News

Protest: Police fire teargas canisters at protesters at Eagle Square

Published

4 months ago

August 1, 2024

By Francesa Hangeior

Fully armed officers and men of the Nigeria Police on Thursday fired teargas canisters at a handful of peaceful protests, around the outer cordon of the Eagle Square, in the Three Arms Zone, Abuja.

The Three Arms Zone where the Eagle Square is located is the seat of power as it houses the Presidential Villa, National Assembly and the Supreme Court, as well as the Federal Secretariat and Head of Service.

The protesters who had been largely peaceful, demanded an end to hunger, saying ulcer has become a common sickness among Nigerians.

They queried while the police would shoot at them having earlier provided security cover for a pro-Government group some days ago.

While they were earlier dispersed at about 8am, they regrouped again, asking President Bola Tinubu to intervene.

However, at about 10:30am when some journalists were trying to interview some of the protesters, a policeman fired a canister in that direction.

While many flee in different directions, a young woman with a baby went straight to the policemen and dated them to kill her and the baby.

Efforts to identify the woman was not immediately possible as policemen continued to fire teargas canisters at any civilian within their sight.

Before then, a mild drama played out when the Minister of State for Youths Development, Ayodele Olawande, arrived the area to address the protesters.

Much as he tried to speak, his voice was drowned by the protesters’ loud chants of “hunger dey”, disallowing the Minister from speaking.

After speaking to some of the protesters, describing himself as a comrade who had attended well over 500 protests in the past, the protesters later calmed down to listen.

“I am not here to fight you. I am not here to ask you not to protest. It is your right. Like I said, I have been to over 100-500 protests”, he said.

He said he would address the Police regarding the shooting of canisters against the protesters.

It would however appear that his address to the Police was not adhered to following the continued shooting of canisters at protesters.

News

Ondo: Aiyedatiwa coasting to victory as 8 candidates pull out to back him 48 Hours To Election

Published

2 minutes ago

November 15, 2024

Naijablitznews

Eight governorship candidates of various political parties have declared support for the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, ahead of the state gubernatorial election.

Aiyedatiwa, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the election, stated this on Thursday in Akure during an interactive event organised by the Special Engagement Committee of the APC National Campaign Council.

Aiyedatiwa declared that the eight governorship candidates who declared support for him showed that the people of the state were with the APC.

The Governor appealed to his supporters not to relax until he is victorious in Saturday’s governorship election.

Aiyedatiwa said that the remaining hours before the election should be used to intensify the mobilisation drive towards delivering victory for the party.

He said, “We have only one agenda ahead of us; that is to deliver the victory on Saturday because we have campaigned across the state and listened to the plights of the people.

“Let us go back to our communities and continue the work; we must not be complacent; there are still works to be done and we must be ready to finish the work for ultimate victory.

“Just this morning, eight governorship candidates have declared support for us ahead of the election and that should tell us that the people are with us.”

The Governor added that when elected, he would deliver on his promises to the people towards the development of the state.

News

AFCONQ 2025: Nigeria’s Super Eagles fail to beat Benin Republic in Abidjan

Published

3 hours ago

November 15, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Thursday failed to beat Benin Republic in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifier as two West African neighbours settled for a 1-1 draw in Abidjan

With the results, Nigeria officially qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON, securing a top-two finish in Group D,

Benin opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Mohamed Tijani capitalized on a corner delivery from Junior Olaïtan, heading the ball into the center of the net.

The Super Eagles found themselves trailing despite creating opportunities, with Victor Osimhen and Moses Simon both testing Benin’s defence.

In the second half, Nigeria intensified their attack and were rewarded in the 81st minute when Osimhen met Simon’s cross with a precise header to level the score.

Benin fought hard to reclaim the lead, but Nigeria’s defence held firm, preserving the draw.

Nigeria’s qualification for TotalEnergies CAF AFCON marks a relief for fans and sets the stage for their preparations for the tournament. Benin, meanwhile, remains in contention but will need positive results in their final game to have any chance of progressing.

News

Wike suspends FCDA secretary indefinitely

Published

3 hours ago

November 15, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has suspended, with immediate effect, the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Agency, Shehu Hadi Ahmad, indefinitely.

This was made known in a statement by the Senior Special Adviser to the Minister of Public Communication and Social Media, Olalere Olayinka, on Thursday.

Circumstances leading to or surrounding the suspension of the secretary were, however, undisclosed as of the time of filing this report.

According to the statement, the suspended Executive Secretary has been consequently directed to hand over to the Director of Engineering Services in the FCDA.