International

By Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi

Occasioned by the continuous attacks being carried out by the terrorists across various lengths and breadths of the world (especially in Middle East and Africa), which poses significant threat to the international peace and security and continuous harmony, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) lately converged in Marrakesh, Morocco and brainstormed on the roadmap for stemming the rising tides of terrorism.

The parley, held on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 was co-chaired by the Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita and the United State Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.

As a result of threat due to ever-increasing expansion of terrorists and their nefarious activities, the US deemed it necessary to announce on September 10, 2014, the formation of a broad international coalition to defeat the ISIS. Members of the coalition comprised 85 states and other host of international organizations who joined to offer their quotas of contribution towards dousing the tensions.

Among other mandates, the coalition is also aimed at protecting member states against any form of terror attacks and equally provide humanitarian supports to unavoidably affected nations.

This time around, the meeting which was held for the first time in the African continent, officials from member states and a handful of organizations, including the Arab League, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, and Interpol attended the ministerial roundtable discussion for a move against ISIS.

For Nigeria, the powerful delegation included State Minister of Foreign Affairs…. and the National Security Adviser, NSA, Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd)

It can be recalled that in early February 2022, NSA Monguno was in London where he engaged with his United Kingdom counterpart on security, Stephen Lovegrove in a dialogue bordering on a range of issues including Counter-Terrorism, Civilian Policing and Human Rights.

At the event, participants reaffirmed their shared determination to continue the fight against Daesh/ISIS through both military and civilian-led efforts contributing to the enduring defeat of the terrorist group.

They emphasized the protection of civilians as a priority and affirmed that international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as well as relevant UN Security Council resolutions, must be upheld under all circumstances.

As noted in UN Security Council Resolution 2170, “terrorism can only be defeated by a sustained and comprehensive approach involving the active participation and collaboration of all States.

Meanwhile, Africa’s issues were not to be underscored at the parley as underlying causes of insecurity in the continent were also stressed at the event. The Coalition reiterated that any lasting solution to halting the spread of ISIS in Africa would rely primarily on national authorities, as well as sub-regional and regional efforts and initiatives that acknowledge and address the political and economic drivers of conflict.

In addition, the Ministers noted with concern the proliferation of non-State actors, including separatist movements, and the deployment in Africa of private military companies that generate destabilization and further vulnerability of African states and that ultimately favors Daesh/ISIS and other terrorist and violent extremist organizations.

The Ministers also recalled that the Defeat Daesh/ISIS Coalition will continue to be a civilian-driven effort by, with, and through African members, in line with the principles of national ownership, and in accordance with the specific needs of African member states.

Again, the Ministers reiterated the importance of allocating adequate resources to sustain Coalition and legitimate partner forces’ efforts. Civilian-led efforts, including prevention, stabilization, countering terrorist financing, counter narratives and foreign terrorist fighter prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration are increasingly necessary to achieve the lasting defeat of Daesh/ISIS.

Therefore, Nigeria’s participation in the 2022 Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS was an opportunity to compare notes and share knowledge, as well as expand network on strategies to minimise or eradicate national, sub-regional and regional threats posed by the activities of terrorist groups and violent extremists.

It can be remembered that, at the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria and the United States co-chaired a virtual meeting of the same event in November 2020, where Nigeria’s position on the global coalition was firmly emphasized.

Nigeria, through the Counter-Terrorism Centre in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), highlighted, among other issues, that the challenges of global terrorism had negatively impacted virtually every facet of human endeavour, including national security, the economy, polity, environment and the lives and livelihoods of people, as apparent in the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin and parts of the North-East of the country.

Thus, the need to suppress the activities of criminal elements is a function of multinational societies as whole and other security apparatus.

The U.S. emphasizes that there is a role for every country to play in degrading and defeating ISIS. To that effect, some partners are contributing to the military effort, by providing arms, equipment, training, or advice. These partners include countries in Europe and in the Middle East region that are contributing to the air campaign against ISIS targets.

International contributions, however, are not solely or even primarily military contributions. The effort to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIS will require reinforcing multiple lines of effort, including preventing the flow of funds and fighters to ISIS, and exposing its true nature.

At the birth of the Coalition, five mutually reinforcing lines of effort to degrade and defeat ISIS were put forth at an early September 2014 meeting with NATO counterparts.

These lines of effort include; Providing military support to the partners; Impeding the flow of foreign fighters; Stopping financing and funding; Addressing humanitarian crises in the region; and Exposing true nature of the terrorists’ syndicates.

Nevertheless, with this Nigeria’s strong statement at the just concluded ministerial meetings, it apparently solidifies the country’s effort and commitment to maintaining national, regional and sub-regional peace and security in Africa.

 Mukhtar wrote from Kano via ymukhtar944@gmail.com

It was a tragic moment, when an unidentified terrorist stormed a primary school in Texas and killed many people, mostly innocent children. The US officials have confirmed that all the victims of the recent Texas shooting were killed in a single classroom.

According to the Upday News, the “US President Joe Biden has called for new restrictions on firearms in America after a gunman massacred at least 19 children at a Texas elementary school. All of those killed in the shooting were in one classroom, a state public safety official said.

In an emotional address to his nation from the White House, Mr Biden pleaded for action to curb gun violence after years of failure – and blamed firearms manufacturers and their supporters for blocking legislation in Washington.

He said: “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?”

The US leader spoke just hours after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, 85 miles west of San Antonio, killing at least 19 children and two adults.

It is America’s deadliest school shooting since 20 children and six adults died at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in late 2012.

The gunman – identified by officials as Salvador Ramos, who lived in the community – was killed by law enforcement responding to the massacre. Texas governor Greg Abbott said one of the two adults killed by the gunman was a teacher.

With US first lady Jill Biden standing by his side in the Roosevelt Room, the US president, who has suffered the loss of two of his own children, spoke in visceral terms about the grief being suffered by the victims’ loved ones and the pain that will endure for the students who survived.

“To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away,” Mr Biden said.

“There’s a hollowness in your chest. You feel like you’re being sucked into it and never going to be able to get out.”

He called on the nation to pray for the victims and families – but also to work harder to prevent the next tragedy. “It’s time we turned this pain into action,” he said.

Just one week earlier, Mr Biden had travelled to Buffalo in New York state to meet with victims’ families after a racist gunman killed 10 black people at a grocery store.

The back-to-back tragedies serve as sobering reminders of the frequency and brutality of an American epidemic of mass gun violence.

Hours after the attack, families were still awaiting word on their children.

Outside the town civic centre, where families were told to await news about their loved ones, the silence was broken repeatedly by screams and wailing.

Many of the wounded were rushed to Uvalde Memorial Hospital, where staff members in scrubs and devastated victims’ relatives could be seen weeping as they walked out of the complex.

It is not immediately clear how many people were wounded, but Uvalde Police chief Pete Arredondo said there were “several injuries”.

Earlier, Uvalde Memorial Hospital said 13 children were taken there. Another hospital reported a 66-year-old woman was in critical condition.

“These kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world – why?” Mr Biden asked in the White House.

The president reflected that while other nations have people filled with hate or with mental health issues, no other industrialised nation experiences gun violence at the level of the US.

“The idea that an 18-year-old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons is just wrong,” Mr Biden said, adding: “I’d hoped when I became president I would not have to do this, again.”

Echoing Mr Biden’s call, former president Barack Obama, who has called the day of the Sandy Hook shooting the darkest of his administration, said: “It’s long past time for action, any kind of action.”

US congress has been unable to pass substantial gun violence legislation ever since the bipartisan effort to strengthen background checks on firearms purchases collapsed in the aftermath of the 2012 shooting.

Despite months of work, a bill that was backed by a majority of senators fell to a filibuster – unable to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to advance.

In impassioned remarks on the US senate floor on Tuesday, senator Chris Murphy, who represented Newton, Connecticut, in the house of representatives at the time of the Sandy Hook massacre, asked his colleagues why they even bother running for office if they are going to stand by and do nothing.

He said: “I’m here on this floor to beg – to literally get down on my hands and knees – to beg my colleagues.”

Mr Murphy said he was planning to reach out to Texas Republican senator John Cornyn after the two had teamed up on an earlier background check bill that never became law. He said he would also reach out to Texas’ other Republican senator, Ted Cruz.

“I just don’t understand why people here think we’re powerless,” Mr Murphy said. “We aren’t.”

The teenage gunman had hinted on social media that an attack could be coming, according to state senator Roland Gutierrez, who said he had been briefed by state police.

He noted that Ramos “suggested the kids should watch out”, and that he had bought two “assault weapons” after turning 18.

Before heading to the school, Ramos shot his grandmother, Mr Gutierrez said. Other officials said later that the grandmother survived and was being treated, though her condition was not known.

Investigators believe Ramos posted photos on Instagram of two guns he used in the shooting, and they were examining whether he made statements online alluding to the attack in the hours before the assault, a law enforcement official said.

Officers were serving multiple search warrants on Tuesday night and gathering telephone and other records. Investigators were also attempting to contact Ramos’ relatives and were tracing the firearms.

The attack began at about 11.30am local time (5.30pm BST), when the gunman crashed his car outside the school and ran into the building, according to public safety officials.

A resident who heard the crash called 911, and two local police officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter.

Both officers were shot, though it was not immediately clear where on the campus that confrontation occurred, or how much time elapsed before more authorities arrived on the scene.

Meanwhile, teams of Border Patrol agents raced to the school, including 10 to 15 members of a Swat-like tactical and counter-terrorism unit, officials said.

One Border Patrol agent who was working nearby when the shooting began rushed into the school without waiting for backup and shot and killed the gunman, who was behind a barricade.

The agent was wounded but able to walk out of the school, the law enforcement source said.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, has blamed Nigeria’s security crises on the death of former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. 

Aondoakaa, who is among the Benue governorship aspirants set to contest for the ruling party’s ticket, disclosed this at the International Conference Centre in Abuja on Friday, May 20, 2022. 

According to him, the security situation bedevilling the country started during President Yar’adua’s time and aftermath of the death of Gaddafi.

“After Gaddafi was overthrown, there was no strong government in Libya, and there was a kind of persecution, and most of the soldiers ran away with light weapons and came in.” He said

He added that the problem would go away with time. 

“The insecurity is an external aggression that is spreading within the country, but it is something that will go after some years. We also had the great Wild Wild West in America that was so frightening that we thought America will break. But what happened? It evolved,” he stated.

By Uzair Adam Imam

President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Thursday for United Arab Emirates (UAE) to commiserate with the new UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, over the death of Sheikh Kalifa bin Zayed.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed is the former president of the UAE and died on Friday at the age of 73. Until his death, he was the UAE president for 18 good years.

A statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, disclosed.

The statesmen added that President Buhari will also extend his congratulations to the new President as a way to renew bonds of the longstanding friendship between Nigeria and the UAE.

According to the statement, President Buhari will be accompanied by the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Amb. Zubairu Dada, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello, and the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.

“The President, in an earlier congratulatory message to the new UAE leader, had reaffirmed Nigeria’s cordial relationship with the country, noting that the cooperation between both governments have helped Nigeria in tracking down illegal assets and tracing terrorist funds.

“Under the new leadership, President Buhari looks forward to a bigger and stronger partnership for peace, stability and prosperity of both countries.

“The President is expected back in the country on Saturday,” the statement added.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Ruler and President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed, is dead.

The Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced the sad news on Thursday, May 13.

The Ministry of Presidential Affairs condoles the people of the UAE, the Arab and the Islamic nation and the world over the demise of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE, ” the statement reads.

The late president was born in 1948. He was the second president of the UAE and the 16th Ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. He succeeded his father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, who was UAE’s first president upon his death in 2004.

Aljazeera said Wednesday that Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran journalist for the news network, was fatally shot by Israeli troops in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin.

According to the Washington Post, Steve Hendrix reported that in JENIN, West Bank — Israeli forces killed a Palestinian American journalist for the Al Jazeera news network in the West Bank early Wednesday, according to the network and the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israel said the journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was killed in an exchange of gunfire and called for an investigation.

Abu Akleh, 51, a longtime Al Jazeera correspondent, was shot in the head while covering Israeli raids in the Jenin refugee camp, according to the network and the ministry. She was taken to a hospital before dying from her wounds.

In a statement, Al Jazeera accused Israeli forces of killing Abu Akleh “in cold blood” and said she had been “clearly wearing a press jacket that identifies her as a journalist.” Two journalists who were standing next to Abu Akleh said in interviews that the area had been relatively calm before she was shot.

“It was dead quiet,” one of the journalists, Ali al-Samudi, who was also injured by gunfire, said in an interview from his hospital bed.

In a statement, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the shooting occurred while the Israel Defense Forces were conducting counterterrorism operations in Jenin, after a spate of deadly attacks over the past few weeks in Israeli cities. During the operation, he said, “armed Palestinians shot in an inaccurate, indiscriminate and uncontrolled manner.”

“Our forces from the IDF returned fire as accurately, carefully and responsibly as possible. Sadly, Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in the exchange,” he said. “To uncover the truth, there must be a real investigation, and the Palestinians are currently preventing that. Without a serious investigation, we will not reach the truth.”

Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav, an IDF spokesperson, told Israel’s Army Radio that “all of the data indicate with a high degree of probability” that Abu Akleh was killed by Palestinian fire. “But I say that cautiously,” he added.

A senior Israeli official, in a statement sent to reporters, said that the army’s assessment was based on evidence that included video footage in which a gunman is heard saying in Arabic, “We hit a soldier, he’s on the ground.” The Israeli military said that no Israeli soldiers were injured during clashes in Jenin on Wednesday and that the Palestinians in the video may have been referring to Abu Akleh.

It was not clear when the video, which was published on the Israeli foreign ministry’s Twitter account Wednesday, was recorded, or where the incident depicted in the video occurred. A Jenin field researcher from B’tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, shared a map with reporters marking the location of Abu Akleh’s killing and the location of events depicted in the video distributed by Israelis.

The map locations, determined by GPS coordinates and aerial shots, were nearly 950 feet apart.

In a message posted on Twitter, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wrote: “We have offered the Palestinians a joint pathological investigation into the sad death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Journalists must be protected in conflict zones, and we all have a responsibility to get to the truth.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that he “condemns the crime of the execution Shireen Abu Akleh” and holds Israel “fully responsible.”

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said in a message posted on Twitter: “Very sad to learn of the death of American and Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.”

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem said “The United States encourages a swift, thorough, and transparent investigation into the circumstances of her death.”

“We understand the Israel Defense Forces have already stated that they will be investigating this incident. As we have said numerous times, the United States supports press freedoms and the protection of journalists in carrying out their work,” she said.

Samudi, who works for the Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper, said Wednesday that he and Abu Akleh had been standing several hundred meters from a house where Israeli soldiers were carrying out an arrest. His shoulder was wrapped in a bandage, and dark blood stains were visible on a bullet-resistent vest marked “PRESS” on the table beside him. He had been working with Abu Akleh on Wednesday as a producer, he said.

“The house was at the top of the camp; we were far below,” he said, referring to the Jenin refugee camp. They were alone with four or five other Palestinian journalists, all wearing protective gear marking them as such. They had not yet set up to film, he said.

They were near Israeli military vehicles, he said, and they moved slowly to make sure the soldiers could identify them as reporters. There were no other Palestinian civilians or fighters in the area that he could see, he said.

Suddenly, a single shot rang out, Samudi said, close enough for him to hear the whiz of a bullet. He said he turned and ran and was immediately hit in the upper left back. He said he knew he had been hit, but he also remembers his colleague’s reaction.

“I heard Shireen scream, ‘Ali has been shot! Ali has been shot!’ ” he said. “Then they shot Shireen. She dropped dead immediately.“ He was adamant that the group was not caught in a crossfire between soldiers and militants, as the Israeli government has suggested.

“There were no fighters where we were, none at all,” he said. “We don’t put ourselves in the line of fire. Whatever the Israeli army says for us to do, we do. They shot at us directly and deliberately.”

Another journalist, Shatha Hanaysha, 29, said the group stood in an open area “for about 10 minutes to make sure the Israeli army can identify us as journalists.”

“We were told by people there were Israeli snipers on the roofs, but I didn’t see any,” she said. “It was very quiet. There was no danger in our area.

She said there was no fire fight happening in the area — just the sudden individual shots. “At the shots, everyone ran toward a wall. But Shireen and I weren’t able to climb it,” she said. “Shireen was screaming ‘Ali is shot!’ Then she fell. I tried to help her up, but I couldn’t.”

“She was shot,” she said, pointing at her own neck.

Atah Abu-Rumeleh, a doctor in Jenin who said he witnessed the shooting, also said there had been no exchange of fire before the journalists were shot. “It was a clear day, and the sun was shining,” he said in a telephone interview. “A sniper from somewhere shot Shireen in the head. And Ali al-Samudi was also hit.”

Abu Akleh was among the most high-profile Palestinian journalists and a veteran of covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She joined Al Jazeera in 1997 as one of the network’s first field correspondents. In the over two decades since, her voice, face and reportage became a mainstay for Palestinian audiences.

“Shireen was a brave, kind, & high-integrity journalist that I and millions of Palestinians grew up watching,” tweeted Ramallah-based Palestinian activist Fadi Quran. “A devastating tragedy.”

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Mission to the United Kingdom, called Abu Akleh the “most prominent Palestinian journalist and a close friend.”

“Now we will hear the ‘concerns’ of the UK govt & the international community,” he wrote on Twitter.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Haramain Sharifain reports on Saturday, April 30, that the crescent, which marks the end of the Holy Month of Ramadhan, was not sighted in Saudi Arabia and, consequently, the Eid Al Fitri celebration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is Monday, May 2, 2022.

