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Sudan: Ethiopia Blocks Fleeing Nigerian Students, Factions Agree 72-hour Ceasefire

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The Federal Government, on Monday, confirmed that some Nigerian students fleeing the conflict in Sudan were denied entry into Ethiopia, but stated that the situation was being handled.

The Federal Government said Nigerian authorities in Ethiopia were addressing the issue, as they had sought clearance for the fleeing students, stressing that it was, however, risky for the students to have embarked on such a journey.

This was as the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday that Sudan’s warring generals had agreed to a three-day ceasefire starting Tuesday (2200 GMT Monday), after previous bids to pause the conflict quickly disintegrated.

“Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours,” Blinken said in a statement two hours before the truce was to go into effect.

READ ALSO: Relief As Sudan’s Rival Factions Agree To three-day Ceasefire

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“During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire,” Blinken said.

Blinken said the United States was also working with partners to set up a committee that would negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Sudan, where the conflict between rival generals descended into deadly violence 10 days ago.

Foreign countries rushed to evacuate their nationals from Sudan as deadly fighting raged into a second week between forces loyal to two rival generals.

More than 420 people have been killed and thousands wounded, according to UN figures, amid fears of wider turmoil and a humanitarian disaster in one of the world’s poorest nations.

The Director, Special Duties, National Emergency Management Agency, who doubles as the Chairman, NEMA’s Committee for the Evacuation of the Stranded Nigerians from Sudan, Dr Onimode Bandele, told The PUNCH that the students’ case was receiving the required attention.

READ ALSO: Sudan Crisis: FG Sends Message To Nigerian Students Trapped

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“Yea, you must have been reading on social media that some students got into a town at the border of Ethiopia and they have not been able to grant them passage.

“The Nigerian Ambassador in Egypt, Nura Rimi, confirmed to me that the ambassador in Ethiopia is working on that, and hopefully they should be able to get a passage,” Bandele stated.

He, however, explained that “In our own humanitarian assignment, self-evacuation is at the risk of the person that is involved. If you decide to self-evacuate, whatever you meet is your headache, because you did not listen to the authorities that are supposed to cater for you.

“We empathise with them; we understand their situation; some of them are doing that out of panic or running to safety. But at the same time, self-evacuation has its own disadvantages.

“So, our appeal to Nigerians is that wherever they are, they should please wait for further instruction from the Federal Government, especially the ambassador that is with them in Sudan. He is there with his family too. It is not that he has run out and left them,” Bandele stated.

READ ALSO: FG Uses Vehicles To Evacuate 5,500 Students, Others From Sudan As Crisis Worsen

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The NEMA official also said the Federal Government had considered using the services of the United Nations in evacuating Nigerians stranded in Sudan.

But this, according to him, did not work, because the UN said it could not support anyone now, due to the loss of five UN staff in Sudan.

We were looking at the possibility of using the UN Utility Service and he (Rimi) said the UN had released a message that they cannot guarantee helping anybody.

“This is because the UN has already lost five staff in Sudan. So they are looking for a way to protect themselves and cannot guarantee anybody,” Bandele stated.

 

 

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Iran Sentences Police Officer To Death For Killing Protester

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An Iranian court has sentenced a police chief in northern Iran to death after he was charged with killing a man during mass protests in 2022, local media reported Wednesday.

Local police chief Jafar Javanmardi was arrested in December 2022 over the killing of a protester during the widespread demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in custody.

Iranian Kurd Amini, 22, died in custody in September that year following her arrest for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Orders Army To Pay Slain Soldiers’ Benefits Within 90 Days

Javanmardi was sentenced to death “in accordance with the Islamic law of retribution, known as the ‘qisas’ law, on the charge of premeditated murder”, the lawyer for the victim’s family, Majid Ahmadi, told the reformist Shargh daily.

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The protestor, Mehran Samak, 27, succumbed to injuries he sustained after being hit by shotgun pellets during a rally in the northern city of Bandar Anzali on November 30, 2022.

