Startech Safety And Security News Blog

UNICEF UNICEF on Friday, raised the question of child safety after EU deal on migrant camps. “We worry that children will be detained,’’ UNICEF spokesperson Sarah Crowe told dpa in Geneva, after EU leaders agreed to set up so-called “controlled centres’’ on European soil where migrants would be held while their asylum requests are processed. The centres, which would be hosted by EU countries on a voluntary basis, would determine which migrants will be sent back to their countries of origin. The resettlement of successful asylum seekers would also take place on a voluntary basis, EU leaders agreed after marathon talks in Brussels on Thursday. Crowe said her organisation also has questions about the “disembarkation centres’’ the EU foresees in regions outside the bloc, such as Northern Africa. European leaders reached the deal on migration in the early hours of Friday, but the pledges made to strengthen borders were vague, and a bleary-eyed German Chancellor Angela...

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General The UN on Friday voiced concerns over the violent conflicts between herdsmen and farmers in West and Central Africa, with particular mention of the recent killings in Plateau, Nigeria, saying they contravened global humanitarian law. It, therefore, called for deliberate action to end the conflicts. In a statement by its spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the UN expressed regret over the killings, saying: “more than 80 people in central Nigeria were killed in land disputes between the two sides this week. “The Secretary-General, , stresses that all attacks targeting civilians violated international humanitarian law,” the statement read. “However, this has been a long-standing issue with similar incidents occurring in other countries in Africa, causing more than 1,000 deaths over the past year alone, according to media reports,” he added. He condemned the resulting loss of lives, propert...

Nana Akufo-Addo, Ghana’s president President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana has fired the head of the country’s Electoral Commission for “misbehaviour and incompetence”, Information Minister Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said. The removal of Charlotte Osei and her two deputies were based on a recommendation by a special committee set up by the chief justice to investigate complaints against them, Abdul-Hamid said in a statement. “The committee recommended their removal on the basis of stated misbehaviour and incompetence, pursuant to Article 146(1) of the Constitution,” the minister said. The three were directed to transfer their duties to the director for human resource and general services of the commission. The presidency said last year it had referred a petition from some workers at the Electoral Commission, accusing Osei of abuse of office, to the chief justice for investigation. Osei denied the accusations and the main opposition has repeatedly said they are trumped up. ...

Mnangagwa President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe said a grenade caused the explosion that killed two people at a campaign rally he was addressing on June 23, a state-owned newspaper reported on Friday. Dozens were injured by the blast in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayo, where Mnangagwa was campaigning before elections in July. The injured included Vice President Kembo Mohadi and the ruling party’s national chairman, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, a cabinet minister, who were taken to South Africa for treatment, Mnangagwa Mnangagwa told newsmen during an official visit to Tanzania that shrapnel had pierced Munchinguri-Kashiri’s chest, but she was recovering well at a South African hospital. “You might be aware about events that took place Saturday when a hand grenade was thrown at me. But since you see me here, it means I am now fine,” Mnangagwa was quoted saying by the Herald newspaper. Investigators from the police, army and national intelligence agency are sti...

UN The UN gave a cautious welcome on Friday to a migration deal reached by European Union leaders, while urging member states to share responsibility and help frontline countries led by Italy. “We will welcome any outcome that leads to a more collaborative and harmonised approach to asylum, also one that has at its core and priority saving lives at sea,” Charlie Yaxley of the UN refugee agency UNHCR told a Geneva briefing. Also, Leonard Doyle of the UN’s International Organisation for Migration said that “any solution needs to be a European solution”. “We are not talking about external processing centers, that is the key point. These centres should be in Europe,” he said, adding that disembarkation points should not be located in Libya due to insecurity and lawlessness. European leaders reached the deal on migration in the early hours of Friday, but the pledges made to strengthen borders were vague, and a bleary-eyed German Chancellor Angela Merkel conceded diffe...

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kogi on Friday said it had arrested 60 suspected drug traffickers and seized 976.2 kg illicit drugs between April and June. Alhaji Idris Bello, Commander, Kogi State Command of the agency, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja. Bello said the arrested traffickers included 56 males and 4 females. “The command also seized 976.2 kilogrammes of various illicit drugs, with Indian hemp accounting for about 974.5 kg, within the period” he said. According to him, out of those arrested, four were upon prosecution convicted and sentenced to various jail terms. He added that 28 of the suspects were undergoing counseling while 28 others had been counseled and released. Bello said the 2018 UN International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26 was celebrated to enlighten the public on the dangers of hard drugs. Bello, however, said over 60 per cent of crime and cr...

Migrants crossing the sea Libyan coastguard said 100 people are feared to have drowned from a migrant boat off Libya’s western coast, a coastguard official said on Friday. The official said the coastguard picked up 14 survivors from the boat just east of the capital, Tripoli. Separately, the coastguard said it had intercepted 200 migrants from two other migrant boats east of Tripoli. Libya is one of the main departure points for migrants trying to cross to Europe by sea, usually in flimsy inflatable boats provided by smugglers that often get punctured or break down. Some make it to international waters where they hope to be picked up by international vessels, but increasing numbers are intercepted by Libya’s EU-backed coastguard and returned to Libya. Departures surged in 2014 when conflict in Libya worsened and more than 650,000 migrants have crossed the central Mediterranean since then. But the traffic has slowed since ...

Pyroclastic flows at Mayon Volcano Ash from a volcanic eruption on the Indonesian resort island of Bali forced the closure of its international airport and cancellation of hundreds of flights on Friday, while villagers living beneath rumbling Mount Agung began fleeing their homes. The eruption, which began on Thursday, fired a towering column of ash 2,500 meters (8,200 ft) into the sky, and reddish flames lit up the volcano’s crater overnight. Indonesia’s second-busiest airport will stay shut until at least 7 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) on Friday, with 85 international flights and 191 domestic flights canceled, affecting nearly 16,000 people, airport authorities said. There was no indication of how long the eruption might last, Sutopo Nugroho of the disaster mitigation agency said in a statement, and the alert level on the volcano remains unchanged for now. “Micro tremors are still being detected… indicating that magma is moving towards the surface,” Nugroho sai...

President Salva Kiir of South Sudan President Salva Kiir of South Sudan has ordered implementation of the permanent ceasefire signed recently with rebel leader Riek Machar in the Sudanese capital. President Kiir’s order aired on State radio, urged government forces to remain vigilant in their positions and fight only in self-defense and also allow unhindered humanitarian access. “I Salva Kiir do hereby issue this republican order for declaration of permanent ceasefire with effect from June 30, 2018 and to continue in full operation permanently until otherwise. “The SPLA forces shall remain vigilant in their positions and to fight only in an act of self-defense,” he said in Juba. President Kiir and Machar, the leader of the main rebel group the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), agreed to permanent ceasefire on Wednesday in Khartoum at the recent face-to-face talks mediated by the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Both the South ...

Fire Mr Rasak Dawudu, the Managing Director, Fire Inhibitors and Safety Limited, on Friday called on the three tiers of government to ensure public buildings have fire prevention facilities installed within them. Dawudu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that fire prevention measures should be structured into the building code. He said that the government should also make it compulsory for all public buildings to have firefighting equipment in place. “I will implore the government to include a policy in the building code that all public buildings must have preventive measures such as fire panel system that can forestall fire outbreak. “They should also ensure that smoke detectors and alarms are installed in public buildings to guide against potential fire outbreak and to enable people in such buildings escape. “Fire does not kill contrary to popular beliefs, it is the smoke inhalation that kills,’’ he said. The fire expert said tools such as fire ext...

An Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court, sitting on Friday in Lagos, sentenced a 35-year-old woman, Jumoke Adesida to five years in prison for kidnapping a two-year-old girl. Delivering judgment, Chief Magistrate A. Ipaye-Nwachukwu, sentenced Adesida without an option to pay fine. “The accused is hereby found guilty and convicted for abduction, which is punishable under section 277 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State,” she ruled. Ipaye-Nwachukwu ordered that the convict serve the jail term at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison. Earlier, Insp. Adeshina Adesanya, for prosecution, told the court that the convict committed the offence on June 22, at 9 a.m., at Community Road, Odogunyan in Ikorodu. He said that the convict kidnapped the two-year-old daughter of Mrs Aminat Abidoye. Adesanya said the offence contravened Section 277 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Clement Faboyede The Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Ondo State, Clement Faboyede and the Director General of PDP Campaign Organization in the state during the last general election, Modupe Adetokunbo were on Friday arraigned before a Federal High Court in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on a three-count charge of laundering N500 million. According to the three count criminal charges number FHC/ L/201C/2018, filed before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Deputy Chief Detective Superintendent, E Iheanacho, it was alleged that Faboyede and Modupe Adetokunbo and others at large on or about the 27th day of March, 2015 conspired among themselves to accept cash payment in the sum of N500 million from one Owolanke Micheal which exceeded N5 million without going through a financial institution contrary to section 1 of the money laundering (prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended by Act 1 of 20...

Atiku Bagudu, Kebbi State Governor The Federal High Court, Abuja on Friday, dismissed a suit seeking to remove Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi. The suit which was filed by Mr Anthony Itanyi , Maj. -Gen. Bello Sarkin-Yaki (rtd.), and Sahabi Sami, asked the court to declare Bagudu incompetent to have contested the 2015 governorship poll in the state. Delivering judgment, Justice Ahmed Mohammed held that the plaintiffs had failed to prove the criminal allegations leveled against the governor. The governor was joined in the suit with his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The judge maintained that all the exhibits placed before the court by the plaintiffs failed to show that Bagudu was sentenced or fined for any offence by any court or tribunal. “From the evidence of the plaintiff, I am of the opinion that he has failed to prove through his witness that the first defendant was convicted by a court in the...

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan President Tayyip Erdogan vowed to destroy terrorism in Turkey in his first public appearance since his election victory, during the inauguration of a mosque on Friday. “The more we increase our commandos and our special forces, the more we increase our fight against terrorism,” Erdogan said. “Our biggest fight in the upcoming period will be with terrorism,” he said at the mosque in a Coast Guard academy. “We will destroy terrorism by crushing it under our feet so that there is peace in our country.” Erdogan won the June 24 presidential elections and his ruling alliance achieved a majority in parliamentary elections. The final official results will be announced on July 5 and the new parliament is expected to be sworn in on July 8. A state of emergency was imposed in Turkey in July 2016 after an attempted coup. The current three-month extension expires at 1 a.m. on July 19 (2200 GMT on July 18). On the campaign trail, Erdogan said h...

Child-rape A medical expert on Friday told an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court that her findings revealed that the two-year and 11-month old pupil of Chrisland School was defiled. Dr. Oluwatoyin Olayioye was testifying before Justice Sybil Nwaka at the resumed trial of Adegboyega Adenekan, the school supervisor who allegedly defiled the child. The witness, who has been practising medicine for eight years, holds a Bachelors of Medicine, Bachelors of Surgery, a Masters degree of Public Health and is also a trained Forensic Examiner. Led in evidence by Mr Babajide Boye, the Chief State Counsel, Olayioye, the fifth prosecution witness said in 2015 to 2016, she was working with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) at the Department of Family Medicine. “I was consulting for the Mirabel Centre when the case was referred to my team from the Ikeja Police Command on Nov. 24, 2016. “My team was made up of myself, Dr Oyedeji Alagbe and Dr O...

Zambia Flag Zambian Vice-President Inonge Wina said on Friday that the government was on course in its resolve to fight corruption in the country. The Zambian vice-president said the government has put stringent measures to fight corruption such as establishment of Integrity Committees in all government institutions but added that fighting the vice requires concerted efforts with all stakeholders. “Fighting corruption is not the job of government alone, this is because corruption takes place in both the public and private sector, therefore Zambians must take an active role in fighting corruption,” she said in a statement released by her office just before departure to Mauritania for the 31st African Union (AU) Heads of States and Government Summit. According to her, corruption undermines the fabric of society and that the government will not allow it to take root in Zambia. The Zambian vice-president further urged stakeholders in the country to desist from sens...

Boat carrying migrants Sweden hoped for “more’’ from the European Council, the EU member states should have agreed on relocation of migrants, ahead of the meeting, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Friday. On Thursday, the European Council agreed on several aspects of migration policy, including the establishment of “regional disembarkation platforms, in close cooperation with relevant third countries’’ and controlled centres in EU member states. The resettlement or relocation across the European Union is expected to be done on voluntary basis. “We hoped for more undoubtedly, a new political landscape has appeared in Europe. “We should have agreed on relocation of migrants ahead of the summit, but some countries do not want to accommodate them. They believe that it is enough to close borders,’’ Lofven said, as quoted by the Aftonbladet newspaper. The prime minister described the talks as “long and, at times, difficult.’’ Lofven told the SVT broadca...

L-R: Vice Chairman, Agege Local Government, Mr. Abiodun Ogunji; Chairman, Agege Local Government, Mr. Ganiu Egunjobi; Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga and the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Iyabo Are at a Press Briefing to signal commencement of second round 2018 National Immunization Plus Days in Lagos on Friday. The second round of 2018 National Immunization Plus Days (NIPDs), polio vaccination campaign for children aged zero to 59 months will hold in Lagos State from Saturday 30th June to Tuesday 3rd July, 2018 at all designated sites, the State Government has said. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga who made this known on Friday while briefing newsmen on the level of preparedness for the campaign at a Flag-off ceremony to signal the commencement of the campaign at Agege Local Government Secretariat noted that a target population of 4,823,122...

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN has commiserated with the government and people of Lagos State over the tragic tanker explosion which occurred on Thursday evening outward Lagos towards Ojodu Berger. The fatal mishap which occurred when a tanker loaded with Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) lost control after descending the stretch of the bridge around the Otedola Estate led to the loss of nine lives and several vehicles. In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Communications, Mr Hakeem Bello, Fashola expressed sadness over the incident describing it as painful and most regrettable. The Minister, who also condoled with families of victims of the accident , said it was a harrowing experience to learn that a family member who had gone to engage in productive activity would never return. “ I wish to extend my sincere condolences to the Government, People of Lagos State ...

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (middle); Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left); his deputy, Dr. (Mrs) Oluranti Adebule (left); Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (2nd right) and Attorney General/Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem (right) during a commiseration visit by the Vice President over the Otedola Bridge Tanker Explosion, at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday. By Kazeem Ugbodaga Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Friday visited the Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja to convey the condolences of the Federal Government to the state government on the tragic tanker explosion on Thursday at the Otedola Bridge which claimed lives and properties. Osinbajo, who spoke shortly after a closed door meeting with the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, said the Ffederal government was deeply saddened by the incident, saying that President Muhammadu Buhari had delegated him to visit the State to commiserate with the p...

Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the terror group Boko Haram, is said to be weakened by ill health, prompting questions about his ability to lead the militants. The sources said Shekau has a range of conditions that have left him “too weak to be in charge” of the jihadists, whose insurgency has killed at least 20,000 in Nigeria since 2009, the AFP reported on Friday. “He has high blood pressure and failing sight from diabetes-related complications,” said one source with close knowledge of the group’s activities. A senior security source tracking the conflict, who also asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media, described Shekau’s diabetes as “debilitating”. “He suffers from diminished eyesight from cataracts or glaucoma as a result of diabetes,” he added. The source with knowledge of Boko Haram’s activities said Shekau and his lieutenants have been in tal...

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday evening visited the scene of the tanker explosion which occurred on Otedola Bridge inward Ojodu Berger along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, describing the incident as sad and unfortunate, say that government’s timely response to the tragedy led to the saving of more lives. The incident, which occurred at about 5pm, was said to have left over 54 vehicles burnt and nine people dead. Ambode, who visited the scene at about 9:30pm where he was briefed by Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr Seye Oladejo, among other emergency response agencies, particularly commiserated with the families of the victims and those who lost their properties to the incident. Addressing journalists at the scene after assessing the situation, Ambode also directed the emergency responders and relevant government agencies to ensure the immediate removal of all the burnt vehicles from the road so as to open it up ag...

                            Three staff of a bank at the Ogboefere branch in Enugu/Onitsha expressway reportedly lost their lives after their car was swept away by the flood resulting from a downpour on Thursday. According to online reports, the deceased identified as Eby, Uju, and Ezenwa were heading home when their car was swept away by the flood which many say was caused as a result of blocked drainage channels. Friends and family have taken to their social media accounts to mourn them. See full photos below.

Another accident has occurred on Otedola bridge close to the place where a fuel tanker explosion claimed lots of lives and properties along Lagos-Ibadan expressway yesterday. According to witnesses, two buses moving in opposite directions collided. Fortunately, no lives were lost, though about 10 passengers were injured and had to be rushed to the hospital. A video shows the conductor of one of the buses being carried out on a stretcher.

Five people have been shot dead and twenty injured during a mass shooting at Maryland's Capital Gazette newsroom. Police responded at the scene within 60 seconds of the call of an active shooter at the newsroom in the 800 block of Bestgate Road, Annapolis, at around 2.40pm. Acting police chief William Kamph confirmed five people had been killed and many more had "serious injuries" in the attack. The suspect, who has not been named, has been taken into custody. Police say he was the sole shooter and that the building, which was evacuated during the attack, has now been secured. No motive has yet been given for the shooting. Phil Davis, a court and crime reporter for the Gazette, said that a lone gunman had shot through the glass door of the offices and then opened fire on the newspaper employees. "A single shooter shot multiple people at my office, some of whom are dead," he tweeted, while he said he was waiting to be interviewed by pol...

  A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of 15-year-old Nigerian rapper Jordan Gbolade Jaiyeola who was killed outside a birthday party in Romford on Saturday. The young rapper who performed drill music under the name Young Valenti  and was known locally as Jordan Douherty died after he was beaten and stabbed by more than five attackers after fighting broke out when up to 100 youths mobbed the event. According to reports, Gbolade died at the scene. In a statement by the Scotland Yard Police, they confirmed that they have arrested a 16-year-old. He was picked up on Wednesday morning in Newham, east London, and taken to a police station. Three other teenagers aged 15, 16 and 17 who were held at the scene on suspicion of murder have been released under investigation. A post-mortem examination found that Jordan, from Grays, Essex, died from hypovolemic shock caused by a stab wound to the left ventricle of the heart. Speaking about the incid...

                                       A 34-year-old Nigerian man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a woman who rented a room from him online. Francis Ezenwankwo of Heston Street, SE14 was sentenced to six years imprisonment and a five year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) on Friday, 22 June at Snaresbrook Crown Court. He was found guilty of assault by penetration at the same court on Thursday, 22 June. The court heard that on 5 August 2017 a woman visiting from another country rented a room at Ezenwankwo’s house via an online site, spareroom.co.uk. During the night the woman awoke to find Ezenwankwo in her bed. Despite her protests, Ezenwankwo remained in her bed and sexually assaulted her. The incident was reported to police and Ezenwankwo was arrested on 22 August...

Today, EFCC arraigned Dr. Abdu Bulama, Hon. Mohammed Kadai, Abba Gana Tata, Muhammad Mamu and Hassan Ibn Jaks before Justice Hammada Isa Dashen of the Federal High Court sitting in Damaturu, Yobe State, on a-7 count charge for the offence of criminal conspiracy to commit Money Laundering to the tune of over N229, 000, 000.00 (Two Hundred and Twenty Nine Million Naira) only. Dr. Bulama was a former Minister of Science and Technology during the regime of the previous government and the Coordinator of Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organization, while Hon. Mohammed Kadai was a former Commissioner for Integrated and Rural Development in Yobe State and the Deputy Coordinator of Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organization, Yobe State. Their prosecution followed a petition to the Commission through intelligence report that the defendants agreed among themselves to make and receive cash payment above threshold outside financial institution. The defendants pleaded not guil...

A 39-year-old Nigerian man, Martins Junior Ejike Ajejo, has been arrested by tourist police for allegedly deceiving Thai women to wire him money in a so-called romance scam. Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakpal, deputy commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, held a press conference today, Friday, June 29, to announce the arrest of Ajejo. Surachet said Ajejo was arrested on Thursday following an arrest of a Thai woman, Prapinmas Nasutthi, 30, and her Nigerian husband, Gaius Eriamiate, 36. Surachet said the couple were arrested on June 21 while withdrawing money from an ATM that had been wired in by their victims. The couple implicated Ajejo as being part of the gang. Surachet said Ajejo was accused of impersonating a handsome western man and deceiving Thai women that he had sent them a gift that was being kept at the customs office and needed money for customs clearance. He would close his Facebook account and open a new one after getting money, S...

A trader identified as Ndubisi Nwokolo was reportedly killed at Onitsha market today and according to eye witness report, he was killed at Bida Road, Main Market Onitsha. According to Onitsha City news on Facebook, 'his killers are a gang under the leadership of a man called "Ikanda". Ikanda is said to run "Onitsha South". He is said to be a top man within the MASSOB (Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra) and feared around Onitsha'. Late Nwokolo was said to have been killed as a result of a brawl for royalty to be paid to 'Ikanda'.

A 39-year-old lady from Philadelphia, Fatima, who was just 2 years old when her father was sentenced to life imprisonment for an undisclosed crime but was released after spending 37 years in jail, shared a photo from their reunion.

The Police Command in Imo has arrested two suspects in connection with the death of Brendan Ibekwe, the traditional ruler of Mgbe community in the Orlu Local Government Area of Imo. The spokesman of the command, Andrew Enwerem, told reporters on Wednesday in Owerri that Mr Ibekwe was assassinated on June 24 by gunmen in his community while his body was found on the Orlu-Owerri highway. Mr Enwerem said the Commissioner of Police in Imo, Dasuki Galadanchi directed the command’s Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to take over the matter. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, Samuel Ohiri, has expressed his concern over the murder. He described the incident as a sacrilege: for a traditional ruler to be murdered by gunmen. Mr Ohiri called for thorough investigation into the matter, saying that the killers must be brought to book.