Headline

Niger Delta: Stakeholders Call For Transition Of Amnesty Programme

Published

3 years ago

March 23, 2022

Some stakeholders in the Niger Delta have called for the transition of the Presidential Amnesty Programme to the Niger Delta Stabilisation Programme, saying the latter was more sustainable.

The stakeholders under the aegis of Niger Delta Peace Initiative also called for the appointment of the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Col. Milland Dikio (retd.) to head the NDSP.

The NDPI in a statement by its Secretary-General, Moses Kolomo, and Publicity Secretary, Jacob Aduna, described Dikio as an asset in the stabilisation of the region.

They said transiting the programme to NDSP would remove the militancy tag in the Niger Delta associated with PAP and lead to an influx of investors to the oil and gas rich region.

They said the new programme, if established by the government, would enable the retention of the services of Dikio, whose capacity in managing PAP would ensure the realisation of NDSP and total transformation of the youths in the Niger Delta.

The stakeholders further said the NDSP should be designed to focus on the young people between the ages of 12 and 18 to stop the rising influx of youths within the age brackets into cultism.

They said if the trend continues unabated, a new generation of youths would be deceived to begin a fresh arms struggle against the Federal Government.

The statement reads, “We don’t want to lose Dikio because this is the first time someone has shown selflessness, capacity and genuine motive in the management of the affairs of any Niger Delta programme.

“Since the amnesty programme is not sustainable, we are calling for the transition of PAP into the Niger Delta Stabilisation Programme with the appointment of Dikio to manage it.

“We know that Dikio has perfect understanding of NDSP. We overheard him mention it in different fora and we think it is the best for the Niger Delta region. So, he is the best person that will handle such intervention. We understand that the NDSP will focus on young ones between the ages of 12 and 18.

“This age bracket will determine the future of the Niger Delta. But with the rate people at this age bracket are joining cultism, we are afraid that if no deliberate intervention like NDSP is rolled out by the Federal Government, the region may witness another round of violent agitation in the nearest future.”

The stakeholders added that Dikio had been a pride to the people of the Niger Delta in the management of amnesty programme, hence he should be allowed a longer time to stabilise the region.

Headline

Judge In Maradona Negligence Case Resigns Amid Scandal

Published

23 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Editor

The Argentine judge who caused the collapse of a trial over the 2020 death of football legend Diego Maradona has resigned, her lawyer said Tuesday.

Julieta Makintach’s involvement in a clandestine documentary about the trial of Maradona’s medical team led to the proceedings being scrapped in May after two months of hearings.

No date has yet been set for a new trial.

“I have the honor of addressing you in my capacity as judge (…)in order to submit my resignation from my position,” Makintach wrote in a letter to the governor of Buenos Aires that was shared by her lawyer.

Makintach was facing impeachment proceedings over her participation in the documentary about the case against seven medical staff accused of manslaughter over Maradona’s death.

Maradona — considered one of the world’s greatest ever players — died in November 2020 at the age of 60 while recovering from brain surgery.

He died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema — a condition where fluid accumulates in the lungs — two weeks after going under the knife.

Prosecutor say the conditions of his home convalescence were grossly negligent.

Makintach was one of three judges hearing the case.

Headline

Netanyahu Vows To Thwart ‘Any Attempt’ By Iran To Rebuild Nuclear Programme

Published

23 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Editor

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to crush any attempt by Iran to rebuild its nuclear programme in a national address to the country after 12 days of war.

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon,” Netanyahu said after a ceasefire put a halt to airstrikes by the two countries against each other.

“We have thwarted Iran’s nuclear project. And if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild it, we will act with the same determination, with the same intensity, to foil any attempt,” he added.

Headline

Netanyahu Hails ‘Historic Victory’ In Iran War

Published

23 hours ago

June 24, 2025

Editor

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday hailed a “historic victory” in his country’s 12-day war against Iran and vowed to prevent Tehran rebuilding its nuclear facilities.

“We have achieved a historic victory,” Netanyahu said in a televised address to the nation after the start of a ceasefire agreed to by both countries.

“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he told viewers in the near-10-minute speech.

“We have thwarted Iran’s nuclear project. And if anyone in Iran tries to rebuild it, we will act with the same determination, with the same intensity, to foil any attempt,” he added.

The head of Israel’s military Eyal Zamir said earlier on Tuesday that its strikes had set back Iran’s nuclear programme “by years” and the campaign against the country was now “entering a new phase”.

Iran said on Tuesday that it was ready to return to nuclear negotiations with the United States as the ceasefire took hold.

But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country would continue to “assert its legitimate rights” to the peaceful use of atomic power.

Israel’s government said in a statement earlier Tuesday that it had removed the “dual existential threat” of Iran’s nuclear programme and missiles during its strikes.

Netanyahu claimed that Israel’s attack on Iran, named “Operation Rising Lion”, would be “recorded in the annals of Israel’s wars, and will be studied by armies all over the world.”

It included repeated strikes on Iran’s nuclear and missile sites, assassinations of military and domestic security service leaders, as well as the bombing of state media and Evin prison in Tehran.

After the United States joined in the conflict with strikes on Sunday, President Donald Trump said his forces had “totally obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites.

Analysts said, however, that it remained unclear whether the strikes had put the nuclear threat out of reach, with the possibility that Iran had moved its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium away from the targeted sites.

Tehran has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon.