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Niger Delta Soot: Presidential Aide Convenes Stakeholders Meeting
Published
4 years agoon
By
Editor
Critical stakeholders in the oil and gas sector rose from an emergency meeting in Abuja with far reaching resolutions to address the soot and environmental pollution caused by artisanal refining activities in the Niger Delta.
The meeting was convened by Sen. Ita Enang, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs.
It called on the Federal Government to consider and approve the implementation of the report of the National Summit on Integration of Artisanal/Modular Refinery Operations into the oil refining programme of the sector.
It also stressed the need for various organisations that have crude oil refining technology to interact with Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulations Authority to enable them make presentations on their technology.
The forum further canvassed engagements with the bodies of artisanal refining representatives in order to review the current state of affairs and proffer solutions to the environmental and economic challenges in the region.
The stakeholders also suggested that further engagements be made with governors and governments of impacted states as well as subnational structures on tackling current challenges.
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The forum called for the review of the Petroleum Refining Regulations of 1974 and other relevant laws to accommodate the establishment of artisanal refineries.
It also called for the establishment of a data base of those trained in related fields by the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Petroleum Training Institute, Warri and Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun.
Others to be included in the data base are those trained by the Petroleum Technology Development Trust Fund and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
The forum suggested the possibility of funding the pilot scheme through the Central Bank, Petroleum Technology Development Fund and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board among others.
It also canvassed the need to follow the road map for the implementation of the Artisanal Oil Refining Programme.
The forum had representatives drawn from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Federal Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as well as Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
Others were from National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
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Gunmen On Motorbikes Kill 22 At Baptism Ceremony In Niger
Published
19 hours agoon
September 17, 2025By
Editor
Gunmen on motorbikes shot dead 22 villagers in western Niger, most attending a baptism ceremony, local media and other sources said Tuesday.
The shootings happened on Monday in the Tillaberi region, near Burkina Faso and Mali, where jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group (IS) are active.
A resident of the area told AFP that 15 people were killed first at a baptism ceremony in Takoubatt village.
“The attackers then went to the outskirts of Takoubatt where they killed seven other people,” said the resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons.
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Local media outlet Elmaestro TV reported a “gruesome death toll of 22 innocent people cowardly killed without reason or justification”.
“Once again, the Tillaberi region has been struck by barbarism, plunging innocent families into mourning and despair,” Nigerien human rights campaigner Maikoul Zodi said on social media.
Niger’s military leaders, who came to power two years ago in a coup, have struggled to contain jihadist groups in Tillaberi, despite maintaining a large army presence there.
Around 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week.
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Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to “do more to protect” civilians against deadly attacks.
The rights monitoring group estimates that the Islamic State group has “summarily executed” more than 127 villagers and Muslim worshippers in Tillaberi in five attacks since March.
Meanwhile, the NGO ACLED, which tracks conflict victims worldwide, says around 1,800 people have been killed in attacks in Niger since October 2024 — three-quarters of them in Tillaberi.
Niger and its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, also ruled by military coup leaders who claim to pursue a sovereignist policy, have expelled the French and American armies that were fighting alongside them against jihadism.
AFP
Headline
Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy
Published
2 days agoon
September 16, 2025By
Editor
Serbian prosecutors filed an updated indictment on Tuesday against 13 people, including a former minister, over a fatal railway station roof collapse that has triggered a wave of anti-government protests.
The prosecution said all those indicted, among them former construction minister Goran Vesic, face charges of “serious crimes against public safety” over the tragedy that killed 16 people last November.
“The indictment proposes that the Higher Court in Novi Sad order custody for all the defendants,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The roof collapse at the newly renovated station in Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad, became a symbol of entrenched corruption and sparked almost daily protests.
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Protesters first demanded a transparent investigation, but their calls soon escalated into demands for early elections.
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad initially filed an indictment at the end of December, but judges returned it in April, requesting more information.
The accused were released or placed under house arrest following the decision.
The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.
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The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.
That investigation is focused on 13 people, including Vesic and another former minister, Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction Ministry before him.
In March, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) launched a third, separate investigation into the possible misuse of EU funds for the station’s reconstruction.
AFP
Headline
Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping
Published
2 days agoon
September 16, 2025By
Editor
Kazakhstan has banned forced marriages and bride kidnappings through a law that came into effect Tuesday in the Central Asian country, where the practice persists despite new attention being paid to women’s rights.
Forcing someone to marry is now punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Kazakh police said in a statement.
“These changes are aimed at preventing forced marriages and protecting vulnerable categories of citizens, especially women and adolescents,” it added.
Bride kidnappings have also been outlawed.
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“Previously, a person who voluntarily released a kidnapped person could expect to be released from criminal liability. Now this possibility has been eliminated,” the police said.
There are no reliable statistics of forced marriage cases across the country, with no separate article in the criminal code prohibiting it until now.
A Kazakh lawmaker said earlier this year that the police had received 214 such complaints over the past three years.
The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.
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The issue of women’s rights in Kazakhstan gained media attention in 2023 following the murder of a woman by her husband, a former minister, a case that shocked Kazakh society and prompted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to react.
“Some people hide behind so-called traditions and try to impose the practice of wife stealing. This blatant obscurantism cannot be justified,” Tokayev said last year.
AFP
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