NIDA
now browsing by category
23 youths arraigned for disorderly conduct
Alpha Dampha, Janko Sanyang, Babucarr Secka, Arfang Badjie, Ebrima Camara, Wa Saidyba, Alieu Khan, Malick Nyang, Muhammed Jobe, Pierre Jatta, Papa Khan, Ebrima Jallow, Musa Sallah, Ebrima Camara, Lamin Manka, Macho Ceesay, Babucarr Jallow, Yerro Saiday, Abdoulie Dibba, Musa Saidykhan, Alpha Omar Jallow, Sheikh Tijan Faye and Muhammed Touray were yesterday arraigned before Principal Magistrate Omar Jabang of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court and charged on two counts of idle and disorderly contrary to Section 166( C ) of the Criminal Code and common nuisance contrary to Section 160( 1 ) of the Criminal Code.
Prosecutors alleged that the accused persons in the month of August, 2023, at Serrekunda and diverse places, in the Kanifing Municipality of the Republic of The Gambia, they, while in a public place, conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause breach of the peace.
They were also alleged to have obstructed or caused annoyance and inconvenience in exercise of a common right. They denied any wrongdoing.
ASP Oley Bobb, the prosecuting officer, objected to bail for the accused persons. She stated that if they were granted bail, they would continue causing havoc to the society. She further argued that the accused would go on the rampage and would not allow their community to have a peace of mind. “I urge the court not to grant them bail but remand them at Mile 2 Prison, pending the hearing of the case,” she told the court.
However, the accused persons appealed to the court to grant them bail. They posited that the offences they were charged with are bailable.
At this juncture, the presiding magistrate adjourned the case until the 17th August, 2023, to rule whether they would be granted bail or not.
Credit to: thepoint.gm
We may be pushed to invade Niger — US tells coup plotters
The United States of America has warned the Niger junta that America may be pushed to be involved militarily if the country’s military rulers do not return to constitutional order.
The US acting Deputy Secretary, Victoria Nuland, in a special briefing on Niger disclosed this via a teleconference on Tuesday.
She noted, “…There is still a lot of motion here on many sides with regard to where the governance situation will go.
“So we will be watching that closely and there are a number of regional meetings coming up and consultations with allies and partners that we need to make.
“So we’ll be watching the situation, but we understand our legal responsibilities and I explained those very clearly to the guys (Niger junta) who were responsible for this and that it is not our desire to go there, but they may push us to that point, and we asked them to be prudent in that regard and to hear our offer to try to work with them to solve this diplomatically and return to constitutional order.”
Nuland noted that President Joe Bden has been in constant touch with President Tinubu, the ECOWAS Chairman as well as many other European allies.
Read more: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/08/we-may-be-pushed-to-invade-niger-us-tells-coup-plotters/
Credit to: Vanguardngr.com
UPDATED: WASSCE 2023: WAEC withholds results of over 200,000 candidates, records 79.81% pass
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), on Monday, announced the release of the results for the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates.
The examination body said out of a total of 1,613,733 candidates that sat the examination, the results of 262,803 candidates are being withheld “due to reports of cases of examination malpractice.”
The Head of Nigeria’s Office (HNO) of WAEC, Patrick Areghan, who made the announcement in Lagos, also hinted at his exit from the examination body as he is set to retire in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, Mr Areghan announced an improvement in pass rate by candidates as a total of 1,361,608 candidates, representing 84.38 per cent, obtained credit and above in a minimum of five subjects with or without English Language or Mathematics.
Also, 1,287,920 candidates, representing 79.81 per cent of the total candidates, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
In 2022, 76.36 per cent of the 1,601,047 candidates that sat the examination, obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
The release of the 2023 results would offer a ray of hope for candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions.
Some of the admission seekers who sat the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) did not provide the required SSCE results in their application forms but declared they were awaiting their results.
