Headline

Insurgency: Omo-Agege Advocates Trauma-informed Education For Children

Published

4 years ago

November 16, 2021

Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, has said trauma-informed education will help children recover from the menace of insurgency, banditry, brigandage and other social vices bedeviling the country.

He spoke at the International Conference of the Association of Professional Counsellors in Nigeria (APROCON) in Abuja on Tuesday.

He described the theme of the event, ‘Trauma informed Education in Nigeria’ as apt, as it is coming at a time the country is faced with challenges of insecurity.

Represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Ms Lara Owoeye-Wise, Senator Omo-Agege said: “In recent times, trauma-informed education has become recognised in many nations that are forward looking and moving with the times.

“This has been made even more relevant, given the ever increasing tension spots in the world. Countries, especially in Africa; particularly sub-Saharan and the Sahel region have become hot spots of terror and all the trauma that go with it.

“Little wonder Trauma-Informed Counseling Interventions for IDPs is part of your sub-theme this year. This is no doubt in recognition of the fact that a lot of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are driven by events that create these IDPs.

As we know, in the past 12 years, Nigeria has been battling in many fronts against insurgency, banditry, brigandage and other sundry violent maladies that have impacted negatively on many children, further driving the need for us to take this form of special education more seriously.

“But beyond that, we as a people, have also been confronted by other growing events that underline social disorders in the system. For instance, not long ago the newspapers were awash with the growing concern that more marriages were tending towards failing than succeeding when they reported the alarming numbers of divorce cases in Lagos and Abuja courts.

“No doubt, such a scenario where families are dislocated, has an adverse effect on the children, particularly the young ones, of such homes. What we have ultimately would be subtle trauma, especially psychological that manifest in many ways. These may include withdrawal syndrome on the part of such children, peer ridicule, stigmatisation and even victimization, bullying sometimes and even rejection. At the end we find that such children would begin to tend towards falling into the “special needs” category, and needing special education techniques, methodology and methods.

“Another factor that causes subtle trauma is the generally growing gap between the rich and the poor; a situation that is fast becoming a serious issue in these sub-Saharan African countries referred to earlier. This is why Nigeria has taken the initiative to put programmes in place to lift 100 million people out of poverty in the next ten years. Studies have shown that when a child feels threatened by extreme social or economic conditions such as poverty, there is a range of traumatic events he or she is highly susceptible to”.

He threw his weight behind the group’s bid for a legislative framework to professionalise Counselling in Nigeria.

Headline

US Revokes Visas Of Foreigners Who Mocked Kirk’s Assassination

Published

18 hours ago

October 15, 2025

Editor

The United States has revoked the visas of several foreign nationals who publicly mocked or celebrated the killing of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

The State Department said the decision followed an internal review of social media posts deemed “offensive and contrary to U.S. values,” adding that the country “has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans.”

Kirk, 31, co-founder of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA and a strong ally of former President Donald Trump, was shot dead during a political rally on 10 September.

His killing drew widespread condemnation across the political spectrum, with many describing the act as a targeted attack on free speech.

According to U.S. authorities, at least six individuals from Argentina, South Africa, Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico, and Germany had their visas revoked after making comments online that celebrated Kirk’s murder or insulted his supporters.

Examples cited by officials included posts calling Kirk a racist who deserved it, and messages mocking grieving Americans.

“We will not tolerate foreigners who promote or celebrate acts of violence against U.S. citizens,” a State Department spokesperson said.

The move underscores Washington’s growing use of immigration powers to respond to online behaviour perceived as threatening or disrespectful towards the country.

The Department said it continues to monitor social media content for evidence of incitement or endorsement of violence.
Civil liberties advocates, however, have questioned the decision, arguing that revoking visas for social media comments could set a worrying precedent.

Officials maintained that the visa cancellations were lawful, limited in scope, and aimed at protecting national integrity.

“Freedom of speech does not extend to foreigners seeking the privilege of entry while glorifying violence,” the spokesperson added.

The United States has increased visa scrutiny in recent years, requiring applicants to disclose social media handles and online activity.

The policy, officials say, is designed to prevent extremist sympathisers or those expressing hostility towards the country from entering its borders

Headline

Israeli PM Netanyahu Back In Court For Graft Trial

Published

19 hours ago

October 15, 2025

Editor

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was back in a Tel Aviv court on Wednesday for the latest hearing in his long-running corruption trial, which opened in May 2020.

The prime minister kept a smiling face as he and his entourage of several ministers from his conservative Likud party were heckled by protesters en route to the tribunal.

It comes after US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that the Israeli premier should be pardoned in his three separate corruption cases.

His latest appearance at the Tel Aviv court also follows the return of the hostages taken by Hamas as part of Trump’s US-brokered plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

In one case, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods, including champagne, cigars and jewellery, from billionaires in exchange for political favours.

In two other instances, Netanyahu is also charged with attempting to negotiate better press coverage from two Israeli media outlets. He has denied any wrongdoing, claiming to be the victim of a political plot.

During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu has proposed far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say sought to weaken the courts.

Those prompted massive protests that only abated after the onset of the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

In an address on Monday to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Trump told the chamber that Netanyahu should receive a pardon in the graft cases.

“Cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that?” Trump joked, before asking his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog: “Why don’t you give him a pardon?”

The Israeli premier is also subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on suspicion of ordering war crimes in his government’s assault on Hamas militants in Gaza.

Netanyahu holds the record for the most years spent at the head of Israel’s government, having served 18 years in several stints as premier since 1996.

AFP

Headline

FULL LIST: US Set To Carry Out Four Executions This Week

Published

20 hours ago

October 15, 2025

Editor

A Florida man convicted of murdering two women he hired for sex was put to death by lethal injection on Tuesday, one of four executions to be carried out in the United States this week.

Samuel Smithers, 72, was sentenced to death in 1999 for the 1996 killings of Christy Cowan and Denise Roach in Tampa. They had been beaten and strangled and their bodies were found in a pond.

Smithers was executed at a Florida state prison at 6:15 pm (2215 GMT), the 14th execution in the southern state this year.

Another convicted murderer was also put to death by lethal injection in the midwestern state of Missouri on Tuesday.

The execution of Lance Shockley, 48, was carried out at 6:13 pm (2313 GMT) for the 2005 murder of a police sergeant, Carl Graham.

Graham was gunned down in an ambush at his home. The officer had been investigating a fatal car accident involving Shockley at the time.

Shockley maintained his innocence but his appeals were rejected by numerous courts, including the Supreme Court. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe rejected his clemency request on Monday.

Two other executions are scheduled this week.

Charles Crawford, 59, is to be put to death by lethal injection in Mississippi on Wednesday for the 1994 rape and murder of Kristy Ray, a 20-year-old college student.

Richard Djerf, 55, is to be executed by lethal injection in Arizona on Friday for the brutal 1993 murders of four members of a Phoenix family.

In a letter last month apologizing for the crime, Djerf said he was ready to die and would not seek clemency.

“If I can’t find reason to spare my life, what reason would anyone else have?” he wrote.

There have been 37 executions in the United States this year, the most since 2013, when 39 inmates were put to death.

Florida has carried out the most executions with 14, followed by Texas with five and South Carolina and Alabama with four.

Thirty-one 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.”