By Akpokona Omafuaire
The Supreme Court on Friday gave Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state a clean bill of health from the certificate forgery case brought by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its chieftain, Mr. Williams Edobor, against him.
It was learnt that the appellant couldn’t prove their case or provide any disclaimer from the school that the result are not issued by them to Obaseki.
The court awarded one million naira in favour of the Edo governor against the appellant.
#
By Akpokona Omafuaire
WARRI - ABOUT 500 vulnerable persons in Effurun Otor Kingdom in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State have received free feeding and food items courtesy of Eloho Aro Reach Out Foundation.
The free feeding and distribution of food items was held Saturday in furtherance of the NGO's humanitarian service.
Speaking at the event, the Founder of the Eloho Aro Reach out Foundation, Miss Eloho Avwaruroro, a lawyer, said the organization is determined to put smiles on the faces of the less privileged in the Society.
Avwaruroro accompanied by her team told the beneficiaries of the free feeding and other less privileged persons in the Society not to feel abandoned but always remember that her organization cares for them.
She said it is the group's dream to build an old people's home in Delta State to provide a conducive shelter for over two hundred vulnerable aged persons.
According to her, the old people's home would have constant electricity supply, medicare and other facilities.
The President General of Effurun Otor Kingdom, Chief Francis Uzo, Spokeswoman of the Women in the Kingdom, Mrs Patricia Orukomienor and Chief Godspower Agbri thanked Miss Eloho Avwaruroro for her gesture and determination to impact positively on the Society.
Uzo urged the people of Effurun Otor kingdom to take a cue from the young philanthropist to groom their children to contribute positively to the kingdom and the larger Society.
Some of the beneficiaries who couldn't hide their joy prayed for God's blessings upon Miss Avwaruroro and her team.
The Eloho Aro Reach Out Foundation has organized free workshops for youths against cultism and other crimes and fed many vulnerable old persons and children.
Miss Eloho Avwaruroro founded the Non-Governmental Organization in 2018 then as an ndergraduates of Law, Delta State University, Oleh Campus.
#
By Akpokona Omafuaire
GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Okowa has said that the State Government would partner the United Nations to curb human trafficking and irregular migration in the state.
Okowa spoke on Thursday when the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mr Edward Kallon and his delegation visited him at Government House, Asaba.
Kallon said that he was in the state to reinforce the partnership between the United Nations and Delta Government.
He said that the UN was determined to provide support for the fight against COVID-19, implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), combating human trafficking and irregular migration.
Okowa commended the United Nations for its various programmes in the state, saying they had been of immense benefit to people of the state.
The Governor remarked that human trafficking and irregular migration were being encouraged by high poverty rate in the country.
He however, disclosed that his administration was checking the scourge with the establishment of entrepreneurial programmes to encourage youths to be self-reliant.
"For so long we have had this relationship between our state government and the UN in various ways and through various programmes that you have introduced in this nation and of which we have benefited as a state.
“As a state government, we have had lots of challenges these few years and Delta state has had its fair share. It was of course compounded in the last several months by the issue of COVID-19.
" It has been a very difficult time but we will continue to do our best to touch the lives of our people,” he said.
On efforts to eradicate human trafficking and irregular migration, the governor said that the state was doing its best in tackling the vices but lamented that poverty was a great factor fuelling it.
“We know that many of these things are driven by the poverty level of the people and we know the misinformation out there that there are greener pastures outside the shores of Nigeria.
“This has continued to refuel the zeal of our young ones who are misinformed that they need to leave the shores of this country.
“So we are doing a lot in trying to keep our youths engaged in entrepreneurship programmes which we believe will help them to take care of themselves and their families and retrain others.
"The programmes will keep our youths engaged and we will have less people seeking greener pastures outside the shores of this nation. Although we are still far away from true success, we have done a lot in our various communities.
“In the past, it was believed that the government will keep employing people but this has shown to be a wrong path as it only increased recurrent expenditure.
“But, we have started carving out funds for capital development which will actually enable growth in the society.
“We are also mindful of the fact that the present crisis of insecurity may increase the human trafficking which we have been trying to eradicate.
“This is because when many of our youths feel that they are no longer safe in their country, they would want to leave.
“To a larger extent, we are beginning to let the Federal Government know that there is a need to look beyond the federal policing of our nation. It may not just be enough to take charge of the entire policing of this nation." Okowa stated.
