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Nigeria to Push Humanitarian, Youth, Economic Ties at OIC Meeting in Jeddah
By Gloria Ikibah
Nigeria is set to push for stronger humanitarian cooperation, youth empowerment and economic partnerships when the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers meets in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 27.
The Nigerian delegation to the meeting is being led by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, who said the country’s participation was aimed at securing practical partnerships that would deliver tangible benefits to Nigerians.
The delegation departed from the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Tuesday ahead of the meeting.
Speaking to journalists before departure, Enikanolaiye said Nigeria’s participation was in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the country’s 4-D Foreign Policy Doctrine of Demography, Development, Diaspora and Democracy.
“This is a journey of strategic partnership and purpose devoid of ideological or religious fixation. Nigeria goes to Jeddah to advance cooperation that delivers real benefits to our people.
“Under President Tinubu’s leadership, our focus goes beyond partisan religious orientation and persuasion. It is about bringing real benefits and development to Nigerians. Our focus remains peace, prosperity, from stronger ties with the Islamic world,” the Minister of State said.
On humanitarian and security cooperation, the minister said Nigeria will advocate the operationalisation of a Nigeria-OIC Working Group on Humanitarian Affairs.
He said the proposed mechanism would strengthen regional responses to insecurity and humanitarian challenges in the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel.
According to him, the initiative would cover support for interfaith dialogue, the rehabilitation of displaced communities, as well as efforts to tackle terrorism and violent extremism.
The minister also said Nigeria will seek expanded OIC-supported programmes targeting young people, women and other vulnerable groups.
He listed vocational training, women’s empowerment, healthcare and cultural exchanges among areas where Nigeria would seek greater cooperation.
The aim, he said, was to equip Nigerian youths with relevant skills while promoting peace and unity among OIC member states.
On economic diplomacy, Enikanolaiye said Nigeria will use the meeting to showcase the country’s economic reforms and investment opportunities under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said priority areas will include agriculture, manufacturing, Business Process Outsourcing, automotive, oil and gas, and commerce.
The minister added that Nigeria will engage OIC investors and institutions on Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Government (B2G) partnerships to attract foreign direct investment and support economic diversification.
The meeting will also feature the election of a new Secretary-General of the OIC.
Enikanolaiye said Nigeria will participate constructively in the process and work towards the emergence of leadership committed to unity, reform and people-centred programmes across the 57-member organisation.
He also sought to correct what he described as a lack of awareness about the activities of the OIC in Nigeria, noting that the organisation had implemented several programmes and projects in the country without religious bias.
The minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to multilateralism and stronger solidarity within the OIC, which he described as the second-largest intergovernmental organisation after the United Nations.
He noted that Nigeria had remained an active and prominent member of the OIC since 1986 and continued to play a leading role in promoting peace, development and cooperation among its 57 member states.
“Nigeria remains a committed member of the OIC. We will work with all member states to ensure our collective decisions reflect the aspirations of over 1.8 billion people and contribute to global peace and development,” he added.
The Minister of State is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts and OIC officials on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.
The discussions are expected to focus on strengthening bilateral relations and advancing Nigeria’s interests in humanitarian affairs, security, youth development and economic cooperation.
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Japa on reverse lane as US releases names, photos of 112 Nigerians on deportation list
Japa on reverse lane as the United States Department of Homeland Security, DHS, has updated its list of Nigerians facing removal from the country, reducing the number to 112 and publishing their names and photographs online.
The latest list features Nigerians from different parts of the country and was published through the DHS official website.
Among those listed are Cletus Onyali, Olaolu Alabi, Marcus Unigwe, Mkpouto Etukudoh, Blessing Uchanma, Olaniyi Ojikutu, Richard Ugbah, Oluwamuyiwa Olawoye, Anthony Asanya and Ebele Agbasiele
Others identified on the list include Izuchukwu Okoye, Olufemi Olufisayo Olutiola, Abiemwense Obanor, Chibuzo Nwaonu, Oluchi Jennifer Chimdimma Chime, Ifeanyi Okoro, Oluwaseun Kassim, Quazeem Adeyinka and Talatu Dada.
The complete list contains 112 names, with the photographs and details of the other individuals available through the DHS online portal.
The publication comes amid stepped-up immigration enforcement by the US government, particularly involving undocumented immigrants and individuals with outstanding removal orders.
It also comes against the backdrop of efforts by US authorities to obtain increased cooperation from foreign governments in receiving their nationals who have been ordered to leave the United States.
Nigeria has previously faced pressure from the US over the repatriation of its nationals subject to deportation.
