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JUSTICEFOROCHANYA: NIGERIANS PROTEST THE RAPE AND DEATH OF 13-YEAR-OLD ELIZABETH OCHANYA

Elizabeth Ochanya Ogbaje was 13 years old when she passed last week Thursday following “severe health complications” including Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF).

The story is that Ochanya, a child, had been staying with her older cousin after her mother passed and her father realized he was unable to cater to her.

Ochanya had been raped, from the age of 8 up until her death at 13, by both her cousin’s husband, Andrew Ogbuja, Head of Department, Catering and Hotel Management at the Benue State Polytechnic, Ugbokolo, and his son, Victor Inalegwu Ogbuja, a final year student of Animal Production at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, according to Daily Post.

While Victor is currently at large, Andrew has been arraigned before a Makurdi Upper Area Court and remanded in custody.

A statement written by the Old Girls’ Association of the Federal Government Girls’ College, Gboko, where Ochanya was a student, revealed that the rape was both vaginal and anal. The statement read:

From age eight till her final collapse at age 13, Ochanya had been serially abused in both nether regions by her aunt’s husband and son; namely Andrew Ogbuja and Victor Ogbuja, respectively.

Mr Andrew Ogbuja is a member of staff at Benue State Polytechnic,  Ugbokolo, while his son, Victor Inalegwu Ogbuja,  is a final year student at the Federal University of Agriculture,  Makurdi.

Andrew pleaded with the court to “temper justice with mercy,” grant him bail, and allow him to return home to “resolve the matter amicably considering his status.”

The judge, Justice S. D. Kwen, rejected the plea, demanding that he remain in prison.

Okikiola@DeycallmiFaMe

This man and his son raped a 13 years old to death! read through it and I couldn’t, the pain, slow death, this people should not go scot-free!

Nigerians on Twitter are organizing a protest to see that both Andrew and Victor are made to face the law. The protest, tagged #JusticeForOchanya, is to take place on Thursday morning, 7 AM, at the Unity Fountain in Abuja.

It’s the most harrowing story and Ochanya deserves justice.

S.T.E.R Initiative

✔@StandtoEndRape

 · 

Thank you for sharing this with us. We, alongside other various stakeholders, are currently looking into this issue.

We will be sharing our action plan in a few days. We hope you will join us in demanding for .

S.T.E.R Initiative

✔@StandtoEndRape

In the meantime, if you are in Abuja, kindly join the walk tomorrow holding at the Unity Fountain, Abuja at 7am.

We have a collective responsibility to take action in the face of injustice. Kindly share this.

cc: @EVA_Nigeria pic.twitter.com/6AmoKtRdXq

View image on Twitter

Credit: Bella Naija

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MEET THE TWO AFRICANS NOMINATED FOR 2018 FEMALE WORLD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

The world governing body has just announced 10 nominees for Female World Athlete of the Year – and Africa is represented on the list by two of its very best, South Africa’s Caster Semenya and Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech.

Despite IAAF’s new rule limiting testosterone level in female athletes, Semenya has had a good run this year. She won gold in the 800 metres at the Continental Cup in Ostrava, the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and the African Championships in Asaba.

While staying unbeaten in these competitions, she broke an African record in the 800 metres after finishing her race in Asaba in a time of 1:56.05. In addition to that, she’s also the Commonwealth champion in the 1500 metres and the African champion in the 400 metres.

This year, Chepkoech ran 8:44.32 to set a new world record in the 3000 metres steeplechase, becoming the first woman to run under eight minutes and 50 seconds. She also set a championship record time at the African Championships in Asaba after finishing in a time of 8:59.88.

With voting already underway, IAAF will unveil five finalists in November, while the winner will be announced at the awards ceremony in December.

 

 

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STEPHANIE LINUS TO SCREEN HER MOVIE ‘DRY’ AT DILLARD UNIVERSITY, USA

Nollywood actress and film maker, Stephanie Okereke Linus has been invited to screen her movie, ‘Dry’ which was produced in 2014, at 2018 Ray Charles Week which will hold at the Dillard University, New Orleans, Lousiana, U.S.A on the 25th and 26th of October, 2018.

 

Stephanie Linus will also give a lecture at the university on Thursday, 25th of October, 2018 while the movie screening will be on Friday, 26th of October, 2018.

