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.

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

No Bomb Explosion In Jos – Commissioner Of Police Debunks Reports

The Plateau State Command has debunked reports of a bomb explosion in Jos, the state capital, on Tuesday.

There were reports of an explosion in Jos terminus area of Plateau State in the early hours of Tuesday.

However, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Adesina debunked the reports, urging residents to go about their normal activities without fear.

According to the CP, the area is safe and free of any threats to lives and properties.

The CP disclosed this after an on the spot assessment of the area in company of members of his management team.

A statement issued by the Command read, “In the early hours of today the 12th day of November 2024 at exactly 08:20am, the Plateau State Police Command received a report of a shallow dug hole suspected to be planted with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Murtala Way beside Old JUTH fence which created panic among the residents of the State.

“Upon receiving this report, the Plateau State Commissioner of Police,CP Emmanuel Olugbemiga Adesina, immediately ordered the Area Commander Metro and the Officer in Charge of the Command’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit (Anti-Bomb Squad) to mobilize a team of bomb technicians to the scene in collaboration with the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), “C” Division to assess the situation and take necessary actions.

“On reaching the scene, the area was immediately cordoned and our EOD Team began examination. Upon conclusion of the examination, the hole was found to be safe and free of any explosive devices.”

The CP commended residents for being security conscious and cooperating with the Police throughout the exercise.