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Anxiety As Owan Forest Communities Drag Edo State Government To ECOWAS Court

Published

3 years ago

May 16, 2022

Our Reporter

There is intense uneasiness and tongue-wagging around Edo State, as the state government has been dragged to the Community Court of Justice Economic Communities of West African States (ECOWAS), Abuja, by over 45 forested and agrarian communities of the Owan Forest Zone of the state, spreading across its four local government areas of Ovia North East, Uhunmwode, Owan West and Owan East.

The suit, reference no:ECW /CCJ/APP/22/22, was filed on 11 May, 2022, by its First Plaintiff, the Incorporated Trustees of the Okpamakhin Community Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), comprising farmers and other land users, drawn from the cluster communities (clans) of Irhue, Ozalla, Ora, Iuleha, Sobe and others.

The Second Plaintiffs are eight men and women, who are farmers and other land users of the forest zone.

The suit was filed by the communities’ lawyer on the matter, President Aigbokhan, Esq., with his legal team.

Aigbokhan, a Benin-based Freedom of Information (FOI) protagonist and human rights lawyer, had recently won a major suit at the same ECOWAS Court, against Edo State Government, with thousands of US Dollars damages to the petitioners.

By the ECOWAS Court’s suit, the ranging disputes on the forest zone, between the state government and the communities, also called Okpamakhin, seems to have come to a climax.

Over a year ago, the state governor, Mr. Obaseki, in conjunction with Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, inaugurated a N69 billion fund for establishment of oil palm plantations in the state, bringing forward some foreign and local private companies and local growers of oil palm as beneficiaries.

Governor Obaseki told newsmen that he had earmarked tens of thousands of the state’s forest reserve estate for the project, which continued to be under disputes.

The statutory Defendant in the suit is the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), who stands in for state governments on such matters as with the ECOWAS Court, pursuant to the FRN’s being a founding member state of ECOWAS, subject to the jurisdiction of the Honourable Court and loyalty of FRN to the various charters and protocols of the United Nations, African and ECOWAS, as well as Nigeria’s local laws and regulations.

In the suit, the first and second plaintiffs prayed the regional Court to amongst other things, protect their inalienable rights and get judgment against the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led government, who had ceded their communities’ vast ancestral forest reserves to private investors, to establish oil palm plantations and other agricultural activities, without their due information, consultation and consent.

Some of the Plaintiffs’ claims, which they also want the Court to stop, are the forceful takeover of their ancestral land by the State Government, with undue harassment of the communities and the locals by heavily armed policemen, stating that the land within the two forest reserves of Owan BC 10 Forest Reserve and Iuleha/Ora/Ozalla, that form a larger part of the Owan Forest Zone, is the communities mainstay, that were acquired by the British Colonial Government, who was duly accountable to their local communities, owners of the land, whereas the present state government, who the land was simply handed to should not act to the contrary

Headline

Leader Of UK Christian Group Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Women

Published

9 minutes ago

August 23, 2025

Editor

Chris Brain, 68, the leader of a UK Christian group once backed by the Church of England, has been convicted of sexually abusing nine women in his congregation.

A jury delivered the final verdicts on Thursday.

‎Brain led the Nine O’Clock Service, an evangelical movement in Sheffield during the 1980s and 1990s. The group was known for its nightclub-style worship, held at 9 p.m. on Sundays, which included live music and drew large crowds of young people.

‎Prosecutors said Brain used his authority to control members of the congregation, isolating them from family and friends, and used his position to commit sexual assaults. He also maintained a group of young women known as the “lycra nuns” who assisted him, his wife, and his daughter at home, prosecutor Tim Clark told the court.

‎The leader of the UK Christian group was charged with 36 counts of indecent assault and one count of rape involving 13 women between 1981 and 1995. He denied the charges, claiming any sexual contact was consensual.

‎Following a trial at Inner London Crown Court, he was convicted of 17 counts of indecent assault against nine women. He was acquitted of 15 other charges, while the jury could not reach a verdict on four additional indecent assault charges and the rape allegation. The Crown Prosecution Service said it would “carefully consider” whether to seek a retrial.

