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Why Mothers Of Twins Are Denied Access To Water In Akwa Ibom Community Revealed

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The Coordinator of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene – Gender Project Team, Prof. Emmanuel Akpabio, on Friday, disclosed that menstruating women and mothers of twin children were not allowed access to drinking water at a community in Akwa Ibom State over beliefs that the water would dry up.

Akpabio, who is the Director, Directorate of International Programmes, University of Uyo, stated this in Uyo while briefing newsmen to highlight the report of the team’s research in three local government areas of Akwa Ibom State.

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According to him, the community in the Mbiabet Ikot Udo in Ini Local Government Area of the state has been upholding this belief for decades without being confronted. This is a result of a lack of drinking water and worries that the only source of water in the region might be poisoned.

The professor who noted that the lack of access to WASH constrains women, girls, and other vulnerable individuals from engaging in economic and educational activities called for strong public intervention in providing water for such communities, adding that it would also tackle the problem of open defecation.

READ ALSO: Coup: Seven Moves Tinubu-Led ECOWAS Has Decided To Make Against Niger

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“For Mbiabet Ikot Udo, there is only a single source of drinking but stagnant water (idim Affia) sustained through under surface outflow with brown coloration. This serves an estimated population of 1,200 and six more villages (over 6000 people) in the dry season when other available sources would have dried up. This water source is also obtained for domestic and other needs.

“Mothers of twin children are restricted from accessing this water. We were told the stream will spew all manner of impurities and strange substances and gradually dry up anytime it is accessed by a mother of twins, and only comes back to normalcy once sacrifices/rituals are performed by the community.

“Women in their menstrual cycles are also traditionally restricted from having access to the stream and the consequence for violation is prolonged blood discharge. The victims can only get water through their spouses, children, paid services, or voluntary support from members of the community. Where they cannot get any support, they will stay without water for that period,” Akpabio said.

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He disclosed that the practice has fuelled gender-based discrimination in access to WASH services and subjected women to psychosocial and other forms of gender-based violence, which would in turn affect their health.

READ ALSO: We Must Reject A Fractured Nigeria – Onaiyekan

According to him, the discrimination was pronounced in ecologically fragile and difficult areas where WASH infrastructure for public use are severely limited, adding that intersectional factors like biology, disability, socio-cultural norms, and economic circumstances also complicate the problem.

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“Our attention was drawn to the challenges of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in the study communities. There have been so much misconception, myths, and gaps in knowledge and awareness around MHM for women and girls.

“When women and girls are denied access to water on account of menstruation, when they have to walk long distances to access WaSH facilities, or when acute water scarcity forces reliance on available but usually of degradable quality sources, their right to decent, hygienic and sanitary living is severely compromised, creating avenues for possibilities for disease outbreaks.

READ ALSO: Anxiety, Fear As Suspected Herders Taker Over Edo Community Farm Roads, Abduct Five

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“The stress of having to contend with stigmatisation and extra physical and mental efforts to secure sanitary living translates to serious psychosocial violence.

“MHM needs adequate access to water, soap, sanitary towels, and safe space for using water and changing menstrual towels. A majority of women and girls in our rural areas can neither afford nor have access to these basic necessities.

“When women in their menstrual cycles are denied access to water and safe spaces for menstrual hygiene management as in Mbiabet Ikot Udo, they are directly and indirectly subjected to psychosocial and other forms of gender-based violence, as well as affect their health, as they struggle to make up for such deprivation. Their human dignity is severely violated, and they lack the voice and capacity to surmount such challenges,” Akpabio said.

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Sowore Vows Not To Delete anti-Tinubu Tweet

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Human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the 2023 elections, Omoyele Sowore, has vowed not to delete a tweet critical of President Bola Tinubu, despite a reported request from the Department of State Services to X, demanding its removal.

Sowore disclosed this in a post on his X account on Sunday morning, revealing that the social media platform had formally contacted him about the DSS request.

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Sowore, a human rights activist, journalist, and publisher of Sahara Reporters, is known for his outspoken criticism of successive Nigerian governments and advocacy for good governance.

He contested the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections under the African Action Congress and has been at the forefront of several pro-democracy campaigns.

The PUNCH earlier reported that the DSS had written to X Corp., demanding the immediate takedown of Sowore’s post, claiming it disparaged Tinubu and posed a threat to national security.

