AFCON 2021: “We Are Not Scared Of Nigeria” — Yasin Hamed

Former South East Zonal Director of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and lead trainer in US Consulate project on fact checking, Ken Ike Okere has said failure of journalists to conduct fact-checking on their stories before sharing with the consumers has reduced the credibility of the media.

US Consulate Trains Abia Media Practitioners On Fact Checking — Ken Ike Okere

Speaking with ABN TV on Friday shortly after a two-day training for journalists in Abia on fact-checking, Mr. Okere said that subjecting contents to test of facts is the only thing that differentiates the journalist from a fiction writer.

“Fact-checking is the process of knowing, learning and practising the art and science of authentication or validating, checking to make sure that something is accurate before sharing with others“, he said.

He added, “The credibility of the media has been dwindling over time, the regard with which people hold it is reducing. And this is based on research.

“When research is conducted, people are asked whether they believe what they see in the media, the number of people who believe that the media tells the truth is reducing.

“That is why we are doing this training for media practitioners in 17 states. Even the media practitioners, their profession is in danger in a world where everyone can be a citizen journalist, what we call eyewitness report” he said.

He noted that eyewitness reports are not necessarily subjected to crucibles of journalism, maintaining that fact-checking is what distinguishes a trained journalist from an eyewitness report.

At the training, participants were taught how to detect video and photos manipulation, differences between facts and opinions, what misinformation is, misinformation, disinformation as well as their practical examples.

They were also taught steps to follow in fact-checking a story, video or photo, to determine whether or not it is original, whether they have been used before, where they were used, what stories they were used for.

Trainees were also issued certificates of participation at the end of the training.

AFCON 2021: Why Super Eagles Will Emerge Champions – Gyan

By

Munachi

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January 14, 2022

Former Black Stars of Ghana forward, Asamoah Gyan has disclosed that the Super Eagles stand the chance of winning the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Gyan made this known during the AFCON coverage on Supersports, where he was a guest.

He noted that Nigeria’s 1-0 win over Egypt, shows the determination and fighting spirit within the squad.

“Yes, as of today Nigeria stands out as the team with the will to conquer all oppositions going by what happened in the match against Egypt.

“Every other potential winner of the tournament seems to be playing with too much caution and this explains why most of the matches have not been impressive. But when you look at Nigeria, they showed character of a potential champion considering the way they dominated Egypt all through the 90 minutes.

“Nigeria deserved to score more goals in the match but they were unlucky in the final cut. This was a team that had its pre-tournament challenge as they were unable to have some of their best forwards for the tournament and playing a strong team like Egypt in the opening match was an acid test and they excelled.

“But when you look at how Nigeria imposed themselves on Egypt, other teams are yet to show character and one only hoped they maintained same tempo as the tournament progresses.

With Over 50 Projects In Abia North, Sen. Kalu Has Exposed Mao Ohuabunwa’s Failure — Group

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ABN TV EDITOR

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January 14, 2022

Appeal Court Strikes Out Mao Ohuabunwa’s Appeal Against Orji Kalu

A socio-political group Greater Minds For Future has applauded the achievements of the Senator representing Abia North, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu since he was inaugurated in 2019, saying he has attracted over 50 projects across the five local governments of the district.

According to the group, Sen. Kalu’s success has exposed the failure of his predecessor, Sen. Mao Ohuabunwa, noting that he did not achieve anything tangible apart from empowering constituents with frying pans and spoons.

The group in a statement issued by Chris Chuks stressed that the former Governor has done credibly well and has represented the constituency effectively.

According to the group, the era of distributing fry pans and spoons, which were the major achievements of Ohuabunwa was over in the zone.

The stakeholders condemned a statement credited to former SSG in the state, Dr. Eme Okoro, that Abia North has no voice in the Senate since Kalu’s assumption of office.

The group urged Sen. Kalu not to be distracted with what it called cheap and calculated attempt to rubbish his good works, stressing that Okoro is hungry for money and power.

They said, “we shall not join issues with people seeking attention by all means.

“Okoro and others are enemies of progress and as such we don’t take them seriously.

“Kalu has done us proud and we shall continue to wish him well.

“Ohuabunwa couldn’t fix the road leading to his community. He set us backward by 60 years.

“Kalu has touched lives across the board.

“Our communities are enjoying social amenities attracted by the current senator.

“We shall sustain our support for Kalu in his developmental strides”.

The group stressed that the former Governor will not lose sleep over the evil antics of Okoro, adding that the people of Abia North Senatorial district are solidly behind Kalu.

Nnamdi Kanu Tells Supporters To Be Peaceful Ahead Of Tuesdays Court Session

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January 14, 2022

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has appealed to his supporters to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner during his next court appearance on January 18.

Kanu is standing trial on charges bordering on treasonable felony.

Admonishing his supporters in a statement issued by his lead counsel, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the IPOB leader said they should “be civil in their conduct and comportment”.

Ejiofor said Kanu is in “high spirits” and ready for his trial.

“We undertook our customary visit to Onyendu (Kanu) in DSS custody today. In the course of the visit, our discussions focused primarily on our final preparations for the legal battle that would resume on the turf of the federal high court, Abuja judicial division, from next week and on subsequent adjourned dates, if any,” the statement read.

“We coalesced the product of our individual reflections on the most potent legal strategies henceforth to be adopted, fine-tuned and harmonised them, and then distilled them into a single, conclusive, potent, workable formula.

“We are optimistic that the court outings of Onyendu would be impressive. Onyendu himself is in high spirit. Our discussions with him further reassured him and strengthened his determination to persevere unrelentingly

“Onyendu is fully prepared to appear in court as from the 18th of January, 2022. He is rooting for victory and knows that, with the help of Chukwuokike Abiama, victory is assured.

“Further, Onyendu utilised the opportunity afforded by our visit to mandate us to admonish his teeming supporters and followers.

“He advises those of them that would appear in court in demonstration of their unflinching support and loyalty to him to conduct themselves with decorum, be civil in their conduct and comportment, shun violence and deviant behaviour in any manner or form, and exercise restraint in speech.

“On our part, we have caused formal correspondences to issue on responsible, sovereign, democratic governments and other international institutions to prevail on the Nigerian government to caution uncouth and overzealous security agents.

“We can authoritatively declare to you, that those correspondences are receiving the requisite attention they deserve.

“We are optimistic that there would be a positive transformation in the conduct and general approach of the said overzealous security agents at the next appearance of Onyendu in court.”

God Preserved Me To Become President Of Nigeria – Dele Momodu

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January 14, 2022

Dele Momodu, journalist and publisher of Ovation Magazine, says he has been preserved by God to become Nigeria’s president.

Momodu said this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television.

Earlier, Momodu declared his 2023 presidential interest when he met with Ayorchia Ayu, chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at the party headquarters in Abuja.

The publisher had contested the 2011 presidential election under the platform of the National Conscience Party (NCP).

Asked if he can withstand the influence of Atiku Abubakar and other PDP aspirants, Momodu said he is the biggest brand in Nigeria, adding that no aspirant has friends across party lines like him.

The publisher said he has huge followership among youths, which he described as the biggest political party, saying his party needs a youth-friendly candidate to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“I don’t like to sound immodest. There is no brand bigger than — brand Dele Momodu — in Nigeria. I’m not even talking about the party

“I will be one of the few candidates similar to Chief Abiola who will have support across party lines. There is no individual who is relying only on his party who should feel comfortable about winning an election. I’m one of the few.

“When I joined the PDP, my first assignment is to ask the young people to start registering online —iampdp.com — go and check how many people have registered

“If you cannot drive out the youth, the biggest political party — the youth — I called the voters’ party if a party ignores the voters and you want to defeat an incumbent party like APC, where they have people who don’t care about anything.

“You must get, one, a candidate with a very clean record, no controversy. You must get a candidate who is youth-friendly. You must get a candidate who is cosmopolitan.

“You must get a candidate who is friends with everybody but a very firm who can speak truth to power. I have been speaking the truth to power despite the fact that most of these guys are my friends. You hardly find such in any political party. Dele Momodu was preserved by God for that role.”

When asked if he would leave the PDP if he did not get the ticket, he said he would support any candidate who emerges as the party’s standard-bearer.

Corruption Has Hurt Nigeria’s Image Abroad, Deprived Us Of FDI – FG

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January 14, 2022

The federal government says there is a need to put in more efforts to redeem Nigeria’s image which has been “hurt” by corruption.

Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation, said this on Thursday while inaugurating the 23-member board of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The board is the first of its kind since 2015 when the present administration came into power.

Addressing the board members, Mustapha encouraged them to put in their best to support the federal government’s fight against corruption.

“The unfortunate thing is that what we have battled with this internally and in-country, we have successfully exported it out of this country. So, your job and your role would extend beyond the borders of this nation, because it does hurt our image as a country. It has deprived us of even direct foreign investment,” he said.

“It has created a doubt as to the sincerity of people doing business with us, outside the shores of our country.

“So, we must do everything and you are the ones that are assigned the responsibility of creating a new image for Nigeria, and your actions and activities will in no small measure help Nigeria redeem its image.”

In his remarks, AbdulRasheed Bawa, EFCC chairman, expressed optimism that the new board will achieve a significant impact in tackling corruption.

“The EFCC has been without a board for six years sequel to a series of events that had happened which warranted the non-existence of the board of the EFCC in the last six years,” he said.

“So, it is something that gladdens the heart, with me, of course, being a former staff of the EFCC and now the chairman of the EFCC, that today, the EFCC has a board spearheading the policy direction of this problem that we have — the economic and financial crimes in this country.

“As you have said, your excellency, we have a saying at the EFCC that we have one of the most cosmopolitan boards, looking at public service in this country, looking at the composition of the fact that all law enforcement agencies and security organisations in this country are represented on the board as well as other regulatory agencies like NICOMSAT as well as Central Bank of Nigeria.

“So, we’re happy for this day. And I want to assure your excellency and the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that we’re not unfamiliar with the daunting task before us.

“We have been doing well. Last year had been a difficult year with COVID-19. But the EFCC has managed to set a new record in terms of recoveries and convictions.

“With the inauguration of this board, I believe with the wealth of experience that all of us are bringing to the board, we will be able to do better.”

I Eat Human Organs & Sell Body Parts – Prominent Businessman Confesses

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January 14, 2022

Aminu Baba, a prominent businessman dealing in cars and other vehicles at Aminchi Motors Gusau, Zamfara state, has opened up on his nefarious activities.

Baba, who was arrested by the police, confessed to eating and selling human parts to some unknown persons.

He was arrested last week over the killing and dismemberment of a 9-year-old boy in Gusau.

The suspect told journalists shortly after he was paraded by the state police commissioner, Mr Ayuba N Elkanah, that he has three wives and 19 children.

He said he employed two teenagers to scout for young boys to kill for him and they had done that twice, getting N1million in return.

“I paid them N500,000 for each of the killings of the two young boys. We removed penis, eyes, intestines and Esophagus and I used to eat these human organs and sell some to those who need them,” he said.

He, however, kept mum about where he raised the money he used to pay the killers and also did not disclose whether he had collaborators in the state.

The police commissioner said the other suspect, Abdulshakur Mohammad, had confessed that that was the third time he was contracted by Baba to source for human parts.

He said he got N500,000, after the first and second operations before he was arrested.

He said connived with Baba and Ahmad Tukur to deceive the victim, who was taken to an uncompleted building.

Mohammad said after killing him, they removed his intestine, Esophagus, Private part and two Eyes, which they took to Baba who in return gave them N500,000 as agreed.

Two weeks ago, the remains of the nine-year-old boy identified Ahmad Yakubu Aliyu was found in an uncompleted building in the Barakallahu area of Gusau metropolis.

Ahmad went missing shortly after he came back from Islamiyya School in the Gadar Baga area of the city.

The owner of the building spotted the decomposing body of the little boy when came to continue his construction work.

He immediately closed the site and reported the matter to the police who later confirmed that Ahmad was killed and dumped.

2023 Presidency: Wole Soyinka Denies Endorsing Tinubu

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January 14, 2022

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, yesterday denied throwing his weight behind the presidential ambition of a former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, describing those pushing the narrative as “illiterate interlopers.”

A viral online quote had claimed that the renowned playwright vowed to campaign for Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the run-up to the 2023 general elections.

Purportedly describing the politician as his friend, the fake statement had quoted Soyinka as saying that although he had never involved himself in politics, he was ready to pull his weight to ensure that his, “long time friend in the 1993 NADECO struggle” becomes the next Nigerian leader.”

But Soyinka’s denied the statement credited to him after a similar pushback by the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, who was wrongly credited with a fraudulent statement endorsing Tinubu.

Tinubu informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his intention to vie for the Presidency in 202, on Monday, January 10.

However, Soyinka, a statement said the viral social media endorsement was fake news, stressing that the originators were public interlopers.

Soyinka added that the thought of 2023 had not even crossed his mind, noting that those who hacked his email to announce his (Soyinka’s) death, were capable of doing anything.

According to the Nobel laureate, the badly written piece, smacked of the same footprints of the person who carried out the last, advising whoever was behind it to find something worthwhile.

“Here we go again. The same boring illiterate public interlopers who lack the courage of their conviction and must steal the identities of their betters.

One can only hope that the public has learnt to identify fake news and join in the urgent task of exposing and disgracing these despicable touts.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I have not even thought of 2023 much less inserted candidates into coveted positions. The signature of this latest slowpoke is familiar – he or she does not even know the difference between ‘Laureate and Laurel,” Soyinka said.

According to him, the viral message was an ancient forgery being recycled for the umpteenth time.

“Those who pass it round do themselves and their recipients a disservice. Find something worthwhile to occupy your time.

“In any case, we have no business with politics in the land of the dead and the most recent information I have on me is that I died sometime last year.

“The email account of the year’s Nobel ‘Laurel’ was hacked by these same agents to publicise my demise, so who is this still politicking WS ‘Laurel?” he queried.

FG To Run A Paperless Government By 2030 – Pantami

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January 14, 2022

The Federal Government is targeting 2030 to migrate all government paper activities to paperless ones.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, disclosed this in Abuja during the Champion Day and Closing of 2021 Service Wide Capacity Building program on e-Government.

He said: “The target of the Federal Government is to make sure that by 2030, we achieve a paperless government where emerging technologies like Blockchain that has data integrity and many more is guaranteed”.

According to him, a paperless government is very possible because the government is desirous of digitizing its processes.

The minister, however, noted that technology cannot do it alone.

He also said the government had spent N152bn on digitalization in 2021 which, he said, was “a quantum leap from the N9bn spent in 2019 and 2020.”

“To show us the level of implementation of the government’s digital services in the country, from January to December 2021, NITDA, on behalf of the government, has approved the execution of 499 projects. However, the approved projects include the backlog of 2020 and 2019,” he said.