#
By Akpokona Omafuaire
WARRI - UNSPECIFIED number of gunmen on Friday morning in a murderous mood unleashed mayhem on the unsuspecting Umutu Police Divisional Headquarters in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State, leaving three police and two gunmen dead.
The Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Ari Muhammed Ali afterwards confirmed the attack on the Umutu Police Station by Unknown gunmen.
The Police boss in a telephone chat with a journalist said two constables were shot dead while an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP died of heart attack in the process.
Ali noted that the Police were able to kill two of the gunmen who came for the operation. He said the gunmen succeeded in moving the bodies of their men from the scene of incident.
According to him, ”Actually what happened is that at about 1:45am this morning, we got information about attack on Umutu Police Station which was repelled by our men.
“Having putting up that gallant fight, we lost two constables who were shot dead, while an ASP died of heart attack in the process. He wasn’t shot which means that he was shocked and the shock killed him. He was fuming from the mouth.
“So,we were able to repel the attack. Our men killed two of them but because they came with vehicles,they quickly moved their bodies away. But to the glory of God, the station is safe. No arm was lost.” He added.
By Akpokona Omafuaire
THE International Organization for Migration, IOM, has expressed concern on the unprecedented arrival of an estimated 9,000 migrants in Spain’s Ceuta enclave between Monday and Wednesday (17-19 May).
By Akpokona Omafuaire
THE International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s annual flagship report on migration trends and population movements has said that at least 300,000 migrants across the East and Horn of Africa have been affected by COVID-19 in 2020.
The report, A Region on the Move, whivh was released this week highlights the dire consequences of the pandemic for vulnerable migrants, including Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), refugees, asylum-seekers, unaccompanied minors, and returning and stranded migrants.
The widespread air, land, and sea border closures, and other movement restrictions put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, have severely impacted more than 300,000 people who largely depend on informal employment and the ability to move across borders for work and their survival.
It said that thousands of migrants, mostly Ethiopian, are stranded in Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen, unable to continue their journey to reach Saudi Arabia via Yemen.
According to the report, the number of crossings to Yemen from the Horn of Africa has dropped by an unprecedented 73 per cent compared to 2019, approximately 37,000 from 138,000.
It added that the extremely harsh conditions faced by migrants, exacerbated by the pandemic, also resulted in high numbers of people returning spontaneously from Yemen to Djibouti and Somalia. IOM estimates at least 32,000 migrants remain stranded in Yemen.
The report stressed that hundreds of thousands more across the East and Horn of Africa lack access to food, water, security and medical care. Personal Protective Equipment to guard against COVID-19 are in short supply, and currently there is no access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
That the region continues to be home to many of the world’s protracted displacement contexts, economic crises, conflicts and climate shocks, including the worst desert locust infestation in decades and a new crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Combined with the impact of COVID-19, these factors contributed to a rise in the number of IDPs in the East and Horn of Africa, reaching 6.5 million in December 2020 compared to 6.3 million in 2019.
The IOM report concludes that while causes of migration in the East and Horn of Africa – namely poverty, conflict and environmental events – persist, the economic drivers have been further exacerbated by the pandemic.
This is supported by a recent study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which finds that the long-term socio-economic impact of COVID-19 will widen the poverty gap between countries as an estimated 41 million people in low and medium development countries could be pushed into poverty by 2030, with the worst affected living in Africa.
According to the bew findings, the same time, migration has become even riskier as smugglers try to circumvent COVID-19 movement restrictions and maximize profits over migrants that undertake various journeys in the region. Unpredictable and prolonged movement restrictions may push more migrants towards irregular channels of migration and increasingly risky smuggling routes.
According to Mohammed Abdiker, Regional Director, IOM Regional Office for East and Horn of Africa, "Moving forward, we need to advance real alternatives to irregular migration and promote sustainable reintegration for migrants returning home.
“We also need to see improved efforts to curb transnational organized crime regionally and internationally, that is responsible for so much of the smuggling of migrants and trafficking of persons in the region. Without this, the efforts of Member States to control migration will continue to be undermined and migrants will continue to suffer.”
The report was published by the Regional Data Hub (RDH) for the East and Horn of Africa, which aims to support evidence-based, strategic and policy-level discussion on migration through a combination of initiatives.
#
