Anti-government protesters are currently at the gate of the presidential villa in Abuja.
They had earlier converged on the Unity Fountain where they were addressed by security personnel.
More to follow…
At the Lagos leg of the nationwide anti-government protest, police officers deployed to maintain security are momentarily more than the protesters.
TheCable’s reporter at the National Stadium, Surulere, says there are over 20 police vans strategically positioned around the area.
Police had begun converging at the National Stadium axis as early as 6am on Monday, the reporter observed.
While there are not less than 200 police officers scattered around the area, the number of protesters is less than that figure.
The march has just begun and protesters are heading to National Theatre, Iganmu.
The protest is being led by Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, Gbenga Sesan, executive director of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), and representatives of Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria.
Comedian, Seyi Law, as promised, showed up at the protest.
Protesting students of Osun State University have attempted to set a hospital ablaze, accusing the hospital of not giving a fellow student who died there adequate care.
The students also blocked the Osogbo-Ibokun highway for several hours before policemen eventually dispersed them.
Channels Television also learnt that the management of the institution had handed over the corpse of the late student to her parents.
Feyisara Odeyinka, 19, an anatomy student at the school, died at a private hospital in Oke-Baale, where she was taken after a sickle cell anemia crisis.
The doctor at the hospital told other students who brought Feyisara that the girl would be on admission but the patient declined and insisted that she wanted to return to her hostel.
It was learnt that her case degenerated later at the hostel and her colleagues took her back to the same hospital, where she eventually died while receiving treatment.
Her death triggered another protest, as students of the university attempted to set the hospital ablaze, accusing the doctor of not given her adequate medical attention when her case became worse.
The spokesperson for the police in the state, Folasade Odoro, told Channels Television’s correspondent, Bosede Sodiq, that police would ensure proper investigation into the death of the student and advised other students to remain calm and allow peace to reign.
In the meantime, the management of the institution has directed all students to go home for seven days in order to calm frayed nerves and to be able to avoid breakdown of law and order.
Source: Channels TV
Dozens of rightwing protesters burst into Brazil’s legislative chamber on Wednesday to demand a military coup.
The approximately 40 people swept past security guards and broke a glass door to get into the chamber of the lower house of Congress, interrupting the start of the session.
Taking over the podium they chanted “general here, general here,” in reference to support for a takeover by the army.
Brazil was ruled by a military government from 1964 to 1985 and a small minority of Brazilians support the idea of a new takeover in response to widespread corruption and a floundering economy.
The chamber was mostly empty at the time, but the scenes of shouting protesters were played on national television. All the demonstrators were detained by police for questioning.
“It’s worrying and serves as a warning. We are returning to an era of extremes,” said one congressional deputy, Betinho Gomes.
Later in the day, President Michel Temer’s spokesman, Alexandre Parola, called the protest an “affront” and said it was a “violation of the norms of democratic coexistence.”
“Episodes like today’s are unacceptable and will be fought in the light of law and in defense of the integrity of each of the state’s institutions,” he said.
Brazil endured a turbulent day Wednesday as Rio de Janeiro riot police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades into an angry crowd protesting proposed austerity measures for the state of Rio.
More than 2,000 people, ranging from teachers to off-duty police officers, faced off against elite Shock Battalion police outside the state legislature in the center of Rio.
Rio state Governor Luiz Fernando Pezao, a member of Temer’s conservative party, is pushing budget cuts in response to nearly empty public coffers.
The state has been in crisis all year and required a huge federal bailout just before hosting the Olympic Games in August.
Demonstrators marched in cities across the United States on Wednesday to protest against Republican Donald Trump’s surprise presidential election win, blasting his campaign rhetoric about immigrants, Muslims and other groups.
In New York, thousands filled streets in midtown Manhattan as they made their way to Trump Tower, Trump’s gilded home on Fifth Avenue. Hundreds of others gathered at a Manhattan park and shouted “Not my president.”
In Los Angeles, protesters sat on the 110 and 101 highway interchange, blocking traffic on one of the city’s main arteries as police in riot gear tried to clear them. Some 13 protesters were arrested, a local CBS affiliate reported.
An earlier rally and march in Los Angeles drew more than 5,000 people, many of them high school and college students, local media reported.
A demonstration of more than 6,000 people blocked traffic in Oakland, California, police said. Protesters threw objects at police in riot gear, burned trash in the middle of an intersection, set off fireworks and smashed store front windows.
Police responded by throwing chemical irritants at the protesters, according to a Reuters witness.
Two officers were injured in Oakland and two police squad cars were damaged, Johnna Watson, spokeswoman for the Oakland Police Department told CNN.
In downtown Chicago, an estimated 1,800 people gathered outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower, chanting phrases like “No Trump! No KKK! No racist USA.”
Chicago police closed roads in the area, impeding the demonstrators’ path. There were no immediate reports of arrests or violence there.
“I’m just really terrified about what is happening in this country,” said 22-year-old Adriana Rizzo in Chicago, who was holding a sign that read: “Enjoy your rights while you can.”
In Seattle, police responded to a shooting with multiple victims near the scene of anti-Trump protests. Police said it was unrelated to the demonstrations.
Protesters railed against Trump’s campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico to keep immigrants from entering the United States illegally.
Hundreds also gathered in Philadelphia, Boston and Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday evening. In Austin, the Texas capital, about 400 people marched through the streets, police said.
A representative of the Trump campaign did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the protests. Trump said in his victory speech he would be president for all Americans, saying: “It is time for us to come together as one united people.”
Earlier this month, his campaign rejected the support of a Ku Klux Klan newspaper and said that “Mr. Trump and his campaign denounces hate in any form.”
“DREAMERS” FEAR DEPORTATION
Earlier on Wednesday, some 1,500 students and teachers rallied in the courtyard of Berkeley High School, in a San Francisco Bay Area city known for its liberal politics, before marching toward the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.
Hundreds of high school and college students also walked out in protest in Seattle, Phoenix, Los Angeles and three other Bay Area cities – Oakland, Richmond and El Cerrito.
A predominantly Latino group of about 300 high school students walked out of classes on Wednesday in Los Angeles and marched to the steps of City Hall, where they held a brief but boisterous rally.
Chanting in Spanish “the people united will never be defeated,” the group held signs with slogans such as “Not Supporting Racism, Not My President” and “Immigrants Make America Great.”
Many of those students were members of the “Dreamers” generation, children whose parents entered the United States with them illegally, school officials said, and who fear deportation under a Trump administration.
“A child should not live in fear that they will be deported,” said Stephanie Hipolito, one of the student organizers of the walkout. She said her parents were U.S. citizens.
There were no immediate reports of arrests or violence.
Wednesday’s demonstrations followed a night of protests in the San Francisco area and elsewhere in the country in response to Trump’s victory against heavily favored Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
(Reporting by Noah Berger and Stephen Lam in Oakland, Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago, Alexander Besant in New York, Curtis Skinner in Berkeley, California, Brendan O’Brien in Milwaukee and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler, Peter Cooney and Paul Tait)
South African students protesting against high tuition fees have demanded that all universities be shut until the government provides free education, Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) said on Friday.
Student leaders, whose protests have forced Wits and Cape Town universities to suspend classes twice in less than a month, could not be reached immediately for comment.
Wits was aiming to reopen on Monday after police clashed earlier this week with student demonstrators on the campus in scenes that recalled apartheid-era skirmishes.
Wits said in a statement that it had “no agreement from the protesting students that the academic program will continue on Monday” and that it had suspended a general assembly scheduled for midday Friday to thrash out differences.
“One of the latest demands of the protesting students is that Wits and all other universities should be shut down until government agrees to free education,” Wits said.
The cost of university education, prohibitive for many black students, has become a symbol of the inequalities that endure in South Africa more than two decades after the end of apartheid.
Wits’ vice-chancellor Adam Habib told a media briefing that the university was striving to save the current academic year, which in the southern hemisphere ends in December.
“The struggle for free education is a noble cause. But it is not a cause that requires the sacrifice of the 2016 academic year,” Habib said.
The government, grappling with a budget deficit of nearly 4 percent of GDP, has capped 2017 fee increases for next year at 8 percent, but warns that education subsidies should not come at the expense of other sectors like health and housing.
The National Treasury allocated nearly 300 billion rand ($21.5 billion)towards education in its 1.46 trillion rand 2016/17 budget, compared with 168 billion rand for health.
Read More: reuters
There is an ongoing protest at the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Office in Benin, venue of the collation of results for Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
The protesters, many of whom are from Esan West and Esan East local government areas, are protesting against the conduct of the election in their area.
They are asking INEC to stop the announcement of results from the area.
Read More:
http://punchng.com/edo-election-protesters-storm-inec-office-benin/
Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Thursday, warned against the use of force against the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners, saying that the group should be given their space to protest.
He also noted that protests by the group could not be too much as long as the Chibok girls remained Boko Haram captives.
Soyinka said this at a symposium to start the 20th anniversary programme of Halifield Schools, Maryland, Lagos.
The social commentator, who delivered the keynote address, added that peaceful demonstration was a democratic right which could not constitute threats to national security and public order.
The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had on Wednesday, warned the BBOG campaigners against continuing with their street processions, which he said constituted a security threat to public peace and order.
He stated that the police “will not sit on the fence and watch such a scenario unfold.”
But Soyinka, while reacting to the IG’s comments at the occasion, noted that it would be dangerous to forget the missing Chibok girls, saying that it could boost their morale and teach pupils in the country the need to stand up for their rights.
‘‘I saw a report in a national daily that demonstrations on behalf of the Chibok girls pose a threat to national security and I thought, not again. My mind flew back immediately to another governor under whose democratic leadership, parents were tear-gassed for demonstrating peacefully about losing their children in a plane crash in Port Harcourt.
“Democracy is not just about campaigning. It is exercising human rights. It is about helping to build the society. Demonstrations cannot be too much as long as those girls are missing. Demonstrations are an act of solidarity. Wherever they are today, when their mothers demonstrate on their behalf, their morale is raised.
“That is my message to security operatives who get scared of those who are agitating for a cause and fire tear gas at them. They must be treated with utmost respect and must be given their space. It is an act of solidarity for the children. Otherwise, when you stop these demonstrations, you are saying forget about the children,’’ he said.
Soyinka, who also urged the Federal Government and its agencies to speak with one voice, said Nigerians should express solidarity with the missing girls and their families.
Read More:
http://punchng.com/bbog-protesters-not-security-threat-soyinka-replies-ig/
The Inspector General of Police Mr ?Solomon Arase has ordered the immediate disarmament of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Arase’s order followed the killing some police officers in Asaba, Delta state, by a mob of Biafra campaigners on Monday.
He gave the order to the heads of the police formations in the southeast, saying that IPOB had crossed the line.
“Following the manifestation of the disposition of the armed Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) activists to undertake premeditated attacks on Police officers engage in operations aimed at restoring public order in states in the south-east and south-south geopolitical zone of the country, the inspector-general of police,IGP Solomon E. Arase has directed the assistant inspectors general of police and the commissioners of police in the affected area to disarm members of the group operating firearms immediately,” a statement issued by Olabisi Kolawole, police spokesperson, on Tuesday, read.
“The IGP noted that the targeted attacks on Police personnel, who have been performing their statutory functions in the most professional and civil manner since the latest resurgence disorder, portrays the IPOB activists who are orchestrating the insurrection as having crossed the threshold in their misguided attempt to test the common will of the nation.
“IGP Arase, while condemning the killing by members of IPOB, also directed the arrest of any member of the group found in possession of firearm and bring him/her to deserved justice, while all IPOB activists arrested in connection with the killing of the Policemen should be charged to court for murder.”
The police say that they “will continue to diligently work towards eliminating any threat to internal security and assure Nigerians of their commitment to their safety and security.”
Credit: Sun
Members of the Campaign for the Defence of Human Rights who staged a public protest against corruption in Osogbo, the Osun State capital on Wednesday, stopped the convoy of Governor Rauf Aregbesola on his way to the office.
Members of the CDHR, who were marching against corruption in the public sector, had blocked one of the lanes of the Gbongan-Ibadan Expressway while they were being watched by security officials.
The governor’s convoy met members of the CDHR in front of the Federal High Court but the group, armed with anti-corruption banners and leaflets, initially did not give way to the convoy until the policemen in the pilot vehicles came down and dispersed the protesters.
The protesters said the amount of money looted from the public treasury was enough to provide first- class infrastructure all over the country. They lamented the hardship and endemic corruption which Nigeria had been plunged into.
The Chairman of the CDHR in Osun State, Mr. Akin Asifat, said corruption was responsible for the current economic crisis the nation was facing.
The governor later received members of the CDHR, who dropped their letter with him at the Governor’s Office.
Aregbesola commended them for their efforts against human rights abuses, saying many Nigerians had benefited from their efforts.
He said, “As we are condemning corruption, so must we speak against low productivity, corruption is a scourge that must be stopped and low productivity is a curse that must be rejected.”
The governor urged them to continue to support the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
Credit: Punch
“The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase has issued a stern warning to MASSOB and IPOB activists to stop threatening public peace or face the full weight of the law. The warning followed the observation by the Nigeria Police Force leadership of the increasing resort to acts of brigandage by sets of misguided individuals who apparently are hiding under the cloak of Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to threaten national security and public peace in parts of South East geopolitical Zone and some other conterminous States.
“The latest manifestation of this threat is the attempt to blockade the Onitsha end of Niger Bridge on 1st December, 2015, an action that caused major hardship to innocent and law abiding motorists, and citizens. The act also occasioned serious dislocation of business activities.
“The Inspector-General of Police notes that the increasing resort to acts of brigandage of this nature is pointing to a clear attempt by the brains behind these protests to test the will of security agencies to restore order and guarantee internal cohesion.
“For the avoidance of doubts, the IGP further notes, the restoration and maintenance of law and public order, and protection of lives and property remain sacred and statutory Mandate of the Nigeria Police. This Mandate, according to him, shall be fully executed in the overriding interests of the nation and vast majority of citizens and residents of the South East geopolitical Zone.
“Consequently, the Inspector-General of Police has directed the mobilisation and deployment of Police Mobile Force (PMF) across the country to reinforce security in the State Commands that MASSOB and IPOB are currently attempting to utilise as launching pad for their sinister intentions.
“The Assistant Inspectors – General of Police Zone 5, (Benin); Zone 6, (Calabar) and Zone 9 (Umuahia) as well as all Commissioners of Police in the affected States in the South East and neigbouring States have also been directed to henceforth maximally exercise their statutory Mandate in relation to prevention and disruption of any gathering that threatens public order and national cohesion.
“Any person or group of persons so arrested in furtherance to the enforcement of this order will be made to face the full wrath of the law.
To this end, the Inspector-General of Police advises parents and guardians to call their children and wards to order as the patience of the Force is being stretched to the limit. He firmly affirmed that no individual or group interest can override the interest of the nation and that democratic values provide for exploration of rule of law to advance any concern, not the resort to endless and misguided acts of brigandage, unless there is an ulterior motive as the extant instance tends to dictate.
“He concluded by asserting that the Nigeria Police Force will not fold its law enforcement arms to allow few misguided elements to continually force hardships on fellow Nigerians either in the South East or any other part of the nation for that matter.
Ag. ACP OLABISI KOLAWOLE
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,
FORCE HEADQUARTERS,
ABUJA
The pro-Biafra protesters who blocked the Onitsha end of the Niger Bridge in Anambra State have left the scene.
According to our reporter, some level of normalcy is returning as the road is now open.
The protesters numbering over 100 took over the entire road for over ten hours forcing travellers and motorists to remain on one spot.
According to an eyewitness, the protesters who were agitating for the release of their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, have shown no sign of ending the siege.
Credit: PremiumTimes
Apparently piqued by the growing secessionist protests in some parts of the country, the Nigerian Army has warned in strong terms its resolve to resort to use of minimum force if called upon to do so. The army’s position followed simultaneous media parleys in Lagos and Jos, the Plateau State capital, on Monday. General Officers Commanding 81 and 3 Divisions of the Nigerian Army, Majors- General Isidore Edet and Hassan Umaru, respectively, issued these warnings while meeting with media.
In like manner, the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army also pledged its readiness to suppress insurrection in the South East and South-South geopolitical zones whenever it was called upon to do so. The Jos briefing was held at the Maxwell Kobe Cantonment, Rukuba, Plateau State, while that of Lagos was held at the 81 Division Officers Mess, Onikan. In Lagos, Gen. Edet of 81 Division, said the Nigerian Army would not stand idly by and allow some dissidents to disrupt the peace being enjoyed in the country as well as truncate the nation’s democracy.
He therefore said that the Army could be forced into using minimum force in dealing with civilians agitating specifically for the return of Biafra Republic. “It is the duty of an officer or soldier to ensure the enforcement of law and order. In conjunction with other security agencies, troops are duty bound to intervene in any situation to avoid a breakdown in peace and stability of an area where they are deployed,” Maj-Gen. Umaru said. “It is inexcusable for troops to stand aside and watch security situation deteriorate and for avoidance of doubt, the rule of engagement for internal security operations include principle of minimum force and proportionality must be applied at all times.”
Credit: DailyTimes
Hundreds of protesters on Tuesday barricaded the entrance of the National Assembly in Abuja, singing solidarity songs in support of the embattled Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who is currently facing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal over alleged falsification of documents in his assets declaration form when he was governor in Kwara State.
The protesters, who carried placards with different inscriptions such as, “Enough is enough, we support Saraki and Ekweremadu,” warned anti-graft agencies to desist from being used to witch-hunt perceived “political enemies.”
Police have arrested two topless activists who stormed a Muslim conference in Paris and were kicked and dragged off stage over the weekend. The women, though unnamed, are reportedly part of feminist collective Femen.
Femen spokesperson Inna Shevchenko said on Twitter that the imam on stage “said husbands should not beat their wives”? just before the two women ripped off their clothing and jumped on stage. They had French and Arabic words written across their bodies, roughly translating to “Nobody submits me” and “I am my own prophet.”
Credit: cosmopolitan
Rihanna had a violent run-in with an old foe — angry protesters interrupted the singer’s perfume launch.
Rihanna was at a Macy’s in Brooklyn on Monday for the release of her new perfume line “RiRi” when the fur-huggers lashed out. You can see from the video — security quickly steps in to remove the protesters but not before Rihanna took notice.
This isn’t the first time the singer has been criticized for wearing animal products — she was attacked by PETA in 2012 for wearing snake-skin boots.
Read More: tmz
Some protesters stormed the National Assembly on Wednesday and demanded a legislation that would prescribed death penalty as punishment for corruption in the country.
Speaking under a group, Voice of the Voiceless, they said there was no way Nigeria would made progress if corruption in public office was not brought under control.
They wrote separate letters to the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.
In the letter to the House, which was signed by the National Coordinator of the group, Mr. Oliver Ezeala, the protesters wrote, “Corruption, as we are all aware of, has eaten so deep into the fabric of this great nation and we are strongly advocating the death penalty to anybody who is found guilty of corrupt practices, no matter how highly-placed such an individual is in the society.
“Nigeria has tried every other measure of deterrent but to no avail.
“We want this great nation to toe the path of countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, China and other world powers who have achieved so much developmental strides as a result of their zero tolerance for corruption.”
However, they said they were confident that with President Muhammadu Buhari in power, the fight against corruption would be fast-tracked.
“We believe that he will fight this our common hydra-headed enemy to a complete standstill,” the letter added.
Read More: punchng
Protests rock Peoples Democratic Party national secretariat as protesters demand immediate resignation of National Working Committee.
More Details On: punchng
Thousands of people took to the streets of Cameroon’s capital on Saturday to denounce Boko Haram’s bloody insurgency and call for the killing of the group’s leader Abubakar Shekau.
“This march symbolises Cameroon’s unity against Boko Haram,” the country’s Labour Minister Gregoire Owona told marchers in Yaounde, before shouting “Shekau!” In response, the crowd which organisers said numbered 10,000-15,000, chanted: “You are dead, you are a coward.”
Several ministers led the vocal, but peaceful march, which saw protestors waving the flags of Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria.
“It was important to be here for me, for my brothers who are on the front, for my country,” said marcher Philomene Ekombo, a Cameroonian flag in hand.
Read More: vanguardngr
Reports provide accusations against the PDP, saying that the party had paid people to protest against Buhari in London. Here are the protesters:
Burkina Faso’s military vowed to install a unity government after tightening its control over the west African nation, firing tear gas and shots in the air to disperse protesters denouncing an army power grab.
Threatened with economic sanctions, the military pledged to put in place a transition government formed by “broad consensus”.
The army has stepped into the power vacuum left by president Blaise Compaore, who was forced to resign in the wake of violent street demonstrations over his 27-year-rule that some have likened to the Arab Spring.
But the military said it was acting only with the interests of the nation at heart and that “power does not interest us”.
“What is currently at stake is more than self interest,” it said in a statement issued after Isaac Zida — the man it named as interim chief — met opposition leaders.
UN envoy for West Africa Mohamed Ibn Chambas said he had joined African leaders in pressing the country’s military top brass to hand power back to civilians.
Read More: http://news.yahoo.com
If the army refuses, “the consequences are pretty clear”, he said. “We want to avoid having to impose sanctions on Burkina Faso.” There were similar calls from the United States and European Union.
Protesters angry at plans to allow Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaore to extend his 27-year-rule have set fire to parliament.
The BBC’s Laeila Adjovi in the capital, Ouagadougou, say the city hall and ruling party headquarters are also in flames. Earlier, the military reportedly fired at protesters who stormed parliament.
Parliament was due to consider changing the constitution so that Mr Compaore can run for office again next year. He first took power in a coup in 1987, and has won four disputed elections since then.
The opposition has called for a campaign of civil disobedience to demand that he steps down in next year’s elections.
State television has gone off air after protesters stormed the building housing it and ransacked it, Reuters news agency quotes a witness as saying.
Smoke could be seen billowing from parliament. Police had earlier fired tear gas to prevent protesters from moving in on the parliamentary building.
But about 1,500 people managed to breach the security cordon and were ransacking parliament, AFP news agency reports. Protesters were setting fire to documents and stealing computer equipment; cars outside the building are also on fire, it reports.
Seen on: http://www.bbc.com
Protesters demanding the release of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped six months ago by Islamist militants, demonstrated in front of the president’s home on Tuesday, urging the government to do more to free them. Around 60 people in red T-shirts that read “Bring Back Our Girls” marched to the residence of President Goodluck Jonathan in a leafy part of the Nigerian capital, which was guarded by more than 150 armed police. Scores of other protesters were prevented from joining the rally by other police lines at the top of the street.
“I want the president to try and bring back my friends,” said Rebecca Ishaku, who managed to escape from the clutches of the Boko Haram militants, she adds that, “I can’t even imagine what’s happening to them.”
A leader of the organisation of Chibok parents, Hosiah Lawan, struggled to hold back tears as he addressed the crowd, some of whom were also crying. He said government reassurances of an imminent rescue had originally given him hope. “That hope is now fading fast,” he said.
Jonathan sent his minister for lands and housing, Akon Eyakenyi, to meet the protesters, who were chanting “Bring back our girls now, and alive!” and waving banners. “The president will do something …. by the grace of God the girls will be brought back home,” Eyakenyi said.
