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BREAKING: Buhari Reshuffles Cabinet, Swears In Seven New Ministers

By
Koko Lawrence
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President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday reshuffled his cabinet, seven months before the 2023 presidential election in the country.

The President also administered an oath of office to seven newly appointed ministers recently confirmed by the Senate.

The new ministers took the oath of office shortly before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council Meeting at the Council Chamber.

He urged the new ministerial appointees to consider their emergence as a call to duty that demands diligent service to the nation.

Those sworn in are Henry Ikoh (Abia), Umana Okon Umana (Akwa-Ibom), Udi Odum (Rivers), Ademola Adegoroye (Ondo), Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub (Kano), Goodluck Nana Opiah (Imo) and Ekumankama Nkama (Ebonyi).

The new ministers replace those who resigned their appointments to contest for various elective offices during the 2023 general elections in April.

Before the council meeting, a minute of silence was observed in honour of the outgoing Secretary-General of OPEC Mohammed Barkindo who died on Tuesday evening, hours after meeting with Buhari.

Meanwhile, physically in attendance is the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, and Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari.

Also physically attending the meeting are Ministers of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite; Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.

The Head service of the Federation Folashade Yemi Esan and other Ministers are attending virtually from their various offices in Abuja.

Health Body Declares End To Ebola Outbreak In Congo

By
Olasunbo Okoromi
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The latest outbreak of the Ebola disease in Congo has officially been declared over, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Who Health Organisation said, the outbreak affected the north western Équateur province, with the first case recorded there on April 23.

It said that in total, there were four confirmed cases and one suspected case, all patients died of the disease.

In a previous outbreak in the province between June and November 2020, a total of 130 cases were detected and 55 people died.

However, the latest outbreak was the 14th recorded in the country of 90 million since 1976.

Between 2014 and 2016, the largest outbreak of the disease took place in West Africa with more than 11,000 deaths.

BREAKING: Over 600 Inmates Escape From Kuje Prison

By
Koko Lawrence
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The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr Shuaib Belgore, has said over 600 of the inmates fled the prisons when it came under attack late Tuesday night.

Belgore stated that those behind the attack were Boko Haram terrorists who came specifically for their members held in the custody.

He, however, said about 300 had been recaptured, while 300 were still at large.

Speaking while addressing journalists, he also said an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps was killed during the attack.

He said, “There have been several attacks on our facilities most of them are being repelled, but every now and then, there is one that they have succeeded. In this is one they came very determined with high explosives.

“The initial entry attempt was unsuccessful, then they attacked another section of the wall with higher grade explosives which brought the wall down.

“The forces on the ground did everything they could to repel them but the number they came with was high which they were not able to defend against. They kept on fighting gallantly unfortunately the breach happened. Reinforcement came when they were halfway through it. They were eventually repelled.

“At the time they came in they killed one NSCDC operative while trying to save the situation. The inmates here are 994.

“We understand they are Boko Haram terrorists and came specifically came for their conspirators. Many of them have returned, some were retrieved from the bushes they were hiding, right now we have retrieved about 300 out of about 600 that got out of the jail.”

Virginal Fistula: ISOWN, USAID partner On Care, Rehabilitation

By
Olasunbo Okoromi
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The Institute of Social Works of Nigeria (ISOWN) says it is collaborating with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide professional services on fistula care and rehabilitation across the federation.

Mr Yakubu Oni, MOMENTUM Safe Surgery in Family Planning and Obstetrics (MSSFPO) Project Director, said this at the inauguration workshop of the project tagged “Strengthening  Rehabilitation and Reintegration services’’ in Abuja. Virginal fistula is an unusual opening that connects the Virginal to another organ such as the bladder, colon or rectum.

Oni said that Obstetric fistula remained a threat to the girl-child and every woman with statistics showing an increasing numbers in cases recorded in spite of tremendous effort of the Federal and State Governments.

Oni said the USAID-funded project would be implemented by ISOWN in five states: Ebonyi, Bauchi, Sokoto, Kebbi and FCT in the first phase.

According to him, ISOWN is expected to provide social work services on the project which includes strengthening rehabilitation and reintegration services, being crucial aspects of the programme.

He described rehabilitation and reintegration services as critical factors that determine holistic intervention in obstetric fistula issues in the country.

Mr Michael Aniekan, the Project Manager, said the event was an engagement with key stakeholders to carry out skill training sessions to achieve status quo analysis on personnel perspective of strengthening rehabilitation and reintegration in identified facilities.

He added that it was for stakeholders from Federal and State Governments ready to drum support for women and young girls faced with fistula cases with readiness to engage society at different states mapped for intervention.

Dr Kabiru Atta, USAID Country Representative, Engender Health, and Project Manager of MSSFPO project as well as a lead partner, lauded the institute for the synergy.

He, however, urged field officers to stay on the tenets of professionalism in ensuring  they delivered on the set mandates geared toward ending obstetric fistula in Nigeria.

Atta, who affirmed the project had a duration of five years, listed its objective as to ensure that women and girls had access to safe and appropriate caesarian session.

Minister of State for Health Adeleke Mamora urged stakeholders from both Federal and States to support every efforts in addressing the rate of fistula cases in the country.

Mamora, represented by Dr Salma Ibrahim, Director, Family Health in the ministry, said “an average of 3.2 persons per 1,000 from our population is faced with fistula annually.

Museum Leaders In Bosnia Debate How Cultural Institutions Can Unify War-Torn Nations

By
Koko Lawrence
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In 1991, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia started to break up, prompting Bosnia and Herzegovina to follow the lead of Slovenia and Croatia and declare independence.

But this historic, joyful declaration was swiftly followed by a civil war that led to horrific humanitarian crimes—including the three-year siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica massacre. More than 100,000 people died as a result of the war.

Bosnia and Herzegovina share a dark and painful legacy—and yet, today, they live an enduring peace. Cities such as Sarajevo and Srebrenica are now largely reconciled with their history, aided in part by the creation of institutions like the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo and the Srebrenica Memorial Center.

In July, these centres are jointly hosting Why Remember? Peace, Conflict and Culture, an international conference that will address some of the key questions facing post-conflict societies today: what should be remembered, what should be forgotten, and how can this process help build a lasting and meaningful peace, based on shared understanding?

The conference has been put together by a team including Dr Paul Lowe, an award-winning photographer and a course leader at London College of Communication, who first visited Sarajevo to document the siege while working as a British photojournalist in the early 1990s.

“Every conflict has its own very specific drivers and outcomes,” Lowe says.“But often there are bigger, broader-scale connections you can make between them. It’s possible to make comparisons. We want to help people see what happened in other countries, consider how that might be reflected in their own society and so what can be learnt from it.”

The conference will in part seek to highlight the systematic nature of genocide, Lowe says, and how events like the Srebrenica massacre, which can appear spontaneous and chaotic from a distance, are often organised and managed by a core group of leaders. “Considering conflict abroad can also make it easier to think about trauma at home,” Lowe says.

Presidency Condemns Attack On Buhari’s Advance Convoy In Katsina

By
Koko Lawrence
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The Presidency has described as sad and unwelcome, the shooting incident near Dutsinma, Katsina State, at the convoy of cars carrying the Advance Team of security guards, protocol and media officers ahead of President Buhari’s trip to Daura for Sallah.

Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s media aide confirmed the incident in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said the attackers opened fire on the convoy from ambush positions but were repelled by the military, police and Department of State Service personnel accompanying the convoy.

”Two persons in the convoy are receiving treatment for the minor injuries they suffered.

”All the other personnel, staff and vehicles made it safely to Daura,” he further stated.

Groups Collaborate To Promote Inclusion Of PWDs

By
Olasunbo Okoromi
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Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) and The Albino Foundation (TAF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and other marginalised groups in the society.

The National President of NAWOJ, Mrs Ladi Bala, said during the signing of the legal documents in Abuja, that the MoU would give more visibility to issues affecting PWDs and other vulnerable groups in the country.

Bala says journalists are critical stakeholders in advancing the cause of governance, hence will use their platforms to create space that will highlight and bring necessary changes on issues affecting PWDs.

She added that “our role is to create visibility on their issues and we also need to galvanise the society to see them as normal human beings with equal rights”.

According to her, the association has over 15,000 members nationwide; hence it will highlight issues of PWDs on their media spaces.

She, however, explained that inadequate funding had been a bane in achieving some of its goals, and urged development partners and other stakeholders to support the organisation.

Mr Jake Epelle, the Founder of TAF, said the MoU was apt, as it would further highlight issues affecting PWDs and ensure full implementation of the Disability Act.

Epelle added that the newly inaugurated members of the Journalists for Disability Inclusion would ensure increased visibility on inclusion for marginalised members of the society.

Esme Stuart, Programme Manager on Gender and Human Rights, European Union (EU), reiterated the commitment of the commission to ensure the rights of PWDs were respected.

She said “disability rights are key priority and the EU has a disability rights inclusion strategy that focuses not only on our programme but ensures disability inclusion in our organisation.

Mr Chris Isiguzo, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the MoU would enable the media to prioritise issues affecting PWDs like the disability act and its level of implementation.

He said “now the media will begin to talk about PWDs because we are talking about a group of persons that cannot talk for themselves.

“Now the media will become their voice and begin to talk about issues that concern them and these are the primary essence of the partnership between NAWOJ and The Albino Foundation.

“NAWOJ will begin to galvanise support from the media community, affiliate organisations so that the essence of this partnership will not be lost.”

Zimbabwe To Mint Gold Coins To Tackle Rising Prices

By
Koko Lawrence
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Zimbabwe says it will introduce gold coins later this month as it tries to curb soaring inflation amid a slump in its currency.

The country’s central bank also outlined plans to make the US dollar legal tender for the next five years.

The central bank’s main interest rate was more than doubled this month to 200%, after the annual rate of inflation rose above 190%.

Zimbabwe’s dollar has slumped in value against major currencies this year.

The gold coins, which will contain one troy ounce of 22-carat gold, will be available from 25 July, John P Mangudya, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, said in a statement.

A troy ounce is a unit of measure used for weighing precious metal – such as gold, silver and platinum – that dates back to the Middle Ages. One troy ounce is equal to 31.10g.

“The gold coins will be available for sale to the public in both local currency and US dollars and other foreign currencies at a price based on the prevailing international price of gold and the cost production,” Mangudya added.

The statement also said each coin will be identified with a serial number and can be easily converted to cash, locally and internationally.

It will be called the “Mosi-oa-Tunya Gold Coin”, which means “The Smoke Which Thunders,” a reference to Victoria Falls that is located on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia.

The announcement is part of the Zimbabwe government’s measures to tackle the country’s currency crisis.

Last month, the annual rate of inflation hit 191.6%, while the Zimbabwean dollar has lost more than two-thirds of its value against the US dollar since the start of 2022.

From 1 July the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s main interest rate was raised from 80% to 200% a year, in a bid to deal with the rising cost of living.

Soaring inflation has piled pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a country that still remembers the economic chaos under Robert Mugabe’s almost four decades of rule.

Hyperinflation forced the country to abandon the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009, and it opted instead to use foreign currencies, mainly the US dollar.

During the worst of the crisis the government stopped publishing official inflation figures but one estimate put the inflation rate at 89.7 sextillion percent year-on-year in mid-November 2008.

At the time, the one hundred billion Zimbabwe dollar bank note was seen as an emblem of the nation’s economic collapse.

The local currency was reintroduced a decade later but it has rapidly lost value again.

Legalization of abortion in Lagos State – By Sonnie Ekwowusi

By
Henry Williams
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The abortion directives issued last week by the Lagos State Governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to the effect that Lagosians can now “safely” kill their unborn babies without any qualms are illegal and therefore null and void.

Frankly speaking I don’t know why Mr. Sanwo-Olu has allowed himself to be drafted into the simmering, highly-sensitive political, cultural, religious, moral and contentious issue of abortion. I don’t know any Nigerian politician who had promoted abortion without his or her political career being completely ruined.

So why is Governor Sanwo-Olu toying with his political career?. Already the Sanwo-Olu’s abortion directives have sparked off demonstrations in Lagos and Abuja. The Governor’s abortion directives fragrantly violate sections 145, 146, 147 and 201 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State (as amended in 2011); sections 228, 229,230, 297, 309, 328, of the Criminal Code Act CAP C38 (and their equivalent provisions in the Penal Code); sections 3,4, and 17 of the Child Rights Act 2003; Child’s Right Law of Lagos State 2015: sections 17 and 33 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution; Articles, 3, 4 and 5 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Preamble to the 1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (ratified and adopted by Nigeria).

Therefore, as earlier stated, the aforesaid abortion directives issued last week by the Lagos State Governor are illegal and therefore null and void.

Therefore the Lagos State Governor is humbly advised to withdraw the abortion directives. Why? Because the abortion directives or policies cannot be enforced or obeyed in Lagos State. It is trite law that directives or policies that are ultra vires the existing laws of the land or do not fall within the ambit of the laws of the land or are in violation of the laws of the land cannot be enforced or obeyed in the State. Only enacted laws or Acts can be enforced or obeyed.

Governor’s Directives that are in flagrant violation of the laws of the land cannot be enforced. The combined effects of sections 145, 146, 147, 201 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State (as amended in 2011) and sections 228, 229,230, 297, 309, 328, of the Criminal Code Act CAP C38 (and their equivalent provisions in the Penal Code) is that anybody who, with an intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman or intents to abort or kill her baby in the woman by unlawfully administering on her any noxious substance or contraceptives or pills or drugs or instruments or by inserting instruments into the womb of the woman and crushing her baby to pieces in order to achieve the aforesaid purpose is guilty of a felony punishable under the various sections of the Criminal Code of Lagos or the Criminal Act of the Federation.

In fact, section 328 of the Criminal Act prescribes life imprisonment for killing an unborn child. The section stipulates: “Any person who when a woman is about to be delivered of a child prevents the child from being born alive by any act or omission of such a nature, that, if the child had been born alive and had then died, he would be deemed to have unlawfully killed the child, is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for life”.

Section 17(1) of the Child’s Right Act 2003 clearly provides for the right of the unborn child. It states: “A child may bring an action for damages against a person for harm or injury caused to the child willfully, recklessly, negligently or through neglect before, during or after the birth of that child”.

In similar fashion, section 16(1) of the Child’s Law of Lagos State 2015 clearly provides for the right of the unborn child. It states thus: . “Right of the unborn child to protection against harm, etc. (1) A child may bring an action for damages against a person for harm or injury caused to the child willfully, recklessly, negligently or through neglect before, during or after the birth of that child”.

The preamble to the CRC states: “Bearing in mind that, as indicated in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, “the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth”.

The deduction from the forgoing is that abortion is outlawed under our laws. In fact, both sections 16(1) of the Child’s Law of Lagos State 2015 and 17(1) of the Child’s Right Act 2003 clearly provide that an unborn child can bring a legal suit, of course via locus parentis or guardian ad lite, against any person for damages for harm or injury willfully or negligently inflicted on the child before its birth, during its birth and after its birth.

So, you can see that the unborn child enjoys enormous the right to life under our laws. Therefore unless the aforesaid laws are amended to permit the killing of unborn babies, the Lagos State Governor has no right to issue directives approving the killing of the unborn babies in Lagos State.

It is instructive to note that section 201 of the Criminal law of Lagos State erroneously relied upon by abortionists to argue that medical abortions are permissible in Lagos State to “save the life and protect the physical health of the woman” does not by any stretch of imagination prescribe abortion.

Section 201 merely states that a person or a medical doctor is not criminally liable for any surgical operation performed in good faith and with due diligence on any person for his benefit, or upon an unborn child for the preservation of the mother’s life.

Therefore section 201 is not an exception allowing the procurement of abortion in Lagos State. Equally section 297 of the Criminal Act is worded exactly like section 201 of the Lagos State Criminal law.

Again section 297 is not an exception allowing procurement of abortion. The Dublin Declaration on Maternal Health 2012 and other declarations unequivocally state that abortion is not medically necessary even to save the life of a pregnant woman.

So why are these abortionists misinforming the Lagos populace? In any case, assuming section 201 of the Criminal law of Lagos State permits medical abortion in Lagos State, it would be inconsistent with the provisions of the Criminal Act and other federal laws, and, to the extent of that inconsistency would be null and void.

By virtue of the doctrine of covering the field, the Criminal Act and other federal law have outlawed abortion in Nigeria.

Therefore Sanwo-Olu’s directives or any Lagos Law “legalizing” abortion in Lagos State, would, to the extent of their express or implied inconsistency with the Criminal Act or other Federal laws, be held null and void and no effect whatsoever.

In other words, in the event of any inconsistency between the Lagos law on abortion and the Criminal Act and other federal laws on abortion, the latter will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

Those who pretend or feign ignorance of the right of the unborn child forget that in the U.K, and, I think in other criminal jurisdiction, any person who kills a pregnant woman is charged for double murder, that is, he is first charged for the murder of the pregnant woman, and, then separately charged for killing the unborn child in the woman’s womb.

If the fetus in the womb is not a human being, why is the murderer of a pregnant woman charged for double murder or homicide?

What is most unacceptable about the Governor’s abortion directives is that the critical stakeholders such as the Churches, Mosques, traditional rulers, purveyors of Nigeria’s cultural heritage, security agents, anti-abortion legal practitioners, anti-abortion medical practitioners were not consulted or invited in the fashioning out of the 40-page abortion directives.

The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos Most Rev. Alfred Adewale Martins has just issued a press statement condemning the legalization of abortion in Lagos State and stating that the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos was never invited or consulted in the making of the abortion directives. Neither were Muslims in Lagos invited or consulted. The Pentecostals were not consulted either.

Only abortionists, pro-choicers and pro-abortion institutions, namely, Marie Stopes abortion clinics, the Federal Ministry of Health, Society for Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Nigeria (SOGON), Population Reference Bureau (PRB), Ministry of Health, Lagos, Prof. Innocent Ujah, Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa were consulted in the making of the abortion directives. I have crossed paths with SOGON, Prof. Ujah and Prof. Atsenuwa at Conferences, and, I would tell you that they were vehemently campaigning for the legalization of abortion in those Conferences. SOGON is a notorious abortion NGO.

The Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja is another dangerous abortion organization. Last week the Health Minister Dr. Osagie Ehanire said that last 1% of the Nation’s health budget is allocated for abortificients and contraceptives to facilitate abortion. You can now see what I am talking about.

A country in which her citizens have no access to basic primary health care is budgeting huge amount of money for abortion. The PRB is an international abortion agency that has been promoting population control in Africa through abortion. Marie Stopes is a notorious U.K abortion clinic with abortion clinics in Nigeria.

Acting on a petition written by a concerned body about the illegal abortion activities of Marie Stopes in Lagos State two years ago, the Police raided the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Surulere, Lagos.

During the raid, the Police confiscated the abortion files and abortion instruments such as Manual Vacuum Aspirators found in the clinic. On opening the abortion files the Police discovered to its chagrin that the clinic had aborted under-aged girls below the age of 17 without the consent of their parents.

The Police handcuffed Dr. Bernard, one of the abortion doctors found on duty in the clinic on that day. The police later took him and the abortion files and Manual Vacuum Aspirators to their station. The funny aspect was that as the Police tried to arrest the clinic’s security guard who was manning the clinic’s gate at the material time, the poor man knelt down and swore to high heavens that he did not know that Marie Stopes performs abortion at the clinic. He was obviously lying to avert police arrest and detention.

It is scandalous that the Lagos State government is consulting Marie Stopes, the largest global abortion provider in the English-speaking world. According to the Marie Stopes website, Marie Stopes aborted over 700,000 women in 2018, meaning that it killed 700,000 Nigerian babies in 2018.

Marie Stopes abortion clinics had been shut down in Niger Republic, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Togo, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. To fully understand what I am saying, just google “Marie Stopes abortion clinic”.

Now let’s examine the content of Sanwo-Olu’s abortion directives. The content of the directives is the singsong of the abortionists and pro-choicers in Nigeria over the years. They argue that legalizing abortion makes it “safe” because when abortions are legal, it become “safe” because women can seek out competent medical doctors to perform them unlike when abortions are illegal the abortions will be performed by quack medical doctors and medical personnel in “unsafe’ conditions and by doing make abortions “unsafe” for women.

Therefore they argue further that abortion or termination of pregnancy should be made “safe” and “lawful” for those women. In summary, the Sanwo-Olu directives are aimed at making abortion and termination of pregnancy in Lagos State “safe” and “lawful” because according to abortionists “unsafe” abortion leads to the death of women.

This is false. All abortions have serious negative impacts on women. 17% of women undergoing the so-called “safe-abortion” or legal abortion procedure experience physical complications (such as abdominal bleedings or pelvic infections) after the abortion.

The percentage is likely higher with long-term physical and psychological effects of abortion such as heavy bleeding (requiring blood transfusion), nausea, abdominal cramping, heart attack, perforation of the uterus, miscarriage of future pregnancies, death (it is estimated that 20% of maternal deaths result from abortion), guilt, anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, memory repression, eating disorders and sleep disorders are considered.

The truth of the matter is that abortion is a medical procedure, and, as with any medical procedure, abortion is fraught with health risks, even if it carried out by the most competent medical practitioner and under the best medical conditions especially in Nigeria and other developing countries. Therefore prefixing or modifying abortion with “safe” is not only misleading but medically inaccurate.

“Safe-abortion” is not only an oxymoron: it is a medical impossibility since every abortion is always unsafe for the unborn baby because it kills the unborn baby. The notion “unsafe-abortion” is also misleading because it implies that some abortions done by competent medical doctors are “safe” or without risks.

This is a big lie. All abortions carry serious risks for the aborted woman regardless of the quality of medical care employed. The abortion kills the child. How can you say that abortion is “safe” when it claims the life of an unborn child? More importantly, abortion is a crime in Nigeria. Therefore you cannot modify abortion with the prefix “safe” in the same way you cannot modify stealing with the prefix “safe”. You cannot say “safe-stealing”

Consequently, the Lagos State Governor is humbly advised to rescind the abortion directives. The directives are coming on the heels of the recent upturning of ROE V WADE by the American Supreme Court. ROE is the famous abortion case law that hitherto had legalized abortion in America.

If the U.S is rethinking and outlawing abortion, why should Lagos State be setting pace in legalizing abortion through the back door? I like this quotation recently sent to me. “Man’s laws cannot make moral what God has declared immoral. Even if a sin is legalized, it’s still a sin in the eyes of God” (Dallin H. Oaks).

The killing of an unborn baby, whether euphemistically self-styled “safe-abortion” or “post-abortion care” or “termination of pregnancy” or “interruption of pregnancy” or “women’s reproductive right” or “women’s health” is a crime punishable under our laws. We must stick to our own cultural and religious values in Nigeria.

It is suicidal to import foreign practices and lifestyles which are alien to Nigeria and seek to impose them as directives simply because money has exchanged hands. The consensus reached at the various United Nations Conferences, is that the law passed in every developing county including Nigeria must reflect the diverse social, economic and environmental conditions of that country, with full respect for their religious, cultural backgrounds and philosophical convictions.

Abortion is anthitectical to the religious, cultural and philosophical convictions of the Nigerian people and therefore cannot be imported into Nigeria. There is no Nigerian culture that endorses the killing of an unborn baby.

Termination of pregnancy is murder simpliciter. The Bible condemns abortion or termination of pregnancy. In Islam, Quran 17: 31 stipulates: “slay not your children fearing a fall of poverty; we shall provide for them and for you, lo the slaying of them is greater sin”. Every country is interested in protecting what it holds dear or its cherished values. The West can continue killing their children. But we love children in Nigeria. Abortion is a complete break with the Nigerian cultural heritage.

Nigerian Army Provides Free Medical Service To 5,000 Kaduna Residents

By
Olasunbo Okoromi
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0

The 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kaduna has offered free medical services to 5,000 people in Sabon gayan, a community on Kaduna-Abuja road at Chikun Local government area of Kaduna State.

Some of the services rendered include, medical consultations, laboratory investigations, dental care, eye care, as well as distribution of eye glasses and treated mosquito nets.

Others services are, HIV testing and counselling, provision of free drugs, prevention, awareness and treatment of malaria among others.

The General Officer Commanding, GOC of the division, Major General Kabir Mukhtar reiterated the Nigerian Army’s commitment to rendering selfless services to host communities.

Mukhtar, who was represented by the Commander, 51 Engineering Brigade, 1 Division, Brig. Gen. Adeleke Aiyennuga, said the medical outreach was in commemoration of the 2022 Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL).

“Considering the importance of health and health-related issues, the division has deemed it fit to conduct the programme at Sabon gayan so as to strengthen the civil-military relation.

“The objective of NADCEL is to showcase the army as an instrument of national unity, integration and development. It is also aimed at demonstrating its capacity to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria as well as to honour the fallen heroes who paid the supreme price in service to our fatherland,” he stressed.

Declaring the event open, Special Adviser to Governor Nasiru El-Rufai on security, Retired Brig. Gen. Umar Ibrahim commended the division for organising the exercise and urged residents to take full advantage of the programme.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, the District head of Sabon gayan, Alhaji Muhammad Jibrin lauded the army for the gesture, describing it as the first of its kind in the area.

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