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NYSC Fighting Against Gender Based Violence, Says DG

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The Director General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig:-Gen. Yushau Ahmed has said that the scheme is one of the foremost organisations fighting against Gender Based Violence (GBV) and inequality in the country.

The D-G who stated this on Tuesday during the Nationwide Grassroot Gender Sensitisation and Advocacy Campaign in Rural Communities in Bauchi, said that the scheme had been waging war against GBV through its Corps Gender Vanguards.

Represented by the Bauchi state Coordinator of NYSC, Mrs Rifkatu Yakubu, the D:-G explained that the Vanguards had been equipped with necessary skills to carry out awareness campaigns and support activities in rural communities.

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Ahmed, who explained that the sensitisation programme was taking place simultaneously in all the Northern states, revealed that the corps vanguards had also helped in the formation of Gender Clubs in schools.

According to him, these gender clubs had been able to provide linkages to victims of gender abuse through the GBV toll free line, 08031230651, provided by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs.

He assured that NYSC would continue to work with relevant stakeholders toward the success of gender mainstreaming in the country and appealed to Nigerians to support the NYSC Gender Vanguard through the provision of the enabling environment for greater impact.

“While gender issues are often misconstrued as affecting females alone, it is important to point out that they include matters of interest to both sexes, including rights and responsibilities.

“This informed the choice of the theme Gender Equality, Respect all and it is important to remind all and sundry that GBV is not only physical and psychological but also constitutes abuse of the fundamental human right of the victims.

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“Consequently, all hands must be on deck to fight this ill that is ravaging the society, especially among the rural dwellers,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Aroni Sunday, the Head, Reforms Unit, NYSC Headquarters, said that the programme could not have come at better time than now when the world is clamoring for protection of human rights.

Represented by Alh. Aminu Ibrahim, Assistant Director, Deployment and Relocation, NYSC Bauchi, he appreciated the management of NYSC for being passionate on issues of gender inequality that necessitated the conduct of the sensitisation.

“I wish to specially appreciate the Director-General for expressly granting approval for this event despite other competing demands for scarce resources,” he said.

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Cops Filmed Demanding Money From Foreign Biker Arrested – Police

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The Oyo State Police Command said it has apprehended the policemen sighted in a now-viral video demanding money from a female biker who was on a tour of Nigeria from the Netherlands.

The command, in a post on X on Thurday, said the operatives will face disciplinary actions.

“Viral video portraying the regrettable misconduct of certain policemen along Moniya-Iseyin Road has been accessed. All those involved have been apprehended for immediate disciplinary actions. Supervision will be increased. Please report any misconduct to Xsquad on +2348023535470,” the post read.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Policemen Demand Money From Foreign Female Biker

In the video, the officers had flagged down the biker, asking her where she was from and where she was heading.

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The Dutch replied that she was from the Netherlands and she was on her way to Abuja, apparently surprising the two officers.

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Interacting with the biker further in pidgin, the officers said: “Wetin you bring come? Wetin you won give me. O yah give me something nah.”

The tourist appeared not to comprehend the officers’ message until they clearly said, “Give me money, money,” to which she asked, “Why?”

The 1:26-minute video drew reactions from Nigerians who felt embarrassed by the policemen’s actions.

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Workers Panic As Lagos Waterworks Sacks 450

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Employees of the Lagos State Water Corporation are currently in a state of anxiety as the state government sacked 450 casual workers last week Thursday.

The PUNCH learnt on Thursday that the affected staff members were shocked when they were served with sack letters on Tuesday and given an ultimatum to surrender all the government property in their care.

It was learnt that the decision to sack the workers jolted some of the staff members who were not affected by the exercise.

Some of the workers who spoke with our correspondent who visited one of the state waterworks on Thursday expressed fear that they might suffer a similar fate.

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Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a staff member told PUNCH Metro that many of the laid-off staff members had spent several years working with the corporation.

She said, “Nobody knew this was going to happen. We were all shocked that a large number of people could be sacked in a day. Currently, these waterworks no longer have casual workers.

“One of my friends was affected by the decision. She has a family she is taking care of. She doesn’t even know where to start. She left the office weeping last week. Even if they are going to sack anyone, they should have given people more time to find alternatives.”

Meanwhile, The PUNCH further probe showed that the workers were laid off due to a claim that the state government wanted to undergo restructuring despite the current shortage of staff.

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“We don’t have enough staff. As big as this place is, only one person is left to clean it. There were many of us at the maintenance units before. But now there are just the three of us left,” one employee said on condition of anonymity.

“They said they are restructuring, but how many staff will need to be sacked before this is accomplished?” another source queried in a separate interview with The PUNCH.

However, when contacted for his reaction, the Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Water Corporation, Kehinde Fashola, confirmed some workers were laid off because they breached the contract of agreement.

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“The government found out that the Lagos Water management contract staff members have not been in accordance with the contract appointment law. Some of them have been contract staff for 10 years and some for five years, which is not in accordance with the country’s labour law.

“The normal time is two years. So, the government is trying to correct any abnormality without any bias,” she said in a telephone interview on Thursday.

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One Killed, Others Injured In Operatives, Anambra Youths’ Clash

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There was pandemonium along the Onitsha-Owerri Road by Obodoukwu Junction, Onitsha, Anambra State, on Thursday, when a stray bullet from some gun-wielding men wearing black jackets suspected to be operatives of the Anambra State Anti-touts Agency killed a young man.

It was gathered that the victim identified as Chimezie from Achina, Aguata Local Government Area of the state, was standing at the balcony of his residence by Shoe Site, near Okpoko Police Station, in Ogbaru Local Government Area, when the stray bullet hit him.

He was said to have just completed his National Youth Service Corps.

The irate youths, who marched from the Metallurgical Training Institute, located along the Onitsha-Owerri Road to the Amanato area of the road towards Upper Iweka flyover, made bonfires on both lanes of the road, a situation that hampered free flow of movement.

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Sources told The PUNCH that the anti-tout operatives who invaded the area in a bid to stop the protesting youths opened fire and started shooting sporadically in an effort to scare the protesters.

The source said, “The youths were protesting incessant arrests, intimidation and harassment of youths in the area by the anti-tout squad, agents of the state government, wearing different kinds uniforms and acting as revenue agents at the same time.

“They always extort tricycle operators while claiming to be working for the state government. They collect between N300 and N500 per trip in the name of collecting revenue for the state government.

“It was during the protest that the operatives emerged from nowhere and started shooting sporadically in the air apparently to scare the protesters away, but in the process, the residents and traders whose movements for their commercial and business activities was at its peak, started running for their safety, with some sustaining injuries in the process. In the process, a bullet hit a young man standing at his balcony.”

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Another source, a trader, who identified himself as Ozoemenam, said, “It was in the process of the sporadic shooting in the air that the deceased victim, who was discussing in the balcony of their flat, sustained gunshot injuries apparently from a stray bullet and died instantly.”

It was gathered that officers from Okpoko Police Station were invited to evacuate the corpse of the deceased and deposited the remains at the mortuary.

A senior police officer from the station, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the death of the victim and the evacuation of his corpse at the morgue.

The officer said that the youths were protesting their incessant arrest, detention and intimidation around Owerri Road, Obodoukwu Road and Ezeiweka areas and its environs.

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“The youths in the area were protesting the midnight arrest, between 2: 30 and 3:30 am by the anti-tout operatives, and this morning they came back and opened fire on them and in the process the victim was killed.

“You know that these anti-tout squad members were not trained in handling arms, so they must have shot unprofessionally before the bullet hit that young man.”

Efforts to speak with the state Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, proved abortive as he did not respond to the messages and calls to his telephone line as of the time of filing this report.

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