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What Osinachi’s Children Told Me –Women Affairs Minister

Published

3 years ago

April 13, 2022

Editor

Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, on Wednesday, said she battled with tears when the children of the late popular gospel artiste, Osinachi Nwachukwu, narrated their late mother’s ordeal.

She spoke on NTA’s Good Morning Nigeria’s breakfast show monitored by The PUNCH.

According to the minister, the widower of the deceased, Peter Nwachukwu, brutalised his late wife and her four kids, adding that the late gospel artiste had no bank account of her own as all her proceeds were usurped by her husband.

It had been had earlier reported that the 42-year-old artiste died on Friday after spending days at an undisclosed hospital in Abuja.

Colleagues of Osinachi, who was a lead singer at the Dunamis International Headquarters, Abuja, accused her husband of beating her.

Subsequently, the husband was arrested by the police over the death of his wife.

Speaking on Wednesday, Tallen said she visited the Abuja home of the deceased on Tuesday to identify with the grief-stricken children.

The minister said, “It is so traumatizing, so heartbreaking, the death of Osinachi.

“When I came into the compound, I saw the children, four beautiful children; three boys, one girl. He (Peter) had told the children that they should not speak about the things that have been happening in the house.

“I came in with all the directors in the ministry. When I was asking questions, I saw that the children were not forthcoming. I excused everyone and said I wanted to have a one-on-one with the children.

“I first spoke with the first son. I asked him, ‘Do you love your mother?’ He said, ‘Yes’. ‘Has your mummy taught you to tell lies?’ He said, ‘Yes’. I asked him if she is still alive and he said she is dead. ‘Do you know that she is now your angel and she is now watching you?’ He said, ‘Yes’. ‘So, it will be very sad if you tell lies’.

“I introduced myself and I told him the President is concerned, every Nigerian is concerned, we all join them to mourn Osinachi’s death but what we want from him is the truth.

“Then he opened up… And said that their dad used to beat their mom and their mom was always sad. He would beat her and flog her. He said their father would gather them in the room and be beating them and if the mom comes into the room to stop him, he would turn back on her and beat her up. And that has always been the issue.

“They said it was their mom that runs around on her gospel music, comes back with her money, in fact, if the money is paid through (a) bank account, it was paid into his account. She has no account of her own, any money she has, he collects it and gives her just peanut for feeding and when she cooks, he started shouting and beating her. And their mom was living in fear and was always sad.

“It was such a horrible story from a young boy that is said to be just 12. I asked him what class he is and he said Class Five. At the age of 12? I said, ‘Why?’ And he said he can’t even read. So, mentally, this child is already destroyed.

“I was battling with tears and when he finished, I called on the second son.”

Tallen further said “the second son repeated the same horrible situation” as well as the third son.

The minister vowed that justice would be served on the matter as it would be followed to a logical conclusion.

News

UK Police Quiz Six After Fatal Synagogue Attack

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

Six people arrested on suspicion of “terrorism”-linked offences after a fatal car-ramming and knife attack on a UK synagogue remained in police custody on Saturday, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged people not to take part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Two people were killed and three others seriously wounded in Thursday’s attack in northwestern Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Police shot dead the assailant, Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old UK citizen of Syrian descent, within minutes of the alarm being raised.

Three men and three women are in custody.

The attack has heightened fear among Britain’s Jewish community.

Police said they were patrolling places of worship across the city “with a particular focus on providing a high-visibility presence within our Jewish communities”.

The attack on Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in north Manchester was one of the worst antisemitic incidents in Europe since the October 7, 2023, attack in Israel led by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to health ministry figures in the occupied territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

The Gaza conflict has inflamed passions in Britain, with frequent pro-Palestinian rallies in cities that some critics allege have stoked antisemitism.

A “global movement for Gaza UK” protest went ahead in London late on Thursday, with police making 40 arrests.

London’s Metropolitan Police asked organisers delay another planned demonstration backing the banned Palestine Action group later on Saturday.

However, organisers Defend Our Juries rejected the calls.

A spokesman said the group “stood in solidarity” with the Jewish community over the attack.

– Accidental shooting –

Starmer urged protesters not to join the pro-Palestinian rally.

“I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews. This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain,” he said on X.

During the attack, Shamie was seen “with a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through”, synagogue chairman of trustees Alan Levy, who helped barricade the doors, told ITV News.

“The heroes of the congregation who saw what was happening then came to the doors because he was trying to break the doors down to get in,” he added.

A UK police watchdog, meanwhile, said it would look at the police shooting of Shamie.

The probe would also look at the shooting of a second victim who suffered a fatal gunshot and a third person who was shot but survived.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said there was no evidence anyone other than police used firearms at the scene.

“Our independent investigation will look at the circumstances surrounding the fatal police shooting of Jihad Al-Shamie,” it said in a statement.

“A post mortem has today (Friday) concluded another man who died at the scene suffered a fatal gunshot wound.”

IOPC investigations are standard practice in situations where the use of force by police may have resulted in the death of a member of the public.

News

Edo Inaugurates Committee On Drug Abuse, Healthy Living

Published

6 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

L-R: ACGN, NDLEA, Fidelis Cocodia, Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Dennis Idahosa and Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani during the Inauguration

Edo State Government has inaugurated Drug Control Committee for the state and local governments, aimed at curbing the menace of drug abuse in the state.

Inaugurating the committee, Governor Monday Okpehbolo said the committee was not only saddled with the responsibility of curbing the menace of illicit substances, but to promote healthier living across communities in the state.

Represented by his deputy, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, Okpebholo described the initiative as “a vital step in our unwavering commitment to stopping the menace of drug trafficking and substance use among youths.”

The governor, who bemoaned the rising tide of drug dependency and its impact on society, pointed out that the committee’s creation aligns with the national drug master plan and represents a bold stride toward protecting Edo future generations.

On his part, Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, represented by ACGN, Fidelis Cocodia, Zonal Commander, Zone 13, emphasised grassroots interventions, awareness campaigns, and support systems as the backbone of the fight against drug abuse.

Edo State commander of the NDLEA, Mitchell Ofoyeju disclosed that while national drug use prevalence stands at 14.4 percent, Edo state surpasses the average at 15 percent.

He noted that the state is one of the hardest-hit states in the country, warning that the trend has fueled crime and heightened youth vulnerability.

The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole pledged to make Edo a model in drug control through rehabilitation, youth enlightenment, and second-chance opportunities for recovering addicts.

Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Edo State, Mrs. Edesili Okpebholo Anani, described drug abuse as a pandemic, noting that “you hardly see a crime without drugs being involved.”

She added that women’s empathy and influence must be harnessed in the campaign against drug abuse.

News

Avoid Mistakes Of 2023 Elections, EU Tells Nigeria

Published

9 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

The European Union has raised the alarm over the slow pace of electoral reforms in Nigeria, warning that without swift action, the country risks repeating the “serious shortcomings” of the 2023 general elections.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Barry Andrews, a member of the European Parliament and chief of the EU Election Observation Follow-up Mission to Nigeria, presented a sobering assessment of progress since the EU Election Observation Mission delivered its final report in 2023.

“In this context, we are here to reflect on how electoral reform can deepen the roots of democracy here in Nigeria,” Andrews said, adding that the EU deployed a follow-up mission comprising three experts on 9 September 2025 to engage stakeholders, including the Independent National Electoral Commission, the National Assembly, political parties, civil society, the media and development partners.

The mission chief reported that of the 23 recommendations made by the EU EOM in 2023, only one had been fully implemented; two had been partially implemented; eight were ongoing; nine were yet to be implemented; and for three, it was still too early to tell. Eleven recommendations require legal changes, and 12 are administrative in nature.

