My thoughts and views are not solely mine
The Chief Priest of Okhuaihe shrine, Osarodion Usuanlele, the Ohen N’ Ukoni Neyedo, has been arrested and detained at the Edo Police headquarters in Benin City, The Nation reports. With the priest’s detention, an age-long tradition which says the Ohen N’ UKoni does not enter Benin, the abode of the Oba, had been desecrated. Consequently, …
THE earliest three celebrated musketeers of Edo politics were former Minister of Works, the late Chief Anthony Anenih; two-time Governor of the defunct Bendel State, the late Brigadier-General Samuel Ogbemudia; and the only surviving member of the group, the Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion. They decided what happened in the state politically until …
Our constitutional system never contemplated a President like Donald Trump. The Framers anticipated friction among the three branches of government, which has been a constant throughout our history, but the Trump White House has now established a complete blockade against the legislative branch, thwarting any meaningful oversight. The system, it appears, may simply be incapable of responding …
Ten young people pose for a group shot, boys in front, girls behind. Almost identically dressed, they stare straight to camera with a mixture of shyness and defiance familiar from school photographs the world over. But the brightness of their uniform, the playfulness of their headgear, suggests that this is no ordinary gathering – and …
Continue reading "Images from Nigeria, land of the ‘inseparable two’ by Claire Armitstead"
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 15, 2019 Mr. Malinowski (for himself, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Mr. García of Illinois, Mr. Carbajal, Ms. Omar, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell, Mrs. Torres of California, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Jackson Lee, and Mr. Espaillat) submitted the following resolution; which was …
President Trump’s Twitter feed is a repugnant place, and no one would want the thankless task of having to weed through all his bitter, bigoted ramblings to determine which are the most offensive. But a three-tweet thread early Sunday morning — in which he wrote that the four progressive House Democrats who call themselves “The …
Continue reading "Trump is truly America’s Bigot-in-Chief By The Times Editorial Board"
Maddie Grounds, of leading UK immigration lawyers the Immigration Advice Service, explains the “Brexit effect” on UK spouse visas. © iStock/Gutzemberg Obtaining a UK spouse visa continues to be a notoriously difficult process to undertake. While we know that money can’t buy love, it seems the Home Office is doing everything they can to subvert …
Continue reading "UK spouse visa process exacerbated by Brexit"
On 2 May 2019, the Home Office published updated guidance on “derivative rights of residence”, which includes the rights of Zambrano carers. Buried in the 63-page document is a fundamental change of policy: potential Zambrano applicants must first make a human rights application under British immigration law. In other words, applicants no longer have a …
In recent days certain government backbenchers have proposed a new avenue to deliver a “no deal” Brexit. As Sir Edward Leigh put it: “There are only two choices given the EU won’t change the deal and there’s no chance of parliament passing it. One is cancel Brexit: an intolerable denial of democracy. The other is …
Buhari does not know anybody outside of Daura. He knows nobody outside of his age group. He knows nobody who was not in the Nigerian Army. He does not know any woman. He knows nobody who is young. He knows nothing outside of his original political party. He now wants to appoint in ministerial positions …
Chaos, incompetence and bullying of Home Office employees is resulting in failed deportations and the unlawful detention of vulnerable and desperate people, whistleblowers allege. The Dublin Cessation Team (DCT) – until last week known as the Third Country Unit – is a little-known but crucial department that, under the EU Dublin convention, determines which EU …
I have very long legs in the Nigerian judiciary. If you are a Judge of any consequence, including at least one current Judge on the Supreme Court, there is a good chance that I know you and we have had nkwobi together. That I know you is not the issue. The issue is how we …
Continue reading "Nigerian Judiciary by the Truckload By Pius Adesanmi"
LONDON (The Borowitz Report)—The British Ambassador to the United States, Kim Darroch, explained on Monday that he had tried to conceal insulting remarks from Donald Trump by writing his cables in English. “I believed that, by writing these messages in English, that would serve the same purpose as encryption,” Darroch said. “The fact that Trump …
The former judge said that “we are afraid to let people be guided by their own moral judgments” An explosion of new laws and judicial power has diminished the ability of people to take their own decisions, a former Supreme Court judge has said. Jonathan Sumption, QC, 70, who retired from the UK’s top court …
Continue reading "Judicial power curbs personal choice, Sumption RICHARD ANSETT/BBC claims"
LONDON (The Borowitz Report)—Following the resignation of its Ambassador to the United States, Kim Darroch, the government of the United Kingdom has disclosed that it has been unable to find a replacement for Darroch who does not also think that Donald J. Trump is a blithering idiot. At a press conference at 10 Downing Street, …
British marketing manager, 24, visiting girlfriend, 23, in Chicago is locked up for 24 hours, deported then banned from US for life after immigration officials scour his phone and find month-old text saying ‘I am moving to be with you’ • Isaac Roblett, 24, from Hastings, East Sussex flew to Chicago in US on April 24 • …
President Muhammadu Buhari is under obligation to announce a new Federal cabinet. The tenure of his present team of aides, including Ministers, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants and Special Assistants automatically expires on May 29, 2019. Whereas the President took six months to announce many of these appointments in 2015, the convention and the law …
Continue reading "The Next Buhari Cabinet: Some Suggestions by Reuben Abati"
Members of the house of representatives are considering taking over the Edo state house of assembly until the ongoing crisis around the inauguration of principal officers is resolved.Most of the lawmakers who spoke at plenary supported the call to take over the assembly until the crisis is resolved.This followed a motion sponsored by Julius Ihonvbere …
Continue reading "Inauguration crisis: Reps mull taking over Edo assembly"
Access to country’s law-making National Assembly will be restricted, says Guild of Editors Strict new conditions for covering government proceedings and the re-arrest of a prominent journalist on terrorism charges have raised concerns about deteriorating press freedom in Nigeria. To be permitted to report on the country’s National Assembly, the highest law-making authority, journalists will …
As the president is sworn in for a further four years, the challenges of tackling corruption, poverty and conflict grow ever more intense Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has been sworn in, the former military dictator taking a new four-year tenure after a keenly contested election in February. When the results were announced, it cleanly split …
Continue reading "Can Buhari win over his enemies to unite a deeply divided Nigeria?"
Library of Congress This photo was used in genetics lectures at Germany's State Academy for Race and Health Film director Amma Asante came across an old photograph taken in Nazi Germany of a black schoolgirl by chance. Standing among her white classmates, who stare straight into the camera, she enigmatically glances to the side. Curiosity …
Editorial This president is perpetuating the Northern colour of his presidency. He does not respect the constitutional obligations of appointments reflecting the national character. His first appointments reflects his internal prejudices of Northern domination of Nigeria. Five weeks after President Buhari was inaugurated for a second four-year term, he has appointed 11 new aides as …
Claim that victims could return to Africa ‘wealthy and held in high regard’ sparked outrage Jamie Grierson Home affairs correspondent The Home Office is to rewrite guidance on handling asylum claims for women trafficked into the UK from Nigeria after it emerged the advice claimed victims could return to the African country “wealthy from prostitution” …
Continue reading "Home Office to rewrite controversial advice on trafficked Nigerian women"
Act 1: Scene 1 In slow motion, common sense somersaulted repeatedly as an absurd scene unravelled along the Abuja-Lokoja Road at sunrise. It wasn’t a Nollywood session. Call it Horror-wood, you won’t be wrong. Right on the federal road, at Buarry Junction to be precise, a weeping Fulani herdsman sat cuddling the head of a …
Continue reading "A nation ruled by Fulani herdsmen By Tunde Odesola"
The political fight between the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, and the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki seems to have gotten messier as the governor yesterday sacked eight commissioners from the state executive council. The sacked commissioners are allegedly loyalists of Oshiomhole and they are Joseph Ugheoke, the commissioner for energy and …
Continue reading "Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki sacks eight commissioners"
Africa’s biggest economy has been crippled by its woeful power supply. A tailor uses a generator in Lagos during one of the city's many power cuts © AFP Babatunde Fashola’s office was buzzing like so many Nigerian workplaces, humming and whirring as diesel generators and batteries clicked on when the power cut out. That he …
Continue reading "Muhammadu Buhari’s challenge to keep Nigeria’s lights on by Neil Munshi"
The senator sat by the checkout and did nothing and he was not evidently acknowledged. Action started when he made a call and confirmed he was still waiting. The policemen both uniformed and in civics arrived; the senator’s strength was awaken. His victim merely interceded by explaining why the world had not stood still while …
Continue reading "State assisted assault by a Nigeria senator"
Suspected kidnappers carrying guns were arrested last week by police The pomp and ceremony of Muhammadu Buhari's inauguration will not mask the huge challenges the 76-year-old Nigerian president faces during his second term in office - in particular the booming business of kidnapping for ransom. Even one of the president's relations - a traditional ruler …
Continue reading "How Nigeria and its president are being held to ransom"
Biodun Fatoyinbo steps aside amid allegations of historical attack on photographer A celebrity pastor in Nigeria is to take a leave of absence after a photographer accused him of rape. Nicknamed “Gucci Pastor” for his expensive taste in clothes and cars, Biodun Fatoyinbo runs the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (Coza), one of the country’s fastest-growing …
These are not the best of times for the average Nigerian citizen. At home the dire straits of the economy impose hardship hitherto unknown in our documented history. The social climate is akin to that of a season of war and anomie. Recent reports have shown evidence that Nigerians who seek greener pastures abroad are …
Continue reading "The embassies, Nigerian passport and Nigerians by The Nigerian Guardian"
The link below is for the vexed report as written by the U.K. Immigration Service assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/811812/Nigeria_-_Trafficking_-_CPIN_-_v3.0__June_2019_.pdf
Trafficked women can return to Africa ‘wealthy and held in high regard’, says guidance. A Nigerian sex worker in Italy. The Home Office guidance says trafficked women who return from Europe ‘enjoy high social-economic status’. Photograph: Elena Perlino/Rex/ShutterstockHome Office officials have provoked outrage by stating that trafficked women from Nigeria can return to the country …
Official government guidance claims that victims of human trafficking get rich from being sexually exploited in the UK and can be refused asylum, it has emerged. A new Home Office policy document on women trafficked from Nigeria says that those who become “wealthy from prostitution” enjoy “high socio-economic status” and are “often held in high …
Investigators say the owner cannot sell the homes until they prove their source of wealth Three London homes worth more than £80m have been frozen by the High Court in the second-ever use of anti-corruption orders to stop foreigners laundering cash in the UK. The Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) were sought last week against a …
Continue reading "National Crime Agency investigates how owner afforded £80m London homes"
I know Christ said not to swear, but everything I type on this post is the gospel truth and may it not be well with me if I tell a lie. To begin, if any brother here has "struggled" with a girl saying "no no no" but she lets him kiss and even suck breast, …
Nigerian man, Ope Banwo, has shared a beautiful story on his Facebook page. Banwo, a lawyer and entrepreneur based in the US, recounted how his former classmate identified as Dayo Awotesu, turned him down when he asked for a dance with her 35 years ago, and how he carried the ''pain'' in his heart for …
Malawian President Peter Mutharika’s security officers have made international headlines as the world’s scariest bodyguards. An officer from the Malawi Police special unit, the Police Mobile Force, who was on duty during Mutharika’s swearing in ceremony at Kamuzu Stadium became the focus of international news outlets. The burly security man had been decked out in …
Police forces have criticised the Vagrancy Act, which allows beggars and rough sleepers to be arrested, as the BBC reports that the number of arrests made under the Act have halved over the last two years. West Midlands Police said it had “consciously” moved away from using the Act in favour of more “meaningful solutions,” …
Continue reading "Beggars and rough sleepers arrested in the UK"
There’s Colson Whitehead up ahead, minutes before our arranged time, dawdling on the corner of 126th Street and Fifth Avenue, dressed in slim jeans and Chelsea boots, his dreadlocks cutting a clean line across his back. I’m content to nurse a half-block distance between us and observe. Whitehead’s walk, by the way, is not what …
Lost the thread on Brexit? We won’t judge. On its third anniversary, a quick update on Britain’s never-ending soul s earch.Britain is one of the oldest and most stable democratic societies in the world. For centuries, it conducted itself on the world stage with canny self-interest and the occasional moment of high principle. Sometimes it …
Continue reading "A Short Guide to Britain’s Long Attempt to Leave Europe by Ian DuntJun"
1. Ike Ekweremadu is the longest-serving presiding officer in the history of the National Assembly (NA) having served at the Deputy Senate President for 12 Consecutive Years. 2. Only 2 lawmakers has featured in all NA assembly Inauguration since the return of civil rule and the 4th Republic in 1999 till date. They are Sen. …
Continue reading "Nigeria 9th National Assembly Stats by Tosin Oluwatope"
Nigeria’s rising debt stock and the over 50 per cent of its revenue used to service it annually do not bode well for our overall economic development. This has not gone unnoticed by the African Development Bank and other international institutions. A recent statement from the bank questioned its sustainability in its 2019 Economic Outlook …
Continue reading "High cost of Nigeria debt servicing by Punch Editorial Board"
A woman that has children for her husband and had married him before a house is built has the right to live in the house with her children even after divorce under the provisions of the Married Woman Property Act 1882, a court held on Friday in Ibadan, Oyo State. The belief that patriarchy is …
Protesters on both sides of the abortion debate in London last month.Peter Nicholls/Reuters Three days after a British court ordered a developmentally disabled Nigerian woman to have an abortion against her and her mother’s wishes, an appeals court overturned that decision, the mother’s lawyer said Monday. Last week, a judge had ruled that an abortion …
Did you know that contrary to popular belief, an embassy or high commission is actually not sovereign foreign of the sending state, and also when you enter the premises of any Nigerian High Commission abroad, you are not standing on Nigerian soil. What the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations stipulates is that the premises of …
Continue reading "High commissions as touch points for the Nigerian diaspora By Rotimi Fawole"
The Tory party is about to foist a tasteless joke upon the British people. He cares for nothing but his own fame and gratification Six years ago, the Cambridge historian Christopher Clark published a study of the outbreak of the first world war, titled The Sleepwalkers. Though Clark is a fine scholar, I was unconvinced …
The Court of Appeal has upheld the appeal against deportation of a man sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, in the process providing a good example of the kind of human rights arguments that will sway judges in this notoriously difficult area of law. The court reiterated the high threshold that applies when a non-EEA citizen …
Stock picture It had been ruled that an abortion was in the woman’s best interestsThe mother of a mentally ill Catholic woman who a court has ordered to have an abortion has launched an urgent appeal against the ruling.Three judges in the Court of Appeal were asked to consider what is thought to be the …
Continue reading "Mentally ill Nigerian woman launch appeal over forced abortion ruling"
Abike Dabiri-Erewa The recent incident in London in which one citizen Jeffrey Ewohime allegedly smashed seven cars at the Nigerian High Commission in London over the delay in releasing his passport has, expectedly, attracted much venom and condemnation on the poor young man. There is no smoke without a fire. Something must have prompted the …
Continue reading "How Nigerian missions abroad mistreat Nigerians by The Nigeria Guardian"
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as part of its review of the 2019 General elections in the country is reportedly working on a proposal for the alteration of the 1999 Constitution as amended to enable it reduce the number of political parties in the country. A total of 91 political parties participated in the …
Continue reading "INEC and Nigeria’s many political parties by Reuben Abati"
…over control of state, party structure Precisely two weeks ago, on June 10, families, relations, support groups and associates of the 24 elected members of Edo State house of assembly under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) converged on the Anthony Enahoro Legislative Complex at the popular Kings Square, close to the sprawling …
Prostitution is as old as humanity, but the trade has however assumed international dimension, dealing a deadly blow to Nigeria’s global image. The situation has degenerated to a sorry reality of a secondary slavery, OMONU NELSON writes. The Nigeria criminal system prohibits national and trans-national trafficking of women for commercial sex or forced labour. Nigeria …
Continue reading "Prostitution And Nigeria’s Gloomy Global Image By OMONU NELSON"
Young Ghanaians are quitting their jobs to become farmers and encouraging others to do the same, and, as Sarah Maslin Nir finds out, it’s helping people to protect their country’s economy Sarah Maslin Nir 5 days ago After he graduated from university, Vozbeth Kofi Azumah was reluctant to tell anyone – even his mother – what he planned …
Continue reading "Millennials in Ghana are working hard to ‘make farming sexy’ © New York Times"
Learning to fail is a skill like any other — which means it takes practice. Learn how to thrive in spite of even your most epic mistakes. Introduction ILLUSTRATIONS BY SEIJI MATSUMOTO Earlier this year, I suffered an anxiety attack while giving a speech in front of 250 people. It was disorienting and embarrassing; I’m …
Continue reading "How to Overcome Failure By Rachel Simmons"
eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/nigeria_2019_eu_eom_final_report-web.pdf
At least 30 people have been killed in a suicide attack in north-eastern Nigeria, while watching a televised football match, officials say. Another 40 have been injured in the triple suicide bombing, according to the State Emergency Management Agency. The bombers detonated their explosives outside a hall in Konduga village in Borno State. Militant Islamist …
Continue reading "Nigeria suicide blast ‘kills 30 football fans in Borno’ by BBC"
In our series of letters from African journalists, the editor-in-chief of Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper, Mannir Dan Ali, considers why politicians have taken aim at one of the most influential spiritual and traditional leaders in the country's largely Muslim north. For the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi 11, 2019 looks set to be his "annus …
Continue reading "Letter from Africa: A royal feud threatens Nigeria’s heritage by Mannir Dan Ali"
Internal fights among the Conservatives have wrecked the U.K.—and Labour isn’t much better. "British Prime Minister David Cameron speaking during the Conservative Party Spring Forum on April 9, 2014 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Kerry Davies - WPA Pool/Getty Images) British Prime Minister David Cameron speaking during the Conservative Party Spring Forum on April …
Continue reading "Britain’s Tories Bravely Put Party Before Country by James Bloodworth"
Academics invited to the UK are refused entry on arbitrary and ‘insulting’ grounds The Home Office is being accused of institutional racism and damaging British research projects through increasingly arbitrary and “insulting” visa refusals for academics. In April, a team of six Ebola researchers from Sierra Leone were unable to attend vital training in the …
Continue reading "Prejudiced’ Home Office refusing visas to African researchers by Harriet Grant"
No fewer than 25, 794 Nigerians may have died in violent crises in the first four years of President Muhammadu Buhari. The figure was released by the Nigeria Security Tracker, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit think tank specialising in United States foreign policy and international affairs. The number represents those …
While Theresa May is seen as the sole architect behind the ‘dehumanising’ policy, ex-ministers detail how the coalition prime minister was its driving force It was Theresa May who, as home secretary, declared in 2012 that her aim was to “create, here in Britain, a really hostile environment for illegal immigrants”. It was May’s department that sent out …
Nigerians were left speechless on May 29 when after taking the oaths of office and allegiance, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo left the Eagle Square, the venue of the Presidential Inauguration ceremony without uttering a word. The President had nothing to say to Nigerians. He simply went back into his car and …
Continue reading "The Speech Buhari Didn’t Make by Reuben Abati"
This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems. Please send reports of such problems to …
Continue reading "Only American Known to Have Fought for Biafra Tells of War By CHARLAYNE HUNTERFEB"
Editorial: It's a crying shame that the acting CJN allowed the statement on the powers of the HOS, M. Buhari to remove the CJN to be made in his court filings. The HOS is not the appointor as he states, he merely nominates and confirmed by the Senate. The process of removal is also subject …
Retail group appoints the 52-year-old as chairman on near-£1m salary John Lewis has appointed the chief executive of Ofcom as its new chairwoman, on a near-£1m salary. Sharon White, 52, joined Ofcom in March 2015 from the Treasury, where she was a senior civil servant in charge of public finances. She is moving to one …
Twelve things you (probably) didn’t know about Sharon White. • A highly respected economist, Sharon White is the first woman – and the first black person – to lead the media regulator, and the first black woman to have such a senior role in any UK media organisation. • In her current role as second permanent secretary at the …
