may have prevented him from seeking help.

The case may be among the world’s longest-running kidnapping cases. Eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped in Meyers, California in 1991 and remained missing for over 18 years after she was captured by Phillip and Nancy Garrido.

Dugard was kept in depraved conditions and was subjected to extreme sexual abuse, having two children by Phillip Garrido, and later said she adapted to sympathising with her captors to survive.