“The fully implemented recommendation is ensuring institutional accountability by consulting on the publication of election-related laws. INEC has carried this out, but that is one of 23. There is much more work to do, and I want to re-emphasise that this is a critical moment,” he said.

“Our evaluation indicates that progress in implementing the recommendations has been modest thus far and is in serious danger of falling to critically low levels.

Avoiding this outcome will require both political will from legislators and urgent, coordinated administrative actions by relevant institutions,” he warned.

Despite the slow progress, Andrews noted a strong consensus among stakeholders. “What we find especially important is the strong alignment we see between the recommendations of INEC, civil society — through the Citizens’ Memorandum — and those of the EU election observers. Each of these three processes was conducted independently, and yet they point in the same direction.”

He emphasised that Nigerians themselves — within institutions and in civil society — are calling for the same changes international observers have highlighted. “It shows that there is a broad and shared understanding of what needs to be done to strengthen future elections,” the mission chief added.

Andrews acknowledged that work has begun on electoral reform, including ongoing deliberations on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025 and constitutional review processes, both of which incorporate several of the EU’s recommendations.

He welcomed growing collaboration between civil society organisations and lawmakers, noting that civil society has contributed technical expertise and advocacy while Parliament has created space for engagement.

Andrews said the success of reform hinges more on political will than on technical drafting.

He outlined six priority recommendations deemed essential for improving Nigeria’s electoral integrity and stressed the importance of transparency in the appointment of a new INEC chairperson, expected later this year.

“A transparent, non-partisan and merit-based appointment process will strengthen INEC as an institution and give citizens greater confidence that the commission will improve its professionalism, neutrality and independence,” he said.

The mission chief also highlighted the need for greater transparency in results management. “We all saw in 2023 how quickly confidence can be eroded when polling-unit results are missing, uploaded with poor quality, or collation appears disorganised.

Andrews further flagged the extremely low representation of women in Nigeria’s political institutions.

He praised the discussion around the reserved-seats bill as a potential milestone toward inclusivity.

Turning to electoral offences, Andrews warned that widespread impunity for misconduct — such as violence, vote buying and misuse of state resources — continues to threaten election integrity. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said, noting that prosecutions remain too few and too slow.

He described the proposed electoral offences commission as a much-needed step forward.

He also stressed the importance of legal clarity, saying INEC needs a stable legal environment to carry out its responsibilities effectively, from voter education to budgeting. “If reforms are adopted too late, they risk causing uncertainty or even becoming impossible to implement,” he said.

Finally, he raised concerns over the safety of journalists, citing ongoing reports of harassment and violence against media professionals. “What is needed is a credible system to investigate and prosecute attacks swiftly and effectively. That would show that freedom of expression is not only guaranteed on paper but also upheld in practice.”

In concluding his remarks, Andrews acknowledged progress, especially in legislative engagement and discussions around gender representation, but warned that “the window for reform is closing fast.”

He urged political actors to seize the current momentum to deliver reforms that can safeguard transparency, inclusiveness and credibility in the 2027 elections, noting that falling turnout in successive elections shows the stakes have never been higher.

“We are supporting Nigeria through our Democratic Governance in Nigeria programme,” Amb. Mignot said. “We are doing this by supporting the implementation of the recommendations of the EU observation mission with technical assistance — for stakeholder consultations, for instance — partly through institutions such as the National Assembly and civil society.”

He clarified the EU’s approach to off-cycle elections, distinguishing formal observation missions from “watch visits” by diplomats. “We don’t do observation missions in off-cycle elections,” he explained.

Recall that INEC chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu, during the EU’s visit to the commission’s headquarters on Thursday, confirmed that only eight of the 23 recommendations made by the EU in 2023 were directly addressed to the commission, and just one was marked as a priority.

Yakubu warned that failure to act swiftly on electoral law amendments could disrupt planning for the 2027 elections.