Headline

Joy As Two Edo JUSUN Staff Bag Olayiwola Afolabi Award Of Excellence

Published

4 years ago

October 12, 2021

Editor

As a way of encouraging civil servants in Edo State especially the junior staff, Mr. Olayiwola Afolabi, Esq., Co-founder of Olayiwola Afolabi Chambers, Benin, has given award of excellence to two staff members of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, Edo State.

It is an annual award for judiciary workers in the state and this year’s is the 8th.

The awardees, Mrs. Patience Igebor, a clerical assistant of Grade Level 3 but doing the job of a cleaner in the Edo State Judiciary, and Mr. Osaro Ehigiaba, a Grade Level 4 staff gardener were given a 25k bag of rice, an industrial standing fan (smallest Ox), N20,000.00 and a brand new Bible each for their resourcefulness, dexterity and commitment to duty.

Speaking at the event which held at the courtroom of High Court 1, Benin, Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Joe Archer, said the selection was done based on fairness, humanly speaking, adding that the two persons selected for the award really deserved it.

While noting that the award has become an annual ritual in Edo State judiciary of which the best industrious staff is picked for an award, added that this year’s was made two in order to encourage staff to be more committed to their duty.

The Chief Judge, while describing Mr. Afolabi as a partner in the Edo State Judiciary despite the fact that he is not from the state, urged other lawyers in the state to emulate Afolabi for his charity and contributions to the judiciary.

“Mr. Afolabi is not the richest lawyer in the state but his contributions to the system is encouraging. We have seen him as a partner in Edo State judiciary, and I am calling other lawyers to emulate what Mr. Afolabi is doing. He gives award to one staff every year but this year he increased it to two. Afolabi needs to be commended for this,” the Chief Judge said.

Speaking at the event, sponsor of the award, Mr. Afolabi said he increased the number to two because of the C.J, whom according to him has been very committed in discharge of his duty as a judge.

He said, “I’m not from this state but I have been doing this for the past eight years. And this year’s was increased to two because of the CJ who has been committed to his duty. I decided to do this because you will be remembered for what you do and the lives you touched when you are no more. Look at Gani Fawehinmi, he is no more but his works while he was alive still speak. So, I have decided to do this just to encourage hardworking staff. Everyone will be remembered for what he or she do,” Afolabi said.

Speaking, one of the awardees, Mr. Ehigiaba expressed joy for the award, just as he thanked the donor for the award.

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

8 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

8 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

Headline

Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

8 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP