Headline

Sexual Harassment: FG To Establish Mobile Courts To Prosecute Offenders

Published

2 years ago

July 9, 2024

The Federal Government is planning to establish mobile courts to address issues relating to sexual harassment.

The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, made this known at a one-day National Stakeholder’s Engagement on Sexual Harassment Prevention on Tuesday in Abuja.

The event was organized by the ICPC in collaboration with the Gender Mobile Initiative.

She decried the high rate of sexual harassment, especially in tertiary institutions across the country but added that the measures being put in place would tackle the menace.

“Sexual harassment is not relegated to tertiary institutions alone but even in primary and secondary schools, which are often carried out by teachers and sometimes among pupils.

“We are also working in collaboration with hotel owners to deny access to under-aged children from lodging and report any such attempts to security operatives to curb the terrible sexual harassment problems.”

She urged stakeholders to rise up to the challenge by ensuring that sexual harassment is brought to the barest minimum to address the problems of stigmatisation, and low self-esteem among victims.

Speaking, the Chairman of the ICPC, Dr Musa Aliyu Aliyu, raised the concern that until there are heavy consequences on offenders, the menace will continue to be on the increase.

Aliyu, also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, noted that sexual harassment and other related societal ills, including gender discrimination, are tarnishing the nation’s reputation.

“Only a consistent, persistent, focused and united campaign can ensure that the challenge of sexual harassment in tertiary institutions is decisively addressed.

“ICPC had a few years ago, in line with its commitment to addressing all forms of corruption, including abuse of office via sexual harassment, with the support of the Ford Foundation, executed a project aimed at curbing this societal malaise.

“One of the expected outcomes of that project was the drafting of model anti-sexual harassment policies for various levels of educational institutions,’’ he said.

He said that the commission engaged the Gender Mobile Initiative to draft a model policy for tertiary institutions and the Federal Ministry of Education approved the policies for primary and tertiary institutions.

“The policies are not necessarily meant to be adopted word for word by stakeholders.

“Instead, it is expected that although they may be adopted wholly by any institution that so desires, they should serve as guidelines for what a comprehensive policy should contain’’.

He reminded participants to always keep in mind that anyone, irrespective of status, designation, or gender, staff or student, can be a victim of sexual harassment, and likewise, anyone could be a perpetrator.

“It is a notorious fact that Nigeria has so many laws and policies, but many of them are not being correctly implemented.

“Therefore, proper implementation of the model policies cannot be over-emphasized. The success of this initiative largely depends on the active participation and commitment of stakeholders,’’.

The founder and Executive Director of the Gender Mobile Initiative, Omowumi Ogunrotimi, urged stakeholders to think about a prevention framework rather than a response framework.

“That is why we are in collaboration with ICPC to see that the policy we designed together will be a product of extensive community engagement.

“As far back as 2019, 2020, we had a national conference where we validated this policy.

“This was with a critical mass of stakeholders in the room across the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education NBTE and even the student community.

“The policies centre on leadership, participation, aspiration and experiences of persons who are mostly affected by the structural inequity, and that is the student community.

“We really look to moving this forward from here because we know in Nigeria, when policies are made, they do not automatically translate into implementation.

“That is why we have drawn participants from far and wide, over 25 Commissioners of Education from States of the federation to participate in this programme.”

NAN

Headline

Judge Orders Trump White House To Restore Access To Banned Media Outlets

Published

3 hours ago

September 25, 2026

Editor

A US federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore White House access to journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico after the three news organisations challenged their exclusion from the presidential complex.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order early Thursday, directing the White House to immediately return, reinstate and restore the press credentials of journalists from the three outlets.

The ruling followed a lawsuit filed on Monday by CNN, MS NOW and Politico, which challenged President Donald Trump’s decision to bar their reporters from the White House.

Trump announced the ban on September 18, accusing the outlets of repeatedly publishing what he described as “FAKE NEWS” and negative coverage of his administration.

The three organisations argued that the administration’s action violated their First Amendment rights and deprived their journalists of due process under the Fifth Amendment.

In his ruling, Kelly said the outlets were likely to succeed in showing that their press credentials had been revoked without constitutionally adequate due process.

The judge also rejected the administration’s argument that national security concerns justified the restrictions.

“The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds,” Kelly wrote.

He also noted that Trump had focused on the outlets’ reporting when announcing the ban rather than national security concerns.

“Certainly, that is not what President Trump said when he announced that he was ‘banning’ plaintiffs from the White House—instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of plaintiffs’ reporting,” the judge wrote.

The administration had argued in court that access to the White House was a privilege rather than a right and that the outlets’ reporting raised concerns about national security and professionalism.

The Justice Department is expected to appeal the ruling.

Trump had previously said he would probably allow the three organisations back into the White House if a court ruled against his decision.

The dispute began when reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were turned away from the White House after their press credentials were revoked.

The decision also affected the White House television pool. CNN had been scheduled to travel with Trump to New York for the United Nations General Assembly as part of the pool, but its removal led the other participating television networks to suspend the pool in solidarity.

Other media organisations also joined the legal challenge indirectly by filing a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the three outlets.

The case now moves forward with the temporary restraining order in place for 14 days. During that period, the court is expected to consider whether longer-lasting relief should be granted.

The ruling comes as Trump faces a series of high-profile events at the White House, including his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The administration and the three news organisations are expected to continue their legal arguments as the court considers the broader dispute over press access and the constitutional rights of journalists covering the president.

(TimeMagazine)

Headline

Man Charged After Fatal Southall Collision

Published

4 hours ago

September 25, 2026

Editor

A 20-year-old man has been charged after a fatal road collision in Southall, west London, which claimed the life of a 17-year-old passenger.

The Metropolitan Police said officers were called at about 1:04 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, following reports of a collision involving a Ford Mustang on South Road, Southall.

Officers attended the scene alongside paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and firefighters from the London Fire Brigade.

Despite efforts by emergency responders, 17-year-old passenger Ranbir Singh died at the scene.

His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers.

Another passenger, a 26-year-old man, sustained serious injuries in the collision and remains in hospital, according to police.

The driver of the vehicle, Sukhveer Singh, 20, of Townsend Road, Southall, was arrested at the scene.

He was subsequently charged on Sunday, September 20, with causing death by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.

He was also charged with driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and using a vehicle without insurance.

Singh appeared before Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 21, and was remanded in custody.

He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on Monday, October 19.

Detective Inspector Fiaz Janjua, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This is a truly tragic incident in which a young man has lost his life and another remains in hospital with serious injuries.

“Our deepest sympathies remain with Ranbir’s family and friends, who continue to be supported by specially trained officers. during this extremely difficult time.

“While a man has now been charged in connection with this collision, our investigation remains ongoing and we are continuing to establish the full circumstances leading up to the incident.

“I would ask anyone who witnessed the collision, the manner of driving beforehand, or the movements of the Ford Mustang in the Southall area during the early hours of Saturday, 19 September, to come forward.”

Police are particularly appealing to anyone who may have CCTV footage, doorbell recordings, mobile phone footage or dashcam recordings that could assist the investigation.

The Met urged anyone with information to contact police on 101, quoting reference 01/8080469/26.

The force said the investigation remains ongoing as detectives work to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision.

(MetPolice)

Headline

Four Nations Back Permanent African Seat On UN Security Council

Published

7 hours ago

September 25, 2026

Editor

Four nations, Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, have backed a permanent African seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), calling for urgent reform of the Council to reflect contemporary geopolitical realities.

The four countries, under the Group of Four (G4), made their position known in a joint statement issued after their foreign ministers met in New York on Tuesday on the margins of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

The ministers said reform of the Security Council had become more necessary than ever, given the increasingly challenging global geopolitical environment.

They said the Council was currently unable to effectively discharge its core responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, with its representativeness, legitimacy, credibility and efficacy in question.

According to them, the Council’s eight-decade-old structure was “not reflective of contemporary geopolitical realities” and had become an impediment to addressing present and future challenges to international peace and security.

The ministers stressed that expansion of the Security Council in both the permanent and non-permanent categories was central to meaningful reform.

They called for greater representation of under-represented and unrepresented regions and groups, particularly Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The four nations also welcomed the reform model presented by the African Group during the Inter-governmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council reform in the 80th session of the General Assembly.

They reaffirmed their support for Africa’s case for enhanced representation on the Security Council, including in the permanent category.

The ministers, however, expressed concern over the slow pace of negotiations, noting that the IGN process had produced no concrete outcome towards substantive Security Council reform despite 18 years of discussions.

They also expressed reservations over the presentation of what they described as a “bridging proposal” before the commencement of text-based negotiations.

According to them, the proposal failed to take into account the position of a clear majority of UN member states in favour of expansion in both permanent and non-permanent categories.

The ministers further maintained that consensus should not be the benchmark for decision-making on Security Council reform, citing the UN Charter and the mandate of the IGN.

They said Brazil, Germany, India and Japan would work with other reform-oriented groups to develop a consolidated model that reflects the views of the majority of UN member states.

The four countries said commencing text-based negotiations should be treated as a priority towards achieving substantive reform of the Security Council.

They said this would help restore the Council’s representativeness, legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness, while strengthening the multilateral system with the UN at its centre.

The ministers also said discussions on reform should not be restricted to the IGN, expressing willingness to engage the wider UN membership through other platforms, including the General Assembly.

They pledged to continue coordinating closely during the 81st session of the General Assembly and directed their officials to follow up on the discussions.

Progress on the issue is expected to be reviewed at the next Director General-level meeting in New Delhi.