Startech Safety And Security News Blog

Netanyahu and Erdogan Photo: BBC Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have traded barbs over deadly clashes on the Gaza border. Sixteen Palestinians were killed on Friday after Israeli soldiers opened fire on some violent demonstrators, BBC said on Sunday. President Erdogan accused Mr Netanyahu of being “a terrorist” on Sunday. It came after Mr Netanyahu rejected Ankara’s “moral lessons” and accused Turkey of indiscriminately bombing civilians in its actions abroad. “The most moral army in the world will not be lectured to on morality from someone who for years has been bombing civilians indiscriminately,” the Israeli leader said on Twitter. “Apparently this is how they mark April 1 in Ankara,” he added, in reference to April’s Fools Day. He has previously called Mr Erdogan someone who “bombs Kurdish villagers” in a reference to Turkey’s military operations in the Afrin area of Syria. Mr Erdogan had earlier labelled the Isr

Nigerian-Senate The Senate has developed two draft bills for legislation to tackle drug abuse. This was part of the outcome of the roundtable convened by the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, in December 2017 in Kano on the rising drug abuse in the country. The proposed bills are National Drug Control Bill and National Mental Health Bill. A statement by the Media Office of the President of the Senate said the Drug Control Bill seeks to clarify the mandate and strengthen the capacity of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to eradicate the illicit production, and trafficking of controlled substances. “It also seeks to establish a central mechanism to facilitate collaboration among law enforcement, regulatory and public health authorities in line with the National Drug Control Policy. “The Bill further focuses on proactive law enforcement and regulatory measures towards the eradicati

                           The Rivers State Police Command is upbeat about the voluntary response by arms bearing members of the public to submit their arms whether legally or illegally acquired arms as it has recovered 120 arms in the on going mop-up exercise within two weeks. The arms were recovered from 13 Local Government Areas visited by the command’s Task Force on mop up of arms out of the twenty-three Local Government Areas in the State. The Spokesman of the command, DSP Nnamdi Omoni, said the sensitization embarked upon by the Task Force had been yielding results without means of coercion. He re-emphasized that anyone who failed to take advantage of the 21 days window created by the Inspector-General of Police, would have himself to blame. “We have been making progress since we started this sensitization and I can tell you it has been yielding results. “In the first week of this exercise, we recovered over a hundred arms. In another three days, we recovered 15 arms.

                           The Nigeria military on Monday said at least 15 persons including a soldier, were killed and about 83 others seriously injured on Sunday night during hours of battle to wade off a large number of armed suicide bombers trying to invade Maiduguri the Borno state capital. Soldiers on guard at the outskirts of Maiduguri also gunned down six armed Boko Haram gunmen and seven suicide bombers during the attack, bringing the death toll on both sides to 29. Residents of Maiduguri were forced to keep vigil all Sunday night following hours of thunderous explosions and shootings that rented the air till early hours of Monday. The military said Boko Haram suicide bombers and gunmen attempted to invade Maiduguri through the outskirts of Bille-Shuwa and Alikaranti villages. The spokesman of the military at Operation Lafiya Dole headquarters, Maiduguri, Onyema Nwachukwu, a colonel, said the attackers would have made it into more crowded areas of Maiduguri had the

                              Today,  Malaysia  approved a law against “ fake news ” that would allow for prison of up to six years for offenders, shrugging off critics who say it was aimed at curbing dissent and free speech ahead of a general election.   Prime Minister  Najib Razak’s  government secured a simple majority in parliament to pass the Anti-Fake News 2018 bill, which sets out fines of up to 500,000 ringgit ($123,000) and a maximum six years in jail.   The first draft of the bill had proposed jail of up to 10 years. The government said the law would not impinge on freedom of speech and cases under it would be handled through an independent court process.   “This law aims to protect the public from the spread of fake news, while allowing freedom of speech as provided for under the constitution,”  Law Minister  Azalina Othman Said  told parliament.   The law defines fake news as “news, information, data and reports which is or are wholly or partly false” and

                   The soldiers currently based in the North East where they are fighting the insurgents, are pictured above during their Easter Sunday service yesterday April 1st.

Anti-apartheid activist, Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela-Mandela‚ has died at the age of 81. Her Personal Assistant‚ Zodwa Zwane‚ who confirmed the struggle veteran’s death on Monday afternoon, April 2, said the family would be issuing a statement later in the day. Born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape in 1936‚ she moved to Johannesburg to study social work after matriculating. She met lawyer and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in 1957 and they were married a year later. They had two children together. However‚ her marriage life with Mandela was short-lived‚ as he was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life imprisonment for treason. Mandela was eventually released in 1990.

No fewer than 15 persons are feared dead and 55 others sustained injuries in a Sunday night attack by Boko Haram insurgents at Bale community in the outskirts of Maiduguri. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that echoes from sporadic gunshots and multiple explosions which lasted for hours on Sunday evening, were heard from the outskirts of the city. Competent security sources told NAN that a number of insurgents attacked Bale-Shuwa and Bale-Kura communities near Maiduguri in an attempt to infiltrate the town at about 8: 00 p.m. The source disclosed that the insurgents parked their vehicles few meters away from a security check point and sneaked into the community. The source added that the security operatives engaged in fierce gun battle with the insurgents who detonated Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and shot sporadically. “Dozens of people including women and children were wounded from the explosion and gun shots. “Due to darkness dead bodies were not evacua

Kabiru Seidu a.k.a Osama, the last of the suspected criminals linked to Dino Melaye, a Senator representing Kogi West was allegedly planned and coordinated their escape from Police cell with the aid of some Nigeria Police officers at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad in Lokoja has been rearrested. Osama was one of six suspects who broke jail last week, others include Nuhu Salisu a.k.a Small, Aliyu Isa, Adams Suleiman, Emmanuel Audu and Musa Mohammed they all escaped from ‘A’ Division of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) detention in Lokoja in Kogi state, where they were being held pending their court appearance with Mr. Melaye who was also been declared wanted by the police. Kabiru was arrested in Bauchi on Sunday night and has since been taken to Abuja by police detectives. Police sources said they've now arrested all the jailbreakers who colluded with Senator Melaye to destabilize Kogi state. Since the rearrest of the criminals a few days ago, Melaye has not said a word although

Efrain Rios Montt, a former military dictator who ruled Guatemala between 1982 and 1983 and who was facing  retrial  on genocide charges, died on Sunday aged 91, sources close to his family said. One of his lawyers, Luis Rosales, told reporters that Rios Montt “died in his home, with the love of his family and a clear conscience.” Rios Montt is accused of being responsible for the murders of 1,771 indigenous Ixil-Maya people during his short reign, which came at the height of a brutal 36-year civil war. A May 2013 trial delivered a conviction and an 80-year sentence against Rios Montt — the first time a Latin American ex-dictator had been convicted of genocide. But that verdict was overturned just days later by Guatemala’s constitutional court because of a “procedural error,” and a new trial was ordered. That trial of Rios Montt and his spy chief, Jose Rodriguez, was halted in 2016 after an appeals court ruled each man should be tried separately. Rios Montt’s lawyers sou

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture Photo: Femi Ipaye/PM News The Nigerian government on Sunday released more names of people who have allegedly looted the nation’s treasury. The Federal Government said the list of alleged looters which was released earlier was based on verifiable facts, including the amount involved, the date the amount in question was collected and from where it was taken, Channels tv reports. Releasing the second list of alleged looters on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said those complaining that the list was too short did not understand that it was strategically released as a teaser. He referred to his earlier statement that the list was just ‘a tip of the iceberg’ and slammed the PDP for challenging the Federal Government to name the looters. ”At the press conference where the list was released, I did say it was a tip of the iceberg. Apparently, this does not mean anything to people whose style is to co

                      A total of 750 criminals, including cattle rustlers, bandits and kidnappers have sworn to an oath to abandon their illegal activities in Anchau village, Kubau Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that 400 of the repentant criminals swore by the Holy Qur’an three weeks ago while another batch of 350 took the oath on Saturday to abandon their criminal way of life. Austin Iwar, the Commissioner of Police told journalists on Sunday that the criminals were made to repent after intensive dialogue involving community leaders. According to him, the repentant criminals took advantage of the window of opportunity opened by the government and the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris. He said that as part of the programme, those who renounced violence would also handover their weapons to government. The police commissioner, however, said that the recovery of arms would not be made public, so as to build trust and encoura

                        A 14-seater bus with registration number Nasarawa, HAM 20 XA belonging to “Pleasure Travels” bus number (485) was, on Saturday, involved in an accident with a Mercedes Benz Trailer loaded with alcohol, (Hero beer) at Udeyi, Guma local government area of Benue state. A passenger, Magdalene Agigea, who sustained deep injuries on her face and on her right hand, said the driver of the bus driver was reckless. “Since we began the journey from Abuja, the driver has been reckless and arrogant to most of us,” she said. “I had intended to lodge a complaint to his superiors in Makurdi, before the unfortunate incident occurred, but thank God I survived. I sat close to the door, that is why glasses cut my face and hand.” However, the driver of the said bus, Iyinhemba Iorfa, in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, denied the claim of the passenger, saying his brake failed. “It is not true, as you can see, a trailer failed in a bend. I applied the brake twice, but it f

                       The Consumer Protection Council said on Sunday it has opened inquiry into the controversy about the safety of Blue Band “Spread for Bread” when subjected to high temperature in boiling water. The council said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES that it was aware of a short demonstration video circulating on social media about how the product by Unilever Nigeria PLC did not melt or dissolve under certain heat conditions. The statement signed by the Director General of the Council, Babatunde Irukera, said the video has been a subject of anxiety and intense controversy as it suggested the product was unsafe for human consumption. Mr Irukera said “available scientific information confirms that, though butter, margarine, and spread appear analogous, and share similar components, characteristics and uses, they are different products available to consumers.” He said butter and margarine share a particular similar characteristic of low resistance to heat. As

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has rescued crash victims involved in a lone accident on the Lagos /Ibadan Expressway and returned over N2 million recovered from the crash scene to the owner. Clement Oladele, the FRSC Sector Commander in Ogun, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abeokuta on Saturday. Mr. Oladele said the accident happened around 10:15am and it involved 11 people, comprising of three men, six female adult and two female children. The sector commander noted that though, there were no deaths recorded, nine of the passengers which included three male adult and six female adult sustained serious injuries. “The lone crash involved a Yellow Toyota LiteAce bus with registration number WWD 558 XA travelling from Ibadan to Lagos. “The suspected cause of the crash was tyre burst by the speeding bus which lost control. “The injured victims were taken to Ifeoluwa hospital Ogunmakin for medical treatment and the road obstruction cleared, “he sai

The Zone 5 headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force, Benin, has debunked any plot to eliminate one Ovie Osiebe-Franklin, an alleged whistle blower, and one other Anodeh Brave. This is contained in a statement released by Emeka Iheanacho, Zonal Police Public Relations Officer (ZPPRO), and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Benin on Sunday. Mr Iheanacho said that the alleged whistle blower was a suspect in a case of alleged false information investigated by the FCIID, Abuja. He said that debunking the alleged elimination plot was imperative following a publication by an online publication on March 28. He said the said-publication had allegedly reported that the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 5 Headquarters, Benin, Rasheed Akintunde, was plotting to eliminate the whistle blower. Mr Akintunde was also alleged to be plotting to kill Anode Brave, a member of Delta State Polytechnic Governing Council, Otefe-Oghara. He said that the AIG was comm

                            The government of Nigeria is scrutinising the reports of the data mining firm, Cambridge Analytica, which swiped the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections in many country including Nigeria, where it waged a campaign to perpetuate discord and hack into personal records of the then leading opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari. A presidency source informed State House correspondents at the weekend that the federal government has set up an in-house committee to investigate whether Cambridge Analytica’s work for the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007 and 2015 general elections campaigns broke the laws of this country or infringed on the rights of other parties and their candidates. Depending on the outcome, this may lead to the appointment of a special investigator and possibly, criminal prosecutions by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami. A whistleblower, Christopher Wylie, who worked wit