The updated publication provides public access to the identities and photographs of the Nigerians currently identified by DHS for removal from the United States.
News
Oyo kidnap: Five defendants plead not guilty to seven count charges
The Department of State Services, DSS, on Thursday re-arraigned five men accused of complicity in the May 15 kidnap of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and the subsequent killing of two of the victims.
They were arraigned on a seven-count amended charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/438/2026, filed by the DSS on behalf of the Federal Government.
The defendants, accused of being members of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU) terrorist group, are Mahmud Muhammad (aka Abu Bara’a, Abbas Mukhtar); Abubakar Abbas (aka Isah Adam, Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri); Abdulrazak Umar (aka Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid); Yunusa Musa (aka Abu Yunusa Bin Musa); and Shamsu Adamu Sani (aka Abu Itisar).
All five defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them by the Registrar of the court.
The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation (DPPF), Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who led the DSS legal team, applied for the immediate trial of the defendants in line with the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
He also applied for the names of witnesses lined up to testify in the trial to be shielded and for them to be permitted to wear masks to ensure their protection.
Following no objection from counsel to the defendants, Bala Dakum, Justice Salim Ibrahim granted the request of the DSS counsel.
At the time of filing this report, arrangements for the full-scale trial were being put in place.
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Autopsy Confirms #EndSARS Journalist Pelumi Onifade Died From Gunshot Wound
LAGOS — A post-mortem examination conducted by the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has confirmed that 20-year-old journalist Pelumi Onifade died from a penetrating firearm injury to the abdomen.
The finding is contained in a six-page autopsy report dated July 30, 2026, and submitted to the Lagos State Coroner’s Court investigating the circumstances surrounding the young journalist’s death during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
According to the report, Onifade died from massive haemoperitoneum, a severe accumulation of blood in the abdominal cavity, caused by a high-velocity projectile that penetrated his abdomen.
The forensic finding provides medical evidence establishing a gunshot injury as the cause of death, while the circumstances surrounding who fired the shot and the events that followed remain matters before the coroner’s proceedings.
How Onifade Died
Onifade was a 200-level History student of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) and worked as an intern reporter with Gboah TV, a Lagos-based online news platform.
On October 24, 2020, during the nationwide #EndSARS protests against police brutality, he was assigned to cover an attempted looting at a government palliative storage facility in the Abattoir area of Oko-Oba, Agege, Lagos.
According to accounts presented by his family and colleagues, Onifade was wearing a press jacket and carrying reporting equipment when officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force opened fire while attempting to disperse the crowd.
He was reportedly struck by a bullet and subsequently taken away in a police van, commonly referred to as a Black Maria.
A colleague who was with him at the scene reportedly attempted to identify him as a journalist and explain that he was carrying camera equipment, but those efforts were unsuccessful.
Onifade was not seen alive again after that incident.
Family Searched Police Stations, Hospitals
Following his disappearance, his family and colleagues searched police stations, detention facilities and hospitals across Lagos in an attempt to establish his whereabouts.
According to the family, police authorities denied having him in custody.
Six days later, on October 30, 2020, the family located his body at the mortuary of Ikorodu General Hospital, where it had been registered as a “brought-in-dead” case under body number 1385.
The discovery triggered years of demands for an independent investigation into how the young journalist died and how his remains ended up in the mortuary.
DNA Test Identified the Body
The identity of the body was subsequently confirmed through forensic DNA testing.
Results from the Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre established a match between the unidentified body bearing tag number 1385 and reference samples obtained from Onifade’s parents.
The DNA confirmation provided a crucial breakthrough after years of uncertainty surrounding the whereabouts and identity of the missing journalist.
Court Ordered Coroner’s Inquest
The search for accountability later moved into the courts.
In July 2024, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the Lagos State Government and the police to conduct a coroner’s inquest into Onifade’s death.
The objective of the inquest is to establish the circumstances surrounding his death and determine the facts surrounding the actions of the security personnel involved.
The ongoing proceedings before the Lagos State Coroner’s Court are being presided over by Magistrate Temitope Oladele.
Following the submission of the post-mortem report, the court has directed key witnesses, including police personnel who were on duty in the Oko-Oba area on October 24, 2020, to appear and testify.
Rights Groups Demand Accountability
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), which has supported the Onifade family in its legal efforts, has described the post-mortem findings as significant evidence in the case.
Rights activists, journalist unions, and the deceased’s family continue to demand the public prosecution of the police officers who fired the shot and those who supervised the deployment during the Lagos #EndSARS demonstrations.
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