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Edo Guber: Be Guided By Laws Governing Elections, IPC Charges Journalists, Others

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Lanre Arogundade (middle) giving his speech at the two days dialogue in Benin on Friday

Joseph Ebi Kanjo 

The Executive Director, International Press Centre (IPC), Lanre Arogundade, has charged journalists to be guided by the laws and codes governing elections.

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He also charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to conduct themselves within the confines of the Constitution, urging them not to take sides with any political party or individuals.

Arogundade spoke in Benin on Friday at a two-day dialogue with media practitioners and critical stakeholders in the Edo State governorship electoral process.

He said that the programme was part of the activities being implemented by the IPC with support from the European Union for democratic governance in Nigeria.

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According to him, the project recognises elections as crucial building block for sustainable democratic practices in any democracy.

A cross section of journalists at the the two days dialogue.

Arogundade said for a free, fair, credible and peaceful governorship election in Edo State, all stakeholders must perform their roles without any bias, bearing in their minds the citizens’ interest.

He said: “It is the public interest that should constitute our guiding principles, and not any other interest, be it partisan, cultural, religion or political.”

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The Executive Director who charged the police and other security agencies to ensure safety of journalists during and after the election, reminded the INEC and security agencies of the Nigeria media code of election coverage in the country.

READ ALSO: Edo Guber: Shaibu Reacts To Court Ruling Voiding PDP Primary

“Let me at this point draw the attention of the representative of the INEC, the police and the NSCDC to the fact that the Nigeria media code of election coverage requires the institutions to provide a conducive environment for the media and journalists to carry out their duties during elections.

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Group photograph of participants at the two days dialogue in Benin.

“The government and its agency shall ensure free movement of journalists to any part of the country during elections.

“In this forthcoming Edo election, we expect the police to guarantee the safety of journalists, and for the police not to attack journalists. Where there are cases of attack on journalists, we expect prompt investigation,” he said.

Arogundade urged INEC to be proactive by providing journalists with necessary information regarding the election so as to aid factual and credible reporting of the electoral process and guide against misinformation.

On his part, one of the resource persons and the Executive Director, Journalism Clinic, Taiwo Ojo, urged journalists to leverage on modern technologies in telling their stories.

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He emphasised the place of research and knowledge in journalism, stressing the need for journalists to use their professionalism in this social media age to fight misinformation even as the governorship draws nearer.

 

 

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92-year-old Convicted For 1967 Killing In UK’s Oldest Cases

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A 92-year-old British man was convicted on Monday for a rape and murder committed nearly 60 years ago, in one of the UK’s longest-running cold cases.

Ryland Headley was found guilty by a UK court for raping and killing 75-year-old Louisa Dunne after breaking into her house in Bristol, southwest England in June 1967, when he was 34 years old.

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It is “one of the oldest cold cases to ever be solved in the UK”, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which brings criminal prosecutions, said.

Local police reopened the case in 2023 and matched DNA from the victim’s skirt and other items from the original probe to Headley, who had also served a prison sentence for raping two elderly women in 1977.

READ ALSO:UK GDP Records Fastest Growth In Q1 2025

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He is due to be sentenced by a judge at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday.

During the initial investigation, police had found a left-hand palm print from Dunne’s home, where she was found dead from strangulation.

The palm print was compared to 19,000 men to no avail.

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At the time, Headley was a railway worker who lived just outside the area in which men and boys were asked to give prints.

READ ALSO:Police Detain 3 Nsukka Masqueraders For Allegedly Assaulting Residents

Reaching a dead-end, police sealed away forensic evidence for half a century. Both DNA testing and later Headley’s palm print resulted in matches.

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When Headley was arrested at his home last November, he told detectives: “I don’t know what you are talking about. Very strange, very strange.”

“For 58 years, this appalling crime went unsolved and Ryland Headley, the man we now know is responsible, avoided justice,” said Charlotte Ream of the CPS.

Following the conviction, Dunne’s granddaughter Mary Dainton said her death had a “far-reaching impact throughout my family”.

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I was just 20-years-old when my grandmother died and I’m now almost the same age as she was when she was killed,” Dainton said outside court.

Police said they were now looking into other possible cold cases Headley could be linked to.