Rights groups based outside of Iran said Samak was shot dead by Iranian security forces after honking his car horn in celebration of Iran’s loss to the United States in the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar while at the Amini protest.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Appoints Coordinator For Centre For Control Of Small Arms

The defeat eliminated Iran from the football tournament and drew a mixed response from government supporters and opponents.

The lawyer, Ahmadi, said at the time that the police official was charged with “violating the rules for firearms usage, resulting in the death of Samak”.

In mid-January, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said the Supreme Court had annulled a death sentence and referred the case to another court.

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Gilan province, where Bandar Anzali is located, was a flashpoint of the nationwide protest movement that shook Iran.

Hundreds of people were killed during the months-long protests, including dozens of security forces, while thousands were arrested and nine men were executed in cases linked to the demonstrations.

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Tinubu Forms Economic Coordination Council, Names Dangote, Elumelu As Members [See full list]

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President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, announced the establishment of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council, PECC, and the creation of the Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce, EET, comprising public and private sector economic policy experts across board.

This was made public via a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale in Abuja.

According to the presidential spokesman, the establishment of the economic team is a strategic move to bolster the nation’s economic governance frameworks and ensure robust and coordinated economic planning and implementation.

READ ALSO: Full Text Of President Tinubu’s Speech At Burial Ceremony Of 17 Slain Soldiers

The Presidential Economic Coordination Council, PECC, comprises distinguished leaders and key government officials, including: President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – Chairman of the PECC, Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – Vice-Chairman of the PECC / NEC Chairman, President of the Nigerian Senate and the Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

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Others are Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.

Also members are the Minister of Labour and Employment, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Minister of Power, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Minister of State, Gas Minister of Transportation and the Minister of Works.

The statement revealed that the PECC will also comprise key members of the organized private sector, with the following members joining for a period not exceeding one year, subject to the President’s directive: Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr. Tony Elumelu, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, Ms. Amina Maina, Mr. Begun Ajayi-Kadir, Mrs. Funke Okpeke, Dr. Doyin Salami, Mr. Patrick Okigbo, Mr. Kola Adesina, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Mr. Chidi Ajaere, Mr. Abdulkadir Aliu and Mr. Rasheed Sarumi.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Gives Scholarships, Houses To Children, Families Of 17 Soldiers Killed In Delta

Furthermore, in his determination to address immediate economic challenges and ensure the streamlined execution of economic strategies, President Bola Tinubu has established the Economic Management Team Emergency Taskforce (EET) with a mandate to formulate and implement a consolidated emergency economic plan.

The taskforce, chaired by Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, comprises key government officials and industry leaders in furtherance of the President’s collaborative approach toward achieving economic resilience and growth.

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The EET is now mandated to submit a comprehensive plan of economic interventions for 2024 to the PECC, covering the next six (6) months, for immediate implementation within two weeks of its inauguration”, the statement said.

The EET will meet twice weekly and is composed of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance (Chairman of the EET), Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Minister of Power, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, and Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare

Others are the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Security Adviser, Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Governor of Anambra State, Governor of Ogun State and the Governor of Niger State Other members are, the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Director-General, Budget Office of the Federation, GCEO, NNPC Limited, Director-General, Nigeria Economic Summit Group, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Dr. Bismarck Rewane, Economist and Dr. Suleyman Ndanusa, Economist.

 

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Full Text Of President Tinubu’s Speech At Burial Ceremony Of 17 Slain Soldiers

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Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff and other Service Chiefs, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Staff and other military officers.

It is with heavy heart that I join you today to commit to earth, the remains of our officers and men who died in the course of duty on 14 March 2024 in Okuama Community, Delta State.

The officers and soldiers who lost their lives that day were patriots, brave and noble men who gave their lives to defend and protect our nation against internal and external threats. Their sacrifice will be remembered and honoured for generations to come and their.

On 14 March, Lt. Colonel A. H. Ali, the Commanding Officer of 181 Amphibious Battalion, led three other officers and 13 soldiers to the Okuama Community to mediate in the lingering dispute with Okoloba Community.

They went as peace makers and peace keepers respectfully seeking to bring an end to the hostilities between the two communities.

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They didn’t go with tanks, machine guns and other weapons.