“The Crescent of Shawwal 1443 was NOT SEEN today. Subsequently, the month of Ramadhan will complete 30 days tomorrow and Monday, 2nd May 2022 will be the day of Eid Al Fitri”. They reported.

The astronomers of the Kingdom have reportedly been on the search for the crescent since the early hours of today before concluding.

By Abdullahi Abdullateef

The Regional Director of the World Health Organisation, Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, called for an integrated response in a bid to end the spread of Coronavirus and other vaccine preventable diseases including polio and measles.

Dr. Moeti disclosed this at a press briefing held on Thursday, April 28,2022. She said: “The rise in outbreaks of other vaccine preventable diseases is a warning sign. As Africa works hard to defeat COVID-19, we must not forget other health threats diseases.”

Noting that vaccines are at the heart of a successful public health response and as countries restore services, routine immunisation must be at the core of revived and resilient health system.

Furthermore, she commended Nigerian government’s efforts with its recent integrated approach doubling routine immunisation and COVID-19 vaccination for mothers and their babies . The approach offered simultaneous vaccination of mother which otherwise known as whole family approach giving access to mother to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and other disease like polio, measles as well as getting the routine immunization for their children.

Adding that mass vaccination campaigns boosted COVID-19 uptake between January and April the percentage of Africans fully vaccinated against Coronavirus rose to 17.1% from 11.1%.

According to reports, the Africa Continent continued to witness a surge in outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases over the past years . Almost 17500 cases of measles were recorded in the Africa region between January and March 2022 representing a 400% in 2021. Twenty African countries reported measles outbreaks in the first quarter of this year, eight more than that in the first three months of 2021.

Speaking at the press conference, Dr. Benido Impowa stressed that routine immunisation had been a long practice in many African countries but stuck with the impact of COVID-19.

He maintained that WHO is working with African countries devise smart approaches so as to scale up both COVID-19 vaccination and ensure restoring and expansion of routine immunisation services.

By  Ibrahim Nasidi Saal

The Joint Border Patrol Team, comprising Nigerian security operatives, on Thursday, April 28, 2022, handed over the duo of Ismail Ajibade and John Adewumi, a Beninoise, arrested with $285,000 (Two Hundred and Eighty-five Thousand Dollars) and CFA 18, 925,000 (Eighteen Million Nine Hundred and Twenty-five CFA) to the EFCC, for further investigation and possible prosecution. 

The suspects were arrested on April 15, 2022, by officers of the JBPT whilst on a routine patrol along the Ilashe/Ihambo axis of Ogun State. 

While handing over the suspects, A. Adamu, who led the team, said Ajibade, who is a driver, received the foreign currencies from one Taiwo Hassan in Ogun State.

Adamu added that Ajibade was on his way to convey the same to Adewumi, who had been directed to deliver the monies to one Oladimeji in the Benin Republic when they were intercepted. 

By Muhammad Sabiu

Mehdi Hassan, a political journalist, author and show presenter at MSNBC TV has in a 6-minutes video news report exposed how the Indian government appears to be complicit with far-right fanatics in persecuting and bullying non-Hindi Indians.

This is coming amidst far-right movements in major world countries, including France, where Le Pen, the presidential candidate who contested in the recently concluded election, lost to her archrival, Emmanuel Macron, due to what many people attributed as her far-right political views against Muslims in France.

India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who has been in office since 2014, has been accused of openly promoting Hindu Nationalist Supremacist Ideology, which aims at segregating Muslims, Christians and other non-Hindi faithful.

The ideology being championed by Narendra’s political party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could, according to scholars and observers, lead to genocide.

According to the TV presenter, Mehdi Hasan, “minorities” in the Indian Muslim and Christian communities are facing the greatest threat since India became independent.

Mehdi recalled also that the great Mahatma Ghandi himself was assassinated by the so-called Hindu supremacists, who believe India belongs to them.

Recall that the Daily Reality has reported that, during the Hindu celebration of Ram Navmi early this month, Muslims in many Indian states were reportedly scared as crowds marched through their towns, shouting anti-Muslim slogans and destroying their property.

This is what prompted the forum of Nigerian Ulama to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to rescind his Neo-Nazi ideology and embrace democracy as envisioned by India’s founding fathers.

In a statement released by the Forum of Ulama, the preachers lamented: “India claims to be a democratic secular State, but in the actual sense it is an undemocratic Hindu supremacist State. There is no other modern state in the world today that oppresses over 200 million of its citizens solely on the basis of their religious beliefs, with brutal determination to strip them of their rights to exist as human beings.”