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ERA Applauds Rivers Govt’s Actions Against Oil Theft, Soot Pollution

Published

4 years ago

January 19, 2022

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has applauded the current action by the Rivers State Government to address the vexed issues of oil theft and refining of stolen crude oil and the consequent release of soot into the environment.

Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, Executive Director, ERA/FoEN, who made the applaud in a statement made available to INFO DAILY on Wednesday by Nosa Tokunbo, spokesperson of the organisation, stated that “Although the current action of the Rivers State government is a welcomed respite for the people of the state, more still needs to be done.

While calling for the development of a holistic framework that would address both the supply of artisanal products and the high demands for these products in communities, Dr. Ojo identified rising cost of living, unemployment, and severe impact from hydrocarbon pollution on rural livelihoods as parts of the problem the menace has caused in the society.

He said, “There is the need for providing alternative income generation sources for these youths to discourage them from the illegal act, hence Governments at all levels must as a matter of necessity diversify our economy from oil and gas dependence and towards a transition to renewable energy sources such as solar mini-grid and off-grid systems.”

He continues, “Although artisanal refining of stolen crude oil is indicated as the current accelerator of soot and ambient air pollution in the Niger Delta region, it is also important to point out that decades of reckless exploration and production activities by multinational companies such as Shell, ill maintained oil pipelines and facilities, routine gas flaring and lax regulatory framework are responsible for the dangerous situation in which millions of people who reside in the Niger Delta region now find themselves.

“A 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on ambient air pollution, states that air pollution around the world is responsible for 4.2 million premature deaths globally every year. The report further states that exposure to air pollution is also responsible for increasing rates of stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer.”

The Environmental group lamented that hospitals across Rivers State are reporting a marked uptick in patients presenting with respiratory illnesses especially young children whose lungs are unable to withstand the constant poisoning from air pollution.

“There are also reports of increase in patients suffering severe burns from explosions resulting from utilizing improperly refined kerosene from artisanal refining processes.”

The environmental Organisation recalled that civil society groups, local communities, the media, and youths under the auspices of the Young Friends of the Earth Nigeria (YFoEN), had in the last five years been engaged in sustained research and advocacy with the aim of getting the different tiers of governments and its regulatory institutions to take decisive actions to halt the persistent ambient air pollution witnessed in Rivers state.

It added that that four years after local communities, civic groups, the media and youths dissatisfied by government’s refusal to act, protested on the streets of Port Harcourt and to the offices of the governor, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Shell; the government of Rivers State finally decided to take the first tentative steps on the road to dealing with this hydra-headed monster.

Headline

Woman Wanted Over Mutilation Of Boyfriend’s Genitals In US

Published

13 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

Authorities in Toledo, Ohio, United States, are searching for a 45-year-old woman, Jeanita Hopings, accused of breaking into her boyfriend’s home and attacking him with a sharp object, causing serious injuries to his genitals.

As reported by PEOPLE on Thursday, warrants issued for Hopings’ arrest show she faces charges of felonious assault and aggravated burglary in connection with the October 7 incident.

Investigators allege that Hopings “forcefully kicked open the front door” of her boyfriend’s home before entering “without permission,” according to one of the warrants.

Once inside, she allegedly attacked the victim with an “unknown instrument,” inflicting a deep wound.

“The victim’s testicle was clearly exposed as the result of the laceration,” the warrant stated.

The man was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, police confirmed.

Hopings has not yet been arrested and has not entered a plea to the charges. Court records from Lucas County indicate that she has no prior felony history, though she has previously faced several traffic-related misdemeanour offences.

Police say Hopings remains at large as the investigation continues.

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US To Execute Man Convicted Of Rape, Murder Of Teen

Published

16 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

A 53-year-old man convicted of the 2001 rape and murder of a teenage girl is to be executed by lethal injection in the US state of Indiana on Friday.

Roy Lee Ward was sentenced to death in 2002 for the murder of 15-year-old Stacy Payne at her home in the town of Dale.

Payne was repeatedly stabbed and died of her injuries several hours after the attack.

Ward was arrested at the scene while still holding a knife.

The execution is to be carried out between midnight and sunrise on Friday morning at a state prison in Michigan City.

Ward will be the third person put to death in Indiana since the state resumed executions last year after a 15-year hiatus because of difficulties obtaining the lethal drugs used in them.

There have been 34 executions in the United States this year, the most since 2014, when 35 inmates were put to death.

Florida has carried out the most executions — 13 — followed by Texas with five and South Carolina and Alabama with four.

Twenty-eight of this year’s executions have been carried out by lethal injection, two by firing squad and four by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a face mask, causing the prisoner to suffocate.

The use of nitrogen gas as a method of capital punishment has been denounced by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others — California, Oregon and Pennsylvania — have moratoriums in place.

President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and on his first day in office called for an expansion of its use “for the vilest crimes.”

AFP

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Trump Gives Update On Israel, Hamas Peace Deal

Published

1 day ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Trump Gives Update On Israel, Hamas Peace Deal

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he may go to the Middle East at the end of this week as a peace deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is “very close.”

Trump said during an event at the White House that he would “go to Egypt most likely” but that he would also consider going to war-torn Gaza.

“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually. And we’ll see, but there is a very good chance. Negotiations are going along very well,” Trump told reporters at the start of the event.

“Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas, and it seems to be going well. So we’ll let you know, if that’s the case, we’ll be leaving probably on Sunday, maybe on Saturday.”

Near the end of the meeting, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio unexpectedly entered the room and handed Trump a note.

The US president told reporters the note said that “we’re very close to a deal” and that his presence was needed. “I have to go now to try and solve some problems in the Middle East,” he added.

Hamas and Israeli officials are having indirect talks in Egypt on a 20-point peace proposal unveiled by Trump to end the two-year-old war.

– ‘Very close’ –

Trump said as he began the event that he had come off the phone with officials in the Middle East, where his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had just joined discussions in Egypt.

“‘Peace for the Middle East,’ that’s a beautiful phrase, and we hope it’s going to come true, but it’s very close, and they’re doing very well,” Trump added.

“We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and they’re, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it’s something I think that will happen.”

Asked if he would consider going to Gaza if a deal happens, Trump replied: “I would, yeah. I would. I might do that. I may do that. We haven’t decided exactly.”

Trump said he would insist on the release of hostages held by Hamas before traveling to the region.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said earlier that he had received “encouraging” signs and hailed the support of Trump.

Hamas too expressed “optimism” over the indirect discussions with its foe Israel.

Trump’s plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of all the hostages held in Gaza, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
AFP