Continue reading "Sharon White – from Leyton schoolgirl to Ofcom leader by John Plunkett"
The late ruler is suspected to have embezzled about $2.2bn from Nigeria's central bank More than $267m (£210m) belonging to a former Nigerian dictator has been seized from a Jersey bank account. The money was "derived through corruption" during the presidency of Sani Abacha in the 1990s, according to Jersey's Civil Asset Recovery Fund . …
Continue reading "Former Nigerian dictator’s £210m seized from Jersey account – BBC"
A Nigerian asylum seeker has lost a High Court bid to receive free NHS care for her advanced breast cancer. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, self-funded her treatment in the UK from 2015. She has now claimed asylum due to Nigeria's "inadequate medical facilities" and argued this makes her entitled to …
Continue reading "Nigerian asylum seeker’s medical bid is wholly wrong – BBC"
Prediction: Con 54, Lab 216, Brexit 249, SNP 56 Brexit Party short 77 of majority This month's poll-of-polls shows the Brexit party ahead of the Conservatives. This is because the three most recent polls (YouGov, Opinium and Delta Poll) all have the Brexit party ahead by between 3pc and 9pc. As our graph posted on …
Mohamed v London Borough of Barnet (2019) EWHC 1012 (QB) Ms M was placed in temporary accommodation by LB Barnet following a homeless application. Barnet found her to be intentionally homeless but continued to provide accommodation under Children Act 1989. The property was a private property. Barnet had taken a licence agreement with agents for the …
1. Rolling eyes, dancing eyebrows and other mannerisms The judge has lots to say here: nodding heads; slamming down books; looking to the heavens; facial grimaces. Just keep a poker face “A bobbing or nodding head belongs on the dashboard of one of those motor vehicles with oversized tires and a loud muffler” “I recall …
Chaos, incompetence and bullying of Home Office employees is resulting in failed deportations and the unlawful detention of vulnerable and desperate people, whistleblowers allege. The Dublin Cessation Team (DCT) – until last week known as the Third Country Unit – is a little-known but crucial department that, under the EU Dublin convention, determines which EU …
Bottom Line: Markets have absorbed the initial economic shock from Brexit, but navigating the new landscape will remain a challenge. Two months after the vote, the politics of Brexit is producing a lengthy and uncertain renegotiation of Britain’s place in Europe and the world. Such extended uncertainty is likely to produce a long-lasting drag on both …
Mr Osigwa, Hannah and Edith seated in the food tent at Harvest Festival - a service that brings together all ages to celebrate God's goodness in creation every year. For Londoners who have been in the city for years, the change is obvious. Not long ago, the southeast neighborhood of Peckham was the heart of …
The law of attraction says like attracts like, which explains why Muhammadu Buhari is a magnet for mediocrities. Almost all his appointees are, like him, underwhelming, intellectually incurious rubes. It’s no wonder that even the lawyers he assembled to defend his unprecedentedly audacious electoral robbery are also risible dolts. Take, for example, Festus Keyamo, Buhari’s …
Continue reading "Atiku’s Citizenship and Buhari’s Illiterate Lawyers By Farooq A. Kperogi"
AFTER the euphoria of Saturday’s governorship elections, the winners will confront the grim reality of managing insolvent states. Just how precarious the finances of the 36 states have become was highlighted by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, which said their combined debts exceeded their revenues by N2.39 trillion in 2017, a 53.31 per cent deficit. With …
Continue reading "Debts, insolvency driving states to bankruptcy"
Nigeria grabbed the headlines for the wrong reason in the United Arab Emirates recently, when five of her youths smashed a bureau de change outlet in the Sharjah Emirate of the country and made away with Dh2.3 million (about N226.1 million in our local currency). The UAE police said the robbers had travelled on March …
Continue reading "Curb export of crimes abroad By Punch Editorial Board"
Less than two months to the end of his first incumbency, it is now beyond doubt that President Muhammadu Buhari loves to bask in the short-term escapism of foreign trips. In the past week, the President has been to three different capitals in West Africa and the Middle East. With misery, insecurity and economic implosion …
The political class has destroyed so many things in this country. The health system has been destroyed. People now travel abroad for medical attention. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano, has indicted politicians on the growing rate of insurgency in the country, claiming that the political class is aiding kidnapping and thuggery. Speaking at …
Continue reading "Politicians Have Destroyed Institutions In Nigeria, Says Sanusi"
There is a battle for survival. If you’ve ever read the book, ‘Animal Farm’, that’s what it is. Because there is economic insecurity, it leads to social insecurity, which means that you are now reduced to your animalistic instincts Bismarck Rewane, Chairman of the Presidential Technical Advisory Committee on the Implementation of the National Minimum …
Continue reading "There’s Nothing Like ‘Rich’ In Nigeria, Says Rewane"
Dr Bose Akhigbe-Ojo and Dr Joy Akhigbe-Kalu. Dr Joy Akhigbe-Kalu obtained her doctorate for Nursing Practice. I have very proud of her and her family, her husband Charles Kalu and their daughter Nonye Kalu.
