The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers says it will not hesitate to join in the proposed nationwide strike, following the prolonged ASUU, NASU and SSANU industrial actions that have left activities in tertiary institutions paralysed for the past eight months. In a statement signed by its National President, Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, the union joined others to condemn the lackadaisical attitude of the federal government towards finding a lasting solution to the crisis. “We are deeply worried that the strike has left thousands of university students stranded and idle, making some of them susceptible to go into various social vices and crimes, thus truncating what otherwise should have been wonderful assets and blessings to our great nation and humanity.” The union described the strike as “unfortunate and a sad” commentary on the level of governance and sensitivity of the political leaders, adding that it showed the insensitivity of the current administration towards promoting and projecting good and quality education.
The Nigerian Police in Ogun State have announced the arrest of Yakubu Abdulmumuni, one of the inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Correctional Centre, Kuje in Abuja. DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, the Command’s spokesperson, made this known to members of the press. According to the DSP, the convict was arrested on Monday in Sango-Ota area of Ogun State. Following the arrest, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Lanre Bankole ordered the Criminal Investigation Department to transfer the convict to the Correctional Centre with immediate effect.
The Appeal Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday, ordered MultiChoice — operators of DStv and Gotv in Nigeria, to sub-licence some of its television channels to Metro Digital, in line with the code of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC). The appellant, Metro Digital, a local pay television, had sued MultiChoice at Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, after the South African entertainment company rejected a request from the former to sub-licence channels and programmes to Metro Digital. The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture were sued as co-defendants.
The Ivory Coast released a written statement demanding the immediate release of 49 soldiers arrested at Bamako’s airport Sunday, claiming they were “unjustly arrested.” Mali’s military government has called the soldiers “mercenaries.” The Ivorian statement also denied allegations by Mali’s military government that the soldiers were armed and arrived in Mali without authorisation, and said both Mali’s minister of foreign affairs and the Malian army’s chief of staff received copies of the soldiers’ mission order. Both the U.N. mission in Mali and the Ivorian government’s statement have said that the soldiers were sent to Mali as support for a U.N. Mission contingent. The U.N. mission in Mali, MINUSMA, recently renewed its mandate, with Mali’s U.N. representative voicing the government’s refusal to allow the U.N. to carry out human rights investigations during a June 29 Security Council meeting. The U.N. has carried out a number of human rights investigations in Mali in recent years, including events that implicate the French army as well as Islamist militants. The U.N. sought access to the town of Moura in Mali, which was the sight of what many witnesses said was a massacre by the Malian army working with Russian mercenaries. Witnesses say the alleged massacre was carried out over five days. The Malian government has continually denied access to the town of Moura, saying the government itself would carry out an investigation.