Connect with us

Headline

Soludo: Bianca Ojukwu Speaks After Fight With Obiano’s Wife

Published

on

Mrs Ojukwu, wife of Late Chief Emeka Ojukwu, the eternal leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA has congratulated Charles Soludo on his swearing-in as the Governor of Anambra State.

Bianca in a post on her Facebook page described the inauguration as ‘liberation day for Anambra State.

Advertisement

Her reaction is coming after she engaged in a fight with the wife of the out-gone governor of Anambra State, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano.

Mrs Obiano who many said came set for a fight had allegedly approached Mrs Ojukwu at the front row of the event, where she was seated close to the out-gone governor, Chief Willie Obiano.

READ ALSO: Obiano’s Wife Fights Ojukwu’s Wife At Soludo’s Inauguration

Advertisement

She allegedly rained abuses on her, causing Mrs Ojukwu to smack her in the face while she (Mrs Obiano) held and drew Ojukwu’s hair before security operatives separated both women.

However, shortly after the celebration, Bianca wrote. “It’s Liberation Day, and today we sing the Redemption Song. Anambra will be better!”

“Now I know just how those Israelites felt on the day they took those tentative first steps out of the land of Egypt….Just the sheer excitement and anticipation of liberation, the long-awaited return to the promised land must have kept them awake through that night.

Advertisement

READ ALSO: Mrs Obiano, Bianca: Soludo Apologizes, Says Fight Caused By Protocol Breach

“This is the Day the Lord has made…a day that reaffirms the age-long truth that no-one holds the stage forever. I thank the Almighty for keeping us all alive to witness this day.

She added that a more dynamic and progressive Anambra is achievable.

Advertisement

“To Him be the glory. It was long in coming, but it’s finally here.

“Yes indeed….WE ARE THE BARRACKS!” she added.

Advertisement

Headline

Gunmen On Motorbikes Kill 22 At Baptism Ceremony In Niger

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.

READ ALSO:Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

Around 20 soldiers were killed in the region last week.

READ ALSO:Nigerian Jailed In US Over $6m Inheritance Fraud

Human Rights Watch has urged Niger authorities to “do more to protect” civilians against deadly attacks.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

AFP

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Headline

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

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

“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.

READ ALSO:FG Panel Indicts AFN In Ofili’s Paris Olympics Omission

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

The prosecutor’s office said it had complied with the judge’s request and had now completed the supplementary investigation.

READ ALSO:NDLEA Arrests Indian Businessman, 3 Others Over Alleged Trafficking Of N3.9bn Tramadol

The prosecutor specialising in organised crime and corruption in Belgrade is leading a separate, independent investigation into the tragedy.

Advertisement

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

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Headline

Kazakhstan Bans Forced Marriage, Bride Kidnapping

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.

REAS ALSO:What To Know About Albania’s AI Minister, Diella

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

The custom is also present in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, where it mostly goes unpunished due to indifferent law enforcement and stigma surrounding whistleblowers.

READ ALSO:California Lawmakers Approve Ban On Face Masks For Authorities

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.

Advertisement

“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

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending