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NGO Offers Free Medical Care To Edo Community Residents

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No fewer than 500 Ogba community residents, Benin City, Edo State, on Saturday,  benefitted from free medical care services provided by a non-profit organisation – Beulah World Initiative

The free medical care which included eye test and treatment; medical tests and treatment; sugar test; HIV/AIDS test; blood pressure test; offering of free eye-glasses and many more, was part of the Non-Governmental Organisation’s commitment to reaching out to rural dwellers who cannot afford hospital treatment.

Speaking during the outreach held at Church of God Mission Int’l, Open Gates Province, Ogba, Benin, founder of the non-profit organisation, Chichi Ononiwu, said the faith-based non-profit organisation was founded to ensure help gets to the people at the grassroot.

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“It is a faith-based non-profit and Non-Governmental Organisation founded to reach out to rural and sub-urban communities in Nigeria and sub-urban Africa at large with primary healthcare basically and then leadership development.

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“This is basically to ensure that help gets to the grassroot, because at the moment a very few communities in Nigeria have healthcare centres.

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“At the moment, a lot of communities are distressed health wise, and people are struggling to get just daily food not to talk of enough resources to get basic treatment in hospital, so it is our desire to help them,” she added.

On while she and her team had to travel all the way from Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State to Benin, Ononiwu said they prayed and God directed their paths to the city, adding that when they eventually made enquiries they were told the residents really needed such medical services.

On his part, one of the medical personnel who attended to patients at the outreach, Dr. David Salami, while expressing concern over the prevalence of high blood pressure among residents of the community including young ones, however, attributed the high BP rate to the economic situation of the country.

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READ ALSO: Why Nigerian Govt Should Stop Crude-for-loan Deals – Dangote

Dr. Salami, while commending the church for giving the residents opportunity to have such healthcare services, noted that many of the residents of the community never knew they had ailments of high BP, hypertension, diabetes, etc.

Also speaking, one of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Hellen Akanu, said due to the economic situation of the country many of them can no longer afford hospital treatment, just as she appreciated the initiators for giving to them in free what many of them cannot afford.

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On his part, another beneficiary, Mr. Shettima Gadzama, said it was the first time in his life to experience such free medical care, noting that the organisers never discriminated against tribe or religion.

He called on well meaning Nigerians to emulate Beulah World Initiative by reaching out to the less privileged in the society.

The event concluded with the giving of food items to widows and aged women, and giving of free drugs.

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Brigadier-General, Other Officers Detained Over Alleged Coup Plot To Overthrow President Tinubu

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At least sixteen senior military officers have been detained by the Armed Forces of Nigeria for allegedly planning a coup d’etat to overthrow President Bola Tinubu, top sources have told SaharaReporters.

A coup d’état is an overt attempt by a military organisation or other government elites to unseat an incumbent person or leadership.

While the Nigerian military in a statement few days ago claimed the detention of the officers was linked to “repeated failure in promotion examinations and perceived career stagnation”, top sources revealed that they were actually arrested over a coup plot.

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The Armed Forces of Nigeria wishes to inform the public that a routine military exercise has resulted in the arrest of sixteen officers over issues of indiscipline and breach of service regulations,” the Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau had said in an ambiguous statement.

“Investigations have revealed that their grievances stemmed largely from perceived career stagnation caused by repeated failure in promotion examinations, among other issues.

READ ALSO:Jonathan To Meet Tinubu Over Nnamdi Kanu’s Detention — Sowore

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“Some of the apprehended officers had been under jurisdiction for various offences, either awaiting or undergoing trial. Their conduct was deemed incompatible with the standards of military service.”

However, a senior official of the Defence Intelligence Agency involved in the arrest told SaharaReporters that the officers led by an Army Brigadier General were planning to stage a coup and take over government from “selfish politicians”.

He said the coup attempt was thwarted after an intelligence gathering by the DIA and sister agencies.

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READ ALSO:FULL LIST: 175 Beneficiaries Of Tinubu’s Pardons

The 16 officers were planning a coup. The military authorities were just being diplomatic in the statement released by the spokesperson. They have started doing secret meetings on how to overthrow the President and other top government officials,” the source told SaharaReporters.

“They’re all officers within the rank of Captain to Brigadier-General and are still in detention at DIA as we talk. They were picked recently at their various houses around the country. Their main objective was to overthrow President Tinubu and announce a military government.”

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Another source added that the October 1 Independence Day parade was cancelled because of the coup attempt.

He said, “Yes, they were arrested for planning to stage a coup and take over government. That was the main reason why the Independence Day parade scheduled to hold on Wednesday, October 1 as part of activities marking the country’s 65th Independence Anniversary was cancelled.

READ ALSO:Tinubu Approves National Honours For 959 Nigerians

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“This was because intelligence reports showed they planned the coup on October 1st during a military parade. So the National Security Adviser and other service chiefs asked the Tinubu-led government to cancel the parade earlier scheduled to mark the day.

“Their plan was to shoot at the President and other top politicians during the event. The move by the military authorities announcing their arrests was to douse tension.”

Since Nigeria became independent in 1960, there have been five successful military coups.

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Recently, there have been allegations of corruption in the military which some of the officers and soldiers have blamed for their loss of interest in the country’s military.

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Clemency: CSOs Carpet Presidency Over Comment On Ken Saro-Wiwa

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The civil society community in Nigeria has taken a swap on the presidency over what it regarded as “insensitive, offensive, sordid and misleading” picture painted by the presidency over the murdered Ogoni 9, and the recent “pardon” granted to them and others by President Bola Tinubu.

Recall that Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, Mr Bayo Onanuga, while publicly announcing the justifications for the pardons and clemency, said: “Illegal miners, white-collar convicts, remorseful drug offenders, foreigners, Major General Mamman Vatsa, Major Akubo, Professor Magaji Garba, capital offenders such as Maryam Sanda, Ken Saro Wiwa, and the other Ogoni Eight were among the 175 convicts and former convicts who received President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s mercy on Thursday.”

Onanuga further said in the statement: “Also referred to 4 Ogoni leaders who were unfortunately murdered by a mob in 1995, and whose murder the Ogoni 9 were framed for, as ‘victims of the Ogoni 9.”

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But a statement issued by Health of Mother Earth Foundation and 13 other civil society organisations, reads: “The statement by the Presidential Adviser is laced with insinuations and references that have no bearing on history, reality and globally acceptable facts about the occurrences that led to the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and his fellow rights activists on November 10, 1995.”

READ ALSO: Tinubu Grants Presidential Pardon To Herbert Macaulay, 174 Others

The civil society groups described it as “unacceptable that despite overwhelming evidence of the miscarriage of justice against the Ogoni 9, which resulted in their hurried execution, the Nigerian state still considers them guilty and deserving of a pardon.”

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The environment-based activist groups, who said the Presidency acknowledged the fact that Sir Herbert Macaulay was unjustly treated by the colonialists, wondered why the same Presidency failed to acknowledge the fact that Ken Saro Wiwa and the other ogonis were unjustly murdered by the military government.

The statement reads: “In the said statement, no mention was made of the abuse of the judicial process nor of the fact that the constitutional right to appeal was not extended to the 9.

“It is particularly interesting to note that in reference to Sir Herbert Macaulay, whom the President considers to have been unjustly treated by the colonialists, the statement had the following additional statement: ‘President Tinubu also corrected the historic injustice committed by British colonialists against Sir Herbert Macaulay, one of Nigeria’s foremost nationalists.’ One wonders why the same clarification was not provided for the Ogoni 9.”

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READ ALSO:FULL LIST: 175 Beneficiaries Of Tinubu’s Pardons

The CSOs, who said “what we continue to demand is the complete exoneration of Ken Saro-
Wiwa and his eight comrades,” expressed worries that the “half-hearted pardon extended by the President may be a strategic ploy to resume the extraction of crude oil in Ogoniland, a move that has so far been condemned and resisted by all well-meaning Nigerians.”

They stressed that “the reference to Ken Saro-Wiwa and his comrades by the Presidency is insensitive and offensive to their memory and that of other victims of environmental injustice.”

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They, therefore, called
on President Bola Tinubu to “immediately withdraw the ‘pardon’ to Ken Saro Wiwa and his colleagues, and replace it with an unequivocal apology and condemnation of the faulty judicial process that resulted in their murder, followed by a gazette pronouncement quashing their murder conviction.”

According to them “Ken Saro-Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, and Barinem Kiobel were exemplary leaders of the Ogoni nation who responded peacefully to the plight of their people and the destruction of their environment. Their commitment to right historical wrongs against their people and the environment should be recognised and commended.”

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UK High Commissioner Concludes Anambra Visit, Urges Transparent Election

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The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Richard Montgomery, has completed a two-day visit to Anambra State, meeting with political and security leaders to discuss preparations for the upcoming gubernatorial election.

The visit comes just weeks before the election, scheduled for 8 November.

During his stay, Montgomery held talks with Governor Charles Soludo, gubernatorial candidates, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, the state Commissioner of Police, and representatives from civil society organizations.

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READ ALSO:Transgender Woman Jailed For Deceiving Man About Gender In UK

According to a statement from the British High Commission in Abuja on Thursday, the discussions centered around the technical and logistical preparations needed to ensure a smooth election.

Among the key topics were securing the 5,720 polling units across Anambra, addressing voter turnout concerns, and managing the security situation across the state’s 21 local government areas, the statement noted.

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Speaking at the end of his visit, Montgomery emphasized the importance of a transparent and peaceful electoral process.

READ ALSO:INEC Accredits 121 Observers For Anambra Governorship Poll

“Our focus is solely on the electoral process itself – that it should be transparent, peaceful, inclusive, and enjoy the confidence of the Anambra people.

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“We do not endorse any particular candidate or political party. I encourage all eligible voters to exercise their democratic rights and to engage peacefully in the election,” he said.

The High Commissioner reaffirmed the UK’s continued support for Nigeria in strengthening its democratic institutions and promoting good governance, stressing that the UK would remain a committed partner in the lead-up to the election and beyond.

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