The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar has approved the airlift of students of Air Force Military School, AFMS, and Air Force Girls Military School, AFGMS, in Jos Plateau State to various states across the nation.
Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet,
Nigeria Air Force Director of Public Relations and Information, in a statement, said the move was to ensure the safety of the students back to their different destinations.
According to him, the airlift, which was conducted using the C-130 heavy lift aircraft, commenced on August 3, 2024. In total, 582 students of AFMS and AFGMS were safely airlifted from Jos to various parts of the country.
“These include Abuja, Enugu, Ilorin, Kaduna, Kano, Markurdi, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Yola,” he said.
According to the statement, arrangements have also been made to ensure their airlift back to Jos at the end of the holidays.
NAF airlifts 582 students to their homes for holidays
NAF airlifts 582 students to their homes for holidays
China files appeal at WTO over EU electric vehicle tariffs
Beijing said Friday it had filed an appeal with the World Trade Organisation over the European Union’s imposition of additional tariffs on imports of electric vehicles from China.
In July, the EU slapped extra provisional duties of up to 38 per cent on Chinese EVs after its executive arm concluded in an investigation that they were unfairly undermining European rivals.
“On August 9, China appealed to the World Trade Organisation’s dispute settlement mechanism over the EU’s temporary anti-subsidy measures on EVs,” a spokesperson for the country’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said the appeal aimed to “safeguard the development rights and interests of the electric vehicle industry and cooperation over the global green transformation”.
“The EU’s preliminary ruling lacks a factual and legal basis, seriously violates WTO rules, and undermines the overall situation of global cooperation in addressing climate change,” it said.
“We urge the EU to immediately correct its wrong practices and jointly maintain the stability of China-EU economic and trade cooperation as well as EV industrial and supply chains.”
Brussels said it took note of Beijing’s move but was “confident” its probe and provisional measures were WTO-compatible.
“The EU is carefully studying all the details of this request and will react to the Chinese authorities in due course according to the WTO procedures,” a European Commission spokesperson told AFP.
In Geneva, WTO spokesman Ismaila Dieng said the organization had received the Chinese request.
“Further information will be made available once the request has been circulated to WTO members,” Dieng added in a statement.
Definitive duties are due to take effect by November for a five-year period, pending a vote by the EU’s 27 states.
• Trade rifts –
China and the EU have butted heads in recent years on a range of issues relating to trade, technology, human rights and national security.
But Brussels faces a delicate balancing act as it tries to defend Europe’s crucial auto industry and pivot towards green growth while also averting a showdown with Beijing.
The EU has launched a raft of probes targeting Chinese subsidies for solar panels, wind turbines and trains, while Beijing has begun its own investigations into imported European brandy and pork.
The United States has already hiked customs duties on Chinese electric cars to 100 per cent, while Canada is considering similar action.
China’s emergence as an EV powerhouse stems in part from a targeted industrial strategy, with Beijing pouring vast state funds in recent years into domestic firms as well as research and development.
The approach has given Chinese firms a critical edge in the race to provide cheaper, more efficient EVs over leading European automakers, which have not always enjoyed such state largesse.
According to the Atlantic Council, Chinese sales of EVs abroad rose 70 per cent in 2023, reaching $34.1 billion.
Almost 40 per cent went to the European Union, the largest recipient of Chinese EVs.
AFP.
Police admit raiding NLC Secretariat
The Nigeria Police Force has admitted that it conducted a high-profile operation at the national secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, located in the Central Business District, Abuja.
It said the operation was aimed at apprehending a prime suspect, a foreign national implicated in numerous criminal activities across Nigeria and other African countries.
The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said in a statement issued Friday that the NLC Secretariat was not the focus of the operation, which was targeted at a rented shop within the building used by the suspect as a front for his criminal activities in Nigeria.
TVN reports that on Wednesday, the NLC, in a statement issued by its Head of Media and Public Relations, raised the alarm that police officers, along with some individuals in black T-shirts and others in plainclothes, raided the Labour House.
The police explained that the operation had no connection with the NLC, its secretariat, staff, or leadership.
The statement reads: “The Nigeria Police Force has noted a publication alleging that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) National Secretariat, known as the Labour House, located in the Central Business District, Abuja, was raided by the Police.
“The Nigeria Police Force wishes to clarify that a prime criminal suspect in an ongoing investigation was traced to a shop within the building in the Central Business District, Abuja. Detectives, armed with the appropriate legal authority, conducted an operation at the location, which turned out to be the NLC building.
“This well-coordinated, lawful operation was solely aimed at apprehending the prime suspect—a foreign national implicated in numerous criminal activities across Nigeria and other African countries.
“We emphasize that this operation had no connection with the NLC, its Secretariat, staff, or leadership. The NLC Secretariat was not the focus of the operation, which was targeted at a rented shop within the building used by the suspect as a front for his criminal activities in Nigeria.
“The Nigeria Police Force seeks the cooperation and support of the NLC leadership as we continue this investigation, which is vital to safeguarding our nation.
“The high-profile nature of the suspect poses a significant security threat to Nigeria and other African nations, making this investigation crucial for the safety of all involved, including the NLC.”
Police admit raiding NLC Secretariat
Plane with 62 on board crashes in Brazil
An airplane with 62 people on board crashed Friday in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, firefighters and the airline Voepass said.
Although no official death toll has been given, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said during an official event that it appeared there were no survivors.
“A plane just crashed in the city of Vinhedo in Sao Paulo, with 58 passengers and four crew members and it seems that everyone died,” Lula said in the middle of a speech in Itajai in Santa Catarina state.
The aircraft was traveling from Cascavel in southern Parana state to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport.
In a statement Voepass reported “an accident involving flight 2283.”
“There is still no confirmation of how the accident occurred or the current situation of the people on board,” it said.
Images broadcast on local media showed a large plane nosediving at high speed, while others showed a large column of smoke rising from the crash site in what appeared to be a residential area.
The Fire Department of Sao Paulo wrote on social network X: “Aircraft crash, 7 teams involved, so far only this information.”
The city of Vinhedo, with about 76,000 residents, is located approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo.
AFP
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Gunmen attack police patrol team, kill one officer in Anambra
Gunmen on Friday attacked a police patrol team and killed one officer in Anambra State.
Eyewitnesses told journalists that the attackers threw an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the police team when they were accosted along the Nnewi Oba road at about 9:00 a.m., on Friday.
The spokesman for the state police command, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a statement in Awka.
He said the state’s Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Obono Itam, has ordered a manhunt for the attackers.
“The manhunt operation led by the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Nnewi Area Command is already working with the locals in the area to unmask and apprehend the attackers,” the spokesman said.
Hundreds of police officers have been killed in coordinated attacks by non-state agents across the five states in the South-East since 2021.
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Nigerian Navy loses officer after rescuing 59 persons from drowning
The Nigerian Navy said it lost an officer after rescuing 59 persons from drowning in turbulent water.
Commodore A. Adams-Aliu, Director of Information, said in a statement that on July 30, 2024, the Nigerian Navy received a distress call from MV AMBIKA 4, a dredging vessel working at Okpobo field contracted to Sterling Global Oil Limited.
Feedback indicated that the vessel was at risk of sinking near the Okpobo River entrance, an area known to be turbulent at this time of the year, adding that the Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base BONNY deployed a rescue team comprising 10 armed personnel in two interceptor boats, led by the Base Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Gideon Yashim Gwaza, for the rescue operation.
It said attempts to approach the distressed vessel proved challenging due to the force of the waves and another squadron of three boats was dispatched to reinforce the rescue team.
According to the statement, another vessel, Nigerian Navy Ship GONGOLA, drones and helicopters, and one Nigerian Air Force helicopter were deployed for the search-and-rescue mission.
It said all 59 crew were rescued successfully but the Base Operations Officer, Lieutenant Commander Gideon Yashim Gwaza, paid the supreme price.
Nigerian Navy loses officer after rescuing 59 persons from drowning
I inherited N3.2bn debt – NAFDAC DG
The Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, has revealed that she inherited a debt of N3.2 billion and $500 million in undiscounted funds upon assumption of office.
Adeyeye disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television on Friday.
She stressed that such a financial situation would have led to bankruptcy if it happened in a developed country, like the United States.
“When I got to NAFDAC, I met N3.2 billion in debt and N500 million missing and there was no account for it before I came.
“I asked them if they had capital projects they used the money for. Bear in mind that at that time, N1 million was equivalent to $2,000. So multiply $2,000 by N500 million,” she said.
Adeyeye continued: “It was tough because if that had happened in the US, NAFDAC would have been declared bankrupt, and a financial house would have taken over the management of our finances. But I didn’t have money to hire a financial house.”
The NAFDAC DG further stated that she had to tackle the problem by introducing cost-saving measures like the use of technological applications like Zoom to cut travel expenses.
“We started Zoom meetings in 2018. Many people didn’t like it because they were used to getting travel allowances and DTAs. But we had to save,” she said.
I inherited N3.2bn debt – NAFDAC DG
Ogun urges fair pricing in markets
The Ogun State Government, through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, has embarked on a sensitisation campaign to encourage fair pricing of goods and services in markets.
The government has stated that traders in its markets must not use the prevailing harsh economic conditions as an excuse to impose further hardship on the people with inflated prices of commodities.
It urges traders to adopt fair and realistic pricing strategies that will contribute to a fair and equitable market environment.
The Commissioner in the Ministry, Hon. Adijat Adeleye, made this call in a statement on Friday during her team’s visit to markets in Ogun Central and West Senatorial Districts, including Siun and Kuto, among other notable markets.
Adeleye said that the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration is passionate about the welfare and well-being of citizens, hence the visit was aimed “to facilitate a beneficial understanding among stakeholders while also preventing the exploitation of consumers and reducing hardship on low-income households.”
Adeleye explained that the “government has been providing dividends of democracy through various intervention programmes, such as Oko’Owo Dapo, through which soft loans and grants have been given to empower women and boost their businesses.”
“Our goal is to ensure that markets operate fairly and equitably, benefiting both traders and consumers.”
“We believe this visit marks the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between the government and market stakeholders,” she said.
The Commissioner appealed to traders to cooperate with the government to achieve a positive outcome, promote economic development, protect consumer interests, and encourage healthy competition.
In her response, Iyaloja of Egba Market, Chief (Mrs) Kemi Oloyede, commended both the federal and state governments for initiating policies and programmes to support agriculture and transportation. She pledged continuous efforts to ensure market women adopt fair pricing, which will alleviate the suffering of the masses.
Court summons Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh, bodyguard for alleged assault
The Chief Magistrate’s Court, Wuse Zone 6, has summoned popular Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh and her bodyguard, one Gbenga, for alleged assault and trespass.
The suit, with case number CR/359/2024, was filed by the Chief Executive of Skyewise Group Limited, Elvis Abuyere, the owner of an Abuja-based car dealership company.
In the court summons dated August 6, 2024, obtained by According Online on Friday, Iyanna ordered the two defendants to appear before the court on August 24, 2024, to answer the charges against them.
He stated that Dikeh had, in January, approached the car company for the purchase of a brand-new Changan Uni-K 2023 model from Mikano Motors.
The complainant, who was reported to have a dealership relationship with Mikano, subsequently paid N85 million as full payment for the car to Mikano, with an agreement that Dikeh would pay the balance in installments within three months upon receiving the car.
The first deposit by Dikeh was her used 2008/2009 Lexus, which was worth N37 million. She made an additional payment of N3.5 million but failed to settle the balance by the end of April, at the expiration of the payment window, thereby breaching the agreement.
On May 1, Abuyere retrieved the car from Dikeh after efforts to collect the balance proved futile. Dikeh later paid N20 million, N17 million, and N5 million, leaving an outstanding balance of N2.1 million.
On July 30, the actress contacted the car company to have the car serviced, and it was taken for maintenance. Upon completion of the repairs, the car company demanded the remaining N2.7 million from her. However, she was reported to have forcefully entered the business premises of the complainant in Maitama, Abuja, alongside her bodyguard and two ladies, thereby committing “criminal trespass.”
Dikeh is also accused of assaulting the complainant and some staff members of his company. The four individuals disrupted business operations at the car company, damaged property, and threatened to use social media to harm the complainant’s business.
They were later arrested by the police.
Earlier today, the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit of the Nigeria Police Force invited Dikeh to its headquarters in connection with an investigation into criminal defamation, cyberbullying, and forgery, among other charges.
In the invitation letter signed by the Head of the IGP Monitoring Unit, A.A. Elleman, it was stated that the actress’s name prominently appeared in the investigation being conducted by the unit.
In a statement on her Instagram page on Friday, Dikeh stressed that she was neither arrested nor jailed by the “police or any law enforcement agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I am in my house enjoying the goodness of God.”
The Nollywood actress noted that she’s a “law-abiding citizen”, and that getting involved in crime and criminalities is not one of the things she can be involved in.
The statement read further, “At no point in my life has there ever been a search warrant, arrest warrant or any other form of warrant from the Good office of the Nigeria police to my humble self.
“I will always honour invitations extended to me whether to help the law enforcement agencies in their job or to provide clarifications on issues. This is without prejudice to the fact that I will exercise my rights against anyone, persons or group of persons who attempt to peddle fake stories about me or my brand or defame my character. I will come for you. This is just to let those behind this false Narrative know that they failed woefully.”
ECOWAS defence chiefs to activate standby force
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, said on Friday that West African Chiefs of Defence have agreed to activate the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) standby force.
Musa told journalists the decision was taken at the end of the 42nd Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff held between Wednesday and Friday in Abuja.
The CDS, who is the Chairman of the committee, commended the defence chiefs for their commitment, dedication and contribution throughout the meeting.
He said the defence chiefs came up with notable ideas, discussions and creative solutions that would define the West African security landscape.
The West African leaders in August last year moved to activate the standby force in a bid to force the military junta that toppled President Mohammed Bazoum to restore constitutional order in the landlocked nation.
Musa said: “So, key discussion during this conference covered the proposed ECOWAS security support in Sierra Leone and the activation of the ECOWAS standby force.
“Furthermore, we deliberated on issues pertaining to the operationalisation of our logistic deployment in Sierra Leone and other ECOWAS peace support operations amongst others.
“More importantly are the pledges made by member states commitment and resources towards activation of the ECOWAS standby force and security support mission and Sierra Leone among others.”
The CDS expressed confidence that incredible ideas and noble solutions proffered at the meeting would enhance the defence chiefs’ individual and collective capacity to confront and support contemporary and futuristic security challenges.
He expressed regret that Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger were absent from the meeting, saying efforts were on to return them to the regional bloc.
“They are brothers and we look forward to when they will come back safely into the ecosystem because as nations, no one nation can withstand the current challenges that we have.
“We need to work as a team because we are stronger together.
“It is also imperative that we continue to encourage collaboration among other countries by reducing differences, sharing resources and leveraging each other’s strengths to maximise our impact and achieve shared objects,” he added.
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