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Only White Paper Can Confirm Alleged Killings – Chief Of Defence Staff

Published

4 years ago

November 16, 2021

Editor

Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor

…Cautions Against Inciting Comments

… Obaseki Solicits Armed Forces Support

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor on Tuesday evening in Benin City the Edo State Capital has said that only a white paper form the report of the Lagos State #ENDSARS Judicial panel which indicates that there were killings during the protest in Lekki, would confirm the alleged incidents.

He assured that the Nigerian Armed Forces remain committed to their professional calling of protecting the territorial integrity of Nigeria.

He cautioned Nigerians against making inciting comments on what is happening across the country.

Speaking to journalists shortly after a courtesy visit on Governor Godwin Obaseki in government house, Irabor said the operations of the armed forces should not be compared to that of the police.

He added that his men and women remain professionals.

Irabor, who was on a farmiliarisation visit to military formations in the state said, “I am sure those of you in the media must have seen that there is a report that was released though in my view a wrong channel that is making the rounds in the social media.

“Whether it is a true report, I can’t tell but I would like to indicate that the normal procedure is to have such a report submitted to the convening authority and then there will be a white paper based on which one can make informed comments.

“But whatever you see currently, I will like to indicate that the armed forces of Nigeria is a professional armed forces. We are peopled by Nigerians and we remain committed to constitutional mandate, so we do not at this point think that Nigerians should make disparaging remarks regarding the armed forces of Nigeria in the sense that we are professional armed forces, and if there are issues, of course we address them within the ambits of the provision.

“It will not be right to disparage men and women who have worked so hard to ensure that the territorial integrity of this nation is kept intact; so, in the meantime, until I see the full report, I may not be able to… but I can assure you that the armed forces of Nigeria are well disciplined and we do not engage in any ignoble acts.

“If Nigerians don’t trust us then we wouldn’t have been doing what we are doing and in any case, it is the armed forces of Nigeria and remember, we are not talking about the police, we are talking about the armed forces with emphasis armed forces, so, when the armed forces are called out, it is because there is a need for the armed forces; there is no one who do not require and desire to live in peace, and so we need to understand that the armed forces is there to keep the peace to provide the ambience that will enable each and every Nigerian to live up his desires in peace and harmony, so let us not make inciting comments that will put the entire space on fire, that is not right.”

Earlier, Obaseki who lauded the CDS where the governor called for supported from the armed forces to check banditry and criminality in Edo forests and waterways.

According to him, “You are one person that we are very proud of; apart from being a well-decorated officer, in a short while, you have taken charge of the defense functions through your network. We have been watching with admiration the way you are coping and thriving with the very difficult challenge of stabilizing the security of this country.”

Obaseki, while calling for more collaboration with the military to improve security in Edo, said, “We have been able to record quite a lot of success in relation to what is going on in the rest of the country. We have some challenges and we would like you to support us. We are currently experiencing problems in some of our forests particularly the Okomu axis, which borders the Ose River.

“We find bandits and criminals coming there to undertake massive logging of woods and transport them; they now buy arms to reinforce their activities there. I am glad you came with all the men in the navy to see how you can give us additional support to patrol the waterways to checkmate the activities of these criminals.”

He further noted, “In the last couple of weeks, we have found lifeless bodies in the forest, which is now a den for cultivation of cannabis. We would like to work with the military to rout out these criminals.

“We want to assure you that you can always count on us in Edo to help in working with you to stabilize the security situation in this country.”

Related Topics:Chief of Defence Staff Irabor

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Headline

Serbia Indicts Ex-minister, 12 Others Over Train Station Tragedy

Published

55 minutes ago

September 16, 2025

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.

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.

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

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Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping

Published

59 minutes ago

September 16, 2025

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.

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

Headline

Russia Arrests Woman For Detonating Bomb On Railway

Published

1 hour ago

September 16, 2025

Editor

Russia’s FSB security service said on Tuesday it had arrested a woman in her fifties accused of detonating explosives in a bid to sabotage the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The suspect was allegedly working on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, the FSB said, in the latest incident of alleged covert activity during the countries’ conflict.

“In August 2025, following the instructions provided by the adversary, the suspect manufactured a homemade explosive device from publicly available components, placed it on the railway tracks and triggered it,” the Russian agency said.

“She recorded the moment of the explosion on her mobile phone camera and sent the footage as a report to the handler to receive a reward.”

The statement did not name the suspect but said she was born in 1974 and carried out the alleged attack in eastern Siberia’s Zabaikalsky region.

The FSB warned Russians that it was monitoring social networks and online messenger services such as Telegram and WhatsApp for evidence of Ukrainian services recruiting Russians to carry out sabotage.

Separately, the agency told state news agency TASS that a man had been sentenced to 18 years and six months for transporting explosives on behalf of a “pro-Ukrainian” group.

A resident of the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, had, the FSB said, established contact through the Telegram app with a banned “terrorist organisation”.

He allegedly retrieved explosives from a cache on the orders of this group before waiting for “further instructions”, according to the same source cited by TASS.

He was jailed by a military tribunal.

AFP