Headline

FG Claims Providing 750,000 Jobs for Youths

Published

4 years ago

February 13, 2022

The Federal Government has created 750,000 jobs for youths to close the unemployment gap in the country.

The Director-General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Dasuki Arabi made this known at the News Agency of Nigeria forum, on Sunday in Abuja.

Arabi, who is also the Chairman, Technical Working Committee on Youth Employment, said the intervention followed an interface with the Nigeria Economic Summit Group.

“We did some research works with the Nigeria Economic Summit Group to look at unemployment in the country and we came out with the policy.

“The summit came up with the idea of the 750,000 jobs that have been adopted by the Federal Government for the youths and the unemployed.”

Arabi said the establishment of the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs was part of the government’s effort to provide succour for the unemployed and downtrodden before they finally got engaged.

“We are working with the Central Bank of Nigeria and SMEDAN to provide a lot of support for the unemployed.

“It is also the reason why the government is introducing entrepreneurship at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.

“The idea is for youths to be engaged while in school before the time for employment comes.

“As you are working or schooling you are learning a skill, when you come out you don’t have to rely on the government for employment.”

He said a lot of work was being done to support small and medium enterprises to make it easier for citizens to access the support and assistance given to them.

“The registration of business for certain groups is almost free and is supported by CAC and related agencies.

“These are some of the things that we have done and these are some of the things the government is doing to fight unemployment.

“And the bottom of all this is, the government is doing quite a lot to provide an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive, so they can provide additional space of employment,” Arabi said.

On data generation for proper planning, the DG said the private sector had been empowered, registered and given a license to generate data for a fee.

“We can see that with the privatisation of PHCN, DISCOs have been created, we have vendors selling units for charging meters.

“A lot of things were done for the private sector to thrive, expand and provide support to Federal Government for growth in the economy,” he added.

Arabi said the aim was for the private sector to provide quite many spaces for jobs.

Headline

Court Jails Two For Targeting President With Sorcery

Published

6 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

A Zambian court on Monday sentenced two men to two years in prison with hard labour on charges of attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country’s president.

Mozambican national Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Zambian village chief Leonard Phiri were arrested in December in possession of charms, including a live chameleon.

Police said they planned to use the charms to harm President Hakainde Hichilema, and they were charged with professing knowledge of witchcraft and possession of charms.

“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” magistrate Fine Mayambu ruled in the capital Lusaka on Monday.

“The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians. I therefore sentence them to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour from the date of their arrest,” he said.

The prosecution said the men had been hired by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is facing trial for robbery, attempted murder and escaping custody.

Headline

Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial

Published

6 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

Criminal Court ‘D’ in Monrovia is set to deliver judgment this week in Liberia’s first piracy trial, involving two Nigerian nationals accused of hijacking a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to court records, the defendants were arrested earlier this year after a Liberia-flagged ship was seized by armed men while transporting goods through international waters. The crew sent a distress signal, prompting international maritime forces to intervene.

The suspects were subsequently transferred to Liberian authorities under global maritime cooperation protocols.

According to Liberia’s news platform, Front Page Africa, the case has attracted attention because Liberia maintains one of the world’s largest open ship registries, yet prosecutions for piracy within its domestic courts have not previously occurred. Under international law, Liberia holds jurisdiction over crimes involving ships registered under its flag.

On Monday, proceedings took a new turn when defense lawyer, Cllr. Bestman Juah, informed the court that the defendants had admitted responsibility for the hijacking and were requesting a plea-bargain arrangement. State prosecutors did not oppose the request, leaving open the possibility of reduced sentences in exchange for full cooperation.

Resident Judge Mameita Jabateh-Sirleaf, who presides over Criminal Court ‘D’, will rule on whether to accept the plea deal and determine the sentencing framework. The ruling could also address deportation measures following imprisonment.

Criminal Court ‘D’ handles cases involving armed robbery, terrorism, hijacking, and other serious crimes, and the piracy trial represents a growing trend of transnational offenses being prosecuted within Liberia’s judicial system.
As of press time, the court has not announced the date for sentencing.

Headline

Spain Cancels $825m Israel Arms Deal Over Gaza

Published

6 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

The Spanish government has cancelled a contract worth nearly 700 million euros ($825 million) for Israeli-designed rocket launchers.

The move comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last week that his government would “consolidate in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel over its offensive in Gaza.

The contract, awarded to a consortium of Spanish companies, involved the purchase of 12 SILAM rocket launcher systems derived from the PULS platform made by Israeli firm Elbit Systems, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance.

First reported by local media and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the cancellation was formalised on Spain’s official public contracts platform on September 9.

The following day, Sanchez unveiled measures aimed at stopping what his leftist government called “the genocide in Gaza”.

It includes the approval of a decree imposing a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel due to its military offensive in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attacks in October 2023.

Spain applied the ban as Israel stepped up its military onslaught.

Spain has also formalized the cancellation of another contract for 168 anti-tank missile launchers, which were to be manufactured under license from an Israeli company.

That contract, valued at 287 million euros, had been first reported by the press in June.

According to Spanish daily La Vanguardia, the government is undertaking a broader review to phase out Israeli weapons and technology from its armed forces.

Sanchez has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza policy.

Relations between the two countries have been tense for months.

Israel has not had an ambassador in Spain since Madrid recognized the state of Palestine in 2024.

Last week, Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel after heated exchanges over Sánchez’s new measures.

The Barcelona-based Delas Centre, a security research institute, estimated in April that since the start of the Gaza war, Spain had awarded 46 contracts worth $1.044 billion to Israeli companies, based on public tender data.