DSS Releases NLC President, Joe Ajaero, On Bail

Published

2 months ago

September 10, 2024

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The Department of State Services (DSS) has granted bail to Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, allowing him to be released from custody.

Naija News recalls that operatives of the DSS had on Monday morning arrested Ajaero at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on his way to the United Kingdom.

The NLC leader was scheduled to attend a conference of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the UK.

Following Ajaero’s arrest, the NLC summoned an emergency meeting of its National Administrative Council (NAC) to discuss the arrest and chart a course of action.

At the end of the meeting, the NLC unequivocally condemned the arrest and detention of Ajaero by security operatives. It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of its detained president before 12 midnight.

The labour union said the arrest was an attack against all Nigerian workers.

The NLC in a communique issued at the end of the meeting, which was signed by its deputy president, Adeyanju Adewale, also placed all its affiliates, state councils and Nigerians on a red alert.

It said the arrest of Ajaero is another attempt to delay the implementation of the new minimum wage.

The union also demanded the immediate reversal of the price of petrol to ₦617 per litre.

In mobilizing for further action, the NLC also summoned an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC), scheduled for tomorrow, 10th September, to discuss the situation and take fresh action.

The NLC warned the government to stop the dangerous trend of going after dissenting voices, adding that it would not waver in its duty to protect the rights of workers and the freedom of all Nigerians.

TV chef found dead in hotel aged 52 after criticising Vladimir Putin

Published

6 mins ago

November 14, 2024

Ekwutos Blog

Alexei Zimin has died

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A TV chef who fled to London after his opposition of Vladimir Putoin has been found dead while on a promotional tour

A Russian TV chef who criticised Vladimir Putin has been found dead in a Belgrade hotel

Alexei Zimin, 52, died suddenly on a promotional tour to the Serbian capital. Authorities have said his cause of death is currently “unclear”.

Zimin fled Russia to London after his oppositions of Putin. Zimin was once a popular figure on Russian cooking shows. He also owned Zima restaurant in Soho, which he founded after he had left Russia following Putin’s invasion of Crimea.

In a statement released by Zima magazine today, a spokesperson said: “Alexei Zimin, the project’s editor-in-chief and the chef of the Zima restaurant, has passed away. Alexei was not only a colleague, he was our friend, a close person with whom we were lucky to go through a lot – both good, kind and sad.”

London-based exiled Russian TV chef, editor and restaurateur Alexei Zimin, dies at 52.

It concluded: “Thank you to everyone for the words we received today about Alexei. We are hurting together with you.”

Zimin had also been editor-in-chief of the Russian edition of GQ magazine.

MC Oluomo rejected as NURTW national president

Published

16 hours ago

November 13, 2024

Ekwutos Blog

MC Oluomo rejected as NURTW national president

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MC Oluomo rejected as NURTW national president

Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo’s recent election as National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) has faced strong opposition.

Tajudeen Baruwa, is insisting that he is the union’s rightful leader.

Baruwa, supported by court rulings from both the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal, contended that MC Oluomo’s appointment disregards legal decisions and violates the union’s constitution.

Baruwa, who assumed office in 2023, has been engaged in a legal tussle with a faction led by former President Najeem Usman Yasin.

After Baruwa’s election, Yasin’s faction formed a caretaker committee to challenge his leadership.

Baruwa responded by seeking judicial intervention, which led to a favorable ruling in March 2024.

This decision dissolved the caretaker committee and affirmed Baruwa’s position.

However, the conflict escalated when Yasin appealed the ruling.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed the appeal earlier this month, confirming Baruwa’s leadership and prohibiting Yasin from further interference in union matters.

Despite these legal victories, MC Oluomo’s inauguration has been described as a direct challenge to the judiciary and the union’s governance.

Baruwa has called on the Attorney General of the Federation to ensure compliance with court orders, asserting his authority as the legally recognized leader of NURTW.

“It appears a faction took it upon themselves, without regard for the union’s constitution or court decisions, to select a random individual as President,” Baruwa said.

“Musiliu Ayinde Akinsanya, also known as MC Oluomo, is not, and cannot be, the National President of the Union,” he stated, urging media outlets to disregard any reports suggesting otherwise.

Israeli forces kill 14 people in Gaza, force new displacement in the north

Published

19 hours ago

November 13, 2024

Ekwutos Blog

A child looks on as Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on tents of displaced people, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip November 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed © Thomson Reuters

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By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli military strikes killed at least 14 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, as Israeli forces deepened their incursion into Beit Hanoun town in the north, forcing most remaining residents to leave.

Residents said Israeli forces besieged shelters housing displaced families and the remaining population, which some estimated at a few thousand, ordering them to head south through a checkpoint separating two towns and a refugee camp in the north from Gaza City.

Men were held for questioning, while women and children were allowed to continue towards Gaza City, residents and Palestinian medics said.

Israel’s campaign in the north of Gaza, and the evacuation of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the area, has fueled claims from Palestinians that it is clearing the area for use as a buffer zone and potentially for a return of Jewish settlers.

A Palestinian man inspects the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip November 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
© Thomson Reuters

“The scenes of the 1948 catastrophe are being repeated. Israel is repeating its massacres, displacement and destruction,” said Saed, 48, a resident of Beit Lahiya, who arrived in Gaza City on Wednesday.

“North Gaza is being turned into a large buffer zone, Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing under the sight and hearing of the impotent world,” he told Reuters via a chat app.

Saed was referring to the 1948 Middle East Arab-Israeli war which gave birth to the state of Israel and saw the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their home towns and villages in what is now Israel.

NO PLANS FOR SETTLERS’ RETURN

The Israeli military has denied any such intention, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he does not want to reverse the 2005 withdrawal of settlers from Gaza. Hardliners in his government have talked openly about going back.

A Palestinian firefighter works to extinguish fire following an Israeli strike on tents of displaced people, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Mustafa
© Thomson Reuters

It said forces have killed hundreds of Hamas militants in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun during its new military offensive, which began more than a month ago. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad armed wing claimed killing several Israeli soldiers during ambushes and anti-tank rocket fire.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip November 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
© Thomson Reuters

On Tuesday, the United States stressed at the United Nations that “there must be no forcible displacement, nor policy of starvation in Gaza” by Israel, warning such policies would have grave implications under U.S. and international law.

Medics said five people were killed in an Israeli strike that hit a group of people outside Kamal Adwan Hospital near Beit Lahiya, while five others were killed in two separate strikes in Nuseirat in central Gaza Strip where the army began a limited raid two days ago.

In Rafah, near the border with Egypt, one man was killed and several others were wounded in an Israeli airstrike, while three Palestinians were killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes in Shejaia suburb of Gaza City, medics added.

Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel last October, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 43,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza over the past year, Palestinian health officials say, and Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland of wrecked buildings and piles of rubble, where more than 2 million Gazans are seeking shelter in makeshift tents and facing shortages of food and medicines.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip November 13, 2024. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
© Thomson Reuters