Connect with us

Headline

Wole Soyinka Named Benin Royal Museum Board Member As Oba Of Benin Signs Documents For Artifacts Return

Published

on

…Ooni Of Ife, Emir Of Kano, Oshiomhole, Others Grace Occasion

Necessary documents for the return of looted Benin artifacts from the United Kingdom, UK, were on Monday signed by the Benin Royal Palace led by the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II and the UK government representives.

Two of the works, a cockerel (okpa) and Uhunwun Elao were formally handed over to the Oba of Benin as symbol of the return, even as His Royal Majesty announced Prof Wole Soyinka as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Benin Royal Museum.

Speaking, Oba Ewuare II, said Prof Wole Soyinka was made member of the Board of Trustees of the Benin Royal Museum where the returned artefacts would be kept and be opened to the public including researchers and scientists so as to safeguard the artworks and others expected to be returned in future.

Advertisement

He listed Aghatise Erediauwa, Nduka Obaigbena, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru amongst others, to be members of the board of trustees for the museum.

Oba Ewaure II who commended the role played by the Federal Government in the return of the artefacts, said Benin art and culture reflect the past and present glory as well as splendour of the kingdom.

READ ALSO: Looted Benin Artifacts: No Controversy Over Ownership, Oba Of Benin Declares

Advertisement

“As our treasures are returned, our youths will be able to establish a new relationship with the heritage bequeathed by their forefathers.

“The return of all the treasures taken away will begin a new era of Benin history and civilisation.

“International best practice and the rule of law dictate that restitution and compensation is the new discourse.

Advertisement

“We ask that friendly countries seeking to return our artifacts should do so directly to the Oba of Benin or to the Federal Government of Nigeria who will hold them in trust and return the same to the Palace of the Oba of Benin Kingdom as was recently done in Cambridge and Aberdeen,” he stated.

In his speech, Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, said the ceremony was in line with President Muhammadu Buari’s administration’s commitment that all stolen artefacts should be returned to Nigeria and sent to their original owners.

He said: “In 1897, when the Benin aretefacts were taken away from Benin Kingdom, sovereignty was vested in Benin Kingdom under the leadership of the then Oba of Benin, Ovonranmwen Nogbaisi the same sovereignty was then vested in respective kingdoms and its respective traditional rulers in the present day Nigeria.

Advertisement

“This explains why these artefacts are still being referred to as Benin bronzes up till the present day. Sovereignty is however currently vested in the federal government of Nigeria by the 1999 constitution as amended. Hence the legal and physical possession of the artefacts by the federal Republic of Nigeria under the leadership of Muhammadu Buhari President of Nigeria, my presence in Benin Kingdom today is in fulfillment of the desire and the express directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to return the repossessed artefacts to where they originally belong.

READ ALSO: Looted Benin Artifacts: Review Your Approach Of Private Custodian, Oba Of Benin Advises Obaseki

“The present administration places much emphasis on the return of Nigerian artefacts to their original home hence the painstaking efforts of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, along with the tireless commitment of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments to attain this presidential directive and mandate.”

Advertisement

The event attracted personalities from all walks of life including the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Bayero, representative of the Ooni of Ife, representative of the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire who is from Benin kingdom.

Others were Minister of the Niger Delta, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, former governor of Edo state and immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Ken Imansuagbon, former Deputy Governor of the state, Lucky Imasuen, palace chiefs, traditional rulers from other parts of the state.

 

Advertisement

Headline

Russian Strikes Kill Five In Ukraine, Cause Power Outages

Published

on

Russian strikes Sunday on Ukraine killed five people and badly damaged energy infrastructure, temporarily severing power supplies to tens of thousands and prompting neighbouring Poland put ground defence on high alert.

Russia has stepped up strikes on energy networks, increasing fears Moscow would resume its widespread campaign of attacks on power facilities, which have plunged millions into darkness in past winters.

Russian forces fired 496 drones and 53 missiles at Ukraine, the majority of which were shot down, according to the Ukrainian air force.

Advertisement

“Sadly, five people were killed. My sincere condolences to everyone who lost loved ones to this terror,” Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Strikes killed four people near Lviv, which lies in western Ukraine and is hundreds of kilometers from the front line, and has been largely spared the attacks that have hit cities further east.

“Near Lviv, an entire family of four was killed in their home, including a teenage girl,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:Russia Arrests Woman For Detonating Bomb On Railway

Emergency services released photos showing firefighters battling flames in a destroyed building, and helping elderly residents to safety.
Attacks also killed one person in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and wounded people near the eastern front, local authorities said.
“Russians once again targeted our infrastructure -– everything that ensures normal life for our people,” Zelensky said.

The strikes cut power to over 110,000 subscribers across several regions, Ukraine’s emergency services said, with the hardest hit being Zaporizhzhia.

Advertisement

– ‘Gas, heat and light’ –
Overnight, more than 73,000 people in Zaporizhzhia were left without electricity, regional head Ivan Fedorov said, though power had been partially restored by the afternoon.

Ukraine’s state-run gas company Naftogaz network also reported damage to its network.
These maniacal terrorist strikes are aimed solely at one thing — depriving Ukrainians of gas, heat, and light,” Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi said in a statement.

READ ALSO:Badenoch Unveils Strict UK Immigration Plan, Targets 150,000 Yearly Deportations

Advertisement

The Russian army said it launched an attack “against enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine and gas and energy infrastructure facilities that ensured their operation.”

Russian attacks have also rattled Ukraine’s European allies after a spate of alleged Russian airspace violations into Europe.

NATO boosted its defences along its eastern borders throughout the month as it accused Moscow of testing the alliance’s air defences with drone incursions into several members and by flying military jets in Estonian airspace.