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READ ALSO:DSS Gives X Ultimatum To Pull Down Sowore’s Tweet

Vowing not to play to the DSS’ gallery, he wrote, “This morning, X (formerly Twitter) officially contacted me about the despicable threat letter they received from the lawless DSS over my Tweet on Tinubu. One option I will NOT be taking is deleting that Tweet. Thank you, @X,” Sowore wrote.

He also shared the message sent to him by X, which confirmed that the platform had received a legal request from the Nigerian secret police concerning his post.

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The message read, “Hello @YeleSowore. In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a request from the Department of State Services regarding your X account, @YeleSowore, that claims the following content violates the law(s) of Nigeria. @YeleSowore, we have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request.

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“As X strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorised entity (such as law enforcement or a government agency) to remove content from their account. We provide notice whether or not the user lives in the country where the request originated. This page provides more information: https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/defending-and-respecting-our-users-voice.

READ ALSO:Sowore Accompanies Lagos Corper To NYSC Office Over Viral Video Controversy

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We understand that receiving this type of notice can be an unsettling experience. While X is not able to provide legal advice, we want you to have an opportunity to evaluate the request and, if you wish, take appropriate action to protect your interests.

“This may include seeking legal counsel and challenging the request in court, contacting relevant civil society organisations, voluntarily deleting the content (if applicable), or finding some other resolution. For more information on legal requests X receives from governments worldwide, please refer to this article on our Help Centre and our biannual Transparency Report: https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-legal-faqs https://transparency.x.com.”

The PUNCH reports that Sowore has frequently accused the DSS and other government agencies of clamping down on dissent and free speech, insisting that his criticism of the Tinubu administration falls under constitutionally guaranteed rights.

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The DSS, Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency, has in the past been accused by rights groups of targeting dissenting voices and clamping down on free expression. Sowore himself was arrested by the DSS in 2019 over his “RevolutionNow” protest movement and was detained for several months despite court orders granting him bail.

RESA ALSO:JUST IN: DSS Writes X, Wants Sowore’s Account Deactivated Over Tweet Targeting Tinubu

X (formerly Twitter) has a stated policy of notifying users when it receives legal demands from governments requesting the takedown of content. The platform has also faced pressure in Nigeria before — most notably during the 2021 Twitter ban by the Federal Government, which accused the company of undermining national security after it deleted a tweet by then-President Muhammadu Buhari.

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Sowore’s latest confrontation with the DSS highlights the ongoing tension between government authorities and citizens’ digital rights, particularly regarding criticism of public officials online.

His insistence on keeping the tweet online could spark renewed public debate on freedom of speech, government surveillance, and the limits of dissent in Nigeria’s democracy.

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Russia Launches Massive Air Attacks On Ukraine’s Cabinet Building

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Russia fired its biggest-ever aerial barrage at Ukraine early Sunday, killing two people and setting the seat of the Ukrainian government in Kyiv ablaze in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky warned would prolong the war.

An AFP reporter saw the roof of Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers in flames and smoke billowing over the capital.

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Drone strikes also damaged several high-rise buildings in Kyiv, according to emergency services.

Russia has shown no sign of halting its three-and-a-half-year invasion of Ukraine, pushing hardline demands for ending the war despite efforts by the United States to broker a peace deal.

Residents in Kyiv spoke of their frustration following the strikes.

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READ ALSO:Russia Hits Out At Macron For Calling Putin ‘Ogre’

This is already routine for us, unfortunately,” Olga, a 30-year-old resident of a damaged building, told AFP.

The Russians first “grab they Shaheds (Iranian-designed drones), then the rockets come,” she said.

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The attack on Sunday was the first to hit Ukraine’s cabinet of ministers, a sprawling government complex at the heart of Kyiv.

An AFP reporter saw helicopters dropping what appeared to be buckets of water over its roof, as emergency services rushed to the scene.

Ukraine’s military-industrial complex and transport infrastructure” in the attack, without mentioning the government building.

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Police cordoned off the area surrounding the building, the roof and upper floors of which sustained damage.

READ ALSO:Troops Kill 10 Terrorists Near Nigeria, Cameroon Border

We will restore the buildings. But we cannot bring back lost lives. The enemy terrorises and kills our people every day throughout the country,” Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.

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Russia fired at least 810 drones and 13 missiles at Ukraine between late Saturday and early Sunday, in a new record, according to the Ukrainian air force.

Zelensky said emergency services were working across the country.

Such killings now, when real diplomacy could have already begun long ago, are a deliberate crime and a prolongation of the war,” he said on Facebook.