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Ryland Headley has now been convicted of three rapes of elderly women within their own addresses, and in the case of Louisa Dunne, her murder as well,” Dave Marchant of Avon and Somerset Police told the PA news agency.

I think there’s every possibility that there are other offences out there – over the 60s, 70s, however long a time period – which Mr Headley could be culpable for.”

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Hope Dashed As Norwegian Company Apologizes For ‘Mistakenly Telling’ Thousands They Won Big On Lottery

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A Norwegian lottery company on Monday apologised to 47,000 crestfallen gamblers who were mistakenly told they had won huge sums in a lottery, the firm blaming a currency conversion error.

State-owned gambling group Norsk Tipping said they had published incorrect prize amounts after a Eurojackpot draw on Friday because of an error converting from euro cents to Norwegian kroner.

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The winnings had been multiplied by 100 instead of being divided by 100, the company said.

Among the disappointed was Ole Fredrik Sveen, who was on holiday in Greece when he received a message from Norsk Tipping that he had won 1.2 million kroner ($119,000).

READ ALSO:My Husband Starved Me, Beat, Left Me Stark Naked After Tearing My Clothes, Woman Tells Court

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“I thought: ‘Wow, is it finally my turn? Could it be true?’ I go onto the Norsk Tipping website, and there it says in black and white: ‘Congratulations, you have won!’,” Sveen told public broadcaster NRK on Monday.

In reality, he had won 125 kroner ($12).

On Monday, Sveen and the 47,000 others received apologies by text message from Norsk Tipping for the snafu.

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The apology was a poor consolation. They should have sent it out after the mistake, not today,” he said.

The Lottery Authority said Monday it had launched a review to determine if gambling laws had been broken, and Culture Minister Lubna Jaffery called the error “totally unacceptable”.

READ ALSO:Nigerians React As Police Allegedly Seal PDP National Secretariat

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The firm’s chief executive Tonje Sagstuen resigned on Saturday after the scandal, leaving acting chief executive Vegar Strand to apologise on Monday.

Strand said his company’s state ownership made the mistake particularly problematic, noting that the firm was “entirely dependent on the trust of the population”.

We have deeply disappointed our customers and take full responsibility for rectifying the situation. Such errors are serious for a company that is supposed to manage the trust of Norwegians,” Strand said.

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The work to rebuild trust again has the highest priority going forward.”

AFP

 

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Musk Renews Attack On Trump, Says ‘Big, Beautiful Bill Utterly Insane’

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Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has renewed his public criticism of United States President Donald Trump, taking aim at the administration’s controversial “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which recently cleared a critical hurdle in the Senate, TIMES reported.

In a post on X on Saturday, Musk denounced the 940-page legislative package as economically harmful, claiming it would severely damage emerging industries while supporting outdated sectors.

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The latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country,” he wrote to his more than 220 million followers.

He further described the legislation as “utterly insane and destructive.”

READ ALSO:Elon Musk Unveils 29 Additional Starlink Satellites

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The senate narrowly voted 51–49 to advance the bill on Saturday night, following extended negotiations among Republicans. Vice President J.D Vance was present to cast a tie-breaking vote, though it was ultimately not required.

Musk, who once served as head of the Department of Government Efficiency under Trump, left the administration after a high-profile fallout and has since emerged as one of the bill’s fiercest opponents.

He described the measure as “political suicide” for Republicans and warned that it would raise the national debt ceiling by $5 trillion — the largest such increase in US history. “America is in the fast lane to debt slavery,” he added.

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Responding in an interview aired Sunday on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures, Trump attempted to defuse the tension. “I haven’t spoken to him much, but I think Elon is a wonderful guy,” he said. Trump also suggested Musk’s frustration stemmed from disagreements over recent changes to electric vehicle mandates.

READ ALSO:Elon Musk Unveils 29 Additional Starlink Satellites

Musk’s opposition to the bill is not new. Earlier in June, he urged Americans to contact their representatives, calling the legislation a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill.”

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Despite the bill’s advancement in the Senate, it faces continued resistance. Senate Democrats have slowed proceedings by demanding the entire bill be read aloud in protest.

If Senate Republicans won’t tell the American people what’s in this bill, then Democrats are going to force this chamber to read it from start to finish,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

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