BBC newsreader, who has bowel cancer, says he felt guilty using disabled loos George Alagiah has told of his feelings of guilt at using disabled toilets when he was not visibly disabled but had a stoma bag attached to his stomach. The BBC newsreader, who has stage-four bowel cancer, also said he had to get …
Edo State is one of the states in the country where the politics has always attracted the attention of the nation due to the fact that the players are politically sophisticated. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ruled in the state during the leadership of late Chief Tony Anenih until November 12, 2008, when the former labour …
Exclusive: Official figures reveal a mental health crisis in Britain's immigration detention estate, as the number of people on suicide watch grew by 5% in 2018, to 541 people. Ben Kothe / BuzzFeed News; Press Association via AP Images Michael had only been in detention a handful of hours when he attempted to take his …
Government policies in Zimbabwe are worsening the country’s economic crisis, causing immense hardship to those less well-off, and crushing the human rights of those who dare complain, a group of UN experts* has warned. “We are gravely concerned that, as the situation in Zimbabwe deteriorates, the Government is pushing people further into poverty,” the experts …
Continue reading "OHCHR | Zimbabwe policies hitting poor hardest, say UN rights experts"
25. (1) The following persons are citizens of Nigeria by birth-namely- (a) every person born in Nigeria before the date of independence, either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents belongs or belonged to a community indigenous to Nigeria; Provided that a person shall not become a citizen of Nigeria by virtue of this …
Editorial On January 24, 1980, Immigration officers arrested Alhaji Darman on the strength of a deportation order signed by the Federal Minister of internal affairs Alhaji Bello Maitama. The deportation order entitled "Shugaba Abdurrahman Darman's Deportation Order 1980", stated amongst other things that "...Shugaba Abdurrahman Darman at present in Nigeria ought to be classified as …
Continue reading "Shugaba, Atiku and the Nigerian constitution"
The first time Heineken amazed me was in Tunisia, in early 2011, when I was covering the Jasmine revolution and the fall of President Ben Ali for a Dutch business newspaper. During my reporting, I discovered that Heineken maintained close ties with the kleptocratic family clan that had ruled Tunisia for almost 25 years. It …
‘Modern slavery is one of the greatest human rights abuses of our time,’ says Penny Mordaunt The UK government is backing an advertising campaign urging Nigerian women and girls to find jobs at home instead of “risking a life of modern slavery” in Britain. Posters are to be placed in schools, churches and marketplaces in …
The Court of Appeal has reiterated that a migrant can be regarded as a “persistent offender” for the purposes of deportation law even if he or she has not committed a crime for some time. The case is Binbuga (Turkey) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 551. Mr Binbuga came …
Almost a year after it first broke, the Home Office has opened a compensation scheme for those affected by the Windrush scandal (the Scheme). It expects to pay out up to £310 million to victims. We provide in this post a brief outline of how the Scheme works, who can claim and how. There are …
Continue reading "How to apply to the Windrush compensation scheme By Nick Nason"
Oshiomhole, against his narrative actually visited Saraki… here is the evidence! The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Adams Oshiomhole is used to public shows. He lives as if every situation in life is a piece of drama that must be acted out. Even at that, he does not respect the rules …
Continue reading "Understanding Adams Oshiomhole By Abraham Ogbodo"
Netanyahu, Trump and Putin: A love story The Israeli prime minister has worked hard to grow his political bromance with the presidents of Russia and the US. Call him a crook, call him a warmonger, but who other than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could boast two successful summits with both US and Russian presidents …
Shehu Usman Chindo Yamusa III is the Emir of Keffi In our series of letters from Africa, Nigerian novelist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani visits an influential traditional ruler who often swaps his royal garb for boots and a hoe in a bid to encourage his subjects to take up farming. When the Emir of Keffi in …
Continue reading "Letter from Africa: Nigeria’s farmer king by Shehu Usman Chindo Yamusa"
Less than two months to the end of his first incumbency, it is now beyond doubt that President Muhammadu Buhari loves to bask in the short-term escapism of foreign trips. In the past week, the President has been to three different capitals in West Africa and the Middle East. With misery, insecurity and economic implosion …
Continue reading "Buhari’s unproductive foreign trips by Punch Editorial"
Consistently the most popular article on Free Movement, somewhat depressingly, is the list of immigration and nationality fees. The fees charged by the Home Office for processing visa, settlement and nationality applications are high, set far above the actual administrative cost to the department. Fees constitute a significant source of revenue for the department and …