They were on a mission of peace.

Before the dastardly attack, Lt. Colonel Ali, as the Chief of Army Staff briefed me, enjoyed great operational exploits; fighting terrorists and insurgents in the North East and North West before his deployment to the Niger Delta.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Gives Scholarships, Houses To Children, Families Of 17 Soldiers Killed In Delta

Ali kept faith with his military calling till the end.

On behalf of a grateful nation, we honour the sacrifice of Ali and the other gallant patriots who died that day. They will forever be remembered as heroes who answered the call of duty and paid the ultimate price.

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Lieutenant Colonel Ali,
Major D.E Obi,
Major S.D. Ashafa,
Captain U. Zakari,
Staff Sergeant Yahaya Saidu,
Corporal Danbaba Yahaya,
Corporal Kabir Bashir,
Lance Corporal Abdullahi Ibrahim,
Lance Corporal Bulus Haruna,
Lance Corporal Sole Opeyemi,
Lance Corporal Bello Anas;
Private Alhaji Isah,
Private Clement Francis,
Private Abubakar Ali,
Private Adamu Ibrahim,
Private Hamman Peter, and
Private Ibrahim Adamu,

Each man now belongs to the hallowed list of servicemen and women who defended our country and protected their fellow Nigerians not minding the risk to their own lives.

They have all been awarded posthumous national honours. The four gallant Officers have been accorded the Award of Member of the Order of Niger (MON). The thirteen courageous soldiers who also lost their lives have been Awarded the Officer of the Federal Republic Medal.

I commiserate with the families of our fallen heroes and the entire Armed Forces. I share in the pain and grief you carry today. It is my prayer that God will comfort all who are bereaved as a result of this tragedy.

READ ALSO:Tinubu Orders Army To Pay Slain Soldiers’ Benefits Within 90 Days

It is worth restating the debt of gratitude we owe these valiant soldiers and their families.

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As Commander-In-Chief, I do not take the contributions of members of our Armed Forces for granted. I recognise your valour and bravery. I honour your unflinching commitment to making our country safe from criminals, bandits, kidnappers and insurrectionists.

While we continue to grieve for the courageous men we lost that day, let us also, on this solemn occasion, be reminded of the unfinished business of working for peace and harmony in our communities.

We must begin to rebuild our communities and make them into places where love, tolerance and harmony will reign. Leaders at all levels especially community leaders and traditional rulers must work to strengthen the bonds that unite us. We must endthe cycle of violence and bloodletting.

I want to make it clear, once more, that those who committed this heinous crime will not go unpunished. We will find them and our departed heroes will get justice.

READ ALSO: Labour Party Reserves 2027 Presidential Ticket For Peter Obi

The elders and chiefs of Okuoma also have a duty to help the military in fishing out the gunmen who committed the barbaric crime against our men.

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I wish to also commend our Armed Forces for their restraint in choosing not to carry out any reprisal attacks in Okuoma or its neighbouring communities. We must all ensure that the innocent people of Okuoma are not made to bear the punishment of the guilty and wicked among them.

To the entire armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I have a message for you: Do not let the death of your compatriots discourage you. There is no higher honour than the vocation you have chosen to pursue. We cherish you. We cherish your labour of love. We salute your daily sacrifice in protecting your fellow citizens from danger. We acknowledge your sacrifices to defend our nation.

Within our continent, our sub-region and across the world, the Nigerian Military has remained a force for good, embodying a great example and keeping our democracy safe.

READ ALSO: PHOTOS: Tinubu, Governors Pay Last Respects At burial Of 17 Slain Soldiers

It is now our duty to protect the families of our departed heroes.

The Federal Government will provide a house in any part of our country to each of the families of the four officers and 13 soldiers.

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The Federal Government has also approved scholarships to all the children of the deceased up to the University level.

The Military must, within the next ninety days, ensure that all the benefits of the departed are paid to their families.

May the families of the departed and all their loved ones find the strength to bear the pain of this loss.

May God grant our heroes eternal rest.

May God continue to bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria and keep our troops safe, always.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
Commander-in-Chief, Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

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