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Foundation To NASS: Reinstate Deleted ‘Right To Food’ Clause In The Constitution

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Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has called on the National Assembly’s Committee on the review of the 1999 Constitution to reinstate the clause on the ‘right to food’ which was reportedly deleted in the Constitution’s amendment Bill.

The call was made in a Press Statement signed by Nnimmo Bassey, Director of HOMEF, and made available to INFO DAILY on Monday in Benin City

The amendment Bill which has been pending before the two chambers of the National Assembly seeks to introduce the words ‘right to food and ‘food security’ in two chapters: chapter two and chapter four with the aim of “addressing the failure of agricultural policies to ensure food security in Nigeria; given the philosophical context that there can be no food security without the right to food”

Reports have it that, the Senate and House of Representatives Committee who are currently reviewing the constitution rejected the clause on the ‘right
to food’ based on the premise that passing the Bill with the clause on
the ‘right to food’ as proposed could put more financial burden on the government.

INFO DAILY reports that the clause was also rejected on the ground that it “could be misinterpreted by citizens and might lead to damaging consequences.”

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Reacting to the action of the National Assembly, Bassey in the statement expressed disappointment at this
move, noting that the right to adequate food is a long standing fundamental human right, universally accepted for years and thus should not be cherry-picked by our legislators.

Bassey added that, “To remove
the clause from the Bill is to reinforce the lack of regard for the
people and keep an open door for the purveyors of risky technologies
such as genetic modification and gene editing in agriculture as well as policies designed against the small holder farmers who are the pillar of Agriculture in the country”

He stressed that the right to adequate and safe food is a fundamental human right and law makers should not legislate against this right in the constitution amendment process. To do otherwise sends the signal that the lawmakers wish to set Nigerians on the pathway of starvation and neglect.

Also reacting to the move in the statement, Coordinator, Food Sovereignty Programme
at Friends of the Earth Nigeria/Africa, Mariann Orovwuje, said a recognition of the right to food in the constitution will ensure accountability, transparency,
better governance and policies to provide a thriving environment for
optimum food productivity.

READ ALSO: Agroecology Panacea To Climate Change, Food Crisis – Experts

She stressed that the right to food is anchored on human
rights and is recognized in many international treaties and conventions including the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), etc.

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“Nigeria is signatory to these instruments and thus needs to strengthen the legal framework for the realization of the right to food in the country including by strengthening people’s access to and use of resources and informing the public about their human rights;
strengthening their ability to participate in development processes and decision making,” she added.

The ‘right to food’ is a key component of food sovereignty which beyond food security sees to the right of food producers at every level along the food chain to be in control of what they produce and how. Food sovereignty not only ensures access to food but makes sure that the food is healthy, nutritious and culturally appropriate; that the food is produced with ecologically sound means. This is the future of food and farming. It is the direction we must go.”

 

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Man Stabs Four To Death In US

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Four people, including a teenage girl, were killed and at least five injured after a man went on a stabbing spree at multiple addresses in the US state of Illinois, police have said.

The stabbings took place on Wednesday afternoon, Rockford City Police said in a statement, adding that a 22-year-old suspect was taken into custody.

The statement did not say anything about a possible motive.

Rockford is located about 90 miles northwest of Chicago.

READ ALSO: Gender Balancing: Tellthatstory Empowers Women In African Storytelling

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Those killed included a 15-year-old girl, a 63-year-old woman, and two men aged 49 and 22, according to the police.

The police statement said that five people had been wounded, but US media later cited the police saying seven were wounded.

Details later

AFP

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[JUST IN] Okuama Killings: Army Declares Eight Persons Wanted [FULL LIST]

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The Nigerian Army has declared Eight persons wanted in connection with the killing of 17 soldiers in the Okuama community in Delta state.

The Nigerian Army disclosed this on its official X account on Thursday.

The persons declared wanted include seven men and one woman.

Full list:

They are Akevwru Daniel Omotegbono, Prof Ekpekpo Arthur, Andaowei Dennis Bakriki, Igoli Ebi (female), Akata Malawa David, Sinclear Oliki, Clement Ikolo Oghenerukevwe and Reuben Baru.