Continue reading "Immigration and nationality fees lack “basic fairness” By Conor James McKinney"
The Y2K bug, also known as the Y2K problem or Year 2000 Problem, was a major perceived threat of the late 1990s. The Y2K Scare was a phenomenon at the turn of the 21st century where computer users and programmers feared that computers would stop working on December 31, 1999. The UK exiting the EU, …
R (OAO Harris) v London Borough of Islington. High Court (Admin) CO/1282/2019 (unreported, settled March 2019.). This is a settled judicial review, I’ve seen the grounds, interim order and final consent order. It raises a number of issues about the performance of the new Housing Act 1996 Part VII duties as amended by the Homelessness …
Continue reading "Ending duties after the HRA By Giles Peaker"
No person has done more in living memory to undermine the functioning of the US government than the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell. Yes, Donald Trump has debased and defiled the presidency. He has launched blistering attacks on Democrats, on judges he disagrees with, journalists who criticize him and the intelligence community. But McConnell is …
 WE may be doing Little Thurock Rectory today as there has been a large fire on the Globe Estate. It reminded us of the area and its mix of industry and housing. It is often one of those seats that Labour fancy their chances, the Conservatives worry a little bit about and then they …
I had been a lazy author. I was so absorbed in my excitement for my first visit to Nigeria, that I didn’t bother to look through Aké Arts and Book Festival’s draft program in time to communicate any adjustments I had before it had to be finalized. When I did finally look through the program days before the 2016 edition I discovered a curiously …
Continue reading "Why I’m no longer talking to Nigerians about race by Panashe Chigumadzi"
The Zimbabwe government has come under fire after information emerged that it spent thousands of dollars on importing legal wigs from the UK for local judges, with critics lambasting the purchase as a colonial hang-up and a waste of money. The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper reported that the country's Judiciary Service Commission placed an …
Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye Working on a clearer image of Nigerian corruption. The popularity of Nigeria’s Nollywood movie industry—the world’s second largest by volume—was covertly deployed for a social cause five years ago. Researchers from Princeton University, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) collaborated to commission a feature film …
Africa is a beautiful continent of 54 countries. However, tourists harbour conflicting thoughts about touring African countries. This uncertainty is caused by factors like social instability, war, famine which render some African regions unsafe for touring. Our focus will be spotlighted on ten of the safest African countries tourists can freely visit and enjoy: Morocco …
Continue reading "10 African countries to tour without security fears"
Roy Cohn, the lawyer who embraced infamy during the McCarthy hearings and Rosenberg trial, influenced Donald Trump to turn the tabloids into a soapbox Donald Trump is a man who likes to think he has few equals. But once upon a time, he had a mentor: Roy Cohn, a notoriously harsh lawyer who rose to …
It was as if Mark Meadows were watching a political car crash in slow motion. In November 2018, when House Republicans lost their legislative majority, it rendered him a bit player in Donald Trump’s Washington. Then in late November and early December, a more paralyzing fear began to creep into his mind: Republicans were going …
Getty Images The last known survivor of the transatlantic slave ships, brought to the US in 1860, has been identified by an academic at Newcastle University. Sally Smith was kidnapped from West Africa by slave traders and lived until 1937 in Alabama, staying on the plantation where she had been enslaved. Hannah Durkin made the …
Assiduous Free Movement readers and European law aficionados may remember the case of SM (Algeria) v Entry Clearance Officer [2018] UKSC 9, covered in this previous post. The case has now gone from the Supreme Court to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has held that although a child who has been placed …
Continue reading "Unrecognised adoptions can attract EU free movement rights By Nath Gbikpi"
OPINION: Hours after the death of Nipsey Hussle, images of his last moments thoughtlessly flew across the socialverse. But they were a failure to consider some important concepts People mourn for rapper Nipsey Hussle on April 1, 2019 in Los Angeles. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Image) As someone who has just recently moved to Los …
We now know for sure what kind of man Donald Trump is. Beyond the tweets, the rallies, the interviews, the debates, the press conferences, the scandals, the best-selling yet unclearly sourced insider books and the unrelenting braggadocio and aggrandizement, a comprehensive read of the Mueller report brings to life the portrait of the man Donald …
Continue reading "Donald Trump Is Weak and Afraid. The Mueller Report Proves It by David French"
Deborah Ighiwiyisi Agbonayinma, the daughter of Ehionzuwa Johnson Agbonayinma, a federal lawmaker and Pension Ad Hoc Committee Chairman, has been working with the National Pension Commission (PenCom) with fake foreign and local university degree certificates, The Nation reports. Hon Agbonayinma is representing Egor/Ikpoba-Okha of Edo State in the House of Representatives. Deborah was sacked about …
Continue reading "Edo State Lawmaker’s Daughter Sacked For Working With Forged Certificates"
A 52-year-old Canadian, Kyliuk Morris, on Tuesday said policemen in Ogun State assisted him to deliver the N2.5m ransom paid to his kidnappers to regain his freedom. Morris, in a chat with PUNCH Metro in Abeokuta, said his ordeal started when he was abducted by the hoodlums at Fidiwo, in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area …
Continue reading "Police delivered N2.5m ransom to my kidnappers – Canadian by Tunji Bosun"
Boris Johnson? Michael Gove? Dominic Raab? Be afraid, be very afraid. Theresa May's press statements are like reboots of the "Star Wars" franchise. There's a brief flash of excitement ("Is she going to call a general election?" "Is she going to say 'f**k the lot of you, I'm off for a gin?'") followed by crushing …
Continue reading "Tory leadership race (to the bottom) by Paul Dallison"
 Robert Mueller's redacted report comes after the special counsel spent more than two years investigating President Donald Trump and his associates' possible ties to Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. | Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Mueller Report An annotated guide to the redacted Mueller report Here’s POLITICO’s rolling analysis of the hotly anticipated …
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Nigeria constitution 292. (1) A judicial officer shall not be removed from his office or appointment before his age of retirement except in the following circumstances - (a) in the case of - (i) Chief Justice of Nigeria, President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Chief Judge of the …
A divorce lawyer explains the wildest case she ever had to oversee — and what it can teach everyone about family law. Divorce doesn’t always have to be messy. But it often is. And amidst the intense emotions that surround the dissolution of a marriage, things can sometimes go wildly off the rails. Regina A. …
My parents’ home, in Umujieze, Nigeria, stands on a hilly plot that has been in our family for more than a hundred years. Traditionally, the Igbo people bury their dead among the living, and the ideal resting place for a man and his wives is on the premises of their home. My grandfather Erasmus, the …
Continue reading "My Great-Grandfather, the Nigerian Slave-Trader"
Almost a year ago, the US public radio network, NPR, interviewed Robert Mueller’s biographer, Garrett Graff. The book was a classic American hagiography. The “wealthy” Mueller went to Princeton University, where he played lacrosse, then followed his teammate David Hackett to Vietnam after Hackett had been killed trying to rescue an ambushed platoon. His biographer …
If anybody just types in “Creepy Tiny hands Trump Videos” you come up with a treasure trove…I think Trump has a big problem here because he calls it his entitlement, this country calls it completely inappropriate”.
Editorial The historical reason for S21 was because the government claimed it will increase the supply of housing in the private sector. This was because it wanted to reduce the social housing sector. Now the government wants the private sector to provide tenure security for tenants while the government whistles.Private landlords will no longer be …
Continue reading "Government plans to ban no-fault evictions in England by BBC"
A racist caricature from 19th-century minstrel theater still haunts America. An image from "Blackface," the photographer David Levinthal's series depicting racist memorabilia. Credit: David Levinthal Nineteenth-century minstrel entertainers spawned a racist caricature that endures to this day when they darkened their faces to portray black people as grinning, dancing simpletons. The white men who donned …
Continue reading "How Blackface Feeds White Supremacy By Brent Staples"
The Irish backstop is an attempt to avoid renewed instability in Northern Ireland, but opponents say it could keep the United Kingdom trapped in the European Union’s customs union forever. The dispute could determine the future of Brexit. What’s happening? As the March 29 deadline to leave the European Union approaches, the UK Parliament has …
Continue reading "Brexit’s Stickiest Point: The Irish Backstop by Andrew Chatzky"
Behind the Scenes of the Referendum The United Kingdom’s vote last year to leave the European Union was a seismic event. The British people ignored the advice of the leaders of all their major political parties and of virtually all experts. George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, told voters that leaving would wreck the …
Continue reading "Why the British Chose Brexit by ANAND MENON"
Editorial: Sudan has now breached a cardinal principle of the AU. No change of government by force of arms. Sudan will now be excluded from the AU until it reverts to democratic rule. President arrested after months of protests that escalated with mass sit-in on Saturday Sudan’s army has removed President Omar al-Bashir from power …