 

Stephanie will be speaking on “The Emergence of African Storytellers and Their New Narrative” at Dillard University. Stephanie will also be joining a list of speakers from previous editions, which includes Denzel Washington and Tunde Wey.

The movie ‘Dry’ was mostly shot in the Northern part of Nigeria and produced in 2014.
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FG TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN THAT A MOTHER CAN HAVE IN NIGERIA

The Federal Government on Tuesday, October 23, 2018, declared that it was working hard to come out with a policy that would limit the number of children that a mother could have in Nigeria.

It stated that traditional rulers and other leaders across the country were being engaged as regards this, adding that the move was aimed at addressing one of the “great challenges” in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed this while responding to questions during a session at the 24th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, noted that the country’s population had been identified as one of the great challenges confronting the successful implementation of the ERGP.

Ahmed said,

“We have been engaging traditional rulers and other leaders. Specifically, we have found out that to be able to address one of the great challenges that we identified in the ERGP, which is the growth in our population, we need to engage these institutions.

“And we hope that with their support, we will get to a point where we can come out with the policy that limits the number of children that a mother can have because that is important for sustaining our growth.”

When asked about the sustainability of the ERGP by successive governments, Ahmed argued that the plan would be sustained as it was purely a document that focused on the development of the Nigerian economy.

Culled from punch.ng

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RIHANNA REPORTEDLY TURNS DOWN SUPERBOWL OFFER IN SUPPORT OF COLIN KAEPERNICK

Rihanna has reportedly turned down an offer to headline February 2019’s Superbowl halftime show because of her support for Colin Kaepernick.

According to Us Weekly, the popstar told the NFL a big “no” because she didn’t agree with their stance. A source who spoke to them said:

The NFL and CBS really wanted Rihanna to be next year’s performer in Atlanta.

They offered it to her, but she said no because of the kneeling controversy. She doesn’t agree with the NFL’s stance.

The halftime show will instead be headlined by Maroon 5, who accepted the offer after she declined.

Credit: Bella Naija
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NYSC SUSPENDS BATCH C ORIENTATION COURSE IN KADUNA STATE

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has suspended its Batch ‘C’ orientation course in Kaduna state indefinitely, due to the ongoing violence in the state.

The corps shared the news on its official Facebook, saying:

ATTENTION PROSPECTIVE CORPS MEMBERS DEPLOYED TO KADUNA STATE

The Management of National Youth Service Corps wishes to inform all 2018 Batch ‘C’ prospective Corps Members deployed to Kaduna State that the commencement of the Orientation Course earlier scheduled for Tuesday, 23rd October, 2018 has been suspended till further notice due to the current security situation and consequent curfew imposed by the State Government.

All affected prospective Corps Members are advised to remain at home until further notice from the NYSC Management.

However, all other prospective Corps Members deployed to other States and FCT are to report at the various Orientation Camps on Tuesday, 23rd October, 2018 as scheduled.

All inconveniences are regretted.

Thank you.

Signed
Management

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NIGERIANS CALL ON THE GOVERNMENT TO PUT AN END TO INCREASE IN PRICES OF SANITARY PADS

Girls who live in less developed areas barely have access to these essential commodities while women who are low-income earners are finding it difficult to buy them.

Using the hashtag, #EndThe9jaTaxOnPads, these women are sharing their stories online to urge the government to end the tax on sanitary pads so as to make them more accessible.

See some of their tweets below:

SULEIMAN A. MUHAMMAD@SAMskilllz10

No girl child deserves to use rags or tissue because she can’t afford sanitary pads.
No girl child deserves to wear one pad throughout a day because she want to manage.
Sanitary pads should be affordable for every woman

 

 

 

 

 

Credit: Fab Woman

 

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UNICEF APPEALS TO FG, STATE GOVTS TO FUND CHILDREN PROGRAMMES

UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, Mr Mohammed Malick-Fall, disclosed this at the closing of a five-day workshop on Public Finance for Children in Abuja on Sunday, October 21, 2018.

“Public financing for children is important because development money is just the seed money compared to the needs in Nigeria.

“It is important for Federal and State Governments to release the funding that we need to meet the Social Development Goal (SDG),” Malick-Fall said.

Also speaking, Mr Gustave Nebie, UNICEF Regional Adviser, Social Policy, West and Central African Region (WCARO), described the workshop as timely.

“I think it was a good workshop, because what is important here is diversification of partnership.

“Usually, this kind of workshop is held for people in the social policy section only but fortunately, in Nigeria the senior management has decided to bring everybody along.

“The idea is due to the fact that public finance involves all sections of the organisation,” Nebie said.

He said that participants at the workshop had been equipped with various skills to work towards enhancing the wellbeing of children.

“For me, it was a very successful meeting and I was really happy to be part of it.

“It will kick start a process in which we have to work together in order to be able to move the public finance agenda.

“As we all know, we are working to achieve results for children and we need to make sure that we get more resources for the benefit of the children,” Nebie said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised for staff of UNICEF Regional offices in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

Credit: Pulse, NAN

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TYPE 2 POLIO VIRUS DISCOVERED IN BAUCHI

Dr Adamu Ningi, the WHO Bauchi State Coordinator, disclosed this at a meeting with the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Adamu, and the Chairman, Social Mobilisation on Immunisation and Emir of Dass, Alhaji Usman Othman, in Bauchi on Friday.

He said samples were collected from various locations on a monthly basis and it has been discovered that the polio virus type 2 was found at Gwallaga mosque area linking three wards of Makama B, Hardo and Dankade.

Represented by Dr Khalid Abubakar, the state coordinator attributed the new strain to non-compliance to immunisation schedules.

“In Bauchi LGA, only 52 per cent of children are fully immunised, 29 per cent didn’t complete while 19 per cent have never been immunised.

“The latest strain of the virus are from isolated environmental samples collected from Gwallaga mosque area, Obonna Royal Hotel refuse site, Shafa bridge and FGGC drainage.

“The circulating vaccine derived polio virus is linked to the one earlier discovered in Hadejia, Jigawa State,” he said.

Also speaking, the state chairman, social mobilisation on immunisation, said the state has been without any reported case of polio for over five years.

Othman however regretted that it was unfortunate to record a new case despite efforts to prevent its resurgence from reported cases in Yobe and Jigawa states.

He noted that immunisation teams failed to report non-compliance cases in the past while supervision was poor.

The first class traditional ruler said the meeting was designed to engage the traditional institution and seek ways to contain the virus.

According to him, since the detection, WHO, UNICEF, the state government and traditional leaders have intensified efforts to check its spread.

In his remarks, the Emir of Bauchi emphasised the need for ward heads to always accompany house-to-house teams during immunisation plus days to avoid non-compliance.

While promising to support to eradicate the virus in his domain, Adamu however charged governments and the general public to intensify environmental sanitation and close supervision.

Speaking earlier, Dr Shakhawar Hossain, the UNICEF State Lead Communication Officer, said intense campaigns must be mounted and traditional leaders should be on ground to answer key questions on polio immunisation.

Credit: Pulse News
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UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES CALL FOR BAN ON VIRGINITY TEST

A group of United Nations agencies has issued a joint statement calling for a ban on tests meant to assess the virginity of any female.

The statement, issued during the World Congress of Gynaecology and Obstetrics in Brazil, stressed that such tests are both unscientific, and a violation of human rights. The UN agencies are: the UN Human Rights Office, UN Women and the World Health Organisation.

The group said, “so-called virginity testing also often referred to as hymen, two-fingers or per vaginal examination is a gynaecological inspection of female genitalia carried out in the false belief that it can reliably determine whether a woman or girl has had vaginal intercourse’.

In a global call to eliminate violence against women and girls everywhere, the UN agencies said that “this medically unnecessary, and often times painful, humiliating and traumatic practice, must end.”

The practice is a long-standing tradition documented in at least 20 countries, and spanning all regions of the world. Women and girls are often forced to undergo virginity testing for various reasons, including requests from parents or potential partners to establish marriage eligibility or even from potential employers.

It is mostly performed by doctors, police officers, or community leaders on women and girls, in order to assess their virtue, honour or social value. In their statement, the UN agencies explained that the practice has “no scientific or clinical basis” and that “there is no examination that can prove a girl or woman has had sex.”

 

 

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