Advertisement

Overnight Poland’s armed forces said on X that they had mobilised planes and put ground defences on high alert to secure the country’s airspace, especially in areas close to Ukraine.

Ukraine also said Russia was intensifying a campaign of air strikes on its railway network in an attempt to isolate frontline communities ahead of winter.

Russia launched drones at two passenger trains in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region on Saturday, killing one person and wounding dozens, according to Ukrainian officials.

Advertisement

 

Continue Reading

Headline

Badenoch Unveils Strict UK Immigration Plan, Targets 150,000 Yearly Deportations

Published

on

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has unveiled an aggressive immigration reform plan aimed at detaining and deporting 150,000 illegal migrants annually, in what she described as the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen” in border policy. The announcement was made in a video message posted on her X account on Sunday.

The plan, dubbed the Radical Borders Plan, envisages the establishment of a new Removals Force modelled after the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which would replace the current Home Office Immigration Enforcement unit. According to Badenoch, the Removals Force will have a mandate to remove all illegal entrants, foreign criminals, and undocumented migrants, while also monitoring illegal work. She stated, “My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported.”

Badenoch sharply criticised previous administrations, accusing both Conservative and Labour governments of failing to manage the migration crisis effectively. “Successive governments have failed on immigration. Labour promised to smash the gangs. Instead, in just a year, they delivered record small boat crossings, over 50,000 illegal arrivals, 32,000 people in asylum hotels, billions wasted. It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan and the backbone to deliver it,” she said.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:Badenoch Slams UK’s Palestine Recognition Decision As ‘Absolutely Disastrous’

The proposed plan includes several controversial measures. Asylum claims from illegal entrants would be banned, the Human Rights Act repealed, and the United Kingdom withdrawn from the European Convention on Human Rights. Badenoch added that all new illegal arrivals would be deported within a week, with legal obstacles to mass removals removed and visa sanctions imposed on countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens. She also pledged to “shut down the asylum hotel racket,” which she said would save taxpayers billions and restore public confidence in the UK’s border controls.

The Removals Force, if approved, will operate with an annual budget of £1.6 billion, double that of the current Immigration Enforcement unit, funded by savings from the closure of asylum hotels and other measures within the asylum system. The force will have sweeping powers, including the use of facial recognition technology without prior warning, and will integrate closely with the police. Priority for removals will include new illegal entrants, foreign criminals, failed asylum seekers, visa over-stayers, and others identified as residing in the UK illegally.

Advertisement

In an interview on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch faced criticism for her refusal to specify the destinations to which deported migrants would be sent. She responded, “I’m tired of all of these irrelevant questions about where they should go. They will go back to where they should be or another country, but they should not be here.” When pressed further, she added, “They will go back to where they came from.”

READ ALSO:Badenoch Slams UK PM For Cutting Defence Funding Amid Global Threats

According to the Conservative Party document detailing the plan, the proposed measures are intended to increase removals from the current 34,000 per year to approximately 150,000, marking a five-fold increase in enforcement activity. The party argues that the reforms are necessary to address what it describes as uncontrolled migration and to strengthen public trust in the country’s border system.

Advertisement

Badenoch’s announcement has intensified the ongoing debate in the UK over immigration policy, balancing border security with human rights considerations. Critics have expressed concern over the repeal of the Human Rights Act and the use of facial recognition technology without oversight, while supporters have welcomed the proposed measures as a decisive step in tackling illegal immigration.

The Radical Borders Plan is expected to be submitted for parliamentary consideration in the coming months, with its implementation contingent on legislative approval and coordination with existing law enforcement structures.

 

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Headline

Trump Threatens To Unleash ‘Hell’ On Hamas

Published

on

US President Donald Trump has given Hamas until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, warning the Palestinian militant group faced “all hell” if it did not agree to the terms.

The US leader set the deadline — which would fall at 1:00 a.m. Monday in Gaza — after an official for the Islamist movement told AFP earlier on Friday that the group still needed time to study the proposal to end nearly two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Advertisement

The proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

READ ALSO:Israeli Forces Strike Gaza Despite Trump’s Ceasefire Call

That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

Advertisement

“Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump’s plan… and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time,” the official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

On Tuesday, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to accept his plan, which has been welcomed by world powers, including Arab and Muslim nations.

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement Friday that the “plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon.”

Advertisement

READ ALSO:Israel Strikes Hamas Leadership, Explosions Reported In Qatar’s Capital

As Hamas mulled Trump’s peace plan this week, a Palestinian source close to the group’s leadership told AFP on Wednesday that the Islamist movement wanted to amend some clauses, including the one on disarmament.

Hamas leaders also want “international guarantees” for a full Israeli withdrawal and that no assassination attempts would be made inside or outside Gaza, the source added.

Advertisement

Another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the group was split over Trump’s plan.

Structurally, the group’s leadership is divided between officials based in the Gaza Strip and those abroad, particularly in Qatar.

READ ALSO:Spain Cancels $825m Israel Arms Deal Over Gaza

Advertisement

Much of Hamas’s leadership has also been wiped out in Israeli attacks throughout the war.

The source told AFP that “the first (opinion) supports unconditional approval, as the priority is a ceasefire under Trump’s guarantees, with mediators ensuring Israel implements the plan”.

“The second has serious reservations regarding key clauses… They favour conditional approval with clarifications reflecting Hamas’s and the resistance factions’ demands,” the source added.

Advertisement

Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “ultimately it’s not just about convincing Hamas leadership in Doha, but also the leadership in Gaza, as well as Hamas members and fighters in Gaza.”

READ ALSO:Israel Begins Ground Offensive In Gaza Despite International Criticism

“Additionally, Hamas must then be able to convince other factions in Gaza,” he added.

Advertisement

The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending