Presidential Aide Urges Justice For Nigerian Student Killed By Canadian Police

Published

9 months ago

January 6, 2024

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Presidential Aide Urges Justice For Nigerian Student Killed By Canadian Police—-Mr Sunday Asefon, Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Students Engagement has expressed sadness over killing of Stephen Opaso, a Nigerian Student who was studying in the University of Manitoba, Canada.

Asefon in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, described the killing as barbaric, cruel and heartless.

He vowed to engage the High Commission of Canada in Nigeria, and further collaborate with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairperson of NiDCOM to ensure that the unfortunate killing was not swept under the carpet.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the late Stephen Afolabi Opaso, a 19-year-old Nigerian international student in Canada, fondly called Zigi by peers, was shot dead by the Winnipeg Police Service in Manitoba on Dec. 31, 2023.

The deceased was alleged to be wielding a knife at the time of the encounter and had mental health crisis at the time of the incident.

The Winnipeg police in their statement, acknowledged the confrontation with an armed male but provided limited details.

“On Dec. 31, 2023, at approximately 2:22 p.m., the Winnipeg police service responded to an apartment suite in the first 100 block of University Crescent for a 911 call regarding a male acting erratically.

“The caller advised that the male may be armed and there were other people in the suite.

“During this encounter, an officer discharged their firearm, striking the male. Officers provided immediate medical care and ensured the well-being of all other parties on scene. Nobody else was injured.

“The male was transported to hospital in critical condition and succumbed to his injuries,” the statement read.

Asefon said that the impression in the public as gathered during an interaction with the official of the National Association of Nigerian students (NANS) earlier on the case, was that the killing was racially motivated.

He said this was as the demised student was not welding a gun at the time of the incident and that the police officers would have acted differently if he were to be a white.

He, thus, appealed to NANS and the entire Nigerian students to remain calm, vowed to follow the case up diligently untill the Canadian authorities gave true account of the death of the Nigerian student.

He said the his office would also see to it that the deceased family was compensated accordingly, to avoid a diplomatic row that might lead to the closure of their embassy in Nigeria by Nigerian student Apex body NANS as earlier threatened.

He further called on Nigerian students in Canada to also remain peaceful as his office would ensure that justice was served.

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JUST IN: Minister Adebayo Adelabu WhatsApp Number Hacked [DETAILS]

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2024

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•Minister Of Power, Adebayo Adelabu WhatsApp Number has been Hacked.

THECLOUDNGR The WhatsApp number of Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has reportedly been hacked, prompting a warning from his spokesperson, Bolaji Tunji.

The announcement was made in a brief notice sent to the Daily Post by Tunji on Thursday night.

Tunji urged Nigerians to ignore any requests for money or financial assistance originating from the compromised phone number, stating, “HM of power number has been hacked on WhatsApp. Kindly disregard any appeal for money or any assistance for financial support through the number 08022901928.”

This incident follows closely on the heels of similar security breaches involving other government officials.

Just six days prior, the WhatsApp number of the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, was hacked, and earlier, the same fate befell the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh.

TCN recalls that the WhatsApp number of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, in August was also hacked by fraudsters, leading to an attempt to defraud several of his contacts.

The incident came to light when some individuals on the governor’s contact list received messages from his WhatsApp number, requesting that money be sent to a specified account with a promise of a refund later.

In a related incident, Osun State Government, in July issued a public alert on the security breach of Governor Ademola Adeleke‘s official telephone number.

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Bobrisky: Why I Didn’t File Suit Against VeryDarkMan – Falana

Published

6 hours ago

October 4, 2024

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Bobrisky: Why I Didn’t File Suit Against VeryDarkMan – Falana—-Prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has revealed that he is resisting the urge to file criminal charges against a blogger, Martins Otse, who is better known as VeryDarkMan.

The blogger had recently published an audio clip accusing Falana of helping cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky, secure a pardon.

Falana clarified that he has no connection with Bobrisky.

Speaking for the first time since the audio surfaced, Falana addressed the situation, stating that VeryDarkMan released a recording of a supposed conversation between Bobrisky and an unidentified person. In the clip, Bobrisky allegedly claimed to have bribed officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with ₦15 million to drop a money laundering case against him.

The recording also suggested that Bobrisky reached out to Falana’s son, Folarin (Falz), seeking his father’s influence to obtain a presidential pardon, with a demand for ₦10 million.

The House of Representatives is currently investigating the allegations, and the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has established an independent panel to look into the accusations against officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service.

Appearing on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Falana criticized the audio, stating that he would have pursued legal action if not for his ongoing advocacy for the decriminalization of free speech.

Falana remarked, “Bobrisky never spoke to me. I’ve never met him. I don’t know him from Adam. He was alleged to have spoken to my son, Folarin (Falz).” He continued by explaining that his son did receive a call from Bobrisky on May 4, requesting financial assistance to secure a placement in a VIP section of the prison. Falz, however, refused to engage, asking Bobrisky to only make requests through official prison channels.

Falana added, “We are going to examine the call logs… My son has never negotiated fees on behalf of anyone.”

The senior lawyer emphasized that although he had the opportunity to file a criminal case, he chose not to, given his role in a broader campaign across West Africa aimed at decriminalizing freedom of expression.

“This campaign is being coordinated by the Media Foundation for West Africa, where I’m a board member… We have succeeded in getting Liberia, Ghana, and Sierra Leone to decriminalize free expression. We are appealing to other countries to follow suit.”

He cautioned, however, that freedom of expression does not justify defamation or blackmail, and expressed his intent to take civil action if an acceptable apology is not offered.

Falana concluded, “We have asked for a retraction and an apology… If we don’t receive them, we will initiate civil proceedings in the High Court.”

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