‎The Nine O’Clock Service had received approval from the Church of England. In 1990, the Archbishop of Canterbury-elect George Carey met with Brain to discuss his methods, and his ordination was expedited. Prosecutors said the group even spent heavily to purchase the costume worn by Robert De Niro in the 1986 film The Mission for his ceremony.

‎Brain resigned shortly before a BBC documentary aired in 1995, accusing him of inappropriate sexual behaviour. Carey later said he was “crushed and let down” when the allegations became public.

‎In court, Brain admitted to receiving massages from congregation members that sometimes became sexual but denied manipulating or controlling them.

‎Bishop of Sheffield Pete Wilcox said in a statement: “What happened was an appalling abuse of power and leadership that should never have occurred. Where concerns were raised in the past and were not acted upon properly, that was a failing of the Church. For those institutional failures, I offer an unreserved apology.”

Headline

Russia Claims More Ukraine Land As Hopes For Summit Fade

Published

11 minutes ago

August 23, 2025

Editor

Russia on Saturday said its forces had taken two villages in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, increasing the military pressure as world leaders struggle to broker an end to the conflict.

South Africa added its voice to those calling for a summit between Ukraine and Russia.

Russian forces are slowly advancing in the embattled eastern region of Donetsk, grinding closer to Kyiv’s key defensive line in costly metre-for-metre battles.

Moscow’s defence ministry said on Telegram that its forces had captured the villages of Sredneye and Kleban-Byk.

The taking of Kleban-Byk would mark a further advance towards Kostiantynivka — a key fortified town on the road to Kramatorsk, where a major Ukrainian logistics base is located.

On Friday, Russia said its troops had captured three villages in the Donetsk region it claimed to have annexed in September 2022.

On Saturday, Ukrainian military officials said its forces had stopped a Russian advance and recaptured the village of Zeleny Gai in the Donetsk region in a post to Telegram.

In July, Russia claimed the capture of the village, on the border with Dnipropetrovsk, adding that it was an important stronghold used by Ukraine to protect the area.

– Ramaphosa backs summit –
The latest Russian advances come as hopes dim for a summit between Russian and Ukrainian presidents — a solution championed by US President Donald Trump as part of his efforts to end the conflict.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday added his voice to calls for a Russia-Ukraine summit during a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“President Ramaphosa stressed the urgency of holding bilateral and trilateral meetings between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine and the United States as key to signal a firm commitment to ending the war,” said a statement from his office.

Ramaphosa, who currently chairs the G20, also spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, the statement added. He will speak with other European leaders in the coming weeks.

Ramaphosa spoke on Monday with Vladimir Putin, whom he described in October at the BRICS summit as a “dear ally” and a “valued friend”.

However, for the first time since Russia’s attack on Ukraine, South Africa earlier this year backed a UN resolution declaring that Russia had launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zelensky said he had told Ramaphosa he was ready for any kind of meeting with Putin.

“However, we see that Moscow is once again trying to drag everything out even further,” he said on X.

He called on the Global South to send “relevant signals and (push) Russia toward peace”.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said “no meeting” was planned as Trump’s mediation efforts appeared to stall, while Zelensky accused Russia of trying to prolong the offensive.

AFP

Headline

US Suspends Work Visas For Nigerian, Foreign Truck Drivers

Published

13 hours ago

August 23, 2025

Editor

The United States government has suspended the issuance of work visas for Nigerian and other foreign truck drivers, citing job security concerns and safety risks for American citizens.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the decision on Thursday, saying it takes immediate effect.

According to him, the rising number of foreign truck drivers on U.S. highways is both threatening lives and reducing opportunities for American truckers.

“Effective immediately, we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio said.

The move comes under President Donald Trump’s renewed clampdown on immigration since returning to office in January 2025.

As part of new measures, travellers from countries with high visa overstay rates or weak travel databases will be required to pay a bond of $5,000 to $15,000 before obtaining certain categories of visas.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria also directed all visa applicants to disclose their social media handles from the past five years, warning that failure to comply could result in denial of applications and possible ineligibility for future visas.