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The attack drew condemnation from European leaders, including Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

READ ALSO:NAF Air Strikes Destroy IED Factory, Terrorists’ Gun Trucks In Borno

Once again, the Kremlin is mocking diplomacy,” von der Leyen wrote on X.

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Strike kills six

AFP reporters heard explosions over the capital early Sunday.

A strike on a nine-story residential building in the west of Kyiv killed at least two people, a mother and her two-month-old son, prosecutors said.

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More than a dozen others were wounded in Kyiv, according to the emergency service.

Among them was a 24-year-old pregnant woman, who delivered a premature baby shortly after the attack, and doctors were fighting for her life and that of her baby, state TV Suspilne reported.

Four more died, and dozens of others were wounded in overnight strikes across the country’s east and southeast, authorities said.

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The attack also killed seven horses at an equestrian club in Kyiv’s suburbs, according to Ukraine’s foreign ministry.

READ ALSO:Russian Politicians Mock European Leaders After White House, Ukraine Talks

The world cannot stand aside while a terrorist state takes lives—human or animal—every single day,” it wrote on X.

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The barrage came after more than two dozen European countries pledged to patrol any agreement to end the war, some of whom said they were willing to deploy troops on the ground.

Kyiv insists on Western-backed security guarantees to prevent future Russian attacks, but President Vladimir Putin warns that any Western troops in Ukraine would be unacceptable and legitimate targets.

Efforts in recent weeks by US President Donald Trump to end the war have so far yielded little progress.

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Meantime, on the front line in the east, Moscow continued to claim territory in costly grinding battles, capturing another village in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia occupies around 20 per cent of the country in total.

Tens of thousands have been killed in three-and-a-half years of fighting, which has forced millions from their homes and destroyed much of eastern and southern Ukraine in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.

AFP

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NDLEA Busts Cartel, Recovers ₦6.4bn Drugs From Kingpins

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The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has dismantled an international drug cartel operating between Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia and the United Arab Emirates, arresting three kingpins and intercepting narcotics worth over ₦6.4 billion.

The NDLEA, in a statement signed by its Director, Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, and released on Sunday in Abuja, disclosed that the operation began on August 26, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, when its officers intercepted 76 cartons of textile materials bound for Sydney, Australia.

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Concealed within were 16 blocks of cocaine weighing 17.9kg, hidden alongside local charms allegedly intended to shield traffickers from detection,” the statement noted.

A freight agent, Olashupo Michael Oladimeji, was arrested in connection with the consignment, which NDLEA said carried a street value of over AU$5.3 million (₦5.3bn).

READ ALSO:NDLEA Nabs Wanted Drug Kingpin With 11.6kg Cocaine, Meth After Seven Years

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Subsequent investigations led to the arrests of Muaezee Ademola Ogunbiyi, identified as the syndicate’s Nigerian coordinator, and Shola Adegoke, another senior member.

Ogunbiyi was picked up in Ikeja GRA on September 3, with officers later recovering 21 parcels of Canadian Loud cannabis, a pump-action rifle and cartridges from his Lekki residence.

Adegoke was arrested at a packaging house in Ikeja GRA, where officers also recovered 9.6kg of Loud from a Range Rover SUV.

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NDLEA disclosed that Adegoke had previously served a jail term in the UK for methamphetamine trafficking, while Ogunbiyi had completed a 14-year sentence in Britain for murder.

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The agency further identified Adebisi Ademola Omoyele, alias Mr Bee, currently based in Dubai, as the cartel’s overall leader managing overseas operations.

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The statement further stated that the NDLEA operatives intercepted other shipments across the country.

At Onne Port, Rivers State, a joint NDLEA–Customs operation uncovered 160,200 bottles of codeine-based syrup hidden in ceramic sanitary wares, with an estimated street value of ₦1.1bn.

READ ALSO:Tinubu Orders Mandatory Health Insurance Across Ministries, Agencies

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In separate raids, officers seized hundreds of kilogrammes of cannabis, Colorado and Loud in Lagos, Abuja, Kogi, Edo, Kaduna, Anambra, Niger and Taraba. Notably, 625kg of cannabis was recovered in Surulere, Lagos, while 18.7 tonnes of skunk were destroyed on two plantations in Taraba.

“Also at Lagos airport, Milan-based Nigerian Gabriel Michael was arrested attempting to smuggle 24,480 tramadol tablets to Italy. He told investigators the pills were meant to fetch €19,520”.

The NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (retd) commended the operatives involved and urged continued vigilance under the agency’s “balanced approach” of enforcement and its War Against Drug Abuse advocacy campaigns.

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