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Okuama killings: Background
The suspected mastermind of the bloodbath, a militant leader, and his gang members, who are currently on the run, seem to have their operational stamping ground at Igbomotoru, a riverside community in the Southern-Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

However, the Nigerian Army, which has spread its dragnet for the fleeing suspects, went as far as Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, to pick up three persons, last Tuesday, in connection with the killing of the soldiers.

READ ALSO: Delta Killings: Military Sets To Build Barracks On Okuama As Demolition Of Houses Continues

So far, the demanding search for the killers of the soldiers in the quiet Okuama has spread to the creeks, hideouts, and communities in Delta State, Bayelsa, and Rivers states, and is likely to extend to other states in the Niger-Delta, and outside the region if need be, according to sources.

According to VANGUARD, many believe the killing of the soldiers was beyond the land dispute between Okuama and Okoloba in the Bomadi local government area, as insiders point to divergences on oil bunkering.

Lt. Col Ali was reportedly bent on stopping oil thieves in his operational area and had made appreciable inroads. There was suspicion that his killing with other military personnel could be a setup.

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We know who did it – General Musa, CDS

The Chief of the Defense Staff, CDS, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, who had given his troops marching orders to track down the killers, alluded to this notion.

Musa said: “I know him, the C.O himself, Lt. Col. Ali. Because of recent, we emphasized that we want oil production in Nigeria to increase so that we will be able to have enough foreign exchange for things to go down. Because we all know the challenges we are facing.

READ ALSO: Okuoma Ambush: Troops Recover Decomposing Hearts Of Killed Soldiers

“And so, he insisted that all illegal activities within his general area must stop. He directed all the troops and they were stopping illegal bunkering, and then these are the people benefiting from it. And so when this issue came up, it became an opportunity for them to do away with him, which is exactly what happened.

“We know who did it, we are following up on him, and it is just a matter of time, we are sure we are going to get him. They took away our arms, we must get those arms back, and we must get these guys so that they would be prosecuted accordingly.”

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From our findings, the countryside people of Okuama are not sophisticated enough to carry out this kind of attack on military officers.

And from the CDS declaration that “we know who did it..,” he confirmed that the premeditated killing was connected to oil bunkering, so why did the troops go after helpless Okuama women and children, and even razed the community?

However, the Army, on Friday, admitted knowledge of the viral video by a militant leader who confessed to participating in killing the 16 soldiers.

It noted: “The video among other things helps to narrow investigation to persons of interest and their cohorts.

“Accordingly, the state governments and host communities of these personalities are required to assist investigation in flushing out these culprits.

“There can be no hiding place for perpetrators of such dastardly act against the nation. This is a clarion call to duty by members of those communities and the state governments”.

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Iran Sentences Police Officer To Death For Killing Protester

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An Iranian court has sentenced a police chief in northern Iran to death after he was charged with killing a man during mass protests in 2022, local media reported Wednesday.

Local police chief Jafar Javanmardi was arrested in December 2022 over the killing of a protester during the widespread demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in custody.

Iranian Kurd Amini, 22, died in custody in September that year following her arrest for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Orders Army To Pay Slain Soldiers’ Benefits Within 90 Days

Javanmardi was sentenced to death “in accordance with the Islamic law of retribution, known as the ‘qisas’ law, on the charge of premeditated murder”, the lawyer for the victim’s family, Majid Ahmadi, told the reformist Shargh daily.

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The protestor, Mehran Samak, 27, succumbed to injuries he sustained after being hit by shotgun pellets during a rally in the northern city of Bandar Anzali on November 30, 2022.

Rights groups based outside of Iran said Samak was shot dead by Iranian security forces after honking his car horn in celebration of Iran’s loss to the United States in the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar while at the Amini protest.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Appoints Coordinator For Centre For Control Of Small Arms

The defeat eliminated Iran from the football tournament and drew a mixed response from government supporters and opponents.

The lawyer, Ahmadi, said at the time that the police official was charged with “violating the rules for firearms usage, resulting in the death of Samak”.

In mid-January, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said the Supreme Court had annulled a death sentence and referred the case to another court.

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Gilan province, where Bandar Anzali is located, was a flashpoint of the nationwide protest movement that shook Iran.

Hundreds of people were killed during the months-long protests, including dozens of security forces, while thousands were arrested and nine men were executed in cases linked to the demonstrations.

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