Read more: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/614971-updated-wassce-2023-waec-withholds-results-of-over-200000-candidates-records-79-81-pass.html
Credit to: premiumtimes.ng
HER EXCELLENCY DR FATIMA JABBE MAADA BIO: THE GAME CHANGER FOR SIERRA LEONE’S FUTURE
UPDATED: Akpabio arrives Villa after senators tried to block Keyamo’s ministerial screening
Senate President Godswill Akpabio is currently at the Presidential Villa following a rowdy Senate session during the screening of Festus Keyamo, a nominee from Delta State, Channels Television is reporting.
Mr Akpabio reportedly arrived at the Villa at about 2.55 p.m., nearly one hour after the Senate went into a closed-door session to discuss Mr Keyamo’s fate.
A presidency source confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Akpabio is currently at the presidential villa but that his mission is unknown.
“Yes, he is here, but we don’t know why he is here,” the source said.
Mr Akpabio’s visit is believed to tbe connected to the fate of Mr Keyamo, who was minister of state for labour and employment in the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Keyamo was Friday nominated to serve as minister by President Bola Tinubu.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported that a rowdy session erupted in the Senate chamber following a point of order raised by Darlington Nwokocha (LP, Abia), complaining that the nominee had in 2020 ignored the summons of the National Assembly over the implementation of the Special Public Works Programme of the federal government.
The motion was seconded by Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA, Abia Central).
This newspaper reported, in 2020, the clash between Mr Keyamo and the lawmakers at a meeting he had with the joint committee of the National Assembly on employment and labour. The meeting was aimed at discussing the progress of the planned employment of 774,000 Nigerians by the federal government.
The National Assembly had in the 2020 budget appropriated N52 billion for the special public works programme aimed at employing 774,000 citizens, a thousand from each of the 774 local government areas in the country.
Credit to: Premiumtimesng.com
Atiku files fresh suit in US Court over Tinubu’s academic records
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last general election, Atiku Abubakar, has filed a fresh case at the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, United States, against President Bola Tinubu after he withdrew an existing one before a circuit court in Illinois.
Recall that the county court in Illinois had dismissed the suit filed by Atiku, seeking the release of the academic records of Tinubu at the Chicago State University.
Atiku had dragged the Chicago State University (respondent) before the court, seeking an order compelling the respondent to release the academic records of Tinubu in its possession.
However, according to Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communications to Atiku, the dismissal followed his principal’s withdrawal of the suit.
Arisenews reports Shaibu stated this on Sunday in reaction to enquiries about the dismissed suit by the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Shaibu said, “Waziri Atiku Abubakar only withdrew the case before a Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois County, United States of America because he is pursuing the same matter in a higher court and wanted to avoid abuse of court processes. So, this is just the beginning.”
He added that it was funny that Tinubu and his supporters rejoiced over the development as if it were a Supreme Court judgement.
Credit: Dailypostng
Nigeria take part in a women’s Elite Team Sprint
Nigeria take part in a women’s Elite Team Sprint qualification race at the Sir Chris Hoy velodrome during the Cycling World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland on August 3, 2023. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
source: Channelsnews
Foreign minister under fire for ‘downplaying’ diplomats’ expulsion
Political and human rights activist, Pa Samba Jow, has advised Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara to resign over the visa scandal involving some Gambian diplomats in Washington DC, United States.
Few weeks ago, four top diplomats at the Gambian embassy in Washington were expelled from the United States for different offences, including visa fraud.
Reacting to the development in a press conference on Monday, Minister Tangara said it is rather unfortunate, but is nothing very serious in a Gambian context.
But according to Pa Samba Jaw, the minister should have resigned.
“This is what is expected of officials under whose purview such scandal happens, but again, we are talking about The Gambia where impunity runs rampant. The Gambia cannot come out of this looking great, because this is an embarrassing stain on our diplomats, especially those in the US and the embassy. I don’t think any serious country would downplay its diplomats being accused of engaging in criminal activities,” he said.
He said the country mustn’t continue to condone and excuse behaviours that are inimical to its collective well-being.
“If anything, this scandal should serve as a reminder that we cannot continue to relegate our diplomatic services to a dumping ground for political friends.”
“I was really taken aback by the minister’s suggestion that though serious; it wasn’t a very serious matter. First, what is alleged against the expelled diplomats is at least criminal and the height of corruption and dereliction of duty. These diplomats weren’t accused of traffic violations, they were accused of visa fraud. If that is not too serious, I don’t know what is.”
Pa Samba said diplomats have a unique responsibility to represent the very best image of their people and country, therefore whatever they do must represent the very best of “our country”.
“The Minister’s analogy is akin to suggesting that if a family member asks you to dip into the nation’s coffers to help them, that may be serious but not too serious, because if you don’t help them, they may consider you wicked. The Gambia must raise our standards especially when it comes to values and ethics,” he said.
Health minister
Commenting on the dismissal of some officials over the AKI deaths, Jaw said: “The decision by the Ministry of Health to fire officials due to the AKI incident is a welcomed move, but I hope that wasn’t done to placate the people, especially coming on the heels of the victims taking legal action against the government. I believe that there is more to this issue than the actions of these fired officials. Our healthcare system is chronically deficient – from management to service delivery, hence these avoidable deaths.”
Sabally
Als commenting on the issue of the diplomats and the health ministry, UDP firebrand campaign manager, Momodou Sabally, said: “Well I am not surprised because I have said in several interviews before that when it comes to proper professional conduct and morality, this government has brought us to a new low. Moreover, I did also say at the advent of this saga that not much will come out of this matter because more senior officials at the foreign office are guilty of similar misconduct.”
He said the implications of the diplomats’ visa fraud will be “pervasively damaging”.
“It is one thing for junior embassy staff to break the rules of a major global power like the USA; but for a Foreign Minister to come out in public to try to downplay it, that is simply adding injury to insult and am sure the US and other diplomatic missions in The Gambia will take note of this. The moral hazard is just too huge when a foreign minister says it is okay for his diplomats posted abroad to be engaged in visa fraud. This one will damage whatever shred of credibility The Gambia is left with in the international community,” he argued.
About the AkI report, Sabally said: “I am not surprised because President Barrow has always stood up to defend the health minister and other top brass of the ministry whenever mishaps happen under their watch. At the very advent of this AKI crisis, President Barrow’s first statement included a declaration of confidence in the health minister and he even commended them for a great job despite the loss of dozens of babies due to negligence.
“The dismissal of the MCA CEO is just a reflection of the Dr Banja situation in which case, an equally culpable minister was retained and his deputy sacrificed. This is now an established trend confirming my longstanding characterisation of this administration as ‘Animal Farm’: all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others,” Sabally said.
He said the minister’s resignation is long overdue. “From his mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic and the related funds for which his ministry was indicted by an audit report, to the rampant maternal mortality cases, Samateh should have resigned a long time ago. Since he does not have that moral decency to resign, he should be fired. Senegal’s health minister was recently fired for a lesser offense of babies’ deaths due to a fire outbreak at a health facility,” Sabally concluded.
Credit to: standard.gm
5 Gambian athletes off to Nigeria
The Gambia Athletics Association Wednesday morning delegated five athletes and a coach to Nigeria to participate in this year’s Wari Grand Prix and the ACAN Championship in Asaba and Abeokuta respectively.
The late invitation which arrived on Monday was quickly dealt with to avoid lateness and the following sprinters were quickly selected to travel with a coach.
1.Kebba Makalo
2.Lamin Camara
3.Sulayman Touray
4.Muhammed Camara
5.Modou Sanneh
The athletes left Banjul yesterday accompanied by Coach Mam Kewey Ceesay Njie.
The Wari Grand Prix is scheduled to start today Thursday while the ACAN championship will take place on 30 July. The athletes will compete in the Men’s 4x100m